UPDATED: I goofed and listed Quality Center as an option for pushing bug reports to—but we only integrate bugs with TeamPulse and Team Foundation Server. As much as I love them, automated tests (be they functional, integration, or unit) aren’t the end-all-be-all for your testing approach. Exploratory testing, particularly for any system of any consequence, is a critical part of your overall “Deliver Great Stuff!” strategy. Getting your team freed up from repetitive regression testing empowers them to put their brains to use as they poke around the corners of your system. Exploratory testing gives you tremendous value as your ...

I recently started reacquainting myself with the Telerik MVC Extensions, and it seems I had forgotten just how awesome they are! I want to talk about a few of the less known features I find really awesome in the extensions. VS Extensions Telerik’s MVC extensions come with built in Visual Studio extensions to make project creation, and configuration, a snap.  In addition, the extensions include a variety of project templates to help start new projects: 

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is the way to handle data on the client these days. It really is the cat’s pajamas. Almost all the client-side widgets or libraries that you’ll be working with will most likely be utilizing JSON, and sending large chunks of data over the wire as JSON as opposed to other bulky forms of data can lead to some dramatic performance increase across any application. I often come across individuals not sure of what JSON is, or how they can use it today, and I wanted to address this issue in a blog post. Of course I...

As many of you already know, we are offering you a chance to choose which features of OpenAccess ORM you would like to see implemented in the next releases. You can post your votes and comments in our PITS system, plus you can ask us to put new features there through the support system or forums. Recently there is one clear winner in PITS – the database default values support. It has been requested many times through our support system as well – and we would like to thank all of you for the feedback, we do appreciate it. We are glad...

Urban Dictionary contains several definitions for Protip: Obvious advice sarcastically presented as sage wisdom. To offer advice or suggestion to resolve a problem. Often used in context of emphasizing common sense, a very strong opinion, or to belittle/mock a person’s point of view. A...