Is Microsoft Prism alive and active? [closed] - prism

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I've been doing a lot of reading these last two days on Microsoft Prism, but the thing I'm still not very sure of is what does the future look like for it? I know that version 4.1 was just released a few months ago, but besides Microsoft's own documentation, I haven't found many blog posts written in the last year on the subject, most of what I find is 2009-2010.
It definitely looks interesting but the learning curve seems to be a bit steep and I wouldn't want to embark if it's going to become obsolete in the near future. Anyone has any insight on this?

Mike, from my perspective it's not a bad thing that there isn't much blogging.
PRISM is supported and their message board monitored. There is a big community that uses PRISM. Functionality isn't being developed - thats' why not much to blog about, but it's solid and open-source. P&P team maintaining it and there might be 4.5 release later on when .NET 4.5 comes live.
This is not MVVM framework, and there is a lot of different MVVM frameworks. This is not model or business objects wrapper. This is framework to develop modular composite applications with WPF/Silverlight. And AFAIK there is nothing like this available.
We use their modules, navigations, regions, DelegageCommands, etc. We use pretty much everything available from PRISM and it works great for us. OTOH we did roll out our own MVVM functionality.
P.S. Learning curve WAS painful. Not because it's bad framework but because there is a lot of functionality (which you can use ala cart btw). At the end it is worth it. I suggest getting their book and reading it quickly just to see what it's all about. Then you will see when and how you can use their functionality.

Prism is a life saver. Now its maintained by Brian Lagunas. He is once of the best person on earth to help. He always reads our messages and replies. If you want to get a better understanding then Brian Lagunas has excellent courses on Pluralsight.

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phpBB: how to customize the UI really [closed]

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This will be quite a long way to ask my question, so please bear with me, I'm really interested in your opinion and need an advice.
I would like to modify or convert an existing phpBB3 setup because my users don't like it anymore. They definitely don't like the (otherwise professional) design of the templates based on proSilver or subSilver2 - they find it boring. We're talking about young girls and boys; it's quite possible that this is the first forum they've ever wanted to use (for some of them at least). Because I maintain that forum for a quite small community I must do something with this situation, so I've started thinking about how to dress up phpBB3 and make it more lovely.
Do you know any other forum software which could satisfy our needs better, perhaps a more Web 2.0 targeted solution? Do you have any ideas how should I design a forum style that 10-15 years old people can really use and enjoy? (I'm not talking about the IT specialists of the future here.)
I know it's not about programming on the surface, but we're talking about UI design here. I ready to do quite a lot of coding if we could find a nice concept - I wonder if I should create a new phpBB3 style with custom code from scratch or something.
I don't know phpBB, but to your question on other forum software...
I have used bbPress for a large project and I was very happy with it. It shares a lot of code with Wordpress and one can easily integrate the two, and even add more sophisticated social networking features using the BuddyPress plugin.
bbPress itself is lightweight and fast in my experience. It is easy to create a completely customized experience using only HTML, CSS and a few PHP template tags. There is a plugin architecture that allows you to customize the heck out of it without modifying the core.
One drawback is that it's future within the Wordpress stable has seemed a little uncertain recently.

Software Design Implementation - Issue/Module/Bug/Feature Tracking Solution [closed]

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The company is growing and we're starting to implement more and more complex software designs. I feel a need for some tracking software... I just don't know if it exists.
I currently maintain a Google Doc Folder (shared by our 3 developers) with a well-organized doc for each module. A doc is also created per major upgrade to a module or modules. For all other "tracking"... we have interal forums.
I want the following:
I want get an immediate printout of all Project_01 features or bug fixes on a particular project with the option to hide or show developer comments that have been implemented in the last X number of days.
This clearly suggests a web-based system where developers enter issues, bugs, and features with appropriate tagging. Entries should be commentable, taggable, dated, editable and reporting should be based upon tags, dates, developers, projects, etc.
I figure I'm going to be perceived as naive by the grizzled veterans floating around here, though I've been running this business for 4 years (so I've been around). I don't think we have the resources to absorb the overhead of implementing something like CMMI... but then again, I don't really know what's best.
My personal evolution to using Google Docs per Application Module + internal phpbb forums for everything else has been pretty nice compared to the way we started out (marker boards, Microsoft Word docs). I just feel like I can go a long ways towards exceeding client expectations if I had the ability to track features/bugs/issues better with superior on-demand reporting.
Thoughts?
Update: Went with MediaWiki integrated with Mantis
Take a look at fogbugz. It looks like it meets all your requirements.
Also, take a look at this other SO question: Free/Cheap Task/Bug Management software
I've good experiences with mantis. http://www.mantisbt.org
Yes, FogBugz and Trac are recommended.
I hope it helps.
I find this comparison of issue tracking systems either interesting or overwhelming.
I think with 3 developers, in the same building, you probably can get by without software tools. But, adopting something now, before you're so big/complex that you can't survive without it may save a lot of future pain.

