azure

I've been working with Azure Mobile Services since it was released and until recently only the JavaScript backend was available, built using node.js. Although it is very mature with many options, the community was pressuring for a .NET option and now it is available. Modeled much like a standard Web API / MVC project at first glance, there may be a few things that you like to take advantage of in these types of projects that throw you for a loop when using the new .NET option. These include Dependency Injection, Entity Framework (Migrations and Relationships), and the help page. Getting Started You have two options for getting a project started. 1. Go to the Azure Portal and create a...

Why Windows Phone? This is not a new question, but a question or topic that I get involved a lot.  Why do you have a Windows Phone? Why do you build apps for that platform? You should be learning Java and Objective C and putting your apps on iOS and Android; that's where the users are. That is the message from the media, family, tech pundits and co-workers. And the numbers say that as well; the latest report shows that Android holds a ridiculous global market share of 80%, Apple with 12% and Windows Phone at 4% respectively.  So why should I build an app for Windows Phone first? Its about visibility. Visibility Apple has more than 1...

Nokia, through its DVLUP program, is putting on DVLUP day in various cities from Nov. 16 - Dec 6.  I'll be in Tampa on the 16th of November presenting Azure Mobile Services. I'll give an overview of: Getting Started Push Notifications Visual Studio 2013 Tools for Azure General Q & A I will also be around all day if you have any questions about Portable Class Libraries or Advanced features of Azure Mobile Services such as complex data types, authentication, etc. Event Summary Spend a day with two of our top Nokia Developer Ambassadors, Bill Reiss (@billreiss) and Atley Hunter (@atleyhunter). Together, Bill and Atley will guide you through the process of publishing your apps to the Windows Phone...

In Part 1 I covered a simple implementation of the Authentication feature and portable class libraries from the Azure Mobile Services SDK.  However, as mentioned in the "Good & Bad So Far" section; there is not a whole lot of code reuse other than the Azure endpoint and secret key.  Let's refactor a bit by adding some interfaces, conditional compile statements and the MVVM Light Event Bus to help the same solution operate cleaner. The "after" code for part one is available here. Building Our Core PortableAzure.Core is our Portable Class Library that is being shared with the Windows 8 and  Windows Phone project in the attempt to reuse as much code as possible.  However,...

Azure Mobile Services is undoubtedly one of the best platforms to emerge from the Azure group over the last year. If you are a mobile developer and not taking advantage of it; I encourage you to do so.  There are many video and blog posts available to get you started at http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/develop/mobile/ . One of the features you may not be aware of is Azure Mobile Services is a Portable Class Library (PCL) available through nuget. If you are not familiar with PCL's see my "Move Your ViewModels" series. There is a caveat however when using Azure Mobile Services in your PCL; although all of the data calls to the services are...