personal preference - Page 154

Parsing a Directory of files - Check for a String

- by i.h4d35

This is my first post here so kindly pardon any mistakes that I have. I'm still learning to find my way around Stack Exchange. I am trying to write a Java program that tries to scan a Directory full of either .txt,.rtf or.doc files(and none other). The aim is to search all the files in the directory, and find out if a particular string exists in the file. If it does, it returns the string and the filename that it found the string in. The aim of this program is, it is a project for school wherein the program scans the personal folders of call center employees to check if they have stored any CC/DC nos and if yes, report the folder name - to reduce CC fraud. The search function was fairly straight forward and works when I individually specify the filename. However, the searching the directory and passing the files to the search function has me stumped. I've posted my code so far, if you guys could look thru it and give me some feedback/suggestions, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance import java.io.*; import java.util.*; public class parse2{ void traverse(String directory) throws FileNotFoundException { File dir = new File(directory); if (dir.isDirectory()) { String[] children = dir.list(); for (int i=0; i<children.length; i++) { //System.out.println("\n" + children[i]); reader(children[i]); } } } void reader(String loc) throws FileNotFoundException { FileReader fr = new FileReader(loc); BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(fr); Scanner sc = new Scanner(br); char[] chkArray; int chk=1; char ch; while(sc.hasNext()) { String chkStr = sc.next(); chkArray = chkStr.toCharArray(); if ((chkArray[0]=='4')&&(chkStr.length()>13)) { for(int i=0;i<chkArray.length;i++) { ch=chkArray[i]; if((ch=='0')||(ch=='1')||(ch=='2')||(ch=='3')||(ch=='4')||(ch=='5')||(ch=='6')||(ch=='7')||(ch=='8')||(ch=='9')) { chk=0; continue; } else { chk=1; break; } } if(chk==0) System.out.println("\n"+ chkStr); } else if((chkArray[0]=='5')&&(chkStr.length()>13)) { for(int i=0;i<chkArray.length;i++) { ch=chkArray[i]; if((ch=='0')||(ch=='1')||(ch=='2')||(ch=='3')||(ch=='4')||(ch=='5')||(ch=='6')||(ch=='7')||(ch=='8')||(ch=='9')) { chk=0; continue; } else { chk=1; break; } } if(chk==0) System.out.println("\n"+ chkStr); } else if((chkArray[0]=='6')&&(chkStr.length()>13)) { for(int i=0;i<chkArray.length;i++) { ch=chkArray[i]; if((ch=='0')||(ch=='1')||(ch=='2')||(ch=='3')||(ch=='4')||(ch=='5')||(ch=='6')||(ch=='7')||(ch=='8')||(ch=='9')) { chk=0; continue; } else { chk=1; break; } } if(chk==0) System.out.println("\n"+ chkStr); } } } public static void main(String args[]) throws FileNotFoundException { parse2 P = new parse2(); P.traverse("C:/Documents and Settings/h4d35/Desktop/javatest/chk"); } }

Read the article

How do I send an email with embedded images AND regular attachments in JavaMail?

- by Chris

Hi, I'd like to know how to build an SMTP multipart message in the correct order so that it will render correctly on the iPhone mail client (rendering correctly in GMail). I'm using Javamail to build up an email containing the following parts: A body part with content type "text/html; UTF-8" An embedded image attachment. A file attachment I am sending the mail via GMail SMTP (via SSL) and the mail is sent and rendered correctly using a GMail account, however, the mail does not render correctly on the iPhone mail client. On the iPhone mail client, the image is rendered before the "Before Image" text when it should be rendered afterwards. After the "Before Image" text there is an icon with a question mark (I assume it means it couldn't find the referenced CID). I'm not sure if this is a limitation of the iPhone mail client or a bug in my mail sending code (I strongly assume the latter). I think that perhaps the headers on my parts might by incorrect or perhaps I am providing the multiparts in the wrong order. I include the text of the received mail as output by gmail (which renders the file correc Message-ID: <[email protected]> Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Test_from_=E3=82=AF=E3=83=AA=E3=82=B9?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="----=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755" ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755 Content-Type: application/octet-stream Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-ID: <20100518124021763_368238_0> iVBORw0K ----- TRIMMED FOR CONCISENESS 6p1VVy4alAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <html><head><title>Employees Favourite Foods</title> <style> body { font: normal 8pt arial; } th { font: bold 8pt arial; white-space: nowrap; } td { font: normal 8pt arial; white-space: nowrap; } </style></head><body> Before Image<br><img src="cid:20100518124021763_368238_0"> After Image<br><table border="0"> <tr> <th colspan="4">Employees Favourite Foods</th> </tr> <tr> <th align="left">Name</th><th align="left">Age</th><th align="left">Tel.No</th><th align="left">Fav.Food</th> </tr> <tr style="background-color:#e0e0e0"> <td>Chris</td><td>34</td><td>555-123-4567</td><td>Pancakes</td> </tr> </table></body></html> ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; name=textfile.txt Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=textfile.txt This is a textfile with numbers counting from one to ten beneath this line: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten(no trailing carriage return) ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755-- Even if you can't assist me with this, I would appreciate it if any members of the forum could forward me a (non-personal) mail that includes inline images (not external hyperlinked images though). I just need to find a working sample then I can move past this. Thanks, Chris.

Read the article

Custom UserControl property not being set via XAML DataBinding in Silverlight 4

- by programatique

I have a custom user control called GoalProgressControl. Another user control contains GoalProgressControl and sets its GoalName attribute via databinding in XAML. However, the GoalName property is never set. When I check it in debug mode GoalName remains "null" for the control's lifetime. How do I set the GoalName property? Is there something I am doing incorrectly? I am using .NET Framework 4 and Silverlight 4. I am relatively new to XAML and Silverlight so any help would be greatly appreciated. I have attempted to change GoalProgressControl.GoalName into a POCO property but this causes a Silverlight error, and my reading leads me to believe that databound properties should be of type DependencyProperty. I've also simplified my code to just focus on the GoalName property (the code is below) with no success. Here is GoalProgressControl.xaml: <UserControl x:Class="GoalView.GoalProgressControl" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml" DataContext="{Binding RelativeSource={RelativeSource Self}}" Height="100"> <Border Margin="5" Padding="5" BorderBrush="#999" BorderThickness="1"> <TextBlock Text="{Binding GoalName}"/> </Border> </UserControl> GoalProgressControl.xaml.cs: public partial class GoalProgressControl : UserControl, INotifyPropertyChanged { public GoalProgressControl() { InitializeComponent(); } public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged; public void NotifyPropertyChanged(string propertyName) { if (PropertyChanged != null) { PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName)); } } public static DependencyProperty GoalNameProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("GoalName", typeof(string), typeof(GoalProgressControl), null); public string GoalName { get { return (String)GetValue(GoalProgressControl.GoalNameProperty); } set { base.SetValue(GoalProgressControl.GoalNameProperty, value); NotifyPropertyChanged("GoalName"); } } } I've placed GoalProgressControl on another page: <Grid Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" Margin="5" Background="#eee" Height="200"> <Border BorderBrush="#999" BorderThickness="1" Background="White"> <StackPanel> <hgc:SectionTitleBar x:Name="ttlGoals" Title="Personal Goals" ImageSource="../Images/check.png" Uri="/Pages/GoalPage.xaml" MoreVisibility="Visible" /> <ItemsControl ItemsSource="{Binding Path=GoalItems}"> <ItemsControl.ItemTemplate> <DataTemplate>  <goal:GoalProgressControl GoalName="{Binding Path=[Name]}"/> </DataTemplate> </ItemsControl.ItemTemplate> </ItemsControl> </StackPanel> </Border> </Grid> Please note the commented out "TextBlock" item above. If I comment in the TextBlock and comment out the GoalProgressControl, the binding works correctly and the TextBlock shows the GoalName correctly. Also, if I replace the "GoalName" property above with a simple text string (ex "hello world"), the control renders correctly and "hello world" is shown on the control when it renders.

Read the article

A methology that allows for a single Java code base covering many different versions?

- by Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen

I work in a small shop where we have a LOT of legacy Cobol code and where a methology has been adopted to allow us to minimize forking and branching as much as possible. For a given release we have three levels: CORE - bottom layer, this code is common to all releases GROUP - optional code common to several customers. CUSTOMER - optional code specific for a single customer. When a program is needed, it is first searched for in CUSTOMER, then in GROUP and finally in CORE. A given application for us invokes many programs which all are looked for in this sequence (think exe files and PATH under Windows). We also have Java programs interacting with this legacy code, and as the core-group-customer lookup mehchanism does not lend it self easily to Java it has tended to grow in a CVS branch for each customer, requiring much too much maintainance. The Java part and the backend part tend to be developed in parallel. I have been assigned to figure out a way to make the two worlds meet. Essentially we want a Java enviornment which allows us to have a single code base with sources for each release, where we easily can select a group and a customer and work with the application as it goes for that customer, and then easily switch to another codeset and THAT customer. I was thinking of perhaps a scenario with an Eclipse project for each core, customer, and group and then use Project Sets to select those we need for a given scenario. The problem I cannot get my head about, is how we would create robust code in the CORE projects which will work regardless of which group and customer is selected. A Factory class which knows which sub class of a passed Class object to invoke instead of each and every new? Others must have had similar code base management problems. Anybody with experiences to share? EDIT: The conclusion to this problem above has been that CVS needs to be replaced with a source code management system better suited for dealing with many branches concurrently and the migration of source from one component to the other while keeping history. Inspired by the recent migration by slf4j and logback we are currently looking at git as it handles branches very well. We've considered subversion and mercurial too but git appears to be better for single location, multibranched projects. I've asked about Perforce in another question, but my personal inclination is towards open source solutions for something as crucial as this. EDIT: After some more pondering, we've found that our actual pain point is that we use branches in CVS, and that branches in CVS are the easiest to work with if you branch ALL files! The revised conclusion is that we can do this with CVS alone, by switching to a forest of java projects, each corresponding to one of the levels above, and use the Eclipse build paths to tie them together so each CUSTOMER version pulls in the appropriate GROUP and CORE project. We still want to switch to a better versioning system but this is so important a decision so we want to delay it as much as possible. EDIT: I now have a proof-of-concept implementation of the CORE-GROUP-CUSTOMER concept using Google Guice 2.0 - the @ImplementedBy tag is just what we need. I wonder what everybody else does? Using if's all over the place? EDIT: Now I also need this functionality for web applications. Guice was until the JSR-330 is in place. Anybody with versioning experience? EDIT: JSR-330/299 is now in place with the JEE6 reference implementation Weld based on JBoss Seam and I have reimplemented the proof-of-concept with Weld and can see that if we use @Alternative along with ... in beans.xml we can get the behaviour we desire. I.e. provide a new implementation for a given functionality in CORE without changing a bit in the CORE jars. Initial reading up on the Servlet 3.0 specification indicates that it may support the same functionality for web application resources (not code). We will now do initial testing on the real application.

Read the article

What add-in/workbench framework is the best .NET alternative to Eclipse RCP?

- by Winston Fassett

I'm looking for a plugin-based application framework that is comparable to the Eclipse Plugin Framework, which to my simple mind consists of: a core plugin management framework (Equinox / OSGI), which provides the ability to declare extension endpoints and then discover and load plugins that service those endpoints. (this is different than Dependency Injection, but admittedly the difference is subtle - configuration is highly de-centralized, there are versioning concerns, it might involve an online plugin repository, and most importantly to me, it should be easy for the user to add plugins without needing to know anything about the underlying architecture / config files) many layers of plugins that provide a basic workbench shell with concurrency support, commands, preference sheets, menus, toolbars, key bindings, etc. That is just scratching the surface of the RCP, which itself is meant to serve as the foundation of your application, which you build by writing / assembling even more plugins. Here's what I've gleaned from the internet in the past couple of days... As far as I can tell, there is nothing in the .NET world that remotely approaches the robustness and maturity of the Eclipse RCP for Java but there are several contenders that do either #1 or #2 pretty well. (I should also mention that I have not made a final decision on WinForms vs WPF, so I'm also trying to understand the level of UI coupling in any candidate framework. I'm also wondering about platform coupling and source code licensing) I must say that the open-source stuff is generally less-documented but easier to understand, while the MS stuff typically has more documentation but is less accessible, so that with many of the MS technologies, I'm left wondering what they actually do, in a practical sense. These are the libraries I have found: SharpDevelop The first thing I looked at was SharpDevelop, which does both #1 and also #2 in a basic way (no insult to SharpDevelop, which is admirable - I just mean more basic than Eclipse RCP). However, SharpDevelop is an application more than a framework, and there are basic assumptions and limitations there (i.e. being somewhat coupled to WinForms). Still, there are some articles on CodeProject explaining how to use it as the foundation for an application. System.Addins It appears that System.Addins is meant to provide a robust add-in loading framework, with some sophisticated options for loading assemblies with varying levels of trusts and even running the out of process. It appears to be primarily code-based, and pretty code-heavy, with lots of assemblies that serve to insulate against versioning issues., using Guidance Automation to generate a good deal of code. So far I haven't found many System.AddIns articles that illustrate how it could be used to build something like an Eclipse RCP, and many people seem to be wringing their hands about its complexity. Mono.Addins It appears that Mono.Addins was influenced by System.Addins, SharpDevelop, and MonoDevelop. It seems to provide the basics from System.Addins, with less sophisticated options for plugin loading, but more simplicity, with attribute-based registration, XML manifests, and the infrastructure for online plugin repositories. It has a pretty good FAQ and documentation, as well as a fairly robust set of examples that really help paint a picture of how to develop an architecture like that of SharpDevelop or Eclipse. The examples use GTK for UI, but the framework itself is not coupled to GTK. So it appears to do #1 (add-in loading) pretty well and points the way to #2 (workbench framework). It appears that Mono.Addins was derived from MonoDevelop, but I haven't actually looked at whether MonoDevelop provides a good core workbench framework. Managed Extensibility Framework This is what everyone's talking about at the moment, and it's slowly getting clearer what it does, but I'm still pretty fuzzy, even after reading several posts on SO. The official word is that it "can live side-by-side" with System.Addins. However, it doesn't reference it and it appears to reproduce some of its functionality. It seems to me, then, that it is a simpler, more accessible alternative to System.Addins. It appears to be more like Mono.Addins in that it provides attribute-based wiring. It provides "catalogs" that can be attribute-based or directory-based. It does not seem to provide any XML or manifest-based wiring. So far I haven't found much documentation and the examples seem to be kind of "magical" and more reminiscent of attribute-based DI, despite the clarifications that MEF is not a DI container. Its license just got opened up, but it does reference WindowsBase -- not sure if that means it's coupled to Windows. Acropolis I'm not sure what this is. Is it MEF, or something that is still coming? Composite Application Blocks There are WPF and Winforms Composite Application blocks that seem to provide much more of a workbench framework. I have very little experience with these but they appear to rely on Guidance Automation quite a bit are obviously coupled with the UI layers. There are a few examples of combining MEF with these application blocks. I've done the best I could to answer my own question here, but I'm really only scratching the surface, and I don't have experience with any of these frameworks. Hopefully some of you can add more detail about the frameworks you have experience with. It would be great if we could end up with some sort of comparison matrix.

