There are a number of practices that we engage in –– no, that we cling to, and defend, and teach to others,  – that amount to magical thinking, or at best, rational failure.

This is often just fine, no harm done (other than to our self-image as rational geeks) but some of these totemic-rituals are stumbling blocks in our ability to produce reliable software.

From time to time we might want to stop and question our most cherished assumptions to see if we’ve fallen into any of these traps:

• Secrecy and Mystery
• Ancestor Worship
• Apophenia
• Argument From Authority

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I recently imposed on myself the constraint of coding without comments.  Why?

• Comments rust faster than code, even when you’re careful
• Well written code can be read, and comments are annoying footnotes
• Comments make for lazy coding

Now, setting the bar at no comments at all seems a bit fanatic, but any value greater than zero is an invitation to using comments when better approaches are available, and like any addiction, I bet you can’t stop at one.

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The advent of Windows Phone 7 is particularly exciting to current Silverlight programmers, because Silverlight (along with .xna) is the development platform for the new phone.  I recently recorded two Silverlight TV episodes, and in one I created a typical form that might appear in any LOB application, but I created it simultaneously on both the phone and for the web using identical Xaml and C#.  (This is not to deny that there are some differences in coding for each, but the overlap is very very high).

Link to SLTV video

But does it make sense to create the same application on the web and on the phone?

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[ Revised with C# and VB.NET code]

Okay, first, understand that I’m in the position of running through the streets yelling at folks “c’mere! ya’ gotta see this!” and what I’m pointing to is the incredible new invention of… a laptop computer. Something that is undeniably amazing and cool, but everyone else on my block has already got one.

Second, and much worse, I’m about to show you how I used a “pattern” that you either have already embraced, or that you’ve been avoiding like the plague because the folks who are running around shouting “MVVM! MVVM!” sound just like the folks who were running around shouting “MVC! MVC!” and “OOP! OOP!” and “COM! COM!”…  you get the idea.

Many of us are still recovering from the last five fads that caused us to go out and buy dozens of books and break our head on the latest/greatest trend, only to have it be “oh so last year” by the time we fully grokked it.

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This article is part of the Mini-Tutorial Series

Executive Summary

This article continues the design and exploration phase of the Silverlight HVP project by beginning to examine the role the Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF) will play in solving a number of challenges in the project.

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The Silverlight HyperVideo Project has made two guest appearances on Silverlight TV. 

In the first, I talk with John Papa about the project itself and how it has evolved.

Then, during Mix, Tim Heuer and I sat down with John to discuss What’s New In Silverlight 4, and I managed to sneak in a few comments about the HVP as well.

Silverlight TV has numerous great interviews, and is quickly becoming a valued asset throughout the Silverlight community. 

Tens of thousands of people view each episode. Check it out here.

Then take a look at John Papa’s site as well.

Then come back here, because the last thing I want is for you to decide you like JP so much you stop visiting. Next thing you know, I’m sitting in the dark.

This mini-tutorial is part of the SLHVP documentation

One of the goals of the Silverlight HyperVideo Project is to demonstrate best practices.  So when is it okay to throw in a quick hack to get things working?

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