North Dallas .NET Users Group - NDDNUG: Meetings

What's New in ASP.NET 5

The Admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 23:29:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

What's New in ASP.NET 5

Web development was a different game back in the early 2000s. Early versions of ASP.NET were aimed at Microsoft's existing customer base, and even tried to hide the nature of the web from developers who weren't ready for it. The platform has evolved steadily since the .NET Framework was released, but many of the technical decisions made early in ASP.NET’s life don't make sense in the context of modern web development. By cutting loose some of the baggage from earlier versions, the ASP.NET team has been able to make sweeping changes to bring the framework in line with its lightweight, agile contemporaries. In this presentation, Brian will show how the next version of ASP.NET will be leaner and more flexible than the platform has ever been. Topics covered will include the new command line tools, changes to Visual Studio, cross-platform usage, tag helpers, view components, and more.

Speaker:		Brian Sullivan
Date:		Jan 6^th, 2016
Time:		6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Brian Sullivan is a senior engineer at Clear Measure in Dallas. He got his start in programming maintaining legacy mainframe applications in COBOL at a large trucking company, but quickly realized he needed to find a more productive environment in order to stay sane. He jumped at the opportunity to help transition some of those COBOL applications to .NET, and he hasn’t looked back since. He has been working with Microsoft technologies since the .NET 1.0 days, and is interested in introducing modern web development techniques to the clients he works with. Brian is recipient of the Microsoft MVP award in ASP.NET and a graduate of Harding University.

NDDNUG Kid's Night

We're starting 2016 off at NDDNUG with a new project, learning programming with Scratch! For more information about Scratch, checkout out the website: https://scratch.mit.edu/. To get the most out of the meeting, your child will need to bring a computer.

====== Kid's Night RSVP Here! =======

Sponsors

Thanks to our sponsors for this event:

About integrITalent

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The founders of our company have expertise in developing human capital solutions with the purpose of helping clients and candidates meet their business and career goals. Through this experience we have developed a formula for finding, attracting, and hiring the best fit for our client’s needs. Working with thousands of candidates in various hiring situations allows our team to make the best recommendations for each candidate as they review their personal goals and needs for future employment. Our passion for professional recruiting differentiates our commitment to those we serve.

Texas BBQ, Raspberry Pi 2, and Windows 10

The Admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 23:27:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

Texas BBQ, Raspberry Pi 2, and Windows 10

Windows 10 Core supports development of apps, using XAML and C#, on the Raspberry Pi 2. In this session we will walk through everything necessary to build a BBQ temperature monitor using Windows 10 and a Raspberry Pi 2. This talk will be focused on writing the code for the application, but a step by step set of instructions will be shared for wiring up the hardware as well. You'll leave with a knowledge of how to work with GPIO devices, and some great pointers on BBQ from the Captain of the Improving Enterprises BBQ Team.

(Safety Note: There will not be any fire during the talk, I will be using a water kettle to reproduce the "heat source" in question)

Speaker:		Tim Rayburn
Date:		Dec 2^nd, 2015
Time:		6:00 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Tim Rayburn is a Principal Consultant with Improving Enterprises, a software and project management consulting company in Dallas, TX. Since 2007 he has been annually awarded the Microsoft MVP for Connected Systems Development in recognition of his expertise and community leadership. He is the organizer of Dallas TechFest, where through the work of an amazing staff they bring an incredible multi-technology conference to life every year in Dallas. He is the author of “Entity Framework 4.1: Expert’s Cookbook”, with Devlin Liles, and can be found speaking across the nation of agile process, distributed architecture, and data access technologies. He lives in Arlington Texas with his amazing wife Kate and their loyal dog Gandalf.

NDDNUG Kid's Night!

We're having another kid's night at NDDNUG! We'll be doing more Minecraft programming with the guys from MinecraftU. Also, a number of the kids will be presenting programming projects that they have been working on. Please RSVP if you plan on coming.