Read the article

Order of parts in SMTP multipart messages

- by Chris

Hi, I'd like to know how to build an SMTP multipart message in the correct order so that it will render correctly on the iPhone mail client (rendering correctly in GMail). I'm using Javamail to build up an email containing the following parts: A body part with content type "text/html; UTF-8" An embedded image attachment. A file attachment I am sending the mail via GMail SMTP (via SSL) and the mail is sent and rendered correctly using a GMail account, however, the mail does not render correctly on the iPhone mail client. On the iPhone mail client, the image is rendered before the "Before Image" text when it should be rendered afterwards. After the "Before Image" text there is an icon with a question mark (I assume it means it couldn't find the referenced CID). I'm not sure if this is a limitation of the iPhone mail client or a bug in my mail sending code (I strongly assume the latter). I think that perhaps the headers on my parts might by incorrect or perhaps I am providing the multiparts in the wrong order. I include the text of the received mail as output by gmail (which renders the file correc Message-ID: <[email protected]> Subject: =?UTF-8?Q?Test_from_=E3=82=AF=E3=83=AA=E3=82=B9?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="----=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755" ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755 Content-Type: application/octet-stream Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-ID: <20100518124021763_368238_0> iVBORw0K ----- TRIMMED FOR CONCISENESS 6p1VVy4alAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg== ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <html><head><title>Employees Favourite Foods</title> <style> body { font: normal 8pt arial; } th { font: bold 8pt arial; white-space: nowrap; } td { font: normal 8pt arial; white-space: nowrap; } </style></head><body> Before Image<br><img src="cid:20100518124021763_368238_0"> After Image<br><table border="0"> <tr> <th colspan="4">Employees Favourite Foods</th> </tr> <tr> <th align="left">Name</th><th align="left">Age</th><th align="left">Tel.No</th><th align="left">Fav.Food</th> </tr> <tr style="background-color:#e0e0e0"> <td>Chris</td><td>34</td><td>555-123-4567</td><td>Pancakes</td> </tr> </table></body></html> ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; name=textfile.txt Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=textfile.txt This is a textfile with numbers counting from one to ten beneath this line: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten(no trailing carriage return) ------=_Part_0_20870565.1274154021755-- Even if you can't assist me with this, I would appreciate it if any members of the forum could forward me a (non-personal) mail that includes inline images (not external hyperlinked images though). I just need to find a working sample then I can move past this. Thanks, Chris.

Read the article

Why does this valid Tkinter code crash when mixed with a bit of PyWin32?

- by Erlog

So I'm making a very small program for personal use in tkinter, and I've run into a really strange wall. I'm mixing tkinter with the pywin32 bindings because I really hate everything to do with the syntax and naming conventions of pywin32, and it feels like tkinter gets more done with far less code. The strangeness is happening in the transition between the pywin32 clipboard watching and my program's reaction to it in tkinter. My window and all its controls are being handled in tkinter. The pywin32 bindings are doing clipboard watching and clipboard access when the clipboard changes. From what I've gathered about the way the clipboard watching pieces of pywin32 work, you can make it work with anything you want as long as you provide pywin32 with the hwnd value of your window. I'm doing that part, and it works when the program first starts. It just doesn't seem to work when the clipboard changes. When the program launches, it grabs the clipboard and puts it into the search box and edit box just fine. When the clipboard is modified, the event I want to fire off is firing off...except that event that totally worked before when the program launched is now causing a weird hang instead of doing what it's supposed to do. I can print the clipboard contents to stdout all I want if the clipboard changes, but not put that same data into a tkinter widget. It only hangs like that if it starts to interact with any of my tkinter widgets after being fired off by a clipboard change notification. It feels like there's some pywin32 etiquette I've missed in adapting the clipboard-watching sample code I was using over to my tkinter-using program. Tkinter apparently doesn't like to produce stack traces or error messages, and I can't really even begin to know what to look for trying to debug it with pdb. Here's the code: #coding: utf-8 #Clipboard watching cribbed from ## {{{ http://code.activestate.com/recipes/355593/ (r1) import pdb from Tkinter import * import win32clipboard import win32api import win32gui import win32con import win32clipboard def force_unicode(object, encoding="utf-8"): if isinstance(object, basestring) and not isinstance(object, unicode): object = unicode(object, encoding) return object class Application(Frame): def __init__(self, master=None): self.master = master Frame.__init__(self, master) self.pack() self.createWidgets() self.hwnd = self.winfo_id() self.nextWnd = None self.first = True self.oldWndProc = win32gui.SetWindowLong(self.hwnd, win32con.GWL_WNDPROC, self.MyWndProc) try: self.nextWnd = win32clipboard.SetClipboardViewer(self.hwnd) except win32api.error: if win32api.GetLastError () == 0: # information that there is no other window in chain pass else: raise self.update_search_box() self.word_search() def word_search(self): #pdb.set_trace() term = self.searchbox.get() self.resultsbox.insert(END, term) def update_search_box(self): clipboardtext = "" if win32clipboard.IsClipboardFormatAvailable(win32clipboard.CF_TEXT): win32clipboard.OpenClipboard() clipboardtext = win32clipboard.GetClipboardData() win32clipboard.CloseClipboard() if clipboardtext != "": self.searchbox.delete(0,END) clipboardtext = force_unicode(clipboardtext) self.searchbox.insert(0, clipboardtext) def createWidgets(self): self.button = Button(self) self.button["text"] = "Search" self.button["command"] = self.word_search self.searchbox = Entry(self) self.resultsbox = Text(self) #Pack everything down here for "easy" layout changes later self.searchbox.pack() self.button.pack() self.resultsbox.pack() def MyWndProc (self, hWnd, msg, wParam, lParam): if msg == win32con.WM_CHANGECBCHAIN: self.OnChangeCBChain(msg, wParam, lParam) elif msg == win32con.WM_DRAWCLIPBOARD: self.OnDrawClipboard(msg, wParam, lParam) # Restore the old WndProc. Notice the use of win32api # instead of win32gui here. This is to avoid an error due to # not passing a callable object. if msg == win32con.WM_DESTROY: if self.nextWnd: win32clipboard.ChangeClipboardChain (self.hwnd, self.nextWnd) else: win32clipboard.ChangeClipboardChain (self.hwnd, 0) win32api.SetWindowLong(self.hwnd, win32con.GWL_WNDPROC, self.oldWndProc) # Pass all messages (in this case, yours may be different) on # to the original WndProc return win32gui.CallWindowProc(self.oldWndProc, hWnd, msg, wParam, lParam) def OnChangeCBChain (self, msg, wParam, lParam): if self.nextWnd == wParam: # repair the chain self.nextWnd = lParam if self.nextWnd: # pass the message to the next window in chain win32api.SendMessage (self.nextWnd, msg, wParam, lParam) def OnDrawClipboard (self, msg, wParam, lParam): if self.first: self.first = False else: #print "changed" self.word_search() #self.word_search() if self.nextWnd: # pass the message to the next window in chain win32api.SendMessage(self.nextWnd, msg, wParam, lParam) if __name__ == "__main__": root = Tk() app = Application(master=root) app.mainloop() root.destroy()

Read the article

UIView, UIScrollView and UITextFields problem calling Method

- by Jeff Groby

I have a view with several embedded UITextFields, this UIView is subordinated to a UIScrollView in IB. Each text field is supposed to invoke a method called updateText defined in the viewcontroller implementation file when the user is done editing the field. For some reason, the method updateText never gets invoked. Anyone have any ideas how to go about fixing this? The method fired off just fine when the UIScrollView was not present in the project but the keyboard would cover the text fields during input, which was annoying. Now my textfields move up above the keyboard when it appears, but won't fire off the method when done editing. Here is my implementation file: #import "MileMarkerViewController.h" @implementation MileMarkerViewController @synthesize scrollView,milemarkerLogDate,milemarkerDesc,milemarkerOdobeg,milemarkerOdoend,milemarkerBusiness,milemarkerPersonal,milemarker; - (id)initWithNibName:(NSString *)nibNameOrNil bundle:(NSBundle *)nibBundleOrNil { if (self = [super initWithNibName:nibNameOrNil bundle:nibBundleOrNil]) { // Initialization code } return self; } - (BOOL) textFieldShouldReturn: (UITextField*) theTextField { return [theTextField resignFirstResponder]; } - (void)viewDidLoad { [super viewDidLoad]; [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver: self selector: @selector(keyboardWasShown:) name: UIKeyboardDidShowNotification object: nil]; [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver: self selector: @selector(keyboardWasHidden:) name: UIKeyboardDidHideNotification object: nil]; keyboardShown = NO; // 1 [scrollView setContentSize: CGSizeMake( 320, 480)]; // 2 } - (void)keyboardWasShown:(NSNotification*)aNotification { if (keyboardShown) return; NSDictionary* info = [aNotification userInfo]; // Get the size of the keyboard. NSValue* aValue = [info objectForKey:UIKeyboardBoundsUserInfoKey]; CGSize keyboardSize = [aValue CGRectValue].size; // Resize the scroll view (which is the root view of the window) CGRect viewFrame = [scrollView frame]; viewFrame.size.height -= keyboardSize.height; scrollView.frame = viewFrame; // Scroll the active text field into view. CGRect textFieldRect = [activeField frame]; [scrollView scrollRectToVisible:textFieldRect animated:YES]; keyboardShown = YES; } - (void)keyboardWasHidden:(NSNotification*)aNotification { NSDictionary* info = [aNotification userInfo]; // Get the size of the keyboard. NSValue* aValue = [info objectForKey:UIKeyboardBoundsUserInfoKey]; CGSize keyboardSize = [aValue CGRectValue].size; // Reset the height of the scroll view to its original value CGRect viewFrame = [scrollView frame]; viewFrame.size.height += keyboardSize.height; [scrollView scrollRectToVisible:CGRectMake(0, 0, 1, 1) animated:YES]; scrollView.frame = viewFrame; keyboardShown = NO; } - (void)textFieldDidBeginEditing:(UITextField *)textField { activeField = textField; } - (void)textFieldDidEndEditing:(UITextField *)textField { activeField = nil; } - (IBAction)updateText:(id) sender { NSLog(@"You just entered: %@",self.milemarkerLogDate.text); self.milemarker.logdate = self.milemarkerLogDate.text; self.milemarker.desc = self.milemarkerDesc.text; self.milemarker.odobeg = self.milemarkerOdobeg.text; self.milemarker.odoend = self.milemarkerOdoend.text; self.milemarker.business = self.milemarkerBusiness.text; self.milemarker.personal = self.milemarkerPersonal.text; NSLog(@"Original textfield is set to: %@",self.milemarker.logdate); [self.milemarker updateText]; } - (void)didReceiveMemoryWarning { // Releases the view if it doesn't have a superview. [super didReceiveMemoryWarning]; // Release any cached data, images, etc that aren't in use. } - (void)dealloc { [super dealloc]; } @end

Read the article

Adding an overlay to Google maps with path taken

- by user341652

Hi, I am trying to write a class to track a person's location(s), and to draw the path they've taken on a MapView. This feature of the program is for the user to track their speed, distance, path, etc. while running/cycling (or whatever else) using their Android phone. This is my first Android application, and I am not sure how to do the Overlay object for the MapView. I also wanted to see if anyone had opinions on the GPS-Tracking part I have written (if it would work, if there is a better way of doing it, code examples would be helpful). I currently have this for my GPSTrackerService: package org.drexel.itrain.logic; import java.util.Vector; import org.drexel.itrain.Constants; import android.app.Notification; import android.app.NotificationManager; import android.app.Service; import android.content.Context; import android.content.Intent; import android.content.SharedPreferences; import android.location.GpsSatellite; import android.location.GpsStatus; import android.location.Location; import android.location.LocationListener; import android.location.LocationManager; import android.location.GpsStatus.Listener; import android.os.Binder; import android.os.Bundle; import android.os.IBinder; import android.preference.PreferenceManager; public class GPSTrackingService extends Service { private static final int MAX_REASONABLE_SPEED = 60; private static final String TAG = "OGT.TrackingService"; private Context mContext; private LocationManager mLocationManager; private NotificationManager mNotificationManager; private Notification mNotification; private int mSatellites = 0; private int mTrackingState = Constants.GPS_TRACKING_UNKNOWN; private float mCurrentSpeed = 0; private float mTotalDistance = 0; private Location mPreviousLocation; private Vector<Location> mTrackedLocations; private LocationListener mLocationListener = null; private Listener mStatusListener = null; private IBinder binder = null; @Override public void onCreate() { super.onCreate(); this.mContext = getApplicationContext(); this.mLocationManager = (LocationManager) this.mContext.getSystemService( Context.LOCATION_SERVICE ); this.mNotificationManager = (NotificationManager) this.mContext.getSystemService( Context.NOTIFICATION_SERVICE ); this.mTrackedLocations = new Vector<Location>(); this.binder = new Binder(); SharedPreferences sharedPreferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this.mContext); binder = new Binder(); if(mTrackingState != Constants.GPS_TRACKING_UNKNOWN) { createListeners(); } } @Override public void onDestroy() { destroyListeneres(); } @Override public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) { return binder; } @Override public boolean onUnbind(Intent intent) { return true; } public boolean acceptLocation(Location proposedLocation) { if(!(proposedLocation.hasSpeed() || proposedLocation.hasAccuracy())) { return false; } else if(proposedLocation.getSpeed() >= MAX_REASONABLE_SPEED) { return false; } return true; } public void updateNotification() { //TODO Alert that no GPS sattelites are available (or are available) } public void startTracking() { this.mTrackingState = Constants.GPS_TRACKING_STARTED; this.mTotalDistance = 0; this.mCurrentSpeed = 0; this.mTrackedLocations = new Vector<Location>(); this.mPreviousLocation = null; createListeners(); } public void pauseTracking() { this.mTrackingState = Constants.GPS_TRACKING_PAUSED; this.mPreviousLocation = null; this.mCurrentSpeed = 0; } public void resumeTracking() { if(this.mTrackingState == Constants.GPS_TRACKING_STOPPED){ this.startTracking(); } this.mTrackingState = Constants.GPS_TRACKING_STARTED; } public void stopTracking() { this.mTrackingState = Constants.GPS_TRACKING_STOPPED; destroyListeneres(); } private void createListeners() { /** * LocationListener receives locations from */ this.mLocationListener = new LocationListener() { @Override public void onStatusChanged(String provider, int status, Bundle extras) { // TODO Auto-generated method stub } @Override public void onProviderEnabled(String provider) { // TODO Auto-generated method stub } @Override public void onProviderDisabled(String provider) { // TODO Auto-generated method stub } @Override public void onLocationChanged(Location location) { if(mTrackingState == Constants.GPS_TRACKING_STARTED && acceptLocation(location)) { if(mPreviousLocation != null) { //Add the distance between the new location and the previous location mTotalDistance += mPreviousLocation.distanceTo(location); } if(location.hasSpeed()) { mCurrentSpeed = location.getSpeed(); } else { mCurrentSpeed = -1; //-1 means speed N/A } mPreviousLocation = location; mTrackedLocations.add(location); } } }; /** * Receives updates reguarding the GPS Status */ this.mStatusListener = new GpsStatus.Listener() { @Override public synchronized void onGpsStatusChanged(int event) { switch( event ) { case GpsStatus.GPS_EVENT_SATELLITE_STATUS: { GpsStatus status = mLocationManager.getGpsStatus( null ); mSatellites = 0; Iterable<GpsSatellite> list = status.getSatellites(); for( GpsSatellite satellite : list ) { if( satellite.usedInFix() ) { mSatellites++; } } updateNotification(); break; } default: break; } } }; } /** * Destroys the LocationListenere and the GPSStatusListener */ private void destroyListeneres() { this.mLocationListener = null; this.mStatusListener = null; } /** * Gets the total distance traveled by the * * @return the total distance traveled (in meters) */ public float getDistance() { return mTotalDistance; } /** * Gets the current speed of the last good location * * @return the current speed (in meters/second) */ public float getSpeed() { return mCurrentSpeed; } } Any assistance would be much appreciated. This is my group's first Android app, and we are a little pressed for time at the moment. The project is for a class, and is available from SourceForge (currently called iTrain, soon to be renamed). Thanks in Advance, Steve

