business layer - Page 493

Generate A Simple Read-Only DAL?

- by David

I've been looking around for a simple solution to this, trying my best to lean towards something like NHibernate, but so far everything I've found seems to be trying to solve a slightly different problem. Here's what I'm looking at in my current project: We have an IBM iSeries database as a primary repository for a third party software suite used for our core business (a financial institution). Part of what my team does is write applications that report on or key off of a lot of this data in some way. In the past, we've been manually creating ADO .NET connections (we're using .NET 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008, by the way) and manually writing queries, etc. Moving forward, I'd like to simplify the process of getting data from there for the development team. Rather than creating connections and queries and all that each time, I'd much rather a developer be able to simply do something like this: var something = (from t in TableName select t); And, ideally, they'd just get some IQueryable or IEnumerable of generated entities. This would be done inside a new domain core that I'm building where these entities would live and the applications would interface with it through a request/response service layer. A few things to note are: The entities that correspond to the database tables should be generated once and we'd prefer to manually keep them updated over time. That is, if columns/tables are added to the database then we shouldn't have to do anything. (If some are deleted, of course, it will break, but that's fine.) But if we need to use a new column, we should be able to just add it to the necessary class(es) without having to re-gen the whole thing. The whole thing should be SELECT-only. We're not doing a full DAL here because we don't want to be able to break anything in the database (even accidentally). We don't need any kind of mapping between our domain objects and the generated entity types. The domain barely covers a fraction of the data that's in there, most of it we'll never need, and we would rather just create re-usable maps manually over time. I already have a logical separation for the DAL where my "repository" classes return domain objects, I'm just looking for a better alternative to manual ADO to be used inside the repository classes. Any suggestions? It seems like what I'm doing is just enough outside the normal demand for DAL/ORM tools/tutorials online that I haven't been able to find anything. Or maybe I'm just overlooking something obvious?

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CGAffineTransformMakeRotation goes the other way after 180 degrees (-3.14)

- by TheKillerDev

So, i am trying to do a very simple disc rotation (2d), according to the user touch on it, just like a DJ or something. It is working, but there is a problem, after certain amount of rotation, it starts going backwards, this amount is after 180 degrees or as i saw in while logging the angle, -3.14 (pi). I was wondering, how can i achieve a infinite loop, i mean, the user can keep rotating and rotating to any side, just sliding his finger? Also a second question is, is there any way to speed up the rotation? Here is my code right now: #import <UIKit/UIKit.h> @interface Draggable : UIImageView { CGPoint firstLoc; UILabel * fred; double angle; } @property (assign) CGPoint firstLoc; @property (retain) UILabel * fred; @end @implementation Draggable @synthesize fred, firstLoc; - (id)initWithFrame:(CGRect)frame { self = [super initWithFrame:frame]; angle = 0; if (self) { // Initialization code } return self; } -(void)handleObject:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event isLast:(BOOL)lst { UITouch *touch =[[[event allTouches] allObjects] lastObject]; CGPoint curLoc = [touch locationInView:self]; float fromAngle = atan2( firstLoc.y-self.center.y, firstLoc.x-self.center.x ); float toAngle = atan2( curLoc.y-(self.center.y+10), curLoc.x-(self.center.x+10)); float newAngle = angle + (toAngle - fromAngle); NSLog(@"%f",newAngle); CGAffineTransform cgaRotate = CGAffineTransformMakeRotation(newAngle); self.transform = cgaRotate; if (lst) angle = newAngle; } -(void)touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event { UITouch *touch =[[[event allTouches] allObjects] lastObject]; firstLoc = [touch locationInView:self]; }; -(void) touchesMoved:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event { [self handleObject:touches withEvent:event isLast:NO]; }; -(void) touchesEnded:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event { [self handleObject:touches withEvent:event isLast:YES]; } @end And in the ViewController: UIImage *tmpImage = [UIImage imageNamed:@"theDisc.png"]; CGRect cellRectangle; cellRectangle = CGRectMake(-1,self.view.frame.size.height,tmpImage.size.width ,tmpImage.size.height ); dragger = [[Draggable alloc] initWithFrame:cellRectangle]; [dragger setImage:tmpImage]; [dragger setUserInteractionEnabled:YES]; dragger.layer.anchorPoint = CGPointMake(.5,.5); [self.view addSubview:dragger]; I am open to new/cleaner/more correct ways of doing this too. Thanks in advance.

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What web platform is right for me?

- by egervari

I've been looking at web frameworks like Rails, Grails, etc. I'm used to doing applications in Spring Framework with Hibernate... and I want something more productive. One of the things I realized is that while some of the things in Grails is sexy, there are some serious problems with it. Grails' controllers: 1) are implemented awfully. They don't seem to be able to extend from super classes at runtime. I tried this to add base actions and helper methods, and this seems to cause grails to blow up. 2) are based on an obsolete request parameters model (rather than form backing objects, which are much nicer). 3) are hard to test. Command objects are treated totally differently... and it's actually MUCH harder to write the test than it is to write the controller code. 4) Command objects operate totally differently. They are pre-validated and bound, which causes a lot of inconsistencies than basic parameter model. 5) Command objects are not reusable, and it's a pain in the rear to reuse most of the stuff from the domain classes, like constraints and fields. This is TRIVIAL to do in basic Spring. Why the hell was it not trivial to do in Grails? 6) The scaffolding that is generated is pure crap. It doesn't generalize inserts and updates... and it actually copy/pastes a pile of code in two views: create.gsp and edit.gsp. The views themselves are gargantuan piles of doggie do-do. This is further compounded by the fact that it uses low-level parameters and not objects. Integration tests are 30x slower than a Spring integration test. It is disgusting. Some mocking tests are so hard to write and aren't guaranteed to work when it's deployed, that I think it discourages fast, tdd test cycles. Most things seem to screw up grails while it's running, like adding a taglib, or anything really. The server restart problem wasn't solved at all. I'm starting to think going with Spring/Hibernate/Java is the only way to go. While there is a pretty big cost at startup, I know it'll eventually smooth out. It sucks I can't use a language like Scala... because idiomatically, it is so incompatible with Hibernate. This app is also not a run-of-the-mill UI over a database. It's got some of that, but it's not going to be a slouch. I am deathly scared of Grails now because of how crap it is in the Controller layer. Suggestions on what I can do?

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BlackBerry OS 7.1 secured TLS connection is closed after very short time

- by MrVincenzo

To make a long story short: Same client-server configuration, same network topology, same device (Bold 9900) - works perfectly well on OS 7.0 but doesn't work as expected on OS 7.1 and the secured tls connection is being closed by the server after a very short time. My application opens a secured tls connection to a server. The connection is kept alive by a application layer keep-alive mechanism and remains open until the client closes it. Attached is a simplified version of the actual code that opens connection and reads from the socket. The code works perfectly on OS 5.0-7.0 but doesn't work as expected on OS 7.1. When running on OS 7.1, the blocking read() returns with -1 (end of the stream has been reached) after very short time (10-45 seconds). For OS 5.0-7.0 the call to read() remains blocking until next data arrives and the connection is never closed by the server. Connection connection = Connector.open(connectionString); connInputStream = connection.openInputStream(); while (true) { try { retVal = connInputStream.read(); if (-1 == retVal) { break; // end of stream has been reached } } catch (Exception e ) { // do error handling } // data read from stream is handled here } UPDATE 1: Apparently, the problem appears only when I use secured tls connection (either using mobile network or WiFi) on OS 7.1. Everything works as expected when opening a non secured connection on OS 7.1. For tls on mobile networks I use the following connection string: connectionString = "tls://someipaddress:443;deviceside=false;ConnectionType=mds-public;EndToEndDesired"; For tls on Wifi I use the following connection string: connectionString = "tls://someipaddress:443;deviceside=true;interface=wifi;EndToEndRequired" UPDATE 2: The connection is never idle. I am constantly receiving and sending data on it. The issue appears both when using mobile connection and WiFi. The issue appears both on real OS 7.1 devices and simulators. I am starting to suspect that it is somehow related either to the connection string I am using or to the tls handshake. UPDATE 3: According to Wireshark's captures that I made with the OS 7.1 simulator, the secured tls connection is being closed by the server (client receives FIN). For the moment I don't have the server's private key therefore I unable to debug the tls handshake.

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[NHibernate and ASP.NET MVC] How can I implement a robust session-per-request pattern in my project,

- by Guillaume Gervais

I'm currently building an ASP.NET MVC project, with NHibernate as its persistance layer. For now, some functionnalities have been implemented, but only use local NHibernate sessions: each method that accessed the database (read or write) needs to instanciate its own NHibernate session, with the "using()" directive. The problem is that I want to leverage NHibernate's Lazy-Loading capabilities to improve the performance of my project. This implies an open NHibernate session per request until the view is rendered. Furthermore, simultaneous request must be supported (multiple Sessions at the same time). How can I achieve that as cleanly as possible? I searched the Web a little bit and learned about the session-per-request pattern. Most of the implementations I saw used some sort of Http* (HttpContext, etc.) object to store the session. Also, using the Application_BeginRequest/Application_EndRequest functions is complicated, since they get fired for each HTTP request (aspx files, css files, js files, etc.), when I only want to instanciate a session once per request. The concern that I have is that I don't want my views or controllers to have access to NHibernate sessions (or, more generally, NHibernate namespaces and code). That means that I do not want to handle sessions at the controller level nor the view one. I have a few options in mind. Which one seems the best ? Use interceptors (like in GRAILS) that get triggered before and after the controller action. These would open and close sessions/transactions. Is it possible in the ASP.NET MVC world? Use the CurrentSessionContext Singleton provided by NHibernate in a Web context. Using this page as an example, I think this is quite promising, but that still requires filters at the controller level. Use the HttpContext.Current.Items to store the request session. This, coupled with a few lines of code in Global.asax.cs, can easily provide me with a session on the request level. However, it means that dependencies will be injected between NHibernate and my views (HttpContext). Thank you very much!

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Update Statement Updates 0 Rows via the C# Winform Application?

- by peace

First of all, please help me out! I can not take this anymore. I could not find where the error is located. Here is my problem: I'm trying to update a row via c# winform application. The update query generated from the application is formatted correctly. I tested it in the sql server environment, it worked well. When i run it from the application i get 0 rows updated. Here is the snippet that generates the update statement using reflection - don't try to figure it out. Carry on reading after the code portion: public void Update(int cusID) { SqlCommand objSqlCommand = new SqlCommand(); Customer cust = new Customer(); string SQL = null; try { if ((cusID != 0)) { foreach (PropertyInfo PropertyItem in this.GetType().GetProperties()) { if (!(PropertyItem.Name.ToString() == cust.PKName)) { if (PropertyItem.Name.ToString() != "TableName") { if (SQL == null) { SQL = PropertyItem.Name.ToString() + " = @" + PropertyItem.Name.ToString(); } else { SQL = SQL + ", " + PropertyItem.Name.ToString() + " = @" + PropertyItem.Name.ToString(); } } else { break; } } } objSqlCommand.CommandText = "UPDATE " + this.TableName + " SET " + SQL + " WHERE " + cust.PKName + " = @cusID AND PhoneNumber = " + "'" + "@phNum" + "'"; foreach (PropertyInfo PropertyItem in this.GetType().GetProperties()) { if (!(PropertyItem.Name.ToString() == cust.PKName)) { if (PropertyItem.Name.ToString() != "TableName") { objSqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@" + PropertyItem.Name.ToString(), PropertyItem.GetValue(this, null)); } else { break; } } } objSqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@cusID", cusID); objSqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@phNum", this.PhoneNumber); DAL.ExecuteSQL(objSqlCommand); } else { //AppEventLog.AddWarning("Primary Key is not provided for Update.") } } catch (Exception ex) { //AppEventLog.AddError(ex.Message.ToString) } } This part below: objSqlCommand.CommandText = "UPDATE " + this.TableName + " SET " + SQL + " WHERE " + cust.PKName + " = @cusID AND PhoneNumber = " + "'" + "@phNum" + "'"; generates dml: UPDATE CustomerPhone SET PhoneTypeID = @PhoneTypeID, PhoneNumber = @PhoneNumber WHERE CustomerID = @cusID AND PhoneNumber = '@phNum' @PhoneTypeID and @PhoneNumber are gotten from two properties. We assigned the value to these properties in the presentation layer from the user input text box. The portion below where fetches the values: objSqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@" + PropertyItem.Name.ToString(), PropertyItem.GetValue(this, null)); The code below fills the values of WHERE: objSqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@cusID", cusID); objSqlCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue("@phNum", this.PhoneNumber); The final code should look as: UPDATE CustomerPhone SET PhoneTypeID = 7, PhoneNumber = 999444 WHERE CustomerID = 500 AND PhoneNumber = '911'; Phone type id is 7 - user value that is taken from text box Phone number is 999444 - user value that is taken from text box The above final update statement works on the sql environment, but when running via the application, the execute non query runs ok and gets 0 rows updated! I wonder why?

