Gadget RealWorld Experiences

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(No Transcript)
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Gadget Real-World Experiences
Jean-Luc David Christian Beauclair Microsoft
Canada jeanlucd_at_microsoft.com christbe_at_microsoft.c
om blogs.msdn.com/cdndevs
Scott Howlett Jim Schwartz Imason inc
Scott.Howlett_at_imason.com Jim.Schwartz_at_imason.com
http//blogs.imason.com/scott.howletthttp//blogs
.imason.com/jim.schwartz
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Agenda

• Introduction
• Gadgets weve built
• Inside the code
• Challenges
• Gadget Tips and tricks
• Summary

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Introduction

• Scott Howlett is a Principal with imason inc. in
  Toronto, Canada. Scott is also a Microsoft
  Regional Director.
• Jim Schwartz is an Internet Architect _at_ imason
  inc and has been involved in multiple Vista
  Gadget development projects. Jim is also a
  SharePoint specialist.

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Gadgets weve built

• Workopolis gadget displays number of jobs and
  resumes for a particular industry in a particular
  city.
• Savings and event calendar mini-app gadget built
  for a large Canadian financial institution.

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Demo Watch the Gadgets in Action!
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Inside the code

• Flyouts
• Docked / undocked views
• Gadget timeouts
• Exception and Trace Logging
• Storing local gadget XML data
• Signed gadgets
• Debugging gadgets in Visual Studio 2005
• Integrating 3rd party controls

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Challenges

• Lack of IntelliSense
• Debugging is tricky
• Gadgets arent meant to be full-blown
  applications
• Writing data access code can be tedious
• Gadgets dont integrate easily with ASP.NET AJAX
  currently

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10 Gadget Tips
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10 Gadget Tips

• 10. Catch exceptions properly
• 9. Use caution with flyout timeouts
• 8. Flyout objects can be referenced from the
  gadget
• 7. Use Docked/undocked views
• 6. For overflow, use Div tags with scrollbars

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10 Gadget Tips

• 5. Use caution when displaying dates
• 4. Do not store persistent data in gadget folder
• 3. Use a clean folder structure and naming
  convention
• 2. Sign your gadget with a digital id
• 1. Do not try to build too much functionality
  into a gadget

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Summary

• Gadgets should be mini-applications
• Gadgets can be tricky to debug
• Gadgets are still evolving

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Useful Links

• Gadget Links
• Sidebar Gadget Development Overview
  http//microsoftgadgets.com/Sidebar/DevelopmentOve
  rview.aspx
• 10 Vista Sidebar Gadget Development Tips
  http//blogs.imason.com/jim.schwartz/archive/2007/
  03/20/10782.aspx
• Gadget Corner Sidebar Security
  http//blogs.msdn.com/sidebar/archive/2006/08/31/7
  33880.aspx
• Gadget Development Overviewhttp//msdn2.microsof
  t.com/en-us/library/ms723694.aspx
• Gadget Object Referencehttp//msdn2.microsoft.co
  m/en-us/library/aa965852.aspx
• Windows RSS Platform FeedsManager
  Objecthttp//msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/m
  s684749.aspx

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Contact Information

• Scott Howlett Principal imason inc.
• Scott.howlett_at_imason.com
• http//blogs.imason.com/scott.howlett
• Jim Schwartz Internet Architect imason inc.
• Jim.schwartz_at_imason.com
• http//blogs.imason.com/jim.schwartz
• 10 Vista Sidebar Gadget Development Tips
  http//blogs.imason.com/jim.schwartz/archive/2007/
  03/20/10782.aspx

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