For those who haven't come before, you will need to bring a laptop with Minecraft installed on it for your child to participate. Also, be sure to bring your login information for MInecraft.

====== RSVP Here! =======

The Fundamentals of Functional Programming

The Admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 02:00:18 GMT

Meeting Information:

The Fundamentals of Functional Programming

The world operates in functions. Everyday we perform numerous small tasks that lead to some kind of output. That output is then used as an input to another task to produce a different output. Functional Programming is the practice of slicing a problem into smaller consumable units of work so that the connections of inputs to outputs can be pictured simply.

We will explore the fundamentals of thinking as a Functional Programmer, introduce key concepts of the F# language, code an F# solution quickly, and refactor for beautification and simplicity.

Speaker:		Jeremy Bellows
Date:		November 4^th, 2015
Time:		6:00 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Jeremy Bellows is a F# developer working at Match.com. He enjoys learning new languages and concepts, and has published mobile applications. When he is not programming he is reading books or playing guitar.

NDDNUG Kid's Night

MinecraftU will be back to help us learn how to program in Minecraft using the ComputerCraft mod. We'll split the group up so those who haven't been to our previous meetings can get help getting started.

Note: For your child to participate, they will need a laptop with Minecraft installed and a Minecraft account. We do not have extra laptops to use or free licenses to Minecraft, so come prepared!

====== RSVP for Kid's Night Here! =======

Taking advantage of the new wave of .NET build tools

The Admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 11:27:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

Taking advantage of the new wave of .NET build tools

For the decade since it was released, MSBuild has been the standard way to build .NET applications, due in large part to its use in Visual Studio. But while it is a reliable and even extensible tool, configuring anything more than trivial tasks in XML is often a challenging experience. In the past several years, a number of new build tools have been developed to make creating and managing build processes easier. These include Cake, Fake, and PSake. These tools are written in .NET languages (C#, F#, and PowerShell respectively) and allow you to configure your build using a simple DSL, while giving you access to the full .NET Framework when you need it. We will talk about why these tools were created, how they differ from MSBuild and from each other, how to choose one to manage your build, and what the future of the .NET build ecosystem might hold.

Speaker:		David Nelson
Date:		October 7^th, 2015
Time:		6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

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Speaker Bio

David Nelson has been developing in .NET for 12 years. He is a Senior Consultant at ThoughtWorks, where for the past several years he has worked in several different languages and platforms; but he still goes home and works in .NET to soothe his soul. He is passionate about automated testing, build tools, open source, and making software development more efficient. He is also the organizer of the .NET Unboxed conference in October (http://dotnetunboxed.net).

Door Prizes

Make sure to attend, because in addition to our awesome presenter, we have some way cool prizes!

NDDNUG Kid's Night

Note: For your child to participate, they will need a laptop with Minecraft installed and a Minecraft account. We do not have extra laptops to use or free licenses to Minecraft, so come prepared!

====== RSVP for Kid's Night Here! =======

Sponsors

Thanks to our sponsors for this event:

MATRIX

Founded in 1983, MATRIX today is a national Information Technology Solutions provider, producing results for more than 2,300 clients in the last decade. Last year, more than 2,000 MATRIX consultants provided Professional IT Services, Professional IT Staffing, and Telecom Services, helping clients achieve outstanding technology and business success. MATRIX works independently and through partnerships with Microsoft and other vendors and consulting firms. Our solid financial growth, numerous industry accolades, long-tenured associates, satisfied clients and consultants – all bear testament to the great relationships we form with all our stakeholders.

http://www.matrixres.com/

Enterprise Architecture and the Business of Software

The Admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 21:40:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

Enterprise Architecture and the Business of Software

“IT by itself provides no value”. That’s a pretty bold statement and yet that’s where the winds of business are blowing. As a developer or IT professional you spend time understanding new languages and frameworks, but to deepen and broaden your impact, I recommend taking strides in understanding the business.

