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  • Error Using 32 vs. 64 bit SharePoint 2007 DLLs with PowerShell

    - by Brian Jackett
    Next time you fire up PowerShell to work with the SharePoint API make sure you launch the proper bit version of PowerShell.  Last week I had an interesting error that led to this blog post.  Travel back in time a little bit with me to see where this 32 vs. 64 bit debate started. History     Ever since the first pre-beta bits of Office 2010 landed in my lap I have been questioning whether it’s better to run 32 or 64 bit applications on a 64 bit host operating system.  In relation to Office 2010 I heard a number of arguments for 32 bit including this link from the Office 2010 Engineering team.  Given my typical usage scenarios 32 bit seemed the way to go since I wasn’t a “super RAM hungry” Excel user or the like. The Problem     Since I had chosen 32 bit Office 2010, I tried to stick with 32 bit version of other programs that I run assuming the same benefits and rules applied to other applications.  This is where I was wrong.  Last week I was attempting to use 32 bit PowerShell ISE (Integrated Scripting Environment) on a 64 bit WSS 3.0 server.  When trying to reference the 64 bit SharePoint DLLs I got the following errors about not being able to find the web application.     I have run into these errors when I have hosts file issues or improper permissions to the farm / site collection but these were not the case.  After taking a quick spin around the interwebs I ran across the below forum post comment and another MSDN forum reply that explained the error.  Turns out that sometimes it’s not possible to run 32 bit applications against a 64 bit OS / farm / assembly / etc. …the problem could also be because your SharePoint is 64-Bit but your app is running in 32-bit mode     I quickly exited 32 bit PowerShell ISE and ran the same code under 64 bit PowerShell ISE.  All errors were gone and the script ran successfully.   Conclusion     The rules of 32 vs. 64 bit interoperability do not always apply evenly across all applications and scenarios.  In my case I wasn’t able to run 32 bit PowerShell against 64 bit SharePoint DLLs.  I’m updating all of my links and shortcuts to use 64 bit PowerShell where appropriate.  I’m quite surprised it has taken me this long to run into this error, but sometimes blind luck is all that keeps you from running into errors.  Lesson learned and hopefully this can benefit you as well.  Happy SharePointing all!         -Frog Out   Links http://blogs.technet.com/b/office2010/archive/2010/02/23/understanding-64-bit-office.aspx http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepointdevelopment/thread/a732cb83-c2ef-4133-b04e-86477b72bbe3/ http://stackoverflow.com/questions/266255/filenotfoundexception-with-the-spsite-constructor-whats-the-problem

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  • T-SQL Tuesday # 16 : This is not the aggregate you're looking for

    - by AaronBertrand
    This week, T-SQL Tuesday is being hosted by Jes Borland ( blog | twitter ), and the theme is " Aggregate Functions ." When people think of aggregates, they tend to think of MAX(), SUM() and COUNT(). And occasionally, less common functions such as AVG() and STDEV(). I thought I would write a quick post about a different type of aggregate: string concatenation. Even going back to my classic ASP days, one of the more common questions out in the community has been, "how do I turn a column into a comma-separated...(read more)

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  • Sony PSM SDK's 2D game engine

    - by Notbad
    I have started with the Sony PSM SDK this week, I'm interested in creating a little 2D game and have been reading through the web about a so called "2D game engine" integrated into the SDK. Some information I read suggested that it was added on January 2012, but I have been going through the documentation and haven't been able to find any reference to it. Does anybody know if they finally introduced the 2D game engine for the PSM SDK? Thanks in advance.

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  • We are having a Social on the 15th April - Why not join us for some SQL fun

    - by NeilHambly
    TechDays are coming week, with the "SQL Server 2008 R2" Launch conference being held on the Thursday (15 th April) and followed by the much anticipated SQLBits VI the following day (16 th April) So we thought this an ideal opportunity to hold a SQL Social evening for those fortunate enough to be able to attend those conferences or just wanted to join us for the evening It is being held @ "The Bull" Pub @ Westfield centre (only a short walk from the venue of t the “SQL Server 2008...(read more)

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  • Non-English Character Display in Oracle SQL Developer

    - by thatjeffsmith
    I get a variation on this question at least once a week, if not more frequently. I’m from Israel, and the language on the databases is Hebrew. When I use the old and deprecated SQL*Plus (windows rich client) I can see the hebrew clearly, when I use the latest SQL Developer, I get gibberish. This question appears on the forums about every week or so as well. So what’s the deal? Well, it starts with a basic misunderstanding of NLS Client parameters. These should accurately reflect the language and locality setup on your LOCAL machine. DO NOT COPY what’s set in the database. The these parameters work together with the database so that information can be transferred back and forth correctly. Having the wrong NLS parameters locally can be bad. [ORACLE DOCS]Setting the NLS_LANG parameter properly is essential to proper data conversion. The character set that is specified by the NLS_LANG parameter should reflect the setting for the client operating system. Setting NLS_LANG correctly enables proper conversion from the client operating system character encoding to the database character set. When these settings are the same, Oracle Database assumes that the data being sent or received is encoded in the same character set as the database character set, so character set validation or conversion may not be performed. This can lead to corrupt data if conversions are necessary. OK, so what are you supposed to do? Set the Font! 9 times out of 10, this preference fixes the problem with display issues. Make sure you set a Font that supports the characters you’re trying to display. It’s as simple as that. This preference defines the font used to display characters in the editors and the data grids. If you have it set to a font that doesn’t have Hebrew character support – you’re not going to see Hebrew in SQL Developer. A few years ago…wow, like 15 years ago, I learned that the Tohama Font is pretty Unicode-friendly. Bad Font Selection A Font that’s not non-English friendly Good Font Selection Exact same text, except rendered with the Tahoma font Summary Having problems seeing non-English text in SQL Developer? Check the font! And do not start messing with NLS parameters without talking to your DBA first.

