.NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ)

The next big challenge in programming technology is to reduce the complexity of accessing and integrating information from relational databases and XML.

Rather than adding relational or XML-specific features to our programming languages at runtime, we can take a more general approach and could add general purpose query facilities to the .NET Framework that apply to all sources of information, not just relational or XML data. This facility is called .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ).

.NET Language Integrated Query defines a set of general purpose standard query operators that allow traversal, filter, and projection operations to be expressed in a direct yet declarative way in any .NET-based programming language. The standard query operators allow queries to be applied to any IEnumerable-based information source.

The extensibility of the query architecture is that it can be used to provide implementations that work over both XML and SQL data. The query operators over XML (XLinq) use an efficient, easy-to-use in-memory XML facility to provide XPath/XQuery functionality in the host programming language. The query operators over relational data (DLinq) build on the integration of SQL-based schema definitions into the CLR type system.

LINQ is built entirely on general purpose language features, some of which are new to C# 3.0 and Visual Basic 9.0. Each of these features has utility of its own, yet collectively these features provide an extensible way to define queries and queryable API’s.

In general, the developer is free to use named methods, anonymous methods, or lambda expressions with query operators. Lambda expressions have the advantage of providing the most direct and compact syntax for authoring. More importantly, lambda expressions can be compiled as either code or data, which allows lambda expressions to be processed at runtime by optimizers, translators, and evaluators.

Note: Lambda expressions are similar to CLR delegates and must adhere to a method signature defined by a delegate type.

eg for Lamda:

IEnumerable<string> expr = from s in names

where s.Length == 5

orderby s

select s.ToUpper();

The code written above is equivalent to this lamda expression:

Eg IEnumerable<string> expr = names

.Where(s => s.Length ==5)

.OrderBy(s => s)

.Select(s => s.ToUpper());

Web 2.0 T shirts!!

Web 2.0 T -Shirts......!!!! what next..???.This is amazing....Guys check this out

I’m as guilty as everyone else. I’ve tasted the artificial fruit flavor of the Web 2.0 Kool-Aid and I loved it. I’ve evangelized every new service and site into oblivion. I’ve knowingly touted a service which I knew had no lasting power in this world of tech start-ups. I’ve been thoroughly tempted by the snake of the Internet garden of knowledge and taken a bite out of the Web 2.0 apple.

When tech observer and PR visionary Steve Rubel wrote an article back last fall titled “The Web 2.0 is Skunk Drunk on Its Own Kool-Aid“, I doubt he knew how much of an impact it would have on tech culture. How much of a lasting shock wave it would cast through the world of the new tech evangelism movement. In fact, the article had so much of an influence that there is now a T-Shirt to accompany the articles premise.

The “Web 2.Oh Yeah!” T-Shirt is a perfect addition to your Web 2.0 loving uniform. Add it to your closet with the rest of your start-up schwag t-shirts, pins and stickers. If you’re one of those people who jumps on every chance they get to be part of the early adopter team of a new service, this is the shirt for you.

Mule Design offers their “Web 2.Oh Yeah!” T-Shirt for $20 from their online store in Men’s L-XL sizes, as well as Women’s medium sized. Either this t-shirt is really popular so far or they just don’t have a great selection of sizes available yet. Either way this is definitly going to be joining the confines of my wardrobe.

Oscommerce – Changing The Online Shopping Concept

Oscommerce has revolutionized the online stores concept. It has made easier for a merchant to highlight its product to the online shopping community.

OsCommerce is an online shop e-commerce solution that offers a wide range of out-of-the-box features that allows online stores to be setup fairly quickly with ease, and is available for free as an Open Source based solution released under the GNU General Public License.

OsCommerce was started in March 2000 and has since matured to a solution that is currently powering 13,894 registered live shops around the world.

Today, osCommerce has been taken to the next level, moving towards an e-commerce framework solution that not only remains easy to setup and maintain, but also making it easier for store administrators to present their stores to their customers with their own unique requirements.

The success of OsCommerce is secured by a great and active community where members help one another out and participate in development issues reflecting upon the current state of the project.

You are more than welcome to contribute to the success of osCommerce by helping out in the realization of the project, by participating in the forums, by donating to the team developers and sponsoring the project, or just by spreading the word!

Another easy way to take SnapShots and add Thumbnails

check this out... :)

Take web page snapshots and website thumbnails of any site with SnapCasa. Place a simple img tag in your HTML page and our website thumbnail generator will provide a snapshot for you. Increase site traffic and click-through rate by including snapshots on your website.

SnapCasa provides free web page snapshots for your website. Its easy to use, just place the tag below into your website.

