Chapter three finished, Searching, Modifying, and Encoding Text.

Implementing globalization, drawing, and text manipulation functionality in a .NET Framework application

• Enhance the text handling capabilities of a .NET Framework application, and search, modify, and control text within a .NET Framework application by using regular expressions.
  • StringBuilder class
  • Regex class
  • Match class and MatchCollection class
  • Group class and GroupCollection class
  • Encode text by using Encoding classes
  • Decode text by using Decoding classes
  • Capture class and CaptureCollection class

This is basically an explanation on what a Regex is, and how you can use it to match and manipulate strings with it.

Besides working with strings, it also deals with reading and writing them in different encodings.

This was quite a short chapter, with some basic knowledge for every developer.

Finished another chapter in my book, Input/Output, which deals with the following:

Implementing serialization and input/output functionality in a .NET Framework application

• Access files and folders by using the File System classes.

  • File class and FileInfo class
  • Directory class and DirectoryInfo class
  • DriveInfo class and DriveType enumeration
  • FileSystemInfo class and FileSystemWatcher class
  • Path class
  • ErrorEventArgs class and ErrorEventHandler delegate
  • RenamedEventArgs class and RenamedEventHandler delegate

• Manage byte streams by using Stream classes.

  • FileStream class
  • Stream class
  • MemoryStream class
  • BufferedStream class

• Manage the .NET Framework application data by using Reader and Writer classes.

  • StringReader class and StringWriter class
  • TextReader class and TextWriter class
  • StreamReader class and StreamWriter class
  • BinaryReader class and BinaryWriter class

• Compress or decompress stream information in a .NET Framework application and improve the security of application data by using isolated storage.

  • IsolatedStorageFile class
  • IsolatedStorageFileStream class
  • DeflateStream class
  • GZipStream class

Nice things I learned from this is how to easily compress and decompress data.

More importantly, the reason it is so easily, is because of the important role Streams play in the Framework. Once you get your head around streams, it's easy to use various sorts of them to get things done.

Another best practice I picked up, is to stop writing application specific configuration data to .xml/.ini files, but store them in the IsolatedStorage, it's the new Registry! :)

Besides the basic fundamentals of working with streams and the nice features you basically get for free once you know how to work with them, there are also some helper classes to work with the filesystem.

If you got any questions on the articles, feel free to comment.

The book I'm reading to prepare myself is Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 Application Development Foundation

Just finished the first chapter about Framework Fundamentals. Topics dealt with in this chapter are:

Developing applications that use system types and collections

• Manage data in a .NET Framework application by using the .NET Framework 2.0 system types.

  • Value types
  • Reference types
  • Attributes
  • Generic types
  • Exception classes
  • Boxing and Unboxing
  • TypeForwardedToAttribute Class

• Implement .NET Framework interfaces to cause components to comply with standard contracts.

  • IComparable interface
  • IDisposable interface
  • IConvertible interface
  • ICloneable interface
  • IEquatable interface
  • IFormattable interface

• Control interactions between .NET Framework application components by using events and delegates.

  • Delegate class
  • EventArgs class
  • EventHandler delegates

It's quite basic, but interesting, at the start, explaining the difference between value types and reference types, combined with some information on Nullable Types and the StringBuilder class.

There are also some examples about boxing and unboxing, something which you had to think about a lot more in .NET 1.0/1.1 when we didn't have generics yet.

Also a more obscure feature of the framework, the TypeForwardedToAttribute Class, used to redesign your libraries without recompiling your consumers of the library.

A nice cosmetic feature is implementing the IFormattable Interface to allow consumers of your class to specify various display methods when calling ToString().

Another thing I got a better understanding about thanks to this chapter is operator overloading, for example to properly implement the IEquatable Interface, you would probably overload the == and != operators as well.

I finally managed to document a version of IDisposable which I like and understand.

To finish up, I'll never have any problems remembering how to wire up an event anymore with the EventHandler delegates.

Time for the next chapter now :)

Taking a little break right now, got a bit of a burn out, lack of sleep might have something to do with it :)

The ASP.NET MVC project I had in mind will have to wait a little bit, with a bit of luck it gives me time to find a good graphical designer as well, they seem so rare to find. If you know a good designer, please comment!

What I'm going to do however, is study for a Microsoft Certificate.

Normally I'm not into degrees, when I graduated I saw people graduate with the same degree as me, who could barely write HTML or C#, at which point I placed no value in the degree people have. I rather judge people on what they say and do, which is also the reason I never really bothered with certificates.

But even as a developer, you can't be blind to the world, certificates matter for non-developers. I admit it's a nice addition to a resume and leverage when it comes to negotiating your salary, however I'm starting to see some value in the certificate as well.

When you properly prepare for an exam, without cheating and learning all questions by heart, it's actually a good form of self-education. Even when you don't take the exam in the end, the stuff you pick up while learning the required matter for an exam is valuable.

All these little hidden things you learn about the .NET Framework help to broaden your background knowledge, tiny things which you'd never encounter normally. It helps you make you aware of all the features .NET offers you, and if it only helps you do one thing better, it still helped.

I could disappear for some weeks now to study and not write anything, but that's not me.

Instead, I've added a section to my wiki reserved for note taking and research on the exam itself.

It's not a tutorial, but I belief it does contain some nice "wow, that's cool"-things.

Going to keep you updated whenever I finish a chapter, with a small summary of the things I think are cool.