IndyNDA

All Good Things…

IndyNDAThis isn’t the post I wanted to write tonight but I knew the time was coming. The leadership of the Indianapolis .NET Developers Association (IndyNDA) announced in its LinkedIn group that its December meeting will be its last.

IndyNDA has had a good run. Having endured for nearly 12 years it has been a cornerstone of the Indianapolis development community. When I moved to Indianapolis seven years ago it was the go-to place for all things .NET. Having come from a small user group in Fort Wayne I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of IndyNDA meetings at first but it has been part of my life most of the time I’ve lived here, increasingly so over the past four years.

I credit IndyNDA for helping craft me into the developer I am today. Over time IndyNDA broke me out of my shell. Through IndyNDA I’ve learned about things I probably would never been exposed to; I’ve formed relationships with people I’d probably never have met; and I’ve had opportunities I’d probably never have found on my own. I can’t thank the people of IndyNDA enough for its impact on me.

While I’m sad to see the group end I understand. The world has changed a lot in the past decade. When IndyNDA started it was the only game in town. Back then we didn’t have social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn; we didn’t have answer sites like StackExchange; and we didn’t have webcasts of every major development conference. All of this comes at a price though and in this case it’s that groups like IndyNDA have diminished importance.

IndyNDA may be coming to an end but I have high hopes for the future of the Indianapolis development community. Per the announcement IndyTechFest will be making a comeback next year and there are certainly other events around town as evidenced by a quick Meetup search. In the meantime though I’d like to thank Brad Jones, Dave Leininger, Dan Rigsby, Joel Dart, Alex Gheith, and everyone else that has led the group through the years. Your contributions are appreciated.

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Faking It Slides Available

Thanks to everyone that attended one of my Microsoft Fakes talks this week. I hope the sessions were beneficial. I just uploaded the slides to SlideShare for you to review at your leisure.

If you attended one of my sessions could do me a quick favor by taking a moment to rate the talk on SpeakerRate?

NUFW (6/12/2012)
IndyNDA (6/14/2012)

Thanks!

Upcoming Talks

If you’re interested in learning about the Fakes framework (formerly Microsoft Moles) that’s included with Visual Studio 2012 you have two opportunities to do so this week.  Those in Fort Wayne, Indiana should attend tomorrow’s (June 12) NUFW meeting.  If Indianapolis is more convenient, feel free to attend Thursday’s IndyNDA meeting instead.  Of course, if you just want to heckle me attending both is also an option!

If either of these events interest you please check the appropriate group’s site for logistics.  I hope to see you there!

IndyNDA – Your Spark Razored my NHaml

When Jay Harris told me at KalamazooX that he was going to be speaking at IndyNDA soon I got really excited. That’s why I’m upset that for the first time in nearly two years I can’t make it!  On the bright side, I’ll be hanging out with my wife in Las Vegas as we celebrate our 10 year anniversary.

This month Jay is going to discuss a few of the ASP.NET MVC view engines, namely Spark, Razor, and NHaml. Jay is a great speaker and an all around good guy so if you can make this event I highly recommend it.

This month’s meeting will be at:

Wiley Publishing
10475 Crosspoint Blvd
Indianapolis, IN 46256

IndyNDA – Testing Code From The Pit Of Despair

It’s the second week of February so if you read this blog with any frequency you know what that means.  That’s right, IndyNDA is this Thursday (9 February)!  This month we’re fortunate to have Phil Japikse returning to discuss testing legacy code.

Michael Feathers defines Legacy Code as any code that doesn’t have automated tests, and you agree that automated tests are an important facet of successful software development. Then it happens – you get your next assignment, and it’s your worst nightmare! You have to maintain and enhance a large application that has no tests in place, and there are parts that are just plain scary. Where do you start? Traditional Test Driven Development techniques don’t typically work, since they focus on an inside-out development paradigm.

I will show you the patterns and practices that will help you turn the scary big ball of mud into a tested code base.

I’m excited to have Phil back.  I’ve heard him speak many times and have always found his talks both informative and entertaining.

This month we’re meeting in the 2nd floor conference room at 900 E. 96th Street.  Registration begins at 5:30 and the main event kicks off at 6:00.  Snacks and soft drinks will be provided.

I hope to see you there!

IndyNDA – Panel Discussion on Technical Screening

The January IndyNDA meeting is this Thursday!  Join us for a panel discussion on technical screening.  Mark Huebner will moderate the discussion with our panelists including Ed Herceg (Robert Half Technology), Dale Brubaker (Interactive Intelligence), and yours truly.  Audience participation is encouraged.