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  • Anyone know a way to find out number of Twitter followers for a particular account on any given date?

    - by mejpark
    Hello. I manage two corporate Twitter accounts and two personal Twitter accounts, and it would be really useful to know how many followers each account has at the end of each week. I'm using TweetStats.com to gather statistics at the moment, but the follower stats functionality isn't granular enough to determine the precise number of followers. Does anyone know of any useful and free tools that can provide the exact number of followers for a specific Twitter account on any given date? Thank you, Mike.

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  • Friday Fun: Mummy Blaster

    - by Asian Angel
    In this week’s game your mission is to destroy all the mummies waiting for you in this long forgotten temple. All that you have is a limited amount of explosives and your strategic skills to win the day! Can you get the job done? How to Get Pro Features in Windows Home Versions with Third Party Tools HTG Explains: Is ReadyBoost Worth Using? HTG Explains: What The Windows Event Viewer Is and How You Can Use It

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  • Quick Poll: Certification Information Preferences

    - by Paul Sorensen
    We're starting a new "quick poll" series so that we can better learn about you - our technical professionals who are either already Oracle certified or working on earning an Oracle credential. We aim to keep them short (~1 minute to answer) so that you'll share your opinion.This week we want to know how you prefer to get your information about Oracle Certification:TAKE THE QUICK POLLNOTE: You can only take the survey once per machine. (if you try a second time it may redirect you to an external website)

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  • Media Streaming Server

    - by Ehsan
    I'm looking for a media stream server (specially audio streams) for installing on my Ubuntu server box. Is there any lightweight, easy configurable solution? It's awesome if this solution is able to install on a high bandwidth server and gets a stream from a low bandwidth server and serves it for many clients. (simply because the original server hasn't enough BW to serve media for many clients) (My server is a LAMP server, but I'm looking for a good solution for one of my clients to stream his audio for one hour every week)

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  • Summit Time!

    - by Ajarn Mark Caldwell
    Boy, how time flies!  I can hardly believe that the 2011 PASS Summit is just one week away.  Maybe it snuck up on me because it’s a few weeks earlier than last year.  Whatever the cause, I am really looking forward to next week.  The PASS Summit is the largest SQL Server conference in the world and a fantastic networking opportunity thrown in for no additional charge.  Here are a few thoughts to help you maximize the week. Networking As Karen Lopez (blog | @DataChick) mentioned in her presentation for the Professional Development Virtual Chapter just a couple of weeks ago, “Don’t wait until you need a new job to start networking.”  You should always be working on your professional network.  Some people, especially technical-minded people, get confused by the term networking.  The first image that used to pop into my head was the image of some guy standing, awkwardly, off to the side of a cocktail party, trying to shmooze those around him.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  If you’re good at that sort of thing, and you can strike up a conversation with some stranger and learn all about them in 5 minutes, and walk away with your next business deal all but approved by the lawyers, then congratulations.  But if you’re not, and most of us are not, I have two suggestions for you.  First, register for Don Gabor’s 2-hour session on Tuesday at the Summit called Networking to Build Business Contacts.  Don is a master at small talk, and at teaching others, and in just those two short hours will help you with important tips about breaking the ice, remembering names, and smooth transitions into and out of conversations.  Then go put that great training to work right away at the Tuesday night Welcome Reception and meet some new people; which is really my second suggestion…just meet a few new people.  You see, “networking” is about meeting new people and being friendly without trying to “work it” to get something out of the relationship at this point.  In fact, Don will tell you that a better way to build the connection with someone is to look for some way that you can help them, not how they can help you. There are a ton of opportunities as long as you follow this one key point: Don’t stay in your hotel!  At the least, get out and go to the free events such as the Tuesday night Welcome Reception, the Wednesday night Exhibitor Reception, and the Thursday night Community Appreciation Party.  All three of these are perfect opportunities to meet other professionals with a similar job or interest as you, and you never know how that may help you out in the future.  Maybe you just meet someone to say HI to at breakfast the next day instead of eating alone.  Or maybe you cross paths several times throughout the Summit and compare notes on different sessions you attended.  And you just might make new friends that you look forward to seeing year after year at the Summit.  Who knows, it might even turn out that you have some specific experience that will help out that other person a few months’ from now when they run into the same challenge that you just overcame, or vice-versa.  But the point is, if you don’t get out and meet people, you’ll never have the chance for anything else to happen in the future. One more tip for shy attendees of the Summit…if you can’t bring yourself to strike up conversation with strangers at these events, then at the least, after you sit through a good session that helps you out, go up to the speaker and introduce yourself and thank them for taking the time and effort to put together their presentation.  Ideally, when you do this, tell them WHY it was beneficial to you (e.g. “Now I have a new idea of how to tackle a problem back at the office.”)  I know you think the speakers are all full of confidence and are always receiving a ton of accolades and applause, but you’re wrong.  Most of them will be very happy to hear first-hand that all the work they put into getting ready for their presentation is paying off for somebody. Training With over 170 technical sessions at the Summit, training is what it’s all about, and the training is fantastic!  Of course there are the big-name trainers like Paul Randall, Kimberly Tripp, Kalen Delaney, Itzik Ben-Gan and several others, but I am always impressed by the quality of the training put on by so many other “regular” members of the SQL Server community.  It is amazing how you don’t have to be a published author or otherwise recognized as an “expert” in an area in order to make a big impact on others just by sharing your personal experience and lessons learned.  I would rather hear the story of, and lessons learned from, “some guy or gal” who has actually been through an issue and came out the other side, than I would a trained professor who is speaking just from theory or an intellectual understanding of a topic. In addition to the three full days of regular sessions, there are also two days of pre-conference intensive training available.  There is an extra cost to this, but it is a fantastic opportunity.  Think about it…you’re already coming to this area for training, so why not extend your stay a little bit and get some in-depth training on a particular topic or two?  I did this for the first time last year.  I attended one day of extra training and it was well worth the time and money.  One of the best reasons for it is that I am extremely busy at home with my regular job and family, that it was hard to carve out the time to learn about the topic on my own.  It worked out so well last year that I am doubling up and doing two days or “pre-cons” this year. And then there are the DVDs.  I think these are another great option.  I used the online schedule builder to get ready and have an idea of which sessions I want to attend and when they are (much better than trying to figure this out at the last minute every day).  But the problem that I have run into (seems this happens every year) is that nearly every session block has two different sessions that I would like to attend.  And some of them have three!  ACK!  That won’t work!  What is a guy supposed to do?  Well, one option is to purchase the DVDs which are recordings of the audio and projected images from each session so you can continue to attend sessions long after the Summit is officially over.  Yes, many (possibly all) of these also get posted online and attendees can access those for no extra charge, but those are not necessarily all available as quickly as the DVD recording are, and the DVDs are often more convenient than downloading, especially if you want to share the training with someone who was not able to attend in person. Remember, I don’t make any money or get any other benefit if you buy the DVDs or from anything else that I have recommended here.  These are just my own thoughts, trying to help out based on my experiences from the 8 or so Summits I have attended.  There is nothing like the Summit.  It is an awesome experience, fantastic training, and a whole lot of fun which is just compounded if you’ll take advantage of the first part of this article and make some new friends along the way.