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Is it a good or bad practice to call instance methods from a java constructor?

- by Steve

There are several different ways I can initialize complex objects (with injected dependencies and required set-up of injected members), are all seem reasonable, but have various advantages and disadvantages. I'll give a concrete example: final class MyClass { private final Dependency dependency; @Inject public MyClass(Dependency dependency) { this.dependency = dependency; dependency.addHandler(new Handler() { @Override void handle(int foo) { MyClass.this.doSomething(foo); } }); doSomething(0); } private void doSomething(int foo) { dependency.doSomethingElse(foo+1); } } As you can see, the constructor does 3 things, including calling an instance method. I've been told that calling instance methods from a constructor is unsafe because it circumvents the compiler's checks for uninitialized members. I.e. I could have called doSomething(0) before setting this.dependency, which would have compiled but not worked. What is the best way to refactor this? Make doSomething static and pass in the dependency explicitly? In my actual case I have three instance methods and three member fields that all depend on one another, so this seems like a lot of extra boilerplate to make all three of these static. Move the addHandler and doSomething into an @Inject public void init() method. While use with Guice will be transparent, it requires any manual construction to be sure to call init() or else the object won't be fully-functional if someone forgets. Also, this exposes more of the API, both of which seem like bad ideas. Wrap a nested class to keep the dependency to make sure it behaves properly without exposing additional API:class DependencyManager { private final Dependency dependency; public DependecyManager(Dependency dependency) { ... } public doSomething(int foo) { ... } } @Inject public MyClass(Dependency dependency) { DependencyManager manager = new DependencyManager(dependency); manager.doSomething(0); } This pulls instance methods out of all constructors, but generates an extra layer of classes, and when I already had inner and anonymous classes (e.g. that handler) it can become confusing - when I tried this I was told to move the DependencyManager to a separate file, which is also distasteful because it's now multiple files to do a single thing. So what is the preferred way to deal with this sort of situation?

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Spring OpenSessionInViewFilter with @Transactional annotation

- by Gautam

This is regarding Spring OpenSessionInViewFilter using with @Transactional annotation at service layer. i went through so many stack overflow post on this but still confused about whether i should use OpenSessionInViewFilter or not to avoid LazyInitializationException It would be great help if somebody help me find out answer to below queries. Is it bad practice to use OpenSessionInViewFilter in application having complex schema. using this filter can cause N+1 problem if we are using OpenSessionInViewFilter does it mean @Transactional not required? Below is my Spring config file <context:component-scan base-package="com.test"/> <context:annotation-config/> <bean id="messageSource" class="org.springframework.context.support.ReloadableResourceBundleMessageSource"> <property name="basename" value="resources/messages" /> <property name="defaultEncoding" value="UTF-8" /> </bean> <bean id="propertyConfigurer" class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer" p:location="/WEB-INF/jdbc.properties" /> <bean id="dataSource" class="org.apache.commons.dbcp.BasicDataSource" destroy-method="close" p:driverClassName="${jdbc.driverClassName}" p:url="${jdbc.databaseurl}" p:username="${jdbc.username}" p:password="${jdbc.password}" /> <bean id="sessionFactory" class="org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.LocalSessionFactoryBean"> <property name="dataSource" ref="dataSource" /> <property name="configLocation"> <value>classpath:hibernate.cfg.xml</value> </property> <property name="configurationClass"> <value>org.hibernate.cfg.AnnotationConfiguration</value> </property> <property name="hibernateProperties"> <props> <prop key="hibernate.dialect">${jdbc.dialect}</prop> <prop key="hibernate.show_sql">true</prop>  </props> </property> </bean> <tx:annotation-driven /> <bean id="transactionManager" class="org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.HibernateTransactionManager"> <property name="sessionFactory" ref="sessionFactory" /> </bean>

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Objective-C: iPad Crash When Screen Shot Button Clicked

- by SeongHo

OK, i am making a Coloring app and it has a "Save" button that will take the screen shot of the view where the drawing is. I have 6 images to color. In the intro page there 6 buttons, each will link you to a particular coloring page. All are working well including the "Save" button except for one. All coloring views has the same contents and functions but in one image, it crashes the iPad whenever i clicked the "Save" button. Here's some of my codes: On Button Click: [self saveScreenshotToPhotosAlbum]; camFlash = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 1024, 768)]; [camFlash setBackgroundColor:[UIColor whiteColor]]; [camFlash setAlpha:0.0]; [cbHolder addSubview:camFlash]; [cbHolder bringSubviewToFront:camFlash]; [UIView beginAnimations:@"Flash-On" context:NULL]; [UIView setAnimationDuration:0.2]; [UIView setAnimationRepeatAutoreverses:NO]; [camFlash setAlpha:1.0]; [UIView commitAnimations]; NSString *soundPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:@"flash" ofType:@"wav"]; AVAudioPlayer *flashSFX = [[AVAudioPlayer alloc] initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:soundPath] error:NULL]; flashSFX.volume = 0.5; flashSFX.numberOfLoops = 0; self->camFlashSFX = flashSFX; if ([flashSFX currentTime] != 0) [flashSFX setCurrentTime:0]; [flashSFX play]; [self performSelector:@selector(removeFlash) withObject:nil afterDelay:0.2]; Remove Flash: - (void) removeFlash { [camFlash removeFromSuperview]; } For the screenshot: - (UIImage*)captureView { UIGraphicsBeginImageContext(CGSizeMake(1024, 768)); CGContextRef context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext(); [cbHolder.layer renderInContext:context]; UIImage *img = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext(); UIGraphicsEndImageContext(); return img; } - (void)saveScreenshotToPhotosAlbum { UIImageWriteToSavedPhotosAlbum([self captureView], nil, nil, nil); } This one is for the button that will show the coloring page: uc4 = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"tpUncolored1.png"]]; [uc4 setUserInteractionEnabled:YES]; [uc4 setFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 1024, 768)]; [cbHolder addSubview:uc4]; clrd4 = [[UIImageView alloc] initWithImage:[UIImage imageNamed:@"tpColored1.png"]]; [clrd4 setUserInteractionEnabled:YES]; [clrd4 setFrame:CGRectMake(0, 0, 1024, 768)]; [cbHolder addSubview:clrd4]; [UIView beginAnimations:@"fabe-out" context:NULL]; [UIView setAnimationDuration:1.5]; [clrd4 setAlpha:0.0]; [UIView commitAnimations]; [self performSelector:@selector(cb4) withObject:nil afterDelay:1.5];

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Users and roles in context

- by Eric W.

I'm trying to get a sense of how to implement the user/role relationships for an application I'm writing. The persistence layer is Google App Engine's datastore, which places some interesting (but generally beneficial) constraints on what can be done. Any thoughts are appreciated. It might be helpful to keep things very concrete. I would like there to be organizations, users, test content and test administrations (records of tests that have been taken). A user can have the role of participant (test-taker), contributor of test material or both. A user can also be a member of zero or more organizations. In the role of participant, the user can see the previous administrations of tests he or she has taken. The user can also see a test administration of another participant if that participant has given the user authorization. The user can see test material that has been made public, and he or she can see restricted content as a participant during a specific administration of a test for which that user has been authorized by an organization. As a member of an organization, the user can see restricted content in the role of contributor, and he or she might or might not also be able to edit the content. Each organization should have one or more administrators that can determine whether a member can see and edit content and determine who has admin privileges. There should also be one or more application-wide superusers that can troubleshoot and solve problems. Members of organizations can see the administrations of tests that the participants concerned have authorized them to see, and they can see anonymous data if no authorization has been given. A user cannot see the test results of another user in any other circumstances. Since there are no joins in the App Engine datastore, it might be necessary to have things less normalized than usual for the typical SQL database in order to ensure that queries that check permissions are fast (e.g., ones that determine whether a link is to be displayed). My questions are: How do I move forward on this? Should I spend a lot of time up front in order to get the model right, or can I iterate several times and gradually roll in additional complexity? Does anyone have some general ideas about how to break things up in this instance? Are there any GAE libraries that handle roles in a way that is compatible with this arrangement?

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Where is my app.config for SSIS?

Sometimes when working with SSIS you need to add or change settings in the .NET application configuration file, which can be a bit confusing when you are building a SSIS package not an application. First of all lets review a couple of examples where you may need to do this. You are using referencing an assembly in a Script Task that uses Enterprise Library (aka EntLib), so you need to add the relevant configuration sections and settings, perhaps for the logging application block. You are using using Enterprise Library in a custom task or component, and again you need to add the relevant configuration sections and settings. You are using a web service with Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 3.0 and hosting the proxy in SSIS, in an assembly used by your package, and need to add the configuration sections and settings. You need to change behaviours of the .NET framework which can be influenced by a configuration file, such as the System.Net.Mail default SMTP settings. Perhaps you wish to configure System.Net and the httpWebRequest header for parsing unsafe header (useUnsafeHeaderParsing), which will change the way the HTTP Connection manager behaves. You are consuming a WCF service and wish to specify the endpoint in configuration. There are no doubt plenty more examples but each of these requires us to identify the correct configuration file and and make the relevant changes. There are actually several configuration files, each used by a different execution host depending on how you are working with the SSIS package. The folders we need to look in will actually vary depending on the version of SQL Server as well as the processor architecture, but most are all what we can call the Binn folder. The SQL Server 2005 Binn folder is at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\, compared to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn\ for SQL Server 2008. If you are on a 64-bit machine then you will see C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\ for the 32-bit executables and C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\ for 64-bit, so be sure to check all relevant locations. Of course SQL Server 2008 may have a C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn\ on a 64-bit machine too. To recap, the version of SQL Server determines if you look in the 90 or 100 sub-folder under SQL Server in Program Files (C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\nn\) . If you are running a 64-bit operating system then you will have two instances program files, C:\Program Files (x86)\ for 32-bit and C:\Program Files\ for 64-bit. You may wish to check both depending on what you are doing, but this is covered more under each section below. There are a total of five specific configuration files that you may need to change, each one is detailed below: DTExec.exe.config DTExec.exe is the standalone command line tool used for executing SSIS packages, and therefore it is an execution host with an app.config file. e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\DTExec.exe.config The file can be found in both the 32-bit and 64-bit Binn folders. DtsDebugHost.exe.config DtsDebugHost.exe is the execution host used by Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) / Visual Studio when executing a package from the designer in debug mode, which is the default behaviour. e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\DtsDebugHost.exe.config The file can be found in both the 32-bit and 64-bit Binn folders. This may surprise some people as Visual Studio is only 32-bit, but thankfully the debugger supports both. This can be set in the project properties, see the Run64BitRuntime property (true or false) in the Debugging pane of the Project Properties. dtshost.exe.config dtshost.exe is the execution host used by what I think of as the built-in features of SQL Server such as SQL Server Agent e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\dtshost.exe.config This file can be found in both the 32-bit and 64-bit Binn folders devenv.exe.config Something slightly different is devenv.exe which is Visual Studio. This configuration file may also need changing if you need a feature at design-time such as in a Task Editor or Connection Manager editor. Visual Studio 2005 for SQL Server 2005 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config Visual Studio 2008 for SQL Server 2008 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config Visual Studio is only available for 32-bit so on a 64-bit machine you will have to look in C:\Program Files (x86)\ only. DTExecUI.exe.config The DTExec UI tool can also have a configuration file and these cab be found under the Tools folders for SQL Sever as shown below. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\DTExecUI.exe C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\DTExecUI.exe A configuration file may not exist, but if you can find the matching executable you know you are in the right place so can go ahead and add a new file yourself. In summary we have covered the assembly configuration files for all of the standard methods of building and running a SSIS package, but obviously if you are working programmatically you will need to make the relevant modifications to your program’s app.config as well.

