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safe dereferencing and deletion

- by serejko

Hi, I'm relatively new to C++ and OOP in general and currently trying to make such a class that allows to dereference and delete a dead or invalid pointer without any care of having undefined behavior or program fault in result, and I want to ask you is it a good idea and is there something similar which is already implemented by someone else? or maybe I'm doing something completely wrong? I've just started making it and here is the code I currently have: template<class T> class SafeDeref { public: T& operator *() { hash_set<T*>::iterator it = theStore.find(reinterpret_cast<T*>(ptr)); if (it != theStore.end()) return *this; return theDefaultObject; } T* operator ->() { hash_set<T*>::iterator it = theStore.find(reinterpret_cast<T*>(ptr)); if (it != theStore.end()) return this; return &theDefaultObject; } void* operator new(size_t size) { void* ptr = malloc(size * sizeof(T)); if (ptr != 0) theStore.insert(reinterpret_cast<T*>(ptr)); return ptr; } void operator delete(void* ptr) { hash_set<T*>::iterator it = theStore.find(reinterpret_cast<T*>(ptr)); if (it != theStore.end()) { theStore.erase(it); free(ptr); } } protected: static bool isInStore(T* ptr) { return theStore.find(ptr) != theStore.end(); } private: static T theDefaultObject; static hash_set<T*> theStore; }; The idea is that each class with the safe dereference should be inherited from it like this: class Foo : public SafeDeref<Foo> { void doSomething(); }; So... Any advices? Thanks in advance. P.S. If you're wondering why I need this... well, I'm creating a set of native functions for some scripting environment, and all of them use pointers to internally allocated objects as handles to them and they're able to delete them as well (input data can be wrong), so this is kinda protection from damaging host application's memory And I really sorry for my bad English

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PHP array performance

- by dfo

Hi, this is my first question on Stackoverflow, please bear with me. I'm testing an algorithm for 2d bin packing and I've chosen PHP to mock it up as it's my bread-and-butter language nowadays. As you can see on http://themworks.com/pack_v0.2/oopack.php?ol=1 it works pretty well, but you need to wait around 10-20 seconds for 100 rectangles to pack. For some hard to handle sets it would hit the php's 30s runtime limit. I did some profiling and it shows that most of the time my script goes through different parts of a small 2d array with 0's and 1's in it. It either checks if certain cell equals to 0/1 or sets it to 0/1. It can do such operations million times and each times it takes few microseconds. I guess I could use an array of booleans in a statically typed language and things would be faster. Or even make an array of 1 bit values. I'm thinking of converting the whole thing to some compiled language. Is PHP just not good for it? If I do need to convert it to let's say C++, how good are the automatic converters? My script is just a lot of for loops with basic arrays and objects manipulations. Thank you! Edit. This function gets called more than any other. It reads few properties of a very simple object, and goes through a very small part of a smallish array to check if there's any element not equal to 0. function fits($bin, $file, $x, $y) { $flag = true; $xw = $x + $file->get_width();; $yh = $y + $file->get_height(); for ($i = $x; $i < $xw; $i++) { for ($j = $y; $j < $yh; $j++) { if ($bin[$i][$j] !== 0) { $flag = false; break; } } if (!$flag) break; } return $flag; }

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How to iterate a list inside a list in java?

- by user2142786

Hi i have two value object classes . package org.array; import java.util.List; public class Father { private String name; private int age ; private List<Children> Childrens; public String getName() { return name; } public void setName(String name) { this.name = name; } public int getAge() { return age; } public void setAge(int age) { this.age = age; } public List<Children> getChildrens() { return Childrens; } public void setChildrens(List<Children> childrens) { Childrens = childrens; } } second is for children package org.array; public class Children { private String name; private int age ; public String getName() { return name; } public void setName(String name) { this.name = name; } public int getAge() { return age; } public void setAge(int age) { this.age = age; } } and i want to print there value i nested a list inside a list here i am putting only a single value inside the objects while in real i have many values . so i am nesting list of children inside father list. how can i print or get the value of child and father both. here is my logic. package org.array; import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.Iterator; import java.util.List; public class ArrayDemo { public static void main(String[] args) { List <Father> fatherList = new ArrayList<Father>(); Father father = new Father(); father.setName("john"); father.setAge(25); fatherList.add(father); List <Children> childrens = new ArrayList<Children>(); Children children = new Children(); children.setName("david"); children.setAge(2); childrens.add(children); father.setChildrens(childrens); fatherList.add(father); Iterator<Father> iterator = fatherList.iterator(); while (iterator.hasNext()) { System.out.println(iterator.toString()); } } }

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Scripting with the Sun ZFS Storage 7000 Appliance