Unexpected Phone bills..????

I am sure all of you , just like me are fed up of some unexpected phone bills , forgetting important list of people u need to call...wanting someone to keep a track of how much you are spending????

Guys no kidding this is actually true , by this new software called Sykdeck..Skydeck turns your phone bill into a map of your relationships with friends, colleagues, and customers - your true social network.It will show you who called you, whom you need to call, and who never calls back. And since we also keep track of how much you're spending, you'll never get a surprise bill again.

Is'nt that greatt...!!

Go through this

We start by unlocking some of the valuable information hidden in your cell phone bill. Our secure software fetches your bills from your cell phone company and combines that information with your address book to map your true social network: the people that you talk to and text every day.

For the first time you can search your calls the way you've always been able to search your email. You can organize your address book by who is important to you and who you need to call back, not just alphabetical order. You can figure out how much time you spend talking to clients. You can share your network with people that you trust. You can see where your money goes. And since Skydeck tracks your usage, you'll never get a surprise bill again. In fact, we think you'll start to Love Your Phone Bill.

http://skydeck.com/

Your true social network is hidden in your cell phone records.

1. Discover your true social network
2. Get a smarter address book
3. Search your calls
4. Never go over again
5. Track your expenses
6. Secure and private
7. Free

Montessori Training...

Guys!!I was not aware of The Montessori method...i so glad to learn about this..

It is an educational method for children, based on theories of child development originated by Italian educator Maria Montessori in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is applied primarily in preschool and elementary school settings, though some Montessori high schools exist.

In our childhood days we dint know about Montessori..unaware of all this is so important for personality development...The idea of writing a blog over this is to make you aware of these things which really matter in the long run...and we make sure that the coming generation should undergo training by Montessori teachers and the generation is not deprived of this.

Please go through this..

Children need a sense of belonging and of being needed. They get it by participating fully in the routines of everyday life. "Help me do it by myself" is the life theme of the preschooler. Can you find ways for your child to participate in meal preparation, cleaning, gardening, caring for clothes, shoes, and toys? Providing opportunities for independence is the surest way to build your child's self-esteem.

In the Montessori 3-6 class the environment is filled with cultural, artistic, scientific activities . There is no junk food, no television, no computer. Books, toys, and other educational materials are carefully chosen and of the best quality. The child is never forced to attend a lesson or do a piece of work. The teacher is trained to model kindness and consideration, to observe the child and follow her interests in suggesting work, to give careful, individual lessons, and to refrain from interrupting when the child is concentrating on an activity. Much of this can be created in the home.

And what about Socialization..???The word socialization, contrary to the opinion of some, does not mean spending the weekdays competing with 25 human beings one's own age. In a natural community children spend their daily lives with old people, babies, and everyone in between. They do not compete, but learn to search out the needs of others and to help them live and learn. This mixed age group and habit of teaching and helping others, and being helped and taught by people younger or older than oneself, is a part of Montessori classes at all ages and is easy to fit into the Montessori homeschooling plan.

Ergo - Optimizes search results

heyiee everyone..there's Good News for all of us...

Are we tired of gathering information from various sources and different search results..????..here comes a new tool to make our work much more easier and faster..

Ergo enables you to gather information from a wide variety of sources simply and in a single step. Ergo provides an astonishing ability to intelligently group your results in exciting new ways. Share your thoughts on things you've found with other people.

Check this out!!!

http://www.yourergo.com/

Ergo 1.0 Released
12th May 2008
After months of coding and testing Team Ergo are pleased to announce the release of Ergo version 1.0.
A 30 Day trial can be downloaded from the downloads page.
If you wish to purchase an activation key please visit www.ergodownload.com.
Ergo

Installing Fonts and JPEG support in Image Magick in Fedora

Install microsoft fonts
1. Download the MS Core Fonts Smart Package File
wget http://corefonts.sourceforge.net/msttcorefonts-2.0-1.spec
2. Make sure that the rpm-build and cabextract packages are installed:
yum install rpm-build cabextract
3. Build the Core Fonts package:
rpmbuild -ba msttcorefonts-2.0-1.spec
4. Install the Core Fonts package:
rpm -Uvh /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/noarch/msttcorefonts-2.0-1.noarch.rpm

The above should install microsoft fonts.