Some say companies and recruiting firms are using tests based on incorrect assumptions on how developers do their work. C# and jQuery and JavaScript and VB and the .NET framework continue to offer new capabilities. The complexity has generally not been a problem for you because you make liberal use of IntelliSense, online help, books online, reference books, Google searches, and technical online forums. You know how to quickly find information when you can’t remember specific syntax. So, can you pass that technical screening test? Should you need to be tested? Let’s find out

Don’t forget about the C# and JavaScript SIGs after the main event either.  I’m not sure what the JavaScript group is covering but for the C# group Alex Gheith and I will be leading a discussion over a few of the items in chapter 1 of Effective C# by Bill Wagner.

As always registration begins at 5:30 with the main event starting at 6:00.  Thanks to our sponsors food and drink will be provided before the meeting.

Please be aware that our meeting location has changed.  For January and February we’ll be meeting in the 2nd floor conference room in Parkwood 9.  For those that remember when we had meetings in the 5th floor conference room in the same building rest assured, the 2nd floor conference room is better suited to our needs.

I hope to see you there!

June Speaking Engagement – IndyNDA

I’ll be speaking at the 126th meeting of IndyNDA. In this session I’ll cover Parallel Programming in .NET 4 and as a bonus show some of the features included in the Visual Studio Async CTP.  I hope to see you there!

Date/Time:
6/9/2011 6:00 PM
(5:30 registration)

Location:
Management Information Disciplines, LLC
9800 Association Court
Indianapolis, IN 46280
[Map]

Be sure the check the IndyNDA site for full logistics and other information.

Upcoming Events in Indianapolis

There are a few interesting software development related events coming up in Indianapolis over the next few weeks.

 

Indy TFS User Group

Date/Time:
10/13/2010 6:30 PM

Location:
Microsoft Corporation
500 E. 96th St.
Suite 460
Indianapolis, IN 46240
[Map]

Web Site:
https://www.clicktoattend.com/ invitation.aspx?code=151376

The first meeting of the Indianapolis TFS User Group will feature Paul Hacker introducing many of the Application Lifecycle Management tools in Visual Studio 2010.

I’ve been reading Professional Application Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio 2010 and am pretty excited about many of the features.  I hope to use this session to expand upon what is included in the book.

This event is free to attend.  Follow the link to the right to register.

IndyNDA

Date/Time:
10/14/2010 6:00 PM

Location:
Management Information Disciplines, LLC
9800 Association Court
Indianapolis, IN 46280
[Map]

Web Site:
http://indynda.org/

The October IndyNDA meeting will be presented by the group’s president, Dave Leininger.  Dave will be discussing ways to graphically represent complex relationships in data.

Three special interest groups (SIGs) also meet immediately following the main event.  The SIGs were on hiatus last month so I’ll be giving my introduction to dynamic programming in C# talk this month.

IndyNDA meetings are free to attend thanks to the sponsors.  No registration is required.  Regular attendees should note the new location.

Indy GiveCamp

Date/Time:
11/5/2010 – 11/7/2010

Location:
Management Information Disciplines, LLC
9800 Association Court
Indianapolis, IN 46280
[Map]

Web Site:
http://www.indygivecamp.org/

“Indy GiveCamp is a weekend-long collaboration between local developers, designers, database administrators, and non-profits. It is an opportunity for the technical community to celebrate and express gratitude for the contributions of these organizations by contributing code and technical know-how directly towards the needs of the groups.”

I can’t be participate in this year’s event due to prior family commitments but I’ve heard enough good things about the GiveCamp events in other cities to know that it’s a great cause.  There is still a need for volunteers so if you can spare the weekend please volunteer.  One of 18 charities will thank you for it.

IndyNDA – Windows Phone 7 Application Platform

This month’s IndyNDA meeting is tomorrow, September 9, 2010. Come hear Bill Steele from Microsoft speak about the Windows Phone 7 Application Platform.

Following the main meeting the three special interest groups (SIGs) will meet.

ASP.NET SIG: Continuing work on an ongoing MVC knowledge base application.

C# SIG: I’ll be presenting an introduction to dynamic programming in C#.

SharePoint SIG: Topic to be determined.

Registration opens at 5:30 PM and thanks to our sponsors food and drinks are provided until 6:00.  I hope to see you there.

Location:

Nine Parkwood Crossing
5th Floor Conference Room
900 EAST 96TH STREET
Indianapolis, IN 46240