In this session we’ll focus on the business of software, from financial concepts, metrics, and the future of IT and enterprise architecture in the corporation. We’ll touch on why your CEO and VP may understand the role of technology more comprehensively than they’re given credit for.

As IT likely touches nearly all aspects of your company, going forward IT professionals will need to know more about business and the role IT plays in the broader organization. This session aims to better equip you to talk business with your company leaders or boss and to make yourself or your team more effective.

Speaker:		Tim Barcz
Date:		Sept 2^nd, 2015
Time:		6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Tim Barcz is a seasoned software professional having worked in the technology space for nearly 13 years. In that time he has been recognized as a Microsoft ASPInsider and a Microsoft C# MVP Awardee for contributions to the community. He is an advocate for well-architected systems that grow along with the businesses they serve. For several years he was the director of Marketing for a large ecommerce company before finding him in his current position as Vice President of Application Development for Motorsport Aftermarket Group, a family of top motorcycle related brands and retailers.

NDDNUG Kid's Night

At Kid's Night this month we looked at commands and command blocks in Minecraft and a bit at redstone. For a synopsis and examples of what we covered, you can take a look at Eric's blog post.

====== RSVP for Kids Here! =======

About Minecraft: To be involved in this activity, your child needs to have a laptop which they can use with Minecraft installed on it and a Minecraft account. You can get all that setup at https://minecraft.net/.

Parents: Parents may bring their kids but go in the main room and watch the adult presentation. However, unless you think your child can work independently on this in the kid's room, you should consider staying with them to help them out.

After this month we will begin working on projects that the kids can present to the parents and others. We haven't decided if we will take over the main meeting or have that presentation in the kids room though. Regardless, we figured this would be a good way to get the kids more actively involved in creating things.

Door Prizes

Make sure to attend, because in addition to our awesome presenter, we have some way cool prizes!

Sponsors

Improving is buying our pizza tonight. They are a great local company who have sponsored us before and we're glad to have them with us again. Along with buying the pizza, they'll also be giving away a $50 Visa gift card! You can learn more about Improving at their website or by talking with them at the meeting.

A big thanks to Med Assets for letting us hold our meeting in their facility. It is awesome. You can see more about careers at Med Assets on their website.

Best Practices for Skunkworks RAD with MVC - 0 to MVP in 90 Minutes

The Admin — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:31:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

Best Practices for Skunkworks RAD with MVC - 0 to MVP in 90 Minutes

Using a combination of precognition and blatant disregard for architectural purity, we'll build an MVP in 90 minutes (give or take). Whether it's proving an idea to your boss or client or scratching an idea itch, being able to knock out an MVP in as little time as possible is an important ability in today's agile development environment. We'll combine some prebuilt code that we use at Third Corner with some "learned the hard way" knowledge of what is really important to greenfield an application during the session.

Speaker:		Sean Goodpasture
Date:		August 5^th, 2015
Time:		6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Sean Goodpasture has been developing software professionally since 1996. He is a partner in Third Corner, a local custom development company supporting Oil & Gas as well as Healthcare clients.

NDDNUG Kid's Night

Building off what we have done in previous meetings, in this meeting we will move onto functional/modular programming and work through an example of that on turtles. Specifically, we will make an automated tunnel digger with various functions for edge cases like lava fields, gravel falling into the tunnel, and monster spawning. This will also, of course, function as a refresher on concepts like control structures and argument passing that we have already discussed. If we have time at the end, this transitions smoothly into talks about API's.

If you haven't been before, don't worry. We'll have someone here to help.

====== RSVP Here! =======

Missing Model Mysteries

The Admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 14:14:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

Missing Model Mysteries

Just as most of the universe is thought to be made up of "dark matter" which we can not directly observe, most software is made of of missing models and lurking business requirements. In this session, we'll explore how to identify MissingModels and how to deal with them in Message based systems.

