Web API is a brand new platform for developing REST services using Microsoft technology stack. It is a framework based on HTTP services, which helps client applications to communicate with services in an object-oriented way. Web API is highly customizable, scalable framework on top of .net framework. If you are using VS 2012, Web API framework project template will be included, if you are using VS 2010, you need to install it via nuget.

Sometimes we required to send email messages using Outlook Object Library instead of the conventional System.Net.Mail.SmtpClient class. While developing an desktop application, where I couldn’t hard code the SMTP server details and credentials. I found a solution using Outlook Object library, which will help to send email, with the current user context and credentials.

If you want to display an exit confirmation from your Windows Phone app, if user press the hardware back button, here is the code snippet. (It is not a recommended practice, as per Windows Phone market place certification requirements, if user pressing the back button from the application’s first page, application should exit)

Recently I tried to update VS 2012, with Update 3. I was not using the offline installer. In the middle of the installation I got a screen like this.

In .NET world, all the assemblies are compilied in to MSIL (Microsoft Intermediate Language). The MSIL is converted to machine code by a just-in-time (JIT) compiler when it is executed. MSIL includes metadata that provides a wealth of information on the code. .NET Framework comes with various tools which will help you to view / modify MSIL code.(Checkout my post - Exploring IL Assembler). But problem with this approach is you need to be a guru in MSIL.

In our organization, we are using both MS Lync and Skype for communications. One of the main problem I faced with Skype, unlike other IMs like Lync or WebEx, Skype will not change the online status, based on outlook appointments, we need to do it manually. So here is an Skype plugin, which helps to change the online status based on your outlook appointments.

This is an old ASP.Net hack to upload file without page refresh in ASP.Net web pages.