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Consume WCF Service InProcess using Agatha and WCF

- by REA_ANDREW

I have been looking into this lately for a specific reason. Some integration tests I want to write I want to control the types of instances which are used inside the service layer but I want that control from the test class instance. One of the problems with just referencing the service is that a lot of the time this will by default be done inside a different process. I am using StructureMap as my DI of choice and one of the tools which I am using inline with RhinoMocks is StructureMap.AutoMocking. With StructureMap the main entry point is the ObjectFactory. This will be process specific so if I decide that the I want a certain instance of a type to be used inside the ServiceLayer I cannot configure the ObjectFactory from my test class as that will only apply to the process which it belongs to. This is were I started thinking about two things: Running a WCF in process Being able to share mocked instances across processes A colleague in work pointed me to a project which is for the latter but I thought that it would be a better solution if I could run the WCF Service in process. One of the projects which I use when I think about WCF Services is AGATHA, and the one which I have to used to try and get my head around doing this. Another asset I have is a book called Programming WCF Services by Juval Lowy and if you have not heard of it or read it I would definately recommend it. One of the many topics that is inside this book is the type of configuration you need to communicate with a service in the same process, and it turns out to be quite simple from a config point of view. <system.serviceModel> <services> <service name="Agatha.ServiceLayer.WCF.WcfRequestProcessor"> <endpoint address ="net.pipe://localhost/MyPipe" binding="netNamedPipeBinding" contract="Agatha.Common.WCF.IWcfRequestProcessor"/> </service> </services> <client> <endpoint name="MyEndpoint" address="net.pipe://localhost/MyPipe" binding="netNamedPipeBinding" contract="Agatha.Common.WCF.IWcfRequestProcessor"/> </client> </system.serviceModel> You can see here that I am referencing the Agatha object and contract here, but also that my binding and the address is something called Named Pipes. THis is sort of the “Magic” which makes it happen in the same process. Next I need to open the service prior to calling the methods on a proxy which I also need. My initial attempt at the proxy did not use any Agatha specific coding and one of the pains I found was that you obviously need to give your proxy the known types which the serializer can be aware of. So we need to add to the known types of the proxy programmatically. I came across the following blog post which showed me how easy it was http://bloggingabout.net/blogs/vagif/archive/2009/05/18/how-to-programmatically-define-known-types-in-wcf.aspx. First Pass So with this in mind, and inside a console app this was my first pass at consuming a service in process. First here is the proxy which I made making use of the Agatha IWcfRequestProcessor contract. public class InProcProxy : ClientBase<Agatha.Common.WCF.IWcfRequestProcessor>, Agatha.Common.WCF.IWcfRequestProcessor { public InProcProxy() { } public InProcProxy(string configurationName) : base(configurationName) { } public Agatha.Common.Response[] Process(params Agatha.Common.Request[] requests) { return Channel.Process(requests); } public void ProcessOneWayRequests(params Agatha.Common.OneWayRequest[] requests) { Channel.ProcessOneWayRequests(requests); } } So with the proxy in place I could then use this after opening the service so here is the code which I use inside the console app make the request. static void Main(string[] args) { ComponentRegistration.Register(); ServiceHost serviceHost = new ServiceHost(typeof(Agatha.ServiceLayer.WCF.WcfRequestProcessor)); serviceHost.Open(); Console.WriteLine("Service is running...."); using (var proxy = new InProcProxy()) { foreach (var operation in proxy.Endpoint.Contract.Operations) { foreach (var t in KnownTypeProvider.GetKnownTypes(null)) { operation.KnownTypes.Add(t); } } var request = new GetProductsRequest(); var responses = proxy.Process(new[] { request }); var response = (GetProductsResponse)responses[0]; Console.WriteLine("{0} Products have been retrieved", response.Products.Count); } serviceHost.Close(); Console.WriteLine("Finished"); Console.ReadLine(); } So what I used here is the KnownTypeProvider of Agatha to easily get all the types I need for the service/proxy and add them to the proxy. My Request handler for this was just a test one which always returned 2 products. public class GetProductsHandler : RequestHandler<GetProductsRequest,GetProductsResponse> { public override Agatha.Common.Response Handle(GetProductsRequest request) { return new GetProductsResponse { Products = new List<ProductDto> { new ProductDto{}, new ProductDto{} } }; } } Second Pass Now after I did this I started reading up some more on some resources including more by Davy Brion and others on Agatha. Now it turns out that the work I did above to create a derived class of the ClientBase implementing Agatha.Common.WCF.IWcfRequestProcessor was not necessary due to a nice class which is present inside the Agatha code base, RequestProcessorProxy which takes care of this for you! :-) So disregarding that class I made for the proxy and changing my code to use it I am now left with the following: static void Main(string[] args) { ComponentRegistration.Register(); ServiceHost serviceHost = new ServiceHost(typeof(Agatha.ServiceLayer.WCF.WcfRequestProcessor)); serviceHost.Open(); Console.WriteLine("Service is running...."); using (var proxy = new RequestProcessorProxy()) { var request = new GetProductsRequest(); var responses = proxy.Process(new[] { request }); var response = (GetProductsResponse)responses[0]; Console.WriteLine("{0} Products have been retrieved", response.Products.Count); } serviceHost.Close(); Console.WriteLine("Finished"); Console.ReadLine(); } Cheers for now, Andy References Agatha WCF InProcess Without WCF StructureMap.AutoMocking Cross Process Mocking Agatha Programming WCF Services by Juval Lowy

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ASP.NET Podcast Show #148 - ASP.NET WebForms to build a Mobile Web Application

