Rafal Lukawiecki: A Subjective View of Next Decade in IT: Emergence of Knowledge Workers

Biography: In his role as eVisioneer and Director at Project Botticelli Ltd, Rafal is responsible for analysing, planning and forecasting the changes in the field of Information Technology. Amongst his past experiences, Rafal was also one of the founders of Bot Inc., a Seattle software development company. In his other previous roles at Oxford Computer Group Ltd and at Aris Corporation Rafal gained extensive practical experience in consulting and professional technical speaking on a variety of subjects, which he continues to perform at Project Botticelli Ltd. His frequent conference keynotes and other speeches have been sought after by many company directors, CEOs and business leaders.

Rafal specialises in three fields: study of programming models, security and cryptography, and project and operational management of IT. His work focuses mainly on: team building, management of software development ventures, designing successful IT support and operations, current and future software design patterns, e-Business, Microsoft .NET strategy, IT security, OO development, and messaging. In his spare time, Rafal has been writing a new book on Microsoft Solutions Framework aimed at its practitioners.  Rafal also holds an MSc in the Foundations of Advanced Information Technology from Imperial College, University of London.

Abstract: Starting with an overview of recent breakthroughs in IT, and taking into account evolving needs of businesses, we will paint a picture of how IT might develop in the course of the next ten years. We will discuss new technological innovations in hardware as well as software-based breakthroughs in a way that puts them together into a certain coherent path leading to the emergence of "knowledge workers". While some of the discussed innovations may be already known, the way all of them interact with each other is certainly new and offers, perhaps controversially, an insight into the future.

Bruno Cabral: Reflection, Code Generation and Instrumentation in the .NET platform

Biography: Bruno Miguel Brs Cabral obtained his BSc. in Computer Science, at the University of Coimbra in 2001. He has been teaching laboratory classes in the Computer Science Department of the University of Coimbra since 2001 on the courses of Database Systems, Software Engineering, Data mining and Knowledge discovery.

He also had some work experience as a software engineer, first between 1999 and 2001 when he was designing and developing the Information System for the Computer Science Department of the University of Coimbra that was based on CORBA middleware and later in Java and EJB. Second, as a freelancer, in 1999 he developed a web based platform for managing a work force of the Local Administration Ministry while working at Bookmarc. Later in 2002 he worked at Wit-Software, developing a mobile web based data management application based on the J2EE platform.

In 2002, he was granted a research assistance position with the Dependable systems Group at the Computer Science department of the University of Coimbra, a position that he still holds today.

His research is focused mainly in four areas: distributed systems, middleware systems, programming languages and virtual machines. Since June 2002 he has been working on the RAIL (Runtime Assembly Instrumentation Library) project that consists on developing a software library for .Net Framework that allows the instrumentation of assembly code just before it is loaded by the Common Language Runtime. The RAIL library is now an Alpha release. Currently he is working on his MsC and his PhD at the University of Coimbra.

Abstract: Apresentao feita no evento "Aspectos da Plataforma .NET", realizado no ISEL, sobre os mecanismos de reflexo de cdigo na plataforma .NET, assim como as suas capacidades de gerao de cdigo em tempo de execuo. ainda apresentada a biblioteca RAIL (Runtime Assembly Instrumentation Library), desenvolvida na Universidade de Coimbra, que estende as capacidades disponibilizadas na API .NET nesta rea, resolvendo algumas das suas lacunas mais importantes. Sero tambm mostrados vrios domnios de aplicao deste tipo de mecanismos.

Damien Watkins: Advanced Multi-language programming, Teaching Advanced Programming

Biography: Damien Watkins is a member of the University Relations team at Microsoft Research Cambridge. His major area of responsibility is the adoption of .NET related technologies in research and teaching within EMEA.

Before joining Microsoft Research, Damien founded and managed his own software consulting company called Project 42. Prior to commencing Project 42 Damien lectured at the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering and the Department of Software Development at Monash University. Damien lectured both postgraduate and undergraduate subjects, covering the areas of UNIX System Call Programming, Windows Programming with C++, Component Based Software Development and Distributed Object Oriented Technologies. Damien taught the worlds first .NET Framework course at Monash University. He has also taught at Uppsala University (Sweden) and KMITNB (Thailand).

