I Heart Microsoft

LINQ: Convert Anonymous Type

2009-09-04T21:10:00.005-05:00

I wanted to use an anonymous type with a report viewer control in ASP.NET... of course that doesn't work unless you have a strongly typed object. And here's how I did it:

        /// <summary>
        /// The class of object I want to return
        /// </summary>
        public class MyClass
        {
            public int id { get; set; }
            public string text { get; set; }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The class used as the data source
        /// </summary>
        public class SourceClass
        {
            public int source_id { get; set; }
            public string source_text { get; set; }
            public string source_unused { get; set; }
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// The method that queries the data source
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public IEnumerable<MyClass> Get()
        {
            // strongly typed datasource
            var list = new List<SourceClass>();
            list.Add(new SourceClass { source_id = 1, source_text = "test 1", source_unused = "" });
            list.Add(new SourceClass { source_id = 2, source_text = "test 2", source_unused = "" });
            list.Add(new SourceClass { source_id = 3, source_text = "test 3", source_unused = "" });
            list.Add(new SourceClass { source_id = 4, source_text = "test 4", source_unused = "" });

            // query the list, map fields as new anonymous type
            var results = from x in list 
                          select new { id = x.source_id, text = x.source_text };
                        
            // pass into the method as array of objects (can't cast an anonymous type to anything else)
            return ConvertAnonymousType<MyClass>(results.ToArray());
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Converts a list of objects into a list of strongly typed objects.
        /// </summary>
        /// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
        /// <param name="anonymouslyTypedList"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        public static IEnumerable<T> ConvertAnonymousType<T>(IEnumerable<object> list)
        {
            var stronglyTypedList = (List<T>) Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(List<T>), null);

            foreach (var item in list)
            {
                var obj = (T) Activator.CreateInstance(typeof(T), null);
                foreach (System.Reflection.PropertyInfo pi in typeof(T).GetProperties())
                {
                    var value = typeof(T).GetProperty(pi.Name).GetValue(item, null);
                    typeof(T).GetProperty(pi.Name).SetValue(obj, value, null);
                }
                stronglyTypedList.Add(obj);
            }

            return stronglyTypedList;
        }

SharePoint: Search Not Indexing

2009-07-07T14:08:00.007-05:00

At some point SharePoint 3.0 stopped indexing sites. That point must have been when updates were applied to the server, including one for .NET 3.5 SP1. At that point some vulnerability was patched, enabling this loop back check. The search service could no longer see the sites. Once the above entry was added the sites were suddenly available again without rebooting.

The Error:

Access is denied. Check that the Default Content Access Account has access to this content, or add a crawl rule to crawl this content.

The Solution:
Disable the loopback check

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa

Right-click Lsa, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.

Type DisableLoopbackCheck, and then press ENTER.

Right-click DisableLoopbackCheck, and then click Modify.

In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.

Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.

Misc Troubleshooting

Check the logs: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\LOGS

Check the database (server/WSS_Search):
select DisplayURl, l.ErrorDesc, el.ErrorMsg, LastTouchStart, HostID, StartAddressID from MSSCrawlUrlLog l left outer join MSSCrawlErrorList el on l.ErrorID = el.ErrorID order by LastTouchStart

Windows Server 2003: IIS not running aspx pages

2009-05-27T11:23:00.004-05:00

Usually indicated by a "page not found" error even though you can get at static files like images, stylesheets, etc.