- by Geoff Ongley

The Sun ZFS Storage 7000 appliance has a user friendly and easy to understand graphical web based interface we call the "BUI" or "Browser User Interface".This interface is very useful for many tasks, but in some cases a script (or workflow) may be more appropriate, such as:Repetitive tasksTasks which work on (or obtain information about) a large number of shares or usersTasks which are triggered by an alert threshold (workflows)Tasks where you want a only very basic input, but a consistent output (workflows)The appliance scripting language is based on ECMAscript 3 (close to javascript). I'm not going to cover ECMAscript 3 in great depth (I'm far from an expert here), but I would like to show you some neat things you can do with the appliance, to get you started based on what I have found from my own playing around.I'm making the assumption you have some sort of programming background, and understand variables, arrays, functions to some extent - but of course if something is not clear, please let me know so I can fix it up or clarify it.Variable Declarations and ArraysVariablesECMAScript is a dynamically and weakly typed language. If you don't know what that means, google is your friend - but at a high level it means we can just declare variables with no specific type and on the fly.For example, I can declare a variable and use it straight away in the middle of my code, for example:projects=list();Which makes projects an array of values that are returned from the list(); function (which is usable in most contexts). With this kind of variable, I can do things like:projects.length (this property on array tells you how many objects are in it, good for for loops etc). Alternatively, I could say:projects=3;and now projects is just a simple number.Should we declare variables like this so loosely? In my opinion, the answer is no - I feel it is a better practice to declare variables you are going to use, before you use them - and given them an initial value. You can do so as follows:var myVariable=0;To demonstrate the ability to just randomly assign and change the type of variables, you can create a simple script at the cli as follows (bold for input):fishy10:> script("." to run)> run("cd /");("." to run)> run ("shares");("." to run)> var projects;("." to run)> projects=list();("." to run)> printf("Number of projects is: %d\n",projects.length);("." to run)> projects=152;("." to run)> printf("Value of the projects variable as an integer is now: %d\n",projects);("." to run)> .Number of projects is: 7Value of the projects variable as an integer is now: 152You can also confirm this behaviour by checking the typeof variable we are dealing with:fishy10:> script("." to run)> run("cd /");("." to run)> run ("shares");("." to run)> var projects;("." to run)> projects=list();("." to run)> printf("var projects is of type %s\n",typeof(projects));("." to run)> projects=152;("." to run)> printf("var projects is of type %s\n",typeof(projects));("." to run)> .var projects is of type objectvar projects is of type numberArraysSo you likely noticed that we have already touched on arrays, as the list(); (in the shares context) stored an array into the 'projects' variable.But what if you want to declare your own array? Easy! This is very similar to Java and other languages, we just instantiate a brand new "Array" object using the keyword new:var myArray = new Array();will create an array called "myArray".A quick example:fishy10:> script("." to run)> testArray = new Array();("." to run)> testArray[0]="This";("." to run)> testArray[1]="is";("." to run)> testArray[2]="just";("." to run)> testArray[3]="a";("." to run)> testArray[4]="test";("." to run)> for (i=0; i < testArray.length; i++)("." to run)> {("." to run)> printf("Array element %d is %s\n",i,testArray[i]);("." to run)> }("." to run)> .Array element 0 is ThisArray element 1 is isArray element 2 is justArray element 3 is aArray element 4 is testWorking With LoopsFor LoopFor loops are very similar to those you will see in C, java and several other languages. One of the key differences here is, as you were made aware earlier, we can be a bit more sloppy with our variable declarations.The general way you would likely use a for loop is as follows:for (variable; test-case; modifier for variable){}For example, you may wish to declare a variable i as 0; and a MAX_ITERATIONS variable to determine how many times this loop should repeat:var i=0;var MAX_ITERATIONS=10;And then, use this variable to be tested against some case existing (has i reached MAX_ITERATIONS? - if not, increment i using i++);for (i=0; i < MAX_ITERATIONS; i++){ // some work to do}So lets run something like this on the appliance:fishy10:> script("." to run)> var i=0;("." to run)> var MAX_ITERATIONS=10;("." to run)> for (i=0; i < MAX_ITERATIONS; i++)("." to run)> {("." to run)> printf("The number is %d\n",i);("." to run)> }("." to run)> .The number is 0The number is 1The number is 2The number is 3The number is 4The number is 5The number is 6The number is 7The number is 8The number is 9While LoopWhile loops again are very similar to other languages, we loop "while" a condition is met. For example:fishy10:> script("." to run)> var isTen=false;("." to run)> var counter=0;("." to run)> while(isTen==false)("." to run)> {("." to run)> if (counter==10) ("." to run)> { ("." to run)> isTen=true; ("." to run)> } ("." to run)> printf("Counter is %d\n",counter);("." to run)> counter++; ("." to run)> }("." to run)> printf("Loop has ended and Counter is %d\n",counter);("." to run)> .Counter is 0Counter is 1Counter is 2Counter is 3Counter is 4Counter is 5Counter is 6Counter is 7Counter is 8Counter is 9Counter is 10Loop has ended and Counter is 11So what do we notice here? Something has actually gone wrong - counter will technically be 11 once the loop completes... Why is this?Well, if we have a loop like this, where the 'while' condition that will end the loop may be set based on some other condition(s) existing (such as the counter has reached 10) - we must ensure that we terminate this iteration of the loop when the condition is met - otherwise the rest of the code will be followed which may not be desirable. In other words, like in other languages, we will only ever check the loop condition once we are ready to perform the next iteration, so any other code after we set "isTen" to be true, will still be executed as we can see it was above.We can avoid this by adding a break into our loop once we know we have set the condition - this will stop the rest of the logic being processed in this iteration (and as such, counter will not be incremented). So lets try that again:fishy10:> script("." to run)> var isTen=false;("." to run)> var counter=0;("." to run)> while(isTen==false)("." to run)> {("." to run)> if (counter==10) ("." to run)> { ("." to run)> isTen=true; ("." to run)> break;("." to run)> } ("." to run)> printf("Counter is %d\n",counter);("." to run)> counter++; ("." to run)> }("." to run)> printf("Loop has ended and Counter is %d\n", counter);("." to run)> .Counter is 0Counter is 1Counter is 2Counter is 3Counter is 4Counter is 5Counter is 6Counter is 7Counter is 8Counter is 9Loop has ended and Counter is 10Much better!Methods to Obtain and Manipulate DataGet MethodThe get method allows you to get simple properties from an object, for example a quota from a user. The syntax is fairly simple:var myVariable=get('property');An example of where you may wish to use this, is when you are getting a bunch of information about a user (such as quota information when in a shares context):var users=list();for(k=0; k < users.length; k++){ user=users[k]; run('select ' + user); var username=get('name'); var usage=get('usage'); var quota=get('quota');...Which you can then use to your advantage - to print or manipulate infomation (you could change a user's information with a set method, based on the information returned from the get method). The set method is explained next.Set MethodThe set method can be used in a simple manner, similar to get. The syntax for set is:set('property','value'); // where value is a string, if it was a number, you don't need quotesFor example, we could set the quota on a share as follows (first observing the initial value):fishy10:shares default/test-geoff> script("." to run)> var currentQuota=get('quota');("." to run)> printf("Current Quota is: %s\n",currentQuota);("." to run)> set('quota','30G');("." to run)> run('commit');("." to run)> currentQuota=get('quota');("." to run)> printf("Current Quota is: %s\n",currentQuota);("." to run)> .Current Quota is: 0Current Quota is: 32212254720This shows us using both the get and set methods as can be used in scripts, of course when only setting an individual share, the above is overkill - it would be much easier to set it manually at the cli using 'set quota=3G' and then 'commit'.List MethodThe list method can be very powerful, especially in more complex scripts which iterate over large amounts of data and manipulate it if so desired. The general way you will use list is as follows:var myVar=list();Which will make "myVar" an array, containing all the objects in the relevant context (this could be a list of users, shares, projects, etc). You can then gather or manipulate data very easily.We could list all the shares and mountpoints in a given project for example:fishy10:shares another-project> script("." to run)> var shares=list();("." to run)> for (i=0; i < shares.length; i++)("." to run)> {("." to run)> run('select ' + shares[i]);("." to run)> var mountpoint=get('mountpoint');("." to run)> printf("Share %s discovered, has mountpoint %s\n",shares[i],mountpoint);("." to run)> run('done');("." to run)> }("." to run)> .Share and-another discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/and-anotherShare another-share discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/another-shareShare bob discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-projectShare more-shares-for-all discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/more-shares-for-allShare yep discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/yepWriting More Complex and Re-Usable CodeFunctionsThe best way to be able to write more complex code is to use functions to split up repeatable or reusable sections of your code. This also makes your more complex code easier to read and understand for other programmers.We write functions as follows:function functionName(variable1,variable2,...,variableN){}For example, we could have a function that takes a project name as input, and lists shares for that project (assuming we're already in the 'project' context - context is important!):function getShares(proj){ run('select ' + proj); shares=list(); printf("Project: %s\n", proj); for(j=0; j < shares.length; j++) { printf("Discovered share: %s\n",shares[i]); } run('done'); // exit selected project}Commenting your CodeLike any other language, a large part of making it readable and understandable is to comment it. You can use the same comment style as in C and Java amongst other languages.In other words, sngle line comments use://at the beginning of the comment.Multi line comments use:/*at the beginning, and:*/ at the end.For example, here we will use both:fishy10:> script("." to run)> // This is a test comment("." to run)> printf("doing some work...\n");("." to run)> /* This is a multi-line("." to run)> comment which I will span across("." to run)> three lines in total */("." to run)> printf("doing some more work...\n");("." to run)> .doing some work...doing some more work...Your comments do not have to be on their own, they can begin (particularly with single line comments this is handy) at the end of a statement, for examplevar projects=list(); // The variable projects is an array containing all projects on the system.Try and Catch StatementsYou may be used to using try and catch statements in other languages, and they can (and should) be utilised in your code to catch expected or unexpected error conditions, that you do NOT wish to stop your code from executing (if you do not catch these errors, your script will exit!):try{ // do some work}catch(err) // Catch any error that could occur{ // do something here under the error condition}For example, you may wish to only execute some code if a context can be reached. If you can't perform certain actions under certain circumstances, that may be perfectly acceptable.For example if you want to test a condition that only makes sense when looking at a SMB/NFS share, but does not make sense when you hit an iscsi or FC LUN, you don't want to stop all processing of other shares you may not have covered yet.For example we may wish to obtain quota information on all shares for all users on a share (but this makes no sense for a LUN):function getShareQuota(shar) // Get quota for each user of this share{ run('select ' + shar); printf(" SHARE: %s\n", shar); try { run('users'); printf(" %20s %11s %11s %3s\n","Username","Usage(G)","Quota(G)","Quota(%)"); printf(" %20s %11s %11s %4s\n","--------","--------","--------","----"); users=list(); for(k=0; k < users.length; k++) { user=users[k]; getUserQuota(user); } run('done'); // exit user context } catch(err) { printf(" SKIPPING %s - This is NOT a NFS or CIFs share, not looking for users\n", shar); } run('done'); // done with this share}Running Scripts Remotely over SSHAs you have likely noticed, writing and running scripts for all but the simplest jobs directly on the appliance is not going to be a lot of fun.There's a couple of choices on what you can do here:Create scripts on a remote system and run them over sshCreate scripts, wrapping them in workflow code, so they are stored on the appliance and can be triggered under certain circumstances (like a threshold being reached)We'll cover the first one here, and then cover workflows later on (as these are for the most part just scripts with some wrapper information around them).Creating a SSH Public/Private SSH Key PairLog on to your handy Solaris box (You wouldn't be using any other OS, right? :P) and use ssh-keygen to create a pair of ssh keys. I'm storing this separate to my normal key:[geoff@lightning ~] ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 1024Generating public/private rsa key pair.Enter file in which to save the key (/export/home/geoff/.ssh/id_rsa): /export/home/geoff/.ssh/nas_key_rsaEnter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Enter same passphrase again: Your identification has been saved in /export/home/geoff/.ssh/nas_key_rsa.Your public key has been saved in /export/home/geoff/.ssh/nas_key_rsa.pub.The key fingerprint is:7f:3d:53:f0:2a:5e:8b:2d:94:2a:55:77:66:5c:9b:14 geoff@lightningInstalling the Public Key on the ApplianceOn your Solaris host, observe the public key:[geoff@lightning ~] cat .ssh/nas_key_rsa.pub ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAIEAvYfK3RIaAYmMHBOvyhKM41NaSmcgUMC3igPN5gUKJQvSnYmjuWG6CBr1CkF5UcDji7v19jG3qAD5lAMFn+L0CxgRr8TNaAU+hA4/tpAGkjm+dKYSyJgEdMIURweyyfUFXoerweR8AWW5xlovGKEWZTAfvJX9Zqvh8oMQ5UJLUUc= geoff@lightningNow, copy and paste everything after "ssh-rsa" and before "user@hostname" - in this case, geoff@lightning. That is, this bit:AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAIEAvYfK3RIaAYmMHBOvyhKM41NaSmcgUMC3igPN5gUKJQvSnYmjuWG6CBr1CkF5UcDji7v19jG3qAD5lAMFn+L0CxgRr8TNaAU+hA4/tpAGkjm+dKYSyJgEdMIURweyyfUFXoerweR8AWW5xlovGKEWZTAfvJX9Zqvh8oMQ5UJLUUc=Logon to your appliance and get into the preferences -> keys area for this user (root):[geoff@lightning ~] ssh [email protected]: Last login: Mon Dec 6 17:13:28 2010 from 192.168.0.2fishy10:> configuration usersfishy10:configuration users> select rootfishy10:configuration users root> preferences fishy10:configuration users root preferences> keysOR do it all in one hit:fishy10:> configuration users select root preferences keysNow, we create a new public key that will be accepted for this user and set the type to RSA:fishy10:configuration users root preferences keys> createfishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> set type=RSASet the key itself using the string copied previously (between ssh-rsa and user@host), and set the key ensuring you put double quotes around it (eg. set key="<key>"):fishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> set key="AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAIEAvYfK3RIaAYmMHBOvyhKM41NaSmcgUMC3igPN5gUKJQvSnYmjuWG6CBr1CkF5UcDji7v19jG3qAD5lAMFn+L0CxgRr8TNaAU+hA4/tpAGkjm+dKYSyJgEdMIURweyyfUFXoerweR8AWW5xlovGKEWZTAfvJX9Zqvh8oMQ5UJLUUc="Now set the comment for this key (do not use spaces):fishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> set comment="LightningRSAKey" Commit the new key:fishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> commitVerify the key is there:fishy10:configuration users root preferences keys> lsKeys:NAME MODIFIED TYPE COMMENT key-000 2010-10-25 20:56:42 RSA cycloneRSAKey key-001 2010-12-6 17:44:53 RSA LightningRSAKey As you can see, we now have my new key, and a previous key I have created on this appliance.Running your Script over SSH from a Remote SystemHere I have created a basic test script, and saved it as test.ecma3:[geoff@lightning ~] cat test.ecma3 script// This is a test script, By Geoff Ongley 2010.printf("Testing script remotely over ssh\n");.Now, we can run this script remotely with our keyless login:[geoff@lightning ~] ssh -i .ssh/nas_key_rsa root@fishy10 < test.ecma3Pseudo-terminal will not be allocated because stdin is not a terminal.Testing script remotely over sshPutting it Together - An Example Completed Quota Gathering ScriptSo now we have a lot of the basics to creating a script, let us do something useful, like, find out how much every user is using, on every share on the system (you will recognise some of the code from my previous examples): script/************************************** Quick and Dirty Quota Check script ** Written By Geoff Ongley ** 25 October 2010 **************************************/function getUserQuota(usr){ run('select ' + usr); var username=get('name'); var usage=get('usage'); var quota=get('quota'); var usage_g=usage / 1073741824; // convert bytes to gigabytes var quota_g=quota / 1073741824; // as above var quota_percent=0 if (quota > 0) { quota_percent=(usage / quota)*(100/1); } printf(" %20s %8.2f %8.2f %d%%\n",username,usage_g,quota_g,quota_percent); run('done'); // done with this selected user}function getShareQuota(shar){ //printf("DEBUG: selecting share %s\n", shar); run('select ' + shar); printf(" SHARE: %s\n", shar); try { run('users'); printf(" %20s %11s %11s %3s\n","Username","Usage(G)","Quota(G)","Quota(%)"); printf(" %20s %11s %11s %4s\n","--------","--------","--------","--------"); users=list(); for(k=0; k < users.length; k++) { user=users[k]; getUserQuota(user); } run('done'); // exit user context } catch(err) { printf(" SKIPPING %s - This is NOT a NFS or CIFs share, not looking for users\n", shar); } run('done'); // done with this share}function getShares(proj){ //printf("DEBUG: selecting project %s\n",proj); run('select ' + proj); shares=list(); printf("Project: %s\n", proj); for(j=0; j < shares.length; j++) { share=shares[j]; getShareQuota(share); } run('done'); // exit selected project}function getProjects(){ run('cd /'); run('shares'); projects=list(); for (i=0; i < projects.length; i++) { var project=projects[i]; getShares(project); } run('done'); // exit context for all projects}getProjects();.Which can be run as follows, and will print information like this:[geoff@lightning ~/FISHWORKS_SCRIPTS] ssh -i ~/.ssh/nas_key_rsa root@fishy10 < get_quota_utilisation.ecma3Pseudo-terminal will not be allocated because stdin is not a terminal.Project: another-project SHARE: and-another Username Usage(G) Quota(G) Quota(%) -------- -------- -------- -------- nobody 0.00 0.00 0% geoffro 0.05 0.00 0% Billy 0.10 0.00 0% root 0.00 0.00 0% testing-user 0.05 0.00 0% SHARE: another-share Username Usage(G) Quota(G) Quota(%) -------- -------- -------- -------- root 0.00 0.00 0% nobody 0.00 0.00 0% geoffro 0.05 0.49 9% testing-user 0.05 0.02 249% Billy 0.10 0.29 33% SHARE: bob Username Usage(G) Quota(G) Quota(%) -------- -------- -------- -------- nobody 0.00 0.00 0% root 0.00 0.00 0% SHARE: more-shares-for-all Username Usage(G) Quota(G) Quota(%) -------- -------- -------- -------- Billy 0.10 0.00 0% testing-user 0.05 0.00 0% nobody 0.00 0.00 0% root 0.00 0.00 0% geoffro 0.05 0.00 0% SHARE: yep Username Usage(G) Quota(G) Quota(%) -------- -------- -------- -------- root 0.00 0.00 0% nobody 0.00 0.00 0% Billy 0.10 0.01 999% testing-user 0.05 0.49 9% geoffro 0.05 0.00 0%Project: default SHARE: Test-LUN SKIPPING Test-LUN - This is NOT a NFS or CIFs share, not looking for users SHARE: test-geoff Username Usage(G) Quota(G) Quota(%) -------- -------- -------- -------- geoffro 0.05 0.00 0% root 3.18 10.00 31% uucp 0.00 0.00 0% nobody 0.59 0.49 119%^CKilled by signal 2.Creating a WorkflowWorkflows are scripts that we store on the appliance, and can have the script execute either on request (even from the BUI), or on an event such as a threshold being met.Workflow BasicsA workflow allows you to create a simple process that can be executed either via the BUI interface interactively, or by an alert being raised (for some threshold being reached, for example).The basics parameters you will have to set for your "workflow object" (notice you're creating a variable, that embodies ECMAScript) are as follows (parameters is optional):name: A name for this workflowdescription: A Description for the workflowparameters: A set of input parameters (useful when you need user input to execute the workflow)execute: The code, the script itself to execute, which will be function (parameters)With parameters, you can specify things like this (slightly modified sample taken from the System Administration Guide): ...parameters: variableParam1: { label: 'Name of Share', type: 'String' }, variableParam2 { label: 'Share Size', type: 'size' },execute: ....}; Note the commas separating the sections of name, parameters, execute, and so on. This is important!Also - there is plenty of properties you can set on the parameters for your workflow, these are described in the Sun ZFS Storage System Administration Guide.Creating a Basic Workflow from a Basic ScriptTo make a basic script into a basic workflow, you need to wrap the following around your script to create a 'workflow' object:var workflow = {name: 'Get User Quotas',description: 'Displays Quota Utilisation for each user on each share',execute: function() {// (basic script goes here, minus the "script" at the beginning, and "." at the end)}};However, it appears (at least in my experience to date) that the workflow object may only be happy with one function in the execute parameter - either that or I'm doing something wrong. As far as I can tell, after execute: you should only have a basic one function context like so:execute: function(){}To deal with this, and to give an example similar to our script earlier, I have created another simple quota check, to show the same basic functionality, but in a workflow format:var workflow = {name: 'Get User Quotas',description: 'Displays Quota Utilisation for each user on each share',execute: function () { run('cd /'); run('shares'); projects=list(); for (i=0; i < projects.length; i++) { run('select ' + projects[i]); shares=list('filesystem'); printf("Project: %s\n", projects[i]); for(j=0; j < shares.length; j++) { run('select ' +shares[j]); try { run('users'); printf(" SHARE: %s\n", shares[j]); printf(" %20s %11s %11s %3s\n","Username","Usage(G)","Quota(G)","Quota(%)"); printf(" %20s %11s %11s %4s\n","--------","--------","--------","-------"); users=list(); for(k=0; k < users.length; k++) { run('select ' + users[k]); username=get('name'); usage=get('usage'); quota=get('quota'); usage_g=usage / 1073741824; // convert bytes to gigabytes quota_g=quota / 1073741824; // as above quota_percent=0 if (quota > 0) { quota_percent=(usage / quota)*(100/1); } printf(" %20s %8.2f %8.2f %d%%\n",username,usage_g,quota_g,quota_percent); run('done'); } run('done'); // exit user context } catch(err) { // printf(" %s is a LUN, Not looking for users\n", shares[j]); } run('done'); // exit selected share context } run('done'); // exit project context } }};SummaryThe Sun ZFS Storage 7000 Appliance offers lots of different and interesting features to Sun/Oracle customers, including the world renowned Analytics. Hopefully the above will help you to think of new creative things you could be doing by taking advantage of one of the other neat features, the internal scripting engine!Some references are below to help you continue learning more, I'll update this post as I do the same! Enjoy...More information on ECMAScript 3A complete reference to ECMAScript 3 which will help you learn more of the details you may be interested in, can be found here:http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST-ARCH/ECMA-262,%203rd%20edition,%20December%201999.pdfMore Information on Administering the Sun ZFS Storage 7000The Sun ZFS Storage 7000 System Administration guide can be a useful reference point, and can be found here:http://wikis.sun.com/download/attachments/186238602/2010_Q3_2_ADMIN.pdf

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SSL certificates and types for securing your websites and applications

- by Mit Naik

Need to share few information regarding SSL certificates and there types, which SSL certificates are widely used etc. There are several SSL certificates available in the market today inorder to secure your domains, multiple subdomains, your applications and code too. Few of the details are mentioned below. CheapSSL certificates available today are Standard Rapidssl certificate, Thwate SSL 123 etc certificates which are basic level certificates. Most of these cheap SSL certificates are domain-validated only and don't provide the greatest trust for your customers. This means you shouldn't use cheap SSL certificates on e-commerce stores or other public-facing sites that require people to trust the site. EV certificates I found Geotrust Truebusinessid with EV certificate which is one of the cheapest certificate available in market today, you can also find Thwate, Versign EV version of certificates. Its designed to prevent phishing attacks better than normal SSL certificates. What makes an EV Certificate so special? An SSL Certificate Provider has to do some extensive validation to give you one including: Verifying that your organization is legally registered and active, Verifying the address and phone number of your organization, Verifying that your organization has exclusive right to use the domain specified in the EV Certificate, Verifying that the person ordering the certificate has been authorized by the organization, Verifying that your organization is not on any government blacklists. SSL WILDCARD CERTIFICATES, SSL Wildcard Certificates are big money-savers. An SSL Wildcard Certificate allows you to secure an unlimited number of first-level sub-domains on a single domain name. For example, if you need to secure the following websites: * www.yourdomain.com * secure.yourdomain.com * product.yourdomain.com * info.yourdomain.com * download.yourdomain.com * anything.yourdomain.com and all of these websites are hosted on the multiple server box, you can purchase and install one Wildcard certificate issued to *.yourdomain.com to secure all these sites. SAN CERTIFICATES, are interesting certificates and are helpfull if you want to secure multiple domains by generating single CSR and can install the same certificate on your additional sites without generating new CSRs for all the additional domains. CODE SIGNING CERTIFICATES, A code signing certificate is a file containing a digital signature that can be used to sign executables and scripts in order to verify your identity and ensure that your code has not been tampered with since it was signed. This helps your users to determine whether your software can be trusted. Scroll to the chart below to compare cheap code signing certificates. A code signing certificate allows you to sign code using a private and public key system similar to how an SSL certificate secures a website. When you request a code signing certificate, a public/private key pair is generated. The certificate authority will then issue a code signing certificate that contains the public key. A certificate for code signing needs to be signed by a trusted certificate authority so that the operating system knows that your identity has been validated. You could still use the code signing certificate to sign and distribute malicious software but you will be held legally accountable for it. You can sign many different types of code. The most common types include Windows applications such as .exe, .cab, .dll, .ocx, and .xpi files (using an Authenticode certificate), Apple applications (using an Apple code signing certificate), Microsoft Office VBA objects and macros (using a VBA code signing certificate), .jar files (using a Java code signing certificate), .air or .airi files (using an Adobe AIR certificate), and Windows Vista drivers and other kernel-mode software (using a Vista code certificate). In reality, a code signing certificate can sign almost all types of code as long as you convert the certificate to the correct format first. Also I found the below URL which provides you good suggestion regarding purchasing best SSL certificates for securing your site, as per the Financial institution, Bank, Hosting providers, ISP, Retail Merchants etc. Please vote and provide comments or any additional suggestions regarding SSL certificates.

