Blog

MVP Renewal

Roberto — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:06:59 GMT

Yesterday I received the email from Microsoft that informs me that I’ve been awarded the Microsoft Most Valued Professional for last years community effort.

I’m really happy for being renewed as MVP BizTalk Server.

Congrats to all those renewed, and especially to those who were awarded for the first time.

Regards.

TFS 2008 and VS2010 Beta1

Roberto — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:33:48 GMT

Some users have tried to connect to TFS 2008 using VS2010 Beta1, and they have got the following error:

TF31001: Cannot connect to Team Foundation Server at xxx.com. The server returned the following error: The ServicePointManager does not support proxies with the https scheme.

The problem is that the default value to BypassProxyOnLocal (proxy server should be bypassed for local addresses) in TFS 2008 is false, while in 2010 the default value is true, resolving a performance problem experienced by some customers.

If you want to solve your problem just follow this post:

http://blogs.msdn.com/ablock/archive/2009/05/20/for-tfs-2010-beta-1-resolving-tf31001-the-servicepointmanager-does-not-support-proxies-with-the-https-scheme.aspx

Regards.

Whitepaper WCF LOB Adapter SDK and Biztalk Adapter Pack

Roberto — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:41:00 GMT

In the next url WCF LOB Adapter SDK and the BizTalk Adapter Pack, you can download a whitepaper about development of adapters based on WCF LOB Adapter SDK and the consume from .NET Application, from Biztalk, MOSS, and so on.

Part of this document to tell you how to create WCF-based adapters and also explains you the WCF channel model.

I strongly recommend reading.

Regards

Architects not programming

Roberto — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:07:00 GMT

The other day I was giving a talk on Microsoft about Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 focused on Architect. My talk was specifically about Test Driven Development.

Hadi Hariri asked the audience how many of them developed and used unit tests. The curious thing about this question was the answer: about 150 people raised their hands about 10 people.
This means that most attendees were architects, project managers, etc.. and only 10 developed.
My question is, can you be a good software architect, and not to program?. For example, how can you recommend using Entity Framework if you've not used it and no known problems (or the actual benefits) that can give it to you?.
I understand that the role of an architect is not programming, but from my point of view, an architect should always to be updated and not should disconnect from the technical part, participating developing certain projects (not with a large load course).

I think that reading only, yout don’t get enough knowledge to be able to define which components, technologies or products are best suited to develop an application.

Regards.

OSLO CTP Mayo 2009

Roberto — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:33:38 GMT

Microsoft have just released the May 2009 “Oslo CTP”.

As you will know Oslo is a Microsoft modeling tool.
The Oslo modeling tools include:

A storage runtime (based on SQL Server 2008) where to store the schemas and instances of data.
A visual modeling tool (Microsoft code name "Quadrant").
A modeling language (Microsoft code name "M").

In this CTP is the first time that Quadrant is made available to the public . Until now we could only create models by "M".

The link to download this CTP is http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9648442.
For more details about the changes in this release visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/oslo/releasenotes.aspx.

Regards.

REST AND WCF

Roberto — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:25:35 GMT

REST defines a style of architecture-focused resources. These resources are accessed using URIs and HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT and DELETE) rather than based on the SOAPAction as SOAP HTTP.
Some of the benefits of REST are:

Lightweight. Excluding extra xml as SOAP packets.
The result returned by REST is easily understandable. Is Human Readable.
No need toolkits for use.
Simple. Obviously has less functionality than a service based on soap/WS- *, but in many cases should be sufficient with this functionality.

If we were to invoke a RESTFUL web service that returned us a customer identifier (25) . The URI to invoke this resource would be as follows:

http://demo/ventas.svc/cliente/25

However in the case of a SOAP Web service through the URI we could only identify the endpoint of the service:

http://demo/ventas.svc

At most the operation to invoke:

http://demo.ventas.asmx?op=ObtenerClientes

Once you "know" that is REST, we will implement a RESTful service based on WCF.

Service Creation

First of all we must create a new service, for this we will build on the default template for VS 2008. Call RESTService project.

