SQL Data Services: The Relational Database of the Azure Services Platform

.NET RIA Services relies heavily on metadata annotations for expressing intent beyond what can be inferrd via convention. For example, validation rules on entities and members can be declared as annotations, which then enable a variety of consumption scenarios. We also have metadata for describing model aspects in DAL-agnostic fashion, and hints for automatic UI-generation. What we have today is just a first step.

VPL, part of Robotics Developer Studio is intended for novice programmers, but is also useful for testing and prototyping. We write a simple serial port service that allows you to send and receive data.Trevor TaylorMSDN Magazine February 2010

Learn all about Microsoft's Windows Azure platform at the architectural level and how it addresses enterprise cloud computing concerns including economics, security, storage and more. Included are an Azure pricing table and a sample cost calculator.Hanu KommalapatiMSDN Magazine February 2010

To better understand how SOA patterns can be applied to Windows Azure deployments, we walk you through a scenario in which a bank moves its services to the cloud.Thomas Erl, Arman Kurtagic, Herbjörn WilhelmsenMSDN Magazine January 2010

Yes, you can run background processes in the cloud. Kevin Hoffman and Nate Dudek use a shopping cart example to demonstrate how to build an application engine as well as implement asynchronous messaging and processing using Azure Storage.Kevin Hoffman, Nathan DudekMSDN Magazine January 2010

Many early adopters cloud platforms have questions about security. We review some of the cryptography services and providers in Windows Azure along with some security implications for applications in the cloud.Jonathan WiggsMSDN Magazine January 2010

Charles Petzold continues his investigation into robust XAML coding made possible by Windows Presentation Foundation, this time tackling the complicated process of creating line charts.Charles PetzoldMSDN Magazine January 2010

Building an NHibernate-based desktop application isn't any harder than building a web application, and in many cases NHibernate simplifies elements of session handling and concurrency.Oren EiniMSDN Magazine December 2009

Kirk Evans shows how to take advantage of SharePoint 2010 Business Connectivity Services (BCS) to develop solutions with deep integration of external data and services. BCS builds upon its BDC predecessor in the key areas of presentation, connectivity, tooling and lifecycle management.Kirk EvansMSDN Magazine December 2009

This month we look at tools for enhancing the LINQ to SQL and Entity Framework designers, Oren Eini's .NET development blog, Visual Studio tab customization, and more.Scott MitchellMSDN Magazine December 2009