Building for PDC 2008
PDC 2008 was coming, and though I couldn't attend in person, I found another way to participate: by building a piece of software that would represent me and speak for me at the conference.
The Project
The application was built with WPF, LINQ, and LiveMesh - showcasing Microsoft's cutting-edge technologies at the time. It was featured in one of the PDC conferences and, with some luck, was published on CodePlex as a reference sample.
Technology Stack
- WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) for the UI
- LINQ for data querying
- LiveMesh for cloud synchronization and routing
- WCF for distributed services
The Development Journey
It required intense effort - days with 22-hour work sessions - but it was finally ready. The deadline pressure was real, but the result made it worthwhile.
The Grind
Building a reference-quality application for a major Microsoft conference meant pushing boundaries. 22-hour days became the norm as we raced to meet the deadline while maintaining code quality and demonstrating best practices.
Application Architecture
WCF Serialized Class Library
Shared data contracts and business logic accessible across all components.
Content Publisher
WCF service consuming RSS feeds to aggregate and distribute content.
Multiple WCF Clients
Various client applications demonstrating different consumption patterns and use cases.
LiveMesh Service Integration
Served as the main container and router between clients and the content publisher, demonstrating cloud synchronization capabilities.
Distributed Team Collaboration
One of the most challenging and rewarding aspects was working across distributed time zones:
StudioCom Team
Atlanta, Georgia
Microsoft
Redmond, Washington
Developer (Me)
Bogotá, Colombia
Designer (TF)
Remote location
Coordinating across multiple time zones, working under NDA, and delivering a reference-quality application taught invaluable lessons about distributed team collaboration and project management.
Gratitude
Thanks to everybody at StudioCom. We hoped to exceed any expectation you had about this app, and the opportunity to contribute to PDC 2008 in this way was truly special.
Historical Note: PDC 2008 was a pivotal Microsoft conference where technologies like Windows 7, Azure, and Windows Phone were announced. Contributing a reference application to such an important event was a career highlight.