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• Installing SOA Suite 11.1.1.3

  - by James Taylor

  With the release of Oracle SOA Suite 11.1.1.3 last week (28 April 2010) I thought I would attempt to implement a complete SOA Environment with SOA Suite, BPM and OSB on the WLS infrastructure. One major point of difference with the 11.1.1.3 is that is is released as a point release so you must have 11.1.1.2 installed first, then upgrade to 11.1.1.3. This post is performing the upgrade on Linux, if upgrading on windows you will need to substitute the directories and files accordingly. This post assumes that you have SOA Suite 11.1.1.2 installed already. 1. Download 11.1.1.3 software from the following site: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/middleware/htdocs/fmw_11_download.html WLS 11.1.1.3   RCU 11.1.1.3 SOA Suite 11.1.1.3 OSB 11.1.1.3 Copy files to a staging area. For the purpose of this document the staging area is: /u01/stage  2. Shutdown your existing SOA Suite 11.1.1.2 environment 3. Execute the WLS 11.1.1.3 install from the stage directory. wls1033_linux32.bin 4. Choose the existing 11.1.1.2 Middleware Home 5. Ignore the security update notification 6. Accept the default products to be upgraded. 7. Upgrade of WebLogic has been completed   8. Upgrade the SOA Suite database schemas using the RCU utility. Unzip the RCU utility into the staging area and run the install ./u01/stage/rcuHome/bin/rcu 9. Drop the existing Repository and provide connection details 9. Install SOA Suite patch set 11.1.1.3. Unzip the SOA Suite patchset and execute the runInstaller with the following command. ./u01/stage/Disk1/runInstaller –jreLoc $MW_HOME/jdk160_18/jre 10. Choose the existing 11.1.1.2 middleware home 11. Start Install 12. Your SOA Suite Install should now be completed. Now we need to update the database repository. Login to SQLPlus as sysdba and execute the following command. SELECT version, status FROM schema_version_registry where owner = 'DEV_SOAINFRA'; the result should be similar to this: VERSION                        STATUS      OWNER ------------------------------ ----------- ------------------------------ 11.1.1.2.0                     VALID       DEV_SOAINFRA As you can see the version if these repositories are still at 11.1.1.2. 13. To upgrade these versions you have 2 options. 1 install via RCU, but this will remove any existing services. The second option is to use the Patch Set Assistant. From the $MW_HOME directory run the following command ./Oracle_SOA1/bin/psa -dbType Oracle -dbConnectString 'localhost:1521:xe' -dbaUserName sys -schemaUserName DEV_SOAINFRA 14. Install OSB. For the OSB install I did not install the IDE, or the Examples. run the runInstaller from the command line, unzip the OSB download to the stage area. ./u01/stage/osb/Disk1/runInstaller –jreLoc $MW_HOME/jdk160_18/jre 15. Choose Custom Install NOT to install the IDE (Eclipse) or Examples. 16. Unselect the, Examples and IDE checkboxes. 17. Accept the defaults and start installing. 18. Once the install has been completed configure the domain by running the Configuration Wizard. $MW_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin/config.sh You can create a new domain. In this document I will extend the soa_domain. 19. Select the following from the check list. I have selected the BPM Suite, this is unrelated to OSB but wanted it for my development purposes. To use this functionality additional license are required. 20. Configure the database connectivity. 21. Configure the database connectivity for the OSB schema. 22. Accept the defaults if installing on standard machine, if you require a cluster or advanced configuration then choose the option for you. 23. Upgrade is complete and OSB has been installed. Now you can start your environment.

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• How to Add a Business Card, or vCard (.vcf) File, to a Signature in Outlook 2013 Without Displaying an Image

  - by Lori Kaufman

  Whenever you add a Business Card to your signature in Outlook 2013, the Signature Editor automatically generates a picture of it and includes that in the signature as well as attaching the .vcf file. However, there is a way to leave out the image. To remove the business card image from your signature but maintain the attached .vcf file, you must make a change to the registry. NOTE: Before making changes to the registry, be sure you back it up. We also recommend creating a restore point you can use to restore your system if something goes wrong. Before changing the registry, we must add the Business Card to the signature and save it so a .vcf file of the contact is created in the Signatures folder. To do this, click the File tab. Click Options in the menu list on the left side of the Account Information screen. On the Outlook Options dialog box, click Mail in the list of options on the left side of the dialog box. On the Mail screen, click Signatures in the Compose messages section. For this example, we will create a new signature to include the .vcf file for your business card without the image. Click New below the Select signature to edit box. Enter a name for the new signature, such as Business Card, and click OK. Enter text in the signature editor and format it the way you want or insert a different image or logo. Click Business Card above the signature editor. Select the contact you want to include in the signature on the Insert Business Card dialog box and click OK. Click Save below the Select signature to edit box. This creates a .vcf file for the business card in the Signatures folder. Click on the business card image in the signature and delete it. You should only see your formatted text or other image or logo in the signature editor. Click OK to save your new signature and close the signature editor. Close Outlook as well. Now, we will open the Registry Editor to add a key and value to indicate where to find the .vcf to include in the signature we just created. If you’re running Windows 8, press the Windows Key + X to open the command menu and select Run. You can also press the Windows Key + R to directly access the Run dialog box. NOTE: In Windows 7, select Run from the Start menu. In the Open edit box on the Run dialog box, enter “regedit” (without the quotes) and click OK. If the User Account Control dialog box displays, click Yes to continue. NOTE: You may not see this dialog box, depending on your User Account Control settings. Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Signatures Make sure the Signatures key is selected. Select New | String Value from the Edit menu. NOTE: You can also right-click in the empty space in the right pane and select New | String Value from the popup menu. Rename the new value to the name of the Signature you created. For this example, we named the value Business Card. Double-click on the new value. In the Value data edit box on the Edit String dialog box, enter the value indicating the location of the .vcf file to include in the signature. The format is: <signature name>_files\<name of .vcf file> For our example, the Value data should be as follows: Business Card_files\Lori Kaufman The name of the .vcf file is generally the contact name. If you’re not sure of what to enter for the Value data for the new key value, you can check the location and name of the .vcf file. To do this, open the Outlook Options dialog box and access the Mail screen as instructed earlier in this article. However, press and hold the Ctrl key while clicking the Signatures button. The Signatures folder opens in Windows Explorer. There should be a folder in the Signatures folder named after the signature you created with “_files” added to the end. For our example, the folder is named Business Card_files. Open this folder. In this folder, you should see a .vcf file with the name of your contact as the name of the file. For our contact, the file is named Lori Kaufman.vcf. The path to the .vcf file should be the name of the folder for the signature (Business Card_files), followed by a “\”, and the name of the .vcf file without the extension (Lori Kaufman). Putting these names together, you get the path that should be entered as the Value data in the new key you created in the Registry Editor. Business Card_files\Lori Kaufman Once you’ve entered the Value data for the new key, select Exit from the File menu to close the Registry Editor. Open Outlook and click New Email on the Home tab. Click Signature in the Include section of the New Mail Message tab and select your new signature from the drop-down menu. NOTE: If you made the new signature the default signature, it will be automatically inserted into the new mail message. The .vcf file is attached to the email message, but the business card image is not included. All you will see in the body of the email message is the text or other image you included in the signature. You can also choose to include an image of your business card in a signature with no .vcf file attached.     

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• Announcing the June 2012 Release of the Ajax Control Toolkit

  - by Stephen.Walther

  I’m excited to announce the June 2012 release of the Ajax Control Toolkit. You can download the new release by visiting http://AjaxControlToolkit.CodePlex.com or (better) download the new release with NuGet: Install-Package AjaxControlToolkit The Ajax Control Toolkit continues to be super popular. The previous release (May 2012) had over 87,000 downloads from CodePlex.com and over 16,000 downloads from NuGet. That’s over 100,000 downloads in less than 2 months. Security Improvements for the HtmlEditorExtender Unfortunately, in the previous release, we made the HtmlEditorExtender too secure! We upgraded the version of the Microsoft Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library included in the Ajax Control Toolkit to the latest version (version 4.2.1) and the latest version turned out to be way too aggressive about stripping HTML. It not only strips dangerous tags such as <script> tags, it also strips innocent tags such as <b> tags. When the latest version of the Microsoft Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library is used with the HtmlEditorExtender, the library strips all rich content from the HtmlEditorExtender control which defeats the purpose of using the control. Therefore, we had to find a replacement for the Microsoft Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library. In this release, we’ve created a new HTML sanitizer built on the HTML Agility Pack. If you were using the AntiXssSanitizerProvider then you will need to substitute the HtmlAgilityPackSanitizerProvider. In particular, you need to modify the sanitizer sections in your Web.config file like this: <configuration> <configSections> <sectionGroup name="system.web"> <section name="sanitizer" requirePermission="false" type="AjaxControlToolkit.Sanitizer.ProviderSanitizerSection, AjaxControlToolkit" /> </sectionGroup> </configSections> <system.web> <sanitizer defaultProvider="HtmlAgilityPackSanitizerProvider"> <providers> <add name="HtmlAgilityPackSanitizerProvider" type="AjaxControlToolkit.Sanitizer.HtmlAgilityPackSanitizerProvider"></add> </providers> </sanitizer> </system.web> </configuration> We made one other backwards-breaking change to improve the security of the HtmlEditorExtender. We want to make sure that users don’t accidently use the HtmlEditorExtender without an HTML sanitizer by accident. Therefore, if you don’t configure a HTML sanitizer provider in the web.config file then you’ll get the following error: If you really want to use the HtmlEditorExtender without using an HTML sanitizer – for example, you are using the HtmlEditorExtender for an Intranet application and you trust all of your fellow employees – then you can explicitly indicate that you don’t want to enable HTML sanitization by setting the EnableSanitization property to false like this: <ajaxToolkit:HtmlEditorExtender TargetControlID="txtComments" EnableSanitization="false" runat="server" /> Please don’t ever set the EnableSanitization property to false for a public website. If you disable HTML sanitization then you are making your website an easy target for Cross-Site Scripting attacks. Lots of Fixes for the ComboBox Control In the latest release, we also made several important bug fixes and feature enhancements to the ComboBox control. Here’s the list of issues that we fixed: 22930 — ComboBox doesn’t close its drop down list when losing input focus to another ComboBox control 23140 — ComboBox Issues – Delete, Backspace, Period 23142 — ComboxBox SelectedIndex = -1 does not clear text 24440 — ComboBox postback on enter 25295 — ComboBox problems when container is hidden at page load 25469 — ComboBox – MaxLength ignored 26686 — Backspace and Delete exception when optionList is null 27148 — Combobox breaks if ClientIDMode is static Fixes to Other Controls In this release, we also made bug fixes and enhancements to the UpdatePanelAnimation, Tabs, and Seadragon controls: 21310 — OnUpdated animation starts before OnUpdating has finished 26690 — Seadragon Control’s openTileSource() method doesn’t work (with fix) Title is required We also fixed an issue with the Tabs control which would result in an InvalidOperation exception. Summary I want to thank the Superexpert team for the hard work that they put into this release. In particular, I want to thank them for their effort in researching, building, and writing unit tests for the HtmlAgilityPack HTML sanitizer.

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• SQL SERVER – Solution – Puzzle – Statistics are not Updated but are Created Once

  - by pinaldave

  Earlier I asked puzzle why statistics are not updated. Read the complete details over here: Statistics are not Updated but are Created Once In the question I have demonstrated even though statistics should have been updated after lots of insert in the table are not updated.(Read the details SQL SERVER – When are Statistics Updated – What triggers Statistics to Update) In this example I have created following situation: Create Table Insert 1000 Records Check the Statistics Now insert 10 times more 10,000 indexes Check the Statistics – it will be NOT updated Auto Update Statistics and Auto Create Statistics for database is TRUE Now I have requested two things in the example 1) Why this is happening? 2) How to fix this issue? I have many answers – here is the how I fixed it which has resolved the issue for me. NOTE: There are multiple answers to this problem and I will do my best to list all. Solution: Create nonclustered Index on column City Here is the working example for the same. Let us understand this script and there is added explanation at the end. -- Execution Plans Difference -- Estimated Execution Plan Vs Actual Execution Plan -- Create Sample Database CREATE DATABASE SampleDB GO USE SampleDB GO -- Create Table CREATE TABLE ExecTable (ID INT, FirstName VARCHAR(100), LastName VARCHAR(100), City VARCHAR(100)) GO CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX IX_ExecTable1 ON ExecTable (City); GO -- Insert One Thousand Records -- INSERT 1 INSERT INTO ExecTable (ID,FirstName,LastName,City) SELECT TOP 1000 ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name) RowID, 'Bob', CASE WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%2 = 1 THEN 'Smith' ELSE 'Brown' END, CASE WHEN ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 1 THEN 'New York' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 5 THEN 'San Marino' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 3 THEN 'Los Angeles' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 7 THEN 'La Cinega' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 13 THEN 'San Diego' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 17 THEN 'Las Vegas' ELSE 'Houston' END FROM sys.all_objects a CROSS JOIN sys.all_objects b GO -- Display statistics of the table sp_helpstats N'ExecTable', 'ALL' GO -- Select Statement SELECT FirstName, LastName, City FROM ExecTable WHERE City  = 'New York' GO -- Display statistics of the table sp_helpstats N'ExecTable', 'ALL' GO -- Replace your Statistics over here DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS('ExecTable', IX_ExecTable1); GO -------------------------------------------------------------- -- Round 2 -- Insert One Thousand Records -- INSERT 2 INSERT INTO ExecTable (ID,FirstName,LastName,City) SELECT TOP 1000 ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name) RowID, 'Bob', CASE WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%2 = 1 THEN 'Smith' ELSE 'Brown' END, CASE WHEN ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 1 THEN 'New York' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 5 THEN 'San Marino' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 3 THEN 'Los Angeles' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 7 THEN 'La Cinega' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 13 THEN 'San Diego' WHEN  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY a.name)%20 = 17 THEN 'Las Vegas' ELSE 'Houston' END FROM sys.all_objects a CROSS JOIN sys.all_objects b GO -- Select Statement SELECT FirstName, LastName, City FROM ExecTable WHERE City  = 'New York' GO -- Display statistics of the table sp_helpstats N'ExecTable', 'ALL' GO -- Replace your Statistics over here DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS('ExecTable', IX_ExecTable1); GO -- Clean up Database DROP TABLE ExecTable GO When I created non clustered index on the column city, it also created statistics on the same column with same name as index. When we populate the data in the column the index is update – resulting execution plan to be invalided – this leads to the statistics to be updated in next execution of SELECT. This behavior does not happen on Heap or column where index is auto created. If you explicitly update the index, often you can see the statistics are updated as well. You can see this is for sure happening if you follow the tell of John Sansom. John Sansom‘s suggestion: That was fun! Although the column statistics are invalidated by the time the second select statement is executed, the query is not compiled/recompiled but instead the existing query plan is reused. It is the “next” compiled query against the column statistics that will see that they are out of date and will then in turn instantiate the action of updating statistics. You can see this in action by forcing the second statement to recompile. SELECT FirstName, LastName, City FROM ExecTable WHERE City = ‘New York’ option(RECOMPILE) GO Kevin Cross also have another suggestion: I agree with John. It is reusing the Execution Plan. Aside from OPTION(RECOMPILE), clearing the Execution Plan Cache before the subsequent tests will also work. i.e., run this before round 2: ————————————————————– – Clear execution plan cache before next test DBCC FREEPROCCACHE WITH NO_INFOMSGS; ————————————————————– Nice puzzle! Kevin As this was puzzle John and Kevin both got the correct answer, there was no condition for answer to be part of best practices. I know John and he is finest DBA around – his tremendous knowledge has always impressed me. John and Kevin both will agree that clearing cache either using DBCC FREEPROCCACHE and recompiling each query every time is for sure not good advice on production server. It is correct answer but not best practice. By the way, if you have better solution or have better suggestion please advise. I am open to change my answer and publish further improvement to this solution. On very separate note, I like to have clustered index on my Primary Key, which I have not mentioned here as it is out of the scope of this puzzle. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, Readers Contribution, Readers Question, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Index, SQL Puzzle, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology Tagged: Statistics

