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  • Converting Creole to HTML, PDF, DOCX, ..

    - by Marko Apfel
    Challenge We documented a project on Github with the Wiki there. For most articles we used Creole as markup language. Now we have to deliver a lot of the content to our client in an usual format like PDF or DOCX. So we need a automatism to extract all relevant content, merge it together and convert the stuff to a new format. Problem One of the most popular toolsets to convert between several formats is Pandoc. But unfortunally Pandoc does not support Creole (see the converting matrix). Approach So we need an intermediate step: Converting from Creole to a supported Pandoc format. Creolo/c is a Creole to Html converter and does exactly what we need. After converting our Creole content to Html we could use Pandoc for all the subsequent tasks. Solution Getting the Creole stuff First at all we need the Creole content on our locale machines. This is easy. Because the Github Wiki themselves is a Git repository we could clone it to our machine. In the working copy we see now all the files and the suffix gives us the hint for the markup language. Converting and Merging Creole content to Html Because we would like all content from several Creole files in one HTML file, we have to convert and merge all the input files to one output file. Creole/c has an option (-b) to generate only the Html-stuff below a Html <Body>-tag. And this is hook for us to start. We have to create manually the additional preluding Html-tags (<html>, <head>, ..), then we merge all needed Creole content to our output file and last we add the closing tags. This could be done straightforward with a little bit old DOS magic: REM === Generate the intro tags === ECHO ^<html^> > %TMP%\output.html ECHO ^<head^> >> %TMP%\output.html ECHO ^<meta name="generator" content="creole/c"^> >> %TMP%\output.html ECHO ^</head^> >> %TMP%\output.html ECHO ^<body^> >> %TMP%\output.html REM === Mix in all interesting Creole stuff with creole/c === .\Creole-C\bin\creole.exe -b .\..\datamodel+overview.creole >> %TMP%\output.html .\Creole-C\bin\creole.exe -b .\..\datamodel+domain+CvdCaptureMode.creole >> %TMP%\output.html .\Creole-C\bin\creole.exe -b .\..\datamodel+domain+CvdDamageReducingActivity.creole >> %TMP%\output.html .\Creole-C\bin\creole.exe -b .\..\datamodel+lookup+IncidentDamageCodes.creole >> %TMP%\output.html .\Creole-C\bin\creole.exe -b .\..\datamodel+table+Attachments.creole >> %TMP%\output.html .\Creole-C\bin\creole.exe -b .\..\datamodel+table+TrafficLights.creole >> %TMP%\output.html REM === Generate the outro tags === ECHO ^</body^> >> %TMP%\output.html ECHO ^</html^> >> %TMP%\output.html REM === Convert the Html file to Docx with Pandoc === .\Pandoc\bin\pandoc.exe -o .\Database-Schema.docx %TMP%\output.html Some explanation for this The first ECHO call creates the file. Therefore the beginning <html> tag is send via > to a temporary working file. All following calls add content to the existing file via >>. The tag-characters < and > must be escaped. This is done by the caret sign (^). We use a file in the default temporary folder (%TMP%) to avoid writing in our current folders. (better for continuous integration) Both toolsets (Creole/c and Pandoc) are copied to a versioned tools folder in the Wiki. This is committable and no problem after pushing – Github does not do anything with it. In this folder is also the batch (Export-Docx.bat) for all the steps. Pandoc recognizes the conversion by the suffixes of the file names. So it is enough to specify only the input and output files.

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  • Getting to grips with the stack in nasm

    - by MarkPearl
    Today I spent a good part of my day getting to grips with the stack and nasm. After looking at my notes on nasm I think this is one area for the course I am doing they could focus more on… So here are some snippets I have put together that have helped me understand a little bit about the stack… Simplest example of the stack You will probably see examples like the following in circulation… these demonstrate the simplest use of the stack… org 0x100 bits 16 jmp main main: push 42h push 43h push 44h mov ah,2h ;set to display characters pop dx    ;get the first value int 21h   ;and display it pop dx    ;get 2nd value int 21h   ;and display it pop dx    ;get 3rd value int 21h   ;and display it int 20h The output from above code would be… DCB Decoupling code using “call” and “ret” This is great, but it oversimplifies what I want to use the stack for… I do not know if this goes against the grain of assembly programmers or not, but I want to write loosely coupled assembly code – and I want to use the stack as a mechanism for passing values into my decoupled code. In nasm we have the call and return instructions, which provides a mechanism for decoupling code, for example the following could be done… org 0x100 bits 16 jmp main ;---------------------------------------- displayChar: mov ah,2h mov dx,41h int 21h ret ;---------------------------------------- main: call displayChar int 20h   This would output the following to the console A So, it would seem that call and ret allow us to jump to segments of our code and then return back to the calling position – a form of segmenting the code into what we would called in higher order languages “functions” or “methods”. The only issue is, in higher order languages there is a way to pass parameters into the functions and return results. Because of the primitive nature of the call and ret instructions, this does not seem to be obvious. We could of course use the registers to pass values into the subroutine and set values coming out, but the problem with this is we… Have a limited number of registers Are threading our code with tight coupling (it would be hard to migrate methods outside of their intended use in a particular program to another one) With that in mind, I turn to the stack to provide a loosely coupled way of calling subroutines… First attempt with the Stack Initially I thought this would be simple… we could use code that looks as follows to achieve what I want… org 0x100 bits 16 jmp main ;---------------------------------------- displayChar: mov ah,2h pop dx int 21h ret ;---------------------------------------- main: push 41h call displayChar int 20h   However running this application does not give the desired result, I want an ‘A’ to be returned, and I am getting something totally different (you will to). Reading up on the call and ret instructions a discovery is made… they are pushing and popping things onto and off the stack as well… When the call instruction is executed, the current value of IP (the address of the instruction to follow) is pushed onto the stack, when ret is called, the last value on the stack is popped off into the IP register. In effect what the above code is doing is as follows with the stack… push 41h push current value of ip pop current value of ip to dx pop 41h to ip This is not what I want, I need to access the 41h that I pushed onto the stack, but the call value (which is necessary) is putting something in my way. So, what to do? Remember we have other registers we can use as well as a thing called indirect addressing… So, after some reading around, I came up with the following approach using indirect addressing… org 0x100 bits 16 jmp main ;---------------------------------------- displayChar: mov bp,sp mov ah,2h mov dx,[bp+2] int 21h ret ;---------------------------------------- main: push 41h call displayChar int 20h In essence, what I have done here is used a trick with the stack pointer… it goes as follows… Push 41 onto the stack Make the call to the function, which will push the IP register onto the stack and then jump to the displayChar label Move the value in the stack point to the bp register (sp currently points at IP register) Move the at the location of bp minus 2 bytes to dx (this is now the value 41h) display it, execute the ret instruction, which pops the ip value off the stack and goes back to the calling point This approach is still very raw, some further reading around shows that I should be pushing the value of bp onto the stack before replacing it with sp, but it is the starting thread to getting loosely coupled subroutines. Let’s see if you get what the following output would be? org 0x100 bits 16 jmp main ;---------------------------------------- displayChar: mov bp,sp mov ah,2h mov dx,[bp+4] int 21h mov dx,[bp+2] int 21h ret ;---------------------------------------- main: push 41h push 42h call displayChar int 20h The output is… AB Where to from here? If by any luck some assembly programmer comes along and see this code and notices that I have made some fundamental flaw in my logic… I would like to know, so please leave a comment… appreciate any feedback!

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  • Why is my external USB hard drive sometimes completely inaccessible?

    - by Eliah Kagan
    I have an external USB hard drive, consisting of an 1 TB SATA drive in a Rosewill RX35-AT-SU SLV Aluminum 3.5" Silver USB 2.0 External Enclosure, plugged into my SONY VAIO VGN-NS310F laptop. It is plugged directly into the computer (not through a hub). The drive inside the enclosure is a 7200 rpm Western Digital, but I don't remember the exact model. I can remove the drive from the enclosure (again), if people think it's necessary to know that detail. The drive is formatted ext4. I mount it dynamically with udisks on my Lubuntu 11.10 system, usually automatically via PCManFM. (I have had Lubuntu 12.04 on this machine, and experienced all this same behavior with that too.) Every once in a while--once or twice a day--it becomes inaccessible, and difficult to unmount. Attempting to unmount it with sudo umount ... gives an error message saying the drive is in use and suggesting fuser and lsof to find out what is using it. Killing processes found to be using the drive with fuser and lsof is sometimes sufficient to let me unmount it, but usually isn't. Once the drive is unmounted or the machine is rebooted, the drive will not mount. Plugging in the drive and turning it on registers nothing on the computer. dmesg is unchanged. The drive's access light usually blinks vigorously, as though the drive is being accessed constantly. Then eventually, after I keep the drive off for a while (half an hour), I am able to mount it again. While the drive doesn't work on this machine for a while, it will work immediately on another machine running the same version of Ubuntu. Sometimes bringing it back over from the other machine seems to "fix" it. Sometimes it doesn't. The drive doesn't always stop being accessible while mounted, before becoming unmountable. Sometimes it works fine, I turn off the computer, I turn the computer back on, and I cannot mount the drive. Currently this is the only drive with which I have this problem, but I've had problems that I think are the same as this, with different drives, on different Ubuntu machines. This laptop has another external USB drive plugged into it regularly, which doesn't have this problem. Unplugging that drive before plugging in the "problem" drive doesn't fix the problem. I've opened the drive up and made sure the connections were tight in the past, and that didn't seem to help (any more than waiting the same amount of time that it took to open and close the drive, before attempting to remount it). Does anyone have any ideas about what could be causing this, what troubleshooting steps I should perform, and/or how I could fix this problem altogether? Update: I tried replacing the USB data cable (from the enclosure to the laptop), as Merlin suggested. I should've tried that long ago, since it fits the symptoms perfectly (the drive works on another machine, which would make sense because the cable would be bent at a different angle, possibly completing a circuit of frayed wires). Unfortunately, though, this did not help--I have the same problem with the new cable. I'll try to provide additional detailed information about the drive inside the enclosure, next time I'm able to get the drive working. (At the moment I don't have another machine available to attach it.) Major Update (28 June 2012) The drive seems to have deteriorated considerably. I think this is so, because I've attached it to another machine and gotten lots of errors about invalid characters, when copying files from it. I am less interested in recovering data from the drive than I am in figuring out what is wrong with it. I specifically want to figure out if the problem is the drive or the enclosure. Now, when I plug the drive into the original machine where I was having the problems, it still doesn't appear (including with sudo fdisk -l), but it is recognized by the kernel and messages are added to dmesg. Most of the message consist of errors like this, repeated many times: [ 7.707593] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdc] Unhandled sense code [ 7.707599] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdc] Result: hostbyte=invalid driverbyte=DRIVER_SENSE [ 7.707606] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdc] Sense Key : Medium Error [current] [ 7.707614] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdc] Add. Sense: Unrecovered read error [ 7.707621] sd 5:0:0:0: [sdc] CDB: Read(10): 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 08 00 [ 7.707636] end_request: critical target error, dev sdc, sector 0 [ 7.707641] Buffer I/O error on device sdc, logical block 0 Here are all the lines from dmesg starting with when the drive is recognized. Please note that: I'm back to running Lubuntu 12.04 on this machine (and perhaps that's a factor in better error messages). Now that the drive has been plugged into another machine and back into this one, and also now that this machine is back to running 12.04, the drive's access light doesn't blink as I had described. Looking at the drive, it would appear as though it is working normally, with low or no access. This behavior (the errors) occurs when rebooting the machine with the drive plugged in, and also when manually plugging in the drive. A few of the messages are about /dev/sdb. That drive is working fine. The bad drive is /dev/sdc. I just didn't want to edit anything out from the middle.

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  • Python script is exiting with no output and I have no idea why

