.wilk

The asp.Net MVC framework is a wonderful addition to the asp.Net technology set.  Microsoft was one of the last developer tool sets to provide an MVC framework, but Microsoft’s implementation of MVC is easier to implement and understand than most. One of the key features of the MVC framework is the use of strongly typed view data to build the display view.  The view file is only concerned with displaying the data provided by the controller.  This strategy reduces the risk of business logic creeping into the view, helps enforce separation of concerns, and typically makes for cleaner Html delivered to the browser. One to the options added to the view of the MVC framework are Html Helpers.  These are optional code extensions that provide a short-hand to implementing form elements.  Now an MVC purest may argue that no code, other than maybe data binding, should existing in the view.  Fortunately, I have never been accused of being pure.  Html Helpers pro... [More]

After weeks of TV ads taking shots at AT&T and the iPhone, Verizon launches the long-awaited Droid from Motorola.  Interestingly, it is Google and the Android operating system that Verizon is promoting.  The phone just happens to be in a Motorola body.  The line between phone and computers has officially blurred.  For the first time, the features of the operating system are promoted rather than the hardware device.  According to Wireless Week, "Android is expected to account for only 2.4 percent of the total smart OS market in 2009, but it's growing fast. iSuppli expects Android will have a 9.1 percent share of the global smartphone market in 2013."  Google doesn't need to compete with Microsoft to control the desktop, they can beat Microsoft on the mobile computer until the desktop goes the way of the floppy disk and the CRT monitor.  Microsoft is not without marketing chops.  2010 could be an interesting technology year.

When I started my blog, I modified an existing template.  While this worked well to get started, I was not happy with the page layout.  Specifically, I did not like the fixed width layout.  My current display settings are 1680 X 1050, and the stock 700px layout left a ton of white space.  However, I want people with an 800 X 600 display to enjoy reading my blog - content not withstanding.  The answer was a liquid layout. The blocks of a liquid layout expand and collapse as the browser window is resized.  After reviewing some site templates, I was inspired by the templates of www.blogenginetheme.com and more specifically LiquidNautica.  However, this template resizes from the center, and I wanted a multi-column layout that resized from the sides. At a high-level, my site design has 3 major sections from top to bottom: header, navbar, and body.  Nothing unusual. The header is a 2 column layout with a fixed column and a fluid column.  The n... [More]

Like most others responsible of hosting large quantities of data, I have been engaged in numerous debates regarding cloud storage versus hosted storage. Is cloud storage secure?  Is it reliable?  Is it HIPAA compliant?  If we are a global enterprise, do we know where the data is stored?  This debate will rage on until standards are established and cloud storage can demonstrate that it is enterprise ready.  These debates are thoroughly discussed and each side defended in trade publications and blogs throughout the web.  However, it is clear that cloud services are here to stay. What appears to be discussed less are the cost considerations.  I have recently been involved in a detailed cost analysis of cloud storage vs. hosted (co-location) storage.  My client had done the math, and they clearly demonstrated that cloud storage costs approximately 5x more than hosted storage.  Unfortunately, analysis shows that the cost difference is not so cle... [More]

The Flex3 Tree control is easy to use for a simple file listing.  However, when you want to use more complex node displays, the tree gets a little more complicated.  By default, the Tree control supports folderOpenIcon, folderClosedIcon and defaultLeafIcon.  However, the tree can display much more complex node listings with a little work. In our sample application, purposely simplified for brevity, we display a set of folders that contain image files or additional subfolders.  The folder display is much like the default folder listing, but the image files will show an image thumbnail and a file name.  Keep in mind, this node display could contain much more elaborate HTML.  In the example, the tree nodes are bound to the tree through an XMLList. The application itself is very simple; it is a tree control.  Some of the attributes (shown in bold) of the tree control are important for our purposes.  itemRenderer i... [More]

The Flex3 Tree control is an easy to use way to display hierarchical data in a user friendly way.  However, the tree control, like tree controls for other languages has some quirks. I will detail some of the quirks in coming weeks, but the quirk for today was particularly troubling to find. When building a commercial entertainment application with 2 trees listing separate groups of data, we encountered strange behavior following drag-and-drop operations.  In this application, users can drag files or folders from one tree to another in either direction.  The tree control has built-in support for drag-and-drop operations, but this application had both custom drag event handlers and item renderers.  Dragging an object from one tree to the other seemed to work well.  Both trees contained the expected data, and the database was updated as expected.  However, after completing the drop operation, when we moved the mouse anywhere on the application, the target t... [More]