Next we will install the JPEG and PNG support on Fedora

Install JPEG Support
wget http://www.imagefolio.com/ImageMagick/jpegsrc.v6b.tar.gz
gunzip jpegsrc.v6b.tar.gz
tar xf jpegsrc.v6b.tar
cd jpeg-6b
./configure --enable-shared
make
make install



Install PNG Support
wget http://www.imagefolio.com/ImageMagick/libpng-1.2.5.tar.gz
gunzip libpng-1.2.5.tar.gz
tar xf libpng-1.2.5.tar
mv libpng-1.2.5 libpng
cd libpng
cd scripts
cp makefile.linux ../makefile
cd ..
make test
make install



Now we will install ImageMagick-6.4.1-8
wget ftp://ftp.imagemagick.org/pub/ImageMagick/ImageMagick-6.4.1-8.tar.gz
gunzip ImageMagick-5.5.4-3.tar.gz
tar xf ImageMagick-5.5.4-3.tar
cd ImageMagick-5.5.4-3


Here I also copied the source files from JPEG and PNG folder to ImageMagick/magick folder (just in case).


./configure --enable-shared --disable-static --with-perl=/usr/bin/perl --enable-lzw
make
make install
cd /PATH/TO/YOUR/Installation_Files


To check if the fonts are configured with Image Magick, use following in shell command. It should give us the list of fonts that could be used in ImageMagick convert -list font

To use font with image magick use like
convert -font Courier-New-Regular -pointsize 72 label:Something something.jpg

Drawbacks of web 2.0

We all are well aware of the much hyped WEB 2.0 benefits , here are some of the drawbacks of WEB 2.0 , which most of us are not aware of..

the Web 2.0 platform breaks down borders between services
Business models that rely on the sale of personalized or concurrent software licenses will not work anymore. The suppliers will be forced to find another way to charge for their services. To generate income they may use advertisements (like Google) or additional service or content offerings (like “land” purchases in Second Life). Internal IT departments however may have to rethink their funding models, especially if they are funded by various company departments for their services. They will not be able to allocate operating costs per license if they want to be Web 2.0 .

Web 2.0 utilizes the collective intelligence of its users
The Web 2.0 pattern of “collective intelligence” shifts the task of creating and maintaining data and content from centralized resources to a dispersed user community. The eBay selling platform would be useless without the activities of the millions of sellers and buyers, who are creating the content and a critical mass of offerings that attract other users into using the service. Wikipedia would be a completely empty shell without its users creating and maintaining the content.

Web 2.0 cannot control the process of knowledge creation
The blogosphere creates a structure that resembles the human brain. Expressing an idea in a single blog might not change the world, but if this idea is picked up, discussed and commented in a large number of blogs it not only gets the attention of many people – it might get enhanced, developed, refined, challenged and eventually transformed evolutionary into something that might influence the way of the world. absence of a controlling instance allows for creativity, progress of ideas and the expression of individual opinions. The old saying that the whole is more than the sum of the parts is true here.

Web 2.0 is constantly linking knowledge, thereby not protecting intellectual
property
The role of the user moves from passive consumer to active participant; the quick and continuous implementation of user driven enhancements becomes a driver for the service provider, especially in a competitive market environment.Web 2.0 technology might not be safe enough, In business to business relations and also in a corporate environment data protection, security and the protection of intellectual property are issues of huge importance, so an open technology platform will be out of scope. On the other hand this limits companies in leveraging the know-how and creativity of its users. Even the internal use of existing Internet web-based services might cause issues as the company cannot control the service. What if the service provider decides to change, charge for or even discontinue an external service the company has come to rely on?Replacing the service will again create additional efforts to adapt the internal applications, which might outweigh the savings created by the free use of the service.

Java - Passing string with spaces to exec

While using Runtime.getRuntime().exec in Java

To pass the string with spaces in the argument we need to use exec(String[]) method instead of exec(String)

Both of the above command execute the specified command and arguments in a separate process.

If we will use exec(String) then this will not take string with spaces.

Coming Tuesday, June 17th: Firefox 3

After long waited development, FireFox 3 is about to be released on June 17th.

Features and fixes for Firefox 3 include:

• Updated address bar with integrated bookmarking functionality
  
• Standard themes that are consistent with the native UI of your Operating System (Windows, Mac, Linux)
  
• Revamped bookmark manager
  
• New Icons
  
• One-click site information
  
• Secure add-on updates
  
• Vista Parental Controls
  
• Revamped password management
  
• Full page zoom
  
• Scrolling Tabs
  
• One-click bookmarking
  
• Tags for bookmarks
  
• tons more!
  

http://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/06/11/coming-tuesday-june-17th-firefox-3/

How to install JDK 6 on Linux (Fedora Core)

I came across a problem of installing JDK on linux. This was interesting because I had to install JDK on a remote server machine. Here's the process to do that.