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• SQLAuthority News – Why VoIP Service Providers Should Think About NuoDB’s Geo Distribution

  - by Pinal Dave

  You can always tell when someone’s showing off their cool, cutting edge comms technology. They tend to raise their voice a lot. Back in the day they’d announce their gadget leadership to the rest of the herd by shouting into their cellphone. Usually the message was no more urgent than “Hi, I’m on my cellphone!” Now the same types will loudly name-drop a different technology to the rest of the airport lounge. “I’m leveraging the wifi,” a fellow passenger bellowed, the other day, as we filtered through the departure gate. Nobody needed to know that, but the subtext was “look at me everybody”. You can tell the really advanced mobile user – they tend to whisper. Their handset has a microphone (how cool is that!) and they know how to use it. Sometimes these shouty public broadcasters aren’t even connected anyway because the database for their Voice over IP (VoIP) platform can’t cope. This will happen if they are using a traditional SQL model to try and cope with a phone network which has far flung offices and hundreds of mobile employees. That, like shouting into your phone, is just wrong on so many levels. What VoIP needs now is a single, logical database across multiple servers in different geographies. It needs to be updated in real-time and automatically scaled out during times of peak demand. A VoIP system should scale up to handle increased traffic, but just as importantly is must then go back down in the off peak hours. Try this with a MySQL database. It can’t scale easily enough, so it will keep your developers busy. They’ll have spent many hours trying to knit the different databases together. Traditional relational databases can possibly achieve this, at a price. Mind you, you could extend baked bean cans and string to every point on the network and that would be no less elegant. That’s not really following engineering principles though is it? Having said that, most telcos and VoIP systems use a separate, independent solution for each office location, which they link together – loosely.  The more office locations, the more complex and expensive the solution becomes and so the more you spend on maintenance. Ideally, you’d have a fluid system that can automatically shift its shape as the need arises. That’s the point of software isn’t it – it adapts. Otherwise, we might as well return to the old days. A MySQL system isn’t exactly baked bean cans attached by string, but it’s closer in spirit to the old many teethed mechanical beast that was employed in the first type of automated switchboard. NuoBD’s NewSQL is designed to be a single database that works across multiple servers, which can scale easily, and scale on demand. That’s one system that gives high connectivity but no latency, complexity or maintenance issues. MySQL works in some circumstances, but a period of growth isn’t one of them. So as a company moves forward, the MySQL database can’t keep pace. Data storage and data replication errors creep in. Soon the diaspora of offices becomes a problem. Your telephone system isn’t just distributed, it is literally all over the place. Though voice calls are often a software function, some of the old habits of telephony remain. When you call an engineer out, some of them will listen to what you’re asking for and announce that it cannot be done. This is what happens if you ask, say, database engineers familiar with Oracle or Microsoft to fulfill your wish for a low maintenance system built on a single, fluid, scalable database. No can do, they’d say. In fact, I heard one shouting something similar into his VoIP handset at the airport. “I can’t get on the network, Mac. I’m on MySQL.” You can download NuoDB from here. “NuoDB provides the ability to replicate data globally in real-time, which is not available with any other product offering,” states Weeks.  “That alone is remarkable and it works. I’ve seen it. I’ve used it.  I’ve tested it. The ability to deploy NuoDB removes a tremendous burden from our support and engineering teams.” Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL Tagged: NuoDB

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• Part 14: Execute a PowerShell script

  In the series the following parts have been published Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Add arguments and variables Part 3: Use more complex arguments Part 4: Create your own activity Part 5: Increase AssemblyVersion Part 6: Use custom type for an argument Part 7: How is the custom assembly found Part 8: Send information to the build log Part 9: Impersonate activities (run under other credentials) Part 10: Include Version Number in the Build Number Part 11: Speed up opening my build process template Part 12: How to debug my custom activities Part 13: Get control over the Build Output Part 14: Execute a PowerShell script Part 15: Fail a build based on the exit code of a console application With PowerShell you can add powerful scripting to your build to for example execute a deployment. If you want more information on PowerShell, please refer to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa973757.aspx For this example we will create a simple PowerShell script that prints “Hello world!”. To create the script, create a new text file and name it “HelloWorld.ps1”. Add to the contents of the script: Write-Host “Hello World!” To test the script do the following: Open the command prompt To run the script you must change the execution policy. To do this execute in the command prompt: powershell set-executionpolicy remotesigned Now go to the directory where you have saved the PowerShell script Execute the following command powershell .\HelloWorld.ps1 In this example I use a relative path, but when the path to the PowerShell script contains spaces, you need to change the syntax to powershell "& '<full path to script>' " for example: powershell "& ‘C:\sources\Build Customization\SolutionToBuild\PowerShell Scripts\HellloWorld.ps1’ " In this blog post, I create a new solution and that solution includes also this PowerShell script. I want to create an argument on the Build Process Template that holds the path to the PowerShell script. In the Build Process Template I will add an InvokeProcess activity to execute the PowerShell command. This InvokeProcess activity needs the location of the script as an argument for the PowerShell command. Since you don’t know the full path at the build server of this script, you can either specify in the argument the relative path of the script, but it is hard to find out what the relative path is. I prefer to specify the location of the script in source control and then convert that server path to a local path. To do this conversion you can use the ConvertWorkspaceItem activity. So to complete the task, open the Build Process Template CustomTemplate.xaml that we created in earlier parts, follow the following steps Add a new argument called “DeploymentScript” and set the appropriate settings in the metadata. See Part 2: Add arguments and variables  for more information. Scroll down beneath the TryCatch activity called “Try Compile, Test, and Associate Changesets and Work Items” Add a new If activity and set the condition to "Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(DeploymentScript)" to ensure it will only run when the argument is passed. Add in the Then branch of the If activity a new Sequence activity and rename it to “Start deployment” Click on the activity and add a new variable called DeploymentScriptFilename (scoped to the “Start deployment” Sequence Add a ConvertWorkspaceItem activity on the “Start deployment” Sequence Add a InvokeProcess activity beneath the ConvertWorkspaceItem activity in the “Start deployment” Sequence Click on the ConvertWorkspaceItem activity and change the properties DisplayName = Convert deployment script filename Input = DeploymentScript Result = DeploymentScriptFilename Workspace = Workspace Click on the InvokeProcess activity and change the properties Arguments = String.Format(" ""& '{0}' "" ", DeploymentScriptFilename) DisplayName = Execute deployment script FileName = "PowerShell" To see results from the powershell command drop a WriteBuildMessage activity on the "Handle Standard Output" and pass the stdOutput variable to the Message property. Do the same for a WriteBuildError activity on the "Handle Error Output" To publish it, check in the Build Process Template This leads to the following result We now go to the build definition that depends on the template and set the path of the deployment script to the server path to the HelloWorld.ps1. (If you want to see the result of the PowerShell script, change the Logging verbosity to Detailed or Diagnostic). Save and run the build. A lot of the deployment scripts you have will have some kind of arguments (like username / password or environment variables) that you want to define in the Build Definition. To make the PowerShell configurable, you can follow the following steps. Create a new script and give it the name "HelloWho.ps1". In the contents of the file add the following lines: param (         $person     ) $message = [System.String]::Format(“Hello {0}!", $person) Write-Host $message When you now run the script on the command prompt, you will see the following So lets change the Build Process Template to accept one parameter for the deployment script. You can of course make it configurable to add a for-loop that reads through a collection of parameters but that is out of scope of this blog post. Add a new Argument called DeploymentScriptParameter In the InvokeProcess activity where the PowerShell command is executed, modify the Arguments property to String.Format(" ""& '{0}' '{1}' "" ", DeploymentScriptFilename, DeploymentScriptParameter) Check in the Build Process Template Now modify the build definition and set the Parameter of the deployment to any value and run the build. You can download the full solution at BuildProcess.zip. It will include the sources of every part and will continue to evolve.

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• Good ol fashioned debugging

  - by Tim Dexter

  I have been helping out one of our new customers over the last day or two and I have even managed to get to the bottom of their problem FTW! They use BIEE and BIP and wanted to mount a BIP report in a dashboard page, so far so good, BIP does that! Just follow the instructions in the BIEE user guide. The wrinkle is that they want to enter some fixed instruction strings into the dashboard prompts to help the user. These are added as fixed values to the prompt as the default values so they appear first. Once the user makes a selection, the default strings disappear. Its a fair requirement but the BIP report chokes Now, the BIP report had been setup with the Autorun checkbox, unchecked. I expected the BIP report to wait for the Go button to be hit but it was trying to run immediately and failing. That was the first issue. You can not stop the BIP report from trying to run in a dashboard. Even if the Autorun is turned off, it seems that dashboard still makes the request to BIP to run the report. Rather than BIP refusing because its waiting for input it goes ahead anyway, I guess the mechanism does not check the autorun flag when the request is coming from the dashboard. It appears that between BIEE and BIP, they collectively ignore the autorun flag. A bug? might be, at least an enhancement request. With that in mind, how could we get BIP to not at least not fail? This fact was stumping me on the parameter error, if the autorun flag was being respected then why was BIP complaining about the parameter values it should not even be doing anything until the Go button is clicked. I now knew that the autorun flag was being ignored, it was a simple case of putting BIP into debug mode. I use the OC4J server on my laptop so debug msgs are routed through the dos box used to start the OC4J container. When I changed a value on the dashboard prompt I spotted some debug text rushing by that subsequently disappeared from the log once the operation was complete. Another bug? I needed to catch that text as it went by, using the print screen function with some software to grab multiple screens as the log appeared and then disappeared. The upshot is that when you change the dashboard prompt value, BIP validates the value against its own LOVs, if its not in the list then it throws the error. Because 'Fill this first' and 'Fill this second' ie fixed strings from the dashboard prompts, are not in the LOV lists and because the report is auto running as soon as the dashboard page is brought up, the report complains about invalid parameters. To get around this, I needed to get the strings into the LOVs. Easily done with a UNION clause: select 'Fill this first' from SH.Products Products UNION select Products."Prod Category" as "Prod Category" from SH.Products Products Now when BIP wants to validate the prompt value, the LOV query fires and finds the fixed string -> No Error. No data, but definitely no errors :0) If users do run with the fixed values, you can capture that in the template. If there is no data in the report, either the fixed values were used or the parameters selected resulted in no rows. You can capture this in the template and display something like. 'Either your parameter values resulted in no data or you have not changed the default values' Thats the upside, the downside is that if your users run the report in the BP UI they re going to see the fixed strings. You could alleviate that by having BIP display the fixed strings in top of its parameter drop boxes (just set them as the default value for the parameter.) But they will not disappear like they do in the dashboard prompts, see below. If the expected autorun behaviour worked ie wait for the Go button, then we would not have to workaround it but for now, its a pretty good solution. It was an enjoyable hour or so for me, took me back to my developer daze, when we used to race each other for the most number of bug fixes. I used to run a distant 2nd behind 'Bugmeister Chen Hu' but led the chasing pack by a reasonable distance.

