What are possible implementations of distributed applications in .NET?
.NET Remoting and ASP.NET Web Services. If we talk about the Framework Class Library, noteworthy classes are in System.Runtime.Remoting and System.Web.Services.

What are the consideration in deciding to use .NET Remoting or ASP.NET Web Services?
Remoting is a more efficient communication exchange when you can control both ends of the application involved in the communication process. Web Services provide an open-protocol-based exchange of information. Web Services are best when you need to communicate with an external organization or another (non-.NET) technology.

What’s a proxy of the server object in .NET Remoting?
It’s a fake copy of the server object that resides on the client side and behaves as if it was the server. It handles the communication between real server object and the client object. This process is also known as marshaling.

What are remotable objects in .NET Remoting?
Remotable objects are the objects that can be marshaled across the application domains. You can marshal by value, where a deep copy of the object is created and then passed to the receiver. You can also marshal by reference, where just a reference to an existing object is passed.

What are channels in .NET Remoting?
Channels represent the objects that transfer the other serialized objects from one application domain to another and from one computer to another, as well as one process to another on the same box. A channel must exist before an object can be transferred.

What security measures exist for .NET Remoting in System.Runtime.Remoting?
None. Security should be taken care of at the application level. Cryptography and other security techniques can be applied at application or server level.

What is a formatter?
A formatter is an object that is responsible for encoding and serializing data into messages on one end, and deserializing and decoding messages into data on the other end.

Choosing between HTTP and TCP for protocols and Binary and SOAP for formatters, what are the trade-offs?
Binary over TCP is the most effiecient, SOAP over HTTP is the most interoperable.

What’s SingleCall activation mode used for?
If the server object is instantiated for responding to just one single request, the request should be made in SingleCall mode.

What’s Singleton activation mode?
A single object is instantiated regardless of the number of clients accessing it. Lifetime of this object is determined by lifetime lease.

How do you define the lease of the object?
By implementing ILease interface when writing the class code.

Can you configure a .NET Remoting object via XML file?
Yes, via machine.config and application level .config file (or web.config in ASP.NET). Application-level XML settings take precedence over machine.config.

How can you automatically generate interface for the remotable object in .NET with Microsoft tools?
Use the Soapsuds tool.

What is Delegation?
A delegate acts like a strongly type function pointer. Delegates can invoke the methods that they reference without making explicit calls to those methods.
Delegate is an entity that is entrusted with the task of representation, assign or passing on information. In code sense, it means a Delegate is entrusted with a Method to report information back to it when a certain task (which the Method expects) is accomplished outside the Method’s class.

What is “Microsoft Intermediate Language” (MSIL)?
A .NET programming language (C#, VB.NET, J# etc.) does not compile into executable code; instead it compiles into an intermediate code called Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL). As a programmer one need not worry about the syntax of MSIL – since our source code in automatically converted to MSIL. The MSIL code is then send to the CLR (Common Language Runtime) that converts the code to machine language, which is, then run on the host machine. MSIL is similar to Java Byte code. MSIL is the CPU-independent instruction set into which .NET Framework programs are compiled. It contains instructions for loading, storing, initializing, and calling methods on objects. Combined with metadata and the common type system, MSIL allows for true cross- language integration Prior to execution, MSIL is converted to machine code. It is not interpreted.

Differences between Datagrid, Datalist and Repeater?
1. Datagrid has paging while Datalist doesnt.
2. Datalist has a property called repeat. Direction = vertical/horizontal. (This is of great help in designing layouts). This is not there in Datagrid.
3. A repeater is used when more intimate control over html generation is required.
4. When only checkboxes/radiobuttons are repeatedly served then a checkboxlist or radiobuttonlist are used as they involve fewer overheads than a Datagrid.
The Repeater repeats a chunk of HTML you write, it has the least functionality of the three. DataList is the next step up from a Repeater; accept you have very little control over the HTML that the control renders. DataList is the first of the three controls that allow you Repeat-Columns horizontally or vertically. Finally, the DataGrid is the motherload. However, instead of working on a row-by-row basis, you’re working on a column-by-column basis. DataGrid caters to sorting and has basic paging for your disposal. Again you have little contro, over the HTML. NOTE: DataList and DataGrid both render as HTML tables by default. Out of the 3 controls, I use the Repeater the most due to its flexibility w/ HTML. Creating a Pagination scheme isn’t that hard, so I rarely if ever use a DataGrid.
Occasionally I like using a DataList because it allows me to easily list out my records in rows of three for instance.