Read the article

evaluating cost/benefits of using extension methods in C# => 3.0

- by BillW

Hi, In what circumstances (usage scenarios) would you choose to write an extension rather than sub-classing an object ? < full disclosure : I am not an MS employee; I do not know Mitsu Furota personally; I do know the author of the open-source Componax library mentioned here, but I have no business dealings with him whatsoever; I am not creating, or planning to create any commercial product using extensions : in sum : this post is from pure intellectal curiousity related to my trying to (continually) become aware of "best practices" I find the idea of extension methods "cool," and obviously you can do "far-out" things with them as in the many examples you can in Mitsu Furota's (MS) blog postslink text. A personal friend wrote the open-source Componax librarylink text, and there's some remarkable facilities in there; but he is in complete command of his small company with total control over code guidelines, and every line of code "passes through his hands." While this is speculation on my part : I think/guess other issues might come into play in a medium-to-large software team situation re use of Extensions. Looking at MS's guidelines at link text, you find : In general, you will probably be calling extension methods far more often than implementing your own. ... In general, we recommend that you implement extension methods sparingly and only when you have to. Whenever possible, client code that must extend an existing type should do so by creating a new type derived from the existing type. For more information, see Inheritance (C# Programming Guide). ... When the compiler encounters a method invocation, it first looks for a match in the type's instance methods. If no match is found, it will search for any extension methods that are defined for the type, and bind to the first extension method that it finds. And at Ms's link text : Extension methods present no specific security vulnerabilities. They can never be used to impersonate existing methods on a type, because all name collisions are resolved in favor of the instance or static method defined by the type itself. Extension methods cannot access any private data in the extended class. Factors that seem obvious to me would include : I assume you would not write an extension unless you expected it be used very generally and very frequently. On the other hand : couldn't you say the same thing about sub-classing ? Knowing we can compile them into a seperate dll, and add the compiled dll, and reference it, and then use the extensions : is "cool," but does that "balance out" the cost inherent in the compiler first having to check to see if instance methods are defined as described above. Or the cost, in case of a "name clash," of using the Static invocation methods to make sure your extension is invoked rather than the instance definition ? How frequent use of Extensions would affect run-time performance or memory use : I have no idea. So, I'd appreciate your thoughts, or knowing about how/when you do, or don't do, use Extensions, compared to sub-classing. thanks, Bill

Read the article

checking player prefs from unity in xcode

- by user313100

I made a simple scene that has some GUI buttons in Unity. When you press a button it will set a player preference to 1. I have a button for facebook, twitter and a store. In XCode, when the value hits 1, it switches to a new window with facebook, twitter or the store. My problem is that when I try and retrieve the player preferences in XCode, they always come up as null. To compound my confusion, my code seems to respond to the switch to 1 and it switches to the new window when the value hits 1. Any ideas why it manages to switch to the other window and why I am getting null values? - (void) applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication*)application { printf_console("-> applicationDidFinishLaunching()\n"); NSUserDefaults *userDefaults = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults]; [userDefaults setInteger:0 forKey:@"Store"]; [userDefaults setInteger:0 forKey:@"Facebook"]; [userDefaults setInteger:0 forKey:@"Twitter"]; _storeWindow = [[UIWindow alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]]; _facebookWindow = [[UIWindow alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]]; _twitterWindow = [[UIWindow alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]]; viewControllerSK = [[SKViewController alloc]initWithNibName:@"SKViewController" bundle:nil]; viewControllerFacebook = [[xutils_exampleViewController alloc]initWithNibName:@"FacebookViewController" bundle:nil]; viewControllerTwitter = [[xutils_exampleViewController2 alloc]initWithNibName:@"TwitterViewController" bundle:nil]; [_storeWindow addSubview:viewControllerSK.view]; [_facebookWindow addSubview:viewControllerFacebook.view]; [_twitterWindow addSubview:viewControllerTwitter.view]; [SKStoreManager sharedManager]; [self startUnity:application]; } - (void) applicationDidBecomeActive:(UIApplication*)application { printf_console("-> applicationDidBecomeActive()\n"); if (gDidResignActive == true) { UnitySetAudioSessionActive(true); UnityPause(false); } gDidResignActive = false; [self newTimer]; } - (void) applicationWillResignActive:(UIApplication*)application { printf_console("-> applicationDidResignActive()\n"); UnitySetAudioSessionActive(false); UnityPause(true); gDidResignActive = true; } - (void) applicationDidReceiveMemoryWarning:(UIApplication*)application { printf_console("WARNING -> applicationDidReceiveMemoryWarning()\n"); } - (void) applicationWillTerminate:(UIApplication*)application { printf_console("-> applicationWillTerminate()\n"); UnityCleanup(); } -(void)newTimer { NSTimer *theTimer = [self getTimer]; [theTimer retain]; [[NSRunLoop currentRunLoop] addTimer: theTimer forMode: NSDefaultRunLoopMode]; } -(NSTimer *)getTimer { NSTimer *theTimer; theTimer = [NSTimer scheduledTimerWithTimeInterval:1.0 target:self selector: @selector(onLoop) userInfo:nil repeats:YES]; return [theTimer autorelease]; } -(void)onLoop { NSUserDefaults *userDefaults = [NSUserDefaults standardUserDefaults]; //NSLog(@"FB: %@", [userDefaults integerForKey:@"Facebook"]); if ([userDefaults integerForKey:@"Store"] != 1 && [userDefaults integerForKey:@"Facebook"] != 1 && [userDefaults integerForKey:@"Twitter"] != 1) { UnityPause(FALSE); _window.hidden = NO; _storeWindow.hidden = YES; _facebookWindow.hidden = YES; _twitterWindow.hidden = YES; [_window makeKeyWindow]; } if ([userDefaults integerForKey:@"Store"] == 1) { UnityPause(TRUE); _storeWindow.hidden = NO; _window.hidden = YES; [_storeWindow makeKeyWindow]; } if ([userDefaults integerForKey:@"Facebook"] == 1) { UnityPause(TRUE); _facebookWindow.hidden = NO; _window.hidden = YES; [_facebookWindow makeKeyWindow]; } if ([userDefaults integerForKey:@"Twitter"] == 1) { UnityPause(TRUE); _twitterWindow.hidden = NO; _window.hidden = YES; [_twitterWindow makeKeyWindow]; } } -(void) dealloc { DestroySurface(&_surface); [_context release]; _context = nil; [_window release]; [_storeWindow release]; [_facebookWindow release]; [_twitterWindow release]; [viewControllerSK release]; [viewControllerFacebook release]; [viewControllerTwitter release]; [super dealloc]; }

Read the article

C++ Compile problem when using Windows - CodeGear

- by Carlos

This is a follow-up question to this one i made earlier. Btw thanks Neil Butterworth for you help http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2461977/problem-compiling-c-in-codegear A quick recap. Im currently developing a C++ program for university, I used Netbeans 6.8 on my personal computer (Mac) and all works perfect. When I try them on my windows partition or at the university PC's using CodeGear RAD Studio 2009 & 2010 i was getting a few compile errors which were solved by adding the following header file: #include <string> However now the program does compile but it doesn't run, just a blank console. And am getting the following in the CodeGear event's log: Thread Start: Thread ID: 2024. Process Project1.exe (3280) Process Start: C:\Users\Carlos\Documents\RAD Studio\Projects\Debug\Project1.exe. Base Address: $00400000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: Project1.exe. Has Debug Info. Base Address: $00400000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: ntdll.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $77E80000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: KERNEL32.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $771C0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: KERNELBASE.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $75FE0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: cc32100.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $32A00000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: USER32.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $77980000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: GDI32.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $75F50000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: LPK.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $75AB0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: USP10.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $76030000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: msvcrt.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $776A0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: ADVAPI32.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $777D0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: SECHOST.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $77960000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: RPCRT4.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $762F0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: SspiCli.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $759F0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: CRYPTBASE.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $759E0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: IMM32.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $763F0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) Module Load: MSCTF.dll. No Debug Info. Base Address: $75AD0000. Process Project1.exe (3280) I would really appreciate any help or ideas on how to solve this problem. P.S: In the case anyone wonders why am I sticking with CodeGear is because is the IDE professors use to evaluate our assignments.

Read the article

ASP.NET gridview control in side update panel has a problem

- by Eyla

Greetings, I have gridview with SelectedIndexChanged event. when I click on a record in gridview it should call the SelectedIndexChanged event and do some operations. SelectedIndexChanged event is working OK, but when I put the gridview inside ajax updatepanle SelectedIndexChanged event will not response even if I add AsyncPostBackTrigger trigger for SelectedIndexChanged event. Please look at my code and advice me what I should do!! Thank you <%@ Page Title="" Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Master.Master" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeBehind="WebForm1.aspx.cs" Inherits="IMAM_APPLICATION.WebForm1" %> <%@ Register Assembly="AjaxControlToolkit" Namespace="AjaxControlToolkit" TagPrefix="cc1" %> <asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="ContentPlaceHolder1" runat="server"> <div id="mydiv"> <asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server"> <ContentTemplate> <br /> <br /> <br /> <asp:GridView ID="GridView1" runat="server" style="position:absolute; top: 280px; left: 30px; height: 240px; width: 915px;" PageSize="5" onselectedindexchanged="GridView1_SelectedIndexChanged" AutoGenerateColumns="False" DataKeyNames="idcontact_info"> <Columns> <asp:CommandField ShowSelectButton="True" /> <asp:BoundField AccessibleHeaderText="Midle Name" DataField="Midle_Name" /> <asp:BoundField DataField="Last_Name" HeaderText="Last Name" /> <asp:BoundField DataField="Phone_home" HeaderText="Phone Home" /> <asp:BoundField DataField="cell_home" HeaderText="Mobile Home" /> <asp:BoundField DataField="phone_work" HeaderText="Phone Work" /> <asp:BoundField DataField="cell_Work" HeaderText="Mobile Work" /> <asp:BoundField DataField="Email_Home" HeaderText="Personal Home" /> <asp:BoundField DataField="Email_work" HeaderText="Work Email" /> </Columns> </asp:GridView> <br /> <br /> <br /></ContentTemplate> <Triggers> <asp:AsyncPostBackTrigger ControlID="GridView1" EventName="SelectedIndexChanged" /> </Triggers> </asp:UpdatePanel> <asp:RadioButton ID="rdoSearchFlat" runat="server" style="position:absolute; top: 565px; left: 70px;" Text="Flat Search" GroupName="Search"/> <asp:TextBox ID="txtSearch" runat="server" style="position:absolute; top: 560px; left: 170px;" ></asp:TextBox> <asp:Button ID="btnSearch" runat="server" Text="Search" style="position:absolute; top: 555px; left: 375px;" CausesValidation="False" onclick="btnSearch_Click"/> <asp:Label ID="Label7" runat="server" Style="position: absolute; top: 630px; left: 85px;" Text="First Name"></asp:Label> <asp:TextBox ID="txtFirstName" runat="server" Style="top: 630px; left: 185px; position: absolute; height: 22px; width: 128px"> </asp:TextBox> </div> </asp:Content>

Read the article

Better Way To Use C++ Named Parameter Idiom?

- by Head Geek

I've been developing a GUI library for Windows (as a personal side project, no aspirations of usefulness). For my main window class, I've set up a hierarchy of option classes (using the Named Parameter Idiom), because some options are shared and others are specific to particular types of windows (like dialogs). The way the Named Parameter Idiom works, the functions of the parameter class have to return the object they're called on. The problem is that, in the hierarchy, each one has to be a different class -- the createWindowOpts class for standard windows, the createDialogOpts class for dialogs, and the like. I've dealt with that by making all the option classes templates. Here's an example: template <class T> class _sharedWindowOpts: public detail::_baseCreateWindowOpts { public: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // No required parameters in this case. _sharedWindowOpts() { }; typedef T optType; // Commonly used options optType& at(int x, int y) { mX=x; mY=y; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Where to put the upper-left corner of the window; if not specified, the system sets it to a default position optType& at(int x, int y, int width, int height) { mX=x; mY=y; mWidth=width; mHeight=height; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Sets the position and size of the window in a single call optType& background(HBRUSH b) { mBackground=b; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Sets the default background to this brush optType& background(INT_PTR b) { mBackground=HBRUSH(b+1); return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Sets the default background to one of the COLOR_* colors; defaults to COLOR_WINDOW optType& cursor(HCURSOR c) { mCursor=c; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Sets the default mouse cursor for this window; defaults to the standard arrow optType& hidden() { mStyle&=~WS_VISIBLE; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Windows are visible by default optType& icon(HICON iconLarge, HICON iconSmall=0) { mIcon=iconLarge; mSmallIcon=iconSmall; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Specifies the icon, and optionally a small icon // ...Many others removed... }; template <class T> class _createWindowOpts: public _sharedWindowOpts<T> { public: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// _createWindowOpts() { }; // These can't be used with child windows, or aren't needed optType& menu(HMENU m) { mMenuOrId=m; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Gives the window a menu optType& owner(HWND hwnd) { mParentOrOwner=hwnd; return static_cast<optType&>(*this); }; // Sets the optional parent/owner }; class createWindowOpts: public _createWindowOpts<createWindowOpts> { public: /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// createWindowOpts() { }; }; It works, but as you can see, it requires a noticeable amount of extra work: a type-cast on the return type for each function, extra template classes, etcetera. My question is, is there an easier way to implement the Named Parameter Idiom in this case, one that doesn't require all the extra stuff?

Read the article

Opinions on Copy Protection / Software Licensing via phoning home?

- by Jakobud

I'm developing some software that I'm going to eventually sell. I've been thinking about different copy protection mechanisms, both custom and 3rd party. I know that no copy protection is 100% full-proof, but I need to at least try. So I'm looking for some opinions to my approach I'm thinking about: One method I'm thinking about is just having my software connect to a remote server when it starts up, in order to verify the license based off the MAC address of the ethernet port. I'm not sure if the server would be running a MySQL database that retrieves the license information, or what... Is there a more simple way? Maybe some type of encrypted file that is read? I would make the software still work if it can't connect to the server. I don't want to lock someone out just because they don't have internet access at that moment in time. In case you are wondering, the software I'm developing is extremely internet/network dependant. So its actually quite unlikely that the user wouldn't have internet access when using it. Actually, its pretty useless without internet/network access. Anyone know what I would do about computers that have multiple MAC addresses? A lot of motherboards these days have 2 ethernet ports. And most laptops have 1 ethernet, 1 wifi and Bluetooth MAC addresses. I suppose I could just pick a MAC port and run with it. Not sure if it really matters A smarty and tricky user could determine the server that the software is connecting to and perhaps add it to their host file so that it always trys to connect to localhost. How likely do you think this is? And do you think its possible for the software to check if this is being done? I guess parsing of the host file could always work. Look for your server address in there and see if its connecting to localhost or something. I've considered dongles, but I'm trying to avoid them just because I know they are a pain to work with. Keeping them updated and possibly requiring the customer to run their own license server is a bit too much for me. I've experienced that and it's a bit of a pain that I wouldn't want to put my customers through. Also I'm trying to avoid that extra overhead cost of using 3rd party dongles. Also, I'm leaning toward connecting to a remote server to verify authentication as opposed to just sending the user some sort of license file because what happens when the user buys a new computer? I have to send them a replacement license file that will work with their new computer, but they will still be able to use it on their old computer as well. There is no way for me to 'de-authorize' their old computer without asking them to run some program on it or something. Also, one important note, with the software I would make it very clear to the user in the EULA that the software connects to a remote server to verify licensing and that no personal information is sent. I know I don't care much for software that does that kinda stuff without me knowing. Anyways, just looking for some opinions for people who have maybe gone down this kinda road. It seems like remote-server-dependent-software would be one of the most effective copy-protection mechanisms, not just because of difficulty of circumventing, but also could be pretty easy to manage the licenses on the developers end.

