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ASP.NET 2.0 Sabbatical Begins in September, 2006

My current focus is on ASP.NET 2.0. My primary platform through the years had been classic ASP, but in September of 2006, I took advantage of a temporary break in the action to begin my transition to the new world of ASP.NET 2.0. This platform is a huge change from classic ASP — its programming model promises new features and speeded development cycles, but it takes considerable effort to master the framework in order to realize these benefits.

Sabbatical Task # 1: Classic ASP Site Conversion

My ASP.NET work began with a complete classic ASP --> ASP.NET 2.0 conversion of www.VermillionTanagers.com, a class reunion website that I wrote for my 20th high school reunion back in 2002. A Tanager is a fierce bird of prey, feared by all other mascots. Here's a photo from my brother John, noted amateur birder:

I'm not really a fierce bird of prey, I'm actually a cute songbird about the size of a robin.

Sabbatical Task # 2: Build an Integrated Intranet Starter Kit

With that site conversion behind me, I continued my ASP.NET Sabbatical by setting out to build what I'm calling my Integrated Intranet Starter Kit. The vast majority of my work has been with corporate intranets. Oftentimes this work begins at the request of one department head, but soon the application grows to include pieces for other departments. At least three times now, this situation has resulted in the somewhat painful task of retro-fitting a security layer on top of what had been a single-department intranet.

Well, I'm no fool, so I finally realized that if I'm going to continue pursuing this type of work, that I'd make my life a lot easier by building a starter platform that already includes a security layer. In my past life as a classic ASP developer, I had developed my own application code and database tables to handle the common tasks involved with role-based website authorization. With ASP.NET 2.0, we get all of this functionality right out of the box, courtesy of the new Membership and Roles classes. I spent a few weeks analyzing these classes in great detail.

While I was analyzing the Membership and Roles classes, I was also looking back at my past projects and formalizing my own ideas on how best to implement application-level security in a corporate intranet scenario. These thoughts came together nicely and led me to coin a couple phrases: Integrated Intranet Starter Kit and Self-Disclosing Security Policy.

Sabbatical Task # 3: Write Article for the 4 Guys from Rolla Site

With my thoughts coming together in a rare display of lucidity, I got to thinking that it'd be cool to document them in an article on http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/. This is a pre-eminent website for us ASP.NET developers, filled with technical articles and forums. I've relied heavily on this site throughout my ASP.NET sabbatical, and I thought it'd be nice to make my own contribution. And as a added bonus, I'd gain a little street cred! I received approval for the article on March 19, 2007 and began writing the next day. Part 1 debuted May 23 and part 2 followed on May 30, marking my debut as a publicly published technical writer.

Sabbatical Task # 4: Find Work or Continue with the Integrated Intranet Starter Kit

Well, I'm nine months into this sabbatical and definitely happy with my progress. I'm currently trying to solicit contract work with a professional software development company in Sioux Falls. This is a fantastic opportunity for me, because my work in the past has largely been solo stuff. While solo work does have its advantages, and certainly leads to a strong sense of responsibility regarding project ownership and quality of work, a team environment provides a whole new set of advantages. In particular, this shop has a more formalized software development life cycle, uses a more robust multi-tiered application model, and uses a number of cutting-edge web techniques, such as AJAX.

Depending on how fast this opportunity heats up, I may dive back into my work on the Integrated Intranet Starter Kit. Alternatively, I'll work on my golf game.