1. Automatic Properties

Automatic properties provide you with a shorthand for defining a new property. No more do we have to create the private property and then use Getters and Setters to access and set that property. Here's the old code:

Now here's the code using automatic properties:

Oh my! How nice is that? The C# compiler creates the Getters and Setters and the private fields for you automagically!

(more...)

This past week, I have been undergoing a week of rigorous training learning the key differences between .NET 2.0/3.0 and .NET 1.1. For the past two years our company has been working with the 1.1 framework, and is now migrating towards the 2.0/3.0 framework. This week the instructor said something I knew, but was glad to be reminded about. It wasn't even a .NET oriented question, it was an object oriented question that does not apply to one specific language, but to all OOP (object oriented programming) models in general.

What is the difference between a struct and a class? When should you use a struct versus a class? How do you know?

(more...)

If you hang out on enough web development forums, mailing lists, or chatrooms, you'll eventually get asked this question:

What language should I use to program my next project?

As someone who has been on a few of said forums, mailing lists, and chatrooms for a while now, I hate seeing this question. Yes, it comes around a lot, but repetitiveness isn't what bugs me about it. What bothers me is that there's usually very little background information attached to that question, which makes it as open-ended as asking what mode of transportation you should take to get to the store. I can tell you anything from a skateboard to a jet and either vehicle can get you to the store, but to give you the best answer I need to know how far you have to travel, what you plan on buying, and how much money you have, among other things. The same holds true for the programming language question, so let's look at some factors that can help you choose which language to use on your next project.

(more...)

Search-This welcomes Louis Simpson to the team!

Often times when you belong to a forum you start stalking certain people. Every time the person you are stalking post and you notice it, you go read what they have to say because you know it's going to be good. Well, Louie was the first person I ever stalked

So when I was putting together the Search-This team I knew that I had to get him on board, it makes it easier to stalk him that way! We're glad to have you on the team Louie.

Enjoy Louie's bio below:

User Name: louissimps

• childhood ambition: marry a rich woman
• fondest memory: going to my grandpa's ranch
• favorite music: a little something from every genre
• retreat: the ocean
• proudest moment: the path I have lead so far
• biggest challenge: not going to college
• alarm clock: 6:50(snooze until 7:45)
• perfect day: coffee, surfing, lunch with my wife, afternoon nap, head to my favorite bar
• first job: busboy at a banquet hall
• indulgence: Belgian Ale
• favorite movie: too many to name, Super Troopers, Napolean Dynamite, Platoon
• inspiration: accomplishment

For those just joining, it is suggested that you begin with OOP in PHP from a .NET OOP Perspective as this is Part 3 of a series.

This time I am going to talk about the Database class, as every project now-a-days typically stores their information in a database. A good database class can save you time and memory in retrieving results. It should be able to cache previous queries, to recall them later, and it should clear out the results from memory when they are no longer needed.

(more...)

For those just joining, it is suggested that you begin with OOP in PHP from a .NET OOP Perspective as this is Part 2 of a series.

With that said, I am going to outline the base classes that I referred to in the first article. To start out I will talk about the Error class, as if you do not have a good error handling setup, your application is doomed from the beginning.

(more...)

I scoured the Internet for the past few days to see how many applications are actively writing their PHP code in an OOP (Object Oriented Programming) fashion and the results are surprising. I have found that many existing applications are not taking advantage of this ability that began its' existence in PHP 4, which then spread its' wings like an eagle and soared in PHP 5. I have been working on converting one of my largest projects in PHP from a style that is FAR from OOP to an architecture completely based on OOP and this experience has been very helpful and challenging and primarily based on my .NET experience with OOP.

(more...)