    - by Adam Tuttle
    I'm attempting to debug a Subversion post-commit hook that calls some python scripts. What I've been able to determine so far is that when I run post-commit.bat manually (I've created a wrapper for it to make it easier) everything succeeds, but when SVN runs it one particular step doesn't work. We're using CollabNet SVNServe, which I know from the documentation removes all environment variables. This had caused some problems earlier, but shouldn't be an issue now. Before Subversion calls a hook script, it removes all variables - including $PATH on Unix, and %PATH% on Windows - from the environment. Therefore, your script can only run another program if you spell out that program's absolute name. The relevant portion of post-commit.bat is: echo -------------------------- >> c:\svn-repos\company\hooks\svn2ftp.out.log set SITENAME=staging set SVNPATH=branches/staging/wwwroot/ "C:\Python3\python.exe" C:\svn-repos\company\hooks\svn2ftp.py ^ --svnUser="svnusername" ^ --svnPass="svnpassword" ^ --ftp-user=ftpuser ^ --ftp-password=ftppassword ^ --ftp-remote-dir=/ ^ --access-url=svn://10.0.100.6/company ^ --status-file="C:\svn-repos\company\hooks\svn2ftp-%SITENAME%.dat" ^ --project-directory=%SVNPATH% "staging.company.com" %1 %2 >> c:\svn-repos\company\hooks\svn2ftp.out.log echo -------------------------- >> c:\svn-repos\company\hooks\svn2ftp.out.log When I run post-commit.bat manually, for example: post-commit c:\svn-repos\company 12345, I see output like the following in svn2ftp.out.log: -------------------------- args1: c:\svn-repos\company args0: staging.company.com abspath: c:\svn-repos\company project_dir: branches/staging/wwwroot/ local_repos_path: c:\svn-repos\company getting youngest revision... done, up-to-date -------------------------- However, when I commit something to the repo and it runs automatically, the output is: -------------------------- -------------------------- svn2ftp.py is a bit long, so I apologize but here goes. I'll have some notes/disclaimers about its contents below it. #!/usr/bin/env python """Usage: svn2ftp.py [OPTION...] FTP-HOST REPOS-PATH Upload to FTP-HOST changes committed to the Subversion repository at REPOS-PATH. Uses svn diff --summarize to only propagate the changed files Options: -?, --help Show this help message. -u, --ftp-user=USER The username for the FTP server. Default: 'anonymous' -p, --ftp-password=P The password for the FTP server. Default: '@' -P, --ftp-port=X Port number for the FTP server. Default: 21 -r, --ftp-remote-dir=DIR The remote directory that is expected to resemble the repository project directory -a, --access-url=URL This is the URL that should be used when trying to SVN export files so that they can be uploaded to the FTP server -s, --status-file=PATH Required. This script needs to store the last successful revision that was transferred to the server. PATH is the location of this file. -d, --project-directory=DIR If the project you are interested in sending to the FTP server is not under the root of the repository (/), set this parameter. Example: -d 'project1/trunk/' This should NOT start with a '/'. 2008.5.2 CKS Fixed possible Windows-related bug with tempfile, where the script didn't have permission to write to the tempfile. Replaced this with a open()-created file created in the CWD. 2008.5.13 CKS Added error logging. Added exception for file-not-found errors when deleting files. 2008.5.14 CKS Change file open to 'rb' mode, to prevent Python's universal newline support from stripping CR characters, causing later comparisons between FTP and SVN to report changes. """ try: import sys, os import logging logging.basicConfig( level=logging.DEBUG, format='%(asctime)s %(levelname)s %(message)s', filename='svn2ftp.debug.log', filemode='a' ) console = logging.StreamHandler() console.setLevel(logging.ERROR) logging.getLogger('').addHandler(console) import getopt, tempfile, smtplib, traceback, subprocess from io import StringIO import pysvn import ftplib import inspect except Exception as e: logging.error(e) #capture the location of the error frame = inspect.currentframe() stack_trace = traceback.format_stack(frame) logging.debug(stack_trace) print(stack_trace) #end capture sys.exit(1) #defaults host = "" user = "anonymous" password = "@" port = 21 repo_path = "" local_repos_path = "" status_file = "" project_directory = "" remote_base_directory = "" toAddrs = "[email protected]" youngest_revision = "" def email(toAddrs, message, subject, fromAddr='[email protected]'): headers = "From: %s\r\nTo: %s\r\nSubject: %s\r\n\r\n" % (fromAddr, toAddrs, subject) message = headers + message logging.info('sending email to %s...' % toAddrs) server = smtplib.SMTP('smtp.company.com') server.set_debuglevel(1) server.sendmail(fromAddr, toAddrs, message) server.quit() logging.info('email sent') def captureErrorMessage(e): sout = StringIO() traceback.print_exc(file=sout) errorMessage = '\n'+('*'*80)+('\n%s'%e)+('\n%s\n'%sout.getvalue())+('*'*80) return errorMessage def usage_and_exit(errmsg): """Print a usage message, plus an ERRMSG (if provided), then exit. If ERRMSG is provided, the usage message is printed to stderr and the script exits with a non-zero error code. Otherwise, the usage message goes to stdout, and the script exits with a zero errorcode.""" if errmsg is None: stream = sys.stdout else: stream = sys.stderr print(__doc__, file=stream) if errmsg: print("\nError: %s" % (errmsg), file=stream) sys.exit(2) sys.exit(0) def read_args(): global host global user global password global port global repo_path global local_repos_path global status_file global project_directory global remote_base_directory global youngest_revision try: opts, args = getopt.gnu_getopt(sys.argv[1:], "?u:p:P:r:a:s:d:SU:SP:", ["help", "ftp-user=", "ftp-password=", "ftp-port=", "ftp-remote-dir=", "access-url=", "status-file=", "project-directory=", "svnUser=", "svnPass=" ]) except getopt.GetoptError as msg: usage_and_exit(msg) for opt, arg in opts: if opt in ("-?", "--help"): usage_and_exit() elif opt in ("-u", "--ftp-user"): user = arg elif opt in ("-p", "--ftp-password"): password = arg elif opt in ("-SU", "--svnUser"): svnUser = arg elif opt in ("-SP", "--svnPass"): svnPass = arg elif opt in ("-P", "--ftp-port"): try: port = int(arg) except ValueError as msg: usage_and_exit("Invalid value '%s' for --ftp-port." % (arg)) if port < 1 or port > 65535: usage_and_exit("Value for --ftp-port must be a positive integer less than 65536.") elif opt in ("-r", "--ftp-remote-dir"): remote_base_directory = arg elif opt in ("-a", "--access-url"): repo_path = arg elif opt in ("-s", "--status-file"): status_file = os.path.abspath(arg) elif opt in ("-d", "--project-directory"): project_directory = arg if len(args) != 3: print(str(args)) usage_and_exit("host and/or local_repos_path not specified (" + len(args) + ")") host = args[0] print("args1: " + args[1]) print("args0: " + args[0]) print("abspath: " + os.path.abspath(args[1])) local_repos_path = os.path.abspath(args[1]) print('project_dir:',project_directory) youngest_revision = int(args[2]) if status_file == "" : usage_and_exit("No status file specified") def main(): global host global user global password global port global repo_path global local_repos_path global status_file global project_directory global remote_base_directory global youngest_revision read_args() #repository,fs_ptr #get youngest revision print("local_repos_path: " + local_repos_path) print('getting youngest revision...') #youngest_revision = fs.youngest_rev(fs_ptr) assert youngest_revision, "Unable to lookup youngest revision." last_sent_revision = get_last_revision() if youngest_revision == last_sent_revision: # no need to continue. we should be up to date. print('done, up-to-date') return if last_sent_revision or youngest_revision < 10: # Only compare revisions if the DAT file contains a valid # revision number. Otherwise we risk waiting forever while # we parse and uploading every revision in the repo in the case # where a repository is retroactively configured to sync with ftp. pysvn_client = pysvn.Client() pysvn_client.callback_get_login = get_login rev1 = pysvn.Revision(pysvn.opt_revision_kind.number, last_sent_revision) rev2 = pysvn.Revision(pysvn.opt_revision_kind.number, youngest_revision) summary = pysvn_client.diff_summarize(repo_path, rev1, repo_path, rev2, True, False) print('summary len:',len(summary)) if len(summary) > 0 : print('connecting to %s...' % host) ftp = FTPClient(host, user, password) print('connected to %s' % host) ftp.base_path = remote_base_directory print('set remote base directory to %s' % remote_base_directory) #iterate through all the differences between revisions for change in summary : #determine whether the path of the change is relevant to the path that is being sent, and modify the path as appropriate. print('change path:',change.path) ftp_relative_path = apply_basedir(change.path) print('ftp rel path:',ftp_relative_path) #only try to sync path if the path is in our project_directory if ftp_relative_path != "" : is_file = (change.node_kind == pysvn.node_kind.file) if str(change.summarize_kind) == "delete" : print("deleting: " + ftp_relative_path) try: ftp.delete_path("/" + ftp_relative_path, is_file) except ftplib.error_perm as e: if 'cannot find the' in str(e) or 'not found' in str(e): # Log, but otherwise ignore path-not-found errors # when deleting, since it's not a disaster if the file # we want to delete is already gone. logging.error(captureErrorMessage(e)) else: raise elif str(change.summarize_kind) == "added" or str(change.summarize_kind) == "modified" : local_file = "" if is_file : local_file = svn_export_temp(pysvn_client, repo_path, rev2, change.path) print("uploading file: " + ftp_relative_path) ftp.upload_path("/" + ftp_relative_path, is_file, local_file) if is_file : os.remove(local_file) elif str(change.summarize_kind) == "normal" : print("skipping 'normal' element: " + ftp_relative_path) else : raise str("Unknown change summarize kind: " + str(change.summarize_kind) + ", path: " + ftp_relative_path) ftp.close() #write back the last revision that was synced print("writing last revision: " + str(youngest_revision)) set_last_revision(youngest_revision) # todo: undo def get_login(a,b,c,d): #arguments don't matter, we're always going to return the same thing try: return True, "svnUsername", "svnPassword", True except Exception as e: logging.error(e) #capture the location of the error frame = inspect.currentframe() stack_trace = traceback.format_stack(frame) logging.debug(stack_trace) #end capture sys.exit(1) #functions for persisting the last successfully synced revision def get_last_revision(): if os.path.isfile(status_file) : f=open(status_file, 'r') line = f.readline() f.close() try: i = int(line) except ValueError: i = 0 else: i = 0 f = open(status_file, 'w') f.write(str(i)) f.close() return i def set_last_revision(rev) : f = open(status_file, 'w') f.write(str(rev)) f.close() #augmented ftp client class that can work off a base directory class FTPClient(ftplib.FTP) : def __init__(self, host, username, password) : self.base_path = "" self.current_path = "" ftplib.FTP.__init__(self, host, username, password) def cwd(self, path) : debug_path = path if self.current_path == "" : self.current_path = self.pwd() print("pwd: " + self.current_path) if not os.path.isabs(path) : debug_path = self.base_path + "<" + path path = os.path.join(self.current_path, path) elif self.base_path != "" : debug_path = self.base_path + ">" + path.lstrip("/") path = os.path.join(self.base_path, path.lstrip("/")) path = os.path.normpath(path) #by this point the path should be absolute. if path != self.current_path : print("change from " + self.current_path + " to " + debug_path) ftplib.FTP.cwd(self, path) self.current_path = path else : print("staying put : " + self.current_path) def cd_or_create(self, path) : assert os.path.isabs(path), "absolute path expected (" + path + ")" try: self.cwd(path) except ftplib.error_perm as e: for folder in path.split('/'): if folder == "" : self.cwd("/") continue try: self.cwd(folder) except: print("mkd: (" + path + "):" + folder) self.mkd(folder) self.cwd(folder) def upload_path(self, path, is_file, local_path) : if is_file: (path, filename) = os.path.split(path) self.cd_or_create(path) # Use read-binary to avoid universal newline support from stripping CR characters. f = open(local_path, 'rb') self.storbinary("STOR " + filename, f) f.close() else: self.cd_or_create(path) def delete_path(self, path, is_file) : (path, filename) = os.path.split(path) print("trying to delete: " + path + ", " + filename) self.cwd(path) try: if is_file : self.delete(filename) else: self.delete_path_recursive(filename) except ftplib.error_perm as e: if 'The system cannot find the' in str(e) or '550 File not found' in str(e): # Log, but otherwise ignore path-not-found errors # when deleting, since it's not a disaster if the file # we want to delete is already gone. logging.error(captureErrorMessage(e)) else: raise def delete_path_recursive(self, path): if path == "/" : raise "WARNING: trying to delete '/'!" for node in self.nlst(path) : if node == path : #it's a file. delete and return self.delete(path) return if node != "." and node != ".." : self.delete_path_recursive(os.path.join(path, node)) try: self.rmd(path) except ftplib.error_perm as msg : sys.stderr.write("Error deleting directory " + os.path.join(self.current_path, path) + " : " + str(msg)) # apply the project_directory setting def apply_basedir(path) : #remove any leading stuff (in this case, "trunk/") and decide whether file should be propagated if not path.startswith(project_directory) : return "" return path.replace(project_directory, "", 1) def svn_export_temp(pysvn_client, base_path, rev, path) : # Causes access denied error. Couldn't deduce Windows-perm issue. # It's possible Python isn't garbage-collecting the open file-handle in time for pysvn to re-open it. # Regardless, just generating a simple filename seems to work. #(fd, dest_path) = tempfile.mkstemp() dest_path = tmpName = '%s.tmp' % __file__ exportPath = os.path.join(base_path, path).replace('\\','/') print('exporting %s to %s' % (exportPath, dest_path)) pysvn_client.export( exportPath, dest_path, force=False, revision=rev, native_eol=None, ignore_externals=False, recurse=True, peg_revision=rev ) return dest_path if __name__ == "__main__": logging.info('svnftp.start') try: main() logging.info('svnftp.done') except Exception as e: # capture the location of the error for debug purposes frame = inspect.currentframe() stack_trace = traceback.format_stack(frame) logging.debug(stack_trace[:-1]) print(stack_trace) # end capture error_text = '\nFATAL EXCEPTION!!!\n'+captureErrorMessage(e) subject = "ALERT: SVN2FTP Error" message = """An Error occurred while trying to FTP an SVN commit. repo_path = %(repo_path)s\n local_repos_path = %(local_repos_path)s\n project_directory = %(project_directory)s\n remote_base_directory = %(remote_base_directory)s\n error_text = %(error_text)s """ % globals() email(toAddrs, message, subject) logging.error(e) Notes/Disclaimers: I have basically no python training so I'm learning as I go and spending lots of time reading docs to figure stuff out. The body of get_login is in a try block because I was getting strange errors saying there was an unhandled exception in callback_get_login. Never figured out why, but it seems fine now. Let sleeping dogs lie, right? The username and password for get_login are currently hard-coded (but correct) just to eliminate variables and try to change as little as possible at once. (I added the svnuser and svnpass arguments to the existing argument parsing.) So that's where I am. I can't figure out why on earth it's not printing anything into svn2ftp.out.log. If you're wondering, the output for one of these failed attempts in svn2ftp.debug.log is: 2012-09-06 15:18:12,496 INFO svnftp.start 2012-09-06 15:18:12,496 INFO svnftp.done And it's no different on a successful run. So there's nothing useful being logged. I'm lost. I've gone way down the rabbit hole on this one, and don't know where to go from here. Any ideas?

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  • EU Digital Agenda scores 85/100

    - by trond-arne.undheim
    If the Digital Agenda was a bottle of wine and I were wine critic Robert Parker, I would say the Digital Agenda has "a great bouquet, many good elements, with astringent, dry and puckering mouth feel that will not please everyone, but still displaying some finesse. A somewhat controlled effort with no surprises and a few noticeable flaws in the delivery. Noticeably shorter aftertaste than advertised by the producers. Score: 85/100. Enjoy now". The EU Digital Agenda states that "standards are vital for interoperability" and has a whole chapter on interoperability and standards. With this strong emphasis, there is hope the EU's outdated standardization system finally is headed for reform. It has been 23 years since the legal framework of standardisation was completed by Council Decision 87/95/EEC8 in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. Standardization is market driven. For several decades the IT industry has been developing standards and specifications in global open standards development organisations (fora/consortia), many of which have transparency procedures and practices far superior to the European Standards Organizations. The Digital Agenda rightly states: "reflecting the rise and growing importance of ICT standards developed by certain global fora and consortia". Some fora/consortia, of course, are distorted, influenced by single vendors, have poor track record, and need constant vigilance, but they are the minority. Therefore, the recognition needs to be accompanied by eligibility criteria focused on openness. Will the EU reform its ICT standardization by the end of 2010? Possibly, and only if DG Enterprise takes on board that Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have driven half of the productivity growth in Europe over the past 15 years, a prominent fact in the EU's excellent Digital Competitiveness report 2010 published on Monday 17 May. It is ok to single out the ICT sector. It simply is the most important sector right now as it fuels growth in all other sectors. Let's not wait for the entire standardization package which may take another few years. Europe does not have time. The Digital Agenda is an umbrella strategy with deliveries from a host of actors across the Commission. For instance, the EU promises to issue "guidance on transparent ex-ante disclosure rules for essential intellectual property rights and licensing terms and conditions in the context of standard setting", by 2011 in the Horisontal Guidelines now out for public consultation by DG COMP and to some extent by DG ENTR's standardization policy reform. This is important. The EU will issue procurement guidance as interoperability frameworks are put into practice. This is a joint responsibility of several DGs, and is likely to suffer coordination problems, controversy and delays. We have seen plenty of the latter already and I have commented on the Commission's own interoperability elsewhere, with mixed luck. :( Yesterday, I watched the cartoonesque Korean western film The Good, the Bad and the Weird. In the movie (and I meant in the movie only), a bandit, a thief, and a bounty hunter, all excellent at whatever they do, fight for a treasure map. Whether that is a good analogy for the situation within the Commission, others are better judges of than I. However, as a movie fanatic, I still await the final shoot-out, and, as in the film, the only certainty is that "life is about chasing and being chased". The missed opportunity (in this case not following up the push from Member States to better define open standards based interoperability) is a casualty of the chaos ensued in the European Wild West (and I mean that in the most endearing sense, and my excuses beforehand to actors who possibly justifiably cannot bear being compared to fictional movie characters). Instead of exposing the ongoing fight, the EU opted for the legalistic use of the term "standards" throughout the document. This is a term that--to the EU-- excludes most standards used by the IT industry world wide. So, while it, for a moment, meant "weapon down", it will not lead to lasting peace. The Digital Agenda calls for the Member States to "Implement commitments on interoperability and standards in the Malmö and Granada Declarations by 2013". This is a far cry from the actual Ministerial Declarations which called upon the Commission to help them with this implementation by recognizing and further defining open standards based interoperability. Unless there is more forthcoming from the Commission, the market's judgement will be: you simply fall short. Generally, I think the EU focus now should be "from policy to practice" and the Digital Agenda does indeed stop short of tackling some highly practical issues. There is need for progress beyond the Digital Agenda. Here are some suggestions that would help Europe re-take global leadership on openness, public sector reform, and economic growth: A strong European software strategy centred around open standards based interoperability by 2011. An ambitious new eCommission strategy for 2011-15 focused on migration to open standards by 2015. Aligning the IT portfolio across the Commission into one Digital Agenda DG by 2012. Focusing all best practice exchange in eGovernment on one social networking site, epractice.eu (full disclosure: I had a role in getting that site up and running) Prioritizing public sector needs in global standardization over European standardization by 2014.

