Programming Microsoft® Office Excel 2007 Services (0-7356-2407-0)

vapordan@hotmail.com — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:44:00 GMT

It's not that I have been away, it's that I couldn't log in to this site for the longest while and I was busy finishing off my new book. Anyway enough of the formalities.

I'd like you to know that I am working on a new book. Programming Microsoft® Office Excel 2007 Services is being published by Microsoft Press. It's a change of publishers, the last book was done with Wrox/Wiley publishing. Wrox/Wiley and I have a great working relationship. Professional VSTO was very well received is selling well and I expect Programming Microsoft® Office Excel 2007 Services to go even further.

Chapter 1 is in introduction aimed at decision makers. You won't find code there. Chapter 2 - 5 lay the foundation of Excel services. We talk in depth about the EWS, Calculation engine, web parts and some of the new tools such as the extensions for Visual Studio that help you to build web parts. There is code on at least, every page. That's how I like it. I mix the code with a good dose of theory, but at the end of the day, there is a lot of code. Period.

Chapter 6 lays it on thick. If you don't have a solid foundation, you shouldn't even bother tackling this chapter. In there, I show you how to embed objects into web parts to include charts and spreadsheets and other types of objects (tehehe, seems like OWC really aint going away). I walk you thru the process of embedding managed usercontrols into web parts so that you can automate desktop objects thru web parts. We focus on advanced web part programming as well to include real-time object automation and so on and so forth. In my research leading up to this chapter, I've not seen any examples of this type of programming out there. I'd like to point out that I worked closely with MS Support in figuring out how to do this stuff because initially, they didn't think that it could be done. What's in this chapter will amaze you.

Chapter 7 starts where chapter 6 trails off, that is, uphill. Steep! The focus of Chapter 7 is to show how the SharePoint product can be consumed by ASP.NET. We tackle CAS issues around web parts and UDFs and show you how to properly configure embedded managed controls in web parts. Features provide in-depth probes of the architecture. Want to do AJAX with Web Parts? It's there. Want to learn to fire an event on MOSS 2007 that is caught in script running in the browser? I show you how to do that and how this is different from plain SharePoint eventing. Want to learn how to automate an Office application on the desktop from a Web Part? Don't think it is possible? Go ahead, try chapter 7. It's real code. Working examples. New concepts.

We round off the advanced pieces with a deep-dive into SharePoint Web Part connections. It's fairly intense but chapter 6 and 7 is where advanced users will find value and appeal. If you aren't comfortable with chapter 2 - 5, you will certainly struggle with chapter 6 and 7.

And, it's practical. One of the things that turned me off about SharePoint is the fact that you have to manually write output to a textwriter object. Whatever happened to drag and drop? Manually programming is for affecionados, busy people want to get the job done. I'll show you how to use the designer to write and deploy web parts with point and click ease.

All in all, this is the best book I've written. My previous books continue to sell extremely well. I expect this book to lead the pack out of the starting block. Period. I have some of the best technical people reviewing the code so that every line does what it is supposed to and there are no ugly issues. It's a technical book so it should behave as such.

Office Web Components v Excel Services

vapordan@hotmail.com — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:21:00 GMT

Think the Office Web Components are dead? Think they can't possibly stack up to the new kid on the block?

Consider this.
The new offering of Excel Services is certainly potent. However, the new Client Access License (CAL) may put Excel Services way out of reach for small shops with no big budgets. Excel Services web parts may be cool but unjustifiable if users are forced to purchase SharePoint 2007.

While we wait patiently on the final shape of these new CAL's, you should err on the side of caution. CAL's are how Microsoft intends to recoup investment costs in bringing Office products to market. You should realistically expect that the new CAL's may be constructed in such a way that businesses may be forced to purchase products in bundles. Such a move could lead to software shops paying for services and products that aren't needed in order to get to products that are needed. Don't forget, the OWC was crippled by restrictive licensing. It certainly seems that Excel Services is headed that way.

There's a lot of noise being made about the exciting features and functionality - I'm certainly guilty of that [see my ASPNet Pro August feature article]. Have you heard the same amount of fanfare about the licensing terms of use? Isn't that the most important thing that drives adoption in the industry? Shouldn't more attention be focused on that area? While you ponder that, I'd suggest you start giving the old OWC a brand new look for your development needs.

Vapor Blog : OWC Office Web Components Excel Services Sharepoint 2007

Programming Microsoft® Office Excel 2007 Services (0-7356-2407-0)

Office Web Components v Excel Services