Read the article

Image change on mouseover with jQuery..

- by playahabana

Hi, I am a comlete beginner to pretty much all things web design and am trying to construct my first website. I am attempting to hand code it without the ue of a CMS in order to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. I am trying to make an imge change on mouseover for my top nav menu, and have the following jQuery functions: $(document).ready(function(){ $(".navlist img").each(function) { rollsrc = $(this).attr("src"); rollON = rollsrc.replace(/.jpg$/ig,"_link.png"); $("<img>").attr("src",rollON); $(".navlist a").mouseover(function(){ }); imgsrc= $(this).children("img").attr("src"); matches = imgsrc.match(/_link.png); if (!matches) { imgsrcON = imgsrc.replace(/.jpg$/ig,"_link.png"); $(this).children("img").attr("src", imagesrcON); } $(".navlist a").mouseout(function(){ $(this).children("img").attr("src", imgsrc); }); }); my html is as follows: <div id="nav"> <ul class="navmenu"> <li><a href="index.html"><img class="swap" src="images/links/home.jpg" alt="Home" border="none"></a></li> <li><a href="#"><img class="swap" src="images/links/ourbar.jpg" alt="Our Bar" border="none"></a> <ul class="navdrop"> <li ><a href="#"><img class="swap" src="images/links/cockteles.jpg" alt="Our Cocktails" border="none"></a></li> <li ><a href="#"><img class="swap" src="images/links/celebrate.jpg" alt="Celebrate in Style" border="none"></a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#"><img class="swap" src="images/links/ourcigars.jpg" alt="Our Cigars" border="none"></a> <ul class="navdrop"> <li><a href="#"><img class="swap" src="images/links/edicionlimitadas.jpg" alt="Edition Limitadas" border="none"></a></li> <li><a href="our_cigars.html"><img class="swap" src="images/links/cigartasting.jpg" alt="Cigar Tastings" border="none"></a></li> </ul> </li> <li><a href="#"><img class="swap" src="images/links/personalcigar.jpg" alt="Personal Cigar Roller" border="none"></a></li> <li><a href="our_cigars.html"><img class="swap" src="images/links/photogallery.jpg" alt="Photo Gallery" border="none"></a></li> <li><a href="#"><img class="swap" src="images/links/contactus.jpg" alt="Contact Us" border="none"></a></li> </ul></div></div> the image src for the alt image is in the form eg."images/links/home_link.png" and is the same for every image. I have checked this and checked this, could some body please give me a pointer as to where I am going wrong? Or a pointer to a tutorial for this effect? I have looked at a few and this seems to be the best for what I am attempting, but as I said I don't really know what I'm doing so any advice gratefully received.....

Read the article

How can I remove this query from within a loop?

- by Chris

I am currently designing a forum as a personal project. One of the recurring issues I've come across is database queries in loops. I've managed to avoid doing that so far by using table joins or caching of data in arrays for later use. Right now though I've come across a situation where I'm not sure how I can write the code in such a way that I can use either of those methods easily. However I'd still prefer to do at most 2 queries for this operation rather than 1 + 1 per group of forums, which so far has resulted in 5 per page. So while 5 isn't a huge number (though it will increase for each forum group I add) it's the principle that's important to me here, I do NOT want to write queries in loops What I'm doing is displaying forum index groupings (eg admin forums, user forums etc) and then each forum within that group on a single page index, it's the combination of both in one page that's causing me issue. If it had just been a single group per page, I'd use a table join and problem solved. But if I use a table join here, although I can potentially get all the data I need it'll be in one mass of results and it needs displaying properly. Here's the code (I've removed some of the html for clarity) <?php $sql= "select * from forum_groups"; //query 1 $result1 = $database->query($sql); while($group = mysql_fetch_assoc($result1)) //first loop {?> <table class="threads"> <tr> <td class="forumgroupheader"> <?php echo $group['group_name']; ?> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="forumgroupheader2"> <?php echo $group['group_desc']; ?> </td> </tr> </table> <table> <tr> <th class="thforum"> Forum Name</th> <th class="thforum"> Forum Decsription</th> <th class="thforum"> Last Post </th> <tr> <?php $group_id = $group['id']; $sql = "SELECT forums.id, forums.forum_group_id, forums.forum_name, forums.forum_desc, forums.visible_rank, forums.locked, forums.lock_rank, forums.topics, forums.posts, forums.last_post, forums.last_post_id, users.username FROM forums LEFT JOIN users on forums.last_post_id=users.id WHERE forum_group_id='{$group_id}'"; //query 2 $result2 = $database->query($sql); while($forum = mysql_fetch_assoc($result2)) //second loop {?> So how can I either a) write the SQL in such a way as to remove the second query from inside the loop or b) combine the results in an array either way I need to be able to access the data as an when so I can format it properly for the page output, ie within the loops still.

Read the article

Android application displays black screen after running

- by frgnvola

When I click "Run as an Android Application" on Eclipse, the following is displayed in the console [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Android Launch! [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] adb is running normally. [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Performing sandhu.student.connect.SplashActivity activity launch [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Using default Build Tools revision 19.0.0 [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Refreshing resource folders. [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Using default Build Tools revision 19.0.0 [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Starting incremental Pre Compiler: Checking resource changes. [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Nothing to pre compile! [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Starting incremental Package build: Checking resource changes. [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Using default Build Tools revision 19.0.0 [2014-06-05 20:07:18 - StudentConnect] Skipping over Post Compiler. [2014-06-05 20:07:20 - StudentConnect] Application already deployed. No need to reinstall. [2014-06-05 20:07:20 - StudentConnect] Starting activity sandhu.student.connect.SplashActivity on device 0f0898b2 [2014-06-05 20:07:21 - StudentConnect] ActivityManager: Starting: Intent { act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.LAUNCHER] cmp=sandhu.student.connect/.SplashActivity } [2014-06-05 20:07:21 - StudentConnect] ActivityManager: Warning: Activity not started, its current task has been brought to the front After deployed to my phone, it only displays a black screen. I recently implemented a splash screen, but it was working fine before; however I think it might have something to do with the problem. Here are my java and xml files: MainActivity.java package sandhu.student.connect; import android.app.Activity; import android.os.Bundle; import android.view.KeyEvent; import android.view.View; import android.webkit.WebSettings; import android.webkit.WebView; import android.webkit.WebViewClient; public class MainActivity extends Activity { public WebView student_zangle; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); WebView student_zangle = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.student_zangle); student_zangle.loadUrl("https://zangleweb01.clovisusd.k12.ca.us/studentconnect/"); student_zangle.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient()); student_zangle.setScrollBarStyle(View.SCROLLBARS_INSIDE_OVERLAY); WebSettings settings = student_zangle.getSettings(); settings.setJavaScriptEnabled(true); settings.setBuiltInZoomControls(true); settings.setLoadWithOverviewMode(true); settings.setUseWideViewPort(true); } @Override public boolean onKeyDown(int keyCode, KeyEvent event) { WebView student_zangle = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.student_zangle); if ((keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK) && student_zangle.canGoBack()) { student_zangle.goBack(); return true; } else { finish(); } return super.onKeyDown(keyCode, event); } } activity_main.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:background="@drawable/blue" tools:context=".MainActivity" > <WebView android:id="@+id/student_zangle" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" /> </RelativeLayout> SplashActivity.java package sandhu.student.connect; import android.os.Bundle; import android.preference.PreferenceActivity; public class SplashActivity extends PreferenceActivity { @SuppressWarnings("deprecation") @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { // TODO Auto-generated method stub super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.prefs); } } splash_activity.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent" android:background="@drawable/blue" android:orientation="vertical" > <ImageView android:id="@+id/imageView1" android:layout_width="250dp" android:layout_height="100dp" android:layout_alignParentTop="true" android:layout_centerHorizontal="true" android:layout_marginTop="145dp" android:contentDescription="@string/zangle_logo" android:src="@drawable/logo" /> </RelativeLayout> Also, here is a full copy of the logcat error output: 06-05 20:19:46.698: E/Watchdog(817): !@Sync 1952 06-05 20:20:09.971: E/memtrack(16438): Couldn't load memtrack module (No such file or directory) 06-05 20:20:09.971: E/android.os.Debug(16438): failed to load memtrack module: -2 06-05 20:20:11.012: E/memtrack(16451): Couldn't load memtrack module (No such file or directory) 06-05 20:20:11.012: E/android.os.Debug(16451): failed to load memtrack module: -2 06-05 20:20:11.202: E/EnterpriseContainerManager(817): ContainerPolicy Service is not yet ready!!! Please help me figure out what is wrong, or at least point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

Read the article

Persisting objects to a database using a loop

- by ChaoticLoki

I have a form that returns multiple values and each value I would like to store in a database, I created a test form for this purpose <form method="post" action="{{ path('submit_exercise', {'page': 1}) }}"> <input type="hidden" name="answers[]" value="Answer 1" "/> <input type="hidden" name="answers[]" value="Answer 2" "/> <input type="hidden" name="answers[]" value="Answer 3" "/> <input type="hidden" name="answers[]" value="Answer 4" "/> <input type="hidden" name="answers[]" value="Answer 5" "/> <input type="hidden" name="answers[]" value="Answer 6" "/> <input type="hidden" name="answers[]" value="Answer 7" "/> <input type="submit" name="submit" /> </form> </body> </html> My submit answers Action is currently written like so. public function submitAnswersAction($page) { //get submitted data $data = $this->get('request')->request->all(); $answers = $data['answers']; //get student ID $user = $this->get('security.context')->getToken()->getUser(); $studentID = $user->getId(); //Get Current time $currentTime = new \DateTime(date("Y-m-d H:m:s")); //var_dump($answers); //var_dump($studentID); //var_dump($currentTime); for($index = 0; $index < count($answers); $index++) { /*echo "Question ". ($index + 1) ."<br />"; echo "Student ID: ". $studentID."<br />"; echo "Page Number: $page <br />"; echo "Answer: $answers[$index]"."<br />"; echo "<br />";*/ $studentAnswer = new StudentAnswer(); $studentAnswer->setStudentID($studentID); $studentAnswer->setPageID($page); $studentAnswer->setQuestionID($index+1); $studentAnswer->setAnswer($answers[$index]); $studentAnswer->setDateCreated($currentTime); $studentAnswer->setReadStatus(0); $database = $this->getDoctrine()->getManager(); $database->persist($studentAnswer); $database->flush(); } return new Response('Answers saved for Student: '.$user->getFullName().' for page: '.$page); When I do a var_dump everything seems to be associated correctly, meaning that the answers array is populated with the right data and so is every other variable, my problem is actually persisting it to the database. when run it returns with this error which seems to me like it doesn't know what variables to put into the row. An exception occurred while executing 'INSERT INTO Student_Answer (student_id, page_id, question_id, answer, read, date_created) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)' with params {"1":2,"2":"1","3":1,"4":"Answer 1","5":0,"6":"2012-12-11 12:12:20"}: Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is a personal project to help me try and understand web development a bit more.