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  • The Oracle Cash Management Secret Very Few Customers Know About

    - by Theresa Hickman
    Did you know that Oracle Cash Management has a robust positioning feature? I had no idea. I was under the mistaken impression that Oracle Cash Management only did bank statement reconciliations. It seems I am not alone. In fact, many Oracle Financials customers are also not aware of this even though it is delivered for free with the Oracle Financials license. Even better, last week, Oracle released an enhancement to Oracle Cash Management for Release 12 that will greatly help customers with their cash positioning needs. As we all know, credit is tight these days. Companies need better visibility of their cash and other liquidity positions to make better use of their cash resources. Today, many customers are managing their cash positions manually using spreadsheets. We also hear how many of them are maintaining larger than normal balances in numerous bank accounts because they just do not have the visibility, and therefore the comfort they need. Although spreadsheets may work in the short-term, they are not the best way to manage your cash positions for the long-term especially if you have dozens, or even hundreds of bank and brokerage accounts. Also, spreadsheets are a lot more risky because they can be overwritten, deleted, difficult to audit, etc. With the newly enhanced positioning feature in Oracle Cash Management, customers can manage their daily cash positions using an excel-like interface that is very flexible and user-configurable. You can link the worksheet to an unlimited number of bank accounts to automatically retrieve your opening balances, the current/intra-day cash inflows and outflows, as well as your expected cash flows from your Fx, Investment and Debt positions if you have Oracle's Treasury module . Oracle Cash Management also has direct integration with Oracle Receivables, Oracle Payables, and Payroll, which adds to the comprehensive picture of what's happening with your organizations' cash in real-time. Here's a screen shot of what the cash positioning page looks like: View image As you can see, your Treasurers can obtain a holistic view of all cash positions across any number of bank accounts as well as other sources of cash flow movements. Depending on how they manage their accounts, they can also use this feature to initiate or monitor bank account sweeps or transfers between their zero balance accounts (ZBA) or cash pools. The cash position worksheet provide drill down for more detail and the ability to manually enter items directly into the worksheet for even greater flexibility and control. The enhancements to this feature were released last week. The following list the patches for Release 12.0.6 and 12.1.1: For more information, visit the following website. http://launch.oracle.com. PIN: yes2try

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  • SQL 2008 R2 UK Launch

    - by simonsabin
    Don't forget to register for the SQL Server 2008 R2 Launch event in London on the 15th April. http://www.microsoft.com/uk/techdays/itprodaythursday.aspx Why not make a long weekend of it and do the launch and SQLBits (www.sqlbits.com ) followed by a few days sightseeing in London. We will be opening registration for SQLBits next week but in the mean time get registering for the launch day, from what I understand there are only a few places left. http://www.microsoft.com/uk/techdays/itprodaythursday.aspx

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  • Kauffman Foundation Selects Stackify to Present at Startup@Kauffman Demo Day

