How do we cast from one type to the other? Why do we need to explicitly declare or intent? How can I control the way a cast is done? The answer to all this question are cover in this video.

Ok so what is the difference between using the const or readonly keyword since they are both used for declaring constant variables? The main difference is when the value is assigned. In this video, I explain the differences between the two and when to preffer one over the other.

Mobile development is becoming the new “black”. With the success of the iPhone more and more developers want to capitalize on this new “App Market”. Now with the announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series (WP7S), this excitement is now shared by .Net developers as well. Many developers I talk to about WP7S are really interested in getting into the world of Mobile  development. Although the cost of entry (skill set) into this new realm is fairly minimal for .Net developers (especially does with Silverlight and XNA experience), there are some scenarios that are prominent in mobile applications that mobile developers should know about and code against. In this series on Windows Phone development, I will try to cover some of these scenarios.

This second video we cover screen navigation, mapping support using bing maps and adding soft buttons using the shell api

Mobile development is becoming the new “black”. With the success of the iPhone more and more developers want to capitalize on this new “App Market”. Now with the announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series (WP7S), this excitement is now shared by .Net developers as well. Many developers I talk to about WP7S are really interested in getting into the world of Mobile  development. Although the cost of entry (skill set) into this new realm is fairly minimal for .Net developers (especially does with Silverlight and XNA experience), there are some scenarios that are prominent in mobile applications that mobile developers should know about and code against. In this series on Windows Phone development, I will try to cover some of these scenarios.

In this first video will be an introduction to the platform including where to get the tools to get started. Others will include topics like data management, offline programming, notifications, orientation and location services, etc. Please join me in this journey as I explore this wonderful and exciting world of mobile development.

In this video, John takes you through the basics of getting started with C#. From how a program is structured, control flow statements and a summary of on-line resources, John points you in the right direction if you are new to C#. The following topics are covered in the video. Program Structure:  Namespace, Class and Procedure blocks. Syntax: Variable declarations,  if statements,  switch statement,  enums and loops.

John V. Petersen has been a developer for about 20 years – starting with dBase and FoxBase +. I then got into FoxPro 2.0 and VB 3 – eventually giving way to Visual FoxPro. Then along came .NET! Through that time, I have developed applications in SQL Server since version 6. I have also developed applications with Oracle versions 9i and 10g. From 1995-2001, I was a Microsoft Developer MVP. I have spoken at many user groups and industry conferences including Tech Ed and Developer Days.  For more information visit John’s Site

There are quite a few choices when it comes to how to do data access for your .NET application. With .NET 3.5, Microsoft introduced LINQ to SQL which is a powerful ORM solution leveraging LINQ technology. The Entity Framework was released with .NET 3.5 SP1 and took the concepts of LINQ to SQL to a new level. The Entity Framework brought additional features over LINQ to SQL as well as laying a new foundation for the future of data access in .NET. In this session we will look at a brief history of ORM and then go through a walkthrough of the Entity Framework and flesh out the data access layer of a simple application. We will look at similarities of LINQ to SQL and the Entity Framework as well as some common “gotchas” associated with EF. We will also take a lap through the new exciting features coming in Entity Framework 4.

Dane Morgridge has been a developer for 9+ years and has worked with .NET & C# since the first public beta. His current passions are Entity Framework, WPF, WCF, Silverlight and LINQ. He works mostly with C#, but is also a big fan of whatever new technology he happens to come across. In addition to software development also enjoys dabbling in graphic design, video special effects and hockey. When not with his family he is usually learning some new technology or working on some side projects. He is currently working as the Senior Interactive Developer at Roska Direct in Montgomeryville, PA. He can be reached through is blog http://geekswithblogs.net/danemorgridge or on Twitter @danemorgridge.