October Meeting: Introduction to Test-Driven Development‏

Posted on by Enterprise Developers Guild

Join us Tuesday, October 22, at 6:00 PM in the Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. Everest rooms of the Charlotte Microsoft Campus. For this month’s talk we’ll explore Test-Driven Development. We’ll look at what many of us are doing now and how TDD changes our workflow. We will discuss what TDD is and what is isn’t. After a review of the open source tools that support TDD in VS 2012, we will work through an actual demonstration of the technique. Once you’ve seen the demo and reviewed the key points, we will open up for discussion of how to make TDD work for us.

The meeting presenter is Bill Jones Jr., MVP.

As Vice President and Systems Architect working on the Wells Fargo Securities Client Technology team, Bill specializes in software development using Visual Studio 2012 and .NET Framework 4.5. He is well versed in all phases of the software development life cycle – process, work flow, class abstraction, data structures, reporting and user interfaces. In his spare time, Bill founded and continues to lead the Enterprise Developers Guild, a professional programmers group in Charlotte NC with more than 3,500 members. Bill is a Microsoft Certified Professional in both C# and VB.NET. He is proud to be a multi-year recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award and to be designated the North American Senior Mentor for the International .NET Association (INETA). You can read his blog at geekswithblogs.net/bjones.

The meeting is sponsored by Shamrock Search Associates.

Shamrock Search Associates is a premier recruiting firm that delivers qualified, game-changing talent and career opportunities to our customers. We have been very successful with our customers in many specialties including IT, Medical, Accounting & Finance, and sales.

Shamrock Search Associates take pride in “listening” to what our customers need while providing the best quality customer service. We provide a trusted, consultative service by truly listening to the needs of our clients and candidates. Our ability to really listen combined with our high level of customer service creates a partnership that is unmatched.

Shamrock Search Associates understands “today’s talent is tomorrow’s success.” Located in the Greater Charlotte, NC area, we are a Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) that has built long term and growing relationships by being a trusted resource partner. Learn more at www.shamrocksearch.com.

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September Meeting: Build Cross-platform Mobile Apps with Xamarin

Posted on by Enterprise Developers Guild

Join us Tuesday, September 24, at 6:00 PM in the Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. Everest rooms of the Charlotte Microsoft Campus. For this month’s talk we’ll look at how to build cross-platform native mobile iOS, Android, Mac and Windows apps in C# that access data from the web using mono, Xamarin tools, and Web Services. We will examine the libraries, techniques, and lessons learned from building and shipping mobile apps.

The meeting presenter is Peter Mourfield.

Peter Mourfield has been developing software for nearly 20 years and currently works for TaxSlayer.com, an online income tax preparation web site. Peter leads the Augusta Developers Guild, is an ASP Insider, and holds a number of certifications including; Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (MCPD) in Web Development and a Certified SCRUM Master. You can follow him on Twitter at @pmourfield and read his blog at www.mourfield.com.

The meeting is sponsored by Signature Consultants.

Signature Consultants was established in 1997 with a singular focus: Provide our clients and consultants with superior staffing solutions. At Signature Consultants, it’s not just about the bottom line; it’s about the people. We focus on the relationships we have with our clients, consultants and candidates. Our motto, “Getting IT Right,” is reflected in every aspect of our company – it guides our decisions and actions and ensures that our consultants and clients always come first. Learn more at www.sigconsult.com.

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August Meeting: Introducing Windows 8.1 & Visual Studio 2013 Preview

Posted on by Enterprise Developers Guild

Join us Tuesday, August 27, at 6:00 PM in the Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) of the Charlotte Microsoft Campus. We are in some exciting times with a new version of Windows 8.1 and Visual Studio 2013 Preview announced with Build 2013 from Microsoft. Microsoft is moving towards a faster rev cycle and this makes it even more exciting to try and stay up to date with all the changes. This presentation will highlighting some of the new features and capabilities in Windows 8.1 and Visual Studio 2013 Preview.

The meeting presenter is Matt Duffield, MVP.