    - by Matt Watson
    Stackify will join fellow Kansas City startups to kick off Global Entrepreneurship WeekOn Monday, November 12, Stackify, a provider of tools that improve developers’ ability to support, manage and monitor their enterprise applications, will pitch its technology at the Startup@Kauffman Demo Day in Kansas City, Mo. Hosted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the event will mark the start of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators who launch startups.Stackify was selected through a competitive process for a six-minute opportunity to pitch its new technology to investors at Demo Day. In his pitch, Stackify’s founder, Matt Watson, will discuss the current challenges DevOps teams face and reveal how Stackify is reinventing the way software developers provide application support.In October, Stackify had successful appearances at two similar startup events. At Tech Cocktail’s Kansas City Mixer, the company was named “Hottest Kansas City Startup,” and it won free hosting service after pitching its solution at St. Louis, Mo.’s Startup Connection.“With less than a month until our public launch, events like Demo Day are giving Stackify the support and positioning we need to change the development community,” said Watson. “As a serial technology entrepreneur, I appreciate the Kauffman Foundation’s support of startup companies like Stackify. We’re thrilled to participate in Demo Day and Global Entrepreneurship Week activities.”Scheduled to publicly launch in early December 2012, Stackify’s platform gives developers insights into their production applications, servers and databases. Stackify finally provides agile developers safe and secure remote access to look at log files, config files, server health and databases. This solution removes the bottleneck from managers and system administrators who, until now, are the only team members with access. Essentially, Stackify enables development teams to spend less time fixing bugs and more time creating products.Currently in beta, Stackify has already been named a “Company to Watch” by Software Development Times, which called the startup “the next big thing.” Developers can register for a free Stackify account on Stackify.com.###Stackify Founded in 2012, Stackify is a Kansas City-based software service provider that helps development teams troubleshoot application problems. Currently in beta, Stackify will be publicly available in December 2012, when agile developers will finally be able to provide agile support. The startup has already been recognized by Tech Cocktail as “Hottest Kansas City Startup” and was named a “Company to Watch” by Software Development Times. To learn more, visit http://www.stackify.com and follow @stackify on Twitter.

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  • Friday Fun: Stream Master Unlimited

    - by Asian Angel
    In this week’s game your puzzle solving skills will be tested as you work to build paths between all the colored power nodes on each grid. With 300 puzzle grids and three difficulty levels to challenge you, will you be able to successfully connect all the power nodes from beginning to end in the game? Secure Yourself by Using Two-Step Verification on These 16 Web Services How to Fix a Stuck Pixel on an LCD Monitor How to Factory Reset Your Android Phone or Tablet When It Won’t Boot

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  • Desktop Fun: Google Themed Icon Packs

    - by Asian Angel
    Are you an avid user of Google’s online services, but the icons for your desktop and app launcher shortcuts leave something to be desired? Now you can make those shortcuts shine with style using our Google Themed Icon Packs collection. Note: To customize the icon setup on your Windows 7 & Vista systems see our article here. Using Windows XP? We have you covered here. Sneak Preview For this week’s sneak preview we set up a Google Chrome themed desktop using the Simply Google Icon Collection shown below. Note: Original full-size wallpaper can be found here. We used Chromium to create a set of app shortcuts for various Google services on our desktop. Anyone who has done the same knows that the original icons do not look very good, so these icon packs can make those shortcuts look spectacular. Once the new icons were arranged for our desktop app shortcuts, we then pinned them to our Taskbar. Those are definitely looking nice! The Icon Packs Simply Google Icon Collection *.ico and .png format Download Google icons *.ico and .png format Download Tango Google Icon Set Vol. 1 *.png and .svg format Download Google Tango Icon Set Vol. 2 *.png and .svg format Download New Google Product Icons *.ico, .png, and .gif format Note: This icon pack contains 657 icons of various sizes. The best selection of individual icon types in the same size (i.e. 48, 128, etc.) from this pack is a mixture of .png and .gif formats. Download New google docs icons *.png format only Download Google Docs pack Icons *.ico, .png, and .gif format Download GCal *.png format only (original favicon .ico file included) Download Google Earth Icon Color Pack *.png format only Download Google Earth Dock Icons *.ico, .png, and .icns format Download Gtalk Color Icons *.png format only Download Google Buzz Icons *.png format only Download Google Chrome icon pack *.png format only Download Google Chrome X *.ico, .png, and .icns format Download Google Chrome icon pack *.png format only Download Wanting more great icon sets to look through? Be certain to visit our Desktop Fun section for more icon goodness! Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How To Boot 10 Different Live CDs From 1 USB Flash Drive The 20 Best How-To Geek Linux Articles of 2010 The 50 Best How-To Geek Windows Articles of 2010 The 20 Best How-To Geek Explainer Topics for 2010 How to Disable Caps Lock Key in Windows 7 or Vista How to Use the Avira Rescue CD to Clean Your Infected PC Enjoy Old School Style Video Game Fun with Chicken Invaders Hide the Twitter “Litter” in Twitter’s Sidebar Area (Chrome and Iron) Public Domain Day: Reflections on Copyright and the Importance of Public Domain Angry Birds Coming to PS3 and PSP This Week I Hate Mondays Wallpaper for That First Day Back at Work Tune Pop Enhances Android Music Notifications

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  • C#/.NET Little Wonders: The Generic Func Delegates