OnTime Alternative? [closed]

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I've recently begun working with a new software development firm. One of the things I would like to do is introduce a software management tool to collectively group the project development efforts within a single source.
I've traditionally used OnTime and my initial reaction was to introduce it within the new company as well. However, the pricing is a little too high for the Professional version at this point.
Can anyone offer any real alternatives which offer both Feature / Defect / Project management with easy reporting and dashboards? Basically I'm looking for an OnTime alternative which has been proven through use.
Thanks,
Brian
There are tons of options here. Trac (free), Mingle (pay), FogBugz (free to try and other select uses), Rallyet al.
It depends on which set of features you value most and how your development process works. I personally enjoy FogBugz, have used Mingle professionally, and like Trac on the hobby stuff where I've used it. I've also used TeamTrack, but I wasn't a fan. Rally is award-winning, but it was never the best fit for my thought process.
Here's Wikipedia's list of project-management software.
We really like fixx, it provides pretty much everything we need, and everyone picks it up really quickly.
I tried trac for a while, but found multi-project support to be a bit of a hack. Bugzilla had usability issues and took ages to set-up. Basecamp is also really nice, but we wanted something that was hosted our end, rather than in "the cloud".
edit: and I did use OnTime at my last place of employment (the winforms version) - it was nasty to use, everyone found the learning curve rather steep, and at no point did the cost feel justified.
OnTime is too complex and the learning curve is really steep. I suggest redmine. it beats ontime hands down and simple to setup and use.
Well the fact you have to have a paid license for each user of OnTime, versus Redmine which is unlimited users for free.
10-user License $3,995 $3,595/yr
Each Add'l User $499 $449/yr
Man that is a little costly if you ask me.
Are you sure the Express version of OnTime isn't suitable for your needs?
It's currently US$5 for 5 users.
We're using FogBugz for a project, it's pretty cool. You can register for at free trial to see if it fits your needs.

Suggest tool for website structure prototyping [closed]

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I am looking for some tool that would help me prototype basic website structure and logistics (or simply user interface).
It should be extremely efficient in the matter of time needed to do simple changes like changing position of objects on the page. It should provide features for creating multiple pages and linking them together.
I don't need visual aspect of the thing, just the basic structure, placement of objects and logistics.
I prefer offline, free or open source solution.
Try Mockingbird, it's mainly used for user interface prototypes, but you can easily use it for flowcharts / structure diagrams etc.
Best of all it's free!
Try Balsamiq Mockups, it's excellent and quite inexpensive. Or, Microsoft's Sketchflow is great for building interactive prototypes.
In no particular order:
Sketchflow, part of Expression Blend 3
Balsamiq
Mockingbird
Axure
"I prefer offline, free or open source solution."
Then Pencil is what you need!
I've tried iPlotz recently which is an online wireframing tool and I've been impressed.
I highly recommend Mockplus Cloud.
Mockplus is a desktop-based tool for prototyping mobile, web, and apps. You are able to create interactions with simple drag-and-drop. Besides,your teamwork will be time-efficient with the collaboration feature.
The admins are always online and can solve your problems in minutes if you have any. You can learn about design and get design inspirations and resources in this group.
What’s more, this group offers many benefits to its members only.
If you join the Mockplus and the admin will offer you 40% off coupons and free UI Kits & Fonts Package. Besides, you will get life-time free tech support on Mockplus even if you are not a paid user now.
If you are looking for a place to communicate with others about product and UX/UI design, and also get a great rapid prototyping tool with saving a big budget.

Software project: Handle team discussion , questions, answers etc [closed]

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For an in house software project, what type of system I could use to centralize all the online team members discussion?
For our software development effort, currently our questions and answers are all scattered over emails.
Its hard to track ideas, questions, and answers etc.
What do you guys use? How do you manage such a situation?
Could a wiki be used for some thing like this? And if so, how could I get started? I have not done this before.
Our discussions could have sensitive information for the company as well so how could I address security?
In terms of technology, I would definitely go for a wiki (and Twiki is certainly not a bad choice). If it's installed on your company's intranet then there is no issue in terms of security.
One thing to keep in mind about a wiki is that it requires some work to keep it maintained; it's easy (and sometimes tempting) for everyone in the team to constantly just add pages without taking any linking of pages or structure into account. The moral here: a wiki is a very helpful tool for helping in communication, but it doesn't come for free.
However, depending on the kinds of communication/discussion that you're talking about: definitely watch out that online communication isn't replacing face-to-face communication. Depending on the interpersonal skills of the members of the team, it can some times be too easy for some people to shift to e-mail/wiki/forum use instead of verbal communication. Even having daily stand-up meetings (a la SCRUM) can be very useful in ensuring that everyone knows what is going on in the team instead of relying on electronic communication.
I'd suggest redmine
It has a forum and wiki per project, as you seem to need, and a lot more features very usefull when dealing with a project that requires several members to participate. And its opensource!
The only "issue" is that it was written using Ruby on Rails.
I would say Twiki, its an open source enterprise wiki.
Needs sometime to get used to it, but once you are, you will find opening new pages and topics very easy and quick.
One of the advantages IMO is its hosted on your own server
TWiki® - the Open Source Enterprise Wiki and Web 2.0 Application Platform
My own distributed team has experienced a similar problem, and we've solved it in the following way.
Day-to-day we run a continuous group chat (Campfire is an option). Announcements, questions, and answers can happen in chat, and it's recorded. You can search past transcripts as needed. This is simple and lightweight.
We also use a wiki for more permanent content. Sometimes material that starts in chat migrates to the wiki. The advantage of a structured wiki is that it makes it easier to onboard new team members and maintain specific content like team norms (like Subversion's HACKING doc).
The benefit is that we keep fast and lightweight chat for transient questions and so on, but we still have the wiki to hold content once it's deemed important.

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