Joshua Flanagan

UPDATED: The download links now refer to the ProfileView homepage, where you can find the latest info and grab the latest files

ASP.NET really goes a long way toward reducing the amount of code we have to write. During Scott Guthrie's TechEd talk about ASP.NET "Whidbey", he demonstrated how to build a personalized data entry application. When it came time to add the authentication system, he added 2 textboxes and a button to create the typical login page. He went on to show how easy it was to add a little code to integrate the page with Membership Services, to perform the actual user verification. He then deleted the code and the controls saying "you COULD do all of that, OR you can just drag this new Login control to a form, and you're done.". Wow, neat.

But now you need a way to add new users. So he again went through the exercise of building up a form with textboxes to collect user data, and wrote the code to add the user to the Membership Services provider. "You COULD do all of that, OR you can just drag this new CreateUserWizard control to a form, and you're done." Woah.

So finally, he demonstrates the new Personalization Service, which allows you to associate profile properties with each visitor to your website. He uses the new WebAdmin configuration tool to create a profile definition containing Nickname and Favorite Color. He builds a simple form with textboxes for Nickname and Favorite Color and shows how you can programmatically view and edit the user's profile using the strongly-typed User.Profile property. "You COULD do all of that, OR you can just drag this.... ah, just kidding. You do have to create your form..." Laughter from the crowd.

My first thought was "why"? I bet it would be pretty easy to create a new control that encapsultes viewing and editing a user's profile. I had never created an ASP.NET server control before, mostly because I never had the itch to scratch. Scott's little joke now had me looking for the calomine.

Introducing ProfileView, the first ASP.NET server control from FlimFlan.com. All you have to do is drag it onto a form, and without writing any code, you have a page that allows users to view and edit their profile information.

Please download it, give it a try, and tell me what you think.

NOTES:

• This control was developed with Visual Studio 2005 May CTP distributed at TechEd. I do not know if it is compatible with any other preview release.
• Source code is not included in the download, but I don't have any problem giving it out if anyone is interested.
• There are many features I have yet to implement (ReadOnly mode, support for profile property groups, etc). This should definitely be considered a "preview" release. I hope to have a more feature complete version by the time VS2005 Beta 1 is released.

The version of Visual Studio .NET given out at TechED (May CTP) has a bug that prevents you from loading the documention (online help).  Fortunately, Fredrik has posted the fix.

Up until about a week ago, I didn't think much of the TabletPC.  I had never used one, and I assumed it was mostly just an enlarged PocketPC, with all of the user input difficulties that go along with not having a keyboard.  Then I had a chance to view the Channel9 video that Scoble was hyping.  The context-based recognition blew me away.  This thing is for real.

If you aren't sold yet, go watch the video.  And if you are at TechEd - go do the TabletPC Hands On Lab in 6F.  Unlike in most retail stores, they have actual TabletPCs (with the stylus!) that you can use.  The lab walks you through using the TabletPC, as well as developing applications using the TabletPC SDK and VS.NET, and creating your own context definitions for “non ink aware” applications.  It takes about 45 minutes to go through all the labs, but it is worth it.  You really get a feel for what the platform is all about.  As a bonus, when you complete the lab, you get a 32MB USB drive (make sure to get a stamp at the lab, then bring it to the Microsoft Pavillion in the Exhibit Hall to get your drive).  The only drawback is that you are left REALLY wanting to buy a new TabletPC.

Seriously, that guy is the best.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if you ever have a chance to see Scott Guthrie talk, do it.  He has all of the qualities of a great tech presenter: he knows his stuff inside and out, he presents through code - not slides, and he will answer all of your questions.  I bolded and underlined that last statement for a reason (I probably should have increased the font and set it to all caps too).  I don't simply mean his presentations cover all the material you'd ever want to know (though they come close).  He stated explicitly in the beginning of the talk (paraphrasing) “If you have any questions, come talk to me when I'm done, I will stick around and answer questions, as long as it takes”.  And he means it.  That is exactly why I loved TechEd last year, and was so eager to get back this year.  Scott makes TechEd.  He just held court on ASP.NET 2.0 for over 4 hours!  Starting at 3:45pm, he gave back to back sessions (DEV313/DEV314) that were really just 2 parts of 1 session, with an intermission.  He then took questions at the front of the room for about 15 minutes, before getting kicked out because someone else had to use the room.  Instead of calling it a night (it is 7pm at this point), he invited everyone to walk with him to the cabana area where he continued to answer questions until after 8pm.

If you use Visual Studio.NET and are at TechEd - go see Cyrus (didn't catch his last name) in the Microsoft pavillion of the exhibit hall.  He works on the compiler/IDE team at Microsoft and gives a great demonstration of the new features coming in VS2005.  I had read about the new features, and played around with the pre-release versions a little, so I was already anxious to get my hands on it.  But after watching Cyrus's demo, I can't wait.  The “code definition” window is ingenious.  When you place your cursor on a variable in your code editor, the code definition window displays the source code where the variable is declared.  Not just the definition of the type that you might get in a tooltip, but the actual lines of code (a few before and after) so you get the context of the declaration, as well as any comments, etc.  One of my most used keyboard shortcuts is “Go to definition”.  With this new feature, it will be completely unnecessary.