The majority of newbies and even some experts in software programming often ask themselves a question: how to read a book on programming? They want to save time and get more effect from reading.
What do you think? Which of the following tips would be more useful?
• To read one chapter, and only after that to study a set of examples and task solutions.
• To read a chapter and a set of examples at the same time.
• To read a chapter / book and then review examples only visually, inventing own analogues of described problems.

We asked Oxagile programmers what do they think about these questions and got the following answers:
• I try to go read the chapter, type examples (I think that mechanical typing is also beneficial for me =), then I try to invent my own tasks for the given topic.
• Traveling by subway I saw bearded guy who was reading the textbook on C + +, desperately commenting tasks in his notebook. I like this approach to the effective reading, but sometimes it looks like fanaticism =).
• I start my reading from different parts of the book at the same time =). And in such a way my new book can be full of multicolored bookmarks even at the first day.

The way of reading depends on your way of thinking, so you can choose your own variant of effective reading. Good luck!

The impact of recent changes in the world economy changed the situation in world of software. Now the majority of developers are focused on short-term work. But it doesn’t mean that they are careless about their prospects. Self-education and experience are still the only way to success. That is why it’s so important to be constantly analyzing existing technologies and methodologies trying to keep step with changeable IT- world, not wasting valuable time for unnecessary knowledge and superseded information.

So we will try to forecast the most essential skills for developers that won’t become obsolete in the next five-six years. In this and the next posts we will list 14 the most relevant technologies for software developers.

#1-3: Java, PHP, .NET

It’s highly unlikely that three foundations of software development, Java, PHP, .NET, will be in less demand in the near future. Developers need to know at least one of these programming languages and development platforms: Java, .NET (VB.NET or C #), or PHP. Nevertheless only one programming language syntax is not enough. Usually projects cover a wide range of different functions, so developers need to know the frameworks and libraries associated with the necessary functionality in more details.

to be continued…

Visualstudio2008 and language C# on the .NET platform is often used for software development. The .NET absorbed all advantages that were available in the market of software development. The .Net platform uses the opportunities of XML and Web in full. It can be called one of the best platforms for development, especially when web-services are concerned.

The sight into web development is completely revised in .NET programming, powerful and suitable in use is given to our attention technology of ASP.NET, that noticeably avoids developments of rivals. To write code on ASP.NET is simpler , much quicker, and decision is got excellent on productivity.

C# is an object oriented language of programming for the .NET platform. It was developed by a group of developers under the aegis of Microsoft Research (SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE at the Microsoft company).

The language has severe static typification, polymorphism supports, overload of operators, function- delegates, events, properties, exceptions, comments in the format XML and an automatic garbage collector. Programming on C# language consists of one or several files. Each file can contain one or several name spaces. Each name space can contain an embedded name of spaces and types, such as classes, structures, interfaces, transfers and delegates – functional types. One of 10 possible types of projects, including Windows Application, Class Library, Web Control Library, can be chosen for creating a new project on C # in the environment Visual Studio. ASP.NET Syntax of C# is close to C++ and Java. A complex programming technique is used for C#. Using C ++ programmers had a chance to declare classes in the header file and to realize classes in a separate file. Header files, idl-files (Interface Definition Language – language of interfaces description) and complex interfaces are not necessary.

As software is self-sufficient, it is possible to use it without work in different applications. In C # all classes have a uniform basic class. If a class is not derived from other classes, it automatically inherits the properties and members of the System.Object.

Types of work with DB at the level of the .NET application – this is:
- work with sets of announcements classes of classes, that contain announcements of inherited methods and properties, reserved for solving the problem of information extracting from the data base;
- work with a set of objects- representative classes of classes, that provide jobs data base management systems;
-work with a set of values and properties of concrete objects, reflecting specific structure of the concrete data base.