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  • Trace File Source Adapter

    The Trace File Source adapter is a useful addition to your SSIS toolbox.  It allows you to read 2005 and 2008 profiler traces stored as .trc files and read them into the Data Flow.  From there you can perform filtering and analysis using the power of SSIS. There is no need for a SQL Server connection this just uses the trace file. Example Usages Cache warming for SQL Server Analysis Services Reading the flight recorder Find out the longest running queries on a server Analyze statements for CPU, memory by user or some other criteria you choose Properties The Trace File Source adapter has two properties, both of which combine to control the source trace file that is read at runtime. SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 trace files are supported for both the Database Engine (SQL Server) and Analysis Services. The properties are managed by the Editor form or can be set directly from the Properties Grid in Visual Studio. Property Type Description AccessMode Enumeration This property determines how the Filename property is interpreted. The values available are: DirectInput Variable Filename String This property holds the path for trace file to load (*.trc). The value is either a full path, or the name of a variable which contains the full path to the trace file, depending on the AccessMode property. Trace Column Definition Hopefully the majority of you can skip this section entirely, but if you encounter some problems processing a trace file this may explain it and allow you to fix the problem. The component is built upon the trace management API provided by Microsoft. Unfortunately API methods that expose the schema of a trace file have known issues and are unreliable, put simply the data often differs from what was specified. To overcome these limitations the component uses  some simple XML files. These files enable the trace column data types and sizing attributes to be overridden. For example SQL Server Profiler or TMO generated structures define EventClass as an integer, but the real value is a string. TraceDataColumnsSQL.xml  - SQL Server Database Engine Trace Columns TraceDataColumnsAS.xml    - SQL Server Analysis Services Trace Columns The files can be found in the %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\PipelineComponents folder, e.g. "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\PipelineComponents\TraceDataColumnsSQL.xml" "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\PipelineComponents\TraceDataColumnsAS.xml" If at runtime the component encounters a type conversion or sizing error it is most likely due to a discrepancy between the column definition as reported by the API and the actual value encountered. Whilst most common issues have already been fixed through these files we have implemented specific exception traps to direct you to the files to enable you to fix any further issues due to different usage or data scenarios that we have not tested. An example error that you can fix through these files is shown below. Buffer exception writing value to column 'Column Name'. The string value is 999 characters in length, the column is only 111. Columns can be overridden by the TraceDataColumns XML files in "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\PipelineComponents\TraceDataColumnsAS.xml". 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 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 Trace File Source 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. Please note that the Microsoft Trace classes used in the component are not supported on 64-bit platforms. To use the Trace File Source on a 64-bit host you need to ensure you have the 32-bit (x86) tools available, and the way you execute your package is setup to use them, please see the help topic 64-bit Considerations for Integration Services for more details. Downloads Trace Sources for SQL Server 2005 -- Trace Sources for SQL Server 2008 Version History SQL Server 2008 Version 2.0.0.382 - SQL Sever 2008 public release. (9 Apr 2009) SQL Server 2005 Version 1.0.0.321 - SQL Server 2005 public release. (18 Nov 2008) -- Screenshots

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  • Day 4 - Game Sprites In Action

    - by dapostolov
    Yesterday I drew an image on the screen. Most exciting, but ... I spent more time blogging about it then actual coding. So this next little while I'm going to streamline my game and research and simply post key notes. Quick notes on the last session: The most important thing I wanted to point out were the following methods:           spriteBatch.Begin(SpriteBlendMode.AlphaBlend);           spriteBatch.Draw(sprite, position, Color.White);           spriteBatch.End(); The spriteBatch object is used to draw Textures and a 2D texture is called a Sprite A texture is generally an image, which is called an Asset in XNA The Draw Method in the Game1.cs is looped (until exit) and utilises the spriteBatch object to draw a Scene To begin drawing a Scene you call the Begin Method. To end a Scene you call the End Method. And to place an image on the Scene you call the Draw method. The most simple implementation of the draw method is:           spriteBatch.Draw(sprite, position, Color.White); 1) sprite - the 2D texture you loaded to draw 2) position - the 2d vector, a set of x & y coordinates 3) Color.White - the tint to apply to the texture, in this case, white light = nothing, nada, no tint. Game Sprites In Action! Today, I played around with Draw methods to get comfortable with their "quirks". The following is an example of the above draw method, but with more parameters available for us to use. Let's investigate!             spriteBatch.Draw(sprite, position2, null, Color.White, MathHelper.ToRadians(45.0f), new Vector2(sprite.Width / 2, sprite.Height / 2), 1.0F, SpriteEffects.None, 0.0F); The parameters (in order): 1) sprite  the texture to display 2) position2 the position on the screen / scene this can also be a rectangle 3) null the portion of the image to display within an image null = display full image this is generally used for animation strips / grids (more on this below) 4) Color.White Texture tinting White = no tint 5) MathHelper.ToRadians(45.0f) rotation of the object, in this case 45 degrees rotates from the set plotting point. 6) new Vector(0,0) the plotting point in this case the top left corner the image will rotate from the top left of the texture in the code above, the point is set to the middle of the image. 7) 1.0f Image scaling (1x) 8) SpriteEffects.None you can flip the image horizontally or vertically 9) 0.0f The z index of the image. 0 = closer, 1 behind? And playing around with different combinations I was able to come up with the following whacky display:   Checking off Yesterdays Intention List: learn game development terminology (in progress) - We learned sprite, scene, texture, and asset. how to place and position (rotate) a static image on the screen (completed) - The thing to note was, it's was in radians and I found a cool helper method to convert degrees into radians. Also, the image rotates from it's specified point. how to layer static images on the screen (completed) - I couldn't seem to get the zIndex working, but one things for sure, the order you draw the image in also determines how it is rendered on the screen. understand image scaling (in progress) - I'm not sure I have this fully covered, but for the most part plug a number in the scaling field and the image grows / shrinks accordingly. can we reuse images? (completed) - yes, I loaded one image and plotted the bugger all over the screen. understand how framerate is handled in XNA (in progress) - I hacked together some code to display the framerate each second. A framerate of 60 appears to be the standard. Interesting to note, the GameTime object does provide you with some cool timing capabilities, such as...is the game running slow? Need to investigate this down the road. how to display text , basic shapes, and colors on the screen (in progress) - i got text rendered on the screen, and i understand containing rectangles. However, I didn't display "shapes" & "colors" how to interact with an image (collision of user input?) (todo) how to animate an image and understand basic animation techniques (in progress) - I was able to create a stripe animation of numbers ranging from 1 - 4, each block was 40 x 40 pixles for a total stripe size of 160 x 40. Using the portion (source Rectangle) parameter, i limited this display to each section at varying intervals. It was interesting to note my first implementation animated at rocket speed. I then tried to create a smoother animation by limiting the redraw capacity, which seemed to work. I guess a little more research will have to be put into this for animating characters / scenes. how to detect colliding images or screen edges (todo) - but the rectangle object can detect collisions I believe. how to manipulate the image, lets say colors, stretching (in progress) - I haven't figured out how to modify a specific color to be another color, but the tinting parameter definately could be used. As for stretching, use the rectangle object as the positioning and the image will stretch to fit! how to focus on a segment of an image...like only displaying a frame on a film reel (completed) - as per basic animation techniques what's the best way to manage images (compression, storage, location, prevent artwork theft, etc.) (todo) Tomorrows Intention Tomorrow I am going to take a stab at rendering a game menu and from there I'm going to investigate how I can improve upon the code and techniques. Intention List: Render a menu, fancy or not Show the mouse cursor Hook up click event A basic animation of somesort Investigate image / menu techniques D.

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  • BIP and Mapviewer Mash Up I

    - by Tim Dexter
    I was out in Yellowstone last week soaking up various wildlife and a bit too much rain ... good to be back until the 95F heat yesterday. Taking a little break from the Excel templates; the dev folks are planing an Excel patch in the next week or so that will add a mass of new functionality. At the risk of completely mis leading you I'm going to hang back a while. What I have written so far holds true and will continue to do so. This week, I have been mostly eating 'mapviewer' ... answers on a post card please, TV show and character. I had a request to show how BIP can call mapviewer and render a dynamic map in an output. So I hit the books and colleagues for some answers. Mapviewer is Oracle's geographic information system, hereby known as GIS. I use it a lot in our BIEE demos where the interaction with the maps is very impressive. Need a map of California and its congressional districts? I have contacts; Jerry and David with their little black box of maps. Once in my possession I can build highly interactive, clickable maps that allow the user to drill into more information using a very friendly interface driving BIEE content and navigation. But what about maps in BIP output? Bryan Wise, who has written some articles on this blog did some work a while back with the PL/SQL API interface. The extract for the report called a function that in turn called the mapviewer server, passing a set of mapping requirements, it then returned a URL to a cached copy of that map. Easy to then have BIP render that image. Thats still very doable. You need to install a couple of packages and then load the mapviewer java APIs into the database. Then you can write your function to the APIs. A little involved? Maybe, but the database is doing all the heavy lifting for you. I thought I would investigate another method for getting the maps back into BIP. There is a URL interface you can call, this involves building an XML message to be passed to the mapviewer server. It's pretty straightforward to use on the mapviewer side. On the BIP side things are little more tricksy. After some unexpected messing about I finally got the ubiquitous Hello World map to render using the URL method. Not the most exciting map in the world, lots of ocean and a rather long URL to get it to render. http://127.0.0.1:9704/mapviewer/omserver?xml_request=%3Cmap_request%20title=%22Hello%20World%22%20datasource=%22cagis%22%20format=%22GIF_STREAM%22/%3E Notice all of the encoding in the URL string to handle the spaces, quotes, etc. All necessary to get BIP to make the call to the mapviewer server correctly without truncating the URL if it hits a real space rather than a %20. With that in mind constructing the URL was pretty simple. I'm not going to get into the content of the URL too much, for that you need to bone up on the mapviewer XML API. Check out the home page here and the documentation here. To make the template portable I used the standard CURRENT_SERVER_URL parameter from the BIP server and declared that in my template. <?param@begin:CURRENT_SERVER_URL;'myserver'?> Ignore the 'myserver', that was just a dummy value for testing at runtime it will resolve to: 'http://yourserver:port/xmlpserver' Not quite what we need as mapviewer has its own server path, in my case I needed 'mapviewer/omserver?xml_request=' as the fixed path to the mapviewer request URL. A little concatenation and substringing later I came up with <?param@begin:mURL;concat(substring($CURRENT_SERVER_URL,1,22),'mapviewer/omserver?xml_request=')?> Thats the basic URL that I can then build on. To get the Hello World map I need to add the following: <map_request title="Hello World" datasource="cagis" format="GIF_STREAM"/> Those angle brackets were the source of my headache, BIPs XSLT engine was attempting to process them rather than just pass them. Hok Min to the rescue ... again. I owe him lunch when I get out to HQ again! To solve the problem, I needed to escape all the characters and white space and then use native XSL to assign the string to a parameter. <xsl:param xdofo:ctx="begin"name="pXML">%3Cmap_request%20title=%22Hello%20World%22 %20datasource=%22cagis%22%20format=%22GIF_STREAM%22/%3E</xsl:param> I did not need to assign it to a parameter but I felt that if I were going to do anything more serious than Hello World like plotting points of interest on the map. I would need to dynamically build the URL, so using a set of parameters or variables that I then concatenated would be easier. Now I had the initial server string and the request all I then did was combine the two using a concat: concat($mURL,$pXML) Embedding that into an image tag: <fo:external-graphic src="url({concat($mURL,$pXML)})"/> and I was done. Notice the curly braces to get the concat evaluated prior to the image call. As you will see next time, building the XML message to go onto the URL can get quite complex but I have used it with some data. Ultimately, it would be easier to build an extension to BIP to handle the data to be plotted, it would then build the XML message, call mapviewer and return a URL to the map image for BIP to render. More on that next time ...

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  • ASPNET WebAPI REST Guidance