Speaker:		Kijana Woodard
Date:		July 1st, 2015
Time:		6:30 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP for the Adult Meeting Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Kijana Woodard is a highly experienced software developer based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Over a period of 19 years, Kijana has developed a wealth of applications using an array of technologies including C#, ASP.NET MVC, Javascript, HTML/CSS, NServiceBus, RavenDB, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and Redis.

Door Prizes

Make sure to attend, because in addition to our awesome presenter, we have some way cool prizes!

NDDNUG Kid's Night

====== RSVP For Kid's Night Here! =======

Setup

Step One: MultiMC

First we'll want to install MultiMC, a program that makes it easy to install mods and the mod loader.

Navigate to the MultiMC website and find the download link for your OS. There are versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Once you've downloaded the correct version, open that file. On most platforms, this is as simple as double clicking it.
This will display a folder called MultiMC. Drag and drop this folder to extract it to somewhere safe. Choose carefully, as this will be the place your Minecraft game will be installed to.
Open the folder you just extracted and double click on MultiMC.exe (on Mac, drag and drop to install it like any other app).
You will be greeted with a window asking you to select your Java version, if you have more than one. Select the one with the highest number under the Arch column, and click OK.
You are now in the main window of MultiMC!

Step Two: Making The MCU Instance

MultiMC is a program that lets you handle different versions of Minecraft, and different sets of mods, very easily.

Look in the top left of the main MultiMC window for the Create New Instance button, and click it.
In the name box, type in Minecraft U 1.7.10 Opal.
In the window that appears, look for the checkbox marked Import Modpack, and click it.
Paste or type in this URL into the area next to the checkbox. http://minecraftu.org/modpack
Now just click OK.
Congrats! You are now on the most up to date version of the Minecraft U mod pack, and can play on our moderated servers, or alone.

Just double click the new icon in the instances area of MultiMC to start playing!

If you have trouble getting it working, please arrive early so we can help get you started.

During this meeting...

Last time we got started with ComputerCraft with the help of some instructors from Minecraft U. This time we'll move on to some simple programs and automations to make your life in Minecraft a little less tedious and a little more fun. We'll learn how to automatically cut down trees, and how to gather infinite* resources. We'll also talk a little about an experiment that Minecraft U is running on one of our servers, with the option to take part if you want to. From the guys at Minecraft U to you, we look forward to seeing you there!

* Infinity is hard to reach.

P.S. For more info on Minecraft U check our site @ minecraftu.org

NDDNUG Lightning Talks

The Admin — Tue, 19 May 2015 03:57:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

NDDNUG Lighting Talks

We are opening up this meeting for lightning talks. Instead of one interesting person talking, we are going to have a number of interesting people talking. Each talk will be 5-15 minutes long and can theoretically be on anything that might interest the group. And you can be one of those people! Email us at [email protected] if you are interested. We still have room for more!

The current speakers are as follows:

Kijana Woodard - Microservices
David Penton
Eric Sowell - Gulp
Chris Holt - Pattern Matching is your friend
Sean Arme - RFID
Casey Watson - Cloud 101
Russell Durham - Solr
You?

Speaker:		You?
Date:		June 3^rd, 2015
Time:		6:00 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Yours? :)

NDDNUG Kids Night

Held at the same location, one room over is our very first NDDNUG kid's night! MinecraftU is helping us out and will be running this first meeting.

We will use the Minecraft mod ComputerCraft to learn the basics of programming and then apply those skills via your own in-game robots. These robots can do anything, from build you a house to find and mine diamonds for you. The only limit is your ability to direct them. At the advanced level, we’ll discuss the limitations of computers and how to work around them. For ages 8-14 or younger.

Kids will want to bring their own laptops as neither MinecraftU nor NDDNUG will be able to supply them. Minecraft will need to be installed already. It would also make things go more smoothly if the mod is already installed, so do that as well if you can. Note that this is only for the full version of Minecraft, not the pocket edition that people play on their tablets and phones.