- by Wallym

Check the podcast site for the original url. This is the video and source code for an ASP.NET WebForms app that I wrote that is optimized for the iPhone and mobile environments. Subscribe to everything. Subscribe to WMV. Subscribe to M4V for iPhone/iPad. Subscribe to MP3. Download WMV. Download M4V for iPhone/iPad. Download MP3. Link to iWebKit. Source Code: <%@ Page Title="MapSplore" Language="C#" MasterPageFile="iPhoneMaster.master" AutoEventWireup="true" CodeFile="Default.aspx.cs" Inherits="AT_iPhone_Default" %> <asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="head" Runat="Server"></asp:Content><asp:Content ID="Content2" ContentPlaceHolderID="Content" Runat="Server" ClientIDMode="Static"> <asp:ScriptManager ID="sm" runat="server" EnablePartialRendering="true" EnableHistory="false" EnableCdn="true" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=true"></script> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">  </script> <asp:HiddenField ID="Latitude" runat="server" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="Longitude" runat="server" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1/jquery.min.js%22%3E%3C/script> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> $(document).ready(function () { GetLocation(); setupMapDiv(); setupPlaceIveBeen(); }); function GetLocation() { if (navigator.geolocation != null) { navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(getData); } else { var mess = document.getElementById('<%=Message.ClientID %>'); mess.innerHTML = "Sorry, your browser does not support geolocation. " + "Try the latest version of Safari on the iPhone, Android browser, or the latest version of FireFox."; } } function UpdateLocation_Click() { GetLocation(); } function getData(position) { var latitude = position.coords.latitude; var longitude = position.coords.longitude; var hdLat = document.getElementById('<%=Latitude.ClientID %>'); var hdLon = document.getElementById('<%=Longitude.ClientID %>'); hdLat.value = latitude; hdLon.value = longitude; } </script> <asp:Label ID="Message" runat="server" /> <asp:UpdatePanel ID="upl" runat="server"> <ContentTemplate> <asp:Panel ID="pnlStart" runat="server" Visible="true"> <div id="topbar"> <div id="title">MapSplore</div> </div> <div id="content"> <ul class="pageitem"> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbLocalDeals" runat="server" onclick="lbLocalDeals_Click"> <asp:Image ID="imLocalDeals" runat="server" ImageUrl="~/Images/ArtFavor_Money_Bag_Icon.png" Height="30" /> <span class="name">Local Deals.</span> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton> </li> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbLocalPlaces" runat="server" onclick="lbLocalPlaces_Click"> <asp:Image ID="imLocalPlaces" runat="server" ImageUrl="~/Images/Andy_Houses_on_the_horizon_-_Starburst_remix.png" Height="30" /> <span class="name">Local Places.</span> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton> </li> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbWhereIveBeen" runat="server" onclick="lbWhereIveBeen_Click"> <asp:Image ID="imImHere" runat="server" ImageUrl="~/Images/ryanlerch_flagpole.png" Height="30" /> <span class="name">I've been here.</span> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton> </li> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbMyStats" runat="server"> <asp:Image ID="imMyStats" runat="server" ImageUrl="~/Images/Anonymous_Spreadsheet.png" Height="30" /> <span class="name">My Stats.</span> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton> </li> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbAddAPlace" runat="server" onclick="lbAddAPlace_Click"> <asp:Image ID="imAddAPlace" runat="server" ImageUrl="~/Images/jean_victor_balin_add.png" Height="30" /> <span class="name">Add a Place.</span> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton> </li> <li class="button"> <input type="button" value="Update Your Current Location" onclick="UpdateLocation_Click()"> </li> </ul> </div> </asp:Panel> <div> <asp:Panel ID="pnlCoupons" runat="server" Visible="false"> <div id="topbar"> <div id="title">MapSplore</div> <div id="leftbutton"> <asp:LinkButton runat="server" Text="Return" ID="ReturnFromDeals" OnClick="ReturnFromDeals_Click" /></div></div> <div class="content"> <asp:ListView ID="lvCoupons" runat="server"> <LayoutTemplate> <ul class="pageitem" runat="server"> <asp:PlaceHolder ID="itemPlaceholder" runat="server" /> </ul> </LayoutTemplate> <ItemTemplate> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbBusiness" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Place.Name") %>' OnClick="lbBusiness_Click"> <span class="comment"> <asp:Label ID="lblAddress" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Place.Address1") %>' /> <asp:Label ID="lblDis" runat="server" Text='<%# Convert.ToString(Convert.ToInt32(Eval("Place.Distance"))) + " meters" %>' CssClass="smallText" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceId" runat="server" Value='<%#Eval("PlaceId") %>' /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdGeoPromotionId" runat="server" Value='<%#Eval("GeoPromotionId") %>' /> </span> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton></li></ItemTemplate></asp:ListView><asp:GridView ID="gvCoupons" runat="server" AutoGenerateColumns="false"> <HeaderStyle BackColor="Silver" /> <AlternatingRowStyle BackColor="Wheat" /> <Columns> <asp:TemplateField AccessibleHeaderText="Business" HeaderText="Business"> <ItemTemplate> <asp:Image ID="imPlaceType" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Type") %>' ImageUrl='<%#Eval("Image") %>' /> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbBusiness" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Name") %>' OnClick="lbBusiness_Click" /> <asp:LinkButton ID="lblAddress" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("Address1") %>' CssClass="smallText" /> <asp:Label ID="lblDis" runat="server" Text='<%# Convert.ToString(Convert.ToInt32(Eval("Distance"))) + " meters" %>' CssClass="smallText" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceId" runat="server" Value='<%#Eval("PlaceId") %>' /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdGeoPromotionId" runat="server" Value='<%#Eval("GeoPromotionId") %>' /> <asp:Label ID="lblInfo" runat="server" Visible="false" /> </ItemTemplate> </asp:TemplateField> </Columns> </asp:GridView> </div> </asp:Panel> <asp:Panel ID="pnlPlaces" runat="server" Visible="false"> <div id="topbar"> <div id="title"> MapSplore</div><div id="leftbutton"> <asp:LinkButton runat="server" Text="Return" ID="ReturnFromPlaces" OnClick="ReturnFromPlaces_Click" /></div></div> <div id="content"> <asp:ListView ID="lvPlaces" runat="server"> <LayoutTemplate> <ul id="ulPlaces" class="pageitem" runat="server"> <asp:PlaceHolder ID="itemPlaceholder" runat="server" /> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbNotListed" runat="server" CssClass="name" OnClick="lbNotListed_Click"> Place not listed <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton> </li> </ul> </LayoutTemplate> <ItemTemplate> <li class="menu"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbImHere" runat="server" CssClass="name" OnClick="lbImHere_Click"> <%#DisplayName(Eval("Name")) %>  <%# Convert.ToString(Convert.ToInt32(Eval("Distance"))) + " meters" %> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceId" runat="server" Value='<%#Eval("PlaceId") %>' /> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton></li></ItemTemplate></asp:ListView> </div> </asp:Panel> <asp:Panel ID="pnlImHereNow" runat="server" Visible="false"> <div id="topbar"> <div id="title"> MapSplore</div><div id="leftbutton"> <asp:LinkButton runat="server" Text="Places" ID="lbImHereNowReturn" OnClick="lbImHereNowReturn_Click" /></div></div> <div id="rightbutton"> <asp:LinkButton runat="server" Text="Beginning" ID="lbBackToBeginning" OnClick="lbBackToBeginning_Click" /> </div> <div id="content"> <ul class="pageitem"> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceId" runat="server" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceLat" runat="server" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceLon" runat="server" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceTitle" runat="server" /> <asp:Button ID="btnImHereNow" runat="server" Text="I'm here" OnClick="btnImHereNow_Click" /> <asp:Label ID="lblPlaceTitle" runat="server" /><br /> <asp:TextBox ID="txtWhatsHappening" runat="server" TextMode="MultiLine" Rows="2" style="width:300px" /><br /> <div id="divImHere" style="width:300px; height:300px"></div> </div> </ul> </asp:Panel> <asp:Panel runat="server" ID="pnlIveBeenHere" Visible="false"> <div id="topbar"> <div id="title"> Where I've been</div><div id="leftbutton"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbIveBeenHereBack" runat="server" Text="Back" OnClick="lbIveBeenHereBack_Click" /></div></div> <div id="content"> <asp:ListView ID="lvWhereIveBeen" runat="server"> <LayoutTemplate> <ul id="ulWhereIveBeen" class="pageitem" runat="server"> <asp:PlaceHolder ID="itemPlaceholder" runat="server" /> </ul> </LayoutTemplate> <ItemTemplate> <li class="menu" runat="server"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbPlaceIveBeen" runat="server" OnClick="lbPlaceIveBeen_Click" CssClass="name"> <asp:Label ID="lblPlace" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("PlaceName") %>' /> at <asp:Label ID="lblTime" runat="server" Text='<%#Eval("ATTime") %>' CssClass="content" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdATID" runat="server" Value='<%#Eval("ATID") %>' /> <span class="arrow"></span> </asp:LinkButton> </li> </ItemTemplate> </asp:ListView> </div> </asp:Panel> <asp:Panel runat="server" ID="pnlPlaceIveBeen" Visible="false"> <div id="topbar"> <div id="title"> I've been here </div> <div id="leftbutton"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbPlaceIveBeenBack" runat="server" Text="Back" OnClick="lbPlaceIveBeenBack_Click" /> </div> <div id="rightbutton"> <asp:LinkButton ID="lbPlaceIveBeenBeginning" runat="server" Text="Beginning" OnClick="lbPlaceIveBeenBeginning_Click" /> </div> </div> <div id="content"> <ul class="pageitem"> <li> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceIveBeenPlaceId" runat="server" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceIveBeenLatitude" runat="server" /> <asp:HiddenField ID="hdPlaceIveBeenLongitude" runat="server" /> <asp:Label ID="lblPlaceIveBeenName" runat="server" /><br /> <asp:Label ID="lblPlaceIveBeenAddress" runat="server" /><br /> <asp:Label ID="lblPlaceIveBeenCity" runat="server" />, <asp:Label ID="lblPlaceIveBeenState" runat="server" /> <asp:Label ID="lblPlaceIveBeenZipCode" runat="server" /><br /> <asp:Label ID="lblPlaceIveBeenCountry" runat="server" /><br /> <div id="divPlaceIveBeen" style="width:300px; height:300px"></div> </li> </ul> </div> </asp:Panel> <asp:Panel ID="pnlAddPlace" runat="server" Visible="false"> <div id="topbar"><div id="title">MapSplore</div><div id="leftbutton"><asp:LinkButton ID="lbAddPlaceReturn" runat="server" Text="Back" OnClick="lbAddPlaceReturn_Click" /></div><div id="rightnav"></div></div><div id="content"> <ul class="pageitem"> <li id="liPlaceAddMessage" runat="server" visible="false"> <asp:Label ID="PlaceAddMessage" runat="server" /> </li> <li class="bigfield"> <asp:TextBox ID="txtPlaceName" runat="server" placeholder="Name of Establishment" /> </li> <li class="bigfield"> <asp:TextBox ID="txtAddress1" runat="server" placeholder="Address 1" /> </li> <li class="bigfield"> <asp:TextBox ID="txtCity" runat="server" placeholder="City" /> </li> <li class="select"> <asp:DropDownList ID="ddlProvince" runat="server" placeholder="Select State" /> <span class="arrow"></span> </li> <li class="bigfield"> <asp:TextBox ID="txtZipCode" runat="server" placeholder="Zip Code" /> </li> <li class="select"> <asp:DropDownList ID="ddlCountry" runat="server" onselectedindexchanged="ddlCountry_SelectedIndexChanged" /> <span class="arrow"></span> </li> <li class="bigfield"> <asp:TextBox ID="txtPhoneNumber" runat="server" placeholder="Phone Number" /> </li> <li class="checkbox"> <span class="name">You Here Now:</span> <asp:CheckBox ID="cbYouHereNow" runat="server" Checked="true" /> </li> <li class="button"> <asp:Button ID="btnAdd" runat="server" Text="Add Place" onclick="btnAdd_Click" /> </li> </ul></div> </asp:Panel> <asp:Panel ID="pnlImHere" runat="server" Visible="false"> <asp:TextBox ID="txtImHere" runat="server" TextMode="MultiLine" Rows="3" Columns="40" /><br /> <asp:DropDownList ID="ddlPlace" runat="server" /><br /> <asp:Button ID="btnHere" runat="server" Text="Tell Everyone I'm Here" onclick="btnHere_Click" /><br /> </asp:Panel> </div> </ContentTemplate> </asp:UpdatePanel> </asp:Content> Code Behind .cs file: using System;using System.Collections.Generic;using System.Linq;using System.Web;using System.Web.Security;using System.Web.UI;using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;using System.Web.UI.WebControls;using LocationDataModel; public partial class AT_iPhone_Default : ViewStatePage{ private iPhoneDevice ipd; protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) { LocationDataEntities lde = new LocationDataEntities(); if (!Page.IsPostBack) { var Countries = from c in lde.Countries select c; foreach (Country co in Countries) { ddlCountry.Items.Add(new ListItem(co.Name, co.CountryId.ToString())); } ddlCountry_SelectedIndexChanged(ddlCountry, null); if (AppleIPhone.IsIPad()) ipd = iPhoneDevice.iPad; if (AppleIPhone.IsIPhone()) ipd = iPhoneDevice.iPhone; if (AppleIPhone.IsIPodTouch()) ipd = iPhoneDevice.iPodTouch; } } protected void btnPlaces_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { } protected void btnAdd_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { bool blImHere = cbYouHereNow.Checked; string Place = txtPlaceName.Text, Address1 = txtAddress1.Text, City = txtCity.Text, ZipCode = txtZipCode.Text, PhoneNumber = txtPhoneNumber.Text, ProvinceId = ddlProvince.SelectedItem.Value, CountryId = ddlCountry.SelectedItem.Value; int iProvinceId, iCountryId; double dLatitude, dLongitude; DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); if ((!String.IsNullOrEmpty(ProvinceId)) && (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(CountryId))) { iProvinceId = Convert.ToInt32(ProvinceId); iCountryId = Convert.ToInt32(CountryId); if (blImHere) { dLatitude = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); dLongitude = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); da.StorePlace(Place, Address1, String.Empty, City, iProvinceId, ZipCode, iCountryId, PhoneNumber, dLatitude, dLongitude); } else { da.StorePlace(Place, Address1, String.Empty, City, iProvinceId, ZipCode, iCountryId, PhoneNumber); } liPlaceAddMessage.Visible = true; PlaceAddMessage.Text = "Awesome, your place has been added. Add Another!"; txtPlaceName.Text = String.Empty; txtAddress1.Text = String.Empty; txtCity.Text = String.Empty; ddlProvince.SelectedIndex = -1; txtZipCode.Text = String.Empty; txtPhoneNumber.Text = String.Empty; } else { liPlaceAddMessage.Visible = true; PlaceAddMessage.Text = "Please select a State and a Country."; } } protected void ddlCountry_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e) { string CountryId = ddlCountry.SelectedItem.Value; if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(CountryId)) { int iCountryId = Convert.ToInt32(CountryId); LocationDataModel.LocationDataEntities lde = new LocationDataModel.LocationDataEntities(); var prov = from p in lde.Provinces where p.CountryId == iCountryId orderby p.ProvinceName select p; ddlProvince.Items.Add(String.Empty); foreach (Province pr in prov) { ddlProvince.Items.Add(new ListItem(pr.ProvinceName, pr.ProvinceId.ToString())); } } else { ddlProvince.Items.Clear(); } } protected void btnImHere_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { int i = 0; DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); double Lat = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value), Lon = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); List<Place> lp = da.NearByLocations(Lat, Lon); foreach (Place p in lp) { ListItem li = new ListItem(p.Name, p.PlaceId.ToString()); if (i == 0) { li.Selected = true; } ddlPlace.Items.Add(li); i++; } pnlAddPlace.Visible = false; pnlImHere.Visible = true; } protected void lbImHere_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { string UserName = Membership.GetUser().UserName; ListViewItem lvi = (ListViewItem)(((LinkButton)sender).Parent); HiddenField hd = (HiddenField)lvi.FindControl("hdPlaceId"); long PlaceId = Convert.ToInt64(hd.Value); double dLatitude = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); double dLongitude = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); Place pl = da.GetPlace(PlaceId); pnlImHereNow.Visible = true; pnlPlaces.Visible = false; hdPlaceId.Value = PlaceId.ToString(); hdPlaceLat.Value = pl.Latitude.ToString(); hdPlaceLon.Value = pl.Longitude.ToString(); hdPlaceTitle.Value = pl.Name; lblPlaceTitle.Text = pl.Name; } protected void btnHere_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { string UserName = Membership.GetUser().UserName; string WhatsH = txtImHere.Text; long PlaceId = Convert.ToInt64(ddlPlace.SelectedValue); double dLatitude = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); double dLongitude = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); da.StoreUserAT(UserName, PlaceId, WhatsH, dLatitude, dLongitude); } protected void btnLocalCoupons_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { double dLatitude = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); double dLongitude = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); } protected void lbBusiness_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { string UserName = Membership.GetUser().UserName; GridViewRow gvr = (GridViewRow)(((LinkButton)sender).Parent.Parent); HiddenField hd = (HiddenField)gvr.FindControl("hdPlaceId"); string sPlaceId = hd.Value; Int64 PlaceId; if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(sPlaceId)) { PlaceId = Convert.ToInt64(sPlaceId); } } protected void lbLocalDeals_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { double dLatitude = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); double dLongitude = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); pnlCoupons.Visible = true; pnlStart.Visible = false; List<GeoPromotion> lgp = da.NearByDeals(dLatitude, dLongitude); lvCoupons.DataSource = lgp; lvCoupons.DataBind(); } protected void lbLocalPlaces_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); double Lat = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); double Lon = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); List<LocationDataModel.Place> places = da.NearByLocations(Lat, Lon); lvPlaces.DataSource = places; lvPlaces.SelectedIndex = -1; lvPlaces.DataBind(); pnlPlaces.Visible = true; pnlStart.Visible = false; } protected void ReturnFromPlaces_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlPlaces.Visible = false; pnlStart.Visible = true; } protected void ReturnFromDeals_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlCoupons.Visible = false; pnlStart.Visible = true; } protected void btnImHereNow_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { long PlaceId = Convert.ToInt32(hdPlaceId.Value); string UserName = Membership.GetUser().UserName; string WhatsHappening = txtWhatsHappening.Text; double UserLat = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); double UserLon = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); da.StoreUserAT(UserName, PlaceId, WhatsHappening, UserLat, UserLon); } protected void lbImHereNowReturn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlImHereNow.Visible = false; pnlPlaces.Visible = true; } protected void lbBackToBeginning_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlStart.Visible = true; pnlImHereNow.Visible = false; } protected void lbWhereIveBeen_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { string UserName = Membership.GetUser().UserName; pnlStart.Visible = false; pnlIveBeenHere.Visible = true; DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); lvWhereIveBeen.DataSource = da.UserATs(UserName, 0, 15); lvWhereIveBeen.DataBind(); } protected void lbIveBeenHereBack_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlIveBeenHere.Visible = false; pnlStart.Visible = true; } protected void lbPlaceIveBeen_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { LinkButton lb = (LinkButton)sender; ListViewItem lvi = (ListViewItem)lb.Parent.Parent; HiddenField hdATID = (HiddenField)lvi.FindControl("hdATID"); Int64 ATID = Convert.ToInt64(hdATID.Value); DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); pnlIveBeenHere.Visible = false; pnlPlaceIveBeen.Visible = true; var plac = da.GetPlaceViaATID(ATID); hdPlaceIveBeenPlaceId.Value = plac.PlaceId.ToString(); hdPlaceIveBeenLatitude.Value = plac.Latitude.ToString(); hdPlaceIveBeenLongitude.Value = plac.Longitude.ToString(); lblPlaceIveBeenName.Text = plac.Name; lblPlaceIveBeenAddress.Text = plac.Address1; lblPlaceIveBeenCity.Text = plac.City; lblPlaceIveBeenState.Text = plac.Province.ProvinceName; lblPlaceIveBeenZipCode.Text = plac.ZipCode; lblPlaceIveBeenCountry.Text = plac.Country.Name; } protected void lbNotListed_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { SetupAddPoint(); pnlPlaces.Visible = false; } protected void lbAddAPlace_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { SetupAddPoint(); } private void SetupAddPoint() { double lat = Convert.ToDouble(Latitude.Value); double lon = Convert.ToDouble(Longitude.Value); DataAccess da = new DataAccess(); var zip = da.WhereAmIAt(lat, lon); if (zip.Count > 0) { var z0 = zip[0]; txtCity.Text = z0.City; txtZipCode.Text = z0.ZipCode; ddlProvince.ClearSelection(); if (z0.ProvinceId.HasValue == true) { foreach (ListItem li in ddlProvince.Items) { if (li.Value == z0.ProvinceId.Value.ToString()) { li.Selected = true; break; } } } } pnlAddPlace.Visible = true; pnlStart.Visible = false; } protected void lbAddPlaceReturn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlAddPlace.Visible = false; pnlStart.Visible = true; liPlaceAddMessage.Visible = false; PlaceAddMessage.Text = String.Empty; } protected void lbPlaceIveBeenBack_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlIveBeenHere.Visible = true; pnlPlaceIveBeen.Visible = false; } protected void lbPlaceIveBeenBeginning_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { pnlPlaceIveBeen.Visible = false; pnlStart.Visible = true; } protected string DisplayName(object val) { string strVal = Convert.ToString(val); if (AppleIPhone.IsIPad()) { ipd = iPhoneDevice.iPad; } if (AppleIPhone.IsIPhone()) { ipd = iPhoneDevice.iPhone; } if (AppleIPhone.IsIPodTouch()) { ipd = iPhoneDevice.iPodTouch; } return (iPhoneHelper.DisplayContentOnMenu(strVal, ipd)); }} iPhoneHelper.cs file: using System;using System.Collections.Generic;using System.Linq;using System.Web; public enum iPhoneDevice{ iPhone, iPodTouch, iPad}/// <summary>/// Summary description for iPhoneHelper/// </summary>/// public class iPhoneHelper{ public iPhoneHelper() { // // TODO: Add constructor logic here // } // This code is stupid in retrospect. Use css to solve this problem public static string DisplayContentOnMenu(string val, iPhoneDevice ipd) { string Return = val; string Elipsis = "..."; int iPadMaxLength = 30; int iPhoneMaxLength = 15; if (ipd == iPhoneDevice.iPad) { if (Return.Length > iPadMaxLength) { Return = Return.Substring(0, iPadMaxLength - Elipsis.Length) + Elipsis; } } else { if (Return.Length > iPhoneMaxLength) { Return = Return.Substring(0, iPhoneMaxLength - Elipsis.Length) + Elipsis; } } return (Return); }} Source code for the ViewStatePage: using System;using System.Data;using System.Data.SqlClient;using System.Configuration;using System.Web;using System.Web.Security;using System.Web.UI;using System.Web.UI.WebControls;using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls; /// <summary>/// Summary description for BasePage/// </summary>#region Base class for a page.public class ViewStatePage : System.Web.UI.Page{ PageStatePersisterToDatabase myPageStatePersister; public ViewStatePage() : base() { myPageStatePersister = new PageStatePersisterToDatabase(this); } protected override PageStatePersister PageStatePersister { get { return myPageStatePersister; } } }#endregion #region This class will override the page persistence to store page state in a database.public class PageStatePersisterToDatabase : PageStatePersister{ private string ViewStateKeyField = "__VIEWSTATE_KEY"; private string _exNoConnectionStringFound = "No Database Configuration information is in the web.config."; public PageStatePersisterToDatabase(Page page) : base(page) { } public override void Load() { // Get the cache key from the web form data System.Int64 key = Convert.ToInt64(Page.Request.Params[ViewStateKeyField]); Pair state = this.LoadState(key); // Abort if cache object is not of type Pair if (state == null) throw new ApplicationException("Missing valid " + ViewStateKeyField); // Set view state and control state ViewState = state.First; ControlState = state.Second; } public override void Save() { // No processing needed if no states available if (ViewState == null && ControlState != null) return; System.Int64 key; IStateFormatter formatter = this.StateFormatter; Pair statePair = new Pair(ViewState, ControlState); // Serialize the statePair object to a string. string serializedState = formatter.Serialize(statePair); // Save the ViewState and get a unique identifier back. key = SaveState(serializedState); // Register hidden field to store cache key in // Page.ClientScript does not work properly with Atlas. //Page.ClientScript.RegisterHiddenField(ViewStateKeyField, key.ToString()); ScriptManager.RegisterHiddenField(this.Page, ViewStateKeyField, key.ToString()); } private System.Int64 SaveState(string PageState) { System.Int64 i64Key = 0; string strConn = String.Empty, strProvider = String.Empty; string strSql = "insert into tblPageState ( SerializedState ) values ( '" + SqlEscape(PageState) + "');select scope_identity();"; SqlConnection sqlCn; SqlCommand sqlCm; try { GetDBConnectionString(ref strConn, ref strProvider); sqlCn = new SqlConnection(strConn); sqlCm = new SqlCommand(strSql, sqlCn); sqlCn.Open(); i64Key = Convert.ToInt64(sqlCm.ExecuteScalar()); if (sqlCn.State != ConnectionState.Closed) { sqlCn.Close(); } sqlCn.Dispose(); sqlCm.Dispose(); } finally { sqlCn = null; sqlCm = null; } return i64Key; } private Pair LoadState(System.Int64 iKey) { string strConn = String.Empty, strProvider = String.Empty, SerializedState = String.Empty, strMinutesInPast = GetMinutesInPastToDelete(); Pair PageState; string strSql = "select SerializedState from tblPageState where tblPageStateID=" + iKey.ToString() + ";" + "delete from tblPageState where DateUpdated<DateAdd(mi, " + strMinutesInPast + ", getdate());"; SqlConnection sqlCn; SqlCommand sqlCm; try { GetDBConnectionString(ref strConn, ref strProvider); sqlCn = new SqlConnection(strConn); sqlCm = new SqlCommand(strSql, sqlCn); sqlCn.Open(); SerializedState = Convert.ToString(sqlCm.ExecuteScalar()); IStateFormatter formatter = this.StateFormatter; if ((null == SerializedState) || (String.Empty == SerializedState)) { throw (new ApplicationException("No ViewState records were returned.")); } // Deserilize returns the Pair object that is serialized in // the Save method. PageState = (Pair)formatter.Deserialize(SerializedState); if (sqlCn.State != ConnectionState.Closed) { sqlCn.Close(); } sqlCn.Dispose(); sqlCm.Dispose(); } finally { sqlCn = null; sqlCm = null; } return PageState; } private string SqlEscape(string Val) { string ReturnVal = String.Empty; if (null != Val) { ReturnVal = Val.Replace("'", "''"); } return (ReturnVal); } private void GetDBConnectionString(ref string ConnectionStringValue, ref string ProviderNameValue) { if (System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings.Count > 0) { ConnectionStringValue = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["ApplicationServices"].ConnectionString; ProviderNameValue = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["ApplicationServices"].ProviderName; } else { throw new ConfigurationErrorsException(_exNoConnectionStringFound); } } private string GetMinutesInPastToDelete() { string strReturn = "-60"; if (null != System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["MinutesInPastToDeletePageState"]) { strReturn = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["MinutesInPastToDeletePageState"].ToString(); } return (strReturn); }}#endregion AppleiPhone.cs file: using System;using System.Collections.Generic;using System.Linq;using System.Web; /// <summary>/// Summary description for AppleIPhone/// </summary>public class AppleIPhone{ public AppleIPhone() { // // TODO: Add constructor logic here // } static public bool IsIPhoneOS() { return (IsIPad() || IsIPhone() || IsIPodTouch()); } static public bool IsIPhone() { return IsTest("iPhone"); } static public bool IsIPodTouch() { return IsTest("iPod"); } static public bool IsIPad() { return IsTest("iPad"); } static private bool IsTest(string Agent) { bool bl = false; string ua = HttpContext.Current.Request.UserAgent.ToLower(); try { bl = ua.Contains(Agent.ToLower()); } catch { } return (bl); }} Master page .cs: using System;using System.Collections.Generic;using System.Linq;using System.Web;using System.Web.UI;using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;using System.Web.UI.WebControls; public partial class MasterPages_iPhoneMaster : System.Web.UI.MasterPage{ protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e) { HtmlHead head = Page.Header; HtmlMeta meta = new HtmlMeta(); if (AppleIPhone.IsIPad() == true) { meta.Content = "width=400,user-scalable=no"; head.Controls.Add(meta); } else { meta.Content = "width=device-width, user-scalable=no"; meta.Attributes.Add("name", "viewport"); } meta.Attributes.Add("name", "viewport"); head.Controls.Add(meta); HtmlLink cssLink = new HtmlLink(); HtmlGenericControl script = new HtmlGenericControl("script"); script.Attributes.Add("type", "text/javascript"); script.Attributes.Add("src", ResolveUrl("~/Scripts/iWebKit/javascript/functions.js")); head.Controls.Add(script); cssLink.Attributes.Add("rel", "stylesheet"); cssLink.Attributes.Add("href", ResolveUrl("~/Scripts/iWebKit/css/style.css") ); cssLink.Attributes.Add("type", "text/css"); head.Controls.Add(cssLink); HtmlGenericControl jsLink = new HtmlGenericControl("script"); //jsLink.Attributes.Add("type", "text/javascript"); //jsLink.Attributes.Add("src", ResolveUrl("~/Scripts/jquery-1.4.1.min.js") ); //head.Controls.Add(jsLink); HtmlLink appleIcon = new HtmlLink(); appleIcon.Attributes.Add("rel", "apple-touch-icon"); appleIcon.Attributes.Add("href", ResolveUrl("~/apple-touch-icon.png")); HtmlMeta appleMobileWebAppStatusBarStyle = new HtmlMeta(); appleMobileWebAppStatusBarStyle.Attributes.Add("name", "apple-mobile-web-app-status-bar-style"); appleMobileWebAppStatusBarStyle.Attributes.Add("content", "black"); head.Controls.Add(appleMobileWebAppStatusBarStyle); } internal string FindPath(string Location) { string Url = Server.MapPath(Location); return (Url); }}

