Developing Applications Using Microsoft Visual C# 2008: Advanced Topics

Hours of hands-on Content: 40 hours
Days of hands-on Content: 5 days

In this course you'll learn about important development topics that aren't normally covered in a beginning Windows application programming course. Starting with an introduction to .NET interoperability, then covering topics such as Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), and System.Drawing namespace. You'll dig deeper into working with the most complex of Visual Studio's built-in controls, the DataGridView. You’ll also investigate several new Visual Studio 2008 features, including Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), and new support for Office 2007 products using Visual Studio Tools for Office. Then learn how to create custom controls, secure applications and create applications for Windows Mobile devices. You're certain to find many more topics here that will extend your knowledge, your capabilities, and your value as a developer.

In this course, you will learn how to…
• Interoperate between managed code and COM components.
• Communicate using XML Web services, and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).
• Install applications using ClickOnce technology.
• Save and restore nearly any object to a stream, using serialization
• Create and execute workflows, using Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
• Take advantage of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to add features to the .NET Framework.
• Create MDI applications.
• Learn to manage printers, and create free-form documents.
• Display and edit data using the DataGridView control.
• Create owner-drawn controls and non-rectangular forms using the GDI+ and the System.Drawing namespace.
• Create managed applications for Office 2007 products using Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO).
• Extend the functionality of Visual Studio 2008.
• Handle versioning issues with multiple assemblies or applications.
• Create and debug Windows services.
• Build and test mobile applications.
• Read and write XML data using the Document Object Model, and XML readers and writers.
• Perform cascading updates in joined data.
• Easily convert data projects to n-tier distributed applications.
• Create custom and user controls.
• Correctly secure Windows applications.
• Build setup applications.
• Examine existing code using reflection.
• Use distributed client settings in a Windows application.

Prerequisites: The course assumes that students have some programming background. No specific experience with Visual Studio 2008 or the .NET Framework is required, although this course does not focus on programming languages, but rather, on building Windows applications. You may find that it's easier for you to follow the examples in this course if you have some prior experience working with the .NET Framework using Visual C#, or have taken a beginning programming course using Visual C# such as our “Learning to Program using Visual C# 2008” course.

Working with Toolbox Components
• Introducing Components
• Timer Component
• BackgroundWorker Component
• FileSystemWatcher Component
• Process Component
• ServiceController Component
• EventLog Component

Windows Communication Foundation
• What is Windows Communication Foundation?
• WCF Building Blocks
• Hosting a WCF Service
• Self-Hosting the WCF Service
• Configuring WCF Services

Serialization
• Introducing Serialization
• Serializing Complex Objects
• Customizing the Serialization Process

Creating and Displaying Reports
• Reports in Data Applications
• Using the Report Designer
• Grouping and Filtering Reports
• One-to-Many Relationships in Reports

Windows Workflow Foundation
• What is Windows Workflow Foundation?
• Creating Your First Workflow
• Activites
• Using Rules in Workflows
• Hosting a Workflow in a Windows Applications
• Host/Workflow Communication
• State Machine Workflows

Filling the .NET Gaps with WMI
• Introducing WMI
• Getting Started with WMI
• WMI Queries, Properties and Methods
• WMI Server Explorer Extensions

WMI Events and Asynchronous Handling
• Creating WMI Event Handlers
• Working with WMI Asynchronously
• WMI Server Explorer Extensions and Events

Creating MDI Applications
• MDI Applications
• MDI Parent and MDI Child Forms
• Managing Open Windows
• Manage Menus
• Working with Open Forms

Printers and Printing
• The PrintDocument Class
• The PageSettings Class
• The PrinterSettings Class
• Working with Print-Related Controls
• A More Complex Report

Examining the DataGridView
• Controlling Appearance in Grids
• Work with Data in Grids

Creating Rich User Interfaces with GDI+
• Introducing Drawing in the .NET Framework
• Creating Owner-Drawn Controls
• Creating Non-Rectangular Forms
• Creating a Custom DataGridView Control Column

Creating Office Applications Using Visual Studio 2008
• Introducing Office Projects in Visual Studio 2008
• Ribbon Customization and Custom Task Panes
• Work with Word 2007's Content Controls
• Create an Outlook Form Region

Extending Visual Studio 2008
• Getting Started
• Creating Your Own Item Templates
• Creating Your Own Project Templates
• Using and Creating Code Snippets
• Using Macros to Automate the IDE

Handling Versioning Issues
• Before You Begin
• Assemblies
• Private Assemblies
• Shared Assemblies

Creating Windows Services
• Introducing Windows Services
• Build Your First Windows Service
• The FileWatcher Service

Building Mobile Applications
• .NET Compact Framework
• Developing for Devices
• WindowsMobile Class Library
• Mobile Database Applications

Reading and Writing XML Using the XML DOM
• Getting Started
• Reading XML
• Working with Nodes
• Creating and Modifying XML
• Dealing with Errors

Using the XMLReader, XMLWriter and XPath to Work with XML
• Getting Started
• Reading XML with XMLReader
• Writing XML with XMLWriter
• Searching XML with XPath

Data Improvements
• Hierarchical Updates
• Caching Data Locally
• Creating N-Tier Data Applications
• Building Data Applications with LINQ to SQL

Creating Custom Controls
• Control Creation in Windows Forms
• Drawing Your Own Custom Controls
• Creating Composite Controls

Securing Windows Applications
• Security in the .NET Framework
• Code Access Security
• Checking for Permissions
• Role-Based Security

Building Setup Applications
• Windows Installer Deployment
• Creating a Setup Project
• Customizing a Setup Project

Attributes and Reflection
• Introducing Attributes
• Creating and Using Custom Attributes
• Introducing Reflection
• Using Reflection to Perform Late Binding

Client Application Services
• Membership, Roles and Profiles on the Web
• Client Application Services

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