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Problem Disabling Roaming Profiles on Grouped Users

- by user43207

I'm having some serious issues getting a group of users to stop using roaming profiles. As expected, I have roaming profiles enabled accross the domain. - But am doing GPO filtering, limiting the scope. I originally had it set to authenticated users for Roaming, but as the domain has branched out to multiple locations, I've limited the scope to only people that are near the central office. The GPO that I have linked filtered to a group I have created that include users that I don't want to have roaming profiles. This GPO is sitting at the root of the domain, with the "Forced" setting enabled, so it should override any setting below it. *On a side note, it is the ONLY GPO that I have set to "Forced" right now. I know the GPO is working, since I can see the original registy settings on a user that logged in under roaming profiles - and then that same user logging in after I made the Group Policy changes, the registry reflects a local profile. But unfortunately, even after making those settings - the user is given a roaming profile on one of the servers. A gpresult of that same user account (after the updated gpo) is listed in the code block below. You can see right at the top of that output, that it is infact dealing with a roaming profile. - And sure enough, on the server that's hosting the file share for roaming profiles, it creates a folder for the user once they log in. For testing purposes, I've deleted all copies of the user's profile, roaming and local. But the problem is still here. - So I'm aparently missing something in the group policy settings on a wider scale. Would anybody be able to point me in the direction of what I'm missing here? *gpresult /r*** Microsoft (R) Windows (R) Operating System Group Policy Result tool v2.0 Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-2001 Created On 5/15/2010 at 8:59:00 AM RSOP data for ** on * : Logging Mode OS Configuration: Member Workstation OS Version: 6.1.7600 Site Name: N/A Roaming Profile: \\profiles$** Local Profile: C:\Users*** Connected over a slow link?: No USER SETTINGS CN=*****,OU=*****,OU=*****,OU=*****,DC=*****,DC=***** Last time Group Policy was applied: 5/15/2010 at 8:52:02 AM Group Policy was applied from: *****.*****.com Group Policy slow link threshold: 500 kbps Domain Name: USSLINDSTROM Domain Type: Windows 2000 Applied Group Policy Objects ----------------------------- ForceLocalProfilesOnly InternetExplorer_***** GlobalPasswordPolicy The following GPOs were not applied because they were filtered out ------------------------------------------------------------------- DAgentFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) WSAdmin_***** Filtering: Denied (Security) NetlogonFirewallExceptions Filtering: Not Applied (Empty) NetLogon_***** Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleManualInstall Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleDaily_0300 Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleThu_0100 Filtering: Denied (Security) AlternateSSLFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) SNMPFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleSun_0100 Filtering: Denied (Security) SQLServerFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleTue_0100 Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleSat_0100 Filtering: Denied (Security) DisableUAC Filtering: Denied (Security) ICMPFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) AdminShareFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) GPRefreshInterval Filtering: Denied (Security) ServeRAIDFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleFri_0100 Filtering: Denied (Security) BlockFirewallExceptions(8400-8410) Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleWed_0100 Filtering: Denied (Security) Local Group Policy Filtering: Not Applied (Empty) WSUS_***** Filtering: Denied (Security) LogonAsService_Idaho Filtering: Denied (Security) ReportServerFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) WSUSUpdateScheduleMon_0100 Filtering: Denied (Security) TFSFirewallExceptions Filtering: Denied (Security) Default Domain Policy Filtering: Not Applied (Empty) DenyServerSideRoamingProfiles Filtering: Denied (Security) ShareConnectionsRemainAlive Filtering: Denied (Security) The user is a part of the following security groups --------------------------------------------------- Domain Users Everyone BUILTIN\Users BUILTIN\Administrators NT AUTHORITY\INTERACTIVE CONSOLE LOGON NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users This Organization LOCAL *****Users VPNAccess_***** NetAdmin_***** SiteAdmin_***** WSAdmin_***** VPNAccess_***** LocalProfileOnly_***** NetworkAdmin_***** LocalProfileOnly_***** VPNAccess_***** NetAdmin_***** Domain Admins WSAdmin_***** WSAdmin_***** ***** ***** Schema Admins ***** Enterprise Admins Denied RODC Password Replication Group High Mandatory Level

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Useful Command-line Commands on Windows

- by Sung Meister

The aim for this Wiki is to promote using a command to open up commonly used applications without having to go through many mouse clicks - thus saving time on monitoring and troubleshooting Windows machines. Answer entries need to specify Application name Commands Screenshot (Optional) Shortcut to commands && - Command Chaining %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\rcimlby.exe -LaunchRA - Remote Assistance (Windows XP) appwiz.cpl - Programs and Features (Formerly Known as "Add or Remove Programs") appwiz.cpl @,2 - Turn Windows Features On and Off (Add/Remove Windows Components pane) arp - Displays and modifies the IP-to-Physical address translation tables used by address resolution protocol (ARP) at - Schedule tasks either locally or remotely without using Scheduled Tasks bootsect.exe - Updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions to switch between BOOTMGR and NTLDR cacls - Change Access Control List (ACL) permissions on a directory, its subcontents, or files calc - Calculator chkdsk - Check/Fix the disk surface for physical errors or bad sectors cipher - Displays or alters the encryption of directories [files] on NTFS partitions cleanmgr.exe - Disk Cleanup clip - Redirects output of command line tools to the Windows clipboard cls - clear the command line screen cmd /k - Run command with command extensions enabled color - Sets the default console foreground and background colors in console command.com - Default Operating System Shell compmgmt.msc - Computer Management control.exe /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter - Network and Sharing Center control keyboard - Keyboard Properties control mouse(or main.cpl) - Mouse Properties control sysdm.cpl,@0,3 - Advanced Tab of the System Properties dialog control userpasswords2 - Opens the classic User Accounts dialog desk.cpl - opens the display properties devmgmt.msc - Device Manager diskmgmt.msc - Disk Management diskpart - Disk management from the command line dsa.msc - Opens active directory users and computers dsquery - Finds any objects in the directory according to criteria dxdiag - DirectX Diagnostic Tool eventvwr - Windows Event Log (Event Viewer) explorer . - Open explorer with the current folder selected. explorer /e, . - Open explorer, with folder tree, with current folder selected. F7 - View command history find - Searches for a text string in a file or files findstr - Find a string in a file firewall.cpl - Opens the Windows Firewall settings fsmgmt.msc - Shared Folders fsutil - Perform tasks related to FAT and NTFS file systems ftp - Transfers files to and from a computer running an FTP server service getmac - Shows the mac address(es) of your network adapter(s) gpedit.msc - Group Policy Editor gpresult - Displays the Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) information for a target user and computer httpcfg.exe - HTTP Configuration Utility iisreset - To restart IIS InetMgr.exe - Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager 7 InetMgr6.exe - Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager 6 intl.cpl - Regional and Language Options ipconfig - Internet protocol configuration lusrmgr.msc - Local Users and Groups Administrator msconfig - System Configuration notepad - Notepad? ;) mmsys.cpl - Sound/Recording/Playback properties mode - Configure system devices more - Displays one screen of output at a time mrt - Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool mstsc.exe - Remote Desktop Connection nbstat - displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NBT ncpa.cpl - Network Connections netsh - Display or modify the network configuration of a computer that is currently running netstat - Network Statistics net statistics - Check computer up time net stop - Stops a running service. net use - Connects a computer to or disconnects a computer from a shared resource, or displays information about computer connections odbcad32.exe - ODBC Data Source Administrator pathping - A traceroute that collects detailed packet loss stats perfmon - Opens Reliability and Performance Monitor ping - Determine whether a remote computer is accessible over the network powercfg.cpl - Power management control panel applet quser - Display information about user sessions on a terminal server qwinsta - See disconnected remote desktop sessions reg.exe - Console Registry Tool for Windows regedit - Registry Editor rasdial - Connects to a VPN or a dialup network robocopy - Backup/Restore/Copy large amounts of files reliably rsop.msc - Resultant Set of Policy (shows the combined effect of all group policies active on the current system/login) runas - Run specific tools and programs with different permissions than the user's current logon provides sc - Manage anything you want to do with services. schtasks - Enables an administrator to create, delete, query, change, run and end scheduled tasks on a local or remote system. secpol.msc - Local Security Settings services.msc - Services control panel set - Displays, sets, or removes cmd.exe environment variables. set DIRCMD - Preset dir parameter in cmd.exe start - Starts a separate window to run a specified program or command start. - opens the current directory in the Windows Explorer. shutdown.exe - Shutdown or Reboot a local/remote machine subst.exe - Associates a path with a drive letter, including local drives systeminfo -Displays a comprehensive information about the system taskkill - terminate tasks by process id (PID) or image name tasklist.exe - List Processes on local or a remote machine taskmgr.exe - Task Manager telephon.cpl - Telephone and Modem properties timedate.cpl - Date and Time title - Change the title of the CMD window you have open tracert - Trace route wmic - Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line winver.exe - Find Windows Version wscui.cpl - Windows Security Center wuauclt.exe - Windows Update AutoUpdate Client

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Huge performance difference between two web servers, odd behavior seen using process monitor

- by Francis Gagnon

We have two Coldfusion servers that have a huge performance difference running the exact same code on the exact same input data. The code in questions instantiates a large amount of CFCs (Coldfusion Components, which are similar to objects in OOP languages). I compared the two servers by running Process Monitor and then calling the problematic code on both machines. I learned two things. First, Coldfusion opens CFC files every time it instantiates an object. Both servers do this, so it cannot be the cause of the performance difference. Second, the fast server opens the CFC files directly while the server with the performance problem seems to navigate its way through the path until it reaches the desired CFC file. It does this for every file, even the ones it has previously loaded, and because the code instantiates so many CFCs it becomes very slow. See below the partial Promon traces that show this behavior. It can take over 60 seconds for the slow server to do what the fast one does in 2 seconds. Can anyone tell me what causes this behavior? Is it a Coldfusion setting? Since Coldfusion runs on top of Java, is it a Java setting? Is it an OS option? The fast server is running Windows XP and I think the slow server is a Windows Server 2003. Bonus question: Coldfusion doesn't seem to perform any READ FILE operations on any of the CFC or CFM files. How can this be? Sample of the fast server opening CFC files: 11:25:14.5588975 jrun.exe QueryOpen C:\CF\wwwroot\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:25:14.5592758 jrun.exe CreateFile C:\CF\wwwroot\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:25:14.5595024 jrun.exe QueryBasicInformationFile C:\CF\wwwroot\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:25:14.5595940 jrun.exe CloseFile C:\CF\wwwroot\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:25:14.5599628 jrun.exe CreateFile C:\CF\wwwroot\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:25:14.5601600 jrun.exe QueryBasicInformationFile C:\CF\wwwroot\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:25:14.5602463 jrun.exe CloseFile C:\CF\wwwroot\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc Equivalent sample of the slow server opening CFC files: 11:15:08.1249230 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\ 11:15:08.1250100 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org 11:15:08.1252852 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\ 11:15:08.1259670 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org 11:15:08.1260319 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli 11:15:08.1260769 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org 11:15:08.1269451 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli 11:15:08.1270613 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn 11:15:08.1271140 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli 11:15:08.1279312 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn 11:15:08.1280086 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn\APP 11:15:08.1280789 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn 11:15:08.1291034 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP 11:15:08.1291709 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com 11:15:08.1292224 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP 11:15:08.1300568 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com 11:15:08.1301321 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:15:08.1301843 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com 11:15:08.1312049 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:15:08.1314409 jrun.exe QueryBasicInformationFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:15:08.1314633 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:15:08.1315881 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\ 11:15:08.1316379 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org 11:15:08.1316926 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\ 11:15:08.1330951 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org 11:15:08.1338656 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli 11:15:08.1339118 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org 11:15:08.1526468 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli 11:15:08.1527295 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn 11:15:08.1527989 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli 11:15:08.1531977 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn 11:15:08.1532589 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn\APP 11:15:08.1533575 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn 11:15:08.1538457 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP 11:15:08.1539083 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com 11:15:08.1539553 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP 11:15:08.1544126 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com 11:15:08.1544980 jrun.exe QueryDirectory D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:15:08.1545482 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com 11:15:08.1551034 jrun.exe CreateFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:15:08.1552878 jrun.exe QueryBasicInformationFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc 11:15:08.1553044 jrun.exe CloseFile D:\org\cli\cpn\APP\com\HtmlUtils.cfc Thanks

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Installing vim7.2 on Solaris Sparc 2.6 as non-root

- by Tobbe

I'm trying to install vim to $HOME/bin by compiling the sources. ./configure --prefix=$home/bin seems to work, but when running make I get: > make Starting make in the src directory. If there are problems, cd to the src directory and run make there cd src && make first gcc -c -I. -Iproto -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -DFEAT_GUI_GTK -I/usr/include/gtk-2.0 -I/usr/lib/gtk-2.0/include -I/usr/include/atk-1.0 -I/usr/include/pango-1.0 -I/usr/openwin/include -I/usr/sfw/include -I/usr/sfw/include/freetype2 -I/usr/include/glib-2.0 -I/usr/lib/glib-2.0/include -g -O2 -I/usr/openwin/include -o objects/buffer.o buffer.c In file included from buffer.c:28: vim.h:41: error: syntax error before ':' token In file included from os_unix.h:29, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /usr/include/sys/stat.h:251: error: syntax error before "blksize_t" /usr/include/sys/stat.h:255: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/stat.h:309: error: syntax error before "blksize_t" /usr/include/sys/stat.h:310: error: conflicting types for 'st_blocks' /usr/include/sys/stat.h:252: error: previous declaration of 'st_blocks' was here /usr/include/sys/stat.h:313: error: syntax error before '}' token In file included from /opt/local/bin/../lib/gcc/sparc-sun-solaris2.6/3.4.6/include/sys/signal.h:132, from /usr/include/signal.h:26, from os_unix.h:163, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:259: error: syntax error before "ctid_t" /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:292: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:294: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:390: error: syntax error before "ctid_t" /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:398: error: conflicting types for '__fault' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:267: error: previous declaration of '__fault' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:404: error: conflicting types for '__file' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:273: error: previous declaration of '__file' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:420: error: conflicting types for '__prof' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:287: error: previous declaration of '__prof' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:424: error: conflicting types for '__rctl' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:291: error: previous declaration of '__rctl' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:426: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:428: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:432: error: syntax error before "k_siginfo_t" /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:437: error: syntax error before '}' token In file included from /usr/include/signal.h:26, from os_unix.h:163, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /opt/local/bin/../lib/gcc/sparc-sun-solaris2.6/3.4.6/include/sys/signal.h:173: error: syntax error before "siginfo_t" In file included from os_unix.h:163, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /usr/include/signal.h:111: error: syntax error before "siginfo_t" /usr/include/signal.h:113: error: syntax error before "siginfo_t" buffer.c: In function `buflist_new': buffer.c:1502: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `buflist_findname': buffer.c:1989: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `setfname': buffer.c:2578: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `otherfile_buf': buffer.c:2836: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `buf_setino': buffer.c:2874: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `buf_same_ino': buffer.c:2894: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type buffer.c:2895: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type *** Error code 1 make: Fatal error: Command failed for target `objects/buffer.o' Current working directory /home/xluntor/vim72/src *** Error code 1 make: Fatal error: Command failed for target `first' How do I fix the make errors? Or is there another way to install vim as non-root? Thanks in advance

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Installing vim7 on Solaris Sparc 2.6 as non-root