    - by James Michael Hare
    Once again, in this series of posts I look at the parts of the .NET Framework that may seem trivial, but can help improve your code by making it easier to write and maintain. The index of all my past little wonders posts can be found here. Back in one of my three original “Little Wonders” Trilogy of posts, I had listed generic delegates as one of the Little Wonders of .NET.  Later, someone posted a comment saying said that they would love more detail on the generic delegates and their uses, since my original entry just scratched the surface of them. Last week, I began our look at some of the handy generic delegates built into .NET with a description of delegates in general, and the Action family of delegates.  For this week, I’ll launch into a look at the Func family of generic delegates and how they can be used to support generic, reusable algorithms and classes. Quick Delegate Recap Delegates are similar to function pointers in C++ in that they allow you to store a reference to a method.  They can store references to either static or instance methods, and can actually be used to chain several methods together in one delegate. Delegates are very type-safe and can be satisfied with any standard method, anonymous method, or a lambda expression.  They can also be null as well (refers to no method), so care should be taken to make sure that the delegate is not null before you invoke it. Delegates are defined using the keyword delegate, where the delegate’s type name is placed where you would typically place the method name: 1: // This delegate matches any method that takes string, returns nothing 2: public delegate void Log(string message); This delegate defines a delegate type named Log that can be used to store references to any method(s) that satisfies its signature (whether instance, static, lambda expression, etc.). Delegate instances then can be assigned zero (null) or more methods using the operator = which replaces the existing delegate chain, or by using the operator += which adds a method to the end of a delegate chain: 1: // creates a delegate instance named currentLogger defaulted to Console.WriteLine (static method) 2: Log currentLogger = Console.Out.WriteLine; 3:  4: // invokes the delegate, which writes to the console out 5: currentLogger("Hi Standard Out!"); 6:  7: // append a delegate to Console.Error.WriteLine to go to std error 8: currentLogger += Console.Error.WriteLine; 9:  10: // invokes the delegate chain and writes message to std out and std err 11: currentLogger("Hi Standard Out and Error!"); While delegates give us a lot of power, it can be cumbersome to re-create fairly standard delegate definitions repeatedly, for this purpose the generic delegates were introduced in various stages in .NET.  These support various method types with particular signatures. Note: a caveat with generic delegates is that while they can support multiple parameters, they do not match methods that contains ref or out parameters. If you want to a delegate to represent methods that takes ref or out parameters, you will need to create a custom delegate. We’ve got the Func… delegates Just like it’s cousin, the Action delegate family, the Func delegate family gives us a lot of power to use generic delegates to make classes and algorithms more generic.  Using them keeps us from having to define a new delegate type when need to make a class or algorithm generic. Remember that the point of the Action delegate family was to be able to perform an “action” on an item, with no return results.  Thus Action delegates can be used to represent most methods that take 0 to 16 arguments but return void.  You can assign a method The Func delegate family was introduced in .NET 3.5 with the advent of LINQ, and gives us the power to define a function that can be called on 0 to 16 arguments and returns a result.  Thus, the main difference between Action and Func, from a delegate perspective, is that Actions return nothing, but Funcs return a result. The Func family of delegates have signatures as follows: Func<TResult> – matches a method that takes no arguments, and returns value of type TResult. Func<T, TResult> – matches a method that takes an argument of type T, and returns value of type TResult. Func<T1, T2, TResult> – matches a method that takes arguments of type T1 and T2, and returns value of type TResult. Func<T1, T2, …, TResult> – and so on up to 16 arguments, and returns value of type TResult. These are handy because they quickly allow you to be able to specify that a method or class you design will perform a function to produce a result as long as the method you specify meets the signature. For example, let’s say you were designing a generic aggregator, and you wanted to allow the user to define how the values will be aggregated into the result (i.e. Sum, Min, Max, etc…).  To do this, we would ask the user of our class to pass in a method that would take the current total, the next value, and produce a new total.  A class like this could look like: 1: public sealed class Aggregator<TValue, TResult> 2: { 3: // holds method that takes previous result, combines with next value, creates new result 4: private Func<TResult, TValue, TResult> _aggregationMethod; 5:  6: // gets or sets the current result of aggregation 7: public TResult Result { get; private set; } 8:  9: // construct the aggregator given the method to use to aggregate values 10: public Aggregator(Func<TResult, TValue, TResult> aggregationMethod = null) 11: { 12: if (aggregationMethod == null) throw new ArgumentNullException("aggregationMethod"); 13:  14: _aggregationMethod = aggregationMethod; 15: } 16:  17: // method to add next value 18: public void Aggregate(TValue nextValue) 19: { 20: // performs the aggregation method function on the current result and next and sets to current result 21: Result = _aggregationMethod(Result, nextValue); 22: } 23: } Of course, LINQ already has an Aggregate extension method, but that works on a sequence of IEnumerable<T>, whereas this is designed to work more with aggregating single results over time (such as keeping track of a max response time for a service). We could then use this generic aggregator to find the sum of a series of values over time, or the max of a series of values over time (among other things): 1: // creates an aggregator that adds the next to the total to sum the values 2: var sumAggregator = new Aggregator<int, int>((total, next) => total + next); 3:  4: // creates an aggregator (using static method) that returns the max of previous result and next 5: var maxAggregator = new Aggregator<int, int>(Math.Max); So, if we were timing the response time of a web method every time it was called, we could pass that response time to both of these aggregators to get an idea of the total time spent in that web method, and the max time spent in any one call to the web method: 1: // total will be 13 and max 13 2: int responseTime = 13; 3: sumAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); 4: maxAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); 5:  6: // total will be 20 and max still 13 7: responseTime = 7; 8: sumAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); 9: maxAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); 10:  11: // total will be 40 and max now 20 12: responseTime = 20; 13: sumAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); 14: maxAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); The Func delegate family is useful for making generic algorithms and classes, and in particular allows the caller of the method or user of the class to specify a function to be performed in order to generate a result. What is the result of a Func delegate chain? If you remember, we said earlier that you can assign multiple methods to a delegate by using the += operator to chain them.  So how does this affect delegates such as Func that return a value, when applied to something like the code below? 1: Func<int, int, int> combo = null; 2:  3: // What if we wanted to aggregate the sum and max together? 4: combo += (total, next) => total + next; 5: combo += Math.Max; 6:  7: // what is the result? 8: var comboAggregator = new Aggregator<int, int>(combo); Well, in .NET if you chain multiple methods in a delegate, they will all get invoked, but the result of the delegate is the result of the last method invoked in the chain.  Thus, this aggregator would always result in the Math.Max() result.  The other chained method (the sum) gets executed first, but it’s result is thrown away: 1: // result is 13 2: int responseTime = 13; 3: comboAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); 4:  5: // result is still 13 6: responseTime = 7; 7: comboAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); 8:  9: // result is now 20 10: responseTime = 20; 11: comboAggregator.Aggregate(responseTime); So remember, you can chain multiple Func (or other delegates that return values) together, but if you do so you will only get the last executed result. Func delegates and co-variance/contra-variance in .NET 4.0 Just like the Action delegate, as of .NET 4.0, the Func delegate family is contra-variant on its arguments.  