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http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/teamsystem/team/tfs_survey/default.aspx

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All I can say is WOW WOW WOW!  I am very impressed and very stoked!  I have successfully completed one dual server install and upgraded a very active, multi-project single server installation.  Each took about 3 or 4 hours, where most of the time sucked up backing up and copying db files and ISO images around.  Huge improvement over the past installs.  This product just gets better with each release!  While the release candidate brings a number of improvements, a few of my favorite are:

• Removing the BuiltIn/Administrators group from TFS groups the users contained in that group actually disappear in the drop down lists
• Real user names in drop down boxes rather than aliases
• An upgrade procedure.  B3 to RC was very straight forward and easy
• Huge performance improvements
• New reports
• "Go To Changeset" ctrl + g in source control
• Installation and health checking greatly improved
• Installation instructions are greatly improved

If your one of those developers who reads blogs rather than instructions there are a few things to note:

• Reporting services changes, dual server, uninstall/install or install
  • Reporting services was moved from the data tier to the application tier
  • Uninstall Reporting services on the data tier and delete its two supporting databases
  • When you install Reporting services on the application tier you cannot run the service as local system.
  • That user you've selected to run reporting services will need "Log On Locally" rights on the appropriate machines
• The TFS upgrade utility can be found here: Upgrade Utility
• There are two hotfixes which have to be installed on the appropriate machines, both are found on the media. KB913393, KB912838
• Use the server name rather than the IP for the TFS data tier address
• Run TfsBuildUpgrade.exe from a client machine and not the TFS server
• For an upgrade, backup those databases
• Just read those instructions!

Hats off to the product group, for a job well done!

Way off the beaten path...

A number of months ago my wife and I finally decided to build a new house.  If you have ever gone through the process of building or buying a new home, you know there is an unlimited amount of factors which ultimately affect the purchase and more so your monthly payment.  When we started this process I hit the ole Internet in search of a mortgage calculator.  I landed on the Office template section where I found a basic mortgage calculator workbook.  That workbook has since been revamped to closer depict a holistic purchase process.

The numbers represented in this spreadsheet are just for demonstrative purposes. MortgageCalc-2003.zip (36.04 KB)

I hope you find it as useful as I have. Enjoy!

Yesterday ( Friday ) the official TFS Release Candidate was cut.  Today I received my copy and tomorrow I upgrade.  I'm stoked!

The bits are on their way to the MSDN download center and you should see them sometime on the 7th.

Check out this post from Jeff Beehler for all the details.

I received my Toshiba Tecra M4 around 7 months ago.  Like any, there are pro's and con's; overall not a bad machine.  One thing that just drives me crazy it's the random mouse lag.

Does anyone know a fix for this?  If so, please comment!

Based on some conversations I had today, here is a simple NMock example.

NMockExample.zip (17.19 KB)

Code Snippets just rock.  I thought I would post my testing code snippets.

CSTestSnippets.zip (2.2 KB)

VBTestSnippets.zip (2.13 KB)

Just add them to the appropriate place under "My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Code Snippets\"

Short answer.

It's as simple as adding one line to your csproj which in turn tells the IDE to treat that project like a test project.  Add the following line to your main PropertyGroup:

<ProjectGuid>{04082EBA-C85C-4336-B3FD-9891096BAA0F}</ProjectGuid>

Then just reference Microsoft.VisualStudio.QualityTools.UnitTestFramework.dll and you are on your way.  Be sure to verify that Guid between releases. 

Long Answer.

When I start a project I create the base set of known assemblies that project will need.  I also add an additional test project which will contain any Scenario, Load and Stored Procedure tests.  Then I convert all assemblies to test projects.  I am a firm believer in Test Driven Development.  IMHO it is the only way to properly write code.  Having said that over the years I have developed my own set of TDD practices; one of which is the physical placement of your unit test classes in the assembly their testing.  Why? Well I will explain that in a future post call Unit Testing with Partial Classes.

With any decision there are of course trade-offs. In this case the trade-off is around the IDE interaction with hosting type projects, ie exe or web.  After you convert an exe to a test project, when you decide to run ( F5 ) it will actually fire off Test Manager rather than the launch app.  If you are a TDD bigot like me this is actually the correct action; if your not, I know your already complaining.  BUT all is not lost!  There is a little tool us TDD bigots keep in our back pocket at all times, TestDriven.Net.  This is an Visual Studio add-in and it allows you to execute your unit tests with just a right click.  If you choose to use this tool it isn't necessary to convert your project to a test project but rather just reference the Microsoft.VisualStudio.QualityTools.UnitTestFramework.dll.  This will allow you to fire your app as intended and run your tests with the same project configuration.

Disclaimer: this is not a Microsoft recommend practice.  You can find more information about the Visual Studio Team System Testing Framework here.