Windows Azure OS update: Guest OS Family 4 now available

Windows Azure is a platform for internet scale computing and services and it is hosted in the Microsoft data centers. This includes various features including corresponding developer services that can be used together or individually. This flexible as well as open cloud platform enables you to quickly deploy, build or manage applications throughout the global network of data centers managed by Microsoft. You can easily build applications using any tool, language or framework. Hence, now with latest updates, integrating your public cloud application with the existing IT environment becomes easier.

Advantages of Windows Azure Cloud Services

• Windows Azure provides an on-demand infrastructure which adapts and scales to your ever-changing business needs. Whether it is about running existing applications or creating new applications, it offers best-in-class price performance with end-to-end support.

• Windows Azure Cloud Services (Worker or Web Platform/Roles as a Service), help developers easily deploy or manage application services to delegate the manage underlying Software System and Role Instances to the Windows Azure Platform.

Guest OS Versions: Future, Present and Transitional

• This area lists the presently supported Guest OS versions. Guest OS versions as well as families with an official expiry date are reasoned "in transition". These are still backed up until the expiration date gets recorded in the table. The authorized expiration date is when any version will be removed from a system. If Cloud Services still run on any version when it expires, the same will be instantly stopped or deleted. It can also be force upgraded to a newer version counting on the support status as well as different other policies.

• Guest OS family 4 has substantial compatibility with Windows-Server 2012 R2. This version also supports the .NET Structure 4.0, 4.5 as well as 4.5.1.

• The family 3 is substantially congenial with Windows-Server 2012 and hence it supports the .NET Framework 4.5 as well as 4.0.

• Guest OS family 2 is considerably congenial with Windows-Server 2008 R2 SP1. It supports the 3.5 and 4.0 .NET Framework.

• The family 1 is considerably compatible with Windows-Server 2008 SP2. It supports the 3.5 and 4.0 .NET Framework but does not support 4.5 or later version.

Technical Facts about Guest OS Family

The Guest OS version refers to a fundamental Windows Server Operating System version which is applied in Windows Azure Cloud Services. This family is based on released Microsoft Windows versions. These are the underlying operating system which Cloud Services run on. Each Operating System contains a version, family and release. This family often refers to a Windows OS release which a Guest operating system is based on. For instance, family 3 is based on Windows Server 2012.

This version is a family system software image along with particular MSRC (Microsoft Security Response Center) patches available just after the new version is produced. All patches may not be included. A number starts at 0 while incrementing by 1 every time latest updates are added. If necessary, trailing zeros are only displayed. The 2.10 version is different and much later version as compared to version 2.1.

A "Guest Operating System release" always includes at least the same base image along with a set of MSRC patches as earlier releases. In some cases, one or two additional patches may be added. The latest release always supersedes any previous releases. A re-release often occurs if issues that crop up during testing necessitate it. The current release is meant to supersede any previous releases. It always testifies to the fact that if release 3 is out, you being a customer will not be able to choose release 1 or 2 of the same operating system version.

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Visual Studio 2013 is released- whats new in it?

Thelaunch of the recent version of VS 2013 is aimed for developers. The version has many improvements in user interface and a whole lot of smarter tools which make the using of this software a pleasure. Visual Studio Online has been launched as well which has development services that run on Windows Azure and focus on support for Azure, agile team collaboration and Application Lifecycle Management.

CodeMap- Visual Debugging- During debugging sessions in Visual, there is an option known as Code Map which is found in debug toolbar. When you click this in Debug mode a window will open showing the execution flow's visual representation. This window can be called Visual Call Stack, showing invoked method sequences. This debug toll will help out in the better visualization of code structure and the debugging pace will speed up as well. Existing codes can be grasped easily by newcomers as well. Other things that can be done are adding comments, grouping items, highlighting references to method box, changing colors of method boxes, etc.

Roaming settings- This is a cant-miss feature as during the launch of the studio you will be prompted to sign-in with live.com, hotmail.com or any other Microsoft account. After signing in your settings will be synced with the Microsoft account. When using the studio on some other computer, using that account for signing in will lead you to find the very same settings that you had applied. So, there is no need to waste time in configuration if you are using different computers.

Browser link- Close to Start command there is an icon which hosts a brand new feature known as Browser Link which provides you with two-way links between your browsers and Visual Studio. The basic functionality is allowing the refreshing of browser window running the web application within the studio.

UI Icons- Contrary to the previous versions which used blacks and whites mostly, the new version is lot more colorful. Some icons have been replaced with colorful icons.

Notifications and feedback- Feedback related to the product can now be easily given to Microsoft just by using a simple flag-like icon. The area beside the icon shows things like notifications related to product updates, etc. when you click the icon a separate pane will open which contains all the notifications in a list.

CodeLens- Information from Team Foundation Server 2013 and project metadata is used by CodeLens for placing of decorators on each information showing methods the code has. You will be able to get all sorts of data and information and you can even jump quickly into data like referenced codefile or last person to have worked on the code, etc by just clicking on it.

Peek Definition- The Peek definition feature is a new one that makes the entire coding experience in the studio an enhanced one. It enables developers to edit and view code definitions that are there in other files- all this without any lose of context. Developers can have an option to view inline the file that defines the target symbol as part of current document.

Agile Portfolio management- Visual Studio gives a team the option of managing work in portfolio backlog providing insights into projects that are spread across several other agile teams with the help of this feature.

Kanban board- Development teams can now take advantage of Kanban board for tasks related to planning, tracking of a project's flow and managing of tasks. Insight into various tasks' flow is provided by the iteration board which are related to bugs and product backlog items.

The newly released version of Visual Studio 2013 is packed with features which has marked the start of a new era of Visual Studio. You can hire developers from top ASP.NET web development companies in India who can help you build web applications within allocated budgets and time schedules.

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Top Things Web Developers should Know about the Visual Studio 2013 Release

With Microsoft releasing the Visual Studio 2013, there is a lot of speculation among the developers regarding the usage of the new features that come with this highly integrated development platform. Now, the integrated development environment, by virtue of several of its features such as that of CodeLens and so on, promises higher level of productivity and more efficient way of work. Having said that, the developers must learn about the most important things about this integrated development environment in order to be able to make the most out of it. Here is a quick overview of the top things the developers must know regarding the release of the VS 2013.

• Though a basic aspect, many are unaware of the fact that the VS 2013 is actually available for download on both the MSDN subscriber as well as the respective site.

• VS 2013 is integrated with the newest version of the ASP.NET, which further includes SignalR 2.0, ASP.NET MVC 5, Razor 3, Entity Framework 6 along with the ASP.NET Web API 2.

• This latest version of the integrated development environment works as a perfect editor for all kinds of web files such as CSS, HTML, JavaScript, LESS, Markdown, Handlebars, Angular, Knockdown and so on.

• The VS 2013 is also incorporated with a brand new identity system, new templates that are based on Bootstrap and a new scaffolding system. Developers must be aware about these core features in order to exploit the platform in the most desirable manner.

• The 2013 version installs simultaneously with that of the 2012 version and hence, facilitates easy round- tripping between the VS versions. Thus, developers are not required to commit to a switch for the purpose.

• The recent releases of ASP.NET put utmost focus upon One ASP.NET and this ensures that the web tools along with the core features work in very much the same manner across the various platforms.

While the above- mentioned points are certainly on top of the list of the most important things developers must know about the Visual Studio 2013, there are other features that are worth taking note of.

The VS 2013 has work item charting facility that enables developers to form charts rather quickly while also visualizing the data from the work item queries. In fact, various charts can be created such as that of the tasks, bugs and user stories from the work item queries.

Quite similarly, creation as well as management of the modern business applications becomes quite hassle- free with the newest version of the integrated environment. These applications extend the Office 365 experience and help people interact better with the artifacts, business processes and other systems.

Last but certainly not the least, the new version has a security feature called the ASP.NET Identity. This Identity system comes across as the new membership system for the different types of applications. The primary features of the identity system, some of which are mentioned below, are also important points to be considered by the developers all over:

• Social Login Providers
• Easy control over data storage
• Easy control of user and profile schemas
• Support for claims-based authentication
• Testability

Alongside the already mentioned features and characteristics of the Visual Studio 2013, there are many things that the developers are expected to know when it comes to exploiting this platform. The newest version of this integrated development environment is meant to be of several benefits though these advantages can be derived only by ensuring the perfect use of the same. Keeping track of the way the features work and then handling them is of immense necessity for the developers in this regard. You can hire developers from top ASP.NET web development companies in India who can help you build web applications within allocated budgets and time schedules.

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Why is Microsoft developing web apps?

The experience of using Microsoft Office can now be extended to your web browser with the use of Microsoft Office Web Apps which will enable you to work with your documents right on the document-storing website. These can be used personally in SkyDrive, on SharePoint sites by organizations installing and configuring the apps and they can also be used by businesses and professionals who have subscribed and selected the services of Office 365. Almost all widely used browsers support them.

Documents presenting information through collection of thoughts can be created by Microsoft Office and these documents are generally stored on computers or servers or removable storage device. But you can now store those documents in a new way so that viewing and editing them can be easily done in the browser with the help of these apps. This is in a way, almost as functional as Google Docs and according to analysts it is indeed aimed for countering the Docs in short term. However, there have been no clear long-term indications on the strategy for these apps.

It must be remembered that real-time collaboration made Docs popular and Office did not possess that feature. It is only recently that Microsoft has started to roll out enhancements to these apps which included collaborative real-time document editing. Before this you edit documents but the changes had to be saved first before they could be seen by others. With the introduction, Microsoft has to maintain a fine line between offering too much functionality and not offering enough so that it can compete well with Google.

The Web Apps are free of charges but Office 365 which is a subscription-based software service also include them. This collaboration acts as a defense against defections of customers to Google Apps which are mainly used for business purposes at $50 per year per user. On the other hand Office Web Apps and Office 365 plans cost around $60 annually for small businesses and $96 annually for larger firms. However, except as a counter for the Docs the main purpose behind the introduction is debatable as little has been done on the promotional front during its initial phases. In fact, few people knew about its existence.

It has been implied by officials of Microsoft that it has intentions of using the Web Apps eventually as substitute for Office. However, this implication is not feasible according to most experts as Office is an extremely powerful tool which acts as a pillar of a profitable business, a franchisee that generates a core revenue involving many other products as well. So the apps will no doubt be important but it will be better if they remained as complements to Office. According to some this step is to add more value, power and relevance to SharePoint. Others however argue that this step is to maintain the relevance of Office, especially for those consumers who have not installed Office. Those consumers may be prompted by browser-based programs to look for some more storage space which is sold by Microsoft as SkyDrive. This addition adds value to SkyDrive with some perhaps even becoming paid customers of it.

However, despite the many functions of these apps there are some problems associated with them which should be rectified. Word Web app should have auto-save feature ad not document-recovery feature. The connection problems should be fixed as well; there are times when the documents cannot be saved or during typing you find a problem with the spell-checker. There are a few other minor problems which when fixed will truly make the user-experience a memorable one and make them at par with Google Docs which seems to be the main competition.

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Advantages of ASP.NET Application Development for Users

ASP.NET development is regarded as an extremely dependable solution that renders outstanding security by means of the exclusive inter-portability. This programming language is immensely beneficial for enhancement of matters in the most remarkable ways. A number of large organizations prefer it as it helps them meet their most complex needs and core matters. With the rise in the number of experienced as well as proficient ASP.Net web developers throughout the world, the programming language is growing deep roots through its robust presence. It is true that compared to other Open Source developers, developers who work on this language score high in terms of abilities, qualities, knowledge and expertise.

When it comes to this language, developers have the potential to comprehend, conceptualize, co-frame as well as augment a result. Consequently, the resulting solution is supported and aligned with consistent, genuine sources. Again, developers who are working on behalf of big enterprises and rendering solutions are capable of delivering up to date outcomes in line with market needs. People who intend to go with dynamic web applications can hire ASP.Net Developers, having extensive experience along with exposure in the domain.

The programming language makes an excellent development option with respect to large-sized projects, due to its ability to extend across a long time-frame along with operation under different process parameters taking into account a segmental development approach. Strikingly, ASP.NET is not only confined to script languages, it also facilitates the use of .NET languages like VB, C#, J#, and so on. Developers can build a number of compelling applications through leveraging Visual Studio, Microsoft’s development tool. ASP.NET is wholly a server-side technology designed across a common language runtime which can be utilized on any Windows server for hosting potent technologies as well as websites.

Significant Benefits of ASP.NET development as against other Web development models

• This programming language helps in the reduction of the amount of code needed for creation of large applications to a great extent.

• The applications are rendered secure with the help of built-in Windows per-application in addition to authentication configuration.

• It makes room for enhanced performance by leveraging the benefits of just-in-time compilation, caching services, native optimization along with early binding.

• The framework comes with a rich toolbox as well as designer in the Visual Studio incorporated development environment. This patent tool paves the way for drag-and-drop server controls, WYSIWYG editing combined with automatic deployment.

• Making it convenient to perform tasks ranging from straightaway client authentication and form submissions to site configuration as well as deployment, this framework paves way for simplicity.

• Since the HTML and source code are together, the pages are convenient to write and maintain. Moreover, the execution of the source code takes place on the server. This renders a lot of flexibility and power to the web pages.

• The runtime is able to closely monitor and manage all the processes, hence, if a process becomes dead, a new process might be created in place of that. This enables the application to be constantly available for handling requests.

• ASP.NET, being a complete server-side technology, has the code executed on the server before the same is sent to the browser.

• Due to the language independent parameter, it facilitates selection of languages which is best applicable for the application or the partitioning of the application across numerous languages.

• Since the configuration information is built-in, registration of components is not required. Hence, one can go for convenient deployment.

• Applications, components as well as pages running on the web server are continuously monitored. In case there are any illegal activities, infinite loops or memory leaks, those activities are immediately destroyed and the Web server restarts.

• The framework works with ADO.NET with ease, making use of page formatting in addition to data binding features. This application counters great many users and runs faster, without giving rise to any kind of performance problems.

On the whole, this programming language helps in the creation of enterprise-class technologies, web sites and web applications. The developed applications are globally accessible leading to effective information management.

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Eight Important .NET Concepts Every Developer Should Know

Within a short span of time, Microsoft .NET framework has become hugely popular among programmers as a powerful environment to develop applications by availing advantages of different programming languages and libraries together. Along with window-based applications, the technology is also used widely to a variety of powerful and robust web applications.

At the same time, a developer also has option to use the web service standards to easily connect the existing and new applications with software and services across a number of application, platforms and coding languages. The seamless integration of applications further make it easier to deliver information and content anytime and anywhere. If you are planning to build applications on the .NET platform, it becomes essential to understand some of its key concepts.

8 Key .NET Concepts Each Developer Must Know

• Stack: As a data structure, stack allows you to add and remove objects at the same position. It follows the Last in First out (LIFO) method of data storing, and initially removes the last object added to the stack. A stack can be manipulated using several functions including Push(element), Pop(), Peek() and IsEmpty(). Each time the function returns, the block becomes unused. You have to call the function again to reuse the block. Also, you have options to implement stack in a number of ways. For instance, you can define the maximum size of the stack either at the compilation time or at the run time.

• Heap: Many programmers use heap to set memory aside for dynamic allocation. Unlike a stack, a heap does not require you to allocate and deallocate blocks using an enforced pattern. Based on your needs, you can allocate and free a block from the heap any time. However, it is essential for a developer to motor the allocated and free parts of the heap at a specific point of time. You can use custom heap allocators to control the performance of a heap to suit a specific usage pattern. While a thread can have its own stack, the entire application can have only one heap.

• Value types: When you are learning .NET technologies, it is important to understand the key value types. A value type holds the data as well as memory in a single location. However, the value types can include specific data types including Char, Date, Boolean and all numeric data types. These also include all types of structures, despite their members being reference types. Also, the enumerations are also regarded as value types, ad their underlying type is always Short, UShort, Long, ULong, Integer, Uinteger Byte or Sbyte.

• Reference types: Unlike the value types, the reference types do not hold any real data. These types rather contain a pointer to another memory location where the data is hold. Normally, reference types include String, Delegates and Class Types like Form. All arrays are also included in reference types despite their individual elements being value types. However, there are a number of values that cannot be included in the value types or reference types. As no data type can be specified for Events, Modules, Namespaces, Properties, Procedures, Variables, Constants, and Fields, these are not included either in value or reference types.
• Boxing: The value types are treated as objects using boxing and unboxing. You can use boxing to package a value type inside an instance of the Object reference type. After boxing the value type, you can store it as part of the garbage collection heap. The conversion will further allow you to link between the value types and reference types.

• Unboxing: You have to use unboxing, on the other hand, to extract the value type from the Object. However, boxing and unboxing are considered to be expensive processes computationally. Each time you box a value type, it becomes essential to allocate and construct a fresh object. Similarly, you can use a cast for unboxing that is also computationally expensive. But you can use boxing and unboxing to form a unified data type system where each type of data can be ultimately treated as an object.

• Signatures: Each .NET developer has to use signature to characterize methods, indexers, operators and instance constructors. However, each element must be specified through distinct signatures. For instance, the signature of a method must include its name, along with the value, reference or output of each formal parameters. On the other hand, the signature of an instance needs to include the value, reference or output of its formal parameters, whereas the signature of an indexer must include the type of each formal parameter.

• Overloading: Members in classes, interfaces and structures are also overloaded using signatures as an overloading mechanism. By overloading am method, a programmer can declare multiple methods wth the same name in a single class, interface or struct. Similarly, the instance constructors can be overloaded to allow developers to declare multiple instance constructors inside a class or struct. Multiple operators can also be declares in a class or struct by overloading operators. These mechanisms also make it easier for programmers to manipulate the codes without putting any extra effort.

Microsoft has made it convenient for beginners to understand .NET concepts by referring to online resources and documentation. The documentation also clearly explains the concepts with relevant examples and case studies. Following these case studies of application delivery in various ASP.NET development companies also helps a lot in understanding the actual implementation issues.

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2 Most Crucial Aspects of ASP.NET Framework

The Microsoft .NET Framework is being used widely by developers across the world to build applications that can run on different operating systems. Along with Windows, the framework also supports a variety of non-Microsoft operating systems line Linux, Mac and Fedora. At the same time, it allows programmers to use the .NET API which includes a set of components and platform libraries. A developer can use the framework to develop desktop applications, web applications, websites, web services and distributed applications.

The OOP principles based framework allows programmers to build powerful applications by picking any of the 40 languages supported by it. Also, a developer can use the language integration features to avail a number of benefits like cross language inheritance and debugging. In comparison to other aspects of .NET, Common Language Runtime (CLR) and Class Library play a more significant role in boosting its performance and effectiveness of various types of applications. As a run-time environment, CLR makes the application development process easier by running the code along with providing relevant services.

On the other hand, the .NET Framework Class Library also contributes towards making the development process easier by allowing programmers to use a huge collation of types including classes, interfaces, structures, delegates and enumerations. These types are effective in encapsulating the functionality of the application services as well as the core system. So the two key aspects of .NET framework can make the application development process faster, simpler and hassle-free.

Common Language Runtime (CLR)

You can use tools and compilers to write code by availing the advantages of the managed execution environment. Your managed code written using a language compiler can avail a number of advantages including cross-language integration, cross-language exception handling as well as support for versioning and deployment. The CLS also provides you with a much simpler model for debugging, component interaction, and profiling services. However, your language compiler must generate the metadata required to enable the runtime.

The metadata describe some key elements of your code like types, members and references. As the metadata are stored with the code, the information can be included by the CLR in loadable portable execution (PF) files. Along with locating and loading classes, generating native code, and resolving method invocations, the CLR also use metadata for setting runtime context restrictions and enforcing security. The efficient code management further contributes towards better garbage collection to eliminate the memory leaks and common coding errors.

Many programmers also avail the advantages of CLS to design applications and components that can interact across different languages. Further, the objects written using distinct programming languages can easily communicate with each other. Also, you can make your application more powerful by integrating the behaviors of these components tightly. The language compilers and tools use a common type system defined by the Common Language Runtime. They create, use and bind new types to the existing types by following the rules set by the runtime. The features further make CLR more effective in boosting the performance of your application or web services.

.NET Framework Class Library

Regardless of the nature of your application, you have options to avail the advantages of class libraries. The .NET Framework Class Library can be described as an extensive collection of reusable types that can be integrated with the Common Language Runtime tightly. As the class library is object oriented, your managed code can avail specific types to get certain functionality. The feature makes it easier for you to use .NET Framework types, along with integrating third-party components with the framework classes.

Also, the feature enables you to avail the advantages of .NET framework without learning any additional or new features. For instance, you can easily develop your own classes using the interfaces implemented by .NET Framework collection classes. The classes created by you can be further integrated seamlessly with basic framework classes. Similar to other object-oriented class libraries, the .NET framework also allows you to enjoy several programming languages using these types.

Along with database connectivity, data collection, object serialization, and file access, you can also use the .NET Framework types to perform some common tasks like string management. At the same time, you can also use a variety of types included in the class library to complement the requirements of your application development project. If you are planning to develop application using XML, it becomes essential to use the System.XML namespace which is also a .NET framework class library. As class libraries are compiled into DLLs by the framework, the System.XML class library will exist as part of the System.XML.dll file.

In addition to these two key components of .NET Application development framework, a developer also needs to understand the Common Types System (CTS) specification. The specification describes the data types and programming constructs supported by the Common Language Runtime.

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