.NET Programming: 10-Minute Solutions

If you're an experienced programmer finding your way with .NET, then this book is for you. If your .NET skills are already solid, then this book is still for you. These ten-minute solutions fill the gaps in your knowledge: from them, you'll learn a lot about the realities of programming with .NET technologies, whether you're writing database applications, web applications, or desktop applications. But they're also solutions to the problems you're most likely to encounter in each of these areas. Particularly when a project entails new techniques or draws you into a realm outside your expertise, you need quick and reliable answers. Here, a couple of veterans provide them. Based on the popular question-and-answer feature of the DevX website, all are in-depth, code-intensive solutions that explain both the how and the why, helping you past immediate obstacles and ultimately making you a more knowledgeable programmer. Here are some of the solutions you'll find inside: The new ListBox control's data model: how it differs, how to work with it, why it's better The new I/O model: storing and retrieving complete objects with streams Launching and monitoring external programs from VB.NET applications: the Process class and how it improves on classic VB Shell command ADO.NET support for keeping calculated columns up to date automatically Moving data between distributed tiers—and keeping it synchronized—using DiffGrams Solutions are organized into three categories: general .NET topics that cut across category boundaries, problems that arise when you're building Windows forms, and issues associated specifically with ADO.NET and ASP.NET programming chores. The book contains VB.NET code examples for every solution.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xi Windows Forms Solutions 1 Solution 1 ListBox ItemData Is Gone! 2 Solution 2 Create Owner-Drawn ListBoxes and ComboBoxes 16 Solution 3 Upgrade Your INI Files to XML 28 Solution 4 Build Your Own XML-Enabled Windows Forms TreeView Control 48 General .NET Topics 65 Solution 5 Take Advantage of Streams and Formatters in VB.NET 66 Solution 6 File I/O in VB.NET: Avoid the Compatibility Syntax 80 Solution 7 Gain Control of Regular Expressions 86 Solution 8 Add Sort Capabilities to Your .NET Classes 100 Solution 9 A Plethora of XML Choices 109 Solution 10 Where Should I Store That Data? 135 Solution 11 Performing the Most-Requested Conversions in .NET 154 Solution 12 Building Custom Collections in .NET 170 Solution 13 Launching and Monitoring External Programs from VB.NET Applications 186 Solution 14 Build a Touch Utility with .NET 200 Solution 15 Parse and Validate Command-Line Parameters with VB.NET 212 Solution 16 Monitor Data and Files with a Windows Service 234 ASP.NET Solutions 253 Solution 17 Creating Custom Configuration Settings in ASP.NET 254 Solution 18 Internationalize Your ASP.NET Applications (Part 1 of 2) 265 Solution 19 Internationalize Your ASP.NET Applications (Part 2 of 2) 281 Solution 20 Managing Focus in Web Forms 294 Solution 21 The Missing Message Boxes in ASP.NET 306 ADO.NET Solutions 325 Solution 22 Optimizing and Troubleshooting Database Connections 326 Solution 23 Replacing Recordsets with DataSets 336 Solution 24 Working with Typed DataSets 347 Solution 25 Saving Time with Calculated DataColumns 353 Solution 26 Combining Tables in a DataSet 360 Solution 27 Getting Customized XML from SQL Server 369 Solution 28 XML and the DataSet 380 Solution 29 DataBinding ListBoxes and ComboBoxes 388 Solution 30 Advanced DataBinding 396 Solution 31 Synchronizing DataSets with DiffGrams 403 Solution 32 The 10-Minute Guide to Paging Data 412 Index 423