Global Nerdy

The good news is that there’s a wealth of information online about what people like to refer to as “HTML5”. It’s actually a catch-all for a bunch of things: HTML5, naturally, but also CSS 3, JavaScript, some clever programming techniques, calls to the back end and use of some features being put into the latest versions of browsers (including Internet Explorer 9).

The bad news is that there’s so much information on HTML5 that it’s hard to know where to begin. Luckily, the folks at Pragmatic Bookshelf have just released HTML5 & CSS3: Develop with Tomorrow’s Standards Today, which is a great guide for the web developer or designer looking to get into building beautiful, functional, usable web applications with web standards. Weighing in at a very manageable 265 pages, this book starts off with an overview of HTML5 and CSS3 features, then covers goodies like Canvas programming and embedded audio and video, and then goes beyond HTML5 with look at working with client-side data, playing nicely with other APIs and even a quick jQuery primer.

HTML5 & CSS3: Develop with Tomorrow’s Standards Today is now available at your favourite bookstore as well as online. Pragmatic Bookshelf offers it in many formats, including the environment- and wallet-friendly ebook version (available in epub, mobi and PDF formats) for a mere USD$21.00 (CAD$20.86 as of this writing).

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.

If you’re new to Microsoft web development technologies, take a look at WebMatrix. It’s an open source, all-in-one package that gives you what you need to get started building web sites and applications using Windows, including:

• A development web server – IIS Express, a development version of our full-fledged web server, IIS
• A web development framework – ASP.NET
• A database – SQL Server Compact, a development version of SQL Server, which powers a lot of businesses
• Development tools – An editor that makes it easy to build sites and that makes it easy to move your project to the full-fledged Visual Studio when it’s time
• Built-in web apps – Makes it easy to add web applications like WordPress, DotNetNuke and Joomla! to your site
• SEO tools – A built-in SEO reporter helps you make your site more indexable by search engines
• Site publishing tools – Support for FTP, SFTP and WebDeploy to move your site from your development machine to the real thing

Want to find out more about WebMatrix? Watch the online stream of our Enter the WebMatrix presentation at the CodeMash conference this Thursday at 12:30 p.m. EST (9:30 a.m. Pacific) and see it in action!

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.

Silverlight is incredibly useful, because it lets you write applications with rich user interfaces that can live on the desktop, in web pages and on Windows Phone, backed by the .NET framework. A lot of businesses use it to create web-based applications that have all the UI power of desktop apps, plus the benefit of being able to interact securely with files on their machines, devices, data and other applications.

The fine folks at ObjectSharp, whose office is right by the corner of Yonge and King in downtown Toronto, are great trainers for people who want to learn how to get the most out of Microsoft’s development tools and technologies, and they’ll be running another Silverlight course soon: from Monday, January 31st through Thursday, February 3rd. The ObjectSharpies are great guys who do great presentations (we’ve called on them to create and present TechDays sessions many, many times), and the classrooms in their new office (featuring a lot of cool gear, including the giant screen I wrote about earlier) are stunning.

If you’re a new registrant, you can save 15% off ObjectSharp’s upcoming Silverlight training course. You get the second-to-none ObjectSharp training, all done in their state-of-the-art classrooms, you’ll pick up mad skills for a valuable (and a make-you-hireable)technology – and all at a reduced price. What’s not to like? Register now, and tell them Joey sent you!

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.

The next meeting of the Fredericton .NET User Group takes place on Thursday, January 27th and is on “The CISSP [Certified Information Systems Security Professional] World and the Application Security Domain”. It’ll take place in IT-C317 on the UNB Campus, with a “Meet and Greet” at 6:30 p.m. and the presentation running from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m..

Here’s the abstract for the presentation:

The CISSP World and the Application Security Domain – Phil Lamey

This presentation will outline CISSP security in terms of how it can be related to software development.

In the CISSP world, the Application Security domain is concerned with the security controls used by applications during their design, development, and use. This domain will help participants to understand the security and controls of application security, which includes the systems development process, application controls, and knowledge-based systems. The session will also help to understand the concepts used to ensure data and application integrity.

Below is an overview of the topics that will be discussed:

• CISSP, What is it?
• Why CISSP?
• SDLC (system development life cycle)
• Change (life cycle) management
• Database security
• Artificial Intelligence systems
• Malware
• Grey Hat – Ethical hacking
• The OWASP Project (Testing Web Applications)

Registration starts soon – check back at the Fredericton .NET User Group site for details.

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.