Open IIS

Expand Web Service Extensions

Make sure ASP.NET v1.1.4322 and ASP.NET v2.0.50727 are both allowed

If v2.0 is missing, run:aspnet_regiis -i from the command line to add it

XCOPY: Exclude .CS and not .CSS

2009-05-27T10:41:00.009-05:00

Add the following to your exclude text file:
.cs\
Example:

From the command line...
xcopy c:\from.path c:\to.path /D /E /Y /EXCLUDE:exclude.txt
With the following exclude.txt file (relative to the working directory):

.config
.sln
.suo
.csproj
.vbproj
.cs\
.vb
.pdb
.refresh

Note: I know robocopy exists, I just haven't messed with it.
Note: "XCOPY /D /E /Y" copies all files and directories recursively without prompting

SQL 2005: CTE Example

2009-05-19T10:53:00.003-05:00

WITH MyCTE (Col1, Col2) (
    SELECT Col1, Col2 FROM MyTable
    UNION
    SELECT Col1, Col2 FROM MyOtherTable
)
SELECT * FROM MyCTE

Rant: My Upgrade to .NET 3.5

2009-03-16T10:59:00.004-05:00

I've made the leap to ASP.NET 3.5 from 2.0. I'm sure that I'm not completely out of the 2.0 woods yet but I'm really liking the added dynamic features like Automatic Properties, Object Initializers, and Collection Initializers, Extension Methods, Lambda Expressions, and some helpful info on Query Syntax with LINQ. With the culmination of those technologies and the new ASP.NET MVC framework, I'm seeing Microsoft in a whole new light.

Now, if I can memorize the syntax...

Automatic Properties

public class Person {
     public string FirstName { get; set; }
     public string LastName  { get; set; }     
     public int    Age       { get; set; }
 }

Object Initializers
Person person = new Person { FirstName="Scott", LastName="Guthrie", Age=32 };
Collection Initializers

List people = new List();
people.Add( new Person { FirstName = "Scott", LastName = "Guthrie", Age = 32 } );

Rant: Freedom vs Safety

2009-01-27T10:28:00.005-06:00

The following explains why I regret my descent into programming over the last 12 years:

Code Craft: Freedom vs Safety Languages
Coding Horror: A Scripter at Heart

So I hate Microsoft, both because they only allow safety languages at their core, and because they are in a constant state of change. The use of safety languages in a realm where freedom languages should reign is unacceptable to me. It is a backward methodology, making client side interaction more complicated than I ever thought possible. To reverse the trend, and make my life more tolerable, I have tried to circumvent Microsoft's best practices by implementing the following:

Generate a data access layer (MyGeneration was recommended to me)
Define Views for the data in the code behind in an aspx/asmx that acts as an API
Implement StringTemplate to render any dynamic web pages using data provided by Views.
Implement Mootools and/or JQuery for the user interface.

I have spent roughly nine months working on this architecture and have nearly reached step 4, the fun part. Data access with caching, views that expose data, and virtualized pages using templates have all been completed. So now I'm almost functionally equivalent to where I was 1.5 years ago working with Django and Python. Thanks Microsoft!

.NET 2.0: Return a property value from an object dynamically

2009-01-09T13:18:00.005-06:00

public static object GetObjectProperty(object o, string property)
{
   return o.GetType().GetProperty(property).GetValue(o, null);
}

AKA the simplest reflection you can use. Right?

SQL Server 2005: Recursive Query (aka Common Table Expression)

2009-01-06T14:55:00.005-06:00

SQL recursion for cascading results from the same table.

-- UP THE TREE
DECLARE @Id INT
SET @Id = 1

BEGIN
WITH myTree (Id, ParentId, Field)
AS (
 -- anchor member declaration
 SELECT Id, ParentId, Field FROM myTable WHERE ParentId = @Id
  UNION ALL 
 -- recursive member declaration
 SELECT myTable.Id, myTable.ParentId, myTable.Field FROM myTable INNER JOIN myTree ON myTree.Id = myTable.ParentId
)
SELECT DISTINCT * FROM myTable INNER JOIN myTree ON myTree.Id = myTable.Id
END


-- DOWN THE TREE
BEGIN
WITH myTree (Id, ParentId, Field)
AS (
 -- anchor member declaration
 SELECT Id, ParentId, Field FROM myTable WHERE Id = @Id
  UNION ALL 
 -- recursive member declarationjavascript:void(0)
 SELECT myTable.Id, myTable.ParentId, myTable.Field FROM myTable
  INNER JOIN myTree ON myTree.ParentId = myTable.OrgId
)
SELECT DISTINCT * FROM myTable INNER JOIN myTree ON myTree.Id = myTable.Id
END

I can't believe they call recursive queries "common table expressions." Who does that make sense to?