- by Tobbe

I'm trying to install vim to $HOME/bin by compiling the sources. ./configure --prefix=$home/bin seems to work, but when running make I get: > make Starting make in the src directory. If there are problems, cd to the src directory and run make there cd src && make first gcc -c -I. -Iproto -DHAVE_CONFIG_H -DFEAT_GUI_GTK -I/usr/include/gtk-2.0 -I/usr/lib/gtk-2.0/include -I/usr/include/atk-1.0 -I/usr/include/pango-1.0 -I/usr/openwin/include -I/usr/sfw/include -I/usr/sfw/include/freetype2 -I/usr/include/glib-2.0 -I/usr/lib/glib-2.0/include -g -O2 -I/usr/openwin/include -o objects/buffer.o buffer.c In file included from buffer.c:28: vim.h:41: error: syntax error before ':' token In file included from os_unix.h:29, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /usr/include/sys/stat.h:251: error: syntax error before "blksize_t" /usr/include/sys/stat.h:255: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/stat.h:309: error: syntax error before "blksize_t" /usr/include/sys/stat.h:310: error: conflicting types for 'st_blocks' /usr/include/sys/stat.h:252: error: previous declaration of 'st_blocks' was here /usr/include/sys/stat.h:313: error: syntax error before '}' token In file included from /opt/local/bin/../lib/gcc/sparc-sun-solaris2.6/3.4.6/include/sys/signal.h:132, from /usr/include/signal.h:26, from os_unix.h:163, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:259: error: syntax error before "ctid_t" /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:292: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:294: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:390: error: syntax error before "ctid_t" /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:398: error: conflicting types for '__fault' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:267: error: previous declaration of '__fault' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:404: error: conflicting types for '__file' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:273: error: previous declaration of '__file' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:420: error: conflicting types for '__prof' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:287: error: previous declaration of '__prof' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:424: error: conflicting types for '__rctl' /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:291: error: previous declaration of '__rctl' was here /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:426: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:428: error: syntax error before '}' token /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:432: error: syntax error before "k_siginfo_t" /usr/include/sys/siginfo.h:437: error: syntax error before '}' token In file included from /usr/include/signal.h:26, from os_unix.h:163, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /opt/local/bin/../lib/gcc/sparc-sun-solaris2.6/3.4.6/include/sys/signal.h:173: error: syntax error before "siginfo_t" In file included from os_unix.h:163, from vim.h:245, from buffer.c:28: /usr/include/signal.h:111: error: syntax error before "siginfo_t" /usr/include/signal.h:113: error: syntax error before "siginfo_t" buffer.c: In function `buflist_new': buffer.c:1502: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `buflist_findname': buffer.c:1989: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `setfname': buffer.c:2578: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `otherfile_buf': buffer.c:2836: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `buf_setino': buffer.c:2874: error: storage size of 'st' isn't known buffer.c: In function `buf_same_ino': buffer.c:2894: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type buffer.c:2895: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type *** Error code 1 make: Fatal error: Command failed for target `objects/buffer.o' Current working directory /home/xluntor/vim72/src *** Error code 1 make: Fatal error: Command failed for target `first' How do I fix the make errors? Or is there another way to install vim as non-root? Thanks in advance

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LDAP object class violation: attribute ou not allowed in suffix?

- by Paramaeleon

I am about to set up a LDAP directory. It is used as a tool to communicate user permissions from a web application to WebDav file system access, e.g. adding a user to the web platform shall allow login to the file system with the same credentials. There are no other usages intended. Following this German tutorial which encourages the use of the attributes c, o, ou etc. over dc, I configured the following suffix and root: suffix "ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de" rootdn "cn=ldapadmin,ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de" Server starts and I can connect to it by LDAP Admin, which reports “LDAP error: Object lacks”. Well, there aren’t any objects yet. I now want to create the root and admin elements from shell. I created an init.ldif file: dn: ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de objectclass: dcObject objectclass: organization dc: webtool o: webtool dn: cn=ldapadmin,ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de objectclass: organizationalRole cn: ldapadmin Trying to load the file runs into an error, telling me that ou is not allowed: server:~ # ldapadd -x -D "cn=ldapadmin,ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de" -W -f init.ldif Enter LDAP Password: adding new entry "ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de" ldap_add: Object class violation (65) additional info: attribute 'ou' not allowed I am not using ou anywhere except in the suffix, so the question: Isn’t it allowed here? What is allowed here? Here is my answer. I am not allowed to post it as answer for 8 hours, so don’t mind that it is part of the question by now. I will move it outside some day, if I don’t forget to do so. There are numberous dependencies for the creation of elements, and error messages are rather confusing if you don’t know of the concept. The objectclass isn’t necessarily dcObject for the databases’ root node, as it is likely to guess when you read several tutoriales. Instead, it must correspond to the object’s type: Here, for a name starting with ou=, it must be organizationalUnit. I found this piece of information in these tables [Link removed due to restriction: Oops! Your edit couldn't be submitted because: We're sorry, but as a spam prevention mechanism, new users can only post a maximum of two hyperlinks. Earn more than 10 reputation to post more hyperlinks. Link is below]. Further on, the object class dictates which properties must and can be added in the record. Here, organizationalUnit must have an ou: entry and must not have neither dc: nor o: entry. The healthy init.ldif file looks like that: dn: ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de objectclass: organizationalUnit ou: LDAP server for my webtool dn: cn=ldapadmin,ou=webtool,o=myOrg,c=de objectclass: organizationalRole cn: ldapadmin Note: The page also states: “While many objectClasses show no MUST attributes you must (ouch) follow any hierarchy […] to determine if this is the really case.” I thought that would mean my root record would have to provide the must fields for c= and o= (c: and o:, respectively) but this isn’t the case. Link in answer is (1): http :// www (dot) zytrax (dot) com/books/ldap/ape/ "Appendix E: LDAP - Object Classes and Attributes"

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how to use ajax with json in ruby on rails

- by rafik860

I am implemeting a facebook application in rails using facebooker plugin, therefore it is very important to use this architecture if i want to update multiple DOM in my page. if my code works in a regular rails application it would work in my facebook application. i am trying to use ajax to let the user know that the comment was sent, and update the comments bloc. migration: class CreateComments < ActiveRecord::Migration def self.up create_table :comments do |t| t.string :body t.timestamps end end def self.down drop_table :comments end end controller: class CommentsController < ApplicationController def index @comments=Comment.all end def create @comment=Comment.create(params[:comment]) if request.xhr? @comments=Comment.all render :json=>{:ids_to_update=>[:all_comments,:form_message], :all_comments=>render_to_string(:partial=>"comments" ), :form_message=>"Your comment has been added." } else redirect_to comments_url end end end view: <script> function update_count(str,message_id) { len=str.length; if (len < 200) { $(message_id).innerHTML="<span style='color: green'>"+ (200-len)+" remaining</span>"; } else { $(message_id).innerHTML="<span style='color: red'>"+ "Comment too long. Only 200 characters allowed.</span>"; } } function update_multiple(json) { for( var i=0; i<json["ids_to_update"].length; i++ ) { id=json["ids_to_update"][i]; $(id).innerHTML=json[id]; } } </script> <div id="all_comments" > <%= render :partial=>"comments/comments" %> </div> Talk some trash: <br /> <% remote_form_for Comment.new, :url=>comments_url, :success=>"update_multiple(request)" do |f|%> <%= f.text_area :body, :onchange=>"update_count(this.getValue(),'remaining');" , :onkeyup=>"update_count(this.getValue(),'remaining');" %> <br /> <%= f.submit 'Post'%> <% end %> <p id="remaining" > </p> <p id="form_message" > </p> <br><br> <br> if i try to do alert(json) in the first line of the update_multiple function , i got an [object Object]. if i try to do alert(json["ids_to_update"][0]) in the first line of the update_multiple function , there is no dialog box displayed. however the comment got saved but nothing is updated. it seems like the object sent by rails is nil or cant be parsed by JSON.parse(json). questions: 1.how can javascript and rails know that i am dealing with json objects?deos ROR sent it a object format or a text format?how can it check that the json object has been sent 2.how can i see what is the returned json?do i have to parse it?how? 2.how can i debug this problem? 3.how can i get it to work?

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How to validate referral support implemented for Active Dircetory server?

- by user146560

Please suggest me some utility or application, using which i want to test referral settings done. I want to test cross forest referenced reference. Among two DNS say 1 firstDNS.com user([email protected]) 2 SecondDNS.com user([email protected]) Below java code written to test active directory server setting. public void authenticateUser(String user, String password, String domain) throws AuthenticationException, NamingException { List<String> ldapServers = findLDAPServersInWindowsDomain("first.com"); if (ldapServers.isEmpty()) throw new NamingException("Can't locate an LDAP server (try nslookup type=SRV _ldap._tcp." + "first.com"+ ")"); Hashtable<String, String> props = new Hashtable<String, String>(); String principalName = "testUserFirst"+ "@" + "First.com"; props.put(Context.SECURITY_PRINCIPAL, principalName); props.put(Context.SECURITY_CREDENTIALS, password); props.put(Context.REFERRAL,"follow"); //props.put(Context.SECURITY_AUTHENTICATION, "anonymous"); Integer count = 0; for (String ldapServer : ldapServers) { try { count++; DirContext ctx = LdapCtxFactory.getLdapCtxInstance("ldap://" + ldapServer, props); SearchControls searchCtls = new SearchControls(); //Specify the attributes to return String returnedAtts[]={"sn","givenName","mail"}; searchCtls.setReturningAttributes(returnedAtts); //Specify the search scope searchCtls.setSearchScope(SearchControls.SUBTREE_SCOPE); //specify the LDAP search filter String searchFilter = "(&(objectClass=user)(sAMAccountName=" testUserSecond)(userPassword=usertest@3))"; //Specify the Base for the search String searchBase = "DC=second,DC=com"; //initialize counter to total the results int totalResults = 0; // Search for objects using the filter NamingEnumeration<SearchResult> answer = ctx.search(searchBase, searchFilter, searchCtls); return; } catch (CommunicationException e) { // this is what'll happen if one of the domain controllers is unreachable if (count.equals(ldapServers.size())) { // we've got no more servers to try, so throw the CommunicationException to indicate that we failed to reach an LDAP server throw e; } } } } private List<String> findLDAPServersInWindowsDomain(String domain) throws NamingException { List<String> servers = new ArrayList<String>(); Hashtable<String, String> env = new Hashtable<String, String>(); env.put(Context.INITIAL_CONTEXT_FACTORY, "com.sun.jndi.dns.DnsContextFactory"); env.put("java.naming.provider.url", "dns://"); DirContext ctx = new InitialDirContext(env); Attributes attributes = ctx.getAttributes("_ldap._tcp." + domain, new String[] { "SRV" }); // that's how Windows domain controllers are registered in DNS Attribute a = attributes.get("SRV"); for (int i = 0; i < a.size(); i++) { String srvRecord = a.get(i).toString(); // each SRV record is in the format "0 100 389 dc1.company.com." // priority weight port server (space separated) servers.add(srvRecord.split(" ")[3]); } ctx.close(); return servers; }

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nconf nagios config no services defined

- by user1508056

I've setup Nagios core on OSX 10.7 server via macports fine. It seems to load fine and the sample config files all copied over to /opt/local/etc/nagios/objects/ fine and are specified correctly in the nagios.cfg file. I then installed nconf manually and got it running without much fight. Then I clicked on "Generate Nagios config" in nconf and get 1 warning and 4 errors. When I expand the error box here what I see: Nagios Core 3.5.0 Copyright (c) 2009-2011 Nagios Core Development Team and Community Contributors Copyright (c) 1999-2009 Ethan Galstad Last Modified: 03-15-2013 License: GPL Website: http://www.nagios.org Reading configuration data... Read main config file okay... Read object config files okay... Running pre-flight check on configuration data... Checking services... Error: There are no services defined! Checked 0 services. Checking hosts... Error: There are no hosts defined! Checked 0 hosts. Checking host groups... Checked 0 host groups. Checking service groups... Checked 0 service groups. Checking contacts... Error: There are no contacts defined! Checked 0 contacts. Checking contact groups... Checked 0 contact groups. Checking service escalations... Checked 0 service escalations. Checking service dependencies... Checked 0 service dependencies. Checking host escalations... Checked 0 host escalations. Checking host dependencies... Checked 0 host dependencies. Checking commands... Checked 0 commands. Checking time periods... Checked 0 time periods. Checking for circular paths between hosts... Checking for circular host and service dependencies... Checking global event handlers... Checking obsessive compulsive processor commands... Checking misc settings... Warning: Nothing specified for illegal_macro_output_chars variable! Total Warnings: 1 Total Errors: 3 I've tried several different things (played with cache settings, changed file permissions/ownership, edited some config files manually, etc.) but nothing gets me past this step. The thing is, when I run 'sudo nagios -v /opt/local/etc/nagios/nagios.cfg' the output shows it is reading a number of services, a localhost, and a contact in the .cfg files...so I'm pretty confident those are ok and the problem is nconf isnt reading the correct .cfg files or something like that. Any ideas what to double check? I did lots of googling and found nothing on this specific issue--so either I'm special (I'm not) or am overlooking something really simple. The path to nagios binary is listed as /opt/local/bin/nagios, if that matters. Also, all the nagios files are owned by nagios:nagios, wheras nconf files are owned by user, with only the directories/files specified in the nconf docs belonging to the _www user and/or group (things like output, temp, config, etc.). Thanks.

