Low-level C# Practices

Syntax isn't the only thing that matters when it comes to writing code. We can't get far without getting past the compiler, but not everything that compiles is of acceptable quality. Practices and techniques beyond being "syntactically correct" are so important that there are entire third-party ecosystems devoted to detecting common issues and patterns in source code and in compiled code.

This article isn't about many of the issues that code analysis tools detect, but details some practices that can be used with C# to avoid certain pitfalls and improve quality. In this article by Peter Ritchie, author of Visual Studio 2010 Best Practices, we'll look at recommended practices in the following areas:

• .NET generics
• Sequences and iterator members
• Lambdas
• Extension methods
• Exception handling

Piwik: Tracking User Interactions

Despite the advanced tracking features of Piwik, there are still some actions on a website that may require you to do some manual work in order to track. Events in JavaScript and Flash don't cause a page load and because of that, the standard Piwik tracking code won't register any details other than a visit. In order to record user interactions with website elements such as Flash, Ajax, JavaScript, and third-party widgets, you need to use different tactics.

In this article by Stephan A. Miller, author of Piwik Web Analytics Essentials, we will learn:

• What event tacking is used for
• How to set up event tracking in Piwik using custom variables
• How to track social media events on your website
• How to track blog commenting events
• How to track e-commerce events
• How to track Flash events in either ActionScript 2 or ActionScript 3

Client-Side Endpoint Protection Tasks in Microsoft SCEP 2012

In this article by Andrew Plue, author of Microsoft System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection Cookbook, we will cover:

• Locating and interrupting client-side SCEP logs
• Performing manual definition updates and checking definition version
• Manually editing local SCEP policy using the user interface
• Utilizing MpCmdRun.exe

Importing videos and basic editing mechanics

The Final Cut Pro X Cookbook contains recipes that will take you from the importing process and basic mechanics of editing up through many of FCPX’s advanced tools needed by top-tier editors on a daily basis. Edit quickly and efficiently, fix image and sound problems with ease, and get your video out to your client or the world easily.

In this article by Jason Cox, we will see the following topics:

• Importing from a tapeless video camera
• Importing MTS, M2TS, and M2T files
• Appending, inserting, and overwriting clips to a storyline
• Working with (and without) the Magnetic Timeline
• Creating connected clips

Most artists have it easy—a painter grabs a brush, some paint and goes straight for the canvas. A writer grabs a pen and paper (or keyboard) and starts writing. A graphic artist grabs a tablet and starts drawing. If only it were that easy for video editors!

Well before an editor can start doing any actual work, we've got to spend a good amount of time getting organized and importing our media. The act of importing is simply the process of bringing our media inside FCPX and making the program aware of its existence. It's very similar to dragging a song file into iTunes—the song file already existed in some capacity, but by dropping it into iTunes, we're making iTunes aware that it exists. The same goes for FCPX in most cases.

Unlike the digital music world, however, which only has a small handful of file formats, the digital video world has dozens, and the process for importing these different media types can vary greatly. And, to top it all off, we have many options to consider as to how we want FCPX to process and handle that media as it is imported!

FCPX can import many kinds of media, but there are many factors that must be considered before doing so to determine the best workflow for a project, and where there's a will there's a way—even if FCPX can't immediately import certain file types or projects from other programs, this chapter will help explain workarounds to do the impossible!

Planning Your Site in Adobe Muse

A site is a collection of web pages containing assets such as images or Flash.

In this article by Jennifer Farley, author of Learning Adobe Muse, we'll look at how to plan a new site and use Muse's excellent wireframing tools to put together a mock up of our website.

Fail To Plan, Plan To Fail

Yes, that may be an old cliché, but like many clichés, this one is certainly true when it comes to our websites. If you spend some time planning your website upfront, you'll prevent a lot of headaches later in the process.

In this article, we'll also take a look at some of the basics of web page layout that are useful to know while planning our sites.

WPF 4.5 Application and Windows

Any attempt at mastering a technology, any technology, requires a good understanding of its foundations. This understanding makes it possible to grasp the more complex aspects of that technology; Windows Presentation Foundation ( WPF) is no different. In this article, we'll take a broader look at WPF's application model, including the use of windows within an application.

In this article by Pavel Yosifovich, author of Windows Presentation Foundation 4.5 Cookbook, we will cover:

• Creating a window
• Creating a dialog box
• Using the common dialog boxes
• Creating ownership between windows
• Creating a custom shaped window
• Creating a single instance application
• Handling an unhandled exception