    - by JoshReuben
    ASP.NET Web API is an ideal platform for building RESTful applications on the .NET Framework. While I may be more partial to NodeJS these days, there is no denying that WebAPI is a well engineered framework. What follows is my investigation of how to leverage WebAPI to construct a RESTful frontend API.   The Advantages of REST Methodology over SOAP Simpler API for CRUD ops Standardize Development methodology - consistent and intuitive Standards based à client interop Wide industry adoption, Ease of use à easy to add new devs Avoid service method signature blowout Smaller payloads than SOAP Stateless à no session data means multi-tenant scalability Cache-ability Testability   General RESTful API Design Overview · utilize HTTP Protocol - Usage of HTTP methods for CRUD, standard HTTP response codes, common HTTP headers and Mime Types · Resources are mapped to URLs, actions are mapped to verbs and the rest goes in the headers. · keep the API semantic, resource-centric – A RESTful, resource-oriented service exposes a URI for every piece of data the client might want to operate on. A REST-RPC Hybrid exposes a URI for every operation the client might perform: one URI to fetch a piece of data, a different URI to delete that same data. utilize Uri to specify CRUD op, version, language, output format: http://api.MyApp.com/{ver}/{lang}/{resource_type}/{resource_id}.{output_format}?{key&filters} · entity CRUD operations are matched to HTTP methods: · Create - POST / PUT · Read – GET - cacheable · Update – PUT · Delete - DELETE · Use Uris to represent a hierarchies - Resources in RESTful URLs are often chained · Statelessness allows for idempotency – apply an op multiple times without changing the result. POST is non-idempotent, the rest are idempotent (if DELETE flags records instead of deleting them). · Cache indication - Leverage HTTP headers to label cacheable content and indicate the permitted duration of cache · PUT vs POST - The client uses PUT when it determines which URI (Id key) the new resource should have. The client uses POST when the server determines they key. PUT takes a second param – the id. POST creates a new resource. The server assigns the URI for the new object and returns this URI as part of the response message. Note: The PUT method replaces the entire entity. That is, the client is expected to send a complete representation of the updated product. If you want to support partial updates, the PATCH method is preferred DELETE deletes a resource at a specified URI – typically takes an id param · Leverage Common HTTP Response Codes in response headers 200 OK: Success 201 Created - Used on POST request when creating a new resource. 304 Not Modified: no new data to return. 400 Bad Request: Invalid Request. 401 Unauthorized: Authentication. 403 Forbidden: Authorization 404 Not Found – entity does not exist. 406 Not Acceptable – bad params. 409 Conflict - For POST / PUT requests if the resource already exists. 500 Internal Server Error 503 Service Unavailable · Leverage uncommon HTTP Verbs to reduce payload sizes HEAD - retrieves just the resource meta-information. OPTIONS returns the actions supported for the specified resource. PATCH - partial modification of a resource. · When using PUT, POST or PATCH, send the data as a document in the body of the request. Don't use query parameters to alter state. · Utilize Headers for content negotiation, caching, authorization, throttling o Content Negotiation – choose representation (e.g. JSON or XML and version), language & compression. Signal via RequestHeader.Accept & ResponseHeader.Content-Type Accept: application/json;version=1.0 Accept-Language: en-US Accept-Charset: UTF-8 Accept-Encoding: gzip o Caching - ResponseHeader: Expires (absolute expiry time) or Cache-Control (relative expiry time) o Authorization - basic HTTP authentication uses the RequestHeader.Authorization to specify a base64 encoded string "username:password". can be used in combination with SSL/TLS (HTTPS) and leverage OAuth2 3rd party token-claims authorization. Authorization: Basic sQJlaTp5ZWFslylnaNZ= o Rate Limiting - Not currently part of HTTP so specify non-standard headers prefixed with X- in the ResponseHeader. X-RateLimit-Limit: 10000 X-RateLimit-Remaining: 9990 · HATEOAS Methodology - Hypermedia As The Engine Of Application State – leverage API as a state machine where resources are states and the transitions between states are links between resources and are included in their representation (hypermedia) – get API metadata signatures from the response Link header - in a truly REST based architecture any URL, except the initial URL, can be changed, even to other servers, without worrying about the client. · error responses - Do not just send back a 200 OK with every response. Response should consist of HTTP error status code (JQuery has automated support for this), A human readable message , A Link to a meaningful state transition , & the original data payload that was problematic. · the URIs will typically map to a server-side controller and a method name specified by the type of request method. Stuff all your calls into just four methods is not as crazy as it sounds. · Scoping - Path variables look like you’re traversing a hierarchy, and query variables look like you’re passing arguments into an algorithm · Mapping URIs to Controllers - have one controller for each resource is not a rule – can consolidate - route requests to the appropriate controller and action method · Keep URls Consistent - Sometimes it’s tempting to just shorten our URIs. not recommend this as this can cause confusion · Join Naming – for m-m entity relations there may be multiple hierarchy traversal paths · Routing – useful level of indirection for versioning, server backend mocking in development ASPNET WebAPI Considerations ASPNET WebAPI implements a lot (but not all) RESTful API design considerations as part of its infrastructure and via its coding convention. Overview When developing an API there are basically three main steps: 1. Plan out your URIs 2. Setup return values and response codes for your URIs 3. Implement a framework for your API.   Design · Leverage Models MVC folder · Repositories – support IoC for tests, abstraction · Create DTO classes – a level of indirection decouples & allows swap out · Self links can be generated using the UrlHelper · Use IQueryable to support projections across the wire · Models can support restful navigation properties – ICollection<T> · async mechanism for long running ops - return a response with a ticket – the client can then poll or be pushed the final result later. · Design for testability - Test using HttpClient , JQuery ( $.getJSON , $.each) , fiddler, browser debug. Leverage IDependencyResolver – IoC wrapper for mocking · Easy debugging - IE F12 developer tools: Network tab, Request Headers tab     Routing · HTTP request method is matched to the method name. (This rule applies only to GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE requests.) · {id}, if present, is matched to a method parameter named id. · Query parameters are matched to parameter names when possible · Done in config via Routes.MapHttpRoute – similar to MVC routing · Can alternatively: o decorate controller action methods with HttpDelete, HttpGet, HttpHead,HttpOptions, HttpPatch, HttpPost, or HttpPut., + the ActionAttribute o use AcceptVerbsAttribute to support other HTTP verbs: e.g. PATCH, HEAD o use NonActionAttribute to prevent a method from getting invoked as an action · route table Uris can support placeholders (via curly braces{}) – these can support default values and constraints, and optional values · The framework selects the first route in the route table that matches the URI. Response customization · Response code: By default, the Web API framework sets the response status code to 200 (OK). But according to the HTTP/1.1 protocol, when a POST request results in the creation of a resource, the server should reply with status 201 (Created). Non Get methods should return HttpResponseMessage · Location: When the server creates a resource, it should include the URI of the new resource in the Location header of the response. public HttpResponseMessage PostProduct(Product item) {     item = repository.Add(item);     var response = Request.CreateResponse<Product>(HttpStatusCode.Created, item);     string uri = Url.Link("DefaultApi", new { id = item.Id });     response.Headers.Location = new Uri(uri);     return response; } Validation · Decorate Models / DTOs with System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations properties RequiredAttribute, RangeAttribute. · Check payloads using ModelState.IsValid · Under posting – leave out values in JSON payload à JSON formatter assigns a default value. Use with RequiredAttribute · Over-posting - if model has RO properties à use DTO instead of model · Can hook into pipeline by deriving from ActionFilterAttribute & overriding OnActionExecuting Config · Done in App_Start folder > WebApiConfig.cs – static Register method: HttpConfiguration param: The HttpConfiguration object contains the following members. Member Description DependencyResolver Enables dependency injection for controllers. Filters Action filters – e.g. exception filters. Formatters Media-type formatters. by default contains JsonFormatter, XmlFormatter IncludeErrorDetailPolicy Specifies whether the server should include error details, such as exception messages and stack traces, in HTTP response messages. Initializer A function that performs final initialization of the HttpConfiguration. MessageHandlers HTTP message handlers - plug into pipeline ParameterBindingRules A collection of rules for binding parameters on controller actions. Properties A generic property bag. Routes The collection of routes. Services The collection of services. · Configure JsonFormatter for circular references to support links: PreserveReferencesHandling.Objects Documentation generation · create a help page for a web API, by using the ApiExplorer class. · The ApiExplorer class provides descriptive information about the APIs exposed by a web API as an ApiDescription collection · create the help page as an MVC view public ILookup<string, ApiDescription> GetApis()         {             return _explorer.ApiDescriptions.ToLookup(                 api => api.ActionDescriptor.ControllerDescriptor.ControllerName); · provide documentation for your APIs by implementing the IDocumentationProvider interface. Documentation strings can come from any source that you like – e.g. extract XML comments or define custom attributes to apply to the controller [ApiDoc("Gets a product by ID.")] [ApiParameterDoc("id", "The ID of the product.")] public HttpResponseMessage Get(int id) · GlobalConfiguration.Configuration.Services – add the documentation Provider · To hide an API from the ApiExplorer, add the ApiExplorerSettingsAttribute Plugging into the Message Handler pipeline · Plug into request / response pipeline – derive from DelegatingHandler and override theSendAsync method – e.g. for logging error codes, adding a custom response header · Can be applied globally or to a specific route Exception Handling · Throw HttpResponseException on method failures – specify HttpStatusCode enum value – examine this enum, as its values map well to typical op problems · Exception filters – derive from ExceptionFilterAttribute & override OnException. Apply on Controller or action methods, or add to global HttpConfiguration.Filters collection · HttpError object provides a consistent way to return error information in the HttpResponseException response body. · For model validation, you can pass the model state to CreateErrorResponse, to include the validation errors in the response public HttpResponseMessage PostProduct(Product item) {     if (!ModelState.IsValid)     {         return Request.CreateErrorResponse(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest, ModelState); Cookie Management · Cookie header in request and Set-Cookie headers in a response - Collection of CookieState objects · Specify Expiry, max-age resp.Headers.AddCookies(new CookieHeaderValue[] { cookie }); Internet Media Types, formatters and serialization · Defaults to application/json · Request Accept header and response Content-Type header · determines how Web API serializes and deserializes the HTTP message body. There is built-in support for XML, JSON, and form-urlencoded data · customizable formatters can be inserted into the pipeline · POCO serialization is opt out via JsonIgnoreAttribute, or use DataMemberAttribute for optin · JSON serializer leverages NewtonSoft Json.NET · loosely structured JSON objects are serialzed as JObject which derives from Dynamic · to handle circular references in json: json.SerializerSettings.PreserveReferencesHandling =    PreserveReferencesHandling.All à {"$ref":"1"}. · To preserve object references in XML [DataContract(IsReference=true)] · Content negotiation Accept: Which media types are acceptable for the response, such as “application/json,” “application/xml,” or a custom media type such as "application/vnd.example+xml" Accept-Charset: Which character sets are acceptable, such as UTF-8 or ISO 8859-1. Accept-Encoding: Which content encodings are acceptable, such as gzip. Accept-Language: The preferred natural language, such as “en-us”. o Web API uses the Accept and Accept-Charset headers. (At this time, there is no built-in support for Accept-Encoding or Accept-Language.) · Controller methods can take JSON representations of DTOs as params – auto-deserialization · Typical JQuery GET request: function find() {     var id = $('#prodId').val();     $.getJSON("api/products/" + id,         function (data) {             var str = data.Name + ': $' + data.Price;             $('#product').text(str);         })     .fail(         function (jqXHR, textStatus, err) {             $('#product').text('Error: ' + err);         }); }            · Typical GET response: HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: ASP.NET Development Server/10.0.0.0 Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2012 04:30:33 GMT X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319 Cache-Control: no-cache Pragma: no-cache Expires: -1 Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8 Content-Length: 175 Connection: Close [{"Id":1,"Name":"TomatoSoup","Price":1.39,"ActualCost":0.99},{"Id":2,"Name":"Hammer", "Price":16.99,"ActualCost":10.00},{"Id":3,"Name":"Yo yo","Price":6.99,"ActualCost": 2.05}] True OData support · Leverage Query Options $filter, $orderby, $top and $skip to shape the results of controller actions annotated with the [Queryable]attribute. [Queryable]  public IQueryable<Supplier> GetSuppliers()  · Query: ~/Suppliers?$filter=Name eq ‘Microsoft’ · Applies the following selection filter on the server: GetSuppliers().Where(s => s.Name == “Microsoft”)  · Will pass the result to the formatter. · true support for the OData format is still limited - no support for creates, updates, deletes, $metadata and code generation etc · vnext: ability to configure how EditLinks, SelfLinks and Ids are generated Self Hosting no dependency on ASPNET or IIS: using (var server = new HttpSelfHostServer(config)) {     server.OpenAsync().Wait(); Tracing · tracability tools, metrics – e.g. send to nagios · use your choice of tracing/logging library, whether that is ETW,NLog, log4net, or simply System.Diagnostics.Trace. · To collect traces, implement the ITraceWriter interface public class SimpleTracer : ITraceWriter {     public void Trace(HttpRequestMessage request, string category, TraceLevel level,         Action<TraceRecord> traceAction)     {         TraceRecord rec = new TraceRecord(request, category, level);         traceAction(rec);         WriteTrace(rec); · register the service with config · programmatically trace – has helper extension methods: Configuration.Services.GetTraceWriter().Info( · Performance tracing - pipeline writes traces at the beginning and end of an operation - TraceRecord class includes aTimeStamp property, Kind property set to TraceKind.Begin / End Security · Roles class methods: RoleExists, AddUserToRole · WebSecurity class methods: UserExists, .CreateUserAndAccount · Request.IsAuthenticated · Leverage HTTP 401 (Unauthorized) response · [AuthorizeAttribute(Roles="Administrator")] – can be applied to Controller or its action methods · See section in WebApi document on "Claim-based-security for ASP.NET Web APIs using DotNetOpenAuth" – adapt this to STS.--> Web API Host exposes secured Web APIs which can only be accessed by presenting a valid token issued by the trusted issuer. http://zamd.net/2012/05/04/claim-based-security-for-asp-net-web-apis-using-dotnetopenauth/ · Use MVC membership provider infrastructure and add a DelegatingHandler child class to the WebAPI pipeline - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11535075/asp-net-mvc-4-web-api-authentication-with-membership-provider - this will perform the login actions · Then use AuthorizeAttribute on controllers and methods for role mapping- http://sixgun.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/asp-net-web-api-basic-authentication/ · Alternate option here is to rely on MVC App : http://forums.asp.net/t/1831767.aspx/1

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  • Oracle WebCenter at the Enterprise 2.0 Conference

    - by Brian Dirking
    We had a great week at the E20 Conference, presenting in four sessions – Andy MacMillan gave a session titled Today’s Successful Enterprises are Social Enterprises and was on a panel that Tony Byrne moderated; Christian Finn spoke on a panel on Unified Communications Unified Communications + Social Computing = Best of Both Worlds?, Mark Bennett spoke on a panel on The Evolution of Talent Management. The key areas of focus this year were sentiment analysis, adoption and community building, the benefits of failure, and social’s role in process applications. Sentiment analysis. This was focused not on external audiences but more on employee sentiment. Tim Young showed his internal "NikoNiko" project, where employees use smilies to report their current mood. The result was a dashboard that showed the company mood by department. Since the goal is to improve productivity, people can see which departments are running into issues and try and address them. A company might otherwise wait until the end of the quarter financials to find out that there was a problem and product didn’t ship. This is a way to identify issues immediately. Tim is great – he had the crowd laughing as soon as he hit the stage, with his proposed hastag for his session: by making it 138 characters long, people couldn’t say much behind his back. And as I tweeted during his session, I loved his comment that complexity diffuses energy - it sounds like something Sun Tzu would say. Another example of employee sentiment analysis was CubeVibe. Founder and CEO Aaron Aycock, in his 3 minute pitch or die session talked about how engaged employees perform better. It was too bad he got gonged, he was just picking up speed, but CubeVibe did win the vote – congratulations to them. Internal adoption, community building, and involvement. On this topic I spoke to Terri Griffith, and she said there is some good work going on at University of Indiana regarding this, and hinted that she might be blogging about it in the near future. This area holds lots of interest for me. Amongst our customers, - CPAC stands out as an organization that has successfully built a community. So, I wonder - what are the building blocks? A strong leader? A common or unifying purpose? A certain level of engagement? I imagine someone has created an equation that says “for a community to grow at 30% per month, there must be an engagement level x to the square root of y, where x equals current community size, and y equals the expected growth rate, and the result is how many engagements the average user must contribute to maintain that growth.” Does anyone have a framework like that? The net result of everyone’s experience is that there is nothing to do but start early and fail often. Kevin Jones made this the focus of his keynote. He talked about the types of failure and what they mean. And he showed his famous kids at work video: Kevin’s blog also has this post: Social Business Failure #8: Workflow Integration. This is something that we’ve been working on at Oracle. Since so much of business is based in enterprise applications such as ERP and CRM (and since Oracle offers e-Business Suite, Siebel, PeopleSoft, and JD Edwards, as well as Fusion Applications), it makes sense that the social capabilities of Oracle WebCenter is built right into these applications. There are two types of social collaboration – ad-hoc, and exception handling. When you are in a business process and encounter an exception, you immediately look for 1) the document that tells you how to handle it, or 2) the person who can tell you how to handle it. With WebCenter built into these processes, people either search their content management system, or engage in expertise location and conversation. The great thing is, THEY DON’T HAVE TO LEAVE THE APPLICATION TO DO IT. Oracle has built the social capabilities right into the applications and business processes. I don’t think enough folks were able to see that at the event, but I expect that over the next six months folks will become very aware of it. WebCenter also provides the ability to have ad-hoc collaboration, search, and expertise location that folks need when they are innovating or collaborating. We demonstrated Oracle Social Network. It’s built on our Oracle WebCenter product to provide social collaboration inside and outside of your company. When we showed it to people, there were a number of areas that they commented on that were different from the other products being shown at the conference: Screenshots from within the product Many authors working on documents simultaneously Flagging people for follow up Direct ability to call out to people Ability to see presence not just if someone is online, but which conversation they are actively in Great stuff, the conference was full of smart people that that we enjoy spending time with. We’ll keep up in the meantime, but we look forward to seeing you in Boston.