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From Binary to Data Structures

- by Cédric Menzi

Table of Contents Introduction PE file format and COFF header COFF file header BaseCoffReader Byte4ByteCoffReader UnsafeCoffReader ManagedCoffReader Conclusion History This article is also available on CodeProject Introduction Sometimes, you want to parse well-formed binary data and bring it into your objects to do some dirty stuff with it. In the Windows world most data structures are stored in special binary format. Either we call a WinApi function or we want to read from special files like images, spool files, executables or may be the previously announced Outlook Personal Folders File. Most specifications for these files can be found on the MSDN Libarary: Open Specification In my example, we are going to get the COFF (Common Object File Format) file header from a PE (Portable Executable). The exact specification can be found here: PECOFF PE file format and COFF header Before we start we need to know how this file is formatted. The following figure shows an overview of the Microsoft PE executable format. Source: Microsoft Our goal is to get the PE header. As we can see, the image starts with a MS-DOS 2.0 header with is not important for us. From the documentation we can read "...After the MS DOS stub, at the file offset specified at offset 0x3c, is a 4-byte...". With this information we know our reader has to jump to location 0x3c and read the offset to the signature. The signature is always 4 bytes that ensures that the image is a PE file. The signature is: PE\0\0. To prove this we first seek to the offset 0x3c, read if the file consist the signature. So we need to declare some constants, because we do not want magic numbers. private const int PeSignatureOffsetLocation = 0x3c; private const int PeSignatureSize = 4; private const string PeSignatureContent = "PE"; Then a method for moving the reader to the correct location to read the offset of signature. With this method we always move the underlining Stream of the BinaryReader to the start location of the PE signature. private void SeekToPeSignature(BinaryReader br) { // seek to the offset for the PE signagure br.BaseStream.Seek(PeSignatureOffsetLocation, SeekOrigin.Begin); // read the offset int offsetToPeSig = br.ReadInt32(); // seek to the start of the PE signature br.BaseStream.Seek(offsetToPeSig, SeekOrigin.Begin); } Now, we can check if it is a valid PE image by reading of the next 4 byte contains the content PE. private bool IsValidPeSignature(BinaryReader br) { // read 4 bytes to get the PE signature byte[] peSigBytes = br.ReadBytes(PeSignatureSize); // convert it to a string and trim \0 at the end of the content string peContent = Encoding.Default.GetString(peSigBytes).TrimEnd('\0'); // check if PE is in the content return peContent.Equals(PeSignatureContent); } With this basic functionality we have a good base reader class to try the different methods of parsing the COFF file header. COFF file header The COFF header has the following structure: Offset Size Field 0 2 Machine 2 2 NumberOfSections 4 4 TimeDateStamp 8 4 PointerToSymbolTable 12 4 NumberOfSymbols 16 2 SizeOfOptionalHeader 18 2 Characteristics If we translate this table to code, we get something like this: [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)] public struct CoffHeader { public MachineType Machine; public ushort NumberOfSections; public uint TimeDateStamp; public uint PointerToSymbolTable; public uint NumberOfSymbols; public ushort SizeOfOptionalHeader; public Characteristic Characteristics; } BaseCoffReader All readers do the same thing, so we go to the patterns library in our head and see that Strategy pattern or Template method pattern is sticked out in the bookshelf. I have decided to take the template method pattern in this case, because the Parse() should handle the IO for all implementations and the concrete parsing should done in its derived classes. public CoffHeader Parse() { using (var br = new BinaryReader(File.Open(_fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.Read))) { SeekToPeSignature(br); if (!IsValidPeSignature(br)) { throw new BadImageFormatException(); } return ParseInternal(br); } } protected abstract CoffHeader ParseInternal(BinaryReader br); First we open the BinaryReader, seek to the PE signature then we check if it contains a valid PE signature and rest is done by the derived implementations. Byte4ByteCoffReader The first solution is using the BinaryReader. It is the general way to get the data. We only need to know which order, which data-type and its size. If we read byte for byte we could comment out the first line in the CoffHeader structure, because we have control about the order of the member assignment. protected override CoffHeader ParseInternal(BinaryReader br) { CoffHeader coff = new CoffHeader(); coff.Machine = (MachineType)br.ReadInt16(); coff.NumberOfSections = (ushort)br.ReadInt16(); coff.TimeDateStamp = br.ReadUInt32(); coff.PointerToSymbolTable = br.ReadUInt32(); coff.NumberOfSymbols = br.ReadUInt32(); coff.SizeOfOptionalHeader = (ushort)br.ReadInt16(); coff.Characteristics = (Characteristic)br.ReadInt16(); return coff; } If the structure is as short as the COFF header here and the specification will never changed, there is probably no reason to change the strategy. But if a data-type will be changed, a new member will be added or ordering of member will be changed the maintenance costs of this method are very high. UnsafeCoffReader Another way to bring the data into this structure is using a "magically" unsafe trick. As above, we know the layout and order of the data structure. Now, we need the StructLayout attribute, because we have to ensure that the .NET Runtime allocates the structure in the same order as it is specified in the source code. We also need to enable "Allow unsafe code (/unsafe)" in the project's build properties. Then we need to add the following constructor to the CoffHeader structure. [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)] public struct CoffHeader { public CoffHeader(byte[] data) { unsafe { fixed (byte* packet = &data[0]) { this = *(CoffHeader*)packet; } } } } The "magic" trick is in the statement: this = *(CoffHeader*)packet;. What happens here? We have a fixed size of data somewhere in the memory and because a struct in C# is a value-type, the assignment operator = copies the whole data of the structure and not only the reference. To fill the structure with data, we need to pass the data as bytes into the CoffHeader structure. This can be achieved by reading the exact size of the structure from the PE file. protected override CoffHeader ParseInternal(BinaryReader br) { return new CoffHeader(br.ReadBytes(Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(CoffHeader)))); } This solution is the fastest way to parse the data and bring it into the structure, but it is unsafe and it could introduce some security and stability risks. ManagedCoffReader In this solution we are using the same approach of the structure assignment as above. But we need to replace the unsafe part in the constructor with the following managed part: [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)] public struct CoffHeader { public CoffHeader(byte[] data) { IntPtr coffPtr = IntPtr.Zero; try { int size = Marshal.SizeOf(typeof(CoffHeader)); coffPtr = Marshal.AllocHGlobal(size); Marshal.Copy(data, 0, coffPtr, size); this = (CoffHeader)Marshal.PtrToStructure(coffPtr, typeof(CoffHeader)); } finally { Marshal.FreeHGlobal(coffPtr); } } } Conclusion We saw that we can parse well-formed binary data to our data structures using different approaches. The first is probably the clearest way, because we know each member and its size and ordering and we have control about the reading the data for each member. But if add member or the structure is going change by some reason, we need to change the reader. The two other solutions use the approach of the structure assignment. In the unsafe implementation we need to compile the project with the /unsafe option. We increase the performance, but we get some security risks.

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How To Activate Your Free Office 2007 to 2010 Tech Guarantee Upgrade

- by Matthew Guay

Have you purchased Office 2007 since March 5th, 2010? If so, here’s how you can activate and download your free upgrade to Office 2010! Microsoft Office 2010 has just been released, and today you can purchase upgrades from most retail stores or directly from Microsoft via download. But if you’ve purchased a new copy of Office 2007 or a new computer that came with Office 2007 since March 5th, 2010, then you’re entitled to an absolutely free upgrade to Office 2010. You’ll need enter information about your Office 2007 and then download the upgrade, so we’ll step you through the process. Getting Started First, if you’ve recently purchased Office 2007 but haven’t installed it, you’ll need to go ahead and install it before you can get your free Office 2010 upgrade. Install it as normal. Once Office 2007 is installed, run any of the Office programs. You’ll be prompted to activate Office. Make sure you’re connected to the internet, and then click Next to activate. Get your Free Upgrade to Office 2010 Now you’re ready to download your upgrade to Office 2010. Head to the Office Tech Guarantee site (link below), and click Upgrade now. You’ll need to enter some information about your Office 2007. Check that you purchased your copy of Office 2007 after March 5th, select your computer manufacturer, and check that you agree to the terms. Now you’re going to need the Product ID number from Office 2007. To find this, open Word or any other Office 2007 application. Click the Office Orb, and select Options on the bottom. Select the Resources button on the left, and then click About. Near the bottom of this dialog, you’ll see your Product ID. This should be a number like: 12345-123-1234567-12345 Go back to the Office Tech Guarantee signup page in your browser, and enter this Product ID. Select the language of your edition of Office 2007, enter the verification code, and then click Submit. It may take a few moments to validate your Product ID. When it is finished, you’ll be taken to an order page that shows the edition of Office 2010 you’re eligible to receive. The upgrade download is free, but if you’d like to purchase a backup DVD of Office 2010, you can add it to your order for $13.99. Otherwise, simply click Continue to accept. Do note that the edition of Office 2010 you receive may be different that the edition of Office 2007 you purchased, as the number of editions has been streamlined in the Office 2010 release. Here’s a chart you can check to see what edition you’ll receive. Note that you’ll still be allowed to install Office on the same number of computers; for example, Office 2007 Home and Student allows you to install it on up to 3 computers in the same house, and your Office 2010 upgrade will allow the same. Office 2007 Edition Office 2010 Upgrade You’ll Receive Office 2007 Home and Student Office Home and Student 2010 Office Basic 2007Office Standard 2007 Office Home and Business 2010 Office Small Business 2007Office Professional 2007Office Ultimate 2007 Office Professional 2010 Office Professional 2007 AcademicOffice Ultimate 2007 Academic Office Professional Academic 2010 Sign in with your Windows Live ID, or create a new one if you don’t already have one. Enter your name, select your country, and click Create My Account. Note that Office will send Office 2010 tips to your email address; if you don’t wish to receive them, you can unsubscribe from the emails later. Finally, you’re ready to download Office 2010! Click the Download Now link to start downloading Office 2010. Your Product Key will appear directly above the Download link, so you can copy it and then paste it in the installer when your download is finished. You will additionally receive an email with the download links and product key, so if your download fails you can always restart it from that link. If your edition of Office 2007 included the Office Business Contact Manager, you will be able to download it from the second Download link. And, of course, even if you didn’t order a backup DVD, you can always burn the installers to a DVD for a backup. Install Office 2010 Once you’re finished downloading Office 2010, run the installer to get it installed on your computer. Enter your Product Key from the Tech Guarantee website as above, and click Continue. Accept the license agreement, and then click Upgrade to upgrade to the latest version of Office. The installer will remove all of your Office 2007 applications, and then install their 2010 counterparts. If you wish to keep some of your Office 2007 applications instead, click Customize and then select to either keep all previous versions or simply keep specific applications. By default, Office 2010 will try to activate online automatically. If it doesn’t activate during the install, you’ll need to activate it when you first run any of the Office 2010 apps. Conclusion The Tech Guarantee makes it easy to get the latest version of Office if you recently purchased Office 2007. The Tech Guarantee program is open through the end of September, so make sure to grab your upgrade during this time. Actually, if you find a great deal on Office 2007 from a major retailer between now and then, you could also take advantage of this program to get Office 2010 cheaper. And if you need help getting started with Office 2010, check out our articles that can help you get situated in your new version of Office! Link Activate and Download Your free Office 2010 Tech Guarantee Upgrade Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Remove Office 2010 Beta and Reinstall Office 2007Upgrade Office 2003 to 2010 on XP or Run them Side by SideCenter Pictures and Other Objects in Office 2007 & 2010Change the Default Color Scheme in Office 2010Show Two Time Zones in Your Outlook 2007 Calendar TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips HippoRemote Pro 2.2 Xobni Plus for Outlook All My Movies 5.9 CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Windows Media Player Plus! – Cool WMP Enhancer Get Your Team’s World Cup Schedule In Google Calendar Backup Drivers With Driver Magician TubeSort: YouTube Playlist Organizer XPS file format & XPS Viewer Explained Microsoft Office Web Apps Guide

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Week in Geek: US Govt E-card Scam Siphons Confidential Data Edition

- by Asian Angel

This week we learned how to “back up photos to Flickr, automate repetitive tasks, & normalize MP3 volume”, enable “stereo mix” in Windows 7 to record audio, create custom papercraft toys, read up on three alternatives to Apple’s flaky iOS alarm clock, decorated our desktops & app docks with Google icon packs, and more. Photo by alexschlegel. Random Geek Links It has been a busy week on the security & malware fronts and we have a roundup of the latest news to help keep you updated. Photo by TopTechWriter.US. US govt e-card scam hits confidential data A fake U.S. government Christmas e-card has managed to siphon off gigabytes of sensitive data from a number of law enforcement and military staff who work on cybersecurity matters, many of whom are involved in computer crime investigations. Security tool uncovers multiple bugs in every browser Michal Zalewski reports that he discovered the vulnerability in Internet Explorer a while ago using his cross_fuzz fuzzing tool and reported it to Microsoft in July 2010. Zalewski also used cross_fuzz to discover bugs in other browsers, which he also reported to the relevant organisations. Microsoft to fix Windows holes, but not ones in IE Microsoft said that it will release two security bulletins next week fixing three holes in Windows, but it is still investigating or working on fixing holes in Internet Explorer that have been reportedly exploited in attacks. Microsoft warns of Windows flaw affecting image rendering Microsoft has warned of a Windows vulnerability that could allow an attacker to take control of a computer if the user is logged on with administrative rights. Windows 7 Not Affected by Critical 0-Day in the Windows Graphics Rendering Engine While confirming that details on a Critical zero-day vulnerability have made their way into the wild, Microsoft noted that customers running the latest iteration of Windows client and server platforms are not exposed to any risks. Microsoft warns of Office-related malware Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center issued a warning this week that it has spotted malicious code on the Internet that can take advantage of a flaw in Word and infect computers after a user does nothing more than read an e-mail. *Refers to a flaw that was addressed in the November security patch releases. Make sure you have all of the latest security updates installed. Unpatched hole in ImgBurn disk burning application According to security specialist Secunia, a highly critical vulnerability in ImgBurn, a lightweight disk burning application, can be used to remotely compromise a user’s system. Hole in VLC Media Player Virtual Security Research (VSR) has identified a vulnerability in VLC Media Player. In versions up to and including 1.1.5 of the VLC Media Player. Flash Player sandbox can be bypassed Flash applications run locally can read local files and send them to an online server – something which the sandbox is supposed to prevent. Chinese auction site touts hacked iTunes accounts Tens of thousands of reportedly hacked iTunes accounts have been found on Chinese auction site Taobao, but the company claims it is unable to take action unless there are direct complaints. What happened in the recent Hotmail outage Mike Schackwitz explains the cause of the recent Hotmail outage. DOJ sends order to Twitter for Wikileaks-related account info The U.S. Justice Department has obtained a court order directing Twitter to turn over information about the accounts of activists with ties to Wikileaks, including an Icelandic politician, a legendary Dutch hacker, and a U.S. computer programmer. Google gets court to block Microsoft Interior Department e-mail win The U.S. Federal Claims Court has temporarily blocked Microsoft from proceeding with the $49.3 million, five-year DOI contract that it won this past November. Google Apps customers get email lockdown Companies and organisations using Google Apps are now able to restrict the email access of selected users. LibreOffice Is the Default Office Suite for Ubuntu 11.04 Matthias Klose has announced some details regarding the replacement of the old OpenOffice.org 3.2.1 packages with the new LibreOffice 3.3 ones, starting with the upcoming Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) Alpha 2 release. Sysadmin Geek Tips Photo by Filomena Scalise. How to Setup Software RAID for a Simple File Server on Ubuntu Do you need a file server that is cheap and easy to setup, “rock solid” reliable, and has Email Alerting? This tutorial shows you how to use Ubuntu, software RAID, and SaMBa to accomplish just that. How to Control the Order of Startup Programs in Windows While you can specify the applications you want to launch when Windows starts, the ability to control the order in which they start is not available. However, there are a couple of ways you can easily overcome this limitation and control the startup order of applications. Random TinyHacker Links Using Opera Unite to Send Large Files A tutorial on using Opera Unite to easily send huge files from your computer. WorkFlowy is a Useful To-do List Tool A cool to-do list tool that lets you integrate multiple tasks in one single list easily. Playing Flash Videos on iOS Devices Yes, you can play flash videos on jailbroken iPhones. Here’s a tutorial. Clear Safari History and Cookies On iPhone A tutorial on clearing your browser history on iPhone and other iOS devices. Monitor Your Internet Usage Here’s a cool, cross-platform tool to monitor your internet bandwidth. Super User Questions See what the community had to say on these popular questions from Super User this week. Why is my upload speed much less than my download speed? Where should I find drivers for my laptop if it didn’t come with a driver disk? OEM Office 2010 without media – how to reinstall? Is there a point to using theft tracking software like Prey on my laptop, if you have login security? Moving an “all-in-one” PC when turned on/off How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap Get caught up on your HTG reading with our hottest articles from this past week. How to Combine Rescue Disks to Create the Ultimate Windows Repair Disk How To Boot 10 Different Live CDs From 1 USB Flash Drive What is Camera Raw, and Why Would a Professional Prefer it to JPG? Did You Know Facebook Has Built-In Shortcut Keys? The How-To Geek Guide to Audio Editing: The Basics One Year Ago on How-To Geek Enjoy looking through our latest gathering of retro article goodness. Learning Windows 7: Create a Homegroup & Join a New Computer To It How To Disconnect a Machine from a Homegroup Use Remote Desktop To Access Other Computers On a Small Office or Home Network How To Share Files and Printers Between Windows 7 and Vista Allow Users To Run Only Specified Programs in Windows 7 The Geek Note That is all we have for you this week and we hope your first week back at work or school has gone very well now that the holidays are over. Know a great tip? Send it in to us at [email protected]. Photo by Pamela Machado. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC HTG Projects: How to Create Your Own Custom Papercraft Toy How to Combine Rescue Disks to Create the Ultimate Windows Repair Disk What is Camera Raw, and Why Would a Professional Prefer it to JPG? The How-To Geek Guide to Audio Editing: The Basics How To Boot 10 Different Live CDs From 1 USB Flash Drive The 20 Best How-To Geek Linux Articles of 2010 Arctic Theme for Windows 7 Gives Your Desktop an Icy Touch Install LibreOffice via PPA and Receive Auto-Updates in Ubuntu Creative Portraits Peek Inside the Guts of Modern Electronics Scenic Winter Lane Wallpaper to Create a Relaxing Mood Access Your Web Apps Directly Using the Context Menu in Chrome The Deep – Awesome Use of Metal Objects as Deep Sea Creatures [Video]

