DreamBig Technologies

Forum NOKIA DEVELOPER CONFERENCE '2009, INDIA

Posted by DreamBig | 8:43 PM

It's back...Forum Nokia Developer Conference 2009, in Bangalore on January 20th, 2009..

Nokia Developer Conference 2009 is a movement by Forum Nokia to share and demonstrate the technological advancements & opportunities in the field of Mobile VAS.

With the rapid expansion of mobile phones, tele-density and Next Generation Network (NGN) services many more such novelties are in store for Indian population with mobile phone services and broadband services at the centre of innovation. Telecommunications had traditionally been a voice communication service. The services today have moved beyond their fundamental role of voice communications to a spectrum of non-core services, which in telecommunication parlance is called Value Added Services (VAS).

While we are witnessing an unprecedented growth in the Mobile space, the time is conducive for the developers (Mobile & IT) to dream, leverage the growth by creating applications that benefits millions. Dream. Create. Benefit

In all, Nokia Developer Conference 09 promises to bring developers a Forum where best minds in the industry meet and discuss the evolution of the MOBILE VAS INDUSTRY and what the future holds. Hence, from trends to technology to developer evangelization, you can expect all at the Nokia Developer Conference 2009.

So, whether you are a IT or Mobile Application developer, an aggregator, an operator, a content provider, a game developer, an IT or Internet company, a publisher, a retailer or even an analyst, You can’t afford to miss the Infinite Possibilities at Nokia Developer Conference 2009.

Meet the industry experts and have a networking lunch with your peers at Nokia Developer Conference 2009. You even stand a chance to win cool mobile and other gifts from Forum Nokia.

Register Now to avail special discounts and be a part of INFINITE POSSIBILITIES.

It's time to dream big and explore infinite possibilities — and it's time to benefit from these possibilities. Register at Nokia Developer Conference 2009 for technology presentations, solutions to mobile application developers challenges, insights from industry experts, growth projections for the mobile industry, and more. Nokia Developer Conference 2009 is where real stories and original thinking will be shared, where collaborations can lead to innovation, and where you can bond with like-minded peers, create partnerships, and benefit in a big way.

There will be sessions on whole lot of topics which include Mobile VAS Industry & its future.
Also the evolution of Mobile Technology like the technology used by mobile application developers (Java,Symbian,OpenSource & others) ,its advents & what all applications can be developed using them, with industry experts & experienced developers showcasing their talent & expertise. On the whole a lot of things that no one can miss it.

So be there to experience it.

Click to Register & know the details.

Visit http://www.nokiadevcon.in & http://www.nokiadevcon.in/session.html for further details.

New official .net logo: "wave"

Posted by DreamBig | 11:22 PM

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Reading Scott Hanselman's post I've learned that, during PDC 2008, the 8-year old .net logo was updated.

I think "the wave" is very cool!

Get free Microsoft software, DreamSpark India Open

Posted by DreamBig | 8:34 PM

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DreamSpark is an excellent initiative by Microsoft to enable students access premium Microsoft software at no charge. We have already seen its roll out in other countries.

DreamSpark India is live and kicking now. It allows students in India to download Microsoft developer and design tools at no charge. Students can access software like: Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Windows Server 2003, SQL Server 2005, Microsoft Expression Studio.

Here is simple procedure to get going:

Select and Visit partner location near your place.
Show your college ID card & collect software DVD.
Then get verified & enter 25 digit key found on the DVD.
Login using Live ID and complete verification process.
Download License keys from DreamSpark website.

DreamSpark is great opportunity to get Microsoft software free and play around with it on your home computer. You might just find something real interesting while working with the software. This may even define your future career / profession, all this will cost just $0 (oops - Rs0)!

Two approaches to redirection in ASP.NET

Posted by DreamBig | 9:23 PM

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Directing a user to another page or resource is a common aspect of a web application. The user may initiate the transfer to another page any number of ways, including clicking a button or link or selecting a value in a drop-down list.

ASP.NET provides a few ways to move to different pages. Here's a look at these options, along with commentary on when you should use which approach.

Client vs. server

A key aspect of the various ways to send a user to another page within an ASP.NET application is where the transfer occurs; that is, it is handled within the client browser or on the web server. The following list outlines options for controlling page navigation.