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Security in OBIEE 11g, Part 2

- by Rob Reynolds

Continuing the series on OBIEE 11g, our guest blogger this week is Pravin Janardanam. Here is Part 2 of his overview of Security in OBIEE 11g. OBIEE 11g Security Overview, Part 2 by Pravin Janardanam In my previous blog on Security, I discussed the OBIEE 11g changes regarding Authentication mechanism, RPD protection and encryption. This blog will include a discussion about OBIEE 11g Authorization and other Security aspects. Authorization: Authorization in 10g was achieved using a combination of Users, Groups and association of privileges and object permissions to users and Groups. Two keys changes to Authorization in OBIEE 11g are: Application Roles Policies / Permission Groups Application Roles are introduced in OBIEE 11g. An application role is specific to the application. They can be mapped to other application roles defined in the same application scope and also to enterprise users or groups, and they are used in authorization decisions. Application roles in 11g take the place of Groups in 10g within OBIEE application. In OBIEE 10g, any changes to corporate LDAP groups require a corresponding change to Groups and their permission assignment. In OBIEE 11g, Application roles provide insulation between permission definitions and corporate LDAP Groups. Permissions are defined at Application Role level and changes to LDAP groups just require a reassignment of the Group to the Application Roles. Permissions and privileges are assigned to Application Roles and users in OBIEE 11g compared to Groups and Users in 10g. The diagram below shows the relationship between users, groups and application roles. Note that the Groups shown in the diagram refer to LDAP Groups (WebLogic Groups by default) and not OBIEE application Groups. The following screenshot compares the permission windows from Admin tool in 10g vs 11g. Note that the Groups in the OBIEE 10g are replaced with Application Roles in OBIEE 11g. The same is applicable to OBIEE web catalog objects. The default Application Roles available after OBIEE 11g installation are BIAdministrator, BISystem, BIConsumer and BIAuthor. Application policies are the authorization policies that an application relies upon for controlling access to its resources. An Application Role is defined by the Application Policy. The following screenshot shows the policies defined for BIAdministrator and BISystem Roles. Note that the permission for impersonation is granted to BISystem Role. In OBIEE 10g, the permission to manage repositories and Impersonation were assigned to “Administrators” group with no control to separate these permissions in the Administrators group. Hence user “Administrator” also had the permission to impersonate. In OBI11g, BIAdministrator does not have the permission to impersonate. This gives more flexibility to have multiple users perform different administrative functions. Application Roles, Policies, association of Policies to application roles and association of users and groups to application roles are managed using Fusion Middleware Enterprise Manager (FMW EM). They reside in the policy store, identified by the system-jazn-data.xml file. The screenshots below show where they are created and managed in FMW EM. The following screenshot shows the assignment of WebLogic Groups to Application Roles. The following screenshot shows the assignment of Permissions to Application Roles (Application Policies). Note: Object level permission association to Applications Roles resides in the RPD for repository objects. Permissions and Privilege for web catalog objects resides in the OBIEE Web Catalog. Wherever Groups were used in the web catalog and RPD has been replaced with Application roles in OBIEE 11g. Following are the tools used in OBIEE 11g Security Administration: · Users and Groups are managed in Oracle WebLogic Administration console (by default). If WebLogic is integrated with other LDAP products, then Users and Groups needs to managed using the interface provide by the respective LDAP vendor – New in OBIEE 11g · Application Roles and Application Policies are managed in Oracle Enterprise Manager - Fusion Middleware Control – New in OBIEE 11g · Repository object permissions are managed in OBIEE Administration tool – Same as 10g but the assignment is to Application Roles instead of Groups · Presentation Services Catalog Permissions and Privileges are managed in OBI Application administration page - Same as 10g but the assignment is to Application Roles instead of Groups Credential Store: Credential Store is a single consolidated service provider to store and manage the application credentials securely. The credential store contains credentials that either user supplied or system generated. Credential store in OBIEE 10g is file based and is managed using cryptotools utility. In 11g, Credential store can be managed directly from the FMW Enterprise Manager and is stored in cwallet.sso file. By default, the Credential Store stores password for deployed RPDs, BI Publisher data sources and BISystem user. In addition, Credential store can be LDAP based but only Oracle Internet Directory is supported right now. As you can see OBIEE security is integrated with Oracle Fusion Middleware security architecture. This provides a common security framework for all components of Business Intelligence and Fusion Middleware applications.