In addition, it is co-variant on its return type.  To support this, in .NET 4.0 the signatures of the Func delegates changed to: Func<out TResult> – matches a method that takes no arguments, and returns value of type TResult (or a more derived type). Func<in T, out TResult> – matches a method that takes an argument of type T (or a less derived type), and returns value of type TResult(or a more derived type). Func<in T1, in T2, out TResult> – matches a method that takes arguments of type T1 and T2 (or less derived types), and returns value of type TResult (or a more derived type). Func<in T1, in T2, …, out TResult> – and so on up to 16 arguments, and returns value of type TResult (or a more derived type). Notice the addition of the in and out keywords before each of the generic type placeholders.  As we saw last week, the in keyword is used to specify that a generic type can be contra-variant -- it can match the given type or a type that is less derived.  However, the out keyword, is used to specify that a generic type can be co-variant -- it can match the given type or a type that is more derived. On contra-variance, if you are saying you need an function that will accept a string, you can just as easily give it an function that accepts an object.  In other words, if you say “give me an function that will process dogs”, I could pass you a method that will process any animal, because all dogs are animals.  On the co-variance side, if you are saying you need a function that returns an object, you can just as easily pass it a function that returns a string because any string returned from the given method can be accepted by a delegate expecting an object result, since string is more derived.  Once again, in other words, if you say “give me a method that creates an animal”, I can pass you a method that will create a dog, because all dogs are animals. It really all makes sense, you can pass a more specific thing to a less specific parameter, and you can return a more specific thing as a less specific result.  In other words, pay attention to the direction the item travels (parameters go in, results come out).  Keeping that in mind, you can always pass more specific things in and return more specific things out. For example, in the code below, we have a method that takes a Func<object> to generate an object, but we can pass it a Func<string> because the return type of object can obviously accept a return value of string as well: 1: // since Func<object> is co-variant, this will access Func<string>, etc... 2: public static string Sequence(int count, Func<object> generator) 3: { 4: var builder = new StringBuilder(); 5:  6: for (int i=0; i<count; i++) 7: { 8: object value = generator(); 9: builder.Append(value); 10: } 11:  12: return builder.ToString(); 13: } Even though the method above takes a Func<object>, we can pass a Func<string> because the TResult type placeholder is co-variant and accepts types that are more derived as well: 1: // delegate that's typed to return string. 2: Func<string> stringGenerator = () => DateTime.Now.ToString(); 3:  4: // This will work in .NET 4.0, but not in previous versions 5: Sequence(100, stringGenerator); Previous versions of .NET implemented some forms of co-variance and contra-variance before, but .NET 4.0 goes one step further and allows you to pass or assign an Func<A, BResult> to a Func<Y, ZResult> as long as A is less derived (or same) as Y, and BResult is more derived (or same) as ZResult. Sidebar: The Func and the Predicate A method that takes one argument and returns a bool is generally thought of as a predicate.  Predicates are used to examine an item and determine whether that item satisfies a particular condition.  Predicates are typically unary, but you may also have binary and other predicates as well. Predicates are often used to filter results, such as in the LINQ Where() extension method: 1: var numbers = new[] { 1, 2, 4, 13, 8, 10, 27 }; 2:  3: // call Where() using a predicate which determines if the number is even 4: var evens = numbers.Where(num => num % 2 == 0); As of .NET 3.5, predicates are typically represented as Func<T, bool> where T is the type of the item to examine.  Previous to .NET 3.5, there was a Predicate<T> type that tended to be used (which we’ll discuss next week) and is still supported, but most developers recommend using Func<T, bool> now, as it prevents confusion with overloads that accept unary predicates and binary predicates, etc.: 1: // this seems more confusing as an overload set, because of Predicate vs Func 2: public static SomeMethod(Predicate<int> unaryPredicate) { } 3: public static SomeMethod(Func<int, int, bool> binaryPredicate) { } 4:  5: // this seems more consistent as an overload set, since just uses Func 6: public static SomeMethod(Func<int, bool> unaryPredicate) { } 7: public static SomeMethod(Func<int, int, bool> binaryPredicate) { } Also, even though Predicate<T> and Func<T, bool> match the same signatures, they are separate types!  Thus you cannot assign a Predicate<T> instance to a Func<T, bool> instance and vice versa: 1: // the same method, lambda expression, etc can be assigned to both 2: Predicate<int> isEven = i => (i % 2) == 0; 3: Func<int, bool> alsoIsEven = i => (i % 2) == 0; 4:  5: // but the delegate instances cannot be directly assigned, strongly typed! 6: // ERROR: cannot convert type... 7: isEven = alsoIsEven; 8:  9: // however, you can assign by wrapping in a new instance: 10: isEven = new Predicate<int>(alsoIsEven); 11: alsoIsEven = new Func<int, bool>(isEven); So, the general advice that seems to come from most developers is that Predicate<T> is still supported, but we should use Func<T, bool> for consistency in .NET 3.5 and above. Sidebar: Func as a Generator for Unit Testing One area of difficulty in unit testing can be unit testing code that is based on time of day.  We’d still want to unit test our code to make sure the logic is accurate, but we don’t want the results of our unit tests to be dependent on the time they are run. One way (of many) around this is to create an internal generator that will produce the “current” time of day.  This would default to returning result from DateTime.Now (or some other method), but we could inject specific times for our unit testing.  Generators are typically methods that return (generate) a value for use in a class/method. For example, say we are creating a CacheItem<T> class that represents an item in the cache, and we want to make sure the item shows as expired if the age is more than 30 seconds.  Such a class could look like: 1: // responsible for maintaining an item of type T in the cache 2: public sealed class CacheItem<T> 3: { 4: // helper method that returns the current time 5: private static Func<DateTime> _timeGenerator = () => DateTime.Now; 6:  7: // allows internal access to the time generator 8: internal static Func<DateTime> TimeGenerator 9: { 10: get { return _timeGenerator; } 11: set { _timeGenerator = value; } 12: } 13:  14: // time the item was cached 15: public DateTime CachedTime { get; private set; } 16:  17: // the item cached 18: public T Value { get; private set; } 19:  20: // item is expired if older than 30 seconds 21: public bool IsExpired 22: { 23: get { return _timeGenerator() - CachedTime > TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30.0); } 24: } 25:  26: // creates the new cached item, setting cached time to "current" time 27: public CacheItem(T value) 28: { 29: Value = value; 30: CachedTime = _timeGenerator(); 31: } 32: } Then, we can use this construct to unit test our CacheItem<T> without any time dependencies: 1: var baseTime = DateTime.Now; 2:  3: // start with current time stored above (so doesn't drift) 4: CacheItem<int>.TimeGenerator = () => baseTime; 5:  6: var target = new CacheItem<int>(13); 7:  8: // now add 15 seconds, should still be non-expired 9: CacheItem<int>.TimeGenerator = () => baseTime.AddSeconds(15); 10:  11: Assert.IsFalse(target.IsExpired); 12:  13: // now add 31 seconds, should now be expired 14: CacheItem<int>.TimeGenerator = () => baseTime.AddSeconds(31); 15:  16: Assert.IsTrue(target.IsExpired); Now we can unit test for 1 second before, 1 second after, 1 millisecond before, 1 day after, etc.  Func delegates can be a handy tool for this type of value generation to support more testable code.  Summary Generic delegates give us a lot of power to make truly generic algorithms and classes.  The Func family of delegates is a great way to be able to specify functions to calculate a result based on 0-16 arguments.  Stay tuned in the weeks that follow for other generic delegates in the .NET Framework!   Tweet Technorati Tags: .NET, C#, CSharp, Little Wonders, Generics, Func, Delegates