Read the article

Using FiddlerCore to capture HTTP Requests with .NET

- by Rick Strahl

Over the last few weeks I’ve been working on my Web load testing utility West Wind WebSurge. One of the key components of a load testing tool is the ability to capture URLs effectively so that you can play them back later under load. One of the options in WebSurge for capturing URLs is to use its built-in capture tool which acts as an HTTP proxy to capture any HTTP and HTTPS traffic from most Windows HTTP clients, including Web Browsers as well as standalone Windows applications and services. To make this happen, I used Eric Lawrence’s awesome FiddlerCore library, which provides most of the functionality of his desktop Fiddler application, all rolled into an easy to use library that you can plug into your own applications. FiddlerCore makes it almost too easy to capture HTTP content! For WebSurge I needed to capture all HTTP traffic in order to capture the full HTTP request – URL, headers and any content posted by the client. The result of what I ended up creating is this semi-generic capture form: In this post I’m going to demonstrate how easy it is to use FiddlerCore to build this HTTP Capture Form. If you want to jump right in here are the links to get Telerik’s Fiddler Core and the code for the demo provided here. FiddlerCore Download FiddlerCore on NuGet Show me the Code (WebSurge Integration code from GitHub) Download the WinForms Sample Form West Wind Web Surge (example implementation in live app) Note that FiddlerCore is bound by a license for commercial usage – see license.txt in the FiddlerCore distribution for details. Integrating FiddlerCore FiddlerCore is a library that simply plugs into your application. You can download it from the Telerik site and manually add the assemblies to your project, or you can simply install the NuGet package via: PM> Install-Package FiddlerCore The library consists of the FiddlerCore.dll as well as a couple of support libraries (CertMaker.dll and BCMakeCert.dll) that are used for installing SSL certificates. I’ll have more on SSL captures and certificate installation later in this post. But first let’s see how easy it is to use FiddlerCore to capture HTTP content by looking at how to build the above capture form. Capturing HTTP Content Once the library is installed it’s super easy to hook up Fiddler functionality. Fiddler includes a number of static class methods on the FiddlerApplication object that can be called to hook up callback events as well as actual start monitoring HTTP URLs. In the following code directly lifted from WebSurge, I configure a few filter options on Form level object, from the user inputs shown on the form by assigning it to a capture options object. In the live application these settings are persisted configuration values, but in the demo they are one time values initialized and set on the form. Once these options are set, I hook up the AfterSessionComplete event to capture every URL that passes through the proxy after the request is completed and start up the Proxy service:void Start() { if (tbIgnoreResources.Checked) CaptureConfiguration.IgnoreResources = true; else CaptureConfiguration.IgnoreResources = false; string strProcId = txtProcessId.Text; if (strProcId.Contains('-')) strProcId = strProcId.Substring(strProcId.IndexOf('-') + 1).Trim(); strProcId = strProcId.Trim(); int procId = 0; if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(strProcId)) { if (!int.TryParse(strProcId, out procId)) procId = 0; } CaptureConfiguration.ProcessId = procId; CaptureConfiguration.CaptureDomain = txtCaptureDomain.Text; FiddlerApplication.AfterSessionComplete += FiddlerApplication_AfterSessionComplete; FiddlerApplication.Startup(8888, true, true, true); } The key lines for FiddlerCore are just the last two lines of code that include the event hookup code as well as the Startup() method call. Here I only hook up to the AfterSessionComplete event but there are a number of other events that hook various stages of the HTTP request cycle you can also hook into. Other events include BeforeRequest, BeforeResponse, RequestHeadersAvailable, ResponseHeadersAvailable and so on. In my case I want to capture the request data and I actually have several options to capture this data. AfterSessionComplete is the last event that fires in the request sequence and it’s the most common choice to capture all request and response data. I could have used several other events, but AfterSessionComplete is one place where you can look both at the request and response data, so this will be the most common place to hook into if you’re capturing content. The implementation of AfterSessionComplete is responsible for capturing all HTTP request headers and it looks something like this:private void FiddlerApplication_AfterSessionComplete(Session sess) { // Ignore HTTPS connect requests if (sess.RequestMethod == "CONNECT") return; if (CaptureConfiguration.ProcessId > 0) { if (sess.LocalProcessID != 0 && sess.LocalProcessID != CaptureConfiguration.ProcessId) return; } if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(CaptureConfiguration.CaptureDomain)) { if (sess.hostname.ToLower() != CaptureConfiguration.CaptureDomain.Trim().ToLower()) return; } if (CaptureConfiguration.IgnoreResources) { string url = sess.fullUrl.ToLower(); var extensions = CaptureConfiguration.ExtensionFilterExclusions; foreach (var ext in extensions) { if (url.Contains(ext)) return; } var filters = CaptureConfiguration.UrlFilterExclusions; foreach (var urlFilter in filters) { if (url.Contains(urlFilter)) return; } } if (sess == null || sess.oRequest == null || sess.oRequest.headers == null) return; string headers = sess.oRequest.headers.ToString(); var reqBody = sess.GetRequestBodyAsString(); // if you wanted to capture the response //string respHeaders = session.oResponse.headers.ToString(); //var respBody = session.GetResponseBodyAsString(); // replace the HTTP line to inject full URL string firstLine = sess.RequestMethod + " " + sess.fullUrl + " " + sess.oRequest.headers.HTTPVersion; int at = headers.IndexOf("\r\n"); if (at < 0) return; headers = firstLine + "\r\n" + headers.Substring(at + 1); string output = headers + "\r\n" + (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(reqBody) ? reqBody + "\r\n" : string.Empty) + Separator + "\r\n\r\n"; BeginInvoke(new Action<string>((text) => { txtCapture.AppendText(text); UpdateButtonStatus(); }), output); } The code starts by filtering out some requests based on the CaptureOptions I set before the capture is started. These options/filters are applied when requests actually come in. This is very useful to help narrow down the requests that are captured for playback based on options the user picked. I find it useful to limit requests to a certain domain for captures, as well as filtering out some request types like static resources – images, css, scripts etc. This is of course optional, but I think it’s a common scenario and WebSurge makes good use of this feature. AfterSessionComplete like other FiddlerCore events, provides a Session object parameter which contains all the request and response details. There are oRequest and oResponse objects to hold their respective data. In my case I’m interested in the raw request headers and body only, as you can see in the commented code you can also retrieve the response headers and body. Here the code captures the request headers and body and simply appends the output to the textbox on the screen. Note that the Fiddler events are asynchronous, so in order to display the content in the UI they have to be marshaled back the UI thread with BeginInvoke, which here simply takes the generated headers and appends it to the existing textbox test on the form. As each request is processed, the headers are captured and appended to the bottom of the textbox resulting in a Session HTTP capture in the format that Web Surge internally supports, which is basically raw request headers with a customized 1st HTTP Header line that includes the full URL rather than a server relative URL. When the capture is done the user can either copy the raw HTTP session to the clipboard, or directly save it to file. This raw capture format is the same format WebSurge and also Fiddler use to import/export request data. While this code is application specific, it demonstrates the kind of logic that you can easily apply to the request capture process, which is one of the reasonsof why FiddlerCore is so powerful. You get to choose what content you want to look up as part of your own application logic and you can then decide how to capture or use that data as part of your application. The actual captured data in this case is only a string. The user can edit the data by hand or in the the case of WebSurge, save it to disk and automatically open the captured session as a new load test. Stopping the FiddlerCore Proxy Finally to stop capturing requests you simply disconnect the event handler and call the FiddlerApplication.ShutDown() method:void Stop() { FiddlerApplication.AfterSessionComplete -= FiddlerApplication_AfterSessionComplete; if (FiddlerApplication.IsStarted()) FiddlerApplication.Shutdown(); } As you can see, adding HTTP capture functionality to an application is very straight forward. FiddlerCore offers tons of features I’m not even touching on here – I suspect basic captures are the most common scenario, but a lot of different things can be done with FiddlerCore’s simple API interface. Sky’s the limit! The source code for this sample capture form (WinForms) is provided as part of this article. Adding Fiddler Certificates with FiddlerCore One of the sticking points in West Wind WebSurge has been that if you wanted to capture HTTPS/SSL traffic, you needed to have the full version of Fiddler and have HTTPS decryption enabled. Essentially you had to use Fiddler to configure HTTPS decryption and the associated installation of the Fiddler local client certificate that is used for local decryption of incoming SSL traffic. While this works just fine, requiring to have Fiddler installed and then using a separate application to configure the SSL functionality isn’t ideal. Fortunately FiddlerCore actually includes the tools to register the Fiddler Certificate directly using FiddlerCore. Why does Fiddler need a Certificate in the first Place? Fiddler and FiddlerCore are essentially HTTP proxies which means they inject themselves into the HTTP conversation by re-routing HTTP traffic to a special HTTP port (8888 by default for Fiddler) and then forward the HTTP data to the original client. Fiddler injects itself as the system proxy in using the WinInet Windows settings which are the same settings that Internet Explorer uses and that are configured in the Windows and Internet Explorer Internet Settings dialog. Most HTTP clients running on Windows pick up and apply these system level Proxy settings before establishing new HTTP connections and that’s why most clients automatically work once Fiddler – or FiddlerCore/WebSurge are running. For plain HTTP requests this just works – Fiddler intercepts the HTTP requests on the proxy port and then forwards them to the original port (80 for HTTP and 443 for SSL typically but it could be any port). For SSL however, this is not quite as simple – Fiddler can easily act as an HTTPS/SSL client to capture inbound requests from the server, but when it forwards the request to the client it has to also act as an SSL server and provide a certificate that the client trusts. This won’t be the original certificate from the remote site, but rather a custom local certificate that effectively simulates an SSL connection between the proxy and the client. If there is no custom certificate configured for Fiddler the SSL request fails with a certificate validation error. The key for this to work is that a custom certificate has to be installed that the HTTPS client trusts on the local machine. For a much more detailed description of the process you can check out Eric Lawrence’s blog post on Certificates. If you’re using the desktop version of Fiddler you can install a local certificate into the Windows certificate store. Fiddler proper does this from the Options menu: This operation does several things: It installs the Fiddler Root Certificate It sets trust to this Root Certificate A new client certificate is generated for each HTTPS site monitored Certificate Installation with FiddlerCore You can also provide this same functionality using FiddlerCore which includes a CertMaker class. Using CertMaker is straight forward to use and it provides an easy way to create some simple helpers that can install and uninstall a Fiddler Root certificate:public static bool InstallCertificate() { if (!CertMaker.rootCertExists()) { if (!CertMaker.createRootCert()) return false; if (!CertMaker.trustRootCert()) return false; } return true; } public static bool UninstallCertificate() { if (CertMaker.rootCertExists()) { if (!CertMaker.removeFiddlerGeneratedCerts(true)) return false; } return true; } InstallCertificate() works by first checking whether the root certificate is already installed and if it isn’t goes ahead and creates a new one. The process of creating the certificate is a two step process – first the actual certificate is created and then it’s moved into the certificate store to become trusted. I’m not sure why you’d ever split these operations up since a cert created without trust isn’t going to be of much value, but there are two distinct steps. When you trigger the trustRootCert() method, a message box will pop up on the desktop that lets you know that you’re about to trust a local private certificate. This is a security feature to ensure that you really want to trust the Fiddler root since you are essentially installing a man in the middle certificate. It’s quite safe to use this generated root certificate, because it’s been specifically generated for your machine and thus is not usable from external sources, the only way to use this certificate in a trusted way is from the local machine. IOW, unless somebody has physical access to your machine, there’s no useful way to hijack this certificate and use it for nefarious purposes (see Eric’s post for more details). Once the Root certificate has been installed, FiddlerCore/Fiddler create new certificates for each site that is connected to with HTTPS. You can end up with quite a few temporary certificates in your certificate store. To uninstall you can either use Fiddler and simply uncheck the Decrypt HTTPS traffic option followed by the remove Fiddler certificates button, or you can use FiddlerCore’s CertMaker.removeFiddlerGeneratedCerts() which removes the root cert and any of the intermediary certificates Fiddler created. Keep in mind that when you uninstall you uninstall the certificate for both FiddlerCore and Fiddler, so use UninstallCertificate() with care and realize that you might affect the Fiddler application’s operation by doing so as well. When to check for an installed Certificate Note that the check to see if the root certificate exists is pretty fast, while the actual process of installing the certificate is a relatively slow operation that even on a fast machine takes a few seconds. Further the trust operation pops up a message box so you probably don’t want to install the certificate repeatedly. Since the check for the root certificate is fast, you can easily put a call to InstallCertificate() in any capture startup code – in which case the certificate installation only triggers when a certificate is in fact not installed. Personally I like to make certificate installation explicit – just like Fiddler does, so in WebSurge I use a small drop down option on the menu to install or uninstall the SSL certificate: This code calls the InstallCertificate and UnInstallCertificate functions respectively – the experience with this is similar to what you get in Fiddler with the extra dialog box popping up to prompt confirmation for installation of the root certificate. Once the cert is installed you can then capture SSL requests. There’s a gotcha however… Gotcha: FiddlerCore Certificates don’t stick by Default When I originally tried to use the Fiddler certificate installation I ran into an odd problem. I was able to install the certificate and immediately after installation was able to capture HTTPS requests. Then I would exit the application and come back in and try the same HTTPS capture again and it would fail due to a missing certificate. CertMaker.rootCertExists() would return false after every restart and if re-installed the certificate a new certificate would get added to the certificate store resulting in a bunch of duplicated root certificates with different keys. What the heck? CertMaker and BcMakeCert create non-sticky CertificatesI turns out that FiddlerCore by default uses different components from what the full version of Fiddler uses. Fiddler uses a Windows utility called MakeCert.exe to create the Fiddler Root certificate. FiddlerCore however installs the CertMaker.dll and BCMakeCert.dll assemblies, which use a different crypto library (Bouncy Castle) for certificate creation than MakeCert.exe which uses the Windows Crypto API. The assemblies provide support for non-windows operation for Fiddler under Mono, as well as support for some non-Windows certificate platforms like iOS and Android for decryption. The bottom line is that the FiddlerCore provided bouncy castle assemblies are not sticky by default as the certificates created with them are not cached as they are in Fiddler proper. To get certificates to ‘stick’ you have to explicitly cache the certificates in Fiddler’s internal preferences. A cache aware version of InstallCertificate looks something like this:public static bool InstallCertificate() { if (!CertMaker.rootCertExists()) { if (!CertMaker.createRootCert()) return false; if (!CertMaker.trustRootCert()) return false; App.Configuration.UrlCapture.Cert = FiddlerApplication.Prefs.GetStringPref("fiddler.certmaker.bc.cert", null); App.Configuration.UrlCapture.Key = FiddlerApplication.Prefs.GetStringPref("fiddler.certmaker.bc.key", null); } return true; } public static bool UninstallCertificate() { if (CertMaker.rootCertExists()) { if (!CertMaker.removeFiddlerGeneratedCerts(true)) return false; } App.Configuration.UrlCapture.Cert = null; App.Configuration.UrlCapture.Key = null; return true; } In this code I store the Fiddler cert and private key in an application configuration settings that’s stored with the application settings (App.Configuration.UrlCapture object). These settings automatically persist when WebSurge is shut down. The values are read out of Fiddler’s internal preferences store which is set after a new certificate has been created. Likewise I clear out the configuration settings when the certificate is uninstalled. In order for these setting to be used you have to also load the configuration settings into the Fiddler preferences *before* a call to rootCertExists() is made. I do this in the capture form’s constructor:public FiddlerCapture(StressTestForm form) { InitializeComponent(); CaptureConfiguration = App.Configuration.UrlCapture; MainForm = form; if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(App.Configuration.UrlCapture.Cert)) { FiddlerApplication.Prefs.SetStringPref("fiddler.certmaker.bc.key", App.Configuration.UrlCapture.Key); FiddlerApplication.Prefs.SetStringPref("fiddler.certmaker.bc.cert", App.Configuration.UrlCapture.Cert); }} This is kind of a drag to do and not documented anywhere that I could find, so hopefully this will save you some grief if you want to work with the stock certificate logic that installs with FiddlerCore. MakeCert provides sticky Certificates and the same functionality as Fiddler But there’s actually an easier way. If you want to skip the above Fiddler preference configuration code in your application you can choose to distribute MakeCert.exe instead of certmaker.dll and bcmakecert.dll. When you use MakeCert.exe, the certificates settings are stored in Windows so they are available without any custom configuration inside of your application. It’s easier to integrate and as long as you run on Windows and you don’t need to support iOS or Android devices is simply easier to deal with. To integrate into your project, you can remove the reference to CertMaker.dll (and the BcMakeCert.dll assembly) from your project. Instead copy MakeCert.exe into your output folder. To make sure MakeCert.exe gets pushed out, include MakeCert.exe in your project and set the Build Action to None, and Copy to Output Directory to Copy if newer. Note that the CertMaker.dll reference in the project has been removed and on disk the files for Certmaker.dll, as well as the BCMakeCert.dll files on disk. Keep in mind that these DLLs are resources of the FiddlerCore NuGet package, so updating the package may end up pushing those files back into your project. Once MakeCert.exe is distributed FiddlerCore checks for it first before using the assemblies so as long as MakeCert.exe exists it’ll be used for certificate creation (at least on Windows). Summary FiddlerCore is a pretty sweet tool, and it’s absolutely awesome that we get to plug in most of the functionality of Fiddler right into our own applications. A few years back I tried to build this sort of functionality myself for an app and ended up giving up because it’s a big job to get HTTP right – especially if you need to support SSL. FiddlerCore now provides that functionality as a turnkey solution that can be plugged into your own apps easily. The only downside is FiddlerCore’s documentation for more advanced features like certificate installation which is pretty sketchy. While for the most part FiddlerCore’s feature set is easy to work with without any documentation, advanced features are often not intuitive to gleam by just using Intellisense or the FiddlerCore help file reference (which is not terribly useful). While Eric Lawrence is very responsive on his forum and on Twitter, there simply isn’t much useful documentation on Fiddler/FiddlerCore available online. If you run into trouble the forum is probably the first place to look and then ask a question if you can’t find the answer. The best documentation you can find is Eric’s Fiddler Book which covers a ton of functionality of Fiddler and FiddlerCore. The book is a great reference to Fiddler’s feature set as well as providing great insights into the HTTP protocol. The second half of the book that gets into the innards of HTTP is an excellent read for anybody who wants to know more about some of the more arcane aspects and special behaviors of HTTP – it’s well worth the read. While the book has tons of information in a very readable format, it’s unfortunately not a great reference as it’s hard to find things in the book and because it’s not available online you can’t electronically search for the great content in it. But it’s hard to complain about any of this given the obvious effort and love that’s gone into this awesome product for all of these years. A mighty big thanks to Eric Lawrence for having created this useful tool that so many of us use all the time, and also to Telerik for picking up Fiddler/FiddlerCore and providing Eric the resources to support and improve this wonderful tool full time and keeping it free for all. Kudos! Resources FiddlerCore Download FiddlerCore NuGet Fiddler Capture Sample Form Fiddler Capture Form in West Wind WebSurge (GitHub) Eric Lawrence’s Fiddler Book© Rick Strahl, West Wind Technologies, 2005-2014Posted in .NET HTTP Tweet !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); (function() { var po = document.createElement('script'); po.type = 'text/javascript'; po.async = true; po.src = 'https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(po, s); })();