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CodePlex Daily Summary for Friday, February 19, 2010

CodePlex Daily Summary for Friday, February 19, 2010New ProjectsApplication Management Library: Application Management makes your application life easier. It will automatic do memory management, handle and log unhandled exceptions, profiling y...Audio Service - Play Wave Files From Windows Service: This is a windows service that Check a registry key, when the key is updated with a new wave file path the service plays the wave file.Aviamodels: 3d drawing AviamodelsControl of payment proofs program for Greek citizens: This is a program that is used for Greek citizens who want to keep track of their payment proofs.Cover Creator: Cover Creator gives you the possibility to create and print CD covers. Content of CD is taken from http://www.freedb.org/ or can be added/modyfied ...DevBoard: DevBoard is a webbased scrum tool that helps developers/team get a clear overview of the project progress. It's developed in C# and silverlight.Flex AdventureWorks: The is mostly a skunk-works application to help me get acclimated to CodePlex. The long term goal is to integrate a Flex UI with the AdventureWor...GRE Wordlist: An intuitive and customizable word list for GRE aspirants. Developed in Java using a word list similar to Barron's.Indexer: A desktop file Index and Search tool which allows you to choose a list of folders to index, and then search on later. It is based on Lucene.net an...Project Management Office (PMO) for SharePoint: Sample web part for the Code Mastery event in Boston, February 11, 2010.Restart SQL Audit Policy and Job: Resolve SQL 2008 Audit Network Connectivity Issue.Rounded Corners / DIV Container: The RoundedDiv round corners container is a skin-able, CSS compliant UI control. Select which corners should be rounded, collapse and expand the c...Silverlight Google Search Application: The Silverlight Google Search Application uses Google Search API and behaves like Internet Search Application with option to preview desired page i...Weather Forecast Control: MyWeather forecast control pulls up to date weather forecast information from The Weather Channel for your website.New ReleasesApplication Management Library: ApplicationManagement v1.0: First ReleaseAudio Service - Play Wave Files From Windows Service: Audio Service v1.0: This is a working version of the Audio Service. Please use as you need to.AutoMapper: 1.0.1 for Silverlight 3.0 Alpha: AutoMapper for Silverlight 3.0. Features not supported: IDataReader mapping IListSource mapping All other features are supported.Buzz Dot Net: Buzz Dot Net v.1.10219: Buzz Dot Net Library (Parser & Objects) + WPF Example (using MVVM & Threading)Canvas VSDOC Intellisense: V 1.0.0.0a: This release contains two JavaScript files: canvas-utils.js (can be referenced in both runtime and development environment) canvas-vsdoc.js (must ...Control of payment proofs program for Greek citizens: Payment Proofs: source codeCourier: Beta 2: Added Rx Framework support and re-factored how message registration and un-registration works Blog post explaining the updates and re-factoring c...Cover Creator: Initial release: This is initial stable release. For now only in Polish language.Employee Scheduler: Employee Scheduler 2.2: Small Bug found. Small total hour calculation bug. See http://employeescheduler.codeplex.com/WorkItem/View.aspx?WorkItemId=6059 Extract the files...EnhSim: Release v1.9.7.1: Release v1.9.7.1Implemented Dislodged Foreign Object trinket Whispering Fanged Skull now also procs off Flame shock dots You can toggle bloodlust o...Extend SmallBasic: Teaching Extensions v.007: added SimpleSquareTest added Tortoise.Approve() for virtual proctor how to use virtual proctor: change the path in the proctor.txt file (located i...FolderSize: FolderSize.Win32.1.0.1.0: FolderSize.Win32.1.0.1.0 A simple utility intended to be used to scan harddrives for the folders that take most place and display this to the user...GLB Virtual Player Builder: v0.4.0 Beta: Allows for user to import and use archetypes for building players. The archetypes are contained in the file "archetypes.xml". This file is editab...Google Map WebPart from SharePoint List: GMap Stable Release: GMap Stable ReleaseHenge3D Physics Library for XNA: Henge3D Source (2010-02 R2): Fixed a build error related to an assembly attribute in XBOX 360 builds. Tweaked the controls in the sample when targeting the 360. Reduced the...Indexer: Beta Release 1: Just the initial/rough cut.NukeCS: NukeCS 5.2.3 Source Code: update version to 5.2.3ODOS: ODOS STABLE 1.5.0: Thank you for your patience while we develop this version. Not that much has been added, though. Just doing some sub-conscious stuff to make life...PoshBoard: PoshBoard 3.0 Beta 1: Welcome to the first beta release of PoshBoard 3.0 ! IMPORTANT WARNING : this release is absolutly not feature complete and is error-prone. Okay, ...Restart SQL Audit Policy and Job: Restart SQL 2008 Audit Policy and Job: This folder contains three pieces of source code: Server Audit Status (Started).xml - Import this on-schedule policy into your server's Policy-Ba...SAL- Self Artificial Learning: Artificial Learning 2AQV Working Proof Of Concept: This is the Simulation proof of concept version that comes after the 1aq version. AQ stands for Anwering Questions.SharePoint 2010 Word Automation: SP 2010 Word Automation - Workflow Actions 1.1: This release includes two new custom workflow activities for SharePoint designer Convert Folder Convert Library More information about these new...SharePoint Outlook Connector: Version 1.0.1.1: Exception Logging has been improved.Sharpy: Sharpy 1.2 Alpha: This is the third Sharpy release. A change has been made to allow overriding the master page from the controller. The release contains the single ...Silverlight Google Search Application: SL Google Search App Alpha: This is just a first alpha version of the application, as it looks like when I uploaded it to CodePlex. The application works, requires Silverlight...Starter Kit Mytrip.Mvc.Entity: Mytrip.Mvc.Entity 1.0 RC: EF Membership UserManager FileManager Localization Captcha ClientValidation Theme CrossBrowser VS 2010 RC MVC 2 RC db MSSQL2008thinktecture WSCF.blue: WSCF.blue V1 Update (1.0.6): This release is an update for WSCF.blue V1. Below are the bug fixes made since the V1.0.5 release: The data contract type filter was not including...TS3QueryLib.Net: TS3QueryLib.Net Version 0.18.13.0: Changelog Added overloads to all methods of QueryRunenr class handling permission tasks to allow passing of permission name instead of permissionid...Umbraco CMS: Umbraco 4.1 Beta 2: This is the second beta of Umbraco 4.1. Umbraco 4.1 is more advanced than ever, yet faster, lighter and simpler to use than ever. We, on behalf of...VCC: Latest build, v2.1.30218.0: Automatic drop of latest buildZack's Fiasco - Code Generated DAL: v1.2.4: Enhancements: SQL Server CRUD Stored Procedures added option for USE <db> added option to create or not create INSERT sprocs added option to cr...Most Popular ProjectsRawrWBFS ManagerAJAX Control ToolkitMicrosoft SQL Server Product Samples: DatabaseSilverlight ToolkitWindows Presentation Foundation (WPF)Image Resizer Powertoy Clone for WindowsASP.NETMicrosoft SQL Server Community & SamplesDotNetNuke® Community EditionMost Active ProjectsRawrSharpyDinnerNow.netBlogEngine.NETjQuery Library for SharePoint Web ServicesNB_Store - Free DotNetNuke Ecommerce Catalog Modulepatterns & practices – Enterprise LibraryPHPExcelFacebook Developer ToolkitFluent Ribbon Control Suite

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Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite Now Available

- by chung.wu

Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite is now available. The management suite combines features that were available in the standalone Application Management Pack for Oracle E-Business Suite and Application Change Management Pack for Oracle E-Business Suite with Oracle's market leading real user monitoring and configuration management capabilities to provide the most complete solution for managing E-Business Suite applications. The features that were available in the standalone management packs are now packaged into Oracle E-Business Suite Plug-in 4.0, which is now fully certified with Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Grid Control. This latest plug-in extends Grid Control with E-Business Suite specific management capabilities and features enhanced change management support. In addition, this latest release of Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite also includes numerous real user monitoring improvements. General Enhancements This new release of Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite offers the following key capabilities: Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Grid Control Support: All components of the management suite are certified with Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g Grid Control. Built-in Diagnostic Ability: This release has numerous major enhancements that provide the necessary intelligence to determine if the product has been installed and configured correctly. There are diagnostics for Discovery, Cloning, and User Monitoring that will validate if the appropriate patches, privileges, setups, and profile options have been configured. This feature improves the setup and configuration time to be up and operational. Lifecycle Automation Enhancements Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite provides a centralized view to monitor and orchestrate changes (both functional and technical) across multiple Oracle E-Business Suite systems. In this latest release, it provides even more control and flexibility in managing Oracle E-Business Suite changes.Change Management: Built-in Diagnostic Ability: This latest release has numerous major enhancements that provide the necessary intelligence to determine if the product has been installed and configured correctly. There are diagnostics for Customization Manager, Patch Manager, and Setup Manager that will validate if the appropriate patches, privileges, setups, and profile options have been configured. Enhancing the setup time and configuration time to be up and operational. Customization Manager: Multi-Node Custom Application Registration: This feature automates the process of registering and validating custom products/applications on every node in a multi-node EBS system. Public/Private File Source Mappings and E-Business Suite Mappings: File Source Mappings & E-Business Suite Mappings can be created and marked as public or private. Only the creator/owner can define/edit his/her own mappings. Users can use public mappings, but cannot edit or change settings. Test Checkout Command for Versions: This feature allows you to test/verify checkout commands at the version level within the File Source Mapping page. Prerequisite Patch Validation: You can specify prerequisite patches for Customization packages and for Release 12 Oracle E-Business Suite packages. Destination Path Population: You can now automatically populate the Destination Path for common file types during package construction. OAF File Type Support: Ability to package Oracle Application Framework (OAF) customizations and deploy them across multiple Oracle E-Business Suite instances. Extended PLL Support: Ability to distinguish between different types of PLLs (that is, Report and Forms PLL files). Providing better granularity when managing PLL objects. Enhanced Standard Checker: Provides greater and more comprehensive list of coding standards that are verified during the package build process (for example, File Driver exceptions, Java checks, XML checks, SQL checks, etc.) HTML Package Readme: The package Readme is in HTML format and includes the file listing. Advanced Package Search Capabilities: The ability to utilize more criteria within the advanced search package (that is, Public, Last Updated by, Files Source Mapping, and E-Business Suite Mapping). Enhanced Package Build Notifications: More detailed information on the results of a package build process. Better, more detailed troubleshooting guidance in the event of build failures. Patch Manager:Staged Patches: Ability to run Patch Manager with no external internet access. Customer can download Oracle E-Business Suite patches into a shared location for Patch Manager to access and apply. Supports highly secured production environments that prohibit external internet connections. Support for Superseded Patches: Automatic check for superseded patches. Allows users to easily add superseded patches into the Patch Run. More comprehensive and correct Patch Runs. Removes many manual and laborious tasks, frees up Apps DBAs for higher value-added tasks. Automatic Primary Node Identification: Users can now specify which is the "primary node" (that is, which node hosts the Shared APPL_TOP) during the Patch Run interview process, available for Release 12 only. Setup Manager:Preview Extract Results: Ability to execute an extract in "proof mode", and examine the query results, to determine accuracy. Used in conjunction with the "where" clause in Advanced Filtering. This feature can provide better and more accurate fine tuning of extracts. Use Uploaded Extracts in New Projects: Ability to incorporate uploaded extracts in new projects via new LOV fields in package construction. Leverages the Setup Manager repository to access extracts that have been uploaded. Allows customer to reuse uploaded extracts to provision new instances. Re-use Existing (that is, historical) Extracts in New Projects: Ability to incorporate existing extracts in new projects via new LOV fields in package construction. Leverages the Setup Manager repository to access point-in-time extracts (snapshots) of configuration data. Allows customer to reuse existing extracts to provision new instances. Allows comparative historical reporting of identical APIs, executed at different times. Support for BR100 formats: Setup Manager can now automatically produce reports in the BR100 format. Native support for industry standard formats. Concurrent Manager API Support: General Foundation now provides an API for management of "Concurrent Manager" configuration data. Ability to migrate Concurrent Managers from one instance to another. Complete the setup once and never again; no need to redefine the Concurrent Managers. User Experience Management Enhancements Application Management Suite for Oracle E-Business Suite includes comprehensive capabilities for user experience management, supporting both real user and synthetic transaction based user monitoring techniques. This latest release of the management suite include numerous improvements in real user monitoring support. KPI Reporting: Configurable decimal precision for reporting of KPI and SLA values. By default, this is two decimal places. KPI numerator and denominator information. It is now possible to view KPI numerator and denominator information, and to have it available for export. Content Messages Processing: The application content message facility has been extended to distinguish between notifications and errors. In addition, it is now possible to specify matching rules that can be used to refine a selected content message specification. Note this is only available for XPath-based (not literal) message contents. Data Export: The Enriched data export facility has been significantly enhanced to provide improved performance and accessibility. Data is no longer stored within XML-based files, but is now stored within the Reporter database. However, it is possible to configure an alternative database for its storage. Access to the export data is through SQL. With this enhancement, it is now more easy than ever to use tools such as Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition to analyze correlated data collected from real user monitoring and business data sources. SNMP Traps for System Events: Previously, the SNMP notification facility was only available for KPI alerting. It has now been extended to support the generation of SNMP traps for system events, to provide external health monitoring of the RUEI system processes. Performance Improvements: Enhanced dashboard performance. The dashboard facility has been enhanced to support the parallel loading of items. In the case of dashboards containing large numbers of items, this can result in a significant performance improvement. Initial period selection within Data Browser and reports. The User Preferences facility has been extended to allow you to specify the initial period selection when first entering the Data Browser or reports facility. The default is the last hour. Performance improvement when querying the all sessions group. Technical Prerequisites, Download and Installation Instructions The Linux version of the plug-in is available for immediate download from Oracle Technology Network or Oracle eDelivery. For specific information regarding technical prerequisites, product download and installation, please refer to My Oracle Support note 1224313.1. The following certifications are in progress: * Oracle Solaris on SPARC (64-bit) (9, 10) * HP-UX Itanium (11.23, 11.31) * HP-UX PA-RISC (64-bit) (11.23, 11.31) * IBM AIX on Power Systems (64-bit) (5.3, 6.1)