2. Rename the file IService1 by ICalc and modifies the contents of it with the following code:

     using System;using System.Collections.Generic;

    using System.Linq;

    using System.Runtime.Serialization;

    using System.ServiceModel;

    using System.Text;

    using System.ServiceModel.Web; 

    namespace RESTService{   

        [ServiceContract]     

        public interface ICalculadora    

        {        

            [OperationContract]        

            [WebGet(         

                BodyStyle = WebMessageBodyStyle.Bare,         

                ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Xml,         

                UriTemplate="/Sumar/{op1}/{op2}")]        

            string Sumar(string op1,string op2);    

        }

    }

The only difference between a WCF Service is that we have added the attribute WebGet to the method Sum. This attribute indicates that the operation is a recovery one and can be called via the web programming model. Furthermore, we indicate that the URI to access to the resource is:

http://servidor/RESTService.Calculadora.svc/Sum/25/50.

Note: You will see that the parameters in this case should be numeric but are string. This is because it is required by UriTemplate.

In the case that the operation is not a recovery operation , we must use the [WebInvoke] attribute.

Sample:

       1: [OperationContract]   

       2: [WebInvoke(Method="DELETE",UriTemplate="/Product/{idProduct}")]   

       3: public void DeleteProduct(string idProduct)   

       4: {   

       5:     // Delete the product 

       6: }

3. Rename the file Service1.cs by Calc.cs and modifies the contents of it with the following code:

1: using System;

2: using System.Collections.Generic;

3: using System.Linq;

4: using System.Runtime.Serialization;

5: using System.ServiceModel;

6: using System.Text;

7: namespace RESTService

8: {

9: public class Calc : ICalc

10: {

11: public string Sum(string op1, string op2)

12: {

13: int operator1=0;

14: int operator2=0;

15: string sResult = "";

16: if ((int.TryParse(op1, out operator1)) && (int.TryParse(op2, out operator2)))

17: {

18: sResult = string.Format("The result is: {0}", operator1 + operator2);

19: }

20: return sResult;

21: }

22: }

23: }

As you can see, this code implements a method which has two parameters and returns the sum as a result . There's no difference between a "traditional" Service and RESTful.

4. Verify that int the app.config file are reflected all the changes we have made names for code files.

5. Locate the endpoint definition and change wsHttpbinding by webHttpbinding. At the end you should have something like the following.

       1: <endpoint address="" binding="webHttpBinding" 

       2:     contract="RESTService.ICalc" 

       3:     behaviorConfiguration="WebBehavior">

6. Add the following xml node inside <behaviors>:

       1: <endpointBehaviors>   

       2:     <behavior name="WebBehavior">        

       3:         <webHtpp/>    

       4:     </behavior>

       5: </endpointBehaviors>

The binding webHttpbinding indicates that this service should be exposed via HTTP requests exposing Plain old XML (POX) instead of SOAP-based messages. This binding is used in conjunction with behavior WebHttp to enable web programming model for WCF service.

With this we have already created a RESTful service.

Consuming Service

RESTful services can be invoked in two ways:

1. Invoking the service directly through the object WebChannelFactory.
2. Adding a reference to the service and minimally changing the proxy.

I prefer the last one, because everything is much cleaner and we invoke all the services in the same way regardless of how they are exposed.

Method 1: WebChannelFactory

1. Create a console program used to test the RESTful service.
2. Add a reference to System.ServiceModel.Web namespace .
3. Adds a copy of the ICalculadora.cs to this project.
4. Add the following code to consume the service:

       1: WebChannelFactory<ICalc> factory = new WebChannelFactory<ICalc>(new Uri("Service_URI"));    

       2: ICalc proxy = factory.CreateChannel();    

       3: string response = proxy.Sum("25","70");    

       4: ((IDisposable)proxy).Dispose();

Remeber you need change “Service_URI” by the Service URL.

This invoking method does not need a services reference, it is only necessary to gain access to the Service interface.