Read the article

How To Run XP Mode in VirtualBox on Windows 7 (sort of)

- by Matthew Guay

A few weeks ago we showed you how to run XP Mode on a Windows 7 computer without Hardware Virtualization using VMware. Some of you have been asking if it can be done in Virtual Box as well. The answer is “Yes!” and here we’ll show you how. Editor Update: Apparently there isn’t a way to activate XP Mode through VirtualBox using this method. You will however, be able to run it for 30 days. We have a new updated article on how to Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite Plugin. Earlier we showed you how to run XP mode on windows 7 machines without hardware virtualization capability. Since then, a lot of you have been asking to a write up a tutorial about doing the same thing using VirtualBox. This makes it another great way to run XP Mode if your computer does not have hardware virtualization. Here we’ll see how to import the XP Mode from Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate into VirtualBox so you can run XP in it for free. Note: You need to have Windows 7 Professional or above to use XP Mode in this manner. In our tests we were able to get it to run on Home Premium as well, but you’ll be breaking Windows 7 licensing agreements. Getting Started First, download and install XP Mode (link below). There is no need to download Virtual PC if your computer cannot run it, so just download the XP Mode from the link on the left. Install XP mode; just follow the default prompts as usual. Now, download and install VirtualBox 3.1.2 or higher(link below). Install as normal, and simply follow the default prompts. VirtualBox may notify you that your network connection will be reset during the installation. Press Yes to continue. During the install, you may see several popups asking you if you wish to install device drivers for USB and Network interfaces. Simply click install, as these are needed for VirtualBox to run correctly. Setup only took a couple minutes, and doesn’t require a reboot. Setup XP Mode in VirtualBox: First we need to copy the default XP Mode so VirtualBox will not affect the original copy. Browse to C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode, and copy the file “Windows XP Mode base.vhd”. Paste it in another folder of your choice, such as your Documents folder. Once you’ve copied the file, right-click on it and click Properties. Uncheck the “Read-only” box in this dialog, and then click Ok. Now, in VirtualBox, click New to create a new virtual machine. Enter the name of your virtual machine, and make sure the operating system selected is Windows XP. Choose how much memory you want to allow the virtual machine to use. VirtualBox’ default is 192 Mb ram, but for better performance you can select 256 or 512Mb. Now, select the hard drive for the virtual machine. Select “Use existing hard disk”, then click the folder button to choose the XP Mode virtual drive. In this window, click Add, and then browse to find the copy of XP Mode you previously made. Make sure the correct virtual drive is selected, then press Select. After selecting the VHD your screen should look like the following then click Next. Verify the settings you made are correct. If not, you can go back and make any changes. When everything looks correct click Finish. Setup XP Mode Now, in VirtualBox, click start to run XP Mode. The Windows XP in this virtual drive is not fully setup yet, so you will have to go through the setup process. If you didn’t uncheck the “Read-only” box in the VHD properties before, you may see the following error. If you see it, go back and check the file to makes sure it is not read-only. When you click in the virtual machine, it will capture your mouse by default. Simply press the right Ctrl key to release your mouse so you can go back to using Windows 7. This will only be the case during the setup process; after the Guest Additions are installed, the mouse will seamlessly move between operating systems. Now, accept the license agreement in XP. Choose your correct locale and keyboard settings. Enter a name for your virtual XP, and an administrative password. Check the date, time, and time zone settings, and adjust them if they are incorrect. The time and date are usually correct, but the time zone often has to be corrected. XP will now automatically finish setting up your virtual machine, and then will automatically reboot. After rebooting, select your automatic update settings. You may see a prompt to check for drivers; simply press cancel, as all the drivers we need will be installed later with the Guest Additions. Your last settings will be finalized, and finally you will see your XP desktop in VirtualBox. Please note that XP Mode may not remain activated after importing it into VirtualBox. When you activate it, use the key that is located at C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\key.txt. Note: During our tests we weren’t able to get the activation to go through. We are looking into the issue and will have a revised article showing the correct way to get XP Mode in VirutalBox working correctly soon. Now we have one final thing to install – the VirtualBox Guest Additions. In the VirtualBox window, click “Devices” and then select “Install Guest Additions”. This should automatically launch in XP; if it doesn’t, click Start, then My Computer, and finally double-click on the CD drive which should say VirtualBox Guest Additions. Simply install with the normal presets. You can select to install an experimental 3D graphics driver if you wish to try to run games in XP in VirtualBox; however, do note that this is not fully supported and is currently a test feature. You may see a prompt informing you that the drivers have not passed Logo testing; simply press “Continue Anyway” to proceed with the installation. When installation has completed, you will be required to reboot your virtual machine. Now, you can move your mouse directly from Windows XP to Windows 7 without pressing Ctrl. Integrating with Windows 7 Once your virtual machine is rebooted, you can integrate it with your Windows 7 desktop. In the VirtualBox window, click Machine and then select “Seamless Mode”. In Seamless mode you’ll have the XP Start menu and taskbar sit on top of your Windows 7 Start and Taskbar. Here we see XP running on Virtual Box in Seamless Mode. We have the old XP WordPad sitting next to the new Windows 7 version of WordPad. Another view of everything running seamlessly together on the same Windows 7 desktop. Hover the pointer over the XP taskbar to pull up the Virtual Box menu items. You can exit out of Seamless Mode from the VirtualBox menu or using “Ctrl+L”. Then you go back to having it run separately on your desktop again. Conclusion Running XP Mode in a Virtual Machine is a great way to experience the feature on computers without Hardware Virtualization capabilities. If you prefer VMware Player, then you’ll want to check out our articles on how to run XP Mode on Windows 7 machines without Hardware Virtualization, and how to create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Premium and Vista. Download VirtualBox Download XP Mode Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite PluginUsing Windows 7 or Vista Compatibility ModeMake Safari Stop Crashing Every 20 Seconds on Windows VistaForce Windows 7 / Vista to Boot Into Safe Mode Without Using the F8 KeyHow To Run Chrome OS in VirtualBox TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

Read the article

How To Run XP Mode in VirtualBox on Windows 7 (sort of)

- by Matthew Guay

A few weeks ago we showed you how to run XP Mode on a Windows 7 computer without Hardware Virtualization using VMware. Some of you have been asking if it can be done in Virtual Box as well. The answer is “Yes!” and here we’ll show you how. Editor Update: Apparently there isn’t a way to activate XP Mode through VirtualBox using this method. You will however, be able to run it for 30 days. We have a new updated article on how to Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite Plugin. Earlier we showed you how to run XP mode on windows 7 machines without hardware virtualization capability. Since then, a lot of you have been asking to a write up a tutorial about doing the same thing using VirtualBox. This makes it another great way to run XP Mode if your computer does not have hardware virtualization. Here we’ll see how to import the XP Mode from Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate into VirtualBox so you can run XP in it for free. Note: You need to have Windows 7 Professional or above to use XP Mode in this manner. In our tests we were able to get it to run on Home Premium as well, but you’ll be breaking Windows 7 licensing agreements. Getting Started First, download and install XP Mode (link below). There is no need to download Virtual PC if your computer cannot run it, so just download the XP Mode from the link on the left. Install XP mode; just follow the default prompts as usual. Now, download and install VirtualBox 3.1.2 or higher(link below). Install as normal, and simply follow the default prompts. VirtualBox may notify you that your network connection will be reset during the installation. Press Yes to continue. During the install, you may see several popups asking you if you wish to install device drivers for USB and Network interfaces. Simply click install, as these are needed for VirtualBox to run correctly. Setup only took a couple minutes, and doesn’t require a reboot. Setup XP Mode in VirtualBox: First we need to copy the default XP Mode so VirtualBox will not affect the original copy. Browse to C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode, and copy the file “Windows XP Mode base.vhd”. Paste it in another folder of your choice, such as your Documents folder. Once you’ve copied the file, right-click on it and click Properties. Uncheck the “Read-only” box in this dialog, and then click Ok. Now, in VirtualBox, click New to create a new virtual machine. Enter the name of your virtual machine, and make sure the operating system selected is Windows XP. Choose how much memory you want to allow the virtual machine to use. VirtualBox’ default is 192 Mb ram, but for better performance you can select 256 or 512Mb. Now, select the hard drive for the virtual machine. Select “Use existing hard disk”, then click the folder button to choose the XP Mode virtual drive. In this window, click Add, and then browse to find the copy of XP Mode you previously made. Make sure the correct virtual drive is selected, then press Select. After selecting the VHD your screen should look like the following then click Next. Verify the settings you made are correct. If not, you can go back and make any changes. When everything looks correct click Finish. Setup XP Mode Now, in VirtualBox, click start to run XP Mode. The Windows XP in this virtual drive is not fully setup yet, so you will have to go through the setup process. If you didn’t uncheck the “Read-only” box in the VHD properties before, you may see the following error. If you see it, go back and check the file to makes sure it is not read-only. When you click in the virtual machine, it will capture your mouse by default. Simply press the right Ctrl key to release your mouse so you can go back to using Windows 7. This will only be the case during the setup process; after the Guest Additions are installed, the mouse will seamlessly move between operating systems. Now, accept the license agreement in XP. Choose your correct locale and keyboard settings. Enter a name for your virtual XP, and an administrative password. Check the date, time, and time zone settings, and adjust them if they are incorrect. The time and date are usually correct, but the time zone often has to be corrected. XP will now automatically finish setting up your virtual machine, and then will automatically reboot. After rebooting, select your automatic update settings. You may see a prompt to check for drivers; simply press cancel, as all the drivers we need will be installed later with the Guest Additions. Your last settings will be finalized, and finally you will see your XP desktop in VirtualBox. Please note that XP Mode may not remain activated after importing it into VirtualBox. When you activate it, use the key that is located at C:\Program Files\Windows XP Mode\key.txt. Note: During our tests we weren’t able to get the activation to go through. We are looking into the issue and will have a revised article showing the correct way to get XP Mode in VirutalBox working correctly soon. Now we have one final thing to install – the VirtualBox Guest Additions. In the VirtualBox window, click “Devices” and then select “Install Guest Additions”. This should automatically launch in XP; if it doesn’t, click Start, then My Computer, and finally double-click on the CD drive which should say VirtualBox Guest Additions. Simply install with the normal presets. You can select to install an experimental 3D graphics driver if you wish to try to run games in XP in VirtualBox; however, do note that this is not fully supported and is currently a test feature. You may see a prompt informing you that the drivers have not passed Logo testing; simply press “Continue Anyway” to proceed with the installation. When installation has completed, you will be required to reboot your virtual machine. Now, you can move your mouse directly from Windows XP to Windows 7 without pressing Ctrl. Integrating with Windows 7 Once your virtual machine is rebooted, you can integrate it with your Windows 7 desktop. In the VirtualBox window, click Machine and then select “Seamless Mode”. In Seamless mode you’ll have the XP Start menu and taskbar sit on top of your Windows 7 Start and Taskbar. Here we see XP running on Virtual Box in Seamless Mode. We have the old XP WordPad sitting next to the new Windows 7 version of WordPad. Another view of everything running seamlessly together on the same Windows 7 desktop. Hover the pointer over the XP taskbar to pull up the Virtual Box menu items. You can exit out of Seamless Mode from the VirtualBox menu or using “Ctrl+L”. Then you go back to having it run separately on your desktop again. Conclusion Running XP Mode in a Virtual Machine is a great way to experience the feature on computers without Hardware Virtualization capabilities. If you prefer VMware Player, then you’ll want to check out our articles on how to run XP Mode on Windows 7 machines without Hardware Virtualization, and how to create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Premium and Vista. Download VirtualBox Download XP Mode Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Install XP Mode with VirtualBox Using the VMLite PluginUsing Windows 7 or Vista Compatibility ModeMake Safari Stop Crashing Every 20 Seconds on Windows VistaForce Windows 7 / Vista to Boot Into Safe Mode Without Using the F8 KeyHow To Run Chrome OS in VirtualBox TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Enable Check Box Selection in Windows 7 OnlineOCR – Free OCR Service Betting on the Blind Side, a Vanity Fair article 30 Minimal Logo Designs that Say More with Less LEGO Digital Designer – Free Create a Personal Website Quickly using Flavors.me

Read the article

Issue 15: Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange @ Oracle OpenWorld