Matt Duffield has over 15 years working in IT. He enjoys building rich user centric applications. Matt is very active in the community speaking at user groups and code camps. He is the leader of the Charlotte ALT.NET user group. He is an INETA speaker member and has been a Microsoft MVP in Client Application Development. He started working in .NET as soon as it was available to the development community and was also an early adopter of both WPF and Silverlight. He believes good business intelligence (BI) architecture is the formula for a successful software package that looks beyond just data and provides insightful information. He is the co-author of the book: Silverlight 5: Building Rich Enterprise Dashboards. You can read his blog at mattduffield.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter at @mattduffield.

The meeting is sponsored by Logical Advantage.

Founded in 2003, Logical Advantage provides IT consulting services because we believe you should do only one thing – and do it better than anyone else. No matter your challenges, we can design, build and deploy custom-built solutions that can drive your business. We specialize in mastering the most complex business hurdles, and in developing enterprise-class solutions backed by custom software and data integration. We deliver solutions that deliver results. Learn more at www.logicaladvantage.com.

Downloads: Slides and Windows 8.1 SDK samples

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July Meeting: Designing for Windows 8

Posted on by Enterprise Developers Guild

Join us Tuesday, July 23, at 6:00 PM in the Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. Everest rooms of the Charlotte Microsoft Campus. Taking inspirational cues from Bauhaus design, International Typographic Style, and cinematography, the Windows 8 UI design style brings an application to life while presenting content clearly and beautifully. This session is intended to help developers and designers understand the design concepts and basic building blocks of the Windows 8 user interface. In this session, you will be introduced to the principles behind this design style and learn how to effectively apply these principles in your applications.

The meeting presenter is Brent Schooley.

Brent is a software developer who has been working with Microsoft technologies since 2004. His interests include client and mobile application development and user experience design with a recent emphasis on Windows 8 and Windows Phone. Other platforms he has worked with include WPF, Silverlight, Windows Forms, and iOS. He is an Evangelist working for Infragistics with a focus on mobile platforms. He has a passion for making people’s experiences with software the best that they can possibly be. Brent is the author of Designing for Windows 8, a Windows 8 design primer available from Apress. You can follow him on Twitter at @brentschooley and read his blog at www.brentschooley.com.

The meeting is sponsored by Apex Systems.

Apex Systems is a leading provider of technical and professional staffing solutions to Fortune 1000 and mid-sized clients across North America. With a core focus on Information Technology, Business Applications, Accounting & Finance, Legal, Telecommunications, and Engineering, and a proven recruiting model, Apex Systems has become one of the most in-demand staffing companies around for providing short-term, long-term, and temp-to-perm staffing solutions.

Whether it’s supplementing existing staff during peak periods in production or hiring a permanent employee through the temporary process, Apex Systems is the answer. Our ultimate goal is to save our clients time and money while increasing efficiency, productivity, and bottom-line profit. Learn more at www.apexsystemsinc.com.

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June Meeting: Windows 8/Phone Mashup Apps

Posted on by Enterprise Developers Guild

Join us Tuesday, June 25, at 6:00 PM in the Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. Everest rooms of the Charlotte Microsoft Campus. The //build conference starts on the 26th. With Windows 8.1 (Blue) preview and corporations beginning to build their own app portals, it’s time to stay ahead of the curve and go hands on. If you haven’t taken the time to dive into Windows 8 development, now’s the time to watch one getting built. We’ll develop a prototype in 10 minutes and a finished app within the hour. Develop your own idea, get it published, and enhance your skillset.

The meeting presenter is Brian Hitney.

Brian Hitney is a Developer Evangelist with Microsoft Corporation focused on cloud computing. He frequently delivers presentations and works with local community groups and customers on emerging technologies, .NET, and developer tools. Prior to his Developer Evangelist role, Brian worked as a software engineer on a Windows team in Redmond, and before he joined Microsoft he helped build large scale e-commerce applications for various companies across the United States. Brian is based out of Greensboro, NC. You can read his blog at www.structuretoobig.com.

The meeting is sponsored by Signature Consultants.

Signature Consultants was established in 1997 with a singular focus: Provide our clients and consultants with superior staffing solutions. At Signature Consultants, it’s not just about the bottom line; it’s about the people. We focus on the relationships we have with our clients, consultants and candidates. Our motto, “Getting IT Right,” is reflected in every aspect of our company – it guides our decisions and actions and ensures that our consultants and clients always come first. Learn more at www.sigconsult.com.

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