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  • JavaOne 2011: Content review process and Tips for submissions

    - by arungupta
    The Technical Sessions, Birds of Feather, Panels, and Hands-on labs (basically all the content delivered at JavaOne) forms the backbone of the conference. At this year's JavaOne conference you'll have access to the rock star speakers, the ability to engage with luminaries in the hallways, and have beer (or 2) with community peers in designated areas. Even though the conference is Oct 2-6, 2011, and will be bigger and better than last year's conference, the Call for Paper submission and review/selection evaluation started much earlier.In previous years, I've participated in the review process and this year I was honored to serve as co-lead for the "Enterprise Service Architecture and Cloud" track with Ludovic Champenois. We had a stellar review team with an equal mix of Oracle and external community reviewers. The review process is very overwhelming with the reviewers going through multiple voting iterations on each submission in order to ensure that the selected content is the BEST of the submitted lot. Our ultimate goal was to ensure that the content best represented the track, and most importantly would draw interest and excitement from attendees. As always, the number and quality of submissions were just superb, making for a truly challenging (and rewarding) experience for the reviewers. As co-lead I tried to ensure that I applied a fair and balanced process in the evaluation of content in my track. . Here are some key steps followed by all track leads: Vote on sessions - Each reviewer is required to vote on the sessions on a scale of 1-5 - and also provide a justifying comment. Create buckets - Divide the submissions into different buckets to ensure a fair representation of different topics within a track. This ensures that if a particular bucket got higher votes then the track is not exclusively skewed towards it. Top 7 - The review committee provides a list of the top 7 talks that can be used in the promotional material by the JavaOne team. Generally these talks are easy to identify and a consensus is reached upon them fairly quickly. First cut - Each track is allocated a total number of sessions (including panels), BoFs, and Hands-on labs that can be approved. The track leads then start creating the first cut of the approvals using the casted votes coupled with their prior experience in the subject matter. In our case, Ludo and I have been attending/speaking at JavaOne (and other popular Java-focused conferences) for double digit years. The Grind - The first cut is then refined and refined and refined using multiple selection criteria such as sorting on the bucket, speaker quality, topic popularity, cumulative vote total, and individual vote scale. The sessions that don't make the cut are reviewed again as well to ensure if they need to replace one of the selected one as a potential alternate. I would like to thank the entire Java community for all the submissions and many thanks to the reviewers who spent countless hours reading each abstract, voting on them, and helping us refine the list. I think approximately 3-4 hours cumulative were spent on each submission to reach an evaluation, specifically the border line cases. We gave our recommendations to the JavaOne Program Committee Chairperson (Sharat Chander) and accept/decline notifications should show up in submitter inboxes in the next few weeks. Here are some points to keep in mind when submitting a session to JavaOne next time: JavaOne is a technology-focused conference so any product, marketing or seemingly marketish talk are put at the bottom of the list.Oracle Open World and Oracle Develop are better options for submitting product specific talks. Make your title catchy. Remember the attendees are more likely to read the abstract if they like the title. We try our best to recategorize the talk to a different track if it needs to but please ensure that you are filing in the right track to have all the right eyeballs looking at it. Also, it does not hurt marking an alternate track if your talk meets the criteria. Make sure to coordinate within your team before the submission - multiple sessions from the same team or company does not ensure that the best speaker is picked. In such case we rely upon your "google presence" and/or review committee's prior knowledge of the speaker. The reviewers may not know you or your product at all and you get 750 characters to pitch your idea. Make sure to use all of them, to the last 750th character. Make sure to read your abstract multiple times to ensure that you are giving all the relevant information ? Think through your presentation and see if you are leaving out any important aspects.Also look if the abstract has any redundant information that will not required by the reviewers. There are additional sections that allow you to share information about the speaker and the presentation summary. Use them to blow the horn about yourself and any other relevant details. Please don't say "call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx to find out the details" :-) The review committee enjoyed reviewing the submissions and we certainly hope you'll have a great time attending them. Happy JavaOne!

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  • JavaOne 2011: Content review process and Tips for submissions

    - by arungupta
    The Technical Sessions, Birds of Feather, Panels, and Hands-on labs (basically all the content delivered at JavaOne) forms the backbone of the conference. At this year's JavaOne conference you'll have access to the rock star speakers, the ability to engage with luminaries in the hallways, and have beer (or 2) with community peers in designated areas. Even though the conference is Oct 2-6, 2011, and will be bigger and better than last year's conference, the Call for Paper submission and review/selection evaluation started much earlier.In previous years, I've participated in the review process and this year I was honored to serve as co-lead for the "Enterprise Service Architecture and Cloud" track with Ludovic Champenois. We had a stellar review team with an equal mix of Oracle and external community reviewers. The review process is very overwhelming with the reviewers going through multiple voting iterations on each submission in order to ensure that the selected content is the BEST of the submitted lot. Our ultimate goal was to ensure that the content best represented the track, and most importantly would draw interest and excitement from attendees. As always, the number and quality of submissions were just superb, making for a truly challenging (and rewarding) experience for the reviewers. As co-lead I tried to ensure that I applied a fair and balanced process in the evaluation of content in my track. . Here are some key steps followed by all track leads: Vote on sessions - Each reviewer is required to vote on the sessions on a scale of 1-5 - and also provide a justifying comment. Create buckets - Divide the submissions into different buckets to ensure a fair representation of different topics within a track. This ensures that if a particular bucket got higher votes then the track is not exclusively skewed towards it. Top 7 - The review committee provides a list of the top 7 talks that can be used in the promotional material by the JavaOne team. Generally these talks are easy to identify and a consensus is reached upon them fairly quickly. First cut - Each track is allocated a total number of sessions (including panels), BoFs, and Hands-on labs that can be approved. The track leads then start creating the first cut of the approvals using the casted votes coupled with their prior experience in the subject matter. In our case, Ludo and I have been attending/speaking at JavaOne (and other popular Java-focused conferences) for double digit years. The Grind - The first cut is then refined and refined and refined using multiple selection criteria such as sorting on the bucket, speaker quality, topic popularity, cumulative vote total, and individual vote scale. The sessions that don't make the cut are reviewed again as well to ensure if they need to replace one of the selected one as a potential alternate. I would like to thank the entire Java community for all the submissions and many thanks to the reviewers who spent countless hours reading each abstract, voting on them, and helping us refine the list. I think approximately 3-4 hours cumulative were spent on each submission to reach an evaluation, specifically the border line cases. We gave our recommendations to the JavaOne Program Committee Chairperson (Sharat Chander) and accept/decline notifications should show up in submitter inboxes in the next few weeks. Here are some points to keep in mind when submitting a session to JavaOne next time: JavaOne is a technology-focused conference so any product, marketing or seemingly marketish talk are put at the bottom of the list.Oracle Open World and Oracle Develop are better options for submitting product specific talks. Make your title catchy. Remember the attendees are more likely to read the abstract if they like the title. We try our best to recategorize the talk to a different track if it needs to but please ensure that you are filing in the right track to have all the right eyeballs looking at it. Also, it does not hurt marking an alternate track if your talk meets the criteria. Make sure to coordinate within your team before the submission - multiple sessions from the same team or company does not ensure that the best speaker is picked. In such case we rely upon your "google presence" and/or review committee's prior knowledge of the speaker. The reviewers may not know you or your product at all and you get 750 characters to pitch your idea. Make sure to use all of them, to the last 750th character. Make sure to read your abstract multiple times to ensure that you are giving all the relevant information ? Think through your presentation and see if you are leaving out any important aspects.Also look if the abstract has any redundant information that will not required by the reviewers. There are additional sections that allow you to share information about the speaker and the presentation summary. Use them to blow the horn about yourself and any other relevant details. Please don't say "call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx to find out the details" :-) The review committee enjoyed reviewing the submissions and we certainly hope you'll have a great time attending them. Happy JavaOne!

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  • Wildcards!

    - by Tim Dexter
    Yes, its been a while, Im sorry, mumble, mumble ... no excuses. Well other than its been, as my son would say 'hecka busy.' On a brighter note I see Kan has been posting some cool stuff in my absence, long may he continue! I received a question today asking about using a wildcard in a template, something like: <?if:INVOICE = 'MLP*'?> where * is the wildcard Well that particular try does not work but you can do it without building your own wildcard function. XSL, the underpinning language of the RTF templates, has some useful string functions - you can find them listed here. I used the starts-with function to achieve a simple wildcard scenario but the contains can be used in conjunction with some of the others to build something more sophisticated. Assume I have a a list of friends and the amounts of money they owe me ... Im very generous and my interest rates a pretty competitive :0) <ROWSET> <ROW> <NAME>Andy</NAME> <AMT>100</AMT> </ROW> <ROW> <NAME>Andrew</NAME> <AMT>60</AMT> </ROW> <ROW> <NAME>Aaron</NAME> <AMT>50</AMT> </ROW> <ROW> <NAME>Alice</NAME> <AMT>40</AMT> </ROW> <ROW> <NAME>Bob</NAME> <AMT>10</AMT> </ROW> <ROW> <NAME>Bill</NAME> <AMT>100</AMT> </ROW> Now, listing my friends is easy enough <for-each:ROW> <NAME> <AMT> <end for-each> but lets say I just want to see all my friends beginning with 'A'. To do that I can use an XPATH expression to filter the data and tack it on to the for-each expression. This is more efficient that using an 'if' statement just inside the for-each. <?for-each:ROW[starts-with(NAME,'A')]?> will find me all the A's. The square braces denote the start of the XPATH expression. starts-with is the function Im calling and Im passing the value I want to check i.e. NAME and the string Im looking for. Just substitute in the characters you are looking for. You can of course use the function in a if statement too. <?if:starts-with(NAME,'A')?><?attribute@incontext:color;'red'?><?end if?> Notice I removed the square braces, this will highlight text red if the name begins with an 'A' You can even use the function to do conditional calculations: <?sum (AMT[starts-with(../NAME,'A')])?> Sum only the amounts where the name begins with an 'A' Notice the square braces are back, its a function we want to apply to the AMT field. Also notice that we need to use ../NAME. The AMT and NAME elements are at the same level in the tree, so when we are at the AMT level we need the ../ to go up a level to then come back down to test the NAME value. I have built out the above functions in a sample template here. Huge prizes for the first person to come up with a 'true' wildcard solution i.e. if NAME like '*im*exter* demand cash now!

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  • VB Myth - Case Insensitivity is Awesome!

    - by Damon
    I was reading Andy Brown's article 10 Reasons Why Visual Basic is Better than C# and the first claim is that VB is superior because of case insensitivity.  I think the reasons he outlines are basically as follows: Your fingers get tired finding the shift key (e.g. typing PascalCase and camelCase members) You are much more likely to make mistakes while typing names When you accidentally leave caps lock on, it really matters These three arguments culminate in the conclusion: "It doesn't matter if you disagree with everything else in this article: case-sensitivity alone is sufficient reason to ditch C#!" Righto.  I've been using Visual Basic since version 5.0, I wrote a book about ASP.NET in Visual Basic, so I want everyone to know I'm definitely not a VB.NET hater.  I had to converted to C# because it was the language of preference at the places I've worked, so I'm used to both languages.  I love me some case sensitivity.  So first, let's debunk the claims. First, your fingers do not get tired of finding the shift key unless you are writing code in notepad and compiling everything on the command line.  Visual Studio pretty much takes away the need to use the shift key at all. For the most part, any programmer worth a damn doesn't have to type more than about 3-5 characters of any variable or method name before IntelliSense kicks in to help.  VB or C#, if you are not using the tab key for autocomplete then you are typing too much anyway, regardless of whether the shift key is involved or not.  Also, you've got to be a pretty hard-core candy ass if you're complaining at the end of the day that your little fingers are hurting from hitting the shift key. Second, I cannot logically refute the fact that if there are more stringent rules about case sensitivity it will lead to more mistakes.  As such, know that you will be more prone to mistakes in C#.  However, lets talk about the magnitude of the problem.  If you are using IntelliSense then you have auto-correction built in so you probably won't have much of a problem in the first place.  If you manage to bypass IntelliSense and type something wrong you normally are immediately presented with a red-squiggly to let you know something is amiss.  Normally, a person would look at the problem, figure out what the heck went wrong, and then avoid that problem again in the future.  Granted, I have met people who seem to lack this capability, but their problem is deeper than a decision between VB.NET and C#.  So let's make sure that we're all on the same page about this problem.  If you have two teams of developers, one that uses VB.NET and one that uses C#, do not expect to see the VB.NET team drinking beer at the end of the project in festive revelry while the C# team is crying over what the hell to do because their code is riddled with case-sensitivity problems that nobody can resolve. Lastly, if you leave your caps lock key on, turn it off.  Really, what kind of ass-hat would write an entire VB.NET application ENTIRELY IN CAPS?  I happen to be a fan of case sensitivity because it encourages precision and uniformity.  The last thing I need is a code base that looks like it was ransacked by LeEt HacKors wHo Can uSe wHateVer cASe tHey wanT.  I mean really, if you saw someone write this: PuBLIc Sub MyMethod . End Sub And upon asking them why BL was upper case, they responded "Oh, I accidentally hit the shift key there.  Fortunately for me VB.NET is a case insensitive language so I saved a couple of keystrokes by leaving it in there."  Or if you saw: PUBLIC SUB ANOTHERMETHOD . END SUB And the response to why it was uppercased was "Yeah, I accidentally had caps locks on, fortunately for me VB.NET doesn't care.  Really dodged a bullet there, glad I wasn't using C#."  Would you not think that a bit ridiculous?  If you want to convince C# developers that C# sucks, go for it.  But the case insensitivity argument is crap.

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  • Collision Detection on floor tiles Isometric game

    - by Anivrom
    I am having a very hard to time figuring out a bug in my code. It should have taken me 20 minutes but instead I've been working on it for over 12 hours. I am writing a isometric tile based game where the characters can walk freely amongst the tiles, but not be able to cross over to certain tiles that have a collides flag. Sounds easy enough, just check ahead of where the player is going to move using a Screen Coordinates to Tile method and check the tiles array using our returned xy indexes to see if its collidable or not. if its not, then don't move the character. The problem I'm having is my Screen to Tile method isn't spitting out the proper X,Y tile indexes. This method works flawlessly for selecting tiles with the mouse. NOTE: My X tiles go from left to right, and my Y tiles go from up to down. Reversed from some examples on the net. Here's the relevant code: public Vector2 ScreentoTile(Vector2 screenPoint) { //Vector2 is just a object with x and y float properties //camOffsetX,Y are my camera values that I use to shift everything but the //current camera target when the target moves //tilescale = 128, screenheight = 480, the -46 offset is to center // vertically + 16 px for some extra gfx in my tile png Vector2 tileIndex = new Vector2(-1,-1); screenPoint.x -= camOffsetX; screenPoint.y = screenHeight - screenPoint.y - camOffsetY - 46; tileIndex.x = (screenPoint.x / tileScale) + (screenPoint.y / (tileScale / 2)); tileIndex.y = (screenPoint.x / tileScale) - (screenPoint.y / (tileScale / 2)); return tileIndex; } The method that calls this code is: private void checkTileTouched () { if (Gdx.input.justTouched()) { if (last.x >= 0 && last.x < levelWidth && last.y >= 0 && last.y < levelHeight) { if (lastSelectedTile != null) lastSelectedTile.setColor(1, 1, 1, 1); Sprite sprite = levelTiles[(int) last.x][(int) last.y].sprite; sprite.setColor(0, 0.3f, 0, 1); lastSelectedTile = sprite; } } if (touchDown) { float moveX=0,moveY=0; Vector2 pos = new Vector2(); if (player.direction == direction_left) { moveX = -(player.moveSpeed); moveY = -(player.moveSpeed / 2); Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("left")); } else if (player.direction == direction_upleft) { moveX = -(player.moveSpeed); moveY = 0; Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("upleft")); } else if (player.direction == direction_up) { moveX = -(player.moveSpeed); moveY = player.moveSpeed / 2; Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("up")); } else if (player.direction == direction_upright) { moveX = 0; moveY = player.moveSpeed; Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("upright")); } else if (player.direction == direction_right) { moveX = player.moveSpeed; moveY = player.moveSpeed / 2; Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("right")); } else if (player.direction == direction_downright) { moveX = player.moveSpeed; moveY = 0; Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("downright")); } else if (player.direction == direction_down) { moveX = player.moveSpeed; moveY = -(player.moveSpeed / 2); Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("down")); } else if (player.direction == direction_downleft) { moveX = 0; moveY = -(player.moveSpeed); Gdx.app.log("Movement", String.valueOf("downleft")); } //Player.moveSpeed is 1 //tileObjects.x is drawn in the center of the screen (400px,240px) // the sprite width is 64, height is 128 testX = moveX * 10; testY = moveY * 10; testX += tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).x + tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).sprite.getWidth() / 2; testY += tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).y + tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).sprite.getHeight() / 2; moveX += tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).x + tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).sprite.getWidth() / 2; moveY += tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).y + tileObjects.get(player.zIndex).sprite.getHeight() / 2; pos = ScreentoTile(new Vector2(moveX,moveY)); Vector2 pos2 = ScreentoTile(new Vector2(testX,testY)); if (!levelTiles[(int) pos2.x][(int) pos2.y].collides) { Vector2 newPlayerPos = ScreentoTile(new Vector2(moveX,moveY)); CenterOnCoord(moveX,moveY); player.tileX = (int)newPlayerPos.x; player.tileY = (int)newPlayerPos.y; } } } When the player is moving to the left (downleft-ish from the viewers point of view), my Pos2 X values decrease as expected but pos2 isnt checking ahead on the x tiles, it is checking ahead on the Y tiles(as if we were moving DOWN, not left), and vice versa, if the player moves down, it will check ahead on the X values (as if we are moving LEFT, instead of DOWN). instead of the Y values. I understand this is probably the most confusing and horribly written post ever, but I'm confused myself so I'm having a hard time explaining it to others lol. if you need more information please ask!! I'm so frustrated after over 12 hours of working on it I'm about to give up.