SQL Server 2005: Cursor Example

2009-01-06T14:41:00.003-06:00

DECLARE @id INT
DECLARE db_cursor CURSOR FOR 
SELECT id From myTable
OPEN db_cursor  
FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @id

WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0  
BEGIN  
       -- do something
       FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @id
END  

CLOSE db_cursor  
DEALLOCATE db_cursor

I have a terrible time remembering SQL syntax.

SQL Server 2005: Database Recovery

2008-12-18T16:57:00.002-06:00

I'm hoping this code will work when I try disaster recovery after tonight's failed deployment:

Configure Database for Single User
ALTER DATABASE mydatabase SET SINGLE_USER WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE

Restore Database

Configure for Multi User
ALTER DATABASE mydatabase SET MULTI_USER

Telerik: Replace with Mootools + MochaUI?

2008-11-03T16:04:00.003-06:00

One day I'm going to replace all consumer facing ASP.NET with Mootools and Mocha UI. What I will gain is a simple, smooth user interface that makes sense. What I have now is a bunch of broken bricks in a pile that the user gets to dig around in.

Telerik
MooTools
MochaUI

Telerik: Impression after month 3

2008-11-03T15:52:00.005-06:00

I hate Telerik. As if Microsoft .NET controls weren't crippling enough, third parties like this had to come along and add in their own set of configurable controls. Don't get me wrong, their demos are top notch. I saw that the functionality I needed was available in one form or another and that they would get the job done just fine. I even committed to just learning to do everything on the client side with their API.

Boy was I naive. Page loads now take forever due to size and the amount of processing it takes to render all of these fancy new controls. Ajax is now REQUIRED for an application to run smoothly or else you are looking at cripplingly heavy pages in excess of 800k/load. And speaking of using Ajax to load anything, why is there no transition property? Does everything have to be so jarringly ugly in the land of Microsoft? I'm so disgusted with myself for choosing this software package and making my boss believe that it would save us development time. All I have now is the ugliest admin tool I could ever have fathomed that runs 10x slower than the equivalent in Django and is far more inflexible without a tremendous amount of custom coding and configuration.

Telerik: Running Javascript after Ajax Postback

2008-11-03T15:46:00.003-06:00

RadAjaxPanel1.ResponseScripts.Add("alert('i hate microsoft (and telerik too)');");
The trick here is to add functions to globally available scripts (I attached my functions to a script loaded in the master page) and call them from within an Update Panel. In this case a RadAjaxPanel. One day I might figure out why ScriptManager.RegisterStartupScripts doesn't do anything, yet doesn't throw an error either. Until then, this is my solution.

SQL Server 2005: Create Index Script Example

2008-10-31T10:56:00.001-05:00

create nonclustered index IX_TableName on Database.dbo.TableName (Column1, Column2, Column3)

SQL Server 2005: Data Flow Task: The product level is insufficient for component

2008-07-16T16:43:00.002-05:00

Problem: You fail to import data using the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard. In the validating step you check the messages only to find that it has failed because "The product level is insufficient for component..."

Solution: Rerun SQL 2005 setup on your local machine and be sure to check "Integration Services."

Note: I was confused by people telling me to look around for "SSIS" in setup. It actually goes by the name "SQL Server Intergration Services"... the windows service is conveniently names as such.

ASP.NET: Display an image from a stream

2008-07-11T16:47:00.003-05:00

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    Response.Clear();
    Response.ContentType = "image/jpg";
    System.Drawing.Image image = System.Drawing.Image.FromFile("c:\temp\somefile.jpg");
    image.Save(Response.OutputStream, ImageFormat.Jpeg);
    Response.End();
}

This page loads an image from disk, converts it to a stream and writes it as the response for this page. The source would probably be binary data stored in a database or from a zip file in memory.

