Reading Notes #189

2015-06-15_0745Suggestion of the week


Cloud


Programming


~Frank


Reading Notes #188


I was really happy to ear about Microsoft Azure Data Center that will be built in Canada. And it was definitely not only good thing that was published this week...

Suggestion of the week


Cloud


Programming


Database


Miscellaneous



Reading Notes #187

2015-05-30 12.54.59

Cloud


Programming


Miscellaneous



First VSCode Tasks in less than 5 minutes

I'm working on solution to automating the generation of my weekly post: Reading Notes. While this work is finished, I still need to do many steps manually. I introduced in a previous post VSCode, that already supports markdown. In fact, from any markdown file, you can press Ctrl+Shift+V to preview the oupput. However, today, it's not possible to do anything with this preview. This post explains how we can use VSCode task to fix this problem.

Goal

Create a task that will quickly transform my current open markdown file in HTML.

Step 1 - Get a Markdown parser

First, we need Markdown parser. I'm sure many different are available, but in this post, I will use markdown-js, a Node.js parser that is available on github. To install it, just execute the following command:
npm install -g markdown

Step 2 - Create a Task

Secondly, we need to create our task. Open Visual Studio Code, and type Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette and then start typing Configure Task. Press Enter or select “Configure Task Runner”. This will create a new file tasks.jon, with many different samples of tasks. Before you replace the content of the page by the following code, take a look at the comment block at the top of the page. You will see different context variables that are available.

// Simple Task to transform MarkDown to Html
{
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "command": "md2html",
    "isShellCommand": true,
    "args": ["${file}"]
}

This defines our task using the json format. The command name in this case is md2html and we pass the name of the current open file as parameter using the variable ${file}. Finally, the "isShellCommand" is set to true so the task will be triggered by pressing Ctrl+Shift+B.

Step 3 - Try it

To try it, open a markdown page, hit Ctrl+Shift+B, and voilĂ ! You should see in the output the HTML code generated.




References



~Frank

Reading Notes #186

published by Gartner
I finally watch most of the recorded sessions from Build, Ignite and MVPvConf, and I had more time to read.

Suggestion of the week

  • Learning to git bisect (Rural) - Very, very interesting walkthrough, I never knew Git got that kind of feature.

Cloud

Microsoft is currently the only vendor to be positioned as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrants for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service , Application Platform as a Service , Cloud Storage Services and Server Virtualization

Programming


Miscellaneous


~Frank

Note about the image of this week: This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request here.

Microsoft MVP Virtual Conference, one more day to go


MVPvConf 2015

Yesterday, was the first day of the #MVPvConf 2015. I already write about this event presented by MVP for everyone.

I really enjoy switching from one path to the other following the best fits of my interest. I even got some real though decisions to take because two sessions were at the same time! But wait; there is more!


Today it's Day 2, and many great presentations will by available.

Developer track with topics like: Roslyn Windows 10 ASP.NET Azure Cross-Platform...

IT Pro track with topics like: DevOps System Center Hyper-V Migration Office 365...

Consumer track with topics like: Pivot Table Data Windows 10 Cortana OneNote Security...

LATAM track with topics like: Power BI Exchange Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) Office 365...

Brazil track with topics like: Azure Active Directory Hybrid Cloud SQL Server...


Build your own agenda, and come join-us!




Reading Notes #185

IMG_20150503_181242Suggestion of the week


Cloud


Programming


~Frank



Meet my new best friend: Visual Studio Code

On the last week of April, Microsoft was having a huge event call //Build. During three (3) days many great conferences were presented. You can watch them on-demand on Channel 9. The keynote of day one is a must! It was during this keynote that Microsoft reveals many amazing news. One of them: Visual Studio Code. In this post, I indent to share my impression of this tool after one week of usage.

The Beast

You may be thinking: VSCode, it must be a light version Visual Studio... To that, I will reply it's not.
VSCode doesn't go without remembering other modern text editor like Sublime text, or brackets. The interface is far different from Visual Studio though. At this day, three themes are available but you can customize e v e r y t h i n g.

VSCode_Theme_contrasteVSCode_Theme_darkVSCode_Theme_light
VSCode is free, and it runs on Windows, Linux and Mac, it includes great tooling for web technologies such as HTML, Asp.net, Nodejs, CSS, LESS, SASS and JSon. It has syntax highlighting and a true IntelliSense. It also included: package managers, repositories, Git experience, debug tools, tasks, and so more!

I could continue over and over, but all the features are well explained on the official website.

My experience

It took me less than a minute to install on my "old" surface one. The interface is fast, and everything was looking good... Until I try to do something.