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  • Xml failing to deserialise

    - by Carnotaurus
    I call a method to get my pages [see GetPages(String xmlFullFilePath)]. The FromXElement method is supposed to deserialise the LitePropertyData elements to strongly type LitePropertyData objects. Instead it fails on the following line: return (T)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(memoryStream); and gives the following error: <LitePropertyData xmlns=''> was not expected. What am I doing wrong? I have included the methods that I call and the xml data: public static T FromXElement<T>(this XElement xElement) { using (var memoryStream = new MemoryStream(Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(xElement.ToString()))) { var xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T)); return (T)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(memoryStream); } } public static List<LitePageData> GetPages(String xmlFullFilePath) { XDocument document = XDocument.Load(xmlFullFilePath); List<LitePageData> results = (from record in document.Descendants("row") select new LitePageData { Guid = IsValid(record, "Guid") ? record.Element("Guid").Value : null, ParentID = IsValid(record, "ParentID") ? Convert.ToInt32(record.Element("ParentID").Value) : (Int32?)null, Created = Convert.ToDateTime(record.Element("Created").Value), Changed = Convert.ToDateTime(record.Element("Changed").Value), Name = record.Element("Name").Value, ID = Convert.ToInt32(record.Element("ID").Value), LitePageTypeID = IsValid(record, "ParentID") ? Convert.ToInt32(record.Element("ParentID").Value) : (Int32?)null, Html = record.Element("Html").Value, FriendlyName = record.Element("FriendlyName").Value, Properties = record.Element("Properties") != null ? record.Element("Properties").Element("LitePropertyData").FromXElement<List<LitePropertyData>>() : new List<LitePropertyData>() }).ToList(); return results; } Here is the xml: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <root> <rows> <row> <ID>1</ID> <ImageUrl></ImageUrl> <Html>Home page</Html> <Created>01-01-2012</Created> <Changed>01-01-2012</Changed> <Name>Home page</Name> <FriendlyName>home-page</FriendlyName> </row> <row xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"> <Guid>edeaf468-f490-4271-bf4d-be145bc6a1fd</Guid> <ID>8</ID> <Name>Unused</Name> <ParentID>1</ParentID> <Created>2006-03-25T10:57:17</Created> <Changed>2012-07-17T12:24:30.0984747+01:00</Changed> <ChangedBy /> <LitePageTypeID xsi:nil="true" /> <Html> What is the purpose of this option? This option checks the current document for accessibility issues. It uses Bobby to provide details of whether the current web page conforms to W3C's WCAG criteria for web content accessibility. Issues with Bobby and Cynthia Bobby and Cynthia are free services that supposedly allow a user to expose web page accessibility barriers. It is something of a guide but perhaps a blunt instrument. I tested a few of the webpages that I have designed. Sure enough, my pages fall short and for good reason. I am not about to claim that Bobby and Cynthia are useless. Although it is useful and commendable tool, it project appears to be overly ambitious. Nevertheless, let me explain my issues with Bobby and Cynthia: First, certain W3C standards for designing web documents are often too strict and unworkable. For instance, in some versions W3C standards for HTML, certain tags should not include a particular attribute, whereas in others they are requisite if the document is to be ???well-formed???. The standard that a designer chooses is determined usually by the requirements specification document. This specifies which browsers and versions of those browsers that the web page is expected to correctly display. Forcing a hypertext document to conform strictly to a specific W3C standard for HTML is often no simple task. In the worst case, it cannot conform without losing some aesthetics or accessibility functionality. Second, the case of HTML documents is not an isolated case. Standards for XML, XSL, JavaScript, VBScript, are analogous. Therefore, you might imagine the problems when you begin to combine these languages and formats in an HTML document. Third, there is always more than one way to skin a cat. For example, Bobby and Cynthia may flag those IMG tags that do not contain a TITLE attribute. There might be good reason that a web developer chooses not to include the title attribute. The title attribute has a limited numbers of characters and does not support carriage returns. This is a major defect in the design of this tag. In fact, before the TITLE attribute was supported, there was the ALT attribute. Most browsers support both, yet they both perform a similar function. However, both attributes share the same deficiencies. In practice, there are instances where neither attribute would be used. Instead, for example, the developer would write some JavaScript or VBScript to circumvent these deficiencies. The concern is that Bobby and Cynthia would not notice this because it does not ???understand??? what the JavaScript does. </Html> <FriendlyName>unused</FriendlyName> <IsDeleted>false</IsDeleted> <Properties> <LitePropertyData> <Description>Image for the page</Description> <DisplayEditUI>true</DisplayEditUI> <OwnerTab>1</OwnerTab> <DisplayName>Image Url</DisplayName> <FieldOrder>1</FieldOrder> <IsRequired>false</IsRequired> <Name>ImageUrl</Name> <IsModified>false</IsModified> <ParentPageID>3</ParentPageID> <Type>String</Type> <Value xsi:type="xsd:string">smarter.jpg</Value> </LitePropertyData> <LitePropertyData> <Description>WebItemApplicationEnum</Description> <DisplayEditUI>true</DisplayEditUI> <OwnerTab>1</OwnerTab> <DisplayName>WebItemApplicationEnum</DisplayName> <FieldOrder>1</FieldOrder> <IsRequired>false</IsRequired> <Name>WebItemApplicationEnum</Name> <IsModified>false</IsModified> <ParentPageID>3</ParentPageID> <Type>Number</Type> <Value xsi:type="xsd:string">1</Value> </LitePropertyData> </Properties> <Seo> <Author>Phil Carney</Author> <Classification /> <Copyright>Carnotaurus</Copyright> <Description> What is the purpose of this option? This option checks the current document for accessibility issues. It uses Bobby to provide details of whether the current web page conforms to W3C's WCAG criteria for web content accessibility. Issues with Bobby and Cynthia Bobby and Cynthia are free services that supposedly allow a user to expose web page accessibility barriers. It is something of a guide but perhaps a blunt instrument. I tested a few of the webpages that I have designed. Sure enough, my pages fall short and for good reason. I am not about to claim that Bobby and Cynthia are useless. Although it is useful and commendable tool, it project appears to be overly ambitious. Nevertheless, let me explain my issues with Bobby and Cynthia: First, certain W3C standards for designing web documents are often too strict and unworkable. For instance, in some versions W3C standards for HTML, certain tags should not include a particular attribute, whereas in others they are requisite if the document is to be ???well-formed???. The standard that a designer chooses is determined usually by the requirements specification document. This specifies which browsers and versions of those browsers that the web page is expected to correctly display. Forcing a hypertext document to conform strictly to a specific W3C standard for HTML is often no simple task. In the worst case, it cannot conform without losing some aesthetics or accessibility functionality. Second, the case of HTML documents is not an isolated case. Standards for XML, XSL, JavaScript, VBScript, are analogous. Therefore, you might imagine the problems when you begin to combine these languages and formats in an HTML document. Third, there is always more than one way to skin a cat. For example, Bobby and Cynthia may flag those IMG tags that do not contain a TITLE attribute. There might be good reason that a web developer chooses not to include the title attribute. The title attribute has a limited numbers of characters and does not support carriage returns. This is a major defect in the design of this tag. In fact, before the TITLE attribute was supported, there was the ALT attribute. Most browsers support both, yet they both perform a similar function. However, both attributes share the same deficiencies. In practice, there are instances where neither attribute would be used. Instead, for example, the developer would write some JavaScript or VBScript to circumvent these deficiencies. The concern is that Bobby and Cynthia would not notice this because it does not ???understand??? what the JavaScript does. </Description> <Keywords>unused</Keywords> <Title>unused</Title> </Seo> </row> </rows> </root> EDIT Here are my entities: public class LitePropertyData { public virtual string Description { get; set; } public virtual bool DisplayEditUI { get; set; } public int OwnerTab { get; set; } public virtual string DisplayName { get; set; } public int FieldOrder { get; set; } public bool IsRequired { get; set; } public string Name { get; set; } public virtual bool IsModified { get; set; } public virtual int ParentPageID { get; set; } public LiteDataType Type { get; set; } public object Value { get; set; } } [Serializable] public class LitePageData { public String Guid { get; set; } public Int32 ID { get; set; } public String Name { get; set; } public Int32? ParentID { get; set; } public DateTime Created { get; set; } public String CreatedBy { get; set; } public DateTime Changed { get; set; } public String ChangedBy { get; set; } public Int32? LitePageTypeID { get; set; } public String Html { get; set; } public String FriendlyName { get; set; } public Boolean IsDeleted { get; set; } public List<LitePropertyData> Properties { get; set; } public LiteSeoPageData Seo { get; set; } /// <summary> /// Saves the specified XML full file path. /// </summary> /// <param name="xmlFullFilePath">The XML full file path.</param> public void Save(String xmlFullFilePath) { XDocument doc = XDocument.Load(xmlFullFilePath); XElement demoNode = this.ToXElement<LitePageData>(); demoNode.Name = "row"; doc.Descendants("rows").Single().Add(demoNode); doc.Save(xmlFullFilePath); } }

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  • Is this how dynamic language copes with dynamic requirement?

    - by Amumu
    The question is in the title. I want to have my thinking verified by experienced people. You can add more or disregard my opinion, but give me a reason. Here is an example requirement: Suppose you are required to implement a fighting game. Initially, the game only includes fighters, who can attack each other. Each fighter can punch, kick or block incoming attacks. Fighters can have various fighting styles: Karate, Judo, Kung Fu... That's it for the simple universe of the game. In an OO like Java, it can be implemented similar to this way: abstract class Fighter { int hp, attack; void punch(Fighter otherFighter); void kick(Fighter otherFighter); void block(Figther otherFighter); }; class KarateFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation...}; class JudoFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation... }; class KungFuFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation ... }; This is fine if the game stays like this forever. But, somehow the game designers decide to change the theme of the game: instead of a simple fighting game, the game evolves to become a RPG, in which characters can not only fight but perform other activities, i.e. the character can be a priest, an accountant, a scientist etc... At this point, to make it more generic, we have to change the structure of our original design: Fighter is not used to refer to a person anymore; it refers to a profession. The specialized classes of Fighter (KaraterFighter, JudoFighter, KungFuFighter) . Now we have to create a generic class named Person. However, to adapt this change, I have to change the method signatures of the original operations: class Person { int hp, attack; List<Profession> skillSet; }; abstract class Profession {}; class Fighter extends Profession { void punch(Person otherFighter); void kick(Person otherFighter); void block(Person otherFighter); }; class KarateFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation...}; class JudoFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation... }; class KungFuFighter extends Fighter { //...implementation ... }; class Accountant extends Profession { void calculateTax(Person p) { //...implementation...}; void calculateTax(Company c) { //...implementation...}; }; //... more professions... Here are the problems: To adapt to the method changes, I have to fix the places where the changed methods are called (refactoring). Every time a new requirement is introduced, the current structural design has to be broken to adapt the changes. This leads to the first problem. Rigid structure makes it hard for code reuse. A function can only accept the predefined types, but it cannot accept future unknown types. A written function is bound to its current universe and has no way to accommodate to the new types, without modifications or rewrite from scratch. I see Java has a lot of deprecated methods. OO is an extreme case because it has inheritance to add up the complexity, but in general for statically typed language, types are very strict. In contrast, a dynamic language can handle the above case as follow: ;;fighter1 punch fighter2 (defun perform-punch (fighter1 fighter2) ...implementation... ) ;;fighter1 kick fighter2 (defun perform-kick (fighter1 fighter2) ...implementation... ) ;;fighter1 blocks attacks from fighter2 (defun perform-block (fighter1 fighter2) ...implementation... ) fighter1 and fighter2 can be anything as long as it has the required data for calculation; or methods (duck typing). You don't have to change from the type Fighter to Person. In the case of Lisp, because Lisp only has a single data structure: list, it's even easier to adapt to changes. However, other dynamic languages can have similar behaviors as well. I work primarily with static languages (mainly C and Java, but working with Java was a long time ago). I started learning Lisp and some other dynamic languages this year. I can see how it helps improving my productivity.

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  • Working with packed dates in SSIS

