Two Extensive Training Classes for VFP Developers - .NET Training for VFP Developers and Converting VFP Applications to .NET

Where: Onsite at EPS Software Offices (6605 Cypresswood Dr. Suite 300, Spring, TX 77379) or remotely via GoToMeeting
When: .NET Training for VFP Developers - March 16-18, 2009 (Monday – Wednesday) - Leverage your VFP knowledge to learn .NET
Converting VFP Applications to .NET - March 19 & 20, 2009 (Thursday & Friday) - Converting your VFP Applications to .NET

EPS Software will be holding two comprehensive classes, specifically for Visual FoxPro developers who wish to utilize the latest Microsoft .NET technologies. The training class will be held at our offices in Houston, Texas as well as online via GoToMeeting. The first class (Monday - Wednesday) will be .NET Training for VFP Developers. The second class (Thursday & Friday) will be Converting VFP Applications to .NET.

These two events will be taught by industry renowned expert, author, speaker, and MVP Claudio Lassala, as well as senior developer and creator of much of the VFP2NET toolset, Mike Yeager.

In the first class, attendees will learn an overview of Visual Studio and the .NET Platform from a VFP perspective, C# and VB.NET, WPF & Silverlight, Windows and Web applications, and much, much more.. The second class will discuss overall strategies, planning, architecting and real world techniques for converting existing VFP applications to .NET. (The full agenda is below.) Attendees will also get the opportunity to discuss their projects and have their questions personally answered by both Claudio Lassala and Mike Yeager.

Costs are the same for either on-site or remote access:
Only $749 for the 3-day .NET Training for VFP Developers class - March 16 - 18. To register for the 3-day class only, click here
Only $599 for the 2-day Converting VFP Applications to .NET class - March 19 & 20. To register for the 2-day class only, click here
Or attend BOTH classes for a discounted price of only $1,199 ! To register for both classes, click here

Registration is extremely limited. For more information please e-mail info@eps-software.com or call Patrick at 832-717-4445 x 32.
Discounts are available for companies who have previously attended our classes. Call Patrick for details.



Monday - March 16, 2009
Introduction to .NET and Visual Studio

- Introduction
- Overview of Visual Studio and the .NET Platform from a VFP Perspective (This session provides a general overview of .NET. What are the main features? How does development compare to development in VFP? Why is .NET so important?)
- BREAK
- The Main Languages: C# and Visual Basic (No matter what you do in .NET, you likely need to know some C# or VB.NET, or both. This part of the training will get you started.)
- LUNCH BREAK
- Object-Oriented Development (Object-Oriented development is second nature for many VFP developers. .NET's object model is an evolution of VFP's object model, so most people will feel right at home. But there are differences.)
- BREAK
- Databases and Data Access in .NET vs. Visual FoxPro (Data handling is one of VFP's great strengths. How does it work in .NET? This is the question this session will answer by providing an overview of SQL Server and ADO.NET.)


Tuesday - March 17, 2009
Developing a .NET Application in Visual Studio

- Building Business Logic (The logic components are the heart of every application. This session shows how to build and quality control (test) the center-piece of every application)
- BREAK
- The Basics of Building a Windows Application (This session focuses on building a Windows interface layer (WinForms) on top of the previously created business logic.)
- LUNCH BREAK
- Threading and Security (This session presents two important features not available in VFP. Today's user expects the application to always be responsive and threading can accomplish this. We will also explore how to implement .NET's built-in security features.)
- BREAK
- Building a Web Application (This session focuses on building an HTMLbased Web Application (ASP.NET Web Forms) on top of the previously created business logic.)
- BREAK
- Building a Web Service Interface (Over the last few years, Web Services have become a central part of software development. This session shows how to build a web-service based interface on top of the previously created business logic.)


Wednesday - March 18, 2009
Advanced Concepts & Technologies

- Object-Oriented Development - Advanced .NET Commands (.NET offers a lot more object-oriented features than what VFP has, and many of them are core to writing code in .NET: Interfaces, Generics, Delegates, Events, just to name a few.)
- BREAK
- New UI Technologies - WPF & Sliverlight (Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight are at the center of Microsoft's vision for the UI moving forward. More than just "Flash on steroids", Silverlight is building client side browser applications with Visual Studio. Take a look at how WPF and Silverlight give applications a modern look.)
- LUNCH BREAK
- Building Composite WPF Applications (If you build any application that goes beyond "Hello World", it's likely that you create composite applications. Prism allows for applications to be built with proper separation of concerns, promoting loose coupling, extensibility, and testability.)
- BREAK
- WCF (Windows Communication Foundation goes beyond web services and is the basis for Microsoft's Software + Services model.)

Software + Services
Developing for Mobile, Surface and other Devices as well as Cloud computing with the new Microsoft Azure OS Mike Yeager
- BREAK
- Bonus Q&A (Get your questions answered! Claudio Lassala & Mike Yeager)


Thursday - March 20, 2009
Conversion Strategies and Integrating .NET and SQL with VFP

- VFP to .NET Migration (The Strategy of VFP Migrations, with much information accessible also to non-technical business managers. This session will be a detailed overview, based on best practices and real world experience of the optimal way to transition a mission critical application from any version of FoxPro to .NET and SQL Server.)
- BREAK
- VFP with SQL Server (In many incremental conversions it makes sense to port the database from DBF files to SQL Server while retaining the VFP application. This session shows you what's available, what the pitfalls are and how to decide if this is the right approach.)
- LUNCH BREAK
- A Survey of Conversion Products & Tools & Techniques (This session presents products and tools available for integrating .NET into VFP, integrating VFP into .NET, converting from VFP to .NET and even compiling .NET code from VFP source.)
- BREAK
- Open Discussion / Q & A (Roundtable discussion of the challenges of converting a VFP application to .NET. )

Time permitting, we’ll also discuss:

Productivity Tools
A survey of the tools we've found most useful for developing software quickly, efficiently and with higher quality.

Friday - March 21, 2009
Converting a VFP Application to SQL & .NET

- Evaluating the Application & Developing a Plan (This session introduces a minimally functional VFP application written in a typical VFP-oriented fashion. It shows how to develop a strategy for doing a conversion to .NET. Throughout the rest of the day we demonstrate a hands-on conversion of this application into .NET and SQL Server.)
- BREAK
- Converting the Database & the Migration Process (This session focuses on the differences between databases designed for VFP and those designed for .NET. Using the sample application database and some conversion tools we create a new DB optimized for SQL Server and create the process for migrating the data, taking the changes into account.)
- LUNCH BREAK
- Converting Reports to SSRS (Modern report engines typically give developers the option of running reports purely server-side or client side, the way VFP did it. This session goes through the process of converting both the layouts and the logic to SSRS and SQL Server, emphasizing server-side reporting.)
- BREAK
- Building a Solution Structure & Framework (Using the Milos Solution Platform framework and building blocks, this session implements a Visual Studio Solution structure, and implements a custom inheritance level. A main window, navigation and role-based security system are implemented.)
- BREAK
- Converting Forms & Business Logic (This session separates business logic from UI and uses tools to implement the business objects and forms. The two are then integrated and brought into the main application completing the conversion of the sample application.)