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Remove Office 2010 Beta and Reinstall Office 2007

- by Matthew Guay

Have you tried out the Office 2010 beta, but want to go back to Office 2007? Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on how to remove your Office 2010 beta and reinstall your Office 2007. The Office 2010 beta will expire on October 31, 2010, at which time you may see a dialog like the one below. At that time, you will need to either upgrade to the final release of Office 2010, or reinstall your previous version of Office. Our computer was running the Office 2010 Home and Business Click to Run beta, and after uninstalling it we reinstalled Office 2007 Home and Student. This was a Windows Vista computer, but the process will be exactly the same on Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. Additionally, the process to reinstall Office 2007 will be exactly the same regardless of the edition of Office 2007 you’re using. However, please note that if you are running a different edition of Office 2010, especially the 64 bit version, the process may be slightly different. We will cover this scenario in another article. Remove Office 2010 Click to Run Beta: To remove Office 2010 Click to Run Beta, open Control Panel and select Uninstall a Program. If your computer is running Windows 7, enter “Uninstall a program” in your Start menu search. Scroll down, select “Microsoft Office Click-to-Run 2010 (Beta)”, and click the Uninstall button on the toolbar. Note that there will be two entries for Office, so make sure to select the “Click-to-Run” entry. This will automatically remove all of Office 2010 and its components. Click Yes to confirm you want to remove it. Office 2010 beta uninstalled fairly quickly, and a reboot will be required. Once your computer is rebooted, Office 2010 will be entirely removed. Reinstall Office 2007 Now, you’re to the easy part. Simply insert your Office 2007 CD, and it should automatically startup the setup. If not, open Computer and double-click on your CD drive. Now, double-click on setup.exe to start the installation. Enter your product key, and click Continue… Click Install Now, or click Customize if you want to change the default installation settings. Wait while Office 2007 installs…it takes around 15 to 20 minutes in our experience. Once it’s finished close the installer. Now, open one of the Office applications. A popup will open asking you to activate Office. Make sure you’re connected to the internet, and click next; otherwise, you can select to activate over the phone if you do not have internet access. This should only take a minute, and Office 2007 will be activated and ready to run. Everything should work just as it did before you installed Office 2010. Enjoy! Office Updates Make sure to install the latest updates for Office 2007, as these are not included in your disk. Check Windows Update (search for Windows Update in the Start menu search), and install all of the available updates for Office 2007, including Service Pack 2. Conclusion This is a great way to keep using Office even if you don’t decide to purchase Office 2010 after it is released. Additionally, if you’re were using another version of Office, such as Office 2003, then reinstall it as normal after following the steps to remove Office 2010. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Add or Remove Apps from the Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 SuiteDetect and Repair Applications In Microsoft Office 2007Save and Restore Your Microsoft Office SettingsDisable Office 2010 Beta Send-a-Smile from StartupHow to See the About Dialog and Version Information in Office 2007 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 DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 If Web Browsers Were Modes of Transportation Google Translate (for animals) Out of 100 Tweeters Roadkill’s Scan Port scans for open ports Out of band Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 Cool Looking Screensavers for Windows

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Ask How-To Geek: Dropbox in the Start Menu, Understanding Symlinks, and Ripping TV Series DVDs

- by Jason Fitzpatrick

This week we take a look at how to incorporate Dropbox into your Windows Start Menu, understanding and using symbolic links, and how to rip your TV series DVDs right to unique and high-quality episode files. Once a week we dip into our reader mailbag and help readers solve their problems, sharing the useful solutions with you in the process. Read on to see our fixes for this week’s reader dilemmas. Add Drobox to Your Start Menu Dear How-To Geek, I use Dropbox all the time and would like to add it right onto my start menu along side the other major shortcuts like Documents, Pictures, etc. It seems like adding Dropbox into the menu should be part of the Dropbox installation package! Sincerely, Dropboxing in Des Moines Dear Dropboxing, We agree, it would be a nice installation option. As it stands you’re going to have to do a little simple hacking to get Dropbox nestled neatly into your start menu. The hack isn’t super elegant but when you’re done you’ll have the link you want and it’ll look like it was there all along. Check out this step-by-step guide here in order to take an existing Library shortcut and rework it to be a Dropbox link. Understanding and Using Symbolic Links Dear How-To Geek, I was talking to a coworker the other day about an issue I’d been having with a media center application I’m running. He suggested using symbolic links to better organize my media and make it easier for the application to access my collection. I had no idea what he was talking about and never got a chance to bug him about it later. Can you clear up this whole symbolic links business for me? I’ve been using computers for years and I’ve never even heard of it! Sincerely, Symbolic Who? Dear Symbolic, Symbolic links aren’t commonly used by many Windows users which is why you likely haven’t run into the concept. Symbolic links are essentially supercharged shortcuts—the newly introduced Windows library system is really just a type of symbolic link system. You can use symbolic links to do all sorts of neat stuff like link folders to your Dropbox folder, organize media, and more. The concept of symbolic links is pretty simple but the execution can be really tricky. We’d suggest reading over our guide to creating symbolic links in Windows 7, Windows XP, and Ubunutu to get a clearer idea what you’re getting into. Rip Your TV DVDs into Handy Episode Files Dear How-To Geek, My wife got me an iPod for Christmas and I still haven’t got around to filling it up. I have tons of entire TV show seasons on DVD and would like to get them on the iPod but I have absolutely no idea where to start. How do I get the shows off the discs? I thought it would be as easy to import the TV shows into iTunes as it is to import tracks off a CD but I was totally wrong. I tried downloading some applications to rip them but those didn’t work at all. Very frustrating! Surely there is an easy and/or automated way to do this, right? Sincerely, Free My DVDs Dear DVDs, Oh man is this a frustration we can relate to. It’s inordinately difficult to get movies and TV shows off physical media and into digital (and portable media player-friendly) formats. There are a multitude of ways to rip DVDs and quite a few applications out there (some good, some mediocre, and some outright malware). We’d recommend a two-part punch to solve your ripping woes. You’ll need a copy of DVDFab to strip away the protections on the discs and rip the disc and Handbrake to load the disc image and convert the files. It’s not quite as smooth as the CD-to-iTunes workflow but it’s still pretty easy. Check out all the steps and settings you’ll want to toggle here. Have a question you want to put before the How-To Geek staff? Shoot us an email at [email protected] and then keep an eye out for a solution in the Ask How-To Geek column. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Internet Explorer 9 RC Now Available: Here’s the Most Interesting New Stuff Here’s a Super Simple Trick to Defeating Fake Anti-Virus Malware How to Change the Default Application for Android Tasks Stop Believing TV’s Lies: The Real Truth About "Enhancing" Images The How-To Geek Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Inspire Geek Love with These Hilarious Geek Valentines Google’s New Personal Blocklist Extension Kills Search Engine Spam KeyCounter Tracks Your Keystrokes and Mouse Clicks Add Custom LED Ambient Lighting to Your PC or Media Center The Trackor Monitors Amazon Prices; Integrates with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari Four Awesome TRON Legacy Themes for Chrome and Iron Anger is Illogical – Old School Style Instructional Video [Star Trek Mashup]

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Oracle Announces New Oracle Exastack Program for ISV Partners

- by pfolgado

Oracle Exastack Program Enables ISV Partners to Leverage a Scalable, Integrated Infrastructure to Deliver Their Applications Tuned and Optimized for High-Performance News Facts Enabling Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and other members of Oracle Partner Network (OPN) to rapidly build and deliver faster, more reliable applications to end customers, Oracle today introduced Oracle Exastack Ready, available now, and Oracle Exastack Optimized, available in fall 2011 through OPN. The Oracle Exastack Program focuses on helping ISVs run their solutions on Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud -- integrated systems in which the software and hardware are engineered to work together. These products provide partners with a lower cost and high performance infrastructure for database and application workloads across on-premise and cloud based environments. Leveraging the new Oracle Exastack Program in which applications can qualify as Oracle Exastack Ready or Oracle Exastack Optimized, partners can use available OPN resources to optimize their applications to run faster and more reliably -- providing increased performance to their end users. By deploying their applications on Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud, ISVs can reduce the cost, time and support complexities typically associated with building and maintaining a disparate application infrastructure -- enabling them to focus more on their core competencies, accelerating innovation and delivering superior value to customers. After qualifying their applications as Oracle Exastack Ready, partners can note to customers that their applications run on and support Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud component products including Oracle Solaris, Oracle Linux, Oracle Database and Oracle WebLogic Server. Customers can be confident when choosing a partner's Oracle Exastack Optimized application, knowing it has been tuned by the OPN member on Oracle Exadata Database Machine or Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud with a goal of delivering optimum speed, scalability and reliability. Partners participating in the Oracle Exastack Program can also leverage their Oracle Exastack Ready and Oracle Exastack Optimized applications to advance to Platinum or Diamond level in OPN. Oracle Exastack Programs Provide ISVs a Reliable, High-Performance Application Infrastructure With the Oracle Exastack Program ISVs have several options to qualify and tune their applications with Oracle Exastack, including: Oracle Exastack Ready: Oracle Exastack Ready provides qualifying partners with specific branding and promotional benefits based on their adoption of Oracle products. If a partner application supports the latest major release of one of these products, the partner may use the corresponding logo with their product marketing materials: Oracle Solaris Ready, Oracle Linux Ready, Oracle Database Ready, and Oracle WebLogic Ready. Oracle Exastack Ready is available to OPN members at the Gold level or above. Additionally, OPN members participating in the program can leverage their Oracle Exastack Ready applications toward advancement to the Platinum or Diamond levels in the OPN Specialized program and toward achieving Oracle Exastack Optimized status. Oracle Exastack Optimized: When available, for OPN members at the Gold level or above, Oracle Exastack Optimized will provide direct access to Oracle technical resources and dedicated Oracle Exastack lab environments so OPN members can test and tune their applications to deliver optimal performance and scalability on Oracle Exadata Database Machine or Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud. Oracle Exastack Optimized will provide OPN members with specific branding and promotional benefits including the use of the Oracle Exastack Optimized logo. OPN members participating in the program will also be able to leverage their Oracle Exastack Optimized applications toward advancement to Platinum or Diamond level in the OPN Specialized program. Oracle Exastack Labs and ISV Enablement: Dedicated Oracle Exastack lab environments and related technical enablement resources (including Guided Learning Paths and Boot Camps) will be available through OPN for OPN members to further their knowledge of Oracle Exastack offerings, and qualify their applications for Oracle Exastack Optimized or Oracle Exastack Ready. Oracle Exastack labs will be available to qualifying OPN members at the Gold level or above. Partners are eligible to participate in the Oracle Exastack Ready program immediately, which will help them meet the requirements to attain Oracle Exastack Optimized status in the future. Guidelines for Oracle Exastack Optimized, as well as Oracle Exastack Labs will be available in fall 2011. Supporting Quotes "In order to effectively differentiate their software applications in the marketplace, ISVs need to rapidly deliver new capabilities and performance improvements," said Judson Althoff, Oracle senior vice president of Worldwide Alliances and Channels and Embedded Sales. "With Oracle Exastack, ISVs have the ability to optimize and deploy their applications with a complete, integrated and cloud-ready infrastructure that will help them accelerate innovation, unlock new features and functionality, and deliver superior value to customers." "We view performance as absolutely critical and a key differentiator," said Tom Stock, SVP of Product Management, GoldenSource. "As a leading provider of enterprise data management solutions for securities and investment management firms, with Oracle Exadata Database Machine, we see an opportunity to notably improve data processing performance -- providing high quality 'golden copy' data in a reduced timeframe. Achieving Oracle Exastack Optimized status will be a stamp of approval that our solution will provide the performance and scalability that our customers demand." "As a leading provider of Revenue Intelligence solutions for telecommunications, media and entertainment service providers, our customers continually demand more readily accessible, enriched and pre-analyzed information to minimize their financial risks and maximize their margins," said Alon Aginsky, President and CEO of cVidya Networks. "Oracle Exastack enables our solutions to deliver the power, infrastructure, and innovation required to transform our customers' business operations and stay ahead of the game." Supporting Resources Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Oracle Exastack Oracle Exastack Datasheet Judson Althoff blog Connect with the Oracle Partner community at OPN on Facebook, OPN on LinkedIn, OPN on YouTube, or OPN on Twitter

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Where is my app.config for SSIS?