Method 2 (Add Services Reference)

1. Create a console program used to test the RESTful service.
2. Add a reference to System.ServiceModel.Web namespace .
3. Add a reference to the RESTful service that you want to invoke.
4. Open the file containing the proxy code (Reference.cs) to invoke the service. Locate the Sum method and add the following attribute above:

       1: [WebGet(    

       2:     BodyStyle = WebMessageBodyStyle.Bare,    

       3:     ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Xml,    

       4:     UriTemplate = "/Sum/{op1}/{op2}")]

With this attribute the proxy knows how to invoke the service.

5. Open the app.config file and locate the node called <client> and add the service endpoint definition to consume:

       1: <endpoint address="service_address" behaviorConfiguration="test"   

       2:     binding="webHttpBinding" contract="ServiceReference1.ICalc"    

       3:     name="WebHttpBinding1"/>

6. Below </client> add the next xml:

       1: <behaviors>  

       2:     <endpointBehaviors>   

       3:         <behavior name="test">       

       4:             <webHttp/>   

       5:         </behavior>   

       6:     </endpointBehaviors>        

       7: </behaviors>

Having made these changes we can invoke the service:

       1: CalcClient calc = new ConsoleApplication2.ServiceReference1.CalcClient("WebHttpBinding1");    

       2: string response = calc.Sum("25","70");

Finally, we will use fiddler to see the calls exchange between the client and HTTP service.
In the case of the REST service call we will get the following trace:

       1: GET /RESTService.Calculadora.svc/Sumar/25/70 HTTP/1.1   

       2: Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8   

       3: VsDebuggerCausalityData: uIDPo8iVuDxtWzVIoOWhMWz8d6cAAAAAQQ14Z3Np/kGe9oMjdzTKnIAB0WdKCntFi092ERAO19oACQAA   

       4: Host: xxxxxx   

       5: Connection: Keep-Alive

In the case of the SOAP service call we will get the following trace:

       1: POST /WcfServiceLibrary1.Service1.svc HTTP/1.1   

       2: Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8   

       3: VsDebuggerCausalityData: uIDPo9JShnIh9h9LnpM3i3SLcV8AAAAADD0BBgGqLkCAeQs6rXWB4Cv3lHKbfRpOq02eDFtYkC4ACQAA   

       4: SOAPAction: "http://tempuri.org/IService1/GetData"   

       5: Host: xxxxxxxx   

       6: Content-Length: 158   

       7: Expect: 100-continue   

       8: Connection: Keep-Alive   

       9:  

      10: <s:Envelope xmlns:s="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">  

      11:     <s:Body>  

      12:         <GetData xmlns="http://tempuri.org/"> 

      13:             <value>25</value>  

      14:         </GetData>  

      15:     </s:Body>  

      16: </s:Envelope>

If we compare with another one trace, we will test that in the "REST" Service is the GET operation which defines the method to invoke and the parameters , there is no SOAPAction, while in the "SOAP" Service we need the SOAPAction attribute to define the method to invoke and a envelope where we define the parameters passed to this method.

The service "REST" response is the following:

       1: HTTP/1.1 200 OK   

       2: Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8   

       3: Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.0   

       4: X-Powered-By: ASP.NET   

       5: Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:33:52 GMT   

       6: Content-Length: 92   

       7:  

       8: <string xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/">The result is: 95</string>

The service "SOAP" response is the following:

       1: HTTP/1.1 200 OK   

       2: Content-Type: text/xml; charset=utf-8   

       3: Server: Microsoft-IIS/7.0   

       4: X-Powered-By: ASP.NET   

       5: Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:28:00 GMT   Content-Length: 203   

       6:  

       7:  

       8:  

       9: <s:Envelope xmlns:s="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">  

      10:     <s:Body>  

      11:         <GetDataResponse xmlns="http://tempuri.org/">  

      12:             <GetDataResult>You entered: 25</GetDataResult>  

      13:         </GetDataResponse>  

      14:     </s:Body>  

      15: </s:Envelope>

As we can see in the trace, the "REST" response is much simpler and smaller than the "SOAP" response.
In the next link RESTService.zip you have available the example files. It is a very simple example but it explains the basis for building a REST service.
Finally it is only to say that Microsoft has released a Starter Kit on CodePlex (Preview 2) that provides classes and templates for the creation of RESTful services.
In another post we will see how to create and consume a service using this starter kit.