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• Oracle Database 12c: Oracle Multitenant Option

  - by hamsun

  1. Why ? 2. What is it ? 3. How ? 1. Why ? The main idea of the 'grid' is to share resources, to make better use of storage, CPU and memory. If a database administrator wishes to implement this idea, he or she must consolidate many databases to one database. One of the concerns of running many applications together in one database is: ‚what will happen, if one of the applications must be restored because of a human error?‘ Tablespace point in time recovery can be used for this purpose, but there are a few prerequisites. Most importantly the tablespaces are strictly separated for each application. Another reason for creating separated databases is security: each customer has his own database. Therefore, there is often a proliferation of smaller databases. Each of them must be maintained, upgraded, each allocates virtual memory and runs background processes thereby wasting resources. Oracle 12c offers another possibility for virtualization, providing isolation at the database level: the multitenant container database holding pluggable databases. 2. What ? Pluggable databases are logical units inside a multitenant container database, which consists of one multitenant container database and up to 252 pluggable databases. The SGA is shared as are the background processes. The multitenant container database holds metadata information common for pluggable databases inside the System and the Sysaux tablespace, and there is just one Undo tablespace. The pluggable databases have smaller System and Sysaux tablespaces, containing just their 'personal' metadata. New data dictionary views will make the information available either on pdb (dba_views) or container level (cdb_views). There are local users, which are known in specific pluggable databases and common users known in all containers. Pluggable databases can be easily plugged to another multitenant container database and converted from a non-CDB. They can undergo point in time recovery. 3. How ? Creating a multitenant container database can be done using the database configuration assistant: There you find the new option: Create as Container Database. If you prefer ‚hand made‘ databases you can execute the command from a instance in nomount state: CREATE DATABASE cdb1 ENABLE PLUGGABLE DATABASE …. And of course this can also be achieved through Enterprise Manager Cloud. A freshly created multitenant container database consists of two containers: the root container as the 'rack' and a seed container, a template for future pluggable databases. There are 4 ways to create other pluggable databases: 1. Create an empty pdb from seed 2. Plug in a non-CDB 3. Move a pdb from another pdb 4. Copy a pdb from another pdb We will discuss option2: how to plug in a non_CDB into a multitenant container database. Three different methods are available : 1. Create an empty pdb and use Datapump in traditional export/import mode or with Transportable Tablespace or Database mode. This method is suitable for pre 12c databases. 2. Create an empty pdb and use GoldenGate replication. When the pdb catches up with the non-CDB, you fail over to the pdb. 3. Databases of Version 12c or higher can be plugged in with the help of the new dbms_pdb Package. This is a demonstration for method 3: Step1: Connect to the non-CDB to be plugged in and create an xml File with description of the database. The xml file is written to $ORACLE_HOME/dbs per default and contains mainly information about the datafiles. Step 2: Check if the non-CDB is pluggable in the multitenant container database: Step 3: Create the pluggable database, connected to the Multitenant container database. With nocopy option the files will be reused, but the tempfile is created anew: A service is created and registered automatically with the listener: Step 4: Delete unnecessary metadata from PDB SYSTEM tablespace: To connect to newly created pdb, edit tnsnames.ora and add entry for new pdb. Connect to plugged-in non_CDB and clean up Data Dictionary to remove entries now maintained in multitenant container database. As all kept objects have to be recompiled it will take a few minutes. Step 5: The plugged-in database will be automatically synchronised by creating common users and roles when opened the first time in read write mode. Step 6: Verify tablespaces and users: There is only one local tablespace (users) and one local user (scott) in the plugged-in non_CDB pdb_orcl. This method of creating plugged_in non_CDB from is fast and easy for 12c databases. The method for deplugging a pluggable database from a CDB is to create a new non_CDB and use the the new full transportable feature of Datapump and drop the pluggable database. About the Author: Gerlinde has been working for Oracle University Germany as one of our Principal Instructors for over 14 years. She started with Oracle 7 and became an Oracle Certified Master for Oracle 10g and 11c. She is a specialist in Database Core Technologies, with profound knowledge in Backup & Recovery, Performance Tuning for DBAs and Application Developers, Datawarehouse Administration, Data Guard and Real Application Clusters.

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• Clean up after Visual Studio

  - by psheriff

  As programmer’s we know that if we create a temporary file during the running of our application we need to make sure it is removed when the application or process is complete. We do this, but why can’t Microsoft do it? Visual Studio leaves tons of temporary files all over your hard drive. This is why, over time, your computer loses hard disk space. This blog post will show you some of the most common places where these files are left and which ones you can safely delete..NET Left OversVisual Studio is a great development environment for creating applications quickly. However, it will leave a lot of miscellaneous files all over your hard drive. There are a few locations on your hard drive that you should be checking to see if there are left-over folders or files that you can delete. I have attempted to gather as much data as I can about the various versions of .NET and operating systems. Of course, your mileage may vary on the folders and files I list here. In fact, this problem is so prevalent that PDSA has created a Computer Cleaner specifically for the Visual Studio developer.  Instructions for downloading our PDSA Developer Utilities (of which Computer Cleaner is one) are at the end of this blog entry.Each version of Visual Studio will create “temporary” files in different folders. The problem is that the files created are not always “temporary”. Most of the time these files do not get cleaned up like they should. Let’s look at some of the folders that you should periodically review and delete files within these folders.Temporary ASP.NET FilesAs you create and run ASP.NET applications from Visual Studio temporary files are placed into the <sysdrive>:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework[64]\<vernum>\Temporary ASP.NET Files folder. The folders and files under this folder can be removed with no harm to your development computer. Do not remove the "Temporary ASP.NET Files" folder itself, just the folders underneath this folder. If you use IIS for ASP.NET development, you may need to run the iisreset.exe utility from the command prompt prior to deleting any files/folder under this folder. IIS will sometimes keep files in use in this folder and iisreset will release the locks so the files/folders can be deleted.Website CacheThis folder is similar to the ASP.NET Temporary Files folder in that it contains files from ASP.NET applications run from Visual Studio. This folder is located in each users local settings folder. The location will be a little different on each operating system. For example on Windows Vista/Windows 7, the folder is located at <sysdrive>:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WebsiteCache. If you are running Windows XP this folder is located at <sysdrive>:\ Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\WebsiteCache. Check these locations periodically and delete all files and folders under this directory.Visual Studio BackupThis backup folder is used by Visual Studio to store temporary files while you develop in Visual Studio. This folder never gets cleaned out, so you should periodically delete all files and folders under this directory. On Windows XP, this folder is located at <sysdrive>:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\My Documents\Visual Studio 200[5|8]\Backup Files. On Windows Vista/Windows 7 this folder is located at <sysdrive>:\Users\<UserName>\Documents\Visual Studio 200[5|8]\.Assembly CacheNo, this is not the global assembly cache (GAC). It appears that this cache is only created when doing WPF or Silverlight development with Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Studio 2010. This folder is located in <sysdrive>:\ Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\assembly\dl3 on Windows Vista/Windows 7. On Windows XP this folder is located at <sysdrive>:\ Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Local Settings\Application Data\assembly. If you have not done any WPF or Silverlight development, you may not find this particular folder on your machine.Project AssembliesThis is yet another folder where Visual Studio stores temporary files. You will find a folder for each project you have opened and worked on. This folder is located at <sysdrive>:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Visual Studio\[8|9].0\ProjectAssemblies on Windows XP. On Microsoft Vista/Windows 7 you will find this folder at <sysdrive>:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Visual Studio\[8|9].0\ProjectAssemblies.Remember not all of these folders will appear on your particular machine. Which ones do show up will depend on what version of Visual Studio you are using, whether or not you are doing desktop or web development, and the operating system you are using.SummaryTaking the time to periodically clean up after Visual Studio will aid in keeping your computer running quickly and increase the space on your hard drive. Another place to make sure you are cleaning up is your TEMP folder. Check your OS settings for the location of your particular TEMP folder and be sure to delete any files in here that are not in use. I routinely clean up the files and folders described in this blog post and I find that I actually eliminate errors in Visual Studio and I increase my hard disk space.NEW! PDSA has just published a “pre-release” of our PDSA Developer Utilities at http://www.pdsa.com/DeveloperUtilities that contains a Computer Cleaner utility which will clean up the above-mentioned folders, as well as a lot of other miscellaneous folders that get Visual Studio build-up. You can download a free trial at http://www.pdsa.com/DeveloperUtilities. If you wish to purchase our utilities through the month of November, 2011 you can use the RSVP code: DUNOV11 to get them for only $39. This is $40 off the regular price.NOTE: You can download this article and many samples like the one shown in this blog entry at my website. http://www.pdsa.com/downloads. Select “Tips and Tricks”, then “Developer Machine Clean Up” from the drop down list.Good Luck with your Coding,Paul Sheriff** SPECIAL OFFER FOR MY BLOG READERS **We frequently offer a FREE gift for readers of my blog. Visit http://www.pdsa.com/Event/Blog for your FREE gift!

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• Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c: Contributing to emerging Cloud standards

  - by Anand Akela

  Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Contributed by Tony Di Cenzo, Director for Standards Strategy and Architecture, and Mark Carlson, Principal Cloud Architect, for Oracle's Systems Management and Storage Products Groups . As one would expect of an industry leader, Oracle's participation in industry standards bodies is extensive. We participate in dozens of organizations that produce open standards which apply to our products, and our commitment to the success of these organizations is manifest in several way - we support them financially through our memberships; our senior engineers are active participants, often serving in leadership positions on boards, technical working groups and committees; and when it makes good business sense we contribute our intellectual property. We believe supporting the development of open standards is fundamental to Oracle meeting customer demands for product choice, seamless interoperability, and lowering the cost of ownership. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of cloud standards, and for the most recent release of our flagship management product, Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control 12c (EM Cloud Control 12c). There is a fundamental rule that standards follow architecture. This was true of distributed computing, it was true of service-oriented architecture (SOA), and it's true of cloud. If you are familiar with Enterprise Manager it is likely to be no surprise that EM Cloud Control 12c is a source of technology that can be considered for adoption within cloud management standards. The reason, quite simply, is that the Oracle integrated stack architecture aligns with the cloud architecture models being adopted by the industry, and EM Cloud Control 12c has been developed to manage this architecture. EM Cloud Control 12c has facilities for managing the various underlying capabilities of the integrated stack in IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS clouds, and enables essential characteristics such as on-demand self-service provisioning, centralized policy-based resource management, integrated chargeback, and capacity planning, and complete visibility of the physical and virtual environment from applications to disk. Our most recent contribution in support of cloud management standards to come out of the EM Cloud Control 12c work was the Oracle Cloud Elemental Resource Model API. Oracle contributed the Elemental Resource Model API to the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) in 2011 where it was assigned to DMTF's Cloud Management Working Group (CMWG). The CMWG is considering the Oracle specification and those of several other vendors in their effort to produce a best practices specification for managing IaaS clouds. DMTF's Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface specification, called CIMI for short, is currently out for public review and expected to be released by DMTF later this year. We are proud to be playing an important role in the development of what is expected to become a major cloud standard. You can find more information on DMTF CIMI at http://dmtf.org/standards/cloud. You can find the work-in-progress release of CIMI at http://dmtf.org/content/cimi-work-progress-specifications-now-available-public-comment . The Oracle Cloud API specification is available on the Oracle Technology Network. You can find more information about the Oracle Cloud Elemental Resource Model API on the Oracle Technical Network (OTN), including a webcast featuring the API engineering manager Jack Yu (see TechCast Live: Inside the Oracle Cloud Resource Model API). If you have not seen this video we recommend you take the time to view it. Simply hover your cursor over the webcast title and control+click to follow the embedded link. If you have a question about the Oracle Cloud API or want to learn more about Oracle's participation in cloud management standards efforts drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you. The Enterprise Manager Standards Blogs are written by Tony Di Cenzo, Director for Standards Strategy and Architecture, and Mark Carlson, Principal Cloud Architect, for Oracle's Systems Management and Storage Products Groups. They can be reached at Tony.DiCenzo at Oracle.com and Mark.Carlson at Oracle.com respectively. Stay Connected: Twitter |  Face book |  You Tube |  Linked in |  Newsletter

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• JavaScript Intellisense Improvements with VS 2010

