One of the things I enjoy about using FluentNHibernate is the PersistenceSpecification class VerifyMapping method which allows me to verify that my database schema, mapping and domain are in sync. When using other ORMs I tend to recreate this feature. Working with one client recently who uses Linq-to-SQL I did it again and decided it is time to share it.
Read MoreEssential .NET Developer Workstation - 2013 Edition
Having put together this list for the third or forth time I thought it was time to share more broadly what I have see as the essential tools for .NET developers. In this list I take on hardware, software and services that you should consider to help you do your job better.
Read MoreAn Open Letter to Nokia about Quality and Customer Service
Jerome from the Service Recovery Team at Nokia called today on behalf of Macy. He wanted to find out if I had received my complimentary replacement phone and whether I had sent back the defective Nokia Lumia 920 that I had previously blogged about. I let him know that I have the old Lumia 920 ready to go but I am missing a pre-paid return shipping label. That last part seemed to puzzle Jerome - he expected that I would send it back to Nokia at my cost.
Read MoreRecovering from "The Simulated Application Quit" on iOS Simulator
I started poking at the latest and greatest Xamarin offerings last night and came across a situation where an application would be deployed but something went wrong leaving the simulator in a corrupt state. The error message, "the simulated application quit", leaves a lot to be desired in terms of actionable information to recover. One of the folks on the forums pointed out that you can delete the iOS Simulator's cache to reset the state which allows you to re-attempt deployment.
Read MoreWhat's in Your Build Pipeline?
I enjoy sharing practices amongst various teams. The discussion about what works well, what could be done better and actions that others have taken help us all reduce friction. One piece I wanted to share, with hopes of inspiring others to do the same, is what we are doing with our continuous integration pipeline for one of the projects I'm working on.
Driving Smart in the Cold with an Electric Vehicle
While my fellow Tesla Model S owners in Manitoba and Alberta will likely have further thoughts on cold weather driving I found the premise behind John Broder's recent article in the New York Times disturbing. Taking the position that an electric vehicle (EV) should behave exactly the same as an internal combustion engine (ICE) car, especially in sub-zero temperatures was a big mistake on his part.
Read More0x80300001 - What do you mean you don't know what it is
I get that stupid feeling when I see an error message like "There was an error - 0x80300001" that I am supposed to know what that means. Even with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry I still, however, have failed to develop some sort of mind reading skill to figure out these really obscure error messages. I remember walking around the Microsoft campus during my tenure there and seeing a poster that had a picture of a blue screen along with a caption that read something to the effect of "if your mom cannot figure this out what makes you think it is a good error message?". Read More
Nokia Lumia 920 / Windows Phone Support is Broken
About three months ago I purchased a Nokia Lumia 920 to replace my Samsung Focus. Since investing in Windows Phone I have made a pledge to not buy contract phone. I never liked the idea of being held hostage by the carrier with subsidized phone contracts. When I purchased the phone I plugged in a Fido micro SIM and it worked without any problems until... Read More
5,000 Electric Kilometers and Counting
This week, after just over a month of driving, I hit the 5,000km mark on my Tesla Model S. As the saying goes, time flies when you are having fun and this is one fun ride! In the last several weeks I have given numerous test drives to family, friends, and colleagues. With each test drive I hope that people walk away in awe of how great an electric car can be.
Read More.NET Solution Boilerplate
While there will never be a one-size-fits-all solution when I work with teams to evolve their engineering practices one topic that we will always discuss is solution structure. Visual Studio's solution file represents a collection of projects that form the core and supporting pieces for a product. For most developers the solution file is the identifiable entry point into the product that we look for after retrieving a copy of the source code from version control. When you first open a solution the structure tells a story about the logical structure of the application.
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