Regards.

Microsoft Lauches Biztalk Server 2009

Roberto — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 09:23:00 GMT

Microsoft Lauches globally Biztalk Server 2009

If your are interested in the new feature in Biztalk Server 2009 you can read this information:

http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/en/us/whats-new.aspx

Regards.

New site Talking about Windows

Roberto — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:09:00 GMT

Microsoft has opened a new site called Talking about Windows www.talkingaboutwindows.com.

In this site, the Windows 7 product team is going to publish information without NDA. Thist site has videos which you can comment.

Regards.

Biztalk Development Center

Roberto — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:17:00 GMT

Microsft has just to release a site to share resource about Biztalk.

In this Site we will have available whitepapers, web casts, talks, etc which may be interesting for you.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/biztalk/default.aspx

Regards.

WCF Champ

Roberto — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:51:00 GMT

Microsft has just launched a campaign target web service developers who unaware WCF or who has tried WCF in the past but dont use this technology in their applications.

The campaign has two primary components:

Three videos

These videos have a common theme: WCF developers versus traditional web services developers.

2. Web site

Web Site with resource to improve the learning curve about WCF.

http://www.microsoft.com/net/wcf/champ

Regards.

Biztalk Server 2009 Beta

Roberto — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:40:00 GMT

Microsoft has just release a beta version of BizTalk Server 2009.
Some of the enhancements in this version are the support for Visual Studio 2008 SP1, .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, SQL Server 2008 and TFS.
The support of TFS will allow us to manage a complete life cycle of an application BizTalk. Among other things we can management unit tests, continuous integration, automated desployments and so on.
Is available a new sdk to development of adapters rely on WCF (LOB Adapter SDK).
The new version is avalilable in connect.microsoft.com.

Regards.

Mount a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD)

Roberto — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:25:00 GMT

How many times we have to start a Virtual Machine only to get a Project or document. Trying to resolve this problem I found that Vitual Server 2005 R2 allow you mount a VHD in your operating system.

You have not to install the complete product. Installing the VHDMount utility will be enought.

To mount the vhd we'll have to execute the next command "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\Vhdmount\vhdmount.exe" /m "path file vhd".

To unmount the vhd we'll have to execute the next command "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\Vhdmount\vhdmount.exe" /u "path file vhd".

Evento CEUS

Roberto — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:06:51 GMT

Ayer he estado impartiendo una charla en la Conferencia de usuarios de Sharepoint organizada por Microsoft, donde hemos visto como construir aplicaciones RIA basándonos en MOSS y Silverlight 2.0.

Aquí os dejo la presentación y las demos que se vieron en la charla.

http://cid-99fb7d3a483b374f.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/CEUS%20IV%20-%20Silverlight%20MOSS?uc=2

Muchas gracias a todos los asistentes.

Evento de ALM'08 - Gestión del ciclo de vida de soluciones Sharepoint

Roberto — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:34:00 GMT

Este Jueves 16 de Octubre participaré como ponente en el evento de ALM que organiza Mcrosoft.

En esta charla veremos como gestionar el ciclo de vida de soluciones Sharepoint usando Visual Studio 2008 y TFS.

Veremos como gestionar de una forma automatizada las compilaciones diarias, pruebas unitarias y despliegues de soluciones basadas en Sharepoint.

Espero veremos por alli.

Charla en el grupo de usuarios Madrid.Net

Roberto — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:46:00 GMT

El jueves 24 de Julio impartí una charla de integración de WCF y WF (Workflow Services) en el grupo de usuarios de Madrid.NET.

Agradecer a todos los asistentes que tuvieron la amabilidad de venir el jueves a la charla antes del puente :).

Como lo prometido es deuda aquí os dejo el contenido de la charla.