    - by Jim Giercyk
    One of the challenges recently thrown my way was to read an EBCDIC flat file, decode packed dates, and insert the dates into a SQL table.  For those unfamiliar with packed data, it is a way to store data at the nibble level (half a byte), and was often used by mainframe programmers to conserve storage space.  In the case of my input file, the dates were 2 bytes long and  represented the number of days that have past since 01/01/1950.  My first thought was, in the words of Scooby, Hmmmmph?  But, I love a good challenge, so I dove in. Reading in the flat file was rather simple.  The only difference between reading an EBCDIC and an ASCII file is the Code Page option in the connection manager.  In my case, I needed to use Code Page 1140 for EBCDIC (I could have also used Code Page 37).       Once the code page is set correctly, SSIS can understand what it is reading and it will convert the output to the default code page, 1252.  However, packed data is either unreadable or produces non-alphabetic characters, as we can see in the preview window.   Column 1 is actually the packed date, columns 0 and 2 are the values in the rest of the file.  We are only interested in Column 1, which is a 2 byte field representing a packed date.  We know that 2 bytes of packed data can be stored in 1 byte of character data, so we are working with 4 packed digits in 2 character bytes.  If you are confused, stay tuned….this will make sense in a minute.   Right-click on your Flat File Source shape and select “Show Advanced Editor”. Here is where the magic begins. By changing the properties of the output columns, we can access the packed digits from each byte. By default, the Output Column data type is DT_STR. Since we want to look at the bytes individually and not the entire string, change the data type to DT_BYTES. Next, and most important, set UseBinaryFormat to TRUE. This will write the HEX VALUES of the output string instead of writing the character values.  Now we are getting somewhere! Next, you will need to use a Data Conversion shape in your Data Flow to transform the 2 position byte stream to a 4 position Unicode string containing the packed data.  You need the string to be 4 bytes long because it will contain the 4 packed digits.  Here is what that should look like in the Data Conversion shape: Direct the output of your data flow to a test table or file to see the results.  In my case, I created a test table.  The results looked like this:     Hold on a second!  That doesn't look like a date at all.  No, of course not.  It is a hex number which represents the days which have passed between 01/01/1950 and the date.  We have to convert the Hex value to a decimal value, and use the DATEADD function to get a date value.  Luckily, I have created a function to convert Hex to Decimal:   -- ============================================= -- Author:        Jim Giercyk -- Create date: March, 2012 -- Description:    Converts a Hex string to a decimal value -- ============================================= CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[ftn_HexToDec] (     @hexValue NVARCHAR(6) ) RETURNS DECIMAL AS BEGIN     -- Declare the return variable here DECLARE @decValue DECIMAL IF @hexValue LIKE '0x%' SET @hexValue = SUBSTRING(@hexValue,3,4) DECLARE @decTab TABLE ( decPos1 VARCHAR(2), decPos2 VARCHAR(2), decPos3 VARCHAR(2), decPos4 VARCHAR(2) ) DECLARE @pos1 VARCHAR(1) = SUBSTRING(@hexValue,1,1) DECLARE @pos2 VARCHAR(1) = SUBSTRING(@hexValue,2,1) DECLARE @pos3 VARCHAR(1) = SUBSTRING(@hexValue,3,1) DECLARE @pos4 VARCHAR(1) = SUBSTRING(@hexValue,4,1) INSERT @decTab VALUES (CASE               WHEN @pos1 = 'A' THEN '10'                 WHEN @pos1 = 'B' THEN '11'               WHEN @pos1 = 'C' THEN '12'               WHEN @pos1 = 'D' THEN '13'               WHEN @pos1 = 'E' THEN '14'               WHEN @pos1 = 'F' THEN '15'               ELSE @pos1              END, CASE               WHEN @pos2 = 'A' THEN '10'                 WHEN @pos2 = 'B' THEN '11'               WHEN @pos2 = 'C' THEN '12'               WHEN @pos2 = 'D' THEN '13'               WHEN @pos2 = 'E' THEN '14'               WHEN @pos2 = 'F' THEN '15'               ELSE @pos2              END, CASE               WHEN @pos3 = 'A' THEN '10'                 WHEN @pos3 = 'B' THEN '11'               WHEN @pos3 = 'C' THEN '12'               WHEN @pos3 = 'D' THEN '13'               WHEN @pos3 = 'E' THEN '14'               WHEN @pos3 = 'F' THEN '15'               ELSE @pos3              END, CASE               WHEN @pos4 = 'A' THEN '10'                 WHEN @pos4 = 'B' THEN '11'               WHEN @pos4 = 'C' THEN '12'               WHEN @pos4 = 'D' THEN '13'               WHEN @pos4 = 'E' THEN '14'               WHEN @pos4 = 'F' THEN '15'               ELSE @pos4              END) SET @decValue = (CONVERT(INT,(SELECT decPos4 FROM @decTab)))         +                 (CONVERT(INT,(SELECT decPos3 FROM @decTab))*16)      +                 (CONVERT(INT,(SELECT decPos2 FROM @decTab))*(16*16)) +                 (CONVERT(INT,(SELECT decPos1 FROM @decTab))*(16*16*16))     RETURN @decValue END GO     Making use of the function, I found the decimal conversion, added that number of days to 01/01/1950 and FINALLY arrived at my “unpacked relative date”.  Here is the query I used to retrieve the formatted date, and the result set which was returned: SELECT [packedDate] AS 'Hex Value',        dbo.ftn_HexToDec([packedDate]) AS 'Decimal Value',        CONVERT(DATE,DATEADD(day,dbo.ftn_HexToDec([packedDate]),'01/01/1950'),101) AS 'Relative String Date'   FROM [dbo].[Output Table]         This technique can be used any time you need to retrieve the hex value of a character string in SSIS.  The date example may be a bit difficult to understand at first, but with SSIS becoming the preferred tool for enterprise level integration for many companies, there is no doubt that developers will encounter these types of requirements with regularity in the future. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

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  • Actionscript 3.0 - Enemies do not move right in my platformer game

    - by Christian Basar
    I am making a side-scrolling platformer game in Flash (Actionscript 3.0). I have made lots of progress lately, but I have come across a new problem. I will give some background first. My game level's terrain (or 'floor') is referenced by a MovieClip variable called 'floor.' My desire is to have the Player and enemy characters walk along the terrain. I have gotten the Player character to move on the terrain just fine; he walks up/down hills and falls whenever there is no ground beneath him. Here is the code I created to allow the Player to follow the terrain correctly. Much more code is used to control the Player, but only this code deals with the Player character's following of the terrain and gravity. // If the Player's not on the ground (not touching the 'floor' MovieClip)... if (!onGround) { // Disable ducking downKeyPressed = false; // Increase the Player's 'y' position by his 'y' velocity player.y += playerYVel; } // Increase the 'playerYVel' variable so that the Player will fall // progressively faster down the screen. This code technically // runs "all the time" but in reality it only affects the player // when he's off the ground. playerYVel += gravity; // Give the Player a terminal velocity of 15 px/frame if (playerYVel > 15) { playerYVel = 15; } // If the Player has not hit the 'floor,' increase his falling //speed if (! floor.hitTestPoint(player.x, player.y, true)) { player.y += playerYVel; // The Player is not on the ground when he's not touching it onGround = false; } Since getting this code to work for the Player, I have created a 'SkullDemon' class, which is one of the planned enemies for my game. I want the 'SkullDemon' objects to move along the terrain like the Player does. With lots of great help, I have already coded the EventListeners, etc. necessary for the 'SkullDemons' to move. Unfortunately, I am having trouble getting them to move along the terrain. In fact, they do not touch the terrain at all; they move along the top of the boundary of the 'floor' MovieClip! I had a simple text diagram showing what I mean, but unfortunately Stackoverflow does not format it correctly. I hope my problem is clear from my description. Strangely enough, my code for the Player's movement and the 'SkullDemon's' movement is almost exactly the same, yet the 'SkullDemons' do not move like the Player does. Here is my code for the SkullDemon movement: // Move all of the Skull Demons using this method protected function moveSkullDemons():void { // Go through the whole 'skullDemonContainer' for (var skullDi:int = 0; skullDi < skullDemonContainer.numChildren; skullDi++) { // Set the SkullDemon 'instance' variable to equal the current SkullDemon skullDIns = SkullDemon(skullDemonContainer.getChildAt(skullDi)); // For now, just move the Skull Demons left at 5 units per second skullDIns.x -= 5; // If the Skull Demon has not hit the 'floor,' increase his falling //speed if (! floor.hitTestPoint(skullDIns.x, skullDIns.y, true)) { // Increase the Skull Demon's 'y' position by his 'y' velocity skullDIns.y += skullDIns.sdYVel; // The Skull Demon is not on the ground when he's not touching it skullDIns.sdOnGround = false; } // Increase the 'sdYVel' variable so that the Skull Demon will fall // progressively faster down the screen. This code technically // runs "all the time" but in reality it only affects the Skull Demon // when he's off the ground. if (! skullDIns.sdOnGround) { skullDIns.sdYVel += skullDIns.sdGravity; // Give the Skull Demon a terminal velocity of 15 px/frame if (skullDIns.sdYVel > 15) { skullDIns.sdYVel = 15; } } // What happens when the Skull Demon lands on the ground after a fall? // The Skull Demon is only on the ground ('onGround == true') when // the ground is touching the Skull Demon MovieClip's origin point, // which is at the Skull Demon's bottom centre for (var i:int = 0; i < 10; i++) { // The Skull Demon is only on the ground ('onGround == true') when // the ground is touching the Skull Demon MovieClip's origin point, // which is at the Skull Demon's bottom centre if (floor.hitTestPoint(skullDIns.x, skullDIns.y, true)) { skullDIns.y = skullDIns.y; // Set the Skull Demon's y-axis speed to 0 skullDIns.sdYVel = 0; // The Skull Demon is on the ground again skullDIns.sdOnGround = true; } } } } // End of 'moveSkullDemons()' function It is almost like the 'SkullDemons' are interacting with the 'floor' MovieClip using the hitTestObject() function, and not the hitTestPoint() function which is what I want, and which works for the Player character. I am confused about this problem and would appreciate any help you could give me. Thanks!

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  • The Unintended Consequences of Sound Security Policy

    - by Tanu Sood
    v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} 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:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} Author: Kevin Moulton, CISSP, CISM Meet the Author: Kevin Moulton, Senior Sales Consulting Manager, Oracle Kevin Moulton, CISSP, CISM, has been in the security space for more than 25 years, and with Oracle for 7 years. He manages the East Enterprise Security Sales Consulting Team. He is also a Distinguished Toastmaster. Follow Kevin on Twitter at twitter.com/kevin_moulton, where he sometimes tweets about security, but might also tweet about running, beer, food, baseball, football, good books, or whatever else grabs his attention. Kevin will be a regular contributor to this blog so stay tuned for more posts from him. When I speak to a room of IT administrators, I like to begin by asking them if they have implemented a complex password policy. Generally, they all nod their heads enthusiastically. I ask them if that password policy requires long passwords. More nodding. I ask if that policy requires upper and lower case letters – faster nodding – numbers – even faster – special characters – enthusiastic nodding all around! I then ask them if their policy also includes a requirement for users to regularly change their passwords. Now we have smiles with the nodding! I ask them if the users have different IDs and passwords on the many systems that they have access to. Of course! I then ask them if, when they walk around the building, they see something like this: Thanks to Jake Ludington for the nice example. Can these administrators be faulted for their policies? Probably not but, in the end, end-users will find a way to get their job done efficiently. Post-It Notes to the rescue! I was visiting a business in New York City one day which was a perfect example of this problem. First I walked up to the security desk and told them where I was headed. They asked me if they should call upstairs to have someone escort me. Is that my call? Is that policy? I said that I knew where I was going, so they let me go. Having the conference room number handy, I wandered around the place in a search of my destination. As I walked around, unescorted, I noticed the post-it note problem in abundance. Had I been so inclined, I could have logged in on almost any machine and into any number of systems. When I reached my intended conference room, I mentioned my post-it note observation to the two gentlemen with whom I was meeting. One of them said, “You mean like this,” and he produced a post it note full of login IDs and passwords from his breast pocket! I gave him kudos for not hanging the list on his monitor. We then talked for the rest of the meeting about the difficulties faced by the employees due to the security policies. These policies, although well-intended, made life very difficult for the end-users. Most users had access to 8 to 12 systems, and the passwords for each expired at a different times. The post-it note solution was understandable. Who could remember even half of them? What could this customer have done differently? I am a fan of using a provisioning system, such as Oracle Identity Manager, to manage all of the target systems. With OIM, and email could be automatically sent to all users when it was time to change their password. The end-users would follow a link to change their password on a web page, and then OIM would propagate that password out to all of the systems that the user had access to, even if the login IDs were different. Another option would be an Enterprise Single-Sign On Solution. With Oracle eSSO, all of a user’s credentials would be stored in a central, encrypted credential store. The end-user would only have to login to their machine each morning and then, as they moved to each new system, Oracle eSSO would supply the credentials. Good-bye post-it notes! 3M may be disappointed, but your end users will thank you. I hear people say that this post-it note problem is not a big deal, because the only people who would see the passwords are fellow employees. Do you really know who is walking around your building? What are the password policies in your business? How do the end-users respond?

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  • How to Submit Form Given Specific Json Response

    - by dentalhero
    I'm new to Json, so please excuse the newb question. I have a form in which I'm conducting an Ajax post to submit address information to a backend script for validation. Here's the form: <form name="Form" id="Forms" method="post" action="WebCatPageServer.exe" class="uniForm"> <input name="Action" type="hidden" value="SHIPTOVALIDATE"/> <input name="IsAjax" type="hidden" value="Yes"/> <!-- <input name="Action" type="hidden" value="VerifyOrder"/>--> <fieldset class="inlineLabels top"> <h2>Order Details</h2> <div class="ctrlHolder first"> <label for="orderdesc">Order Description</label> <input name="Order Desc" id="OrderDesc" type="text" class="textInput small" tabindex="1" value=""/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="po">PO # <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="Cust Po" id="PoJobNo" type="text" class="textInput small required" maxlength="20" tabindex="2" value="dgnfg"/> </div> <!-- <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="jobname">Job Name</label> <input name="Job Name" id="CustJobName" type="text" class="textInput small" maxlength="15" tabindex="3" value=""/> </div> --> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="shipvia">Ship Via <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <select name="Ship Via" id="shipvia" class="selectInput small required" tabindex="4"/> <option value="" class="default">Select Ship Method</option> <option value="OT - Our Truck" class="del" selected>Our Truck</option> <option value="WC - Will Call" class="pick">Will Call</option> </select> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder" id="pickupdate"> <label for="datepickup">Requested Pickup Date <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="datepickup" id="datepickup" type="text" class="textInput small" tabindex="5" value="11/09/2012"> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder" id="shipdate"> <label for="dateship">Requested Delivery Date <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="dateship" id="dateship" type="text" class="textInput small" value="" tabindex="6"> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder" id="shipto"> <label for="ShipTo">Ship To <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <select name="ShipTos" id="ShipTos" class="selectInput auto required" tabindex="7"> <option value="">Select an Option</option> <option value="ShipToManual" class="manual">Manually Enter Address</option> <option value="0">A ACTION AIR*, 5241 YANCEYVILLE, COLUMBIA, SC 29214-0001</option> <option value="1">A ACTION AIR*, 649 spring lane, sanford, NC 27330</option> <option value="2">A ACTION AIR*, 1313 south briggs avenue, durham, NC 27703</option> <option value="3">A ACTION AIR*, 112 cricket hill lane, cary, NC 27513</option> <option value="4">A ACTION AIR*, 2911 duke homestead road, durham, NC 27705</option> <option value="5">A ACTION AIR*, chickem poop, atlanta, GA 60609</option> </select> <br /> </div> </fieldset> <fieldset class="inlineLabels" id="shipinfo"> <h2>Shipping Information</h2> <div class="ctrlHolder first"> <label for="YourName">Your Name <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="Your Name" id="Your_Name" type="text" class="textInput small required" tabindex="8" value="" /> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="CompanyName">Company Name <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="Company Name" id="CompanyName" type="text" class="textInput small required" tabindex="9" value="A ACTION AIR*"/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="Address1">Address 1 <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="Address_1" id="Address_1" type="text" maxlength="30" class="textInput small required" tabindex="10" value="5241 YANCEYVILLE"/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="Address2">Address 2</label> <input name="Address_2" id="Address_2" type="text" maxlength="30" class="textInput small" tabindex="11" value=""/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="City">City <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="City" id="City" type="text" maxlength="25" class="textInput small required" tabindex="12" value="COLUMBIA"/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="State">State <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <select name="State" id="State" class="selectInput small required" tabindex="13"> <option value="">Select State</option> <option value="AL">Alabama</option> <option value="AK">Alaska</option> <option value="AZ">Arizona</option> <option value="AR">Arkansas</option> <option value="CA">California</option> <option value="CO">Colorado</option> <option value="CT">Connecticut</option> <option value="DE">Delaware</option> <option value="FL">Florida</option> <option value="GA">Georgia</option> <option value="HI">Hawaii</option> <option value="ID">Idaho</option> <option value="IL">Illinois</option> <option value="IN">Indiana</option> <option value="IA">Iowa</option> <option value="KS">Kansas</option> <option value="KY">Kentucky</option> <option value="LA">Louisiana</option> <option value="ME">Maine</option> <option value="MD">Maryland</option> <option value="MA">Massachussetts</option> <option value="MI">Michigan</option> <option value="MN">Minnesota</option> <option value="MS">Mississippi</option> <option value="MO">Missouri</option> <option value="MT">Montana</option> <option value="NE">Nebraska</option> <option value="NV">Nevada</option> <option value="NH">New Hampshire</option> <option value="NJ">New Jersey</option> <option value="NM">New Mexico</option> <option value="NY">New York</option> <option value="NC">North Carolina</option> <option value="ND">North Dakota</option> <option value="OH">Ohio</option> <option value="OK">Oklahoma</option> <option value="OR">Oregon</option> <option value="PA">Pennsylvania</option> <option value="RI">Rhode Island</option> <option value="SC" selected>South Carolina</option> <option value="SD">South Dakota</option> <option value="TN">Tennessee</option> <option value="TX">Texas</option> <option value="UT">Utah</option> <option value="VT">Vermont</option> <option value="VA">Virginia</option> <option value="WA">Washington</option> <option value="WV">West Virginia</option> <option value="WI">Wisconsin</option> <option value="WY">Wyoming</option> </select> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="ZipCode">Zip Code <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="Zip" id="Zip" type="text" maxlength="10" class="textInput small required zipcode" tabindex="14" value=""/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="Phone">Phone <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="Phone Number" id="Phone" type="text" class="textInput small required phone" alt="phone-us" tabindex="15" value="(336)954-5009"/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="Fax">Fax</label> <input name="FaxNumber" id="Fax Number" type="text" class="textInput small fax" alt="phone-us" tabindex="16" value=""/> </div> <div class="ctrlHolder"> <label for="">E-mail <span class="redasterisk">*</span></label> <input name="Email" id="Email" type="text" class="textInput small required email" tabindex="17" value=""/> </div> </fieldset> <fieldset class="inlineLabels"> <h2>Order/Shipping Notes</h2> <div class="ctrlHolder first"> <label for="notes">Order Notes </label> <textarea name="OrderNotes" id="ta" cols="26" rows="7" tabindex="18"></textarea><br /> <p class="formHint"><b>(Maximum characters: 175) &nbsp; <span id="charLeft"></span> &nbsp; Characters left</b><br /> (Cross streets, special instructions, etc.)</p> <br /> </div> </fieldset> <fieldset class="inlineLabels"> <h2>Continue To Next Step</h2> <div class="buttonHolder"> <label for="freightmsg">**Applicable freight charges will be applied at the time of invoicing.**</label> <input name="continuetocheckout" type="submit" class="button red smallrounded" value="Continue &gt;" alt="Continue to Next Step" tabindex="20"/> </div> </fieldset> </form> AJAX Call Here's the AJAX call: $(function() { $("#Forms").submit(function() { $.ajax({ type: 'post', url: 'WebCatPageServer.exe', dataType : 'json', data: $("#Forms").serialize(), complete:function(data){ alert(data); } }); return false; }); }); JSON Response Here's the JSON response: {"DidValidate":true,"Company Name":"A ACTION AIR*","AddrLine1":"5241 YANCEYVILLE","AddrLine2":"","City":"COLUMBIA","State":"SC","Zip":"","Modified":false,"AddressError":false,"ZipError":false} Question: How do I submit the form programatically if both AddressError and ZipError return with a false?

