Recently, I attended a Twin Cities .NET User Group presentation on SignalR.  I had heard about SignalR several times and was curious.   Plus there was free pizza…<burp>. SignalR has revamped the way I think about web sites.   Normally, a browser requests some data and the server sends it.  Ajax allows discreet calls to avoid full post-backs and...

Lurking in the shadows of the Stack Overflow website, selling aerosol cans of Bug-No-More to the rubes, I came across a question I thought I could answer. The OP (original poster) was using JavaScript to select and modify HTML elements without success. The HTML was simple: <ul>     <li><a href="#" id="prev">Prev</a></li>...

Getting stuck in the cycle of code-build-test, code-build-test… can drain you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. In the back of your mind you know the clock is ticking and you are not making headway. Of course the boss keeps sticking his sweaty head into your tiny cube and asking, "Any progress?" What a jerk. The intern who is supposed...

Years ago, when I created my first ASMX Web Service and called it from an application, it was easy and it was fun. I was able to call functions on a server, from a client, with little effort. What a great and powerful tool! Then WCF came out and was deemed the 'best practice' and the 'preferred' method. Developers were encouraged to use it. Sadly,...

A few years ago, while creating an ASP.NET web site, I decided to add a gradient border to "sex up" the look of the site. Using a sophisticated image editing program, I created a small gradient image. I made sure the ending color of the gradient matched the color of the body in the target page. Here it is:   I added CSS to display it like this:...

At one of the local golf courses I frequent, there is an open grass field next to the course. It is about eight acres in size and mowed regularly. It is permissible to hit golf balls there—you bring and shag our own balls. My golf colleagues and I spend hours there practicing, chatting and in general just wasting time. One of the guys brings Ginger,...