Articles and Whitepapers

The following articles are available:

• .NET Documentation Tool - an NDoc alternative for the .NET Framework. Information about our alternative to the popular (but no longer in development) NDoc technical documentation documentor for .NET.

• Documenting VB.NET source code with XML Comments. How to improve VB.NET source code through the use of the official Microsoft .NET Framework code commenting standards.

• Documenting C# source code with XML Comments. How to improve C# source code through the use of the official Microsoft .NET Framework code commenting standards.

• Code Documentors. Describes how code documentor utilities can be significant time saving tools when it comes to creating technical documentation from application source code.

• Documenting a SQL Server database. The article discusses the following: database naming conventions, adding object descriptions, documenting stored procedures, and how to create technical documentation for your SQL Server databases.

• Documenting Microsoft SQL Server 2005 databases. Describes the SQL Server 2005 features that allow for the rapid creation of high quality database documentation.

• Guidelines for writing software documentation. Shows you how best to document your software (both technical and end user documentation described).

• Building a website search engine. Describes a few ways to add a search facility to your website.

.NET Framework Programming tutorials

Programming tutorials for C#

The C# programming language was designed specifically for the .NET Framework. Its syntax resembles Java.

• Documenting your C# Source Code. Hints and tips for documenting C# application source code, including the use of XML comments.

• Generating random numbers in C#. A tutorial that demonstrates how to generate random numbers in the C# programming language.

• C# Enumerators tutorial. An introduction to the use of enumerators, which are a more sophisticated alternative to using constants.

• Building a C# website search engine. Shows how to build a standalone search engine for an ASP.NET website using the C# programming language. 3rd party server-side software, Indexing Services or databases are not required.

Programming tutorials for VB.NET

The VB.NET language is the successor to Visual Basic 6.0.

• Improving VB.NET application string handling performance. A tutorial that demonstrates how to dramatically improve application performance by making small changes to string concatenation routines.

• VB.NET Error Handling Using Try ... Catch Blocks. Exception handling in VB.NET is one of the greatest improvements over Visual Basic 6.0. This tutorial shows how to trap those errors.

• Using the .NET Framework Queue class in VB.NET. The Queue class is a collection in which items are added to the end of the collection, and are removed from the start of the collection, much like a line for the store checkout. This is often described as a first in, first out (FIFO) type of behaviour. As such it is a useful object for use in a variety of scenarios.

• Generating random numbers in VB.NET. A tutorial that demonstrates how to generate random numbers in the VB.NET programming language.

Programming tutorials for ASP.NET

ASP.NET allows the .NET Framework to be used to create web applications. As such it is a replacement for the older Active Server Pages (ASP) technology.

• Using the PlaceHolder ASP.NET Control. Shows how the PlaceHolder ASP.NET control can be used as a container for other controls, including controls dynamically added at runtime.

• Building an ASP.NET website search engine. Shows how to build a standalone search engine for an ASP.NET website, without the requirement for server-side software or databases.

Programming tutorials for Active Server Pages (ASP)

Active Server Pages (ASP) is a web scripting environment used to create interactive web applications. Although now superceded by ASP.NET, there are still many hundreds of websites still using ASP.

• ASP Code Reviews. This article describes how our ASP Documentation Tool product can assist with the code review process for ASP web application source code.