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  • More Changes...

    - by MOSSLover
    Stuff has changed drastically for me in the past two to three years.  I moved over 1000 miles from Saint Louis.  I go outside and I get up in front of crowds with less issues.  Now I'm changing jobs again.  I'm not really sure what to say here.  I was obviously unhappy and I needed to do something different.  So quit two days ago and I guess it worked out that I end with B&R this Friday, then head to TEC and SPS Huntsville and a week from this Monday I start my new job at Gig Werks.  I'm not sure what to expect or where I'm heading, but I think it's a step in the right direction.  I won't really know what kind of impact this will have on my life for at least another 6 months to a year. For some reason I can't sleep tonight and I think it's really a reflection of my last day.  Tomorrow is an ending and a beginning at the same time.  So it's both kind of sad and exciting.  I don't know why I'm really excited to go to Disney Land for the second time ever in my life time.  I get to ride the Teacups.  For the longest time when I was a kid I wanted to go to Disney Land.  I wanted to ride the teacups.  In 2007, at the age of 25, I rode the teacups for my first ever visit to LA.  That was the start of finally syncing up with my childhood goals.  I wanted to live near a major city.  I wanted to visit all the major cities in the world.  I wanted to see everything and meet everyone.  This job change will probably turn into something great I just don't know it yet.  I'm walking again outside my comfort zone and stepping into uncharted territory.  In 2-3 years I'll probably write another blog post how this week lead to something great.  It just stinks when you have to leave behind something you know and love.  I will miss all my current colleagues, but I'm sure I'll gain some new ones and keep in touch with the old.  To 2010 being a great year for change and hopefully by the end of the year I can say I went to Europe.  To reaching my goals and my dreams.  Don't let anyone stop you from getting what you want in life (unless you are axe murderer please don't kill anyone that's just wrong).  Have a good weekend everyone!

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  • Teacher demands excessive/unjustified use of Design Patterns

    - by SoboLAN
    I study computer science and I have a class called "Programming Techniques". Its purpose is to teach (us) good object oriented design principles. During the semester we have homeworks, programs that we must write to demonstrate what we've learned. The lab assistant demands for each of these homeworks that specific design patterns should be used. For example, the current homework is an application used for processing customer orders. We are demanded to use either "Factory Method" or "Abstract Factory" design patterns for this. It gets even worse: at the end of the semester we must write a program (something more complex) that must use at least one creational pattern, at least one structural pattern and at least one behavioural pattern. Is it normal to demand this ? I mean, forcing us to design our programs in such a way that a specific design pattern makes sense is just beyond what I consider ok. If I'm a car mechanic and have a huge tool box, then I will use a certain tool from that box if and when the situation demands it. Not more, not less. If my design of the application doesn't demand at all the use of "Abstract Factory" (for example), then why should I implement it ? I'm not sure yet if the senior lecturer agrees with what the lab assistant is demanding, but I want to talk to him about it and I need solid arguments to do so. How should I approach this problem with him ? PS: I'm sure there must be a better way to teach us these things. Maybe making us each week read about 3 design patterns and the next week giving us a test with small but specific programming or architectural situations/problems. The goal in that test would be to identify what design patterns would make sense and how they could be implemented. This way, he can see if we understand them. EDIT: These homeworks are not just 100-line programs, they have quite a lot of requirements and are fairly complicated. This is the reason we have about 2 - 3 weeks of deadline for each of them. I agree that practicing this is the best way to learn. But shouldn't smaller programs/applications be used for this ? Something just for demonstrating purposes. Not big programs with lots of requirements/classes/etc.

