I devote a lot of time each week to studying new technology. It is very important for a web developer to keep up his skill set because his expertise is his major asset. I prefer to learn incrementally because most programming languages and software have too many details or features to master. I can’t spend all day studying so I just try to pick up one new language feature or software feature to document and experiment with during the day. Sometimes it is just a regular expression or a JavaScript function that I found useful.
I’ve decided to give up on my plans to study Eiffel and Java Server Pages. There isn’t much work to be found in those programming languages and I do need to specialize. JSP was only of interest because a local company, Brodart, is always looking for JSP developers. I will continue to expand upon my knowledge of ASP.NET 2.0, XSLT, PHP, and C#. In regards to software, I will continue to study DotNetNuke 4.0 and After Effects 6.5. I should mention that my study of ASP.NET 2.0 will include the AJAX extensions.
I recently finished learning to use some additional aspects of database management using the new ASP.NET 2.0 Data Server Controls. I tried out the DetailsView, GridView, and FormView server controls that can be used to insert, edit, or delete records without writing any code. I also learned about CommandFields, DataKeyNames, and Parameters which are new properties and tags associated with these server controls. I’ll probably be doing more of my work in design mode within Visual Studio 2005 because it has many wizards and graphical user interfaces for working with these server controls. I rarely use design mode in Visual Studio 2003 because it does not compare with FrontPage 2003.
I have learned that DotNetNuke 4.0 has a module for XML and XSL transformations which is probably better suited for the developer APIs that return data as XML.
I put a foam windscreen on my StudioProjects B1 Cardiod Condenser Microphone and it really helps to reduce plosives, pops, and spikes.