  - by ScottGu

  This is the twentieth in a series of blog posts I’m doing on the upcoming VS 2010 and .NET 4 release.  Today’s blog post covers some of the nice improvements coming with JavaScript intellisense with VS 2010 and the free Visual Web Developer 2010 Express.  You’ll find with VS 2010 that JavaScript Intellisense loads much faster for large script files and with large libraries, and that it now provides statement completion support for more advanced scenarios compared to previous versions of Visual Studio. [In addition to blogging, I am also now using Twitter for quick updates and to share links. Follow me at: twitter.com/scottgu] Improved JavaScript Intellisense Providing Intellisense for a dynamic language like JavaScript is more involved than doing so with a statically typed language like VB or C#.  Correctly inferring the shape and structure of variables, methods, etc is pretty much impossible without pseudo-executing the actual code itself – since JavaScript as a language is flexible enough to dynamically modify and morph these things at runtime.  VS 2010’s JavaScript code editor now has the smarts to perform this type of pseudo-code execution as you type – which is how its intellisense completion is kept accurate and complete.  Below is a simple walkthrough that shows off how rich and flexible it is with the final release. Scenario 1: Basic Type Inference When you declare a variable in JavaScript you do not have to declare its type.  Instead, the type of the variable is based on the value assigned to it.  Because VS 2010 pseudo-executes the code within the editor, it can dynamically infer the type of a variable, and provide the appropriate code intellisense based on the value assigned to a variable. For example, notice below how VS 2010 provides statement completion for a string (because we assigned a string to the “foo” variable): If we later assign a numeric value to “foo” the statement completion (after this assignment) automatically changes to provide intellisense for a number: Scenario 2: Intellisense When Manipulating Browser Objects It is pretty common with JavaScript to manipulate the DOM of a page, as well as work against browser objects available on the client.  Previous versions of Visual Studio would provide JavaScript statement completion against the standard browser objects – but didn’t provide much help with more advanced scenarios (like creating dynamic variables and methods).  VS 2010’s pseudo-execution of code within the editor now allows us to provide rich intellisense for a much broader set of scenarios. For example, below we are using the browser’s window object to create a global variable named “bar”.  Notice how we can now get intellisense (with correct type inference for a string) with VS 2010 when we later try and use it: When we assign the “bar” variable as a number (instead of as a string) the VS 2010 intellisense engine correctly infers its type and modifies statement completion appropriately to be that of a number instead: Scenario 3: Showing Off Because VS 2010 is psudo-executing code within the editor, it is able to handle a bunch of scenarios (both practical and wacky) that you throw at it – and is still able to provide accurate type inference and intellisense. For example, below we are using a for-loop and the browser’s window object to dynamically create and name multiple dynamic variables (bar1, bar2, bar3…bar9).  Notice how the editor’s intellisense engine identifies and provides statement completion for them: Because variables added via the browser’s window object are also global variables – they also now show up in the global variable intellisense drop-down as well: Better yet – type inference is still fully supported.  So if we assign a string to a dynamically named variable we will get type inference for a string.  If we assign a number we’ll get type inference for a number.  Just for fun (and to show off!) we could adjust our for-loop to assign a string for even numbered variables (bar2, bar4, bar6, etc) and assign a number for odd numbered variables (bar1, bar3, bar5, etc): Notice above how we get statement completion for a string for the “bar2” variable.  Notice below how for “bar1” we get statement completion for a number:   This isn’t just a cool pet trick While the above example is a bit contrived, the approach of dynamically creating variables, methods and event handlers on the fly is pretty common with many Javascript libraries.  Many of the more popular libraries use these techniques to keep the size of script library downloads as small as possible.  VS 2010’s support for parsing and pseudo-executing libraries that use these techniques ensures that you get better code Intellisense out of the box when programming against them. Summary Visual Studio 2010 (and the free Visual Web Developer 2010 Express) now provide much richer JavaScript intellisense support.  This support works with pretty much all popular JavaScript libraries.  It should help provide a much better development experience when coding client-side JavaScript and enabling AJAX scenarios within your ASP.NET applications. Hope this helps, Scott P.S. You can read my previous blog post on VS 2008’s JavaScript Intellisense to learn more about our previous JavaScript intellisense (and some of the scenarios it supported).  VS 2010 obviously supports all of the scenarios previously enabled with VS 2008.

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• Shallow Copy vs DeepCopy in C#.NET

  Hope below example helps to understand the difference. Please drop a comment if any doubts. using System; using System.IO; using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary; namespace ShallowCopyVsDeepCopy {     class Program     {         static void Main(string[] args)         {             var e1 = new Emp { EmpNo = 10, EmpName = "Smith", Department = new Dep { DeptNo = 100, DeptName = "Finance" } };             var e2 = e1.ShallowClone();             e1.Department.DeptName = "Accounts";             Console.WriteLine(e2.Department.DeptName);             var e3 = new Emp { EmpNo = 10, EmpName = "Smith", Department = new Dep { DeptNo = 100, DeptName = "Finance" } };             var e4 = e3.DeepClone();             e3.Department.DeptName = "Accounts";             Console.WriteLine(e4.Department.DeptName);         }     }     [Serializable]     class Dep     {         public int DeptNo { get; set; }         public String DeptName { get; set; }     }     [Serializable]     class Emp     {         public int EmpNo { get; set; }         public String EmpName { get; set; }         public Dep Department { get; set; }         public Emp ShallowClone()         {             return (Emp)this.MemberwiseClone();         }         public Emp DeepClone()         {             MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();             BinaryFormatter bf = new BinaryFormatter();             bf.Serialize(ms, this);             ms.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);             object copy = bf.Deserialize(ms);             ms.Close();             return copy as Emp;         }     } } span.fullpost {display:none;}

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• HTG Explains: Why is Printer Ink So Expensive?

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Printer ink is expensive, more expensive per drop than fine champagne or even human blood. If you haven’t gone paperless, you’ll notice that you’re paying a lot for new ink cartridges — more than seems reasonable. Purchasing the cheapest inkjet printer and buying official ink cartridge replacements is the most expensive thing you can do. There are ways to save money on ink if you must continue to print documents. Cheap Printers, Expensive Ink Ink jet printers are often very cheap. That’s because they’re sold at cost, or even at a loss — the manufacturer either makes no profit from the printer itself or loses money. The manufacturer will make most of its money from the printer cartridges you buy later. Even if the company does make a bit of money from each printer sold, it makes a much larger profit margin on ink. Rather than selling you a printer that may be rather expensive, they want to sell you a cheap printer and make money on an ongoing basis by providing expensive printer ink. It’s been compared to the razor model — sell a razor cheaply and mark up the razor blades. Rather than making a one-time profit on the razor, you’ll make continuing profit as the customer keeps buying razor blade replacements — or ink, in this case. Many printer manufacturers go out of their way to make it difficult for you to use unofficial ink cartridges, building microchips into their official ink cartridges. If you use an unofficial cartridge or refill an official cartridge, the printer may refuse to use it. Lexmark once argued in court that unofficial microchips that enable third-party ink cartridges would violate their copyright and Lexmark has argued that creating an unofficial microchip to bypass this restriction on third-party ink would violate Lexmark’s copyright and be illegal under the US DMCA. Luckily, they lost this argument. What Printer Companies Say Printer companies have put forth their own arguments in the past, attempting to justify the high cost of official ink cartridges and microchips that block any competition. In a Computer World story from 2010, HP argued that they spend a billion dollars each year on “ink research and development.” They point out that printer ink “must be formulated to withstand heating to 300 degrees, vaporization, and being squirted at 30 miles per hour, at a rate of 36,000 drops per second, through a nozzle one third the size of a human hair. After all that it must dry almost instantly on the paper.” They also argue that printers have become more efficient and use less ink to print, while third-party cartridges are less reliable. Companies that use microchips in their ink cartridges argue that only the microchip has the ability to enforce an expiration date, preventing consumers from using old ink cartridges. There’s something to all these arguments, sure — but they don’t seem to justify the sky-high cost of printer ink or the restriction on using third-party or refilled cartridges. Saving Money on Printing Ultimately, the price of something is what people are willing to pay and printer companies have found that most consumers are willing to pay this much for ink cartridge replacements. Try not to fall for it: Don’t buy the cheapest inkjet printer. Consider your needs when buying a printer and do some research. You’ll save more money in the long run. Consider these basic tips to save money on printing: Buy Refilled Cartridges: Refilled cartridges from third parties are generally much cheaper. Printer companies warn us away from these, but they often work very well. Refill Your Own Cartridges: You can get do-it-yourself kits for refilling your own printer ink cartridges, but this can be messy. Your printer may refuse to accept a refilled cartridge if the cartridge contains a microchip. Switch to a Laser Printer: Laser printers use toner, not ink cartridges. If you print a lot of black and white documents, a laser printer can be cheaper. Buy XL Cartridges: If you are buying official printer ink cartridges, spend more money each time. The cheapest ink cartridges won’t contain much ink at all, while larger “XL” ink cartridges will contain much more ink for only a bit more money. It’s often cheaper to buy in bulk. Avoid Printers With Tri-Color Ink Cartridges: If you’re printing color documents, you’ll want to get a printer that uses separate ink cartridges for all its colors. For example, let’s say your printer has a “Color” cartridge that contains blue, green, and red ink. If you print a lot of blue documents and use up all your blue ink, the Color cartridge will refuse to function — now all you can do is throw away your cartridge and buy a new one, even if the green and red ink chambers are full. If you had a printer with separate color cartridges, you’d just have to replace the blue cartridge. If you’ll be buying official ink cartridges, be sure to compare the cost of cartridges when buying a printer. The cheapest printer may be more expensive in the long run. Of course, you’ll save the most money if you stop printing entirely and go paperless, keeping digital copies of your documents instead of paper ones. Image Credit: Cliva Darra on Flickr     

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• Using the Static Code Analysis feature of Visual Studio (Premium/Ultimate) to find memory leakage problems

  - by terje

  Memory for managed code is handled by the garbage collector, but if you use any kind of unmanaged code, like native resources of any kind, open files, streams and window handles, your application may leak memory if these are not properly handled.  To handle such resources the classes that own these in your application should implement the IDisposable interface, and preferably implement it according to the pattern described for that interface. When you suspect a memory leak, the immediate impulse would be to start up a memory profiler and start digging into that.   However, before you follow that impulse, do a Static Code Analysis run with a ruleset tuned to finding possible memory leaks in your code.  If you get any warnings from this, fix them before you go on with the profiling. How to use a ruleset In Visual Studio 2010 (Premium and Ultimate editions) you can define your own rulesets containing a list of Static Code Analysis checks.   I have defined the memory checks as shown in the lists below as ruleset files, which can be downloaded – see bottom of this post.  When you get them, you can easily attach them to every project in your solution using the Solution Properties dialog. Right click the solution, and choose Properties at the bottom, or use the Analyze menu and choose “Configure Code Analysis for Solution”: In this dialog you can now choose the Memorycheck ruleset for every project you want to investigate.  Pressing Apply or Ok opens every project file and changes the projects code analysis ruleset to the one we have specified here. How to define your own ruleset  (skip this if you just download my predefined rulesets) If you want to define the ruleset yourself, open the properties on any project, choose Code Analysis tab near the bottom, choose any ruleset in the drop box and press Open Clear out all the rules by selecting “Source Rule Sets” in the Group By box, and unselect the box Change the Group By box to ID, and select the checks you want to include from the lists below. Note that you can change the action for each check to either warning, error or none, none being the same as unchecking the check.   Now go to the properties window and set a new name and description for your ruleset. Then save (File/Save as) the ruleset using the new name as its name, and use it for your projects as detailed above. It can also be wise to add the ruleset to your solution as a solution item. That way it’s there if you want to enable Code Analysis in some of your TFS builds.   Running the code analysis In Visual Studio 2010 you can either do your code analysis project by project using the context menu in the solution explorer and choose “Run Code Analysis”, you can define a new solution configuration, call it for example Debug (Code Analysis), in for each project here enable the Enable Code Analysis on Build   In Visual Studio Dev-11 it is all much simpler, just go to the Solution root in the Solution explorer, right click and choose “Run code analysis on solution”.     The ruleset checks The following list is the essential and critical memory checks.  CheckID Message Can be ignored ? Link to description with fix suggestions CA1001 Types that own disposable fields should be disposable No  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182172.aspx CA1049 Types that own native resources should be disposable Only if the pointers assumed to point to unmanaged resources point to something else  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182173.aspx CA1063 Implement IDisposable correctly No  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms244737.aspx CA2000 Dispose objects before losing scope No  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182289.aspx CA2115 1 Call GC.KeepAlive when using native resources See description  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182300.aspx CA2213 Disposable fields should be disposed If you are not responsible for release, of if Dispose occurs at deeper level  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182328.aspx CA2215 Dispose methods should call base class dispose Only if call to base happens at deeper calling level  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182330.aspx CA2216 Disposable types should declare a finalizer Only if type does not implement IDisposable for the purpose of releasing unmanaged resources  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182329.aspx CA2220 Finalizers should call base class finalizers No  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182341.aspx Notes: 1) Does not result in memory leak, but may cause the application to crash   The list below is a set of optional checks that may be enabled for your ruleset, because the issues these points too often happen as a result of attempting to fix up the warnings from the first set.   ID Message Type of fault Can be ignored ? Link to description with fix suggestions CA1060 Move P/invokes to NativeMethods class Security No http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182161.aspx CA1816 Call GC.SuppressFinalize correctly Performance Sometimes, see description http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182269.aspx CA1821 Remove empty finalizers Performance No http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb264476.aspx CA2004 Remove calls to GC.KeepAlive Performance and maintainability Only if not technically correct to convert to SafeHandle http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182293.aspx CA2006 Use SafeHandle to encapsulate native resources Security No http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182294.aspx CA2202 Do not dispose of objects multiple times Exception (System.ObjectDisposedException) No http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182334.aspx CA2205 Use managed equivalents of Win32 API Maintainability and complexity Only if the replace doesn’t provide needed functionality http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182365.aspx CA2221 Finalizers should be protected Incorrect implementation, only possible in MSIL coding No http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms182340.aspx   Downloadable ruleset definitions I have defined three rulesets, one called Inmeta.Memorycheck with the rules in the first list above, and Inmeta.Memorycheck.Optionals containing the rules in the second list, and the last one called Inmeta.Memorycheck.All containing the sum of the two first ones.  All three rulesets can be found in the  zip archive  “Inmeta.Memorycheck” downloadable from here.   Links to some other resources relevant to Static Code Analysis MSDN Magazine Article by Mickey Gousset on Static Code Analysis in VS2010 MSDN :  Analyzing Managed Code Quality by Using Code Analysis, root of the documentation for this Preventing generated code from being analyzed using attributes Online training course on Using Code Analysis with VS2010 Blogpost by Tatham Oddie on custom code analysis rules How to write custom rules, from Microsoft Code Analysis Team Blog Microsoft Code Analysis Team Blog

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• Guest Post: Instantiate SharePoint Workflow On Item Deleted