- by rituchhibber

ORACLE FOCUS Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange@ ORACLE OpenWorld Sylvie MichouSenior DirectorPartner Marketing & Communications and Strategic Programs RESOURCES -- Oracle OpenWorld 2012 Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange @ OpenWorld Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange @ OpenWorld Registration Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange SpecializationTest Fest Oracle OpenWorld Schedule Builder Oracle OpenWorld Promotional Toolkit for Partners Oracle Partner Events Oracle Partner Webcasts Oracle EMEA Partner News SUBSCRIBE FEEDBACK PREVIOUS ISSUES If you are attending our forthcoming Oracle OpenWorld 2012 conference in San Francisco from 30 September to 4 October, you will discover a new dedicated programme of keynotes and sessions tailored especially for you, our valued partners. Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange @ OpenWorld has been created to enhance the opportunities for you to learn from and network with Oracle executives and experts. The programme also provides more informal opportunities than ever throughout the week to meet up with the people who are most important to your business: customers, prospects, colleagues and the Oracle EMEA Alliances & Channels management team. Oracle remains fully focused on building the industry's most admired partner ecosystem—which today spans over 25,000 partners. This new OPN Exchange programme offers an exciting change of pace for partners throughout the conference. Now it will be possible to enjoy a fully-integrated, partner-dedicated session schedule throughout the week, as well as key social events such as the Sunday night Welcome Reception, networking lunches from Monday to Thursday at the Howard Street Tent, and a fantastic closing event on the last Thursday afternoon. In addition to the regular Oracle OpenWorld conference schedule, if you have registered for the Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange @ OpenWorld programme, you will be invited to attend a much anticipated global partner keynote presentation, plus more than 40 conference sessions aimed squarely at what's most important to you, as partners. Prominent topics for discussion will include: Oracle technologies and roadmaps and how they fit with partners' business plans; business development; regional distinctions in business practices; and much more. Each session will provide plenty of food for thought ahead of the numerous networking opportunities throughout the week, encouraging the knowledge exchange with Oracle executives, customers, prospects, and colleagues that will make this conference of even greater value for you. At Oracle we always work closely with our partners to deliver solution offerings that improve business value, simplify the IT experience and drive innovation and efficiencies for joint customers. The most important element of our new OPN Exchange is content that helps you get more from technology investments, more from your peer-to-peer connections, and more from your interactions with customers. To this end we've created some partner-specific tools which can be used by OPN members ahead of the conference itself. Crucially, a comprehensive Content Catalog already lists and organises details of every OPN Exchange session, speaker, exhibitor, demonstration and related materials. This Content Catalog can be used by all our partners to identify interesting content that you can add to your own personalised Oracle OpenWorld Schedule Builder, allowing more effective planning and pre-enrolment for vital sessions. There are numerous highlights that you will definitely want to include in those personal schedules. On Sunday morning, 30 September we will start the week with partner dedicated OPN Exchange sessions, following our Global Partner Keynote at 13:00 with Judson Althoff, SVP, Worldwide Alliances & Channels and Embedded Sales and senior executives, giving insight into Oracle's partner vision, strategy, and resources—all designed to help build and strengthen market opportunities for you. This will be followed by a number of OPN Exchange general sessions, the Oracle OpenWorld Opening Keynote with Larry Ellison, CEO, Oracle and concluded with the OPN Exchange AfterDark Welcome Reception, starting at 19:30 at the Metreon. From Monday 1 to Thursday 4 October, you can attend the OPN Exchange sessions that are most relevant to your business today and over the coming year. Oracle's top product and sales leaders will be on hand to discuss Oracle's strategic direction in 40+ targeted and in-depth sessions focussing on critical success factors to develop your business. Oracle's dedication to innovation, specialization, enablement and engineering provides Oracle partners with a huge opportunity to create new services and solutions, differentiate themselves and deliver extreme value to joint customers across the globe. Oracle will even be helping over 1000 partners to earn OPN Specialization certification during the Oracle OpenWorld OPN Exchange Test Fest, which will be providing all the study materials and exams required to drive Specialization for free at the conference. You simply need to check the list of current certification tracks available, and make sure you pre-register to reserve a seat in one of the ten sessions being offered free to OPN Exchange registered attendees. And finally, let's not forget those all-important networking opportunities, which can so often provide partners with valuable long-term alliances as well as exciting new business leads. The Oracle PartnerNetwork Lounge, located at Moscone South, exhibition hall, room 100 is the place where partners can meet formally or informally with colleagues, customers, prospects, and other industry professionals. OPN Specialized partners with OPN Exchange passes can also visit the OPN Video Blogging room to record and share ideas, and at the OPN Information Station you will find consultants available to answer your questions. "For the first time ever we will have a full partner conference within OpenWorld. OPN Exchange @ OpenWorld will kick-off on the first Sunday and run the entire week. We'll have over 40 sessions throughout that time and partners will hear from our top development executives, with special sessions dedicated to partnering throughout. It's going to be a phenomenal event, and we look forward to seeing our partners there." Judson Althoff, SVP, Oracle Worldwide Alliances & Channels and Embedded Sales So if you haven't done so already, please register for Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange @ OpenWorld today or add OPN Exchange to your existing registration for just $100 through My Account. And if you have any further questions regarding partner activities at Oracle OpenWorld, please don't hesitate to contact the Oracle PartnerNetwork team at [email protected] will be on hand to share the very latest information about: Oracle's SPARC Superclusters: the latest Engineered Systems from Oracle, delivering radically improved performance, faster deployment and greatly reduced operational costs for mixed database and enterprise application consolidation Oracle's SPARC T4 servers: with the newly developed T4 processor and Oracle Solaris providing up to five times the single threaded performance and better overall system throughput for expanded application versatility Oracle Database Appliance: a new way to take advantage of the world's most popular database, Oracle Database 11g, in a single, easy-to-deploy and manage system. It's a complete package engineered to deliver simple, reliable and affordable database services to small and medium size businesses and departmental systems. All hardware and software components are supported together and offer customers unique pay-as-you-grow software licensing to quickly scale from two to 24 processor cores without incurring the costs and downtime usually associated with hardware upgrades Oracle Exalogic: the world's only integrated cloud machine, featuring server hardware and middleware software engineered together for maximum performance with minimum set-up and operational cost Oracle Exadata Database Machine: the only database machine that provides extreme performance for both data warehousing and online transaction processing (OLTP) applications, making it the ideal platform for consolidating onto grids or private clouds. It is a complete package of servers, storage, networking and software that is massively scalable, secure and redundant Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliances: providing enterprise-class NAS performance, price-performance, manageability and TCO by combining third-generation software with high-performance controllers, flash-based caches and disks Oracle Pillar Axiom Quality-of-Service: confidently consolidate storage for multiple applications into a single datacentre storage solution Oracle Solaris 11: delivering secure enterprise cloud deployments with the ability to run hundreds of virtual application with no overhead and co-engineered with other Oracle software products to provide the highest levels of security, manageability and performance Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c: Oracle's integrated enterprise IT management product, providing the industry's only complete, integrated and business-driven enterprise cloud management solution Oracle VM 3.0: the latest release of Oracle's server virtualisation and management solution, helping to move datacentres beyond server consolidation to improve application deployment and management. Register today and ensure your place at the Extreme Performance Tour! Extreme Performance Tour events are free to attend, but places are limited. To make sure that you don't miss out, please visit Oracle's Extreme Performance Tour website, select the city that you'd be interest in attending an event in, and then click on the 'Register Now' button for that city to secure your interest. Each individual city page also contains more in-depth information about your local event, including logistics, agenda and maybe even a preview of VIP guest speakers. -- Oracle OpenWorld 2010 Whether you attended Oracle OpenWorld 2009 or not, don't forget to save the date now for Oracle OpenWorld 2010. The event will be held a little earlier next year, from 19th-23rd September, so please don't miss out. With thousands of sessions and hundreds of exhibits and demos already lined up, there's no better place to learn how to optimise your existing systems, get an inside line on upcoming technology breakthroughs, and meet with your partner peers, Oracle strategists and even the developers responsible for the products and services that help you get better results for your end customers. Register Now for Oracle OpenWorld 2010! Perhaps you are interested in learning more about Oracle OpenWorld 2010, but don't wish to register at this time? Great! Please just enter your contact information here and we will contact you at a later date. How to Exhibit at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 Sponsorship Opportunities at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 Advertising Opportunities at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 -- Back to the welcome page

Read the article

JMS Step 4 - How to Create an 11g BPEL Process Which Writes a Message Based on an XML Schema to a JMS Queue

- by John-Brown.Evans

JMS Step 4 - How to Create an 11g BPEL Process Which Writes a Message Based on an XML Schema to a JMS Queue ol{margin:0;padding:0} .c11_4{vertical-align:top;width:129.8pt;border-style:solid;background-color:#f3f3f3;border-color:#000000;border-width:1pt;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt} .c9_4{vertical-align:top;width:207pt;border-style:solid;background-color:#f3f3f3;border-color:#000000;border-width:1pt;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt}.c14{vertical-align:top;width:207pt;border-style:solid;border-color:#000000;border-width:1pt;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt} .c17_4{vertical-align:top;width:129.8pt;border-style:solid;border-color:#000000;border-width:1pt;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt} .c7_4{vertical-align:top;width:130pt;border-style:solid;border-color:#000000;border-width:1pt;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt} .c19_4{vertical-align:top;width:468pt;border-style:solid;border-color:#000000;border-width:1pt;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt} .c22_4{background-color:#ffffff} .c20_4{list-style-type:disc;margin:0;padding:0} .c6_4{font-size:8pt;font-family:"Courier New"} .c24_4{color:inherit;text-decoration:inherit} .c23_4{color:#1155cc;text-decoration:underline} .c0_4{height:11pt;direction:ltr} .c10_4{font-size:10pt;font-family:"Courier New"} .c3_4{padding-left:0pt;margin-left:36pt} .c18_4{font-size:8pt} .c8_4{text-align:center} .c12_4{background-color:#ffff00} .c2_4{font-weight:bold} .c21_4{background-color:#00ff00} .c4_4{line-height:1.0} .c1_4{direction:ltr} .c15_4{background-color:#f3f3f3} .c13_4{font-family:"Courier New"} .c5_4{font-style:italic} .c16_4{border-collapse:collapse} .title{padding-top:24pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#000000;font-size:36pt;font-family:"Arial";font-weight:bold;padding-bottom:6pt} .subtitle{padding-top:18pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#666666;font-style:italic;font-size:24pt;font-family:"Georgia";padding-bottom:4pt} li{color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial"} p{color:#000000;font-size:10pt;margin:0;font-family:"Arial"} h1{padding-top:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#888;font-size:18pt;font-family:"Arial";font-weight:normal;padding-bottom:0pt} h2{padding-top:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#888;font-size:18pt;font-family:"Arial";font-weight:bold;padding-bottom:0pt} h3{padding-top:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#888;font-size:14pt;font-family:"Arial";font-weight:normal;padding-bottom:0pt} h4{padding-top:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#888;font-style:italic;font-size:11pt;font-family:"Arial";padding-bottom:0pt} h5{padding-top:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#888;font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial";font-weight:normal;padding-bottom:0pt} h6{padding-top:0pt;line-height:1.15;text-align:left;color:#888;font-style:italic;font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial";padding-bottom:0pt} This post continues the series of JMS articles which demonstrate how to use JMS queues in a SOA context. The previous posts were: JMS Step 1 - How to Create a Simple JMS Queue in Weblogic Server 11g JMS Step 2 - Using the QueueSend.java Sample Program to Send a Message to a JMS Queue JMS Step 3 - Using the QueueReceive.java Sample Program to Read a Message from a JMS Queue In this example we will create a BPEL process which will write (enqueue) a message to a JMS queue using a JMS adapter. The JMS adapter will enqueue the full XML payload to the queue. This sample will use the following WebLogic Server objects. The first two, the Connection Factory and JMS Queue, were created as part of the first blog post in this series, JMS Step 1 - How to Create a Simple JMS Queue in Weblogic Server 11g. If you haven't created those objects yet, please see that post for details on how to do so. The Connection Pool will be created as part of this example. Object Name Type JNDI Name TestConnectionFactory Connection Factory jms/TestConnectionFactory TestJMSQueue JMS Queue jms/TestJMSQueue eis/wls/TestQueue Connection Pool eis/wls/TestQueue 1. Verify Connection Factory and JMS Queue As mentioned above, this example uses a WLS Connection Factory called TestConnectionFactory and a JMS queue TestJMSQueue. As these are prerequisites for this example, let us verify they exist. Log in to the WebLogic Server Administration Console. Select Services > JMS Modules > TestJMSModule You should see the following objects: If not, or if the TestJMSModule is missing, please see the abovementioned article and create these objects before continuing. 2. Create a JMS Adapter Connection Pool in WebLogic Server The BPEL process we are about to create uses a JMS adapter to write to the JMS queue. The JMS adapter is deployed to the WebLogic server and needs to be configured to include a connection pool which references the connection factory associated with the JMS queue. In the WebLogic Server Console Go to Deployments > Next and select (click on) the JmsAdapter Select Configuration > Outbound Connection Pools and expand oracle.tip.adapter.jms.IJmsConnectionFactory. This will display the list of connections configured for this adapter. For example, eis/aqjms/Queue, eis/aqjms/Topic etc. These JNDI names are actually quite confusing. We are expecting to configure a connection pool here, but the names refer to queues and topics. One would expect these to be called *ConnectionPool or *_CF or similar, but to conform to this nomenclature, we will call our entry eis/wls/TestQueue . This JNDI name is also the name we will use later, when creating a BPEL process to access this JMS queue! Select New, check the oracle.tip.adapter.jms.IJmsConnectionFactory check box and Next. Enter JNDI Name: eis/wls/TestQueue for the connection instance, then press Finish. Expand oracle.tip.adapter.jms.IJmsConnectionFactory again and select (click on) eis/wls/TestQueue The ConnectionFactoryLocation must point to the JNDI name of the connection factory associated with the JMS queue you will be writing to. In our example, this is the connection factory called TestConnectionFactory, with the JNDI name jms/TestConnectionFactory.( As a reminder, this connection factory is contained in the JMS Module called TestJMSModule, under Services > Messaging > JMS Modules > TestJMSModule which we verified at the beginning of this document. )Enter jms/TestConnectionFactory into the Property Value field for Connection Factory Location. After entering it, you must press Return/Enter then Save for the value to be accepted. If your WebLogic server is running in Development mode, you should see the message that the changes have been activated and the deployment plan successfully updated. If not, then you will manually need to activate the changes in the WebLogic server console. Although the changes have been activated, the JmsAdapter needs to be redeployed in order for the changes to become effective. This should be confirmed by the message Remember to update your deployment to reflect the new plan when you are finished with your changes as can be seen in the following screen shot: The next step is to redeploy the JmsAdapter.Navigate back to the Deployments screen, either by selecting it in the left-hand navigation tree or by selecting the “Summary of Deployments” link in the breadcrumbs list at the top of the screen. Then select the checkbox next to JmsAdapter and press the Update button On the Update Application Assistant page, select “Redeploy this application using the following deployment files” and press Finish. After a few seconds you should get the message that the selected deployments were updated. The JMS adapter configuration is complete and it can now be used to access the JMS queue. To summarize: we have created a JMS adapter connection pool connector with the JNDI name jms/TestConnectionFactory. This is the JNDI name to be accessed by a process such as a BPEL process, when using the JMS adapter to access the previously created JMS queue with the JNDI name jms/TestJMSQueue. In the following step, we will set up a BPEL process to use this JMS adapter to write to the JMS queue. 3. Create a BPEL Composite with a JMS Adapter Partner Link This step requires that you have a valid Application Server Connection defined in JDeveloper, pointing to the application server on which you created the JMS Queue and Connection Factory. You can create this connection in JDeveloper under the Application Server Navigator. Give it any name and be sure to test the connection before completing it. This sample will use the connection name jbevans-lx-PS5, as that is the name of the connection pointing to my SOA PS5 installation. When using a JMS adapter from within a BPEL process, there are various configuration options, such as the operation type (consume message, produce message etc.), delivery mode and message type. One of these options is the choice of the format of the JMS message payload. This can be structured around an existing XSD, in which case the full XML element and tags are passed, or it can be opaque, meaning that the payload is sent as-is to the JMS adapter. In the case of an XSD-based message, the payload can simply be copied to the input variable of the JMS adapter. In the case of an opaque message, the JMS adapter’s input variable is of type base64binary. So the payload needs to be converted to base64 binary first. I will go into this in more detail in a later blog entry. This sample will pass a simple message to the adapter, based on the following simple XSD file, which consists of a single string element: stringPayload.xsd <?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?> <xsd:schema xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns="http://www.example.org" targetNamespace="http://www.example.org" elementFormDefault="qualified" <xsd:element name="exampleElement" type="xsd:string"> </xsd:element> </xsd:schema> The following steps are all executed in JDeveloper. The SOA project will be created inside a JDeveloper Application. If you do not already have an application to contain the project, you can create a new one via File > New > General > Generic Application. Give the application any name, for example JMSTests and, when prompted for a project name and type, call the project JmsAdapterWriteWithXsd and select SOA as the project technology type. If you already have an application, continue below. Create a SOA Project Create a new project and choose SOA Tier > SOA Project as its type. Name it JmsAdapterWriteSchema. When prompted for the composite type, choose Composite With BPEL Process. When prompted for the BPEL Process, name it JmsAdapterWriteSchema too and choose Synchronous BPEL Process as the template. This will create a composite with a BPEL process and an exposed SOAP service. Double-click the BPEL process to open and begin editing it. You should see a simple BPEL process with a Receive and Reply activity. As we created a default process without an XML schema, the input and output variables are simple strings. Create an XSD File An XSD file is required later to define the message format to be passed to the JMS adapter. In this step, we create a simple XSD file, containing a string variable and add it to the project. First select the xsd item in the left-hand navigation tree to ensure that the XSD file is created under that item. Select File > New > General > XML and choose XML Schema. Call it stringPayload.xsd and when the editor opens, select the Source view. then replace the contents with the contents of the stringPayload.xsd example above and save the file. You should see it under the xsd item in the navigation tree. Create a JMS Adapter Partner Link We will create the JMS adapter as a service at the composite level. If it is not already open, double-click the composite.xml file in the navigator to open it. From the Component Palette, drag a JMS adapter over onto the right-hand swim lane, under External References. This will start the JMS Adapter Configuration Wizard. Use the following entries: Service Name: JmsAdapterWrite Oracle Enterprise Messaging Service (OEMS): Oracle Weblogic JMS AppServer Connection: Use an existing application server connection pointing to the WebLogic server on which the above JMS queue and connection factory were created. You can use the “+” button to create a connection directly from the wizard, if you do not already have one. This example uses a connection called jbevans-lx-PS5. Adapter Interface > Interface: Define from operation and schema (specified later) Operation Type: Produce Message Operation Name: Produce_message Destination Name: Press the Browse button, select Destination Type: Queues, then press Search. Wait for the list to populate, then select the entry for TestJMSQueue , which is the queue created earlier. JNDI Name: The JNDI name to use for the JMS connection. This is probably the most important step in this exercise and the most common source of error. This is the JNDI name of the JMS adapter’s connection pool created in the WebLogic Server and which points to the connection factory. JDeveloper does not verify the value entered here. If you enter a wrong value, the JMS adapter won’t find the queue and you will get an error message at runtime, which is very difficult to trace. In our example, this is the value eis/wls/TestQueue . (See the earlier step on how to create a JMS Adapter Connection Pool in WebLogic Server for details.) MessagesURL: We will use the XSD file we created earlier, stringPayload.xsd to define the message format for the JMS adapter. Press the magnifying glass icon to search for schema files. Expand Project Schema Files > stringPayload.xsd and select exampleElement: string. Press Next and Finish, which will complete the JMS Adapter configuration. Wire the BPEL Component to the JMS Adapter In this step, we link the BPEL process/component to the JMS adapter. From the composite.xml editor, drag the right-arrow icon from the BPEL process to the JMS adapter’s in-arrow. This completes the steps at the composite level. 4. Complete the BPEL Process Design Invoke the JMS Adapter Open the BPEL component by double-clicking it in the design view of the composite.xml, or open it from the project navigator by selecting the JmsAdapterWriteSchema.bpel file. This will display the BPEL process in the design view. You should see the JmsAdapterWrite partner link under one of the two swim lanes. We want it in the right-hand swim lane. If JDeveloper displays it in the left-hand lane, right-click it and choose Display > Move To Opposite Swim Lane. An Invoke activity is required in order to invoke the JMS adapter. Drag an Invoke activity between the Receive and Reply activities. Drag the right-hand arrow from the Invoke activity to the JMS adapter partner link. This will open the Invoke editor. The correct default values are entered automatically and are fine for our purposes. We only need to define the input variable to use for the JMS adapter. By pressing the green “+” symbol, a variable of the correct type can be auto-generated, for example with the name Invoke1_Produce_Message_InputVariable. Press OK after creating the variable. ( For some reason, while I was testing this, the JMS Adapter moved back to the left-hand swim lane again after this step. There is no harm in leaving it there, but I find it easier to follow if it is in the right-hand lane, because I kind-of think of the message coming in on the left and being routed through the right. But you can follow your personal preference here.) Assign Variables Drag an Assign activity between the Receive and Invoke activities. We will simply copy the input variable to the JMS adapter and, for completion, so the process has an output to print, again to the process’s output variable. Double-click the Assign activity and create two Copy rules: for the first, drag Variables > inputVariable > payload > client:process > client:input_string to Invoke1_Produce_Message_InputVariable > body > ns2:exampleElement for the second, drag the same input variable to outputVariable > payload > client:processResponse > client:result This will create two copy rules, similar to the following: Press OK. This completes the BPEL and Composite design. 5. Compile and Deploy the Composite We won’t go into too much detail on how to compile and deploy. In JDeveloper, compile the process by pressing the Make or Rebuild icons or by right-clicking the project name in the navigator and selecting Make... or Rebuild... If the compilation is successful, deploy it to the SOA server connection defined earlier. (Right-click the project name in the navigator, select Deploy to Application Server, choose the application server connection, choose the partition on the server (usually default) and press Finish. You should see the message ---- Deployment finished. ---- in the Deployment frame, if the deployment was successful. 6. Test the Composite This is the exciting part. Open two tabs in your browser and log in to the WebLogic Administration Console in one tab and the Enterprise Manager 11g Fusion Middleware Control (EM) for your SOA installation in the other. We will use the Console to monitor the messages being written to the queue and the EM to execute the composite. In the Console, go to Services > Messaging > JMS Modules > TestJMSModule > TestJMSQueue > Monitoring. Note the number of messages under Messages Current. In the EM, go to SOA > soa-infra (soa_server1) > default (or wherever you deployed your composite to) and click on JmsAdapterWriteSchema [1.0], then press the Test button. Under Input Arguments, enter any string into the text input field for the payload, for example Test Message then press Test Web Service. If the instance is successful you should see the same text in the Response message, “Test Message”. In the Console, refresh the Monitoring screen to confirm a new message has been written to the queue. Check the checkbox and press Show Messages. Click on the newest message and view its contents. They should include the full XML of the entered payload. 7. Troubleshooting If you get an exception similar to the following at runtime ... BINDING.JCA-12510 JCA Resource Adapter location error. Unable to locate the JCA Resource Adapter via .jca binding file element The JCA Binding Component is unable to startup the Resource Adapter specified in the element: location='eis/wls/QueueTest'. The reason for this is most likely that either 1) the Resource Adapters RAR file has not been deployed successfully to the WebLogic Application server or 2) the '' element in weblogic-ra.xml has not been set to eis/wls/QueueTest. In the last case you will have to add a new WebLogic JCA connection factory (deploy a RAR). Please correct this and then restart the Application Server at oracle.integration.platform.blocks.adapter.fw.AdapterBindingException. createJndiLookupException(AdapterBindingException.java:130) at oracle.integration.platform.blocks.adapter.fw.jca.cci. JCAConnectionManager$JCAConnectionPool.createJCAConnectionFactory (JCAConnectionManager.java:1387) at oracle.integration.platform.blocks.adapter.fw.jca.cci. JCAConnectionManager$JCAConnectionPool.newPoolObject (JCAConnectionManager.java:1285) ... then this is very likely due to an incorrect JNDI name entered for the JMS Connection in the JMS Adapter Wizard. Recheck those steps. The error message prints the name of the JNDI name used. In this example, it was incorrectly entered as eis/wls/QueueTest instead of eis/wls/TestQueue. This concludes this example. Best regards John-Brown Evans Oracle Technology Proactive Support Delivery

