MSDN Smart Client Developer Center: Rebooted

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The MSDN Smart Client Developer Center has recently received a face lift... Chris Sells joins me as co-editor for the new and improved site.

'The goal of the site is to help you understand smart clients, what they are, when they are most appropriate, and most importantly, the best and most efficient way to construct them.'

Whether or not you are new to smart client development be sure to check out the revised definition. This definition is a guide to the properties that a smart client application may possess.

*All* smart client applications utilize local computing resources for rendering rich user experiences on hardware ranging from Smartphones to desktop PCs and everything in between (ie Pocket PCs, Tablet PCs, laptop computers). Client side code is able interact with client-side (local) software resources enabling developers to incorporate functionality from these applications into their own solutions. Network issues such as latency, performance and intermittent connectivity are mitigated by smart client applications through client side caching techniques; this is another example of the use of local resources, in this case storage. Various sets of techniques, guidance and technologies exist to ease the burdon of client deployment, here are a few links:

  • .NET Compact Framework Deployment - view
  • Updater Application Block - view
  • ClickOnce *new to the .NET Framework 2.0, currently in beta; grab the .NET Framework 2.0 Beta 1 SDK from here* - view

A bunch of smart client architectural guidance is available here.

Recently published articles on the MSDN Smart Client Developer Center include:

  • Wonders of Windows Forms: Custom Data Binding - view
    Michael Weinhardt covers several designer improvements and additions that allow you to take a single custom type and turn it into a full-fledged list data source—without a single line of code. We also take a look at future enhancements you'll see in Beta 2.    
  • Migrating eVB Forms to Visual Basic .NET - view
    Learn how to port the GUI part of an eMbedded Visual Basic application to .NET Compact Framework, using Visual Basic .NET. 
  • Tailor Your Application by Building a Custom Forms Designer with .NET - view
    Learn about design-time environment fundamentals, the forms designer architecture, the implementation of the forms designer in Visual Studio .NET and services you need to implement to write a forms designer for your own application.    
  • Build a Professional Stock Allocation System Using Visual Studio Tools for Office, Version 2003 - view
    Learn how to work more efficiently by merging the rich user experience provided by Office 2003 with the enterprise-level development tools provided by Visual Studio 2003 and the .NET Framework 1.1.

Oh if you have a smart client application or applications that you would like to share with the world, then please drop me an email.

Finally suggestions, comments and/or criticism regarding the site are always welcomed. Blast them to scdc@microsoft.com.

I hope that you find the new and improved MSDN Smart Client Developer Center useful. -j