Excel Project
My current project is leading me in some interesting ways. One of the major focus points that I’ll be touching on is development with .NET against Excel and prospectively Excel Services. Most of what I’ll be working on is primarily centered around an Services Oriented Architecture mentality.
I have since purchased the Programming Excel Services book from Microsoft Press written by Alvin J. Bruney. From my quick perusal of the book it appears that there are some solid topics right in line with what the project will be attempting to encompass. Between SQL Server functionality like Integration Services (SSIS), Analysis Services (SSAS), and the services of SharePoint the scope of available use for Excel and Office based applications is massive, if not outright incomparable in competing products (are there any existing these days?) I’m definitely looking forward to this effort.
Expression
I’ve also, mostly in my spare time that I have none of, started trying to get some graphics awesomeness in my skills. I won’t even exaggerate, I’m not graphics wiz. I can get layouts, design, and other such things put together. I can even do some color matching appropriately. But I can only do these things with the wonderfully archaic tools of pen, paper, pencil, and a bit of color pencils or other coloring devices. Getting that back into the medium I need it in, the web and computer interfaces, is next to impossible for me. So I hope to change that over the next 4-6 months and get some solid chops on the graphics side of the web world.
Some of the additional sites that I’ve been checking out lately include the following:
- Wayne Smith – Musing about Microsoft Expression
- Expression Blend and Design – The team blog of the Expression Blend and Design Products.
- Microsoft Expression Web – Team Blog
- Microsoft Expression Training
- Lynda Training Videos
- Anna Ulrich
- UK based site focused on Expression Web
There are a ton of others which I will include in my follow up entry based entirely on Expression tools.
So that is it for now, I wanted to add some “Keeping Up” news but I really don’t have the time. Maybe I’ll get to dig through it later. Until then, keep up the coding and be agile like.