C#: Conditional Shorthand

2008-07-08T10:25:00.004-05:00

return (i == 1) ? true : false;

is equivalent to

if (i == 1)
 return true;
else
 return false;

"Null" Conditional Shorthand

return myObject ?? new Object();

is equivalent to

if (myObject == null)  
 return new Object();
else
 return myObject;

C#: Array initializer in a foreach loop

2008-07-08T10:19:00.007-05:00

I find this comes in handy now and again:

foreach (string x in new string[] { "x1", "x2", "x3" }) 
{
}

SQL Server 2005: Select a random row

2008-07-07T12:30:00.001-05:00

SELECT TOP 1 column FROM table
ORDER BY NEWID()

...for other platforms

SQL Server Management Studio: Enter null values

2008-07-03T09:30:00.004-05:00

Problem: You want to enter a null value into a field using the "Open Table" view.

Solution: Press Ctrl + 0 (zero) with the field highlighted.

Notes: I kept pressing Ctrl - O (oh) and getting nowhere. I believe all fonts should use slashed zeros to prevent confusion in this matter. Works in Management Studio and Enterprise Manager.

Windows Server 2003: Turn on "allow remote desktop connections" remotely

2008-07-02T11:42:00.004-05:00

If you get this:

The client could not connect to the remote computer.

Remote connections might not be enabled or the computer might be too busy to accept new connections.
It is also possible that network problems are preventing your connection.

Please try connecting again later. If the problem continues to occur, contact your administrator.

Try this:

Connect to a machine in the domain.
Start --> Run --> regedit --> OK
File --> Connect Ntwork Registry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server
You will find a REG_DWORD value named fDenyTSConnection. Change this from 1 to 0.
Start a command prompt.
Issue a restart of the machine that contains the registry change. "shutdown -m \\myserver -r"

FireFox 3: Crashes all the time!

2008-06-26T15:43:00.009-05:00

Problem: Firefox 3 (and 2 before it) crashes all the time... like 20 times a day

Solution: Add FireFox to the DEP (Data Execution Prevention) whitelist.

Control Panel -> System -> Advanced
Click "Settings"
Click the radio button that says "Turn on DEP for all programs... except..."
Click the "Add" button
Search for the FireFox.exe, usually C:\Program Files\Mozilla\FireFox\FireFox.exe
Click "OK"
Reboot

Note: I work on ASP.NET crap every day and use as many online services I can because I use 2 computers, one at work and one at the home office. I typically have 2 gmails open, RememberTheMilk and several ajaxified applications that I work on daily, plus other viral, "must see" websites, blogs, and news sources.

Visual Studio 2005: Failed to add TableAdapter: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation.

2008-06-24T16:38:00.004-05:00

Problem: "Failed to add TableAdapter: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation"

Solution: Change to a system font.

Notes: I kept getting this error each time I right clicked on the DataSet/XSD designer and chose any options. While playing around with different fonts I was able to successfully crash out of Visual Studio by adding a new DataSet from the Add New File wizard. I forced WindowBlinds to use a system font across the board and it solved the problem. I couldn't find the .exe that loads the designer to override that one settings by itself.

Visual Studio 2005: Choose Toolbox Items: An error occurred loading this property page.

2008-06-24T15:29:00.006-05:00

Problem: "Choose Toolbox Items: An error occurred loading this property page."

Solution: Change to a system font.
In my case I had WindowBlinds 6 installed with a theme running Segoe UI as the font. This apparently caused the wizard to puke upon loading. I don't know how the two are related... just change the font to something standard like Tahoma or Trebuchet MS.

Note: It was also recommended that I run devenv /setup from the VS command prompt, but this did nothing for me.