Component architectures that provide language interoperability have always held a keen interest for Damien, and he has written a paper on this topic, titled Handling Language Interoperability with the Microsoft .NET Framework. Since 1998 Damien has been engaged with Microsoft on the development of the .NET Framework. This has required regular visits to Microsoft, Redmond and also included a two-month sabbatical in June/July 2001.

Damien's PhD thesis, titled Adding Contracts to Interface Definition Languages, dealt with improving the quality of distributed object oriented architectures, such as DCOM and CORBA. Damien has published several papers on COM/DCOM, CORBA and the .NET Framework. He has presented tutorials, seminars and workshops on COM/DCOM, CORBA and the .NET Framework at SIGCSE 2002 (USA), the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit 2001 (USA), ObjectWorld (Australia), TOOLS Pacific (Australia), TOOLS Europe (France), TOOLS East Europe (Bulgaria) and TOOLS Asia (Beijing).

Abstract: Incorporating new technologies in to a curriculum is an important task for attracting students, keeping courses relevant and demonstrating emerging standards but, if not managed correctly, it can also become an all-consuming occupational hazard. This workshop details experiences introducing the .NET Framework as the implementation platform in three university subjects. The first was an undergraduate subject, Software Component Technologies, which had previously used COM, the second was a Masters subject, "Distributed Object Technologies", which had used a combination of CORBA and DCOM and the third was a Windows programming subject that had previously used the Object Windows Library.

Inno Rammer: Web Services - Today and in the Future / Services in an Indigo World

Biography: Ingo Rammer is co-founder of thinktecture, a company providing in-depth support and technical consulting for software architects and developers. Ingo is the award-winning author of the books "Advanced .NET Remoting" and "Advanced .NET Remoting in VB.NET" and regularly shares his knowledge at industry conferences and events around the world, including TechEd, WinDev, DevWeek, NDC, VS.NET Connections, and DevDays. You can find out more about him here.

 Abstracts: Web Services - Today and in the Future: In this session, Ingo Rammer shows the world of Web Services beyond HTTP and firewall friendliness, and talks about common related misconceptions. You will learn about the really important properties and advantages of XML messaging along the lines of a service oriented software development. Ingo Rammer will discuss advanced Web Services technologies and protocols, concretize currently abstract ideas, and will show you the main driving points of current Web Services strategies and how they will evolve.

Services in an Indigo World: Indigo is the next generation of Microsoft's application server and distributed application strategy. Contrary to previous highly object centric approaches, Indigo is built around a service-centric model. In this session, Ingo Rammer will present the mechanisms and ideas behind Indigo, its messaging, pipelining, and security concepts, and the interaction with services and transactions.

Michal Cierniak: Rotor as a Research Platform

Biography: Michal Cierniak works in the Common Language Runtime team at Microsoft. He is mostly involved in Rotor (Shared Source CLI) and Semiworks project. Prior to Microsoft, Michal worked at Intel's Microprocessor Research Lab for 6 years. Michal has a Ph.D. degree from the University of Rochester, an M.S. degree from the University of Edinburgh, and an M.S. degree from the Silesian University of Technology. His blog is available at http://blogs.msdn.com/michaljc/

Abstract: Rotor, officially known as the Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure (SSCLI), is a research and educational platform available in source code form. This talk presents the relationships between Rotor, CLI and CLR. We will describe how Rotor can be used in research and education and how it has been used by others to-date. We will also present a short description of the distribution package and its use. The talk will also mention future plans for Rotor and describe a related effort called Semiworks.

Adam Wiener: Microsoft data access current and future. Importing and exporting Data from SQL Server as XML and an introduction to ObjectSpaces

Biography: Adam Wiener is currently a Program Manager in the WebData (Data Access) group at Microsoft, Redmond USA. He is working on mapping technology that dramatically improves programmability when accessing relational data as XML or Objects. Prior to joining Microsoft Adam worked in the entrepreneurial community helping to facilitate the launch of several biotech businesses serving as a technical advisor to Windamere Venture Partners. Adam graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Symbolic Systems with a focus in Human-Computer Interaction. Adam carries forward his desire to improve human-computer interaction into his work everyday, searching for new ways of increasing the usability and accessibility of programming tasks.