Sometimes when working with SSIS you need to add or change settings in the .NET application configuration file, which can be a bit confusing when you are building a SSIS package not an application. First of all lets review a couple of examples where you may need to do this. You are using referencing an assembly in a Script Task that uses Enterprise Library (aka EntLib), so you need to add the relevant configuration sections and settings, perhaps for the logging application block. You are using using Enterprise Library in a custom task or component, and again you need to add the relevant configuration sections and settings. You are using a web service with Microsoft Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 3.0 and hosting the proxy in SSIS, in an assembly used by your package, and need to add the configuration sections and settings. You need to change behaviours of the .NET framework which can be influenced by a configuration file, such as the System.Net.Mail default SMTP settings. Perhaps you wish to configure System.Net and the httpWebRequest header for parsing unsafe header (useUnsafeHeaderParsing), which will change the way the HTTP Connection manager behaves. You are consuming a WCF service and wish to specify the endpoint in configuration. There are no doubt plenty more examples but each of these requires us to identify the correct configuration file and and make the relevant changes. There are actually several configuration files, each used by a different execution host depending on how you are working with the SSIS package. The folders we need to look in will actually vary depending on the version of SQL Server as well as the processor architecture, but most are all what we can call the Binn folder. The SQL Server 2005 Binn folder is at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\, compared to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn\ for SQL Server 2008. If you are on a 64-bit machine then you will see C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\ for the 32-bit executables and C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\ for 64-bit, so be sure to check all relevant locations. Of course SQL Server 2008 may have a C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Binn\ on a 64-bit machine too. To recap, the version of SQL Server determines if you look in the 90 or 100 sub-folder under SQL Server in Program Files (C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\nn\) . If you are running a 64-bit operating system then you will have two instances program files, C:\Program Files (x86)\ for 32-bit and C:\Program Files\ for 64-bit. You may wish to check both depending on what you are doing, but this is covered more under each section below. There are a total of five specific configuration files that you may need to change, each one is detailed below: DTExec.exe.config DTExec.exe is the standalone command line tool used for executing SSIS packages, and therefore it is an execution host with an app.config file. e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\DTExec.exe.config The file can be found in both the 32-bit and 64-bit Binn folders. DtsDebugHost.exe.config DtsDebugHost.exe is the execution host used by Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) / Visual Studio when executing a package from the designer in debug mode, which is the default behaviour. e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\DtsDebugHost.exe.config The file can be found in both the 32-bit and 64-bit Binn folders. This may surprise some people as Visual Studio is only 32-bit, but thankfully the debugger supports both. This can be set in the project properties, see the Run64BitRuntime property (true or false) in the Debugging pane of the Project Properties. dtshost.exe.config dtshost.exe is the execution host used by what I think of as the built-in features of SQL Server such as SQL Server Agent e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\DTS\Binn\dtshost.exe.config This file can be found in both the 32-bit and 64-bit Binn folders devenv.exe.config Something slightly different is devenv.exe which is Visual Studio. This configuration file may also need changing if you need a feature at design-time such as in a Task Editor or Connection Manager editor. Visual Studio 2005 for SQL Server 2005 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config Visual Studio 2008 for SQL Server 2008 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config Visual Studio is only available for 32-bit so on a 64-bit machine you will have to look in C:\Program Files (x86)\ only. DTExecUI.exe.config The DTExec UI tool can also have a configuration file and these cab be found under the Tools folders for SQL Sever as shown below. C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\DTExecUI.exe C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\DTExecUI.exe A configuration file may not exist, but if you can find the matching executable you know you are in the right place so can go ahead and add a new file yourself. In summary we have covered the assembly configuration files for all of the standard methods of building and running a SSIS package, but obviously if you are working programmatically you will need to make the relevant modifications to your program’s app.config as well.

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Creating an ASP.NET report using Visual Studio 2010 - Part 1

- by rajbk

This tutorial walks you through creating an report based on the Northwind sample database. You will add a client report definition file (RDLC), create a dataset for the RDLC, define queries using LINQ to Entities, design the report and add a ReportViewer web control to render the report in a ASP.NET web page. The report will have a chart control. Different results will be generated by changing filter criteria. At the end of the walkthrough, you should have a UI like the following. From the UI below, a user is able to view the product list and can see a chart with the sum of Unit price for a given category. They can filter by Category and Supplier. The drop downs will auto post back when the selection is changed. This demo uses Visual Studio 2010 RTM. This post is split into three parts. The last part has the sample code attached. Creating an ASP.NET report using Visual Studio 2010 - Part 2 Creating an ASP.NET report using Visual Studio 2010 - Part 3 Lets start by creating a new ASP.NET empty web application called “NorthwindReports” Creating the Data Access Layer (DAL) Add a web form called index.aspx to the root directory. You do this by right clicking on the NorthwindReports web project and selecting “Add item..” . Create a folder called “DAL”. We will store all our data access methods and any data transfer objects in here. Right click on the DAL folder and add a ADO.NET Entity data model called Northwind. Select “Generate from database” and click Next. Create a connection to your database containing the Northwind sample database and click Next. From the table list, select Categories, Products and Suppliers and click next. Our Entity data model gets created and looks like this: Adding data transfer objects Right click on the DAL folder and add a ProductViewModel. Add the following code. This class contains properties we need to render our report. public class ProductViewModel { public int? ProductID { get; set; } public string ProductName { get; set; } public System.Nullable<decimal> UnitPrice { get; set; } public string CategoryName { get; set; } public int? CategoryID { get; set; } public int? SupplierID { get; set; } public bool Discontinued { get; set; } } Add a SupplierViewModel class. This will be used to render the supplier DropDownlist. public class SupplierViewModel { public string CompanyName { get; set; } public int SupplierID { get; set; } } Add a CategoryViewModel class. public class CategoryViewModel { public string CategoryName { get; set; } public int CategoryID { get; set; } } Create an IProductRepository interface. This will contain the signatures of all the methods we need when accessing the entity model. This step is not needed but follows the repository pattern. interface IProductRepository { IQueryable<Product> GetProducts(); IQueryable<ProductViewModel> GetProductsProjected(int? supplierID, int? categoryID); IQueryable<SupplierViewModel> GetSuppliers(); IQueryable<CategoryViewModel> GetCategories(); } Create a ProductRepository class that implements the IProductReposity above. The methods available in this class are as follows: GetProducts – returns an IQueryable of all products. GetProductsProjected – returns an IQueryable of ProductViewModel. The method filters all the products based on SupplierId and CategoryId if any. It then projects the result into the ProductViewModel. GetSuppliers() – returns an IQueryable of all suppliers projected into a SupplierViewModel GetCategories() – returns an IQueryable of all categories projected into a CategoryViewModel public class ProductRepository : IProductRepository { /// <summary> /// IQueryable of all Products /// </summary> /// <returns></returns> public IQueryable<Product> GetProducts() { var dataContext = new NorthwindEntities(); var products = from p in dataContext.Products select p; return products; } /// <summary> /// IQueryable of Projects projected /// into the ProductViewModel class /// </summary> /// <returns></returns> public IQueryable<ProductViewModel> GetProductsProjected(int? supplierID, int? categoryID) { var projectedProducts = from p in GetProducts() select new ProductViewModel { ProductID = p.ProductID, ProductName = p.ProductName, UnitPrice = p.UnitPrice, CategoryName = p.Category.CategoryName, CategoryID = p.CategoryID, SupplierID = p.SupplierID, Discontinued = p.Discontinued }; // Filter on SupplierID if (supplierID.HasValue) { projectedProducts = projectedProducts.Where(a => a.SupplierID == supplierID); } // Filter on CategoryID if (categoryID.HasValue) { projectedProducts = projectedProducts.Where(a => a.CategoryID == categoryID); } return projectedProducts; } public IQueryable<SupplierViewModel> GetSuppliers() { var dataContext = new NorthwindEntities(); var suppliers = from s in dataContext.Suppliers select new SupplierViewModel { SupplierID = s.SupplierID, CompanyName = s.CompanyName }; return suppliers; } public IQueryable<CategoryViewModel> GetCategories() { var dataContext = new NorthwindEntities(); var categories = from c in dataContext.Categories select new CategoryViewModel { CategoryID = c.CategoryID, CategoryName = c.CategoryName }; return categories; } } Your solution explorer should look like the following. Build your project and make sure you don’t get any errors. In the next part, we will see how to create the client report definition file using the Report Wizard. Creating an ASP.NET report using Visual Studio 2010 - Part 2

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SQL SERVER – Database Dynamic Caching by Automatic SQL Server Performance Acceleration

- by pinaldave

My second look at SafePeak’s new version (2.1) revealed to me few additional interesting features. For those of you who hadn’t read my previous reviews SafePeak and not familiar with it, here is a quick brief: SafePeak is in business of accelerating performance of SQL Server applications, as well as their scalability, without making code changes to the applications or to the databases. SafePeak performs database dynamic caching, by caching in memory result sets of queries and stored procedures while keeping all those cache correct and up to date. Cached queries are retrieved from the SafePeak RAM in microsecond speed and not send to the SQL Server. The application gets much faster results (100-500 micro seconds), the load on the SQL Server is reduced (less CPU and IO) and the application or the infrastructure gets better scalability. SafePeak solution is hosted either within your cloud servers, hosted servers or your enterprise servers, as part of the application architecture. Connection of the application is done via change of connection strings or adding reroute line in the c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file on all application servers. For those who would like to learn more on SafePeak architecture and how it works, I suggest to read this vendor’s webpage: SafePeak Architecture. More interesting new features in SafePeak 2.1 In my previous review of SafePeak new I covered the first 4 things I noticed in the new SafePeak (check out my article “SQLAuthority News – SafePeak Releases a Major Update: SafePeak version 2.1 for SQL Server Performance Acceleration”): Cache setup and fine-tuning – a critical part for getting good caching results Database templates Choosing which database to cache Monitoring and analysis options by SafePeak Since then I had a chance to play with SafePeak some more and here is what I found. 5. Analysis of SQL Performance (present and history): In SafePeak v.2.1 the tools for understanding of performance became more comprehensive. Every 15 minutes SafePeak creates and updates various performance statistics. Each query (or a procedure execute) that arrives to SafePeak gets a SQL pattern, and after it is used again there are statistics for such pattern. An important part of this product is that it understands the dependencies of every pattern (list of tables, views, user defined functions and procs). From this understanding SafePeak creates important analysis information on performance of every object: response time from the database, response time from SafePeak cache, average response time, percent of traffic and break down of behavior. One of the interesting things this behavior column shows is how often the object is actually pdated. The break down analysis allows knowing the above information for: queries and procedures, tables, views, databases and even instances level. The data is show now on all arriving queries, both read queries (that can be cached), but also any types of updates like DMLs, DDLs, DCLs, and even session settings queries. The stats are being updated every 15 minutes and SafePeak dashboard allows going back in time and investigating what happened within any time frame. 6. Logon trigger, for making sure nothing corrupts SafePeak cache data If you have an application with many parts, many servers many possible locations that can actually update the database, or the SQL Server is accessible to many DBAs or software engineers, each can access some database directly and do some changes without going thru SafePeak – this can create a potential corruption of the data stored in SafePeak cache. To make sure SafePeak cache is correct it needs to get all updates to arrive to SafePeak, and if a DBA will access the database directly and do some changes, for example, then SafePeak will simply not know about it and will not clean SafePeak cache. In the new version, SafePeak brought a new feature called “Logon Trigger” to solve the above challenge. By special click of a button SafePeak can deploy a special server logon trigger (with a CLR object) on your SQL Server that actually monitors all connections and informs SafePeak on any connection that is coming not from SafePeak. In SafePeak dashboard there is an interface that allows to control which logins can be ignored based on login names and IPs, while the rest will invoke cache cleanup of SafePeak and actually locks SafePeak cache until this connection will not be closed. Important to note, that this does not interrupt any logins, only informs SafePeak on such connection. On the Dashboard screen in SafePeak you will be able to see those connections and then decide what to do with them. Configuration of this feature in SafePeak dashboard can be done here: Settings -> SQL instances management -> click on instance -> Logon Trigger tab. Other features: 7. User management ability to grant permissions to someone without changing its configuration and only use SafePeak as performance analysis tool. 8. Better reports for analysis of performance using 15 minute resolution charts. 9. Caching of client cursors 10. Support for IPv6 Summary SafePeak is a great SQL Server performance acceleration solution for users who want immediate results for sites with performance, scalability and peak spikes challenges. Especially if your apps are packaged or 3rd party, since no code changes are done. SafePeak can significantly increase response times, by reducing network roundtrip to the database, decreasing CPU resource usage, eliminating I/O and storage access. SafePeak team provides a free fully functional trial www.safepeak.com/download and actually provides a one-on-one assistance during such trial. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: About Me, Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Performance, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Utility, T SQL, Technology

