Additional Nifty Tools To Our IronPython Toolbox

This week I've come across two interesting tools that're worth adding to our IronPython toolbox:

• Methodist : A plugin which enables python scripting inside Reflector. Very useful particularly when trying out how to use objects inside a loaded assembly.
• SharpDevelop 3 : A fully functional dotNET IDE, now supports Python and also provides Intellisense. This seems more powerful than the IronPython Studio. VIM is still my primary python IDE though, but seems IronPython scripting will now be much quicker when using SharpDevelop.

Top 5 Books To Sharpen .NET Development Skills

.NET technology is evolving quite fast that stuff you learned a year or two ago is fast becoming obsolete. If you're a .NET developer, I recommend the following books to stay sharp these days:

• C# in Depth: What you need to master C# 2 and 3
• Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed
• Windows Communication Foundation Unleashed
• Silverlight 2 Unleashed
• IronPython in Action

Top 5 Books To Further Business Knowledge for IT Professionals Working in the Financial Industry

Let's face it, to be effective at work and to remain competitive in the job market, IT professionals should be proficient business and technical wise. If you're an IT pro working in the financial industry, I recommend the following easy-to-read books to further business knowledge:

• Business Knowledge for IT in Investment Banking: A Complete Handbook for IT Professionals
• Business Knowledge for IT in Hedge Funds: A Complete Handbook for IT Professionals
• Business Knowledge for IT in Prime Brokerage: A Complete Handbook for IT Professionals
• Business Knowledge for IT Private Wealth Management: A Complete Handbook for IT Professionals
• Securities Operations: A Guide to Trade and Position Management
  

Journey to becoming a Pythonista

Python charmed me tremendously. It's very elegant, very expressive, very concise, of course these are just few of the very good things about it. I spent a lot of my spare time nowadays (yes I do have a day job) to sharpening my Python skills, with the ultimate goal on to becoming a real Pythonista one day.

It seems a lot of Pythonistas love VIM as the IDE, so I also spent a lot of time mastering it. The VIM links below helped me tremendously.

• VIM.org. The official site of VIM, the first resource you need to visit. You can download a lot of python related plugins and stuff here.
  
• A Byte of VIM by Swaroop. An online book with lots of tutorials and tips.
• Vim Cookbook. A kind of cheatsheet, loads of helpful tips as well.

Googling Python, you'll get tons of hits. That's definitely an indicator of how popular Python is. The Python links below I find useful.

• Python.org. The Python official site, the first site you need to visit to get learning resources.
  
• A Byte of Python by Swaroop. Very easy to read online book. Lots of tips and tutorials just like Swaroop's VIM book.
• Python Tutorials. This site definitely lives up to its name, a lot of very useful tutorials.
• Python Challenge. If you want to get challenged as a Pythonista, then this site is worth a visit.

I'm a dotNET developer by profession, and it's sweet to hear that Microsoft is embracing Python as one of the dynamic languages that could seamlessly run on the dotNET platform, either on the Desktop or the Web. Below are the links I find useful on developing dotNET applications using Python.

• IronPython and the Dynamic Language Runtime. A quick overview of how Python fits in the CLR.
• Python in your Browser with Silverlight 2. A very easy to follow tutorial on how to develop Silverlight apps using Python.
• DevHawk. Tons of info and tutorials about IronPython here.
  

There you go folks, a collection of links that helped me a lot so far on to my journey towards becoming a real Pythonista on both the Windows and Linux platforms.

What Techy Stuff I've Learned in 2008

In retrospect, I've certainly learned great deal in '08, although all of them on dotnet platform -

• Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
  
• Composite Application Library (CAL)
• Silverlight
• IronPython
  

As every tecnologist claims '09 to be the year of the Open Source and Cloud Computing, I'll definitely strive to learn more stuff on Linux, Google App, Dynamic Languages like Python, Azure, etc.

Looking forward for another great learning year in '09!

.NET Development Link #6 (WPF)

My latest in a series of the weekly, or more often, summary of interesting links I come across related to .NET Development on WPF.

• To effectively learn WPF, I suggest going through the below materials:
  
• Great Video Tutorial on Expression Blend. After going through the videos, you wouldn't want to use the Visual Studio XAML designer no more.
  
• Composite Application Guidance for WPF. It's worth reverse-engineering the Quick Starts on UI Composition, Commanding, Event Aggregation, and Modularity.
• MSDN WPF Getting Started
  

Generalist vs Specialist

A good article on Generalist vs Specialist theory, what model is effective?

"a generalist has a basic understanding across many disciplines.
Generalist may not have a specific skill required to solve the problem,
however, he is very good in defining the problem."

"specialist on the other hand is a person who has a deep understanding
of a specific discipline. He is best used when solving a problem or
executing a plan. According to Dave both are required in a project for
the successful execution of the project."

But I still believe in the Generalizing Specialist model.

.NET Development Link #5 (Silverlight)

My latest in a series of the weekly, or more often, summary of interesting links I come across related to .NET Development on Silverlight.

• Good articles on Getting Started on Silverlight from Dan Wahlin.
  
• Learn from SilverlightGirl on Game Development using Silverlight.
  
• Free hosting and streaming of Silverlight contents on Silverlight Live.
• Silverlight Beta 2 released! Here's the summary of what's new in this release.
  
• Nice article on how to implement a Pages based WPF application (I'll definitely use this from now for writing Presentation, bye-bye Powerpoint!).
  
• Free SilverLight training.
  

.NET Development Link #4 (Profiling and Debugging)

My latest in a series of the weekly, or more often, summary of
interesting links I come across related to .NET Development on Profiling/Debugging.

• Although the Command Language Runtime (CLR) sports a nifty Garbage Collector (GC), which takes away the pain of memory management, we still can't get rid of memory leaks that if left uncleansed could degrade the app's performance and stability. Good thing we have some open source tool, the CLRProfiler, that we can use to track down memory leaks. Here's the how to guide from Amit on tracking memory leaks using CLRProfiler. But if you like tools that are integrated into your IDE, then we have to pay some hefty bucks for SciTech and DevPartner tools that are also nifty when it comes to memory profiling.
  
• SysInternal Tools are definitely must-haves when it comes to debugging and profiling. They're now live.
• I've now been trying out NDepend to analyze code structure, gather code metrics, and devise an effective refactoring. Maarten's article has been a good reference for such profiling activity.