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These are articles written by or about InStep Technologies personnel.
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| Article |
Summary |
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"Everyday Use of Generics"
by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine, March/April 2007 |
You may think of generics as a Ferrari that you only take out for special occasions;
but they are better compared to your trusty pickup, perfectly suited for everyday use.
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"Object Binding with Deborah Kurata"
interview and ARCast with Ron Jacobs, August 2006
Channel 9
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A chat about object binding in Visual Studio 2005.
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"Retaining Multiple Sets of User Settings"
by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine, July/August 2006 |
Retaining a single set of user settings for your application is easy.
Retaining multiple sets of user settings is much more challenging. This article
shows you how.
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"Object Binding Tips and Tricks"
by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine, March/April 2006 |
Gaining the full potential of object binding requires more than just
dragging and dropping your properties onto forms. In this article
I’ll present a few tricks you need to know to get the most from your object binding.
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"Having Fun with Code Snippets"
by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine, Jan/Feb 2006 |
Using code snippets can make it quick to add common code pieces to your application.
Creating your own snippets allows you to create a library of custom code pieces
and share them with other developers.
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"Building a Stored Procedure Generator"
by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine, Sept/Oct 2005 |
Creating basic data access stored procedures is time consuming and boring work.
Relieve the tedium by writing code that writes these stored procedures for you.
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| "Inheritance
101" by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine, May/June 2005 |
Extend your knowledge of inheritance to more easily extend
your applications. This article reviews what inheritance is,
when and how to use it, and tips for getting the greatest
benefit from this valuable feature.
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| "What
You Need to Know about Web Controls" by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine,
March/April 2005 |
Knowing the flaws in Web server controls and how to work
around them before you use them can save you hours of time.
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| "Maximize
Your Productivity with Project Item Templates" by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine,
November/December 2004 |
You can create your own Windows Forms, Web Forms, or class
templates to reuse code and maximize your productivity in
Visual Studio 2003.
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| "Visualize
Your Code with the Class Designer" by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine,
September/October 2004 |
The Class Designer feature of Visual Studio 2005 allows you
to visually manipulate your classes. A picture is worth a
thousand words, as the saying goes. The new Visual Studio
2005 (Whidbey) Class Designer provides a visual design
environment that allows you to visualize and manipulate your
classes. Being able to see your classes and work with them
using a visual designer can significantly increase your
productivity.
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| "Overload
Operators to Operate on your Objects" by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine,
July/August 2004 |
Operator overloading provides an intuitive way to support mathematical and
comparative operations on your objects. Operator overloading is one of those
features that you don't need very often, but when you need it, operator
overloading is very nice to have. You will find operator overloading in C# now,
but you won't find it in Visual Basic until the upcoming Visual Studio 2005
release.
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| "Monitor eBay
Auctions with Visual Studio.NET" by Jerry Kurata, DevX, June 2004 |
While you could use eBay's Web interface to enter all your sale
items, why waste the time? You're a .NET developer! You can use eBay's API and
SDK in conjunction with .NET, XML and Excel for better portability, security,
and performance. |
| "Use Generics
to Create an Audit Trail" by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine, May/June
2004 |
Generics give you the best of both worlds: the efficiency of
building generic code and the type safety and performance of building
strongly-typed code. Building an audit trail into your application provides a
mechanism for tracking who updated what when, and the new generics feature in
Whidbey helps you build that trail.
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| "Give
Your Forms a Base" by Deborah Kurata, CoDe Magazine,
March/April 2004 |
Create a base form class to ensure that all of the forms in
your application behave consistently. This technique
minimizes the amount of repetitive code you need to write to
manage the user's interaction with your forms.
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| "Objects
Meet VB.NET" interview with Deborah Kurata by Jack
Vaughan, ADT Magazine, August 2003 |
ADT’s Jack Vaughan spoke with Deborah
Kurata of InStep Technologies Inc. about the migration of
Visual Basic developers to .NET.
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"Life without Control Arrays in Visual Basic .NET" by Deborah Kurata,
MSDN, July 2003 |
Control arrays were the best way to manage the controls on your
Visual Basic forms, but there are no control arrays in Visual Basic .NET.
Deborah Kurata describes how to use new Visual Basic .NET features to obtain
control array functionality without the need for a control array.
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"Life without On Error Goto Statements" by Deborah Kurata, MSDN, July
2003 |
In previous versions of Visual Basic, the best practice for
handling errors was put On Error Goto in every routine, but there is no On
Error statement in Visual Basic .NET. This article describes how to use new
Visual Basic .NET features to handle errors without using On Error Goto
statements.
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"Replace Global Variables With Shared Properties" by Deborah Kurata,
VSLive! Show Daily, September 2002
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Visual Basic .NET gives you a more object-oriented way to store
global data.
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"Object-Oriented Programming in Visual Basic .NET" by Deborah Kurata,
MSDN, September 2001 |
This article discusses the many new object-oriented programming
techniques available in Microsoft Visual Basic .NET.