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Test Drive Windows 7 Online with Virtual Labs

- by Matthew Guay

Did you miss out on the Windows 7 public beta and want to try it out before you actually make the leap and upgrade? Maybe you want to learn how to deploy new features in a business environment. Here’s how you can test drive Windows 7 directly from your browser. Whether you manage 10,000 desktops or simply manage your own laptop, it’s usually best to test out a new OS before installing it. If you’re upgrading from Windows XP you may find many things unfamiliar. Microsoft has setup a special Windows 7 Test Drive website with resources to help IT professionals test and deploy Windows 7 in their workplaces. This is a great resource to try out Windows 7 from the comfort of your browser, and look at some of the new features without even installing it. Please note that the online version is not nearly as responsive as a full standard install of Windows 7. It also does not run the full Aero interface or desktop effects, and may refresh slowly depending on your Internet connection. So don’t judge Windows 7’s performance based on this virtual lab, but use it as a way to learn more about Windows 7 without installing it. Getting Started To test drive Windows 7, visit Microsoft’s Windows 7 Test Drive website (link below). You will need to run the Windows 7 Test Drive in Internet Explorer, as it requires Active X support. We received this error when attempting to run the Test Drive in Firefox: Now, click the “Take a Test Drive” link on the bottom left of the page. This site includes several test drives to demonstrate different features of Windows 7 and its related ecosystem of products including Windows Server 2008 R2, some of which, including the XP Mode test drive, are not yet ready. For this test, we selected the MED-V Test drive, as this includes Office 2007 and 2010 so you can test them in Windows 7 as well. Simply select the test drive you want, and click “Try it now!” If you haven’t run a Windows test drive before, you will be asked to install an ActiveX control. Click the link to install. Click the yellow bar at the top of the page in Internet Explorer, and select to Install the add-on. You may have to approve a UAC prompt to finish the install. Once this is finished, click the link on the bottom of the page to return to your test drive. The test drive page should automatically refresh; if it doesn’t, click refresh to reload it. Now the test drive will load the components. Once its fully loaded, click the link to launch Windows 7 in a new window. You may see a prompt warning that the server may have been impersonated. Simply click Yes to proceed. The test lab will give you some getting started directions; click Close Window when you’re ready to try out Windows 7. Here’s the default desktop in the Windows 7 test drive. You can use it just like a normal Windows computer, but do note that it may function slowly depending on your internet connection. This test drive includes both Office 2007 and Office 2010 Tech Preview, so you can try out both in Windows 7 as well. You can try out the new Windows 7 applications such as the reworked Paint with the Ribbon interface from Office. Or you can even test the newest version of Media Center, though it will warn you that it may not function good with the down-scaled graphics in the test drive. Most importantly, you can try out the new features in Windows 7, such as Jumplists and even Aero Snap. Once again, these features will not function the quickest, but it does let you test them out. While working with the Virtual Lab, there are different tasks it walks you through. You can also download a copy of the lab manual in PDF format to help you navigate through the various objectives. The test drive system is running Microsoft Forefront Security, the enterprise security solution from which Microsoft Security Essentials has adapted components from. Conclusion These virtual labs are great for tech students, or those of you who want to get a first-hand trial of the new features. Also, if you’re not sure on how to deploy something and want to practice in a virtual environment, these labs are quite valuable.While these labs are geared toward IT professionals, it’s a good way for anyone to try out Windows 7 features from the comfort of your current computer. Test Drive Windows 7 Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Mount Multiple ISO Images Using Virtual CloneDriveHow To Delete a VHD in Windows 7Keyboard Shortcuts for VMware WorkstationMount an ISO image in Windows 7 or VistaHow To Turn a Physical Computer Into A Virtual Machine with Disk2vhd 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 DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 If it were only this easy SyncToy syncs Files and Folders across Computers on a Network (or partitions on the same drive) Classic Cinema Online offers 100’s of OnDemand Movies OutSync will Sync Photos of your Friends on Facebook and Outlook Windows 7 Easter Theme YoWindoW, a real time weather screensaver

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Interview with Tomas Ulin at the MySQL Innovation Day

- by Monica Kumar

MySQL Innovation Day held on June 5, 2012 was a great event for the MySQL engineers, users and customers to gather, share and network. I was able to get a few minutes with Tomas Ulin, Vice President of MySQL Engineering at Oracle, to ask him some questions. Here are the highlights of my interview with Tomas. Monica: This was the first MySQL Innovation Day, correct? Why now, what was the strategy behind hosting this kind of event? Tomas: In the last year, we have rolled out an incredible number of MySQL events worldwide – some targeted at developers that are new to MySQL and others for the MySQL savvy. At the MySQL Innovation Day, our first event of this kind,, we had a number of our key engineers presenting lightning talks delivering previews of key new features as well as discussing roadmap. Our goal is to keep an open dialogue with the MySQL community. In fact, we are hosting a two-day conference, another first, for the MySQL community called MySQL Connect on Sept. 29-30 in San Francisco. If you attended the MySQL Innovation Day and liked what we did, you are going to love MySQL Connect. We’ll have a lot more of our engineers and many users and community members presenting hour long sessions and hands on labs. Our engineers will be presenting new MySQL features as well offer previews of upcoming enhancements. Monica: What's the big take-away from today's MySQL Innovation Day? Tomas: I hope the most important takeaway for attendees was to see that Oracle has been driving, and continues to drive MySQL innovation with a steady stream of new great GA and Development Milestone releases. Monica: What were attendees most interested in? What feedback did they have? Tomas: Feedback from attendees was incredibly positive and encouraging. In particular, they liked the interaction with the MySQL engineers and were also excited about the new early access features in MySQL 5.6 and MySQL Cluster 7.3. In addition, sessions delivered by MySQL users like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter were very well received. For example, Pinterest talked about using MySQL to scale from 0 to billions of page views/month, Twitter talked about “Scaling twitter with MySQL” and Facebook discussed the many options to implement MySQL master failover solutions. The presentations are already available for download while some of the session videos will be made available on the MySQL Innovation Day web page shortly. Monica: How would you distinguish the use of MySQL vs. Oracle Database? What key factors should customers consider? Tomas: MySQL and Oracle Database complement each other. They are very different products, best suited to different use cases. Customers can choose world-class solutions from Oracle to fulfill a variety of needs. MySQL is a great choice for enterprise web-based, custom and embedded apps. Oracle Database is the leading choice for enterprise packaged applications such as ERP, CRM as well as high-end data warehousing and business intelligence applications. Monica: What are the highlights of the current MySQL 5.6 Development Milestone Release and early access features for MySQL Cluster 7.3? Tomas: MySQL 5.6 development milestone release builds on MySQL 5.5 by improving: Optimizer for better Performance, Scalability Performance Schema for better instrumentation InnoDB for better transactional throughput Replication for higher availability, data integrity NoSQL options for more flexibility We announced some new early access features in MySQL 5.6, including binary log group commit. We also announced early access features in MySQL Cluster 7.3 including support for foreign key constraints. Monica: How do people get these releases? Tomas: You can access development milestone releases by going to: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysqlThen select the “Development Release” tab. The MySQL Cluster 7.3 and other early access features can be downloaded at: http://labs.mysql.com Monica: What's coming up next for MySQL? Tomas: Our development team is working in overdrive, cranking out new features with community feedback. Don’t miss the MySQL Connect conference being held in San Francisco on Sept. 29 and 30th. My team and I will be there. I hope you can join us! Monica: Thank you for your time, Tomas. I look forward to seeing you at the MySQL Connect conference. To our followers, I hope you found this interview informative. I welcome your comments. Please stay tuned here for more updates on MySQL. Note: Monica Kumar is Senior Director of product marketing for Linux, Virtualization and MySQL at Oracle.

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Seriously, It’s Time to Get Your Content Act Together

- by Mike Stiles

Branded content, content marketing, social content, brand journalism, we’re seeing those terms more and more. Why? The technology tools are coming together. We should know. We can gather big data, crunch it, listen to the public, moderate, respond, get to know the customer intimately, know what they like, know what they want, we can target, distribute, amplify, measure engagement and reaction, modify strategy and even automate a great deal of all that. An amazing machine, a sleek, smooth-running engine has been built such that all the parts can interact and work together to deliver peak performance and maximum output. But that engine isn’t going anywhere without any gas. Content is the gas. Yes, we curate other people’s content. We can siphon their gas. There’s tech to help with that too. But as for the creation of original, worthwhile content made for a specific audience, our audience, machines can’t do that…at least not yet. Curated content is great. But somebody has to originate the content for it to be curated and shared. And since the need for good, curated content is obviously large and the desire to share is there, it’s a winning proposition for a brand to be a consistent producer of original content. And yet, it feels like content is an issue we’re avoiding. There’s a reluctance to build a massive pipeline if you have no idea what you’re going to run through it. The C-suite often doesn’t know what content is, that it’s different from ads, where to get it, who makes it, how long it should be, what the point of it is if there’s no hard sell of the product, what it costs, how to use it, how to measure it, how to make sure it’s good, or how to make sure it will keep flowing. It could be the reason many brands aren’t pulling the trigger on socially enabling the enterprise. And that’s a shame, because there are a lot of creative, daring, experimental, uniquely talented entertainers and journalists chomping at the bit to execute content for brands. But for many corporate executives, content is “weird,” and the people who make it are even weirder. The content side of the equation is human. It’s art, but art that can be informed by data. The natural inclination is for brands to turn to their agencies for such creative endeavors. But agencies are falling into one of two categories. They’re failing to transition from ads to content. In “Content Era, What’s the Role of Agencies?” Alexander Jutkowitz says agencies were made for one-hit campaigns, not ongoing content. Or, they’re ready and capable but can’t get clients to do the right things. Agencies have to make money, even if it means continuing to do the wrong things because that’s all the client will agree to. So what we wind up with in the pipeline is advertising, marketing-heavy content, content that was obviously created or spearheaded by non-creative executives, random & inconsistent content, copy written for SEO bots, and other completely uninteresting nightmares. Frank Rose, author of “The Art of Immersion,” writes, “Content without story and excitement is noise pollution.” In the old days, you made an ad and inserted it into shows made by people who knew what they were doing. You could bask in that show’s success and leverage their audience. Now, you are tasked with attracting, amassing and holding your own audience. You may just want to make, advertise and sell your widgets. But now there’s a war on for a precious commodity, attention. People are busy. They have filters to keep uninteresting and irrelevant things out. They value their time and expect value back when they give it up. Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute, says, "Your customers don't care about you, your products, your services…they care about themselves, their wants and their needs." Is it worth getting serious about content and doing it right? 61% of consumers feel better about a company that delivers custom content (Custom Content Council). Interesting content is one of the top 3 reasons people follow brands on social (Content+). 78% of consumers think organizations that provide custom content want to build good relationships with them (TMG Custom Media). On the B2B side, 80% of business decision makers prefer to get company info in a series of articles vs. an ad. So what’s the hang-up? Cited barriers to content marketing are lack of human resources (42%) and lack of budget (35%). 54% of brands don’t have a single on-site, dedicated content creator. And only 38% of brands have a content marketing strategy. Tech has built the biggest, most incredible stage for brands that’s ever been built. Putting something on that stage is your responsibility. Do a bad show, or no show at all, and you’ll be the beautiful, talented actress that never got discovered. @mikestilesPhoto: Gabriella Fabbri, stock.xchng

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Create an iTunes Account without a credit card

- by Matthew Guay

iTunes Store offers a large variety of free content, but to download it you have to have an account. Usually you have to enter your credit card information to sign up, but here’s an easy way to get an iTunes account for free downloads without entering any payment info. Although iTunes Store is known for paid downloads of movies, music, and more, it also has a treