aspnettest 1.01 has been released on CodePlex. It is based on NUnit and Selenium.

We can use Ping but there are a few tools goes down to the port level. PortQry is one of them. Here is a link to a useful list:

http://blogs.msdn.com/tim_rains/archive/2006/10/12/list-of-tim-rains-windows-support-tools.aspx

When ObjectDataSource updates or inserts data through the underlying Data Access Object, it can either supply a list of parameters or a single object that contains the parameters with its properties.

To work in the former mode, set the DataObjectTypeName property to blank. To work in a later mode, set the property to the type name of the object passed.

When binding an ObjectDataSource to a stronlgy-typed table adaptor, the Wizard will automatically set the DataObjectTypeName to Sytem.Guid. This is in correct. It is necessary to clear it for the program to work. Otherwise, we would get:

“Could not find a property named 'xxx' on the type specified by the DataObjectTypeName property in ObjectDataSource 'ObjectDataSource1'.“

I cannot wait to get my hands on it. The following are links to the downloads:

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Redistributable Package

Windows SDK for Windows Vista and .NET Framework 3.0 Runtime Components

Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (Windows Workflow Foundation)

Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (WCF & WPF), November 2006 CTP

A few days ago, I blogged about VB parsers. There is actually one more choice. The VS 2005 SDK also comes with a parser. It is derived from Garden Point Parser Generator. It generates different type of parser to JAVACC. JAVACC generates LL(1) parser while GPPG generates LALR(1) parser. So the grammar specfication would be a little different. See  http://blogs.msdn.com/somasegar/archive/2006/10/04/Next-step-in-VS-2005-SDK.aspx for more detail about VS 2005 SDK.

Here are 2 tips on accessing help from Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions:

1. Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition does not install a link to the MSDN Express. Although it is possible to access MSDN Express from Visual Studio 2005 Express, MSDN Express will close when we close the Visual Studio 2005 Express. To access MSDN Express directly, just run "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Help 8\dexplore.exe". I placed a short-cut on my desktop so I can access the MSDN Express anytime.
2. If you install packages from Microsoft Patterns and Practices (such as CAB or Enterprise Library) on machines only with Visual Studio 2005 Express Editions installed, it is likely that the link to help would fail. This is because the links point point to the help under path ms-help://MS.VSCC.v80/. However, if you only have the Express Editions installed, you would not have the path. Instead, you have ms-help://MS.VSExpressCC.v80/. So If you make the beginning of the path from  ms-help://MS.VSCC.v80/ to ms-help://MS.VSExpressCC.v80/ in your short cut, the link will work correctly.