Response.Redirect: the Redirect method of the Response object provides a way to implement client-side redirection.
Server.Transfer: the Transfer method of the Server object performs redirection using the server and avoiding HTTP requests.
Server.Execute: the Execute method allows you to call another URL without actually navigating to the page. The page is executed and control returns to the current page when finished.

Let's take a closer look at each approach.

Response.Redirect
The default behaviour of the Response.Redirect method is execution of the current page halts, and the user is sent to the new URL. The web server issues HTTP headers and sends a 302 response to the client browser; this instructs the client to make redirected calls to the target URL. The result is two server requests for each redirection: the original and redirected requests. The following C# snippet shows it in action:

Response.Redirect("http://www.news.com");

Now, the Redirect method has two signatures with the second format accepting another Boolean parameter that signals whether execution of the current page should terminate (the default behaviour). We could tell the system to continue execution of the current page while redirecting the user to the News.com site with the following snippet:

Response.Redirect("http://www.news.com", false);

Server.Transfer
The Server.Transfer method transfers the execution of a target URL to the server and halts execution of the current page. The result is only one request (as opposed to the two involved with the Response.Redirect method) since the server does not notify the client browser of the change. The experience can be a little disconcerting for users since the page address does not change in the browser. This C# snippet shows how you may use this method.

Server.Transfer("/default.aspx");

When using Server.Transfer, the target URL must be a virtual path on the same server since the web server's worker process is used, so you can't use an address containing "http" or "https". It has three signatures, with a second variation allowing you to transfer control to an IHttpHandler and the third adding a second parameter to the first version; whereas, the second value is a Boolean signalling whether the current form's querystring and Form collections are preserved.

The PreviousPage property of the Page class provides code access to properties of the previous page in the browsing session, so Form and querystring variables are persisted between pages whereas they are not when using Response.Redirect.

Server.Execute
The Server.Execute is a bit antiquated, as there are other ways to accomplish the task, but it basically allows you to execute a resource request without leaving the current page. It has five signatures, but the basic version accepts a path to a resource as the following snippet displays:

Server.Execute(ResourcePath);

Pros and cons of each approach

Redirecting a user to another web resource is feasible in ASP.NET using one of the techniques discussed. However, you may be wondering why you would choose one approach over the other. The following list covers some of the advantages or disadvantages of Server.Transfer and Response.Redirect.

AJAX usage: the lack of browser interaction with the Server.Transfer method means it may break some AJAX and/or JavaScript functionality.
Bookmarking: since Server.Transfer does its work on the server, the address within the client browser is not updated. The user sees the previous page's address while viewing a new page. Consequently, the user is unable to bookmark certain pages.
Page refreshes: there is an issue when a true value is used with the second parameter of the Server.Transfer method. When users refresh a page located via this approach, it can trigger an invalid ViewState error message. This can be alleviated by disabling the enableViewStateMac property on a page, but this isn't the best approach to security.
Performance: Response.Redirect introduces an extra call while making the round trip between client and server; since there is only one call with Server.Transfer, it offers better performance.
Scalability: the extra round trips associated with using Response.Redirect are often stated as a drawback with using it. However, I have seen it used in large applications without experiencing any performance issues.
Errors: while Server.Transfer can cause some user confusion as the URL displayed in the browser address bar, it can also lead to some confusion with error logging, as the page URL recorded during logging will display incorrectly.
Basic security: an interesting twist with using Server.Transfer is the ability to send data to another page without the user seeing it. This is enabled via the use of the QueryString, which is appended to the end of the target address. This new address will not show in the browser address bar with Server.Transfer, so it offers a simple layer of security. Of course, the Response.Redirect approach makes the QueryString visible to the user.

Usage depends on the situation

ASP.NET offers plenty of options when tackling a development task. The Response.Redirect and Server.Transfer methods provide two ways to redirect users to new URLs. Each method offers its own set of positive attributes, so deciding which one to use is really up to the developer's preference.

Which approach do you prefer when implementing such functionality in your applications? Have you had situations in which Server.Transfer caused problems with the user community? Share your thoughts with the Web Developer community.