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  • Separating text strings into a table of individual words in SQL via XML.

    - by Phil Factor
    p.MsoNormal {margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; } Nearly nine years ago, Mike Rorke of the SQL Server 2005 XML team blogged ‘Querying Over Constructed XML Using Sub-queries’. I remember reading it at the time without being able to think of a use for what he was demonstrating. Just a few weeks ago, whilst preparing my article on searching strings, I got out my trusty function for splitting strings into words and something reminded me of the old blog. I’d been trying to think of a way of using XML to split strings reliably into words. The routine I devised turned out to be slightly slower than the iterative word chop I’ve always used in the past, so I didn’t publish it. It was then I suddenly remembered the old routine. Here is my version of it. I’ve unwrapped it from its obvious home in a function or procedure just so it is easy to appreciate. What it does is to chop a text string into individual words using XQuery and the good old nodes() method. I’ve benchmarked it and it is quicker than any of the SQL ways of doing it that I know about. Obviously, you can’t use the trick I described here to do it, because it is awkward to use REPLACE() on 1…n characters of whitespace. I’ll carry on using my iterative function since it is able to tell me the location of each word as a character-offset from the start, and also because this method leaves punctuation in (removing it takes time!). However, I can see other uses for this in passing lists as input or output parameters, or as return values.   if exists (Select * from sys.xml_schema_collections where name like 'WordList')   drop XML SCHEMA COLLECTION WordList go create xml schema collection WordList as ' <xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"> <xs:element name="words">        <xs:simpleType>               <xs:list itemType="xs:string" />        </xs:simpleType> </xs:element> </xs:schema>'   go   DECLARE @string VARCHAR(MAX) –we'll get some sample data from the great Ogden Nash Select @String='This is a song to celebrate banks, Because they are full of money and you go into them and all you hear is clinks and clanks, Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills, Which is the rustling of the thousand dollar bills. Most bankers dwell in marble halls, Which they get to dwell in because they encourage deposits and discourage withdrawals, And particularly because they all observe one rule which woe betides the banker who fails to heed it, Which is you must never lend any money to anybody unless they don''t need it. I know you, you cautious conservative banks! If people are worried about their rent it is your duty to deny them the loan of one nickel, yes, even one copper engraving of the martyred son of the late Nancy Hanks; Yes, if they request fifty dollars to pay for a baby you must look at them like Tarzan looking at an uppity ape in the jungle, And tell them what do they think a bank is, anyhow, they had better go get the money from their wife''s aunt or ungle. But suppose people come in and they have a million and they want another million to pile on top of it, Why, you brim with the milk of human kindness and you urge them to accept every drop of it, And you lend them the million so then they have two million and this gives them the idea that they would be better off with four, So they already have two million as security so you have no hesitation in lending them two more, And all the vice-presidents nod their heads in rhythm, And the only question asked is do the borrowers want the money sent or do they want to take it withm. Because I think they deserve our appreciation and thanks, the jackasses who go around saying that health and happi- ness are everything and money isn''t essential, Because as soon as they have to borrow some unimportant money to maintain their health and happiness they starve to death so they can''t go around any more sneering at good old money, which is nothing short of providential. '   –we now turn it into XML declare @xml_data xml(WordList)  set @xml_data='<words>'+ replace(@string,'&', '&amp;')+'</words>'    select T.ref.value('.', 'nvarchar(100)')  from (Select @xml_data.query('                      for $i in data(/words) return                      element li { $i }               '))  A(list) cross apply A.List.nodes('/li') T(ref)     …which gives (truncated, of course)…

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  • Migrating R Scripts from Development to Production

    - by Mark Hornick
    Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 “How do I move my R scripts stored in one database instance to another? I have my development/test system and want to migrate to production.” Users of Oracle R Enterprise Embedded R Execution will often store their R scripts in the R Script Repository in Oracle Database, especially when using the ORE SQL API. From previous blog posts, you may recall that Embedded R Execution enables running R scripts managed by Oracle Database using both R and SQL interfaces. In ORE 1.3.1., the SQL API requires scripts to be stored in the database and referenced by name in SQL queries. The SQL API enables seamless integration with database-based applications and ease of production deployment. Loading R scripts in the repository Before talking about migration, we’ll first introduce how users store R scripts in Oracle Database. Users can add R scripts to the repository in R using the function ore.scriptCreate, or SQL using the function sys.rqScriptCreate. For the sample R script     id <- 1:10     plot(1:100,rnorm(100),pch=21,bg="red",cex =2)     data.frame(id=id, val=id / 100) users wrap this in a function and store it in the R Script Repository with a name. In R, this looks like ore.scriptCreate("RandomRedDots", function () { line-height: 115%; font-family: "Courier New";">     id <- 1:10     plot(1:100,rnorm(100),pch=21,bg="red",cex =2)     data.frame(id=id, val=id / 100)) }) In SQL, this looks like begin sys.rqScriptCreate('RandomRedDots',  'function(){     id <- 1:10     plot(1:100,rnorm(100),pch=21,bg="red",cex =2)     data.frame(id=id, val=id / 100)   }'); end; / The R function ore.scriptDrop and SQL function sys.rqScriptDrop can be used to drop these scripts as well. Note that the system will give an error if the script name already exists. Accessing R scripts once they’ve been loaded If you’re not using a source code control system, it is possible that your R scripts can be misplaced or files modified, making what is stored in Oracle Database to only or best copy of your R code. If you’ve loaded your R scripts to the database, it is straightforward to access these scripts from the database table SYS.RQ_SCRIPTS. For example, select * from sys.rq_scripts where name='myScriptName'; From R, scripts in the repository can be loaded into the R client engine using a function similar to the following: ore.scriptLoad <- function(name) { query <- paste("select script from sys.rq_scripts where name='",name,"'",sep="") str.f <- OREbase:::.ore.dbGetQuery(query) assign(name,eval(parse(text = str.f)),pos=1) } ore.scriptLoad("myFunctionName") This function is also useful if you want to load an existing R script from the repository into another R script in the repository – think modular coding style. Just include this function in the body of the other function and load the named script. Migrating R scripts from one database instance to another To move a set of functions from one system to another, the following script loads the functions from one R script repository into the client R engine, then connects to the target database and creates the scripts there with the same names. scriptNames <- OREbase:::.ore.dbGetQuery("select name from sys.rq_scripts where name not like 'RQG$%' and name not like 'RQ$%'")$NAME for(s in scriptNames) { cat(s,"\n") ore.scriptLoad(s) } ore.disconnect() ore.connect("rquser","orcl","localhost","rquser") for(s in scriptNames) { cat(s,"\n") ore.scriptDrop(s) ore.scriptCreate(s,get(s)) } Best Practice When naming R scripts, keep in mind that the name can be up to 128 characters. As such, consider organizing scripts in a directory structure manner. For example, if an organization has multiple groups or applications sharing the same database and there are multiple components, use “/” to facilitate the function organization: line-height: 115%;">ore.scriptCreate("/org1/app1/component1/myFuntion1", myFunction1) ore.scriptCreate("/org1/app1/component1/myFuntion2", myFunction2) ore.scriptCreate("/org1/app2/component2/myFuntion2", myFunction2) ore.scriptCreate("/org2/app2/component1/myFuntion3", myFunction3) ore.scriptCreate("/org3/app2/component1/myFuntion4", myFunction4) Users can then query for all functions using the path prefix when looking up functions. /* 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;}

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  • How to Hashtag (Without Being #Annoying)

    - by Mike Stiles
    The right tool in the wrong hands can be a dangerous thing. Giving a chimpanzee a chain saw would not be a pretty picture. And putting Twitter hashtags in the hands of social marketers who were never really sure how to use them can be equally unattractive. Boiled down, hashtags are for search and organization of tweets. A notch up from that, they can also be used as part of a marketing strategy. In terms of search, if you’re in the organic apple business, you want anyone who searches “organic” on Twitter to see your posts about your apples. It’s keyword tactics not unlike web site keyword search tactics. So get a clear idea of what keywords are relevant for your tweet. It’s reasonable to include #organic in your tweet. Is it fatal if you don’t hashtag the word? It depends on the person searching. If they search “organic,” your tweet’s going to come up even if you didn’t put the hashtag in front of it. If the searcher enters “#organic,” your tweet needs the hashtag. Err on the side of caution and hashtag it so it comes up no matter how the searcher enters it. You’ll also want to hashtag it for the second big reason people hashtag, organization. You can follow a hashtag. So can the rest of the Twitterverse. If you’re that into organic munchies, you can set up a stream populated only with tweets hashtagged #organic. If you’ve established a hashtag for your brand, like #nobugsprayapples, you (and everyone else) can watch what people are tweeting about your company. So what kind of hashtags should you include? They should be directly related to the core message of your tweet. Ancillary or very loosely-related hashtags = annoying. Hashtagging your brand makes sense. Hashtagging your core area of interest makes sense. Creating a specific event or campaign hashtag you want others to include and spread makes sense (the burden is on you to promote it and get it going). Hashtagging nearly every word in the tweet is highly annoying. Far and away, the majority of hashtagged words in such tweets have no relevance, are not terms that would be searched, and are not terms needed for categorization. It looks desperate and spammy. Two is fine. One is better. And it is possible to tweet with --gasp-- no hashtags! Make your hashtags as short as you can. In fact, if your brand’s name really is #nobugsprayapples, you’re burning up valuable, limited characters and risking the inability of others to retweet with added comments. Also try to narrow your topic hashtag down. You’ll find a lot of relevant users with #organic, but a lot of totally uninterested users with #food. Just as you can join online forums and gain credibility and a reputation by contributing regularly to that forum, you can follow hashtagged topics and gain the same kind of credibility in your area of expertise. Don’t just parachute in for the occasional marketing message. And if you’re constantly retweeting one particular person, stop it. It’s kissing up and it’s obvious. Which brings us to the king of hashtag annoyances, “hashjacking.” This is when you see what terms are hot and include them in your marketing tweet as a hashtag, even though it’s unrelated to your content. Justify it all you want, but #justinbieber has nothing to do with your organic apples. Equally annoying, piggybacking on a popular event’s hashtag to tweet something not connected to the event. You’re only fostering ill will and mistrust toward your account from the people you’ve tricked into seeing your tweet. Lastly, don’t @ mention people just to make sure they see your tweet. If the tweet’s not for them or about them, it’s spammy. What I haven’t covered is use of the hashtag for comedy’s sake. You’ll see this a lot and is a matter of personal taste. No one will search these hashtagged terms or need to categorize then, they’re just there for self-expression and laughs. Twitter is, after all, supposed to be fun.  What are some of your biggest Twitter pet peeves? #blogsovernow

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  • ADF Partner Community News Session - Open Invitation: "ADF as a basis of Fusion Apps - the biggest ADF project ever (in English)"

    - by Frank Nimphius
    After a successful guest performance of Ted Farrell in 2011, this year's international ADF speaker to speak during an ADF News session is Chris Muir from Oracle.  ADF News Session - Friday September 14, 8:30 AM - 9.00 AM (CET) - Topic: ADF as a basis of Fusion Apps - the biggest ADF project ever (in English) +++ this webcast will be conducted in English +++ dial-in numbers conc. ADF News Session, Sep. 14 2012 You are invited to join the next ADF News Session, that is going to take place September 14 2012 speaker:  Chris Muir / Oracle time:         8:30 AM (CET) duration:  30 minutes topic:        ADF as a basis of Fusion Apps - the biggest ADF project ever (in English) dial-in webconf: https://oraclemeetings.webex.com conf ID:      595 484 157 confkey:    123456 Please enter your name and an abbreviation of you company name when dialing in (please don´t use blanks and special characters). Please notice that this information will be visible to all participants of the webcast. Thank you. dial-in telco:           +49 (0)69 2222 16 106 or +49 (0)800 66 485 15           ConfCode: 208 503 9           SecurityPasscode: 112233  Other toll-free dial in numbers for EMEA countries are listed below (information is supplied without liability): 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-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; 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;} table.MsoTableGrid {mso-style-name:"Table Grid"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-priority:59; mso-style-unhide:no; border:solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-border-insideh:.5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev:.5pt solid windowtext; 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-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Austria 0800005967 Belgium 080048331 Croatia 0800222323 Czech Republic 800701080 Denmark  80889099 Estonia 8000111325 Egypt 08000000213 Finland 0800112073 France 0805632866 Greece 00800127897 Hungary 0680011201 Iceland 8008779 Ireland 1800932479 Israel 1809452571 Italy 800897629 Latvia 80002397 Luxembourg 80026598 Netherlands 08000235028 Norway 80010796 Poland 8001213557 Portugal 800814990 Romania 0800895563 Russia 81080029351012 Saudi Arabia 8008444320 Slovak Republic 0800001586 Slovenia 080080466 South Africa 0800980961 Spain 800098600 Sweden 856619465 Switzerland 0800650026 Turkey 00800 44632129 Ukraine 0800500166 United Arab Emirates 8000440344 United Kingdom 08006948154  

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