First, I was a bit confused. How should I open or create a project? Where is the menu? How do I use the debugger? After few minutes reading the excellent documentation on the official website, everything became clear. Visual Studio Code is sharing his name with his big brother, but he is really different. VS Code is using a folder approach, and a lot of shortcuts (so you keep your hands on the keyboard). And you quickly learn to use the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P) to do more specific work.

My initial test was why Ghost. I cloned the repository directly from Github to my computer. Then from VSCode, open the folder. Without changing / editing anything, VSCode knew my project was in JavaScript, and the coloring and IntelliSense were working. And(F5), the debugger and I felt already more at home.

Firstdebug

A little message informed me that I needed to specify the starting point in the configuration file and voilĂ ! I was debugging a Node.js project, that was easy.


Verdict

After a really short adaptation, Visual Studio Code reveals to be a reel gem. I strongly suggest that you spend few minutes reading the documentation before, to enjoy all his capabilities! The further I use it the more I become completely addicted. Visual Studio Code is an indispensable tool for everyone doing web development or looking for a powerful code editor.

VSCode_Markdown
 
 
Reference:
  • Visual studio code: Official website where you can find documentation and download VSCode for your favourite platform.

Reading Notes #184

CDxQRhpUIAAqBij[1]Last week, Microsoft released tones of news during the //Build 2015. The event was broadcast live, but if you are like me, you probably work during the day.... That smile because the conferences were recorded and are now available on Channel 9

You should definitely take a look and create your own schedule, but in all cases, you must watch the day's one Keynote
Enjoy!

Suggestion of the week


Cloud


Programming


Miscellaneous

Reading notes #183

IMG_20150425_120539[1]Suggestion of the week


Cloud


Programming


Databases


Miscellaneous



The first ever Microsoft MVP Virtual Conference

Did you eared about that great free event that Microsoft and the MVPs are putting on in May? On the 14th and 15th (yes two days!), join Microsoft MVPs from the Americas’ region as they share their knowledge and real-world expertise during a free event, the MVP Virtual Conference.

by MVPs, for everyone

MVPvConf
 

Gigantic event

The MVP Virtual Conference will showcase 95 sessions of content for IT Pros, Developers and Consumer experts designed to help you navigate life in a mobile-first, cloud-first world.  Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Developer Platform, Steve Guggenheimer, will be on hand to deliver the opening Key Note Address.
 

Still not sure if you will found what you are looking for?

The conference will have 5 tracks:
  • IT Pro English
  • Dev English
  • Consumer English
  • Portuguese mixed sessions
  • Spanish mixed sessions
There is something for everyone! Learn from the best and brightest MVPs in the tech world today and develop some great skills!

Join Me!

Be sure to register quickly to hold your spot and tell your friends & colleagues.

image
 
 
 


The conference will be widely covered on social media, you can join the conversation by following @MVPAward and using the hashtag #MVPvConf.












Reading Notes #182

post-it_AzureBootcamp2015Suggestion of the week


Cloud

released the DocumentDB Data Migration tool, an open source solution that imports data from a variety of sources, including JSON files, CSV files, SQL Server, MongoDB and existing DocumentDB collections.

Programming


Miscellaneous


~Frank B.


Reading Notes #181

Post It - MVP V-ConfSuggestion of the week


Cloud


Programming


Miscellaneous

  • Making the Complex Simple - Not sure how to "classify" this post, is it a top list of the best bad practices, or literally "du bonbon"? A post to read, and relax.

From Ottawa to Montreal in April 2015

This April two event kept my attention, let me present them.

The MVP Cloud RoadShow - April 11


Where: Ottawa
Register: Meetup

Bored that every one is telling you to move to the cloud, but don't explain how to get there or are how it's working in the cloud?

The MVP Cloud RoadShow, is the perfect opportunity to meet Microsoft Azure MVPs. These specialists will talk about: Intune, Hybrid Identity, Rights Management, SQL Business Intelligence and Building a Lab in Azure.

Here all the information you need on the Meetup page.


Global Azure Bootcamp (Montreal edition) - April 25


Where: Montreal
Register: Meetup

Azure Bootcamp logo
This year is marks the third edition of this great event. In more than 190 locations around the globe, people will develop Cloud Computing applications for Azure, this is definitely a great learning opportunity. Many goods hands-on-labs:
  • Infrastructure as a Service in Microsoft Azure (Virtual Machines)
  • Getting started with Azure Websites and ASP.NET
  • Building a web application with ASP.NET MVC using DocumentDB
  • Get Started with the Azure WebJobs SDK
  • Get started with Mobile Services
  • How to Use Azure Redis Cache
  • etc.

For all the detail about the Montreal edition be sure to go on the Meetup page. For more information about the global event go on http://global.azurebootcamp.net/

~Frank B.

Reading Notes #180

Quebec, Canada weatherSuggestion of the week


Cloud


Programming


Miscellaneous


~Frank B.