Technology has been changing at a rapid pace over the past few years and with conference season almost upon us it’s a great time to head to one of the great conferences like ASP.NET and HTML5 Connections from March 26-29 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. I’ll be there with a whole new round of sessions myself including talks on Windows 8, XAML, jQuery, JavaScript Patterns, Knockout, MVVM with HTML5, and JsRender.

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Of course, there’s much much more too including a can’t miss keynote by Scott Guthrie and many great speakers like:

  • Dan Wahlin (fantastic presenter and a great personal friend of mine)
  • Stephen Walther (awesome presenter, knows his stuff cold)
  • Richard Campbell (brilliant man of .NET Rocks fame)
  • Mads Kristensen (creator of many awesome plug ins for Visual Studio)
  • Scott Hanselman (one of the best and funniest presenters in our industry)
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    And of course there are many more!

    Sessions are only part of a conference experience. Yeah there’s the parties too … but the real value is in the hallway conversations and the people you meet and continue to talk to beyond the conference event. DevConnections is a great place to strike up these conversations as its one of the largest gatherings of super experts in our industry … and they are all very approachable. There will also be a panel discussions with many of us, which is a great chance to put us on the spot!

    I’ll be co-presenting a full day jQuery workshop with Dan Wahlin on Monday, March 26th. Dan and I like to have fun, so it should be another Abbott and Costello type of afternoon (yeah, I guess I’m Costello) while learning jQuery. You must register for the workshops so be sure to do that when you register for the conference.

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    Workshop

    APR02: Building Ajax-Enabled Applications with jQuery (9:00AM - 4:00PM)
    Add'l Fee $399.00
    Dan Wahlin & John Papa
    Building cross-browser AJAX applications can be a fun yet challenging proposition. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to put the joy back into AJAX development using the jQuery script library. Learn how jQuery selectors can reduce code and simplify the process of finding DOM elements, how chaining can be used to accomplish multiple tasks with a single line of code and how cross-browser AJAX calls can be made using built-in jQuery functionality. Other topics covered include using client-side templates as well as built-in plugins. If you’ve wanted to learn jQuery but haven’t made the time, this is the workshop for you since we’ll take you from the ground floor all the way to the top.

    I’m also presenting or co-presenting 4 other sessions. Be sure to stop by and say hi!

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    CWI201: Fundamentals of Windows 8 XAML Metro Style Apps
    John Papa
    Heard the buzz about Windows 8 Metro style apps but don’t know where to start? In this session you’ll learn how to build Windows 8 apps using XAML and take advantage of the native Windows 8 features. Walk through the fundamentals of Windows 8 and then learn about styling, animations, invoking the Windows Runtime (WinRT), the intrinsic controls, and more that will help prepare you to develop Windows 8 Metro style apps.

    CJS201: HTML5 and JavaScript Fundamentals with MVVM and KnockoutJS
    John Papa
    Do you write a lot of HTML and Javascript code to push and pull data? In this session you will learn popular techniques to use data binding to bind your data to your target controls in HTML writing less code, but gaining more power. See how to consume json data, use json objects in Javascript, use declaritive binding, using KnockoutJS. You will also see how to use the MVVM pattern to write data centric Javascript code that follows good separation patterns and creates highly maintainable code.

    CJS301: Techniques, Strategies, and Patterns for Structuring JavaScript Code
    Dan Wahlin & John Papa
    Are you writing a lot of JavaScript code and trying to apply good practices to make it more maintainable and flexible? In this session, learn about common practices to make avoid problems such as polluting the global namespace and code that executes inconsistently, by using patterns such as separation and the Revealing Module Pattern. You will leave this session with several tips on how to write clean, more maintainable, and consistent code.

    CJS202: Templating and Data Binding for HTML5 Applications with JsRender and JsViews
    Dan Wahlin & John Papa
    Interested in using the latest JavaScript libraries for templating and data binding your HTML5 app? In this session you will learn how to simplify JavaScript development using JsRender and JsViews (the replacements for jQuery templates). Learn how JsRender brings a new templating library to HTML5 development that has a code-less tag syntax, high performance, no dependency on jQuery nor a DOM, supports creating custom functions, and uses pure string-based rendering. You will also see how JsViews compliments JsRender by providing data binding features through observability of changes that work with plain old JavaScript objects (POJO).