  - by Brian Jackett

  In this post, guest author Lucas Eduardo Silva will walk you through the steps of instantiating a workflow using an item event receiver from a custom list.  The ItemDeleting event will require approval via the workflow. Foreword     As you may have read recently, I injured my right hand and have had it in a cast for the past 3 weeks.  Due to this I planned to reduce my blogging while my hand heals.  As luck would have it, I was actually approached by someone who asked if they could be a guest author on my blog.  I’ve never had a guest author, but considering my injury now seemed like as good a time as ever to try it out. About the Guest Author     Lucas Eduardo Silva (email) works for CPM Braxis, a sibling company to my employer Sogeti in the CapGemini family.  Lucas and I exchanged emails a few times after one of my  recent posts and continued into various topics.  When I posted that I had injured my hand, Lucas mentioned that he had a post idea that he would like to publish and asked if it could be published on my blog.  The below content is the result of that collaboration. The Problem     Lucas has a big problem.  He has a workflow that he wants to fire every time an item is deleted from a custom list. He has already created the association in the "item deleting event", but needs to approve the deletion but the workflow is finishing first. Lucas put an onWorkflowItemChanged wait for the change of status approval, but it is not being hit. The Solution Note: This solution assumes you have the Visual Studio Extensions for Windows SharePoint Services (VSeWSS) installed to access the SharePoint project templates within VIsual Studio. 1 - Create a workflow that will be activated by ItemEventReceiver. 2 - Create the list by Visual Studio clicking in File -> New -> Project. Select SharePoint, then List Definition. 3 - Select the type of document to be created. List, Document Library, Wiki, Tasks, etc.. 4 - Visual Studio creates the file ItemEventReceiver.cs with all possible events in a list. 5 – In the workflow project, open the workflow.xml and copy the ID. 6 - Uncomment the ItemDeleting and insert the following code by replacing the ID that you copied earlier.   //Cancel the Exclusion properties.Cancel = true;   //Activating Exclusion Workflow SPWorkflowManager workflowManager = properties.ListItem.Web.Site.WorkflowManager;   SPWorkflowAssociation wfAssociation = properties.ListItem.ParentList.WorkflowAssociations. GetAssociationByBaseID(new Guid("37b5aea8-792a-4ded-be25-d283d9fe1f9d"));   workflowManager.StartWorkflow(properties.ListItem, wfAssociation, wfAssociation.AssociationData, true);   properties.Status = SPEventReceiverStatus.CancelNoError;   7 - properties.Cancel cancels the event being activated and executes the code that is inside the event. In the example, it cancels the deletion of the item to start the workflow that will be active as an association list with the workflow ID. 8 - Create and deploy the workflow and the list for SharePoint. 9 - Create a list through the model that was created. 10 - Enable the workflow in the list and Congratulations! Every time you try to delete the item the workflow is activated. TIP: If you really want to delete the item after the workflow is done you will have to delete the item by the workflow.   this.workflowProperties.Site.AllowUnsafeUpdates = true; this.workflowProperties.Item.Delete(); this.workflowProperties.List.Update();   Conclusion     In this guest post Lucas took you through the steps of creating an item deletion approval workflow with an event receiver.  This was also the first time I’ve had a guest author on this blog.  Many thanks to Lucas for putting together this content and offering it.  I haven’t decided how I’d handle future guest authors, mostly because I don’t know if there are others who would want to submit content.  If you do have something that you would like to guest author on my blog feel free to drop me a line and we can discuss.  As a disclaimer, there are no guarantees that it will be published though.  For now enjoy Lucas’ post and look for my return to regular blogging soon.         -Frog Out   <Update 1> If you wish to contact Lucas you can reach him at [email protected] </Update 1>

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• Workarounds for supporting MVVM in the Silverlight TreeView Control

  - by cibrax

  MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) is the pattern that you will typically choose for building testable user interfaces either in WPF or Silverlight. This pattern basically relies on the data binding support in those two technologies for mapping an existing model class (the view model) to the different parts of the UI or view. Unfortunately, MVVM was not threated as first citizen for some of controls released out of the box in the Silverlight runtime or the Silverlight toolkit. That means that using data binding for implementing MVVM is not always something trivial and usually requires some customization in the existing controls. In ran into different problems myself trying to fully support data binding in controls like the tree view or the context menu or things like drag & drop.  For that reason, I decided to write this post to show how the tree view control or the tree view items can be customized to support data binding in many of its properties. In first place, you will typically use a tree view for showing hierarchical data so the view model somehow must reflect that hierarchy. An easy way to implement hierarchy in a model is to use a base item element like this one, public abstract class TreeItemModel { public abstract IEnumerable<TreeItemModel> Children; } You can later derive your concrete model classes from that base class. For example, public class CustomerModel { public string FullName { get; set; } public string Address { get; set; } public IEnumerable<OrderModel> Orders { get; set; } }   public class CustomerTreeItemModel : TreeItemModel { public CustomerTreeItemModel(CustomerModel customer) { }   public override IEnumerable<TreeItemModel> Children { get { // Return orders } } } The Children property in the CustomerTreeItem model implementation can return for instance an ObservableCollection<TreeItemModel> with the orders, so the tree view will automatically subscribe to all the changes in the collection. You can bind this model to the tree view control in the UI by using a Hierarchical data template. <e:TreeView x:Name="TreeView" ItemsSource="{Binding Customers}"> <e:TreeView.ItemTemplate> <sdk:HierarchicalDataTemplate ItemsSource="{Binding Children}"> <!-- TEMPLATE --> </sdk:HierarchicalDataTemplate> </e:TreeView.ItemTemplate> </e:TreeView> An interesting behavior with the Children property and the Hierarchical data template is that the Children property is only invoked before the expansion, so you can use lazy load at this point (The tree view control will not expand the whole tree in the first expansion). The problem with using MVVM in this control is that you can not bind properties in model with specific properties of the TreeView item such as IsSelected or IsExpanded. Here is where you need to customize the existing tree view control to support data binding in tree items. public class CustomTreeView : TreeView { public CustomTreeView() { }   protected override DependencyObject GetContainerForItemOverride() { CustomTreeViewItem tvi = new CustomTreeViewItem(); Binding expandedBinding = new Binding("IsExpanded"); expandedBinding.Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay; tvi.SetBinding(CustomTreeViewItem.IsExpandedProperty, expandedBinding); Binding selectedBinding = new Binding("IsSelected"); selectedBinding.Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay; tvi.SetBinding(CustomTreeViewItem.IsSelectedProperty, selectedBinding); return tvi; } }   public class CustomTreeViewItem : TreeViewItem { public CustomTreeViewItem() { }   protected override DependencyObject GetContainerForItemOverride() { CustomTreeViewItem tvi = new CustomTreeViewItem(); Binding expandedBinding = new Binding("IsExpanded"); expandedBinding.Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay; tvi.SetBinding(CustomTreeViewItem.IsExpandedProperty, expandedBinding); Binding selectedBinding = new Binding("IsSelected"); selectedBinding.Mode = BindingMode.TwoWay; tvi.SetBinding(CustomTreeViewItem.IsSelectedProperty, selectedBinding); return tvi; } } You basically need to derive the TreeView and TreeViewItem controls to manually add a binding for the properties you need. In the example above, I am adding a binding for the “IsExpanded” and “IsSelected” properties in the items. The model for the tree items now needs to be extended to support those properties as well, public abstract class TreeItemModel : INotifyPropertyChanged { bool isExpanded = false; bool isSelected = false;   public abstract IEnumerable<TreeItemModel> Children { get; }   public bool IsExpanded { get { return isExpanded; } set { isExpanded = value; if (PropertyChanged != null) PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("IsExpanded")); } }   public bool IsSelected { get { return isSelected; } set { isSelected = value; if (PropertyChanged != null) PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("IsSelected")); } }   public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged; } However, as soon as you use this custom tree view control, you lose all the automatic styles from the built-in toolkit themes because they are tied to the control type (TreeView in this case).  The only ugly workaround I found so far for this problem is to copy the styles from the Toolkit source code and reuse them in the application.

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• How-to filter table filter input to only allow numeric input

  - by frank.nimphius

  In a previous ADF Code Corner post, I explained how to change the table filter behavior by intercepting the query condition in a query filter. See sample #30 at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/adf/learnmore/index-101235.html In this OTN Harvest post I explain how to prevent users from providing invalid character entries as table filter criteria to avoid problems upon re-querying the table. In the example shown next, only numeric values are allowed for a table column filter. To create a table that allows data filtering, drag a View Object – or a data collection of a Web Service or JPA business service – from the DataControls panel and drop it as a table. Choose the Enable Filtering option in the Edit Table Columns dialog so the table renders with the column filter boxes displayed. The table filter fields are created using implicit af:inputText components that need to be customized for you to apply a custom filter input component, or to change the input behavior. To change the input filter, so only a defined set of input keys is allowed, you need to change the default filter field with your own af:inputText field to which you apply an af:clientListener tag that filters user keyboard entries. For this, in the Oracle JDeveloper visual editor, select the column which filter you want to change and expand the column node in the Oracle JDeveloper Structure Window. Part of the column definition is the Column facet node. Expand the facets so you see the filter facet entry. The filter facet is grayed out as there is no custom facet defined. In a next step, open theComponent Palette (ctrl+shift+P) and drag an Input Text component onto the facet. This demarks the first part in the filter customization. To make the custom filter component work, you need to map the af:inputText component value property to the ADF filter criteria that is exposed in the Expression Builder. Open the Expression Builder for the filter input component value property by clicking the arrow icon to its right. In the Expression Builder expand the JSP Objects | vs | filterCriteria node to select the attribute name represented by the table column. The vs entry is the name of a variable that is defined on the table and that grants you access to the table attributes. Now that the filter works as before – though using a custom filter input component – you can add the af:clientListener tag to your custom filter component – af:inputText – to call out to JavaScript when users type in the column filter field Point the client filter method property to a JavaScript function that you reference or add through using the af:resource tag and set the type property value to keyDown. <af:document id="d1">     <af:resource type="javascript" source="/js/filterHandler.js"/> … The filter definition looks as shown below <af:inputText label="Label 1" id="it1"                         value="#{vs.filterCriteria.Employe        <af:clientListener method="suppressCharacterInput"                                     type="keyDown"/> </af:inputText> The JavaScript code that you can use to either filter character inputs or numeric inputs is shown below. Just store this code in an external JavaScript (.js) file and reference it from the af:resource tag. //Allow numbers, cursor control keys and delete keys function suppressCharacterInput(evt) {     var _keyCode = evt.getKeyCode();     var _filterField = evt.getCurrentTarget();     var _oldValue = _filterField.getValue();     if (!((_keyCode < 57) ||(_keyCode > 96 && _keyCode < 105))) {         _filterField.setValue(_oldValue);         evt.cancel();     } } //Allow characters, cursor control keys and delete keys function suppressNumericInput(evt) {  var _keyCode = evt.getKeyCode();  var _filterField = evt.getCurrentTarget();  var _oldValue = _filterField.getValue();  //check for numbers  if ((_keyCode < 57 && _keyCode > 47) ||      (_keyCode > 96 && _keyCode < 105)){     _filterField.setValue(_oldValue);     evt.cancel();   } } But what if browsers don't allow JavaScript ? Don't worry about this. If browsers would not support JavaScript then ADF Faces as a whole would not work and you had a different problem.

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• How can I resolve Hibernate 3's ConstraintViolationException when updating a Persistent Entity's Col