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17 new features in Visual Studio 2010

- by vik20000in

Visual studio 2010 has been released to RTM a few days back. This release of Visual studio 2010 comes with a big number of improvements on many fronts. In this post I will try and point out some of the major improvements in Visual Studio 2010. 1) Visual studio IDE Improvement. Visual studio IDE has been rewritten in WPF. The look and feel of the studio has been improved for improved readability. Start page has been redesigned and template so that anyone can change the start page as they wish. 2) Multiple Monitor - Support for Multiple Monitor was already there in Visual studio. But in this edition it has been improved as much that we can now place the document, design and code window outside the IDE in another monitor. 3) ZOOM in Code Editor – Making the editors in WPF has made significant improvement for them. The best one that I like is the ZOOM feature. We can now zoom in the code editor with the help of the ctrl + Mouse scroll. The zoom feature does not work on the Design surface or windows with icon like solution view and toolbox. 4) Box Selection - Another Important improvement in the Visual studio 2010 is the box selection. We can select a rectangular by holding down the Alt Key and selecting with mouse. Now in the rectangular selection we can insert text, Paste same code in different line etc. This is helpful if you want to convert a number of variables from public to private etc… 5) New Improved Search – One of the best productivity improvements in Visual studio 2010 is its new search as you type support. This has been done in the Navigate To window which can be brought up by pressing (Ctrl + ,). The navigate To windows also take help of the Camel casing and will be able to search with the help of camel casing when character is entered in upper case. For example we can search AOH for AddOrederHeader. 6) Call Hierarchy – This feature is only available to the Visual C# and Visual C++ editor. The call hierarchy windows displays the calls made to and from (yes both to and from) a selected method property or a constructor. The call hierarchy also shows the implementation of interface and the overrides of virtual or abstract methods. This window is very helpful in understanding the code flow, and evaluating the effect of making changes. The best part is it is available at design time and not at runtime only like a debugger. 7) Highlighting references – One of the very cool stuff in Visual Studio 2010 is the fact if you select a variable then all the use of that variable will be highlighted alongside. This should work for all the result of symbols returned by Find all reference. This also works for Name of class, objects variable, properties and methods. We can also use the Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow or Up Arror to move through them. 8) Generate from usage - The Generate from usage feature lets you use classes and members before you define them. You can generate a stub for any undefined class, constructor, method, property, field, or enum that you want to use but have not yet defined. You can generate new types and members without leaving your current location in code, This minimizes interruption to your workflow.9) IntelliSense Suggestion Mode - IntelliSense now provides two alternatives for IntelliSense statement completion, completion mode and suggestion mode. Use suggestion mode for situations where classes and members are used before they are defined. In suggestion mode, when you type in the editor and then commit the entry, the text you typed is inserted into the code. When you commit an entry in completion mode, the editor shows the entry that is highlighted on the members list. When an IntelliSense window is open, you can press CTRL+ALT+SPACEBAR to toggle between completion mode and suggestion mode. 10) Application Lifecycle Management – A client application for management of application lifecycle like version control, work item tracking, build automation, team portal etc is available for free (this is not available for express edition.). 11) Start Page – The start page has been redesigned with WPF for new functionality and look. Tabbed areas are provided for content from different source including MSDN. Once you open some project the start page closes automatically. The list of recent project also lets you remove project from the list. And above all the start page is customizable enough to be changed as per individual requirement. 12) Extension Manager – Visual Studio 2010 has provided good ways to be extended. We can also use MEF to extend most of the features of Visual Studio. The new extension manager now can go the visual studio gallery and install the extension without even opening any explorer. 13) Code snippets – Visual studio 2010 for HTML, Jscript and Asp.net also. 14) Improved Intelligence for JavaScript has been improved vastly (around 2-5 times). Intelligence now also shows the XML documentation comment on the go. 15) Web Deployment – Web Deployment has been vastly improved. We can package and publish the web application in one click. Three major supported deployment scenarios are Web packages, one click deployment and Web configuration Transformation. 16) SharePoint - Visual Studio 2010 also brings vastly improved development experience for SharePoint. We can create, edit, debug, package, deploy and activate SharePoint project from within Visual Studio. Deployment of Site is as easy as hitting F5. 17) Azure – Visual Studio 2010 also comes with handy improvement for developing on windows Azure environment. Vikram

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Michael Crump’s notes for 70-563 PRO – Designing and Developing Windows Applications usi

- by mbcrump

TIME TO GO PRO! This is my notes for 70-563 PRO – Designing and Developing Windows Applications using .NET Framework 3.5 I created it using several resources (various certification web sites, msdn, official ms 70-548 book). The reason that I created this review is because a) I am taking the exam. b) MS did not create a book for this exam. Use the(MS 70-548)book. c) To make sure I am familiar with each before the exam. I hope that it provides a good start for your own notes. I hope that someone finds this useful. At least, it will give you a starting point of what to expect to know on the PRO exam. Also, for those wondering, the PRO exam does contains very little code. It is basically all theory. 1. Validation Controls – How to prevent users from entering invalid data on forms. (MaskedTextBox control and RegEx) 2. ServiceController – used to start and control the behavior of existing services. 3. User Feedback (know winforms Status Bar, Tool Tips, Color, Error Provider, Context-Sensitive and Accessibility) 4. Specific (derived) exceptions must be handled before general (base class) exceptions. By moving the exception handling for the base type Exception to after exception handling of ArgumentNullException, all ArgumentNullException thrown by the Helper method will be caught and logged correctly. 5. A heartbeat method is a method exposed by a Web service that allows external applications to check on the status of the service. 6. New users must master key tasks quickly. Giving these tasks context and appropriate detail will help. However, advanced users will demand quicker paths. Shortcuts, accelerators, or toolbar buttons will speed things along for the advanced user. 7. MSBuild uses project files to instruct the build engine what to build and how to build it. MSBuild project files are XML files that adhere to the MSBuild XML schema. The MSBuild project files contain complete file, build action, and dependency information for each individual projects. 8. Evaluating whether or not to fix a bug involves a triage process. You must identify the bug's impact, set the priority, categorize it, and assign a developer. Many times the person doing the triage work will assign the bug to a developer for further investigation. In fact, the workflow for the bug work item inside of Team System supports this step. Developers are often asked to assess the impact of a given bug. This assessment helps the person doing the triage make a decision on how to proceed. When assessing the impact of a bug, you should consider time and resources to fix it, bug risk, and impacts of the bug. 9. In large projects it is generally impossible and unfeasible to fix all bugs because of the impact on schedule and budget. 10. Code reviews should be conducted by a technical lead or a technical peer. 11. Testing Applications 12. WCF Services – application state 13. SQL Server 2005 / 2008 Express Edition – reliable storage of data / Microsoft SQL Server 3.5 Compact Database– used for client computers to retrieve and save data from a shared location. 14. SQL Server 2008 Compact Edition – used for minimum possible memory and can synchronize data with a corporate SQL Server 2008 Database. Supports offline user and minimum dependency on external components. 15. MDI and SDI Forms (specifically IsMDIContainer) 16. GUID – in the case of data warehousing, it is important to define unique keys. 17. Encrypting / Security Data 18. Understanding of Isolated Storage/Proper location to store items 19. LINQ to SQL 20. Multithreaded access 21. ADO.NET Entity Framework model 22. Marshal.ReleaseComObject 23. Common User Interface Layout (ComboBox, ListBox, Listview, MaskedTextBox, TextBox, RichTextBox, SplitContainer, TableLayoutPanel, TabControl) 24. DataSets Class - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.data.dataset%28VS.71%29.aspx 25. SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services (SSRS) 26. SystemIcons.Shield (Vista UAC) 27. Leverging stored procedures to perform data manipulation for a database schema that can change. 28. DataContext 29. Microsoft Windows Installer Packages, ClickOnce(bootstrapping features), XCopy. 30. Client Application Services – will authenticate users by using the same data source as a ASP.NET web application. 31. SQL Server 2008 Caching 32. StringBuilder 33. Accessibility Guidelines for Windows Applications http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms228004.aspx 34. Logging erros 35. Testing performance related issues. 36. Role Based Security, GenericIdentity and GenericPrincipal 37. System.Net.CookieContainer will store session data for webapps (see isolated storage for winforms) 38. .NET CLR Profiler tool will identify objects that cause performance issues. 39. ADO.NET Synchronization (SyncGroup) 40. Globalization - CultureInfo 41. IDisposable Interface- reports on several questions relating to this. 42. Adding timestamps to determine whether data has changed or not. 43. Converting applications to .NET Framework 3.5 44. MicrosoftReportViewer 45. Composite Controls 46. Windows Vista KNOWN folders. 47. Microsoft Sync Framework 48. TypeConverter -Provides a unified way of converting types of values to other types, as well as for accessing standard values and sub properties. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.componentmodel.typeconverter.aspx 49. Concurrency control mechanisms The main categories of concurrency control mechanisms are: Optimistic - Delay the checking of whether a transaction meets the isolation rules (e.g., serializability and recoverability) until its end, without blocking any of its (read, write) operations, and then abort a transaction, if the desired rules are violated. Pessimistic - Block operations of a transaction, if they may cause violation of the rules. Semi-optimistic - Block operations in some situations, and do not block in other situations, while delaying rules checking to transaction's end, as done with optimistic. 50. AutoResetEvent 51. Microsoft Messaging Queue (MSMQ) 4.0 52. Bulk imports 53. KeyDown event of controls 54. WPF UI components 55. UI process layer 56. GAC (installing, removing and queuing) 57. Use a local database cache to reduce the network bandwidth used by applications. 58. Sound can easily be annoying and distracting to users, so use it judiciously. Always give users the option to turn sound off. Because a user might have sound off, never convey important information through sound alone.

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Getting Started with ASP.NET Membership, Profile and RoleManager

- by Ben Griswold

A new ASP.NET MVC project includes preconfigured Membership, Profile and RoleManager providers right out of the box. Try it yourself – create a ASP.NET MVC application, crack open the web.config file and have a look. First, you’ll find the ApplicationServices database connection: <connectionStrings> <add name="ApplicationServices" connectionString="data source=.\SQLEXPRESS;Integrated Security=SSPI;AttachDBFilename=|DataDirectory|aspnetdb.mdf;User Instance=true" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"/> </connectionStrings> Notice the connection string is referencing the aspnetdb.mdf database hosted by SQL Express and it’s using integrated security so it’ll just work for you without having to call out a specific database login or anything. Scroll down the file a bit and you’ll find each of the three noted sections: <membership> <providers> <clear/> <add name="AspNetSqlMembershipProvider" type="System.Web.Security.SqlMembershipProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" connectionStringName="ApplicationServices" enablePasswordRetrieval="false" enablePasswordReset="true" requiresQuestionAndAnswer="false" requiresUniqueEmail="false" passwordFormat="Hashed" maxInvalidPasswordAttempts="5" minRequiredPasswordLength="6" minRequiredNonalphanumericCharacters="0" passwordAttemptWindow="10" passwordStrengthRegularExpression="" applicationName="/" /> </providers> </membership> <profile> <providers> <clear/> <add name="AspNetSqlProfileProvider" type="System.Web.Profile.SqlProfileProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" connectionStringName="ApplicationServices" applicationName="/" /> </providers> </profile> <roleManager enabled="false"> <providers> <clear /> <add connectionStringName="ApplicationServices" applicationName="/" name="AspNetSqlRoleProvider" type="System.Web.Security.SqlRoleProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" /> <add applicationName="/" name="AspNetWindowsTokenRoleProvider" type="System.Web.Security.WindowsTokenRoleProvider, System.Web, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a" /> </providers> </roleManager> Really. It’s all there. Still don’t believe me. Run the application, walk through the registration process and finally login and logout. Completely functional – and you didn’t have to do a thing! What else? Well, you can manage your users via the Configuration Manager which is hiding in Visual Studio behind Projects > ASP.NET Configuration. The ASP.NET Web Site Administration Tool isn’t MVC-specific (neither is the Membership, Profile or RoleManager stuff) but it’s neat and I hardly ever see anyone using it. Here you can set up and edit users, roles, and set access permissions for your site. You can manage application settings, establish your SMTP settings, configure debugging and tracing, define default error page and even take your application offline. The UI is rather plain-Jane but it works great. And here’s the best of all. Let’s say you, like most of us, don’t want to run your application on top of the aspnetdb.mdf database. Let’s suppose you want to use your own database and you’d like to add the membership stuff to it. Well, that’s easy enough. Take a look inside your [drive:]\%windir%\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v2.0.50727\ folder. Here you’ll find a bunch of files. If you were to run the InstallCommon.sql, InstallMembership.sql, InstallRoles.sql and InstallProfile.sql files against the database of your choices, you’d be installing the same membership, profile and role artifacts which are found in the aspnet.db to your own database. Too much trouble? Okay. Run [drive:]\%windir%\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regsql.exe from the command line instead. This will launch the ASP.NET SQL Server Setup Wizard which walks you through the installation of those same database objects into the new or existing database of your choice. You may not always have the luxury of using this tool on your destination server, but you should use it whenever you can. Last tip: don’t forget to update the ApplicationServices connectionstring to point to your custom database after the setup is complete. At the risk of sounding like a smarty, everything I’ve mentioned in this post has been around for quite a while. The thing is that not everyone has had the opportunity to use it. And it makes sense. I know I’ve worked on projects which used custom membership services. Why bother with the out-of-the-box stuff, right? And the .NET framework is so massive, who can know it all. Well, eventually you might have a chance to architect your own solution using any implementation you’d like or you will have the time to play around with another aspect of the framework. When you do, think back to this post.

