As a developer, I often rely on a variety of keyboard shortcuts and function keys. For instance, I use CTRL+R, T to run all tests in a Visual Studio solution and CTRL+SHIFT+F11 to step out of a function while debugging. These shortcuts are second nature to me.

However, when working with a Parallels Desktop Windows image on a Mac, I encountered some challenges with accessing the F9-F12 keys. By default, Mac’s command key takes precedence over function keys, which can be inconvenient for developers.

Here’s how you can use the F9-F12 keys in Parallels Desktop on a Mac:

1. For Function Keys F9-F12: Press [COMMAND] + [FN] + F9 (or F10, F11, F12 as needed).

   This combination works for me on my MacBook Pro, whereas the standard methods described in Parallels support documentation didn’t quite work.

2. Favorite Shortcut: One of...

I recently discovered something intriguing and wanted to share it along with some useful links.

My initial encounter with Domain-Driven Design (DDD) was through a presentation by Jimmy Nilsson at Elevate. His talk had a profound impact on me, particularly his point that the database should be a consequence of the domain model, not the other way around.

This got me thinking: wouldn’t it be beneficial if the GUI were also a reflection of the domain model, rather than being developed separately?

Enter DDD with Naked Objects. Naked Objects is an architectural pattern where the GUI is generated directly from the domain model, either automatically or on-the-fly.

Some might argue that Naked Objects isn’t suitable for production environments. However, as discussed on the Swedish DDD list on Google (my translation):

A story is considered done when there is an implementation of the Domain...

I came across a fantastic presentation on the S#arp Architecture framework, delivered by Billy McCafferty, the creator of the framework.

The presentation is so compelling that it makes you want to dive right into coding with it. While it may feel a bit “rough” around the edges, I suspect we’ll see significant improvements in the developer experience in the near future.

Additionally, tomorrow Håkan Alexander will be presenting the framework at Elevate. It will be interesting to see how the Avegean community responds. I’m optimistic about a big success!

OK – this might well be one of the shortest thing I’ve written but it’s soo annoying.

If you want to do DELETE (hitting the Delete-key) in the Windows OS running in Parallels, go [fn]-[<-] (function and backspace) on your Mac Keyboard.

Ahh – so nice to get that out of my system.

This might be one of the most impressive web controls I’ve ever used.

The application we’re developing includes a feature that lets users manipulate columns and rows, similar to Excel’s PivotTable functionality. When I first saw this (considering the application was built with older ASP technologies), I was a bit apprehensive as it looked quite complex.

However, I was introduced to the ASPxPivotGrid by DevExpress, and it turned out to be fantastic. This control replicates Excel’s pivot functionality almost perfectly with minimal coding. It also supports exporting to PDF, Excel, HTML, CSV, and more.

Here’s a basic example of how to use the Pivot Grid programmatically, rather than configuring it at design time:

// In .Designer.cs... var ds = HämtaData(SQL1); // Returns some data from the database ASPxPivotGrid1.DataSource =...