1. Downloaded file using wget (because I was told that there is only wget installed on the remote machine) from this location: http://www.java.net/download/jdk6/6u2/promoted/b02/binaries/jdk-6u2-ea-bin-b02-linux-i586-12_apr_2007-rpm.bin
2. Now changed the permission of the downloaded file to 755 like this:
   chmod 755 jdk-6u2-ea-bin-b02-linux-i586-12_apr_2007-rpm.bin
3. Then ran it by calling ./jdk-6u2-ea-bin-b02-linux-i586-12_apr_2007-rpm.bin Here I needed to type yes after going through the license document as my acceptance to the terms.
   
4. I was made to find the path of the actual location of JDK installation and indicate the fedora to accept my choice by using updatedb;locate javac |grep bin.
5. Now I required to run the alternative command to instruct Fedora to recognize Sun’s JVM.
   alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/jdk1.6.0_02/bin/java 100
alternatives --install /usr/bin/jar jar /usr/java/jdk1.6.0_02/bin/jar 100
alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac /usr/java/jdk1.6.0_02/bin/javac 100
6. Finally I required to configure alternative to use Sun’s JVM as the default JVM by calling /usr/sbin/alternatives --config java

Now the installation process is over. This can be checked by saying java -version.

Here we need to remember that we have to login as root to the machine to do all the installation.


Use Google Analytics to Measure ROI from SEO

Use Google Analytics to Measure ROI from SEO

So your website is ranking well, but you know it can be better. After reading the SEO TIPS blog you understand how to research SEO Companies, find a quality firm, and hire them. You just launched a 6 month print campaign in a niche magazine and you want to find a way to monitor the Revenue generated from SEO.

Have no fear, Google Analytics is here!

Any reputable SEO company should have enough knowledge to provide this information, however this is how you can set up your own benchmarking.

1) Using Google Analytics set up a goal funnel to monitor your shopping cart check out process, make the "Goal" page the "Thank you for shopping with us".

2) Assign a dollar value for a goal conversion (usually your average sale amount)

3) Log into your Google Analytics account and click on the Traffic Sources tab (left navigation)

3) Click on the search engine that you want to monitor

4) Below the main title you will see 3 text links that read: "Show: total paid non-paid" and select non-paid.

5) On the top of the content box holding the keywords and site usage information you will see two tabs a) Site Usage b) Goal Conversions

6) Click on Goal Conversion tab

This information will show you what keywords generated traffic that leads to goal conversions (sales). Make sure you have enough data collected before you hire the SEO Company; I recommend at least 2-3 months. This way you can monitor total goal conversions generated VIA search engines, giving you a way to use Google Analytics to Measure ROI from and SEO campaign!

Apple WWDC 2008

Launched App Store
-ebay Applications
-More easy iPhone SDK
-Better support
-






3G iphone launched
-Better battery life
-Changed shape thinner at edges
-Real GPS
-to be launched in 70 countries
-to be launched on July 11 in 22 countries(i guess including India)
8GB $199
16GB $299

All eyes set for tomorrow's WWDC 2008 conference

http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/schedules/#day=monday&time=morning

As per rumors it is expected to see 3G iPhone.
3G iPhone is expected to have real GPS and better battery life and better camera.
Rumors are that iphone prices would be dropping too.

Let's wait and watch what happens tomorrow at 12PM CST

ZUP makes social networking easier :)

Guys...This is an amazing tool... Zup is a service where you can connect to your friends at one place , whether they are on orkut , facebbok , hi5 ...with Zup , it makes easier for you to manage your multiple accounts in Social networking websites.

Now there is no need for you to be logged on in each website just add ZUP...check out this website zupme.com


FYI

The Zup team is proud to announce the launch of the Zup application. Zup is a simple messaging service that allows users to connect and message with users on different social networks. Typically members of one social network cannot connect with users outside of their social networks. This is becoming increasingly problematic as users move from one SN to another and find that they cannot maintain communication with friends on their old network. This forces users to maintain and access multiple social networking accounts to keep in touch with all their friends. Zup solves this problem by allowing users to message with users from multiple SN's. When a user moves to a new SN they can continue to message friends from their old SN using Zup. In addition, users can find new friends who have created accounts on different SN's. For example, a MySpace user can find a friend on Hi5 using Zup.

Currently Zup is available on - MySpace and Hi5. We are awaiting for approval on Facebook and Orkut and we have an iGoogle gadget ready to roll once Google implement Open Social support on their live platform.

We're hard at work developing Zup for even more Social Networks - We're aiming to be live on Bebo once they roll out support for Open social.