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Scott Guthrie in Glasgow

- by Martin Hinshelwood

Last week Scott Guthrie was in Glasgow for his new Guathon tour, which was a roaring success. Scott did talks on the new features in Visual Studio 2010, Silverlight 4, ASP.NET MVC 2 and Windows Phone 7. Scott talked from 10am till 4pm, so this can only contain what I remember and I am sure lots of things he discussed just went in one ear and out another, however I have tried to capture at least all of my Ohh’s and Ahh’s. Visual Studio 2010 Right now you can download and install Visual Studio 2010 Candidate Release, but soon we will have the final product in our hands. With it there are some amazing improvements, and not just in the IDE. New versions of VB and C# come out of the box as well as Silverlight 4 and SharePoint 2010 integration. The new Intellisense features allow inline support for Types and Dictionaries as well as being able to type just part of a name and have the list filter accordingly. Even better, and my personal favourite is one that Scott did not mention, and that is that it is not case sensitive so I can actually find things in C# with its reasonless case sensitivity (Scott, can we please have an option to turn that off.) Another nice feature is the Routing engine that was created for ASP.NET MVC is now available for WebForms which is good news for all those that just imported the MVC DLL’s to get at it anyway. Another fantastic feature that will need some exploring is the ability to add validation rules to your entities and have them validated automatically on the front end. This removes the need to add your own validators and means that you can control an objects validation rules from a single location, the object. A simple command “GridView.EnableDynamicData(gettype(product))“ will enable this feature on controls. What was not clear was wither there would be support for this in WPF and WinForms as well. If there is, we can write our validation rules once and use everywhere. I was disappointed to here that there would be no inbuilt support for the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) with VS2010, but I think it will be there for .vNext. Because I have been concentrating on the Visual Studio ALM enhancements to VS2010 I found this section invaluable as I now know at least some of what I missed. Silverlight 4 I am not a big fan of Silverlight. There I said it, and I will probably get lynched for it. My big problem with Silverlight is that most of the really useful things I leaned from WPF do not work. I am only going to mention one thing and that is “x:Type”. If you are a WPF developer you will know how much power these 6 little letters provide; the ability to target templates at object types being the the most magical and useful. But, and this is a massive but, if you are developing applications that MUST run on platforms other than windows then Silverlight is your only choice (well that and Flash, but lets just not go there). And Silverlight has a huge install base as well.. 60% of all internet connected devices have Silverlight. Can Adobe say that? Even though I am not a fan of it my current project is a Silverlight one. If you start your XAML experience with Silverlight you will not be disappointed and neither will the users of the applications you build. Scott showed us a fantastic application called “Silverface” that is a Silverlight 4 Out of Browser application. I have looked for a link and can’t find one, but true to form, here is a fantastic WPF version called Fish Bowl from Microsoft. ASP.NET MVC 2 ASP.NET MVC is something I have played with but never used in anger. It is definitely the way forward, but WebForms is not dead yet. there are still circumstances when WebForms are better. If you are starting from greenfield and you are using TDD, then MVC is ultimately the only way you can go. New in version 2 are Dynamic Scaffolding helpers that let you control how data is presented in the UI from the Entities. Adding validation rules and other options that make sense there can help improve the overall ease of developing the UI. Also the Microsoft team have heard the cries of help from the larger site builders and provided “Areas” which allow a level of categorisation to your Controllers and Views. These work just like add-ins and have their own folder, but also have sub Controllers and Views. Areas are totally pluggable and can be dropped onto existing sites giving the ability to have boxed products in MVC, although what you do with all of those views is anyone's guess. They have been listening to everyone again with the new option to encapsulate UI using the Html.Action or Html.ActionRender. This uses the existing .ascx functionality in ASP.NET to render partial views to the screen in certain areas. While this was possible before, it makes the method official thereby opening it up to the masses and making it a standard. At the end of the session Scott pulled out some IIS goodies including the IIS SEO Toolkit which can be used to verify your own site is “good” for search engine consumption. Better yet he suggested that you run it against your friends sites and shame them with how bad they are. note: make sure you have fixed yours first. Windows Phone 7 Series I had already seen the new UI for WP7 and heard about the developer story, but Scott brought that home by building a twitter application in about 20 minutes using the emulator. Scott’s only mistake was loading @plip’s tweets into the app… And guess what, it was written in Silverlight. When Windows Phone 7 launches you will be able to use about 90% of the codebase of your existing Silverlight application and use it on the phone! There are two downsides to the new WP7 architecture: No, your existing application WILL NOT work without being converted to either a Silverlight or XNA UI. NO, you will not be able to get your applications onto the phone any other way but through the Marketplace. Do I think these are problems? No, not even slightly. This phone is aimed at consumers who have probably never tried to install an application directly onto a device. There will be support for enterprise apps in the future, but for now enterprises should stay on Windows Phone 6.5.x devices. Post Event drinks At the after event drinks gathering Scott was checking out my HTC HD2 (released to the US this month on T-Mobile) and liked the Windows Phone 6.5.5 build I have on it. We discussed why Microsoft were not going to allow Windows Phone 7 Series onto it with my understanding being that it had 5 buttons and not 3, while Scott was sure that there was more to it from a hardware standpoint. I think he is right, and although the HTC HD2 has a DX9 compatible processor, it was never built with WP7 in mind. However, as if by magic Saturday brought fantastic news for all those that have already bought an HD2: Yes, this appears to be Windows Phone 7 running on a HTC HD2. The HD2 itself won't be getting an official upgrade to Windows Phone 7 Series, so all eyes are on the ROM chefs at the moment. The rather massive photos have been posted by Tom Codon on HTCPedia and they've apparently got WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth and other bits working. The ROM isn't online yet but according to the post there's a beta version coming soon. Leigh Geary - http://www.coolsmartphone.com/news5648.html What was Scott working on on his flight back to the US? Technorati Tags: VS2010,MVC2,WP7S,WP7 Follow: @CAMURPHY, @ColinMackay, @plip and of course @ScottGu

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Using Unity – Part 2

- by nmarun

In the first part of this series, we created a simple project and learned how to implement IoC pattern using Unity. In this one, I’ll show how you can instantiate other types that implement our IProduct interface. One place where this one would want to use this feature is to create mock types for testing purposes. Alright, let’s dig in. I added another class – Product2.cs to the ProductModel project. 1: public class Product2 : IProduct 2: { 3: public string Name { get; set;} 4: public Category Category { get; set; } 5: public DateTime MfgDate { get;set; } 6: 7: public Product2() 8: { 9: Name = "Canon Digital Rebel XTi"; 10: Category = new Category {Name = "Electronics", SubCategoryName = "Digital Cameras"}; 11: MfgDate = DateTime.Now; 12: } 13: 14: public string WriteProductDetails() 15: { 16: return string.Format("Name: {0}<br/>Category: {1}<br/>Mfg Date: {2}", 17: Name, Category, MfgDate.ToShortDateString()); 18: } 19: } Highlights of this class are that it implements IProduct interface and it has some different properties than the Product class. The Category class looks like below: 1: public class Category 2: { 3: public string Name { get; set; } 4: public string SubCategoryName { get; set; } 5: 6: public override string ToString() 7: { 8: return string.Format("{0} - {1}", Name, SubCategoryName); 9: } 10: } We’ll go to our web.config file to add the configuration information about this new class – Product2 that we created. Let’s first add a typeAlias element. 1: <typeAlias alias="Product2" type="ProductModel.Product2, ProductModel"/> That’s all that is needed for us to get an instance of Product2 in our application. I have a new button added to the .aspx page and the click event of this button is where all the magic happens: 1: private IUnityContainer unityContainer; 2: protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) 3: { 4: unityContainer = Application["UnityContainer"] as IUnityContainer; 5: 6: if (unityContainer == null) 7: { 8: productDetailsLabel.Text = "ERROR: Unity Container not populated in Global.asax.<p />"; 9: } 10: else 11: { 12: if (!IsPostBack) 13: { 14: IProduct productInstance = unityContainer.Resolve<IProduct>(); 15: productDetailsLabel.Text = productInstance.WriteProductDetails(); 16: } 17: } 18: } 19: 20: protected void Product2Button_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) 21: { 22: unityContainer.RegisterType<IProduct, Product2>(); 23: IProduct product2Instance = unityContainer.Resolve<IProduct>(); 24: productDetailsLabel.Text = product2Instance.WriteProductDetails(); 25: } The unityContainer instance is set in the Page_Load event. Line 22 in the click event of the Product2Button registers a type mapping in the container. In English, this means that when unityContainer tries to resolve for IProduct, it gets an instance of Product2. Once this code runs, following output is rendered: There’s another way of doing this. You can resolve an instance of the requested type with a name from the container. We’ll have to update the container element of our web.config file to include the following: 1: <container name="unityContainer"> 2: <types> 3: <type type="IProduct" mapTo="Product"/> 4:  5: <type type="IProduct" mapTo="Product" name="LegacyProduct" /> 6:  7: <type type="IProduct" mapTo="Product2" name="NewProduct" /> 8: </types> 9: </container> I’ve added a Dropdownlist and a button to the design page: 1: <asp:DropDownList ID="ModelTypesList" runat="server"> 2: <asp:ListItem Text="Legacy Product" Value="LegacyProduct" /> 3: <asp:ListItem Text="New Product" Value="NewProduct" /> 4: </asp:DropDownList> 5: <br /> 6: <asp:Button ID="SelectedModelButton" Text="Get Selected Instance" runat="server" 7: onclick="SelectedModelButton_Click" /> 1: protected void SelectedModelButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) 2: { 3: // get the selected value: LegacyProduct or NewProduct 4: string modelType = ModelTypesList.SelectedValue; 5: // pass the modelType to the Resolve method 6: IProduct customModel = unityContainer.Resolve<IProduct>(modelType); 7: productDetailsLabel.Text = customModel.WriteProductDetails(); 8: } Pretty straight forward right? The only thing to note here is that the values in the dropdownlist item need to match the name attribute of the type. Depending on what you select, you’ll get an instance of either the Product class or the Product2 class and the corresponding WriteProductDetails() method is called. Now you see, how either of these methods can be used to create mock objects your the test project. See the code here. I’ll continue to share more of Unity in the next blog.

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ASP.NET Controls – CommunityServer Captcha ControlAdapter, a practical case

- by nmgomes

The ControlAdapter is available since .NET framework version 2.0 and his main goal is to adapt and customize a control render in order to achieve a specific behavior or layout. This customization is done without changing the base control. A ControlAdapter is commonly used to custom render for specific platforms like Mobile. In this particular case the ControlAdapter was used to add a specific behavior to a Control. In this post I will use one adapter to add a Captcha to all WeblogPostCommentForm controls within pontonetpt.com CommunityServer instance. The Challenge The ControlAdapter complexity is usually associated with the complexity/structure of is base control. This case is precisely one of those since base control dynamically load his content (controls) thru several ITemplate. Those of you who already played with ITemplate knows that while it is an excellent option for control composition it also brings to the table a big issue: “Controls defined within a template are not available for manipulation until they are instantiated inside another control.” While analyzing the WeblogPostCommentForm control I found that he uses the ITemplate technique to compose it’s layout and unfortunately I also found that the template content vary from theme to theme. This could have been a problem but luckily WeblogPostCommentForm control template content always contains a submit button with a well known ID (at least I can assume that there are a well known set of IDs). Using this submit button as anchor it’s possible to add the Captcha controls in the correct place. Another important finding was that WeblogPostCommentForm control inherits from the WrappedFormBase control which is the base control for all CommunityServer input forms. Knowing this inheritance link the main goal has changed to became the creation of a base ControlAdapter that could be extended and customized to allow adding Captcha to: post comments form contact form user creation form. And, with this mind set, I decided to used the following ControlAdapter base class signature :public abstract class WrappedFormBaseCaptchaAdapter<T> : ControlAdapter where T : WrappedFormBase { }Great, but there are still many to do … Captcha The Captcha will be assembled with: A dynamically generated image with a set of random numbers A TextBox control where the image number will be inserted A Validator control to validate whether TextBox numbers match the image numbers This is a common Captcha implementation, is not rocket science and don’t bring any additional problem. The main problem, as told before, is to find the correct anchor control to ensure a correct Captcha control injection. The anchor control can vary by: target control theme Implementation To support this dynamic scenario I choose to use the following implementation:private List<string> _validAnchorIds = null; protected virtual List<string> ValidAnchorIds { get { if (this._validAnchorIds == null) { this._validAnchorIds = new List<string>(); this._validAnchorIds.Add("btnSubmit"); } return this._validAnchorIds; } } private Control GetAnchorControl(T wrapper) { if (this.ValidAnchorIds == null || this.ValidAnchorIds.Count == 0) { throw new ArgumentException("Cannot be null or empty", "validAnchorNames"); } var q = from anchorId in this.ValidAnchorIds let anchorControl = CSControlUtility.Instance().FindControl(wrapper, anchorId) where anchorControl != null select anchorControl; return q.FirstOrDefault(); } I can now, using the ValidAnchorIds property, configure a set of valid anchor control Ids. The GetAnchorControl method searches for a valid anchor control within the set of valid control Ids. Here, some of you may question why to use a LINQ To Objects expression, but the important here is to notice the usage of CSControlUtility.Instance().FindControl CommunityServer method. I want to build on top of CommunityServer not to reinvent the wheel. Assuming that an anchor control was found, it’s now possible to inject the Captcha at the correct place. This not something new, we do this all the time when creating server controls or adding dynamic controls:protected sealed override void CreateChildControls() { base.CreateChildControls(); if (this.IsCaptchaRequired) { T wrapper = base.Control as T; if (wrapper != null) { Control anchorControl = GetAnchorControl(wrapper); if (anchorControl != null) { Panel phCaptcha = new Panel {CssClass = "CommonFormField", ID = "Captcha"}; int index = anchorControl.Parent.Controls.IndexOf(anchorControl); anchorControl.Parent.Controls.AddAt(index, phCaptcha); CaptchaConfiguration.DefaultProvider.AddCaptchaControls( phCaptcha, GetValidationGroup(wrapper, anchorControl)); } } } } Here you can see a new entity in action: a provider. This is a CaptchaProvider class instance and is only goal is to create the Captcha itself and do everything else is needed to ensure is correct operation.public abstract class CaptchaProvider : ProviderBase { public abstract void AddCaptchaControls(Panel captchaPanel, string validationGroup); } You can create your own specific CaptchaProvider class to use different Captcha strategies including the use of existing Captcha services like ReCaptcha. Once the generic ControlAdapter was created became extremely easy to created a specific one. Here is the specific ControlAdapter for the WeblogPostCommentForm control:public class WeblogPostCommentFormCaptchaAdapter : WrappedFormBaseCaptchaAdapter<WrappedFormBase> { #region Overriden Methods protected override List<string> ValidAnchorIds { get { List<string> validAnchorNames = base.ValidAnchorIds; validAnchorNames.Add("CommentSubmit"); return validAnchorNames; } } protected override string DefaultValidationGroup { get { return "CreateCommentForm"; } } #endregion Overriden Methods } Configuration This is the magic step. Without changing the original pages and keeping the application original assemblies untouched we are going to add a new behavior to the CommunityServer application. To glue everything together you must follow this steps: Add the following configuration to default.browser file:<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?> <browsers> <browser refID="Default"> <controlAdapters>  <adapter controlType="CommunityServer.Blogs.Controls.WeblogPostCommentForm" adapterType="NunoGomes.CommunityServer.Components.WeblogPostCommentFormCaptchaAdapter, NunoGomes.CommunityServer" /> </controlAdapters> </browser> </browsers> Add the following configuration to web.config file:<configuration> <configSections>  <section name="communityServer.Captcha" type="NunoGomes.CommunityServer.Captcha.Configuration.CaptchaSection" /> </configSections>  <communityServer.Captcha defaultProvider="simpleCaptcha"> <providers> <add name="simpleCaptcha" type="NunoGomes.CommunityServer.Captcha.Providers.SimpleCaptchaProvider, NunoGomes.CommunityServer" imageUrl="~/captcha.ashx" enabled="true" passPhrase="_YourPassPhrase_" saltValue="_YourSaltValue_" hashAlgorithm="SHA1" passwordIterations="3" keySize="256" initVector="_YourInitVectorWithExactly_16_Bytes_" /> </providers> </communityServer.Captcha> <system.web> <httpHandlers>  <add verb="GET" path="captcha.ashx" type="NunoGomes.CommunityServer.Captcha.Providers.SimpleCaptchaProviderImageHandler, NunoGomes.CommunityServer" /> </httpHandlers> </system.web> <system.webServer> <handlers accessPolicy="Read, Write, Script, Execute">  <add verb="GET" name="captcha" path="captcha.ashx" type="NunoGomes.CommunityServer.Captcha.Providers.SimpleCaptchaProviderImageHandler, NunoGomes.CommunityServer" /> </handlers> </system.webServer> </configuration> Conclusion Building a ControlAdapter can be complex but the reward is his ability to allows us, thru configuration changes, to modify an application render and/or behavior. You can see this ControlAdapter in action here and here (anonymous required). A complete solution is available in “CommunityServer Extensions” Codeplex project.

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