  - by Tim Visher

  I'm trying to discover why two nearly identical class sets are behaving different from Hibernate 3's perspective. I'm fairly new to Hibernate in general and I'm hoping I'm missing something fairly obvious about the mappings or timing issues or something along those lines but I spent the whole day yesterday staring at the two sets and any differences that would lead to one being able to be persisted and the other not completely escaped me. I appologize in advance for the length of this question but it all hinges around some pretty specific implementation details. I have the following class mapped with Annotations and managed by Hibernate 3.? (if the specific specific version turns out to be pertinent, I'll figure out what it is). Java version is 1.6. ... @Embeddable public class JobStateChange implements Comparable<JobStateChange> { @Temporal(TemporalType.TIMESTAMP) @Column(nullable = false) private Date date; @Enumerated(EnumType.STRING) @Column(nullable = false, length = JobState.FIELD_LENGTH) private JobState state; @ManyToOne(fetch = FetchType.LAZY) @JoinColumn(name = "acting_user_id", nullable = false) private User actingUser; public JobStateChange() { } @Override public int compareTo(final JobStateChange o) { return this.date.compareTo(o.date); } @Override public boolean equals(final Object obj) { if (this == obj) { return true; } else if (!(obj instanceof JobStateChange)) { return false; } JobStateChange candidate = (JobStateChange) obj; return this.state == candidate.state && this.actingUser.equals(candidate.getUser()) && this.date.equals(candidate.getDate()); } @Override public int hashCode() { return this.state.hashCode() + this.actingUser.hashCode() + this.date.hashCode(); } } It is mapped as a Hibernate CollectionOfElements in the class Job as follows: ... @Entity @Table( name = "job", uniqueConstraints = { @UniqueConstraint( columnNames = { "agency", //Job Name "payment_type", //Job Name "payment_file", //Job Name "date_of_payment", "payment_control_number", "truck_number" }) }) public class Job implements Serializable { private static final long serialVersionUID = -1131729422634638834L; ... @org.hibernate.annotations.CollectionOfElements @JoinTable(name = "job_state", joinColumns = @JoinColumn(name = "job_id")) @Sort(type = SortType.NATURAL) private final SortedSet<JobStateChange> stateChanges = new TreeSet<JobStateChange>(); ... public void advanceState( final User actor, final Date date) { JobState nextState; LOGGER.debug("Current state of {} is {}.", this, this.getCurrentState()); if (null == this.currentState) { nextState = JobState.BEGINNING; } else { if (!this.isAdvanceable()) { throw new IllegalAdvancementException(this.currentState.illegalAdvancementStateMessage); } if (this.currentState.isDivergent()) { nextState = this.currentState.getNextState(this); } else { nextState = this.currentState.getNextState(); } } JobStateChange stateChange = new JobStateChange(nextState, actor, date); this.setCurrentState(stateChange.getState()); this.stateChanges.add(stateChange); LOGGER.debug("Advanced {} to {}", this, this.getCurrentState()); } private void setCurrentState(final JobState jobState) { this.currentState = jobState; } boolean isAdvanceable() { return this.getCurrentState().isAdvanceable(this); } ... @Override public boolean equals(final Object obj) { if (obj == this) { return true; } else if (!(obj instanceof Job)) { return false; } Job otherJob = (Job) obj; return this.getName().equals(otherJob.getName()) && this.getDateOfPayment().equals(otherJob.getDateOfPayment()) && this.getPaymentControlNumber().equals(otherJob.getPaymentControlNumber()) && this.getTruckNumber().equals(otherJob.getTruckNumber()); } @Override public int hashCode() { return this.getName().hashCode() + this.getDateOfPayment().hashCode() + this.getPaymentControlNumber().hashCode() + this.getTruckNumber().hashCode(); } ... } The purpose of JobStateChange is to record when the Job moves through a series of State Changes that are outline in JobState as enums which know about advancement and decrement rules. The interface used to advance Jobs through a series of states is to call Job.advanceState() with a Date and a User. If the Job is advanceable according to rules coded in the enum, then a new StateChange is added to the SortedSet and everyone's happy. If not, an IllegalAdvancementException is thrown. The DDL this generates is as follows: ... drop table job; drop table job_state; ... create table job ( id bigint generated by default as identity, current_state varchar(25), date_of_payment date not null, beginningCheckNumber varchar(8) not null, item_count integer, agency varchar(10) not null, payment_file varchar(25) not null, payment_type varchar(25) not null, endingCheckNumber varchar(8) not null, payment_control_number varchar(4) not null, truck_number varchar(255) not null, wrapping_system_type varchar(15) not null, printer_id bigint, primary key (id), unique (agency, payment_type, payment_file, date_of_payment, payment_control_number, truck_number) ); create table job_state ( job_id bigint not null, acting_user_id bigint not null, date timestamp not null, state varchar(25) not null, primary key (job_id, acting_user_id, date, state) ); ... alter table job add constraint FK19BBD12FB9D70 foreign key (printer_id) references printer; alter table job_state add constraint FK57C2418FED1F0D21 foreign key (acting_user_id) references app_user; alter table job_state add constraint FK57C2418FABE090B3 foreign key (job_id) references job; ... The database is seeded with the following data prior to running tests ... insert into job (id, agency, payment_type, payment_file, payment_control_number, date_of_payment, beginningCheckNumber, endingCheckNumber, item_count, current_state, printer_id, wrapping_system_type, truck_number) values (-3, 'RRB', 'Monthly', 'Monthly','4501','1998-12-01 08:31:16' , '00000001','00040000', 40000, 'UNASSIGNED', null, 'KERN', '02'); insert into job_state (job_id, acting_user_id, date, state) values (-3, -1, '1998-11-30 08:31:17', 'UNASSIGNED'); ... After the database schema is automatically generated and rebuilt by the Hibernate tool. The following test runs fine up until the call to Session.flush() ... @ContextConfiguration(locations = { "/applicationContext-data.xml", "/applicationContext-service.xml" }) public class JobDaoIntegrationTest extends AbstractTransactionalJUnit4SpringContextTests { @Autowired private JobDao jobDao; @Autowired private SessionFactory sessionFactory; @Autowired private UserService userService; @Autowired private PrinterService printerService; ... @Test public void saveJob_JobAdvancedToAssigned_AllExpectedStateChanges() { //Get an unassigned Job Job job = this.jobDao.getJob(-3L); assertEquals(JobState.UNASSIGNED, job.getCurrentState()); Date advancedToUnassigned = new GregorianCalendar(1998, 10, 30, 8, 31, 17).getTime(); assertEquals(advancedToUnassigned, job.getStateChange(JobState.UNASSIGNED).getDate()); //Satisfy advancement constraints and advance job.setPrinter(this.printerService.getPrinter(-1L)); Date advancedToAssigned = new Date(); job.advanceState( this.userService.getUserByUsername("admin"), advancedToAssigned); assertEquals(JobState.ASSIGNED, job.getCurrentState()); assertEquals(advancedToUnassigned, job.getStateChange(JobState.UNASSIGNED).getDate()); assertEquals(advancedToAssigned, job.getStateChange(JobState.ASSIGNED).getDate()); //Persist to DB this.sessionFactory.getCurrentSession().flush(); ... } ... } The error thrown is SQLCODE=-803, SQLSTATE=23505: could not insert collection rows: [jaci.model.job.Job.stateChanges#-3] org.hibernate.exception.ConstraintViolationException: could not insert collection rows: [jaci.model.job.Job.stateChanges#-3] at org.hibernate.exception.SQLStateConverter.convert(SQLStateConverter.java:94) at org.hibernate.exception.JDBCExceptionHelper.convert(JDBCExceptionHelper.java:66) at org.hibernate.persister.collection.AbstractCollectionPersister.insertRows(AbstractCollectionPersister.java:1416) at org.hibernate.action.CollectionUpdateAction.execute(CollectionUpdateAction.java:86) at org.hibernate.engine.ActionQueue.execute(ActionQueue.java:279) at org.hibernate.engine.ActionQueue.executeActions(ActionQueue.java:263) at org.hibernate.engine.ActionQueue.executeActions(ActionQueue.java:170) at org.hibernate.event.def.AbstractFlushingEventListener.performExecutions(AbstractFlushingEventListener.java:321) at org.hibernate.event.def.DefaultFlushEventListener.onFlush(DefaultFlushEventListener.java:50) at org.hibernate.impl.SessionImpl.flush(SessionImpl.java:1027) at jaci.dao.JobDaoIntegrationTest.saveJob_JobAdvancedToAssigned_AllExpectedStateChanges(JobDaoIntegrationTest.java:98) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringTestMethod.invoke(SpringTestMethod.java:160) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringMethodRoadie.runTestMethod(SpringMethodRoadie.java:233) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringMethodRoadie$RunBeforesThenTestThenAfters.run(SpringMethodRoadie.java:333) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringMethodRoadie.runWithRepetitions(SpringMethodRoadie.java:217) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringMethodRoadie.runTest(SpringMethodRoadie.java:197) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringMethodRoadie.run(SpringMethodRoadie.java:143) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.invokeTestMethod(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:160) at org.springframework.test.context.junit4.SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.run(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.java:97) Caused by: com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.lm: DB2 SQL Error: SQLCODE=-803, SQLSTATE=23505, SQLERRMC=1;ACI_APP.JOB_STATE, DRIVER=3.50.152 at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.wc.a(wc.java:575) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.wc.a(wc.java:57) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.wc.a(wc.java:126) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.tk.b(tk.java:1593) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.tk.c(tk.java:1576) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.t4.db.k(db.java:353) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.t4.db.a(db.java:59) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.t4.t.a(t.java:50) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.t4.tb.b(tb.java:200) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.uk.Gb(uk.java:2355) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.uk.e(uk.java:3129) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.uk.zb(uk.java:568) at com.ibm.db2.jcc.b.uk.executeUpdate(uk.java:551) at org.hibernate.jdbc.NonBatchingBatcher.addToBatch(NonBatchingBatcher.java:46) at org.hibernate.persister.collection.AbstractCollectionPersister.insertRows(AbstractCollectionPersister.java:1389) Therein lies my problem… A nearly identical Class set (in fact, so identical that I've been chomping at the bit to make it a single class that serves both business entities) runs absolutely fine. It is identical except for name. Instead of Job it's Web. Instead of JobStateChange it's WebStateChange. Instead of JobState it's WebState. Both Job and Web's SortedSet of StateChanges are mapped as a Hibernate CollectionOfElements. Both are @Embeddable. Both are SortType.Natural. Both are backed by an Enumeration with some advancement rules in it. And yet when a nearly identical test is run for Web, no issue is discovered and the data flushes fine. For the sake of brevity I won't include all of the Web classes here, but I will include the test and if anyone wants to see the actual sources, I'll include them (just leave a comment). The data seed: insert into web (id, stock_type, pallet, pallet_id, date_received, first_icn, last_icn, shipment_id, current_state) values (-1, 'PF', '0011', 'A', '2008-12-31 08:30:02', '000000001', '000080000', -1, 'UNSTAGED'); insert into web_state (web_id, date, state, acting_user_id) values (-1, '2008-12-31 08:30:03', 'UNSTAGED', -1); The test: ... @ContextConfiguration(locations = { "/applicationContext-data.xml", "/applicationContext-service.xml" }) public class WebDaoIntegrationTest extends AbstractTransactionalJUnit4SpringContextTests { @Autowired private WebDao webDao; @Autowired private UserService userService; @Autowired private SessionFactory sessionFactory; ... @Test public void saveWeb_WebAdvancedToNewState_AllExpectedStateChanges() { Web web = this.webDao.getWeb(-1L); Date advancedToUnstaged = new GregorianCalendar(2008, 11, 31, 8, 30, 3).getTime(); assertEquals(WebState.UNSTAGED, web.getCurrentState()); assertEquals(advancedToUnstaged, web.getState(WebState.UNSTAGED).getDate()); Date advancedToStaged = new Date(); web.advanceState( this.userService.getUserByUsername("admin"), advancedToStaged); this.sessionFactory.getCurrentSession().flush(); web = this.webDao.getWeb(web.getId()); assertEquals( "Web should have moved to STAGED State.", WebState.STAGED, web.getCurrentState()); assertEquals(advancedToUnstaged, web.getState(WebState.UNSTAGED).getDate()); assertEquals(advancedToStaged, web.getState(WebState.STAGED).getDate()); assertNotNull(web.getState(WebState.UNSTAGED)); assertNotNull(web.getState(WebState.STAGED)); } ... } As you can see, I assert that the Web was reconstituted the way I expect, I advance it, flush it to the DB, and then re-get it and verify that the states are as I expect. Everything works perfectly. Not so with Job. A possibly pertinent detail: the reconstitution code works fine if I cease to map JobStateChange.data as a TIMESTAMP and instead as a DATE, and ensure that all of the StateChanges always occur on different Dates. The problem is that this particular business entity can go through many state changes in a single day and so it needs to be sorted by time stamp rather than by date. If I don't do this then I can't sort the StateChanges correctly. That being said, WebStateChange.date is also mapped as a TIMESTAMP and so I again remain absolutely befuddled as to where this error is arising from. I tried to do a fairly thorough job of giving all of the technical details of the implementation but as this particular question is very implementation specific, if I missed anything just let me know in the comments and I'll include it. Thanks so much for your help! UPDATE: Since it turns out to be important to the solution of my problem, I have to include the pertinent bits of the WebStateChange class as well. ... @Embeddable public class WebStateChange implements Comparable<WebStateChange> { @Temporal(TemporalType.TIMESTAMP) @Column(nullable = false) private Date date; @Enumerated(EnumType.STRING) @Column(nullable = false, length = WebState.FIELD_LENGTH) private WebState state; @ManyToOne(fetch = FetchType.LAZY) @JoinColumn(name = "acting_user_id", nullable = false) private User actingUser; ... WebStateChange( final WebState state, final User actingUser, final Date date) { ExceptionUtils.illegalNullArgs(state, actingUser, date); this.state = state; this.actingUser = actingUser; this.date = new Date(date.getTime()); } @Override public int compareTo(final WebStateChange otherStateChange) { return this.date.compareTo(otherStateChange.date); } @Override public boolean equals(final Object candidate) { if (this == candidate) { return true; } else if (!(candidate instanceof WebStateChange)) { return false; } WebStateChange candidateWebState = (WebStateChange) candidate; return this.getState() == candidateWebState.getState() && this.getUser().equals(candidateWebState.getUser()) && this.getDate().equals(candidateWebState.getDate()); } @Override public int hashCode() { return this.getState().hashCode() + this.getUser().hashCode() + this.getDate().hashCode(); } ... }

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• Gene Hunt Says:

  - by BizTalk Visionary

  "She's as nervous as a very small nun at a penguin shoot"   "He's got fingers in more pies than a leper on a cookery course" "You so much as belch out of line and I'll have your scrotum on a barbed wire plate" "Let's go play slappyface" "your surrounded by armed barstewards" “Right, get out and find this murdering scum right now!” [pause] “Scratch that, we start 9am sharp tomorrow, it's beer-o-clock.” "So then Cartwright, you're such a good Detective.... Go and Detect me a packet of Garibaldies" "You're not the one who is going to have to knit himself a new arsehole after 25 years of aggressive male love in prison" “A dream for me is Diana Dors and a bottle of chip fat." “A dream for me is Diana Dors and a bottle of chip fat." “They reckon you've got concussion - but personally, I couldn't give a tart's furry cup if half your brains are falling out. Don't ever waltz into my kingdom playing king of the jungle.” “You great... soft... sissy... girlie... nancy... french... bender... Man-United supporting POOF!!” “Drugs eh? What's the point. They make you forget, make you talk funny, make you see things that aren't there. My old grandma got all of that for free when she had a stroke.” “He's Dead! It's quite serious!” “Fanny in the flat...Nice Work” “SoopaDoopa” “Tits in a Jumper!” “Drop your weapons! You are surrounded by armed bastards!” “It's 1973, almost dinnertime. I'm 'avin 'oops!” “Trust the Gene Genie!” “I wanna hump Britt Ekland...What're we gonna do...!” “Was that 'E' and you don't know the rest?! or you going 'Eeee, I Dunno'” “Good Girl! Prostate probe and no jelly. “ “Give over, it's nothing like Spain!” “I'll come over your houses and stamp on all your toys!” “The Wizard will sort it out. It's cos of the wonderful things he does” “Cartwright can jump up and down on his knackers!” “It's not a windup love, he really thinks like this!” “Women! You can't say two words to them” “I was thinking, maybe, a Berni Inn!” “If I wanted a bollocking for drinking too much...!” “Shhhh...hear that...that's the sound of this case being closed! “Chicken!? In a basket!?” “Seems a large quantity of cocaine...” “You probably thought he kept his cock in his keks!” “The tail-end of Rays demotion speech!” “Stephen Warren is gay!?” “You're a smart boy, use your initiative!” “Don't be such a Jessie!” “I find the idea of a bird brushing her teeth...!” “Never been tempted to the Magic talcum powder?” “Make sure she's got nice tits!” “You're more likely to find an ostrich with a plum up it's arse!” “Drink this lot under the table and have a pint on the way home!” “Never be a female Prime Minister!” “Pub? Pub! pub!.....Pub!” “Thou shalt not suck off rent boys!” “The number for the special clinic is on the notice board!” “If me uncle had tits, would he be me auntie!” “Got your vicars in a twist!” “We Done?!” “Your mates got balls...If they were any bigger he'd need a wheelbarrow!” “The Ending - from 'I want to go home' to the end music.”