Read the article

Day 2 - Game Design Documentation

- by dapostolov

So yesterday I didn't cut any code for my game but I was able to do a tiny bit of research on the XNA Game Development Technology and the communities out there and do you know what? I feel I'm a bit closer to my goal. The bad news is today I didn't cut code either. However, not all is lost because I wanted to get my ideas on paper and today I just did that. Today, I began to jot down notes about the game and how I felt the visual elements would interact with each other. Unlike my workplace, my personal level of documentation is nothing more than a task list or a mind map of my ideas; it helps me streamline my solutions quiet effectively and circumvent the long process of articulating each thought to the n-th degree. I truly dislike documentation (because I have an extremely hard time articulating my thought and solutions); however, because I tend to do a really good job with documentation I tend to get stuck writing the buggers. But as a generalist remark: 'No Developer likes documentation.' For now let's stick with my basic notes and call this post a living document. Here are my notes, fresh, from after watching the new first episode of Merlin second season! Actually, a quick recommendation to anyone who is reading this (if anyone is): I truly recommend you envelope yourself in the medium or task you're trying to tackle. Be one with moment and feel it! For instance: Are you writing a fantasy script / game? What would the music of the genre sound like? For me the Conan the Barbarian soundtrack by Basil Poledouris is frackin awesome. There are many other good CD's out there, which I listen to (some who even use medival instruments, but Conan I keep returning to. It's a creative trigger for me. Ask yourself what would the imagery look like? Time to surf google for artist renditions of fantasy! What would the game feel like? Start playing some of your favorite games that inspire you, be wary though, have some self control and don't let it absorb your time. Anyhow, onto the documentation... Screens, Scenes, and Sprites. Oh My! (groan...) The first thing that came to mind were the screens, I thought the following would suffice: Menu Screen Character Customisation Screen Loading Screen? Battle Ground The Menu Screen Ok. So, the thought here is when the game loads a huge title is displayed: Wizard Wars. The player is prompted with 3 menu items: 1 Player Game, 2 Player Game, and Exit. Since I'm targetting the PC platform, as a non-networked game to start, I picture myself running my mouse over each menu option and the visual element of the menu item changes, along with a sound to indicate that I am over a curent menu item. And as I move my mouse away, it changes back, and possibly an exit mouse sound. Maybe on the screen somewhere is a brazier alit with a magical tome open right beside it, OR, maybe the tome is the menu! I hear the menu music as mellow, not obtrusive or piercing. On a menu item select, a confirmation sound bellows to indicate the players selection. The Esc key will always return me to the previous screens or desktop. The menu screen must feel...dark, like a really important ritual is about to happen and thus the music should build up. 1 Player Game - > Customize Character(s) 2 Player Game - > Customize Character(s) Exit - > Back to Windows Notes: So the first thing I pick up here are a couple things: First and foremost, my artistic abilities suck crap, so I may have to hire an artist (now that i've said that, lets get techy) graphical objects will be positioned within a scene on each screen / window. Menu items will be represented grapically, possibly animated, and have sound / animation effects triggered by user input or a time line. I have an animated scene involving a brazier or fire on a stick IF I was to move this game to the xbox, I'd have to track which menu item is currently selected (unless I do a mouse pointer type thing.) WindowObject has a scene A Scene has many GameObjects GameObject has a position graphic or animation MenuObject is a GameObject which has a mouse in, mouse out, and click event which either does something graphically (animation), does something with sound, or moves to another screen. Character Customisation Screen With either the 1 or 2 player option selected, both selections will come to this screen; a wizard requires a name, powers, and vestements of course! Player one will configure his character first and then player two. I considered a split screen for PC but to have two people fighting over a keyboard would probably suck. For XBox, a split screen could work; maybe when I get into the networking portion (phase 2 blog?) of this game I will remove the 2 player option for PC and provide only multiplayer and I will leave 2 player for xbox...hmm... Anyhow...I picture the creation process as follows: Name: (textbox / keyboard entry) - for xbox, this would have to be different. Robe Color: (color box, or something) Stats: Speed, Oomph, and Health. (as sliders) 1 as minimum and 10 as maximum. Ok, Back, and Cancel buttons / options. Each stat has a benefit which are listed below. The idea is the player decides if he wants his wizard to run fast, be a tank and ... hit with a purse.Regardless, the player will have a pool of 12 points to use. Ideally, A balanced wizard will have 5 in each attribute. Spells? The only spell of choice is a ball of fire which comes without question. The music and screen should still feel like a ritual. The Character Speed Basically, how fast your character moves and casts. Oomph (Best Monster Truck Voice): PURE POWAH!!! The damage output of your fireball. Health How much damage you can take. Notes: I realise the game dynamics may sound uninteresting at the moment; but I think after a couple releases, we could have some other grand ideas such as: saved profiles, gold to upgrade arsenal of spells, talents, etc...but for now...a vanilla fireball thrower mage will suffice for this experiment. OK. So... a MenuObject may need to be loosely coupled to allow future items such as networking? may be a button? a CharacterObject has a name speed oomph health and a funky robe color. cap on the three stats (1-10) an arsenal of 1 spell (possibly could expand this) The Loading Screen As is. The Battleground Screen For now, I'm keeping the screen as max resolution for the PC. The screen isn't going to move or even be a split screen. I'm not aiming high here because I want to see what level of change is involved when new features / concepts are added to game content. I'm interested to find out if we could apply techniques such as MVC or MVVM to this type of development or is it too tightly coupled? This reminds me when when my best friend and I were brainstorming our game idea (this is going back a while...1994, 6?) and he cringed at the thought of bringing business technology into games, especially when I suggested a database to store character information and COM / DCOM as the medium, but it seems I wasn't far off (reflecting); just like his implementation of a xml "config file" for dynamic direct-x menus back before .net in 1999...anyhow...i digress... The Battle One screen, two characters lobing balls of fire at each other...It doesn't get better than that. Every so often a scroll appears...and the fireballs bounce off walls, or the wizard has rapid fire, or even scrolls of healing! The scroll options are endless. Two bars at the top, each the color of the wizard (with their name beside the bar) indicate how much health they have. Possibly the appearance of the scrolls means the battle is taking too long? I'm thinking 1 player controls: up, down, left, right and space to fire the button. Or even possibly, mouse click and shift - mouse button to fire a spell in the direction they are facing. Two player controls: a, s, d, f and space AND arrows (up, down, left, right) and Del key or Crtl. The game ends when a player has 0 health and a dialog box appears asking for a rematch / reconfigure / exit. Health goes down when a fireball (friendly or not), connects with a wizard. When a wizard connects with a scroll, a countdown clock / icon appears near the health bar and the wizard begins to glow. For the most part, a wizard can have only scroll 1 effect on him at a time. Notes: Ok, there's alot to cover here. a CharacterObject is a GameObject it travels at a set velocity it travels in a direction it has sounds (walking, running, casting, impact, dying, laughing, whistling, other?) it has animations (walking, running, casting, impact, dying, laughing, idle, other?) it has a lifespan (determined by health) it is alive or dead it has a position a ScrollObject is a GameObject it carries a transferance of points "damage" (or healing, bad scroll effect?) (determinde by caster) it carries a transferance of "other" it is stationary it has a sound on impact it has a stationary animation it has an impact animation / or transfers an impact animation it has a fade animation? it has a lifespan (determined by game) it is alive or dead it has a position a WallObject is a GameObject it has a sound on fireball impact? it is a still image / stationary it has an impact animation / or transfers an impact animation it is dead it has a position A FireBall is a GameObject it carries a transferance of poinst "damage" (or healing, bad scroll effect?) (determinde by caster) it travels at a set velocity it travels in a direction it has a sound it has a travel animation it has an impact animation / or transfers an impact animation it has a fade animation? it has a lifespan (determined by caster) it is alive or dead it has a position As I look at this, I can see some common attributes in each object that I can carry up to the GameObject. I think I'm going to end the documentation here, it's taken me a bit of time to type this all out, tomorrow. I'll load up my IDE and my paint studio to get some good old fashioned cowboy hacking going! D.

Search Results

Search found 4038 results on 162 pages for 'personal preference'.

Page 154/162 | < Previous Page | 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 | Next Page >

- by i.h4d35

- by Chris

- by programatique

- by Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen

- by Winston Fassett

- by Chris

- by Erlog

- by Jeff Groby

- by user341652

- by BillW

- by user313100

- by Carlos

- by Eyla

- by Head Geek

- by Jakobud

- by playahabana

- by Chris

- by frgnvola

- by ChaoticLoki

- by Rick Strahl

- by Matthew Guay

- by Matthew Guay

- by rituchhibber

- by John-Brown.Evans

- by dapostolov

< Previous Page | 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 | Next Page >