One of the most common sayings I have had to endure as a Technical Writer is that documentation is considered by software companies to be a “necessary evil”. Is that really the case? Well, let’s take a close look at the positive and negative aspects of documentation and see if this saying is correct or [...]

Microsoft Visual C# Building Blocks: 50 Questions and 50 Answers 1. Why shouldn’t all numbers be declared as the larger data types instead of the smaller data types? Although it might seem logical to use the larger data types, this would not be efficient. You should not use any more system resources (memory) than you [...]

Bill Gates enjoyed and also was challenged by his thirty-plus year tenure with Microsoft Corporation as its leading spokesperson, technologist, chairman, and advocate for innovative change. As he leaves Microsoft Corporation to spend more time with his philanthropic activities of the Gates Foundation, which is also co-managed by his wife Melinda, Bill Gates has left [...]

As a Technical Writer, my favorite software tool is, without a question, Microsoft Word 2007. It is a phenomenal and incredible resource. It has evolved tremendously since its inception in the mid 1980s, and I remember my first experience with Microsoft Word when I had my MacIntosh Plus computer and I was typing my college [...]

As much as I respect the open-source movement and applaud the many great open-source programs on the web, there is still my respect for companies which continue to produce ever-increasing quality through their products. Microsoft Corporation is no exception. The following are ten (10) Microsoft programs that you will definitely enjoy when you start working [...]

Today’s post is a short review of a classic book about computer programming written by the foremost software engineer who has ever worked at Microsoft Corporation: Charles Petzold. Back in 1994, I read Charles Petzold’s book Programming Windows, which contained alot of great source code examples for applications that ran in Windows 95. Back then, [...]

Working with Strings Strings are special data types that can hold textual information. In the Microsoft Visual C# language, string is a keyword. It is simply a different name from the String class in the System namespace. Therefore, string has all the properties and methods of the String class. A value in a string cannot [...]

There are four pillars or key-characteristics that make up an object-oriented language: (1) Encapsulation (2) Polymorphism (3) Inheritance (4) Reuse Because Microsoft Visual C# is an object-oriented language, it is important to understand these concepts to truly harness the power and versatility of the language. Encapsulation is the concept of making classes or “packages” that [...]

The second topic that I would like to discuss is Program Flow. In Microsoft Visual C#, there are mechanisms by which you can successfully control your logic and the overall flow of the program. It is important to select the right method to control the direction of your program. Method #1: If – Else Statements [...]

Even though I am a Technical Writer, from time to time I must learn new programming languages so that I can stay at the cutting edge of my profession. Currently, I work with a group of professionals that utilize Microsoft Visual C#. According to Microsoft Press, books about Visual C# were the leading sellers among [...]