Abstract: SQLXML is a mapping technology that first shipped in SQL 2000 and enables users to create an updateable XML view over the relational schema. This session will show you how easy it is to treat the database as an origination or destination point of XML. Moving forward Microsoft's mapping technology will be extended to enable creating object views as well as Xml views over the database using a common schema-based programming model. This new technology decreases the coding effort and maintenance required to persist and retrieve data from SQL Server that is manipulated as XML and Objects and serves as an abstraction of the physical data source to help build flexible applications.

Don Syme: A Frank Assessment of the .NET Programming Platform: What we've achieved and where were going

Biography: Don Syme joined Microsoft Research in 1998. Before that he was a PhD student at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and graduated from the Australian National University in 1993. His primary research now centers around the Microsoft .NET platform, and in particular the .NET Common Language Runtime.

Abstract: The .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) and the associated .NET Framework are astounding initiatives. Initially conceived as a multi-language virtual machine, they have acted as a focus for innovation across Microsoft, Microsoft Research and the wider academic and commercial computing arenas. This talk will take a tour across the design space occupied by the CLR and its associated programming languages, highlighting some of the more surprising innovations which have been too easily obscured, and which in themselves represent first-class contributions to computer science. A particular focus will be on recent initiatives. In particular I will look at:

1. How .NET and C# have embraced an expressive multi-language type-safe programming through the addition of generics
2. The ramifications of the .NET decision to embrace software-based isolation through application domains
3. How the .NET teams are providing the foundations to harden software against resource exhaustion conditions, e.g. OutOfMemory and stack overflow
4. How .NET is embracing light-weight dynamic code generation and the new space that opens for language and algorithm implementation
5. The far-reaching importance of .NETs assembly-based component architecture and the decision to embrace pre-compilation
6. The stimulus .NET has given to both language design and research, as seen in future C# extensions and projects such as COmega

Vasco Veiga: Yukon - CLR, XML

Biography: Actualmente passa o dia a demonstrar e a aplicar a tecnologia em projectos de desenvolvimento de software no grupo de Developers e Plataformas de desenvolvimento em Portugal. Antes, passou pelos servicos de consultoria da Microsoft onde participou principalmente em projectos de middleware na rea da banca. Orador regular em vrios eventos Microsoft e externos sobre desenvolvimento em geral e apaixonado por tudo o que tenha bytes e seja programvel. Nos tempos livres gosta de passear os ces e ler a ouvir uma boa msica.

Abstract: Nesta sesso vamos introduzir novas formas de programabilidade presentes no SQL Server 2005. Vamos ver como foi integrado e como utilizar o CLR dentro do SQL Server, desde a extenso dos tipos base a nvel da base de dados, definio de funes e agregadores na base de dados usando um "inproc provider", at ao consumo dessa informao num cliente; vamos ver como o XML foi promovido a um tipo pleno, podendo ser manipulado em stored procedures ou CLR, suportando validao (XSD), ndices, e pesquisa plena usando XQuery, assim como pesquisa cruzadas entre o modelo relacional e o modelo definido pelo XML.

Ivan Medvedev: CLR Security, Future Developments and Security at Microsoft

Biography: For over 4 years Ivan have been a part of the CLR Security team and participated in design, development and quality assurance of its security infrastructure. Currently he is on the Secure Windows Initiative team helping make Microsoft's products more secure.

Abstract: The talk will give a summary of the security infrastructure of the CLR, future developments in the area and a brief overview of how security is done in Microsoft

Eduardo Morgado: Integrando .NET no curriculo de Computao atravs de projectos

Biography: Engenheiro pela Escola Politecnica da USP - Universidade de So Paulo Mestrado e Doutorado em Administrao pela Faculdade de Economia e Administrao - FEA/USP - Concentrao em Informtica Professor Assistente Doutor da UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista - FC/Campus de Bauru Coordenador do LTIA - Laboratorio de Tecnologia da Informao Aplicada da FC/Bauru

Abstract: Descrio das atividades do LTIA - Lab de Tecnologia da Informao, que envolve alunos graduao no desenvolvimento de projetos aplicados. O uso das ferramentas disponveis no Microsoft MSDN AA e as ferramentas .Net so destacadas como fatores de incentivo ao ensino por projetos, que estimula os alunos ao desenvolvimento de atividades extra-curriculares.