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• Convert a PDF eBook to ePub Format

  - by Matthew Guay

  Would you like to read a PDF eBook on an eReader or mobile device, but aren’t happy with the performance? Here’s how you can convert your PDFs to the popular ePub format so you can easily read them on any device. PDFs are a popular format for eBooks since they render the same on any device and can preserve the exact layout of the print book.  However, this benefit is their major disadvantage on mobile devices, as you often have to zoom and pan back and forth to see everything on the page.  ePub files, on the other hand, are an increasingly popular option. They can reflow to fill your screen instead of sticking to a strict layout style.  With the free Calibre program, you can quickly convert your PDF eBooks to ePub format. Getting Started Download the Calibre installer (link below) for your operating system, and install as normal.  Calibre works on recent versions of Windows, OS X, and Linux.  The Calibre installer is very streamlined, so the install process was quite quick. Calibre is a great application for organizing your eBooks.  It can automatically sort your books by their metadata, and even display their covers in a Coverflow-style viewer. To add an eBook to your library, simply drag-and-drop the file into the Calibre window, or click Add books at the top.  Here you can choose to add all the books from a folder and more. Calibre will then add the book(s) to your library, import the associated metadata, and organize them in the catalog. Convert your Books Once you’ve imported your books into Calibre, it’s time to convert them to the format you want.  Select the book or books you want to convert, and click Convert E-books.  Select whether you want to convert them individually or bulk convert them. The convertor window has lots of options, so you can get your ePub book exactly like you want.  You can simply click Ok and go with the defaults, or you can tweak the settings. Do note that the conversion will only work successfully with PDFs that contain actual text.  Some PDFs are actually images scanned in from the original books; these will appear just like the PDF after the conversion, and won’t be any easier to read. On the first tab, you’ll notice that Calibri will repopulate most of the metadata fields with info from your PDF.  It will also use the first page of the PDF as the cover.  Edit any of the information that may be incorrect, and add any additional information you want associated with the book. If you want to convert your eBook to a different format other than ePub, Calibri’s got you covered, too.  On the top right, you can choose to output the converted eBook into a many different file formats, including the Kindle-friendly MOBI format. One other important settings page is the Structure Detection tab.  Here you can choose to have it remove headers and footers in the converted book, as well as automatically detect chapter breaks. Click Ok when you’ve finished choosing your settings and Calibre will convert the book.  This may take a few minutes, depending on the size of the PDF.  If the conversion seems to be taking too long, you can click Show job details for more information on the progress.   The conversion usually works good, but we did have one job freeze on us.  When we checked the job details, it indicated that the PDF was copy-protected.  Most PDF eBooks, however, worked fine. Now, back in the main Calibri window, select your book and save it to disk.  You can choose to save only the EPUB format, or you can select Save to disk to save all formats of the book to your computer. You can also view the ePub file directly in Calibri’s built-in eBook viewer.  This is the PDF book we converted, and it looks fairly good in the converted format.  It does have some odd line breaks and some misplaced numbers, but on the whole, the converted book is much easier to read, especially on small mobile devices.   Even images get included inline, so you shouldn’t be missing anything from the original eBook. Conclusion Calibri makes it simple to read your eBooks in any format you need. It is a project that is in constant development, and updates regularly adding better stability and features.  Whether you want to ready your PDF eBooks on a Sony Reader, Kindle, netbook or Smartphone, your books will now be more accessible than ever.  And with thousands of free PDF eBooks out there, you’ll be sure to always have something to read. If you’d like some Geeky PDF eBooks, Microsoft Press is offering a number of free PDF eBooks right now.  Check them out at this link (Account Required). Download the Calibre eBook program Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Format a String as Currency in C#Convert Older Excel Documents to Excel 2007 FormatShare OneNote 2010 Notebooks with OneNote 2007Install an RPM Package on Ubuntu LinuxConvert PDF Files to Word Documents and Other Formats 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 HippoRemote Pro 2.2 Xobni Plus for Outlook All My Movies 5.9 CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Nice Websites To Watch TV Shows Online 24 Million Sites Windows Media Player Glass Icons (icons we like) How to Forecast Weather, without Gadgets Outlook Tools, one stop tweaking for any Outlook version Zoofs, find the most popular tweeted YouTube videos

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• Trash Destination Adapter

  The Trash Destination and this article came from early experiences of using SSIS and community feedback at the time. When developing a package it is very useful to have a destination adapter that does nothing but consume rows with no setup requirement. You often want run a package part way through development, or just add a path so you can set a Data Viewer. There are stock tasks that can be used, but with the Trash Destination all columns are treated as selected automatically (usage type of read-only), so the pipeline knows they are required. It is also obvious that this is for development or diagnostic purposes, and is clearly not a part of the functional design of the package. It is also ideal for just playing around and exploring concepts in SSIS, and is often used in conjunction with the Data Generator Source. Using these two components it is easy to setup a test of an expression in the Derived Column Transformation for example. The Data Generator Source provides some dummy data, and the Trash Destination allows you to anchor the output path and set a Data Viewer to examine the results. It can also be used when performance tuning packages. It is a consistent and known quantity that has no external influences, so it is ideal as a destination when breaking the data flow into sections to isolate a bottleneck. The adapter is really simple to use and requires no setup. Simply drop it onto the pipeline designer and use it to terminate your data flow path. Installation The component is provided as an MSI file which you can download and run to install it. This simply places the files on disk in the correct locations and also installs the assemblies in the Global Assembly Cache as per Microsoft’s recommendations. You may need to restart the SQL Server Integration Services service, as this caches information about what components are installed, as well as restarting any open instances of Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) / Visual Studio that you may be using to build your SSIS packages. Finally, for 2005/2008, you will have to add the transformation to the Visual Studio toolbox manually. Right-click the toolbox, and select Choose Items.... Select the SSIS Data Flow Items tab, and then check the Trash Destination transformation in the Choose Toolbox Items window. This process has been described in detail in the related FAQ entry for How do I install a task or transform component? We recommend you follow best practice and apply the current Microsoft SQL Server Service pack to your SQL Server servers and workstations. Downloads The Trash Destination is available for SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008 (includes R2) and SQL Server 2012. Please choose the version to match your SQL Server version, or you can install multiple versions and use them side by side if you have more than one version of SQL Server installed. Trash Destination for SQL Server 2005 Trash Destination for SQL Server 2008 Trash Destination for SQL Server 2012 Version History SQL Server 2012 Version 3.0.0.34 - SQL Server 2012 release. Includes upgrade support for both 2005 and 2008 packages to 2012. (5 Jun 2012) SQL Server 2008 Version 2.0.0.33 - SQL Server 2008 release. Includes support for upgrade of 2005 packages. RTM compatible, previously February 2008 CTP. (4 Mar 2008) Version 2.0.0.31 - SQL Server 2008 November 2007 CTP. (14 Feb 2008) SQL Server 2005 Version 1.0.2.18 - SQL Server 2005 RTM Refresh. SP1 Compatibility Testing. (12 Jun 2006) Version 1.0.1.1 - SQL Server 2005 IDW 15 June CTP. Minor enhancements over v1.0.1.0. (11 Jun 2005) Version 1.0.1.0 - SQL Server 2005 IDW 14 April CTP. First Public Release. (30 May 2005) Troubleshooting Make sure you have downloaded the version that matches your version of SQL Server. We offer separate downloads for SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2012. If you an error when you try and use the component along the lines of The component could not be added to the Data Flow task. Please verify that this component is properly installed.  ... The data flow object "Konesans ..." is not installed correctly on this computer, this usually indicates that the internal cache of SSIS components needs to be updated. This is held by the SSIS service, so you need restart the the SQL Server Integration Services service. You can do this from the Services applet in Control Panel or Administrative Tools in Windows. You can also restart the computer if you prefer. You may also need to restart any current instances of Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) / Visual Studio that you may be using to build your SSIS packages. The full error message is shown below for reference: TITLE: Microsoft Visual Studio ------------------------------ The component could not be added to the Data Flow task. Please verify that this component is properly installed. ------------------------------ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The data flow object "Konesans.Dts.Pipeline.TrashDestination.Trash, Konesans.Dts.Pipeline.TrashDestination, Version=1.0.1.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b8351fe7752642cc" is not installed correctly on this computer. (Microsoft.DataTransformationServices.Design) For 2005/2008, once installation is complete you need to manually add the task to the toolbox before you will see it and to be able add it to packages - How do I install a task or transform component? This is not necessary for SQL Server 2012 as the new SSIS toolbox automatically detects components. If you are still having issues then contact us, but please provide as much detail as possible about error, as well as which version of the the task you are using and details of the SSIS tools installed.

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• Liskov Substitution Principle and the Oft Forgot Third Wheel

  - by Stacy Vicknair

  Liskov Substitution Principle (LSP) is a principle of object oriented programming that many might be familiar with from the SOLID principles mnemonic from Uncle Bob Martin. The principle highlights the relationship between a type and its subtypes, and, according to Wikipedia, is defined by Barbara Liskov and Jeanette Wing as the following principle:   Let be a property provable about objects of type . Then should be provable for objects of type where is a subtype of .   Rectangles gonna rectangulate The iconic example of this principle is illustrated with the relationship between a rectangle and a square. Let’s say we have a class named Rectangle that had a property to set width and a property to set its height. 1: Public Class Rectangle 2: Overridable Property Width As Integer 3: Overridable Property Height As Integer 4: End Class   We all at some point here that inheritance mocks an “IS A” relationship, and by gosh we all know square IS A rectangle. So let’s make a square class that inherits from rectangle. However, squares do maintain the same length on every side, so let’s override and add that behavior. 1: Public Class Square 2: Inherits Rectangle 3:  4: Private _sideLength As Integer 5:  6: Public Overrides Property Width As Integer 7: Get 8: Return _sideLength 9: End Get 10: Set(value As Integer) 11: _sideLength = value 12: End Set 13: End Property 14:  15: Public Overrides Property Height As Integer 16: Get 17: Return _sideLength 18: End Get 19: Set(value As Integer) 20: _sideLength = value 21: End Set 22: End Property 23: End Class   Now, say we had the following test: 1: Public Sub SetHeight_DoesNotAffectWidth(rectangle As Rectangle) 2: 'arrange 3: Dim expectedWidth = 4 4: rectangle.Width = 4 5:  6: 'act 7: rectangle.Height = 7 8:  9: 'assert 10: Assert.AreEqual(expectedWidth, rectangle.Width) 11: End Sub   If we pass in a rectangle, this test passes just fine. What if we pass in a square?   This is where we see the violation of Liskov’s Principle! A square might "IS A” to a rectangle, but we have differing expectations on how a rectangle should function than how a square should! Great expectations Here’s where we pat ourselves on the back and take a victory lap around the office and tell everyone about how we understand LSP like a boss. And all is good… until we start trying to apply it to our work. If I can’t even change functionality on a simple setter without breaking the expectations on a parent class, what can I do with subtyping? Did Liskov just tell me to never touch subtyping again? The short answer: NO, SHE DIDN’T. When I first learned LSP, and from those I’ve talked with as well, I overlooked a very important but not appropriately stressed quality of the principle: our expectations. Our inclination is to want a logical catch-all, where we can easily apply this principle and wipe our hands, drop the mic and exit stage left. That’s not the case because in every different programming scenario, our expectations of the parent class or type will be different. We have to set reasonable expectations on the behaviors that we expect out of the parent, then make sure that those expectations are met by the child. Any expectations not explicitly expected of the parent aren’t expected of the child either, and don’t register as a violation of LSP that prevents implementation. You can see the flexibility mentioned in the Wikipedia article itself: A typical example that violates LSP is a Square class that derives from a Rectangle class, assuming getter and setter methods exist for both width and height. The Square class always assumes that the width is equal with the height. If a Square object is used in a context where a Rectangle is expected, unexpected behavior may occur because the dimensions of a Square cannot (or rather should not) be modified independently. This problem cannot be easily fixed: if we can modify the setter methods in the Square class so that they preserve the Square invariant (i.e., keep the dimensions equal), then these methods will weaken (violate) the postconditions for the Rectangle setters, which state that dimensions can be modified independently. Violations of LSP, like this one, may or may not be a problem in practice, depending on the postconditions or invariants that are actually expected by the code that uses classes violating LSP. Mutability is a key issue here. If Square and Rectangle had only getter methods (i.e., they were immutable objects), then no violation of LSP could occur. What this means is that the above situation with a rectangle and a square can be acceptable if we do not have the expectation for width to leave height unaffected, or vice-versa, in our application. Conclusion – the oft forgot third wheel Liskov Substitution Principle is meant to act as a guidance and warn us against unexpected behaviors. Objects can be stateful and as a result we can end up with unexpected situations if we don’t code carefully. Specifically when subclassing, make sure that the subclass meets the expectations held to its parent. Don’t let LSP think you cannot deviate from the behaviors of the parent, but understand that LSP is meant to highlight the importance of not only the parent and the child class, but also of the expectations WE set for the parent class and the necessity of meeting those expectations in order to help prevent sticky situations.   Code examples, in both VB and C# Technorati Tags: LSV,Liskov Substitution Principle,Uncle Bob,Robert Martin,Barbara Liskov,Liskov

