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SweetMail, a new email client written by
CRU students using C# ("C sharp"), a modern programming language,
won kudos, cash and prizes in the Microsoft. NET programming competition.
The contest, sponsored by the department
of electrical engineering and computer science, the Case School
of Engineering and Microsoft Corporation, was open to all CWRU
undergraduate and graduate students regardless of their academic
major and ran from February through April. Entrants were armed
with a copy of Microsoft's Visual Studio. NET to write a software
application in C# using version one of the .NET Frameworks.
Microsoft .NET is a new way for connecting
information, people, systems and devices. It enables software
integration through the use of XML Web services: small, discrete,
building-block applications that connect to each other-as well
as to other, larger applications-via the Internet.
Twelve teams submitted an array of software
solutions. The list included an application designed for managing
helpdesk cases, a management software application to track vending
machine inventory and a program designed to unscramble anagrams
and help win Scrabble and other word games.
"The results of this competition were
really impressive and represented an array of creative ideas,"
said B. Ross Barmish, chair of the department of electrical engineering
and computer science. "I was really impressed with these students
who took time outside of their class work to write code and come
up with new applications for the CWRU community. Many of the students
who competed were not computer science majors but have a passion
for this science and enjoy programming."
The judges for the competition rated the
applications on each project's innovation and creativity, user
interface, stability and performance, utility to CWRU community
and the user of Web services.
"Competitors submitted written descriptions
of the applications and justification for them, along with the
method, process or goals of the program. They used .NET Frameworks
and told us who would use their application and why. They also
submitted a detailed demo script with step-by-step directions
and screen shots," said Deepok Rao, a graduate student in the
department of electrical engineering and computer science and
CWRU's Microsoft campus representative.
The first place winner, SweetMail, by David
Rosas, Clint Hirschi, and Marc Lisa is a new e-mail client that
automatically finds a campus e-mail address with minimal effort.
The team won $2,000. In second place, WarCWRU by Alex Parker,
Andrew Mudget and Brendan Elliott, an online, multiplayer role
playing game, won $1,500. Third prize went to Pathway Browser,
a tool for biologists to interact with pathways and processes
by Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, Greg Schaeffer and Wanhong Xu; it won
$1,000. Running Log, a web site where athletes can track their
progress in training, by Branton Boehm, finished in fourth place.
Finally, fifth place was awarded to a Bookswap application by
Kim Chau Vo, Ed Pavlak and Jeff Morse.
Each member of the top five teams received
Microsoft's new cutting edge gaming console-an XBox with an extra
controller and three games-and joined Bob Barmish and other EECS
faculty members for a celebratory dinner.
The C# programming language was announced
in February 2001. The company expects that with its Visual C++(r)
development system heritage, C# will enable C and C++ developers
to use existing skills to build sophisticated XML-based .NET applications.
"The University's partnership with Microsoft
Corporation promotes learning within the department of electrical
engineering and computer science by providing laboratory equipment
and helping to prepare CWRU students for the future by keeping
them in touch with the latest hardware and software from the company,"
said Barmish. "This competition was a great exercise to teach
students about the latest software from Microsoft and to help
prepare them for their future workplace."
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