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  • Friday Fun: Heru

    - by Asian Angel
    This week’s game will test your ability to aim accurately, work quickly, and keep focused all at the same time. Just eliminate the entire chain marbles before it reaches the end of the track, but is it as easy to do as it sounds? There is only one way to find out! HTG Explains: What is the Windows Page File and Should You Disable It? How To Get a Better Wireless Signal and Reduce Wireless Network Interference How To Troubleshoot Internet Connection Problems

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  • E-Business Suite, ADF, Mobile and Eclipse: Oracle OpenWorld is Here!

    - by Juan Camilo Ruiz
    Oracle OpenWorld 2012 is around the corner! Lots of exciting news and content awaits for all attendees next week - the theme of my participation: ADF and E-Business Suite integration, together with ADF development in Oracle Enterprise Eclipse Package and JDeveloper.If you are coming to San Francisco and are a reader of this blog, you might be wondering what I'll be doing next week and also what should you attend? So, the following is the list of activities where I'll be participating or that I recommend you should not miss:First and foremost: On Thursday Oct. 4: Using Oracle ADF with Oracle E-Business Suite: The Full Integration View.  11.15 a.m - Moscone West 3003:  This is an emerging hot topic among both ADF and Oracle E-Business Suite Customers. In this session I'll be doing a presentation with Sara Woodhull from the Applications Technology Group (ATG) in Oracle E-Business Suite and Siva Puthurkattil from Lake County, Illinois. Sunday, Sept. 30:  I'll be hanging out at the ADF EMG User Day, learning directly from our users and Gurus. Monday, Oct. 1: Don't miss Chris Tonas's keynote for developers - at 10:45 am. Salon 8 at the Marriot - The Future of Development for Oracle Fusion—From Desktop to Mobile to Cloud. Then: At 12.15 p.m. Moscone West 3014 - Extend Oracle Fusion Apps to Tablets/Smartphones with Oracle Mobile Technology Followed by: At 1.45 p.m. Moscone West 3002/3004 -  Extend Oracle Applications to Mobile Devices with Oracle’s Mobile Technologies I'll be participating in a couple of Hands-On Labs: Build Mobile Applications for Oracle E-Business Suite 1:45 PM- Marriott Marquis - Salon 10A And: Introduction to ADF 3.15 p.m - Marrriott Marquis - Salon 3/4. Tuesday, Oct. 2: I'll be at the Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse demo booth showing some nice demos on ADF development with Eclipse. Wednesday, Oct. 3: Mobile Apps for Oracle E-Business Suite with Oracle ADF Mobile and Oracle SOA Suite 10:15 AM - Moscone West - 3001. Let's have a beer at the Oracle ADF Developer Meetup. OTN Louge 4:30 p.,m - 5.30 p.m! Thursday, Oct. 4: After my session, come to experience ADF development in Eclipse at the Oracle ADF for Java EE Developers with Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse HandsOn Lab 12.45 p,m - Marriot room 3/4. All the Oracle OpenWorld related sessions can be found here: ADF - http://goo.gl/eJFNi Mobile: http://goo.gl/mGoRM E-Business Suite: http://goo.gl/5NqMd

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  • Comparison of Extreme Programming (XP) to Traditional Programming Methodologies

    The comparison of extreme programming (XP) to traditional programming methodologies can find similarities between the historic biblical battle between David and Goliath. Goliath of Gath is a Philistine warrior renowned for his size, strength and battle tested skills. Much like Goliath, traditional methodologies are known to be cumbersome due to large amounts of documentation, and time consuming do to the time needed to gather all the information. However, traditional methodologies have been widely accepted by the software development community for years because of its attention to detail regarding project development and maintenance. David is a male Israelite teenager, who was small, fearless, and untrained in any type of formal combat. In a similar fashion, extreme programming focuses more on code over documentation so that time is spent on developing the project and not on cumbersome documentation of a project. Typically, project managers and developers are fearless when they start this type of project because they usually start with little to no documentation, and they expect to be given changes to be implemented at the start of every new project iteration. Because of the lack of need or desire for documentation in extreme programming projects they appear to act as if there is no formal process involved in developing an extreme programming project.  This is a misnomer, because of the consistent development iterations and interaction with clients and users the quickly takes form because each iteration allows the project to be refined as the customer needs and desires change. Ravikant Agarwal and David Umphress documented a new approach to extreme programming called personal extreme programming (PXP) at the ACM Southeast Regional Conference in 2008. PXP is the application of extreme programming core concepts in a single developer team environment.  PXP focuses on how to adjust the main concepts and practices of extreme programming that is typically centered in a group environment and how they can be altered to be beneficial for a single developer environment. Suzanne Smith and Sara Stoecklin are both advocates of extreme programming according to the Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges and in fact they feel that it should receive more attention in introductory programming classes to allow students to better understand the software development process. Reasons why extreme programming is a good thing: Developers get to do more of what they love, Develop. Traditional software development methodologies tend to  add additional demands on a project by requiring all requirements and project specifications to be fully defined prior to the start of the implementation phase of a project. A standard 40 hour work week. With limiting the work week to only 40 hours prevents developers from getting burned out on projects.

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  • Friday Fun: 3 Slices

    - by Asian Angel
    Your weekend is almost here, so why not get an early start on the fun with a quick bit of gaming goodness? In this week’s game your powers of division will be put to the test as you seek to clear each level of red box material using a limited number of slices. How to Make the Kindle Fire Silk Browser *Actually* Fast! Amazon’s New Kindle Fire Tablet: the How-To Geek Review HTG Explains: How Hackers Take Over Web Sites with SQL Injection / DDoS

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