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"Work with Objects in .NET" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, August 2001. |
Get a clear mental picture of objects in .NET to help you make
the transition from VB6. |
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"Get the Most from OOP" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, June 2001. |
Use these 10 top techniques to maximize the benefits of
object-oriented programming. |
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"Simplify XML Document Access" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with
Class column in VBPJ, May 2001. |
Develop a standard class to wrap the DOM and make it easier to
access your XML documents. |
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"Do OO in 'Web Time'" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column
in VBPJ, January 2001. |
Use these six techniques to shorten your object-oriented design
and development time frames. |
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"Build Components for the Web" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with
Class column in VBPJ, November 2000.
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Use VB to generate HTML and improve the performance of your Web
pages.
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"Design Great Software" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, May, 1999. |
It takes more than just a few object-oriented techniques to
design great software. No matter how good you think your software is, it will
fail if it isn’t what the users need. It will fail if the user interface is too
difficult to use. It will fail if it takes too long to store or display
information. It will fail if it never gets done. Check out this article for
some tips on getting to great software. |
| "Develop
a Professional Application" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, March 1998. |
The first and most important step in creating a
professional-quality application has nothing to do with code; rather, it is
understanding the needs of the users. This column describes goal-centered
design, which is the process by which you come to understand the needs
of the users and convert those needs into a logical model of an application. |
| "Simplify
Your Support Classes" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column
in the VBPJ, January 1998. |
"Declare you support classes as global to make them easier for
other developers to use." |
| "Programming
With Events" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column in VBPJ,
November 1997. |
"Use VB5's new keyword, WithEvents, to handle events generated
by an object. The object can be a form, any control on a form, an object you
create from a class, or any database that generates events. Trust us: it'll
make your life easier." |
| "Handling
Those Errors" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column in VBPJ,
August 1997. |
"Learn the tricks to performing validation and trapping errors
in your components." |
| "Learn
the FUNdamentals of OOP" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, June 1997. |
"Once you understand the basics of object-oriented programming,
you can create cool components with VB 5.0." |
| "Ten
Reasons to Go OO" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column in
VBPJ, December 1996. |
"Here are 10 reasons to help sell you and your management into
making the move to OO." |
| "Too
Many Tasks? Pass Them On!" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, October 1996. |
"Delegate common application chores to standard classes to
improve your development efficiency." |
| "Get
Your Forms to Communicate" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, August 1996. |
"Use a Notification class to communicate between forms within
an application." |
| "Test
Objects in the Debug Window" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, June 1996. |
"Use the Debug Window to test out your objects, properties, and
methods." |
| "Extend
the Life of Your VB3 Apps" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class
column in VBPJ, May 1996. |
"Breathe some fresh air into those legacy applications by
giving them access to OLE servers." |
| "Creating
OLE Servers" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column in VBPJ,
March 1996. |
"Using VB4 to create an OLE server is easy, if you follow a few
tips and tricks." |
| Visual
Basic Programmer's Journal 99 Technical Tips Supplement, February 1996 |
Deborah Kurata and many others provide tips on working with
Visual Basic 3.0 and 4.0. |
| "Save
Your Objects" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column in VBPJ,
January 1996. |
Storing your objects in a sequential or binary data file is an
efficient way to save and retrieve them. |
| "Class
is on the Menu" by Deborah Kurata, Visual Basic Developer magazine,
December 1995 |
Would you like cheese on that Burger object?
Lighter discussion of class modules with a complete, yet
simple, example of an object-oriented program. |
| "Is
VB an OOP Language?" by Deborah Kurata, Programming with Class column
in VBPJ, November 1995
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Discusses the key criteria for an object-oriented programming
(OOP) language: abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism and
what they mean to a Visual Basic developer. |
| "Create
Your Own Classes" by Deborah Kurata, VBPJ, October 1995
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Introduction to Visual Basic's new class module, including a
description of properties and methods and an example of using your own
collections to store sets of objects. |
| "Devise
a Configuration Management Plan" by Jerry Kurata, VBPJ, July 1995 |
Coming up with a good configuration management strategy can
shield you from development disasters. This article provides some guidance in
defining an appropriate strategy. |
| "Learning to
Program" CompuServe Magazine, May 1995 |
Article including details about the
"Beginners Corner" section of the Visual Basic
Programmer's Journal Forum. |
| "Architecting
Solid Software" by Deborah Kurata, VBPJ, April 1995 |
"Instead of adding code to a prototype, step back a little and
build a solid foundation for your app using object-oriented techniques." |
| "Setup
Spells for your Application", by Deborah Kurata, VBPJ, January 1995 |
"Adjust the Setup Wizard's magic potion or use the Setup
Toolkit to create customized, professional setup programs for your
applications." |
| "The
Top Ten Do's of Programming", by Deborah Kurata, VBPJ, December 1994 |
"You've probably learned plenty of programming lessons the hard
way--so it's time to sit back and find out what every programmer should know .
. . the easy way." |
| "Make
the Most of MDI", by Deborah Kurata, VBPJ, August/September 1994 |
"Advanced tips and tricks help you customize your multiple
document interface windows." |
