Talk about a good weekend for me! I was able to prepare and release the first Beta 1 Preview to my testers. It’s been a fun couple of weeks working on re-writing the controls for .NET 2.0, and I’m just glad that the first phase is done. I figured the approach I would take for releasing beta’s would be very similar in how CTPs are launched. You’ll notice I called this a “Beta 1 Preview” because it contains a subset of the server controls. If you’re still interested in beta testing, I’m always looking for more people, so contact me. Ohh, and to the community awaiting the release, here’s a subset of breaking changes / features that went with this build:

• Using WebResources to handle all Javascript sources, no more need for “ExternalResourcePath”.
• No “down-level” support anymore for the CalendarPopup control, and the same will apply to the TimePicker.
• MaskedTextBox now derives directly from TextBox, which means it’s no longer a composite control and lacks the validation controls within.
• All controls will be themeable via skins.
• All “text” properties will be localizable.
• Added support to CalendarPopup for validation controls – must use those contained in eWorld.UI assembly.
• Full support for DataSource controls with the Multi-Text list controls.

While just a teaser, there were a slew of bug fixes for all controls contained, most notably for the CalendarPopup control. So, enjoy!

So I've been running IE7 Beta 2 Preview since it was released, and I've not had the troubles that I've had within the last hour of installing FireFox 1.5.0.1, okay so I can't really compare them - I just gotta put the plug in. I'm currently re-writing the CalendarPopup control and got it fully functional in IE7. So, I decided to switch over to FireFox to see how it works. Well, it seems that some bug crept into FireFox that gives random errors like the following: "Error: Error in parsing value for property 'cursor'. Declaration dropped." Huh? Are you kidding me? This is simply a style being applied to a SPAN tag! Browsing the internet isn't turning up much, but I did find a few posts & newsgroup postings with the same error, heck even with other style attributes. Now that's progress - backwards, that is. Disapointing, and hopefully these things get fixed in the next build. Well, the bright side is that the control still functions as expected, you just don't get a pretty "hand" cursor. Oh well, back to it I guess.

Update: Bah, my lack of understanding w3c standards comes to bite me! BTW - new link I've never seen... www.quirksmode.org ... haven't had time to really check it out.

While v2.0 of the eWorld.UI controls are still a bit on the horizon as of right now, I’d like to open the door to anyone wishing to beta test v2.0 of the controls. This version will be only supported on the 2.0 .NET framework, and there will be breaking changes from the current release to the 2.0 release. If you’re interested, please drop me a quick line so I can add you to the list.

Ran across this link the other day, but Microsoft has released a set of new C# code snippets that encompass a vast majority of common scenarios. Check it out!

Now that I’ve gotten the big thumbs up, it’s time I take a step back and refocus my efforts on my custom server control development. One of my major goals to achieve is developing a .NET 2.0 control set. Because of some of the overlap with my controls and ASP.NET 2.0 controls, this will exclude the BreadCrumbTrail and the EmptyDataGrid. I’m also going to be making some structural changes to other controls which will be breaking from the 1.0 / 1.1 framework versions. My goal is making things cleaner, and adding a few requested items – however don’t expect large changes from my last release. So stay tuned, it’ll still be several weeks until I get a beta version of the 2.0 release.

All of my custom controls and website are now back online for download. I've also added in the ability for you to purchase the source code again as well. Enjoy! It should be noted that I had to recompile the setup, so its not nearly as pretty now, as well as the .NET 1.0 setup will not ask if you'd like to install to the GAC.

Well, it’s been about 10 months since I’ve been able to do anything with Excentric’s World, but alas – I’ve finally gotten approval to resume distribution of my custom server controls and selling of the source code. I’ll be working this weekend to get my EULA and License agreement updated, not to mention the website back up. Thanks to all those that have waited, and the 2500+ people who’ve supported the site.

Well, darnit! It would be live 5 minutes before I leave for vacation! Oh well, I’ll get to play when I return. Check it out & get the latest Atlas bits – the Atlas site hasn’t been updated but it does look like the bits are the Dec ones.

So as I’ve been playing around with VS2005 and the 2.0 framework, my mostest favorite new addition in the C# IDE is being able to write a type and have it intelligently tell me “HEY! I don’t know where that type is!” and give me the option to either fully qualify it or adding in a “using” statement. Whenever you see the red line underneath a type when your cursor is in the word, simply press Shift+Alt+F10, then Enter. And voila! you know have a new using statement. The only downside, is that this only works when the assembly that type is contained in is referenced in your project. Ohh - and if you like using the mouse more than the keyboard, just hover your cursor over the red line and it’ll allow you to do the same thing.

Update: If you’re looking for the keyboard shortcut for this, its called “View.ShowSmartTag”. I just added Shift+Alt+Space which is a lot easier on the hands as I don’t have to hunt for F10.

So Nikhil posted a juicy teaser of the new Atlas Dec CTP bits that they’re going to be releasing very soon. After playing with the previous bits and realizing that its cool but extremely hard to work with, I’m very excited to see that they’ve improved (tremendously) the server control experience. I can’t wait to get my hands on this drop! – Now, if only it wasn’t the Holidays and I was going on vacation Friday!