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• Implementing an Interceptor Using NHibernate’s Built In Dynamic Proxy Generator

  - by Ricardo Peres

  NHibernate 3.2 came with an included proxy generator, which means there is no longer the need – or the possibility, for that matter – to choose Castle DynamicProxy, LinFu or Spring. This is actually a good thing, because it means one less assembly to deploy. Apparently, this generator was based, at least partially, on LinFu. As there are not many tutorials out there demonstrating it’s usage, here’s one, for demonstrating one of the most requested features: implementing INotifyPropertyChanged. This interceptor, of course, will still feature all of NHibernate’s functionalities that you are used to, such as lazy loading, and such. We will start by implementing an NHibernate interceptor, by inheriting from the base class NHibernate.EmptyInterceptor. This class does not do anything by itself, but it allows us to plug in behavior by overriding some of its methods, in this case, Instantiate: 1: public class NotifyPropertyChangedInterceptor : EmptyInterceptor 2: { 3: private ISession session = null; 4:  5: private static readonly ProxyFactory factory = new ProxyFactory(); 6:  7: public override void SetSession(ISession session) 8: { 9: this.session = session; 10: base.SetSession(session); 11: } 12:  13: public override Object Instantiate(String clazz, EntityMode entityMode, Object id) 14: { 15: Type entityType = Type.GetType(clazz); 16: IProxy proxy = factory.CreateProxy(entityType, new _NotifyPropertyChangedInterceptor(), typeof(INotifyPropertyChanged)) as IProxy; 17: 18: _NotifyPropertyChangedInterceptor interceptor = proxy.Interceptor as _NotifyPropertyChangedInterceptor; 19: interceptor.Proxy = this.session.SessionFactory.GetClassMetadata(entityType).Instantiate(id, entityMode); 20:  21: this.session.SessionFactory.GetClassMetadata(entityType).SetIdentifier(proxy, id, entityMode); 22:  23: return (proxy); 24: } 25: } Then we need a class that implements the NHibernate dynamic proxy behavior, let’s place it inside our interceptor, because it will only need to be used there: 1: class _NotifyPropertyChangedInterceptor : NHibernate.Proxy.DynamicProxy.IInterceptor 2: { 3: private PropertyChangedEventHandler changed = delegate { }; 4:  5: public Object Proxy 6: { 7: get; 8: set;} 9:  10: #region IInterceptor Members 11:  12: public Object Intercept(InvocationInfo info) 13: { 14: Boolean isSetter = info.TargetMethod.Name.StartsWith("set_") == true; 15: Object result = null; 16:  17: if (info.TargetMethod.Name == "add_PropertyChanged") 18: { 19: PropertyChangedEventHandler propertyChangedEventHandler = info.Arguments[0] as PropertyChangedEventHandler; 20: this.changed += propertyChangedEventHandler; 21: } 22: else if (info.TargetMethod.Name == "remove_PropertyChanged") 23: { 24: PropertyChangedEventHandler propertyChangedEventHandler = info.Arguments[0] as PropertyChangedEventHandler; 25: this.changed -= propertyChangedEventHandler; 26: } 27: else 28: { 29: result = info.TargetMethod.Invoke(this.Proxy, info.Arguments); 30: } 31:  32: if (isSetter == true) 33: { 34: String propertyName = info.TargetMethod.Name.Substring("set_".Length); 35: this.changed(this.Proxy, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName)); 36: } 37:  38: return (result); 39: } 40:  41: #endregion 42: } What this does for every interceptable method (those who are either virtual or from the INotifyPropertyChanged) is: For methods that came from the INotifyPropertyChanged interface, add_PropertyChanged and remove_PropertyChanged (yes, events are methods ), we add an implementation that adds or removes the event handlers to the delegate which we declared as changed; For all the others, we direct them to the place where they are actually implemented, which is the Proxy field; If the call is setting a property, it fires afterwards the PropertyChanged event. In order to use this, we need to add the interceptor to the Configuration before building the ISessionFactory: 1: using (ISessionFactory factory = cfg.SetInterceptor(new NotifyPropertyChangedInterceptor()).BuildSessionFactory()) 2: { 3: using (ISession session = factory.OpenSession()) 4: using (ITransaction tx = session.BeginTransaction()) 5: { 6: Customer customer = session.Get<Customer>(100); //some id 7: INotifyPropertyChanged inpc = customer as INotifyPropertyChanged; 8: inpc.PropertyChanged += delegate(Object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e) 9: { 10: //fired when a property changes 11: }; 12: customer.Address = "some other address"; //will raise PropertyChanged 13: customer.RecentOrders.ToList(); //will trigger the lazy loading 14: } 15: } Any problems, questions, do drop me a line!

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• Why lock-free data structures just aren't lock-free enough

  - by Alex.Davies

  Today's post will explore why the current ways to communicate between threads don't scale, and show you a possible way to build scalable parallel programming on top of shared memory. The problem with shared memory Soon, we will have dozens, hundreds and then millions of cores in our computers. It's inevitable, because individual cores just can't get much faster. At some point, that's going to mean that we have to rethink our architecture entirely, as millions of cores can't all access a shared memory space efficiently. But millions of cores are still a long way off, and in the meantime we'll see machines with dozens of cores, struggling with shared memory. Alex's tip: The best way for an application to make use of that increasing parallel power is to use a concurrency model like actors, that deals with synchronisation issues for you. Then, the maintainer of the actors framework can find the most efficient way to coordinate access to shared memory to allow your actors to pass messages to each other efficiently. At the moment, NAct uses the .NET thread pool and a few locks to marshal messages. It works well on dual and quad core machines, but it won't scale to more cores. Every time we use a lock, our core performs an atomic memory operation (eg. CAS) on a cell of memory representing the lock, so it's sure that no other core can possibly have that lock. This is very fast when the lock isn't contended, but we need to notify all the other cores, in case they held the cell of memory in a cache. As the number of cores increases, the total cost of a lock increases linearly. A lot of work has been done on "lock-free" data structures, which avoid locks by using atomic memory operations directly. These give fairly dramatic performance improvements, particularly on systems with a few (2 to 4) cores. The .NET 4 concurrent collections in System.Collections.Concurrent are mostly lock-free. However, lock-free data structures still don't scale indefinitely, because any use of an atomic memory operation still involves every core in the system. A sync-free data structure Some concurrent data structures are possible to write in a completely synchronization-free way, without using any atomic memory operations. One useful example is a single producer, single consumer (SPSC) queue. It's easy to write a sync-free fixed size SPSC queue using a circular buffer*. Slightly trickier is a queue that grows as needed. You can use a linked list to represent the queue, but if you leave the nodes to be garbage collected once you're done with them, the GC will need to involve all the cores in collecting the finished nodes. Instead, I've implemented a proof of concept inspired by this intel article which reuses the nodes by putting them in a second queue to send back to the producer. * In all these cases, you need to use memory barriers correctly, but these are local to a core, so don't have the same scalability problems as atomic memory operations. Performance tests I tried benchmarking my SPSC queue against the .NET ConcurrentQueue, and against a standard Queue protected by locks. In some ways, this isn't a fair comparison, because both of these support multiple producers and multiple consumers, but I'll come to that later. I started on my dual-core laptop, running a simple test that had one thread producing 64 bit integers, and another consuming them, to measure the pure overhead of the queue. So, nothing very interesting here. Both concurrent collections perform better than the lock-based one as expected, but there's not a lot to choose between the ConcurrentQueue and my SPSC queue. I was a little disappointed, but then, the .NET Framework team spent a lot longer optimising it than I did. So I dug out a more powerful machine that Red Gate's DBA tools team had been using for testing. It is a 6 core Intel i7 machine with hyperthreading, adding up to 12 logical cores. Now the results get more interesting. As I increased the number of producer-consumer pairs to 6 (to saturate all 12 logical cores), the locking approach was slow, and got even slower, as you'd expect. What I didn't expect to be so clear was the drop-off in performance of the lock-free ConcurrentQueue. I could see the machine only using about 20% of available CPU cycles when it should have been saturated. My interpretation is that as all the cores used atomic memory operations to safely access the queue, they ended up spending most of the time notifying each other about cache lines that need invalidating. The sync-free approach scaled perfectly, despite still working via shared memory, which after all, should still be a bottleneck. I can't quite believe that the results are so clear, so if you can think of any other effects that might cause them, please comment! Obviously, this benchmark isn't realistic because we're only measuring the overhead of the queue. Any real workload, even on a machine with 12 cores, would dwarf the overhead, and there'd be no point worrying about this effect. But would that be true on a machine with 100 cores? Still to be solved. The trouble is, you can't build many concurrent algorithms using only an SPSC queue to communicate. In particular, I can't see a way to build something as general purpose as actors on top of just SPSC queues. Fundamentally, an actor needs to be able to receive messages from multiple other actors, which seems to need an MPSC queue. I've been thinking about ways to build a sync-free MPSC queue out of multiple SPSC queues and some kind of sign-up mechanism. Hopefully I'll have something to tell you about soon, but leave a comment if you have any ideas.

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• Profit's COLLABORATE 10 Session Selections

  - by Aaron Lazenby

  COLLABORATE 2010 is a mere 11 days away (thanks for the reminder @ocp_advisor). Every year I publish my a list of the sessions I think reflect some of the more interesting people/trends in enterprise IT. I should be at all of these sessions, so drop by for a chat--I'll be the guy tapping out emails on my iPad... Monday, April 19 9:15 a.m. - Keynote: Transforming Customer Value, Delivering Highest Customer Service Location: Keynote Hall I never miss Charles Phillips when he speaks--it's one of the best opportunities to get an update on Oracle product developments and strategy. And there's certainly occasion for an update: this will be Phillips' first big presentation since the Oracle + Sun Strategy Update in late January. Phillips is appearing with Oracle Executive Vice President of Development Thomas Kurian which means there should be some excellent information about how customers are using Oracle's complete software and hardware stack to address enterprise IT challenges. The session should provide some excellent context for the rest of the week's session...don't miss it. 10:45 a.m. - Oracle Fusion Applications: Functional Overview Location: South Seas FI met Basheer Khan at COLLABORATE 08 in Denver and have followed his work ever since. He's a former member of the OAUG Board of Directors, an Oracle ACE, and a charismatic enterprise IT expert. Having worked with the Oracle Usability Advisory Board, Basheer should have some fascinating insights to share about the features and interface of Oracle's Fusine Applications. This session, along with Nadia Bendjedou's "10 Things You Can Do Today to Prepare for the Next Generation Applications" (on Tuesday, April 20 8:00 a.m. in room 3662) should give attendees the update they need about Oracle's next-generation applications.   1:15p.m. - E-Business Suite in the Amazon Cloud Location: South Seas HI did my first full-fledged cloud computing coverage at last year's COLLABORATE show (check out my interview with Oracle's Bill Hodak), where I first learned about Amazon's EC2 offering. I've since talked with several people who have provisioned server space on Amazon's cloud with great results. So I'm looking forward to watching the audience configure an instance of the Oracle E-Business Suite release 12 on the cloud while Chuck Edwards from Blue Gecko drives. This session should take some of the mist and vapor out of the cloud conversation.2:30 p.m. - "Zero Sign-on" to EBS - Enabling 96000 Users to Login to EBS Without User Maintenance Location: South Seas HI'll be sitting tight in South Seas H for the next session on Monday where Doug Pepka, a ten-year veteran of communications giant Comcast, will be walking attendees through a massive single sign-on (SSO) project across the enterprise. I'm working on a story about SSO for the August issue of Profit, so this session has real practical value to me. Plus the proliferation of user account logins--both personal and professional--makes this a critical usability/change management issue for IT leaders planning for successful long-term IT implementations.   Tuesday 8:00 am  - Information Architecture for Men in Kilts Location: SURF AGetting to a 8:00 a.m. presentation is a tall order in Las Vegas, but presenter Billy Cripe will make it worth your effort. Not only is the title of this session great, but the content should appeal to any IT strategist looking to push the limits of Web 2.0 technologies in the enterprise. Cripe is a product management director of Enterprise 2.0 and Enterprise Content Management at Oracle, author of Reshaping Your Business with Web 2.0, and a prolific blogger--he knows how information architecture is critical to and enterprise 2.0 implementation.    10:30a.m. - Oracle Virtualization: From Desktop to Data Center Location: REEF FData center virtualization is still one of the best ways to reduce the cost of running enterprise IT. With the addition of Sun products, Oracle has the industry's most comprehensive virtualization portfolio. I must admit, I'm no expert in this subject. So I'm looking forward to Monica Kumar's presentation so I can get up to speed.   Wednesday 8:00 a.m. - The Art of the Steal Location: Mandalay Bay Ballroom JMany will know Frank Abagnale from Steven Spielberg's 2002 film "Catch Me if You Can." The one-time con man and international fugitive who swindled $2.5 million in forged checks went on to help U.S. federal officials investigate fraud cases. Now the CEO of Abagnale and Associates, he has become an invaluable source to the business world on the subject of fraud and fraud protection. With identity theft and digital fraud still on the rise, this session should be an entertaining, and sobering, education on the threats facing businesses and customers around the world. A great way to start Wednesday.1:00 p.m. - Google Wave: Will it replace e-mail as we know it today? Location: SURF EBy many assessments (my own included), Google Wave is a bit of an open collaboration failure. It may seem like an odd reason for me to be excited about this session, but I'm looking forward to the chance to revisit the technology. Also, this is a great case study in connecting free, available Internet tools to existing enterprise computing environments--an issue that IT strategists must contend with as workers spreads out and choose their own productivity tools.  

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