Certainly, at writing a program, interacting data base management systems, a programmer can do all himself. Truth, in power complexity of a task (it will be necessary to turn many of any parts), time can need on development of such application enough many. Activity programmer – developer of appendices for work with bases data in base of own with nothing are not distinguished from that, what was more early. And it is therefore desirable:
- to understand the organization principles and interactions classes of classes, that provide jobs data base management system;
-to present the structure, purpose and principles of work of appropriate objects;
-to know, for what and how to use different details at the organization of interaction data base management systems;
-to be able to create components of Ado.NET with set to configuration with use of auxiliary mean of (wizards), given in the contexts Visual Studio.NET.

With the help of Visual Studio 2005 it’s possible:
- to create a business-appendix on the languages Visual Basic, C #, C ++ and J #;
- to develop Windows in the uniform development environment and web-appendix,
- to develop programs for mobile devices;
- to create client-server appendices, including on the technology of web-services, and for operating with data.

Nowadays software testing is a rapidly growing up sphere. And software testing engineers may be found employed in different sectors. Lots of methodologies are widely known:
-Agile testing;
-Extreme testing;
-Scrum testing;
-White Box testing;
-Traditional Black Box testing and others.

The Black Box testing is the most popular and called for in many companies around the world. For years experts had been developing different costly commercial tools to lessen testing efforts and to increase the efficiency and quality of software testing, but lots of them were nonviable in practice. Later in 2001, some testing experts offered to create the software utilities for their manual-and tool-automated testing efforts.

And today at every seminar or training there are courses and lectures teaching testers more technical topics, including programming, networking, and databases. In the past and certainly today quick, efficient and profitable testing is in great demand. One of the ways to reach these goals is using .NET application software for testing projects. Although .NET languages are powerful enough to accomplish some useful testing tasks, testers and developers must have enough knowledge to write the code.

But first of all let’s discuss the automated software testing in general. At the beginning let’s look at some of the important management issues involved when starting automated testing, like guidelines for when and when not to automate testing, what kind of personnel requirements are needed to address and how to build an automated testing team. In later articles we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using two .NET languages, Visual Basic (VB) .NET and C#, for test projects and utilities.

Unfortunately there isn’t enough information out there yet to help test experts to use programming for testing purposes. Most of the publications are geared for software developers, not testers. Using .NET languages for testing requires a shift in the future. A tester may go to different courses, trainings (for example, standard Visual Basic course) to wonder how it could ever be used on a test project. These trainings and a lot of articles, books explain just how to use the controls and the ways to create a great application with user friendly interface. But the tester doesn’t care about that so much— actually he wants to know how to get to the system information and other testing-related data using code or how quickly develop a utility. But the reality is the following – a tester must know how to use .NET languages as soon as possible on a test project:
– How to get access to the DB easily and quickly;
– How to get access to the Windows Registry to return distinctive application data;
– How to create a front end with basic controls to view test information and results as soon as possible
– How to get access to the appropriate .NET Framework library functions that return relevant information about the platform, files, registry, operating system, and so on.

These questions are just the beginning, but they reflect some of the things the testers have used to accomplish their testing tasks.

Why are.Net languages a good choice for testing? Actually .NET languages are not testing tools. They are a set of languages used for developing software. And it’s required to answer why it is better to use C#, Visual basic to reach testing goals instead of C, Java, Perl and PHP.

Scripting languages (for example Python, Perl, Rexx, VBScript and others) have a large group of supporters. Why not use those? As an actual fact none of those scripting languages were invented with testing in mind. These languages can be a good advantage for testing software, particularly if they are already installed and a tester has quite good experience. But if there are testing engineers with skills in .NET languages, so they will be a great choice. Also if the application is being written in any of .NET programming languages, in that case it may be a reason for the testing engineers to use it for automation software testing. But it’s not absolutely required to use .Net languages for automation of .NET applications. It’s a delusion.
But for Windows platform it’s a perfect choice that will give the power to do whatever you need. The Framework libraries have a lot of things to provide the successful automation testing. For example, .NET programming can be used for a lot of hidden applications’ operations testing. Scripts can be developed to get access to the system environmental variables and performance counters. Automated scripts can check the correct loading and retrieval of the data from files. It’s obvious that the .NET programming languages are powerful development tools makes them showing promise of future success and able tools for software testing. So it’s very important for test engineers to study .NET languages and to begin use them in everyday working practice.