If you are interested in bringing your children, please RSVP for yourself above and for your kids below so we can know the rough amount of people coming to both events.

====== RSVP for Your Kids Here! =======

How We Built a Mobile Electronic Health Record App Using Xamarin, Angular, and Web API

The Admin — Sat, 02 May 2015 03:11:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

How We Built a Mobile Electronic Health Record App Using Xamarin, Angular, and Web API

UPDATE: Slides from the meeting

Slideshare

OneDrive

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Learn how our team built a cross-platform mobile electronic health record (EHR) app from scratch in less than a year using Xamarin, Angular, and Web API.

Discover the reason we chose the mix of technologies (Xamarin, Angular, Web API) we did.

You will get an overview of the implementation of the entire application from the front end to the back end. There will be plenty of app demos and code samples.

What will be covered:

The best way to build a cross-platform app
How we combined native Xamarin UI elements with Angular based web views
Our custom JavaScript bridge used to communicate between Angular and Xamarin
Lessons learned about cross-platform app development
Automated E2E testing on devices using Xamarin Test Cloud
Back end implementation using ASP.NET Web API modules

Speaker:		Matt Spradley
Date:		May 6^th, 2015
Time:		6:00 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Matt’s passion is building things. He started programing on an Atari 400 when he was 11. After graduating from A&M with a degree in Electrical Engineering, he spent 5 years in the semiconductor industry before returning to software. He’s cofounded 3 software companies. One resulted in a decent exit. The other two were “learning experiences.” In all 3 companies Matt was responsible for the software design and wrote a lot of the code himself. He is currently in charge of mobile application development at Aprima where his team is building a cross-platform mobile electronic medical record app. Matt has a website at www.mattspradley.com.

Door Prizes

Make sure to attend, because in addition to our awesome presenter, we have some way cool prizes!

Ignition: Geek Parenting’s Lessons Learned…so far

The Admin — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 13:27:00 GMT

Meeting Information:

Ignition: Geek Parenting’s Lessons Learned…so far

“A 12yo presenting App Dev at TED? An 11yo presenting Spark to a tech conference? That’s crazy; my kids just want to play games!”

Do you remember what sparked your interest in technology? Everyone has a different story of how that spark ignited into a fire to #LearnAllTheThings.

In this talk, Cori Drew will share the experiences that–as a geek and a parent–left her surprised and enlightened, and will cover tactical ideas of how to ignite that fire in your own kids. Share in the retrospective that led her daughter from a video-gaming 7yo to an 11yo speaker, and walk away with concepts of how to carry our passion for programming to our youth.

Speaker:		Cori Drew
Date:		April 1^st, 2015
Time:		6:00 PM - 8:30 PM (see here for more detail)
Location:		MedAssets - Plano, TX Maps: Google \| Bing

====== RSVP Here! =======

Speaker Bio

Cori Drew is a Senior Software Consultant at Improving Enterprises in Addison, TX. She started her programming career as a web developer before cutting her OOP teeth (& falling in love with C#) in 2003 in .NET Framework 1.1. Cori was a programmer for 8.5 years before discovering there was a developer community in 2009. Appreciation for growth & learning, enabled by our tech community, has inspired her to try to pay it forward. Cori blogs about tech community & code on her personal blog https://truncatedcodr.wordpress.com/ and can be found on Twitter @coridrew

Door Prizes

Make sure to attend, because in addition to our awesome presenter, we have some way cool prizes!

Sponsors

Thanks to our sponsors for this event:

[email protected]" width="600px" border="0" alt="The Judge Group" />

About The Judge Group

The Judge Group, established in 1970, is a global leader in professional services that provides technology consulting, staffing solutions, and corporate training. Our solutions are delivered through an annual workforce of 4,500 professionals and a network of locations across the United States, Canada and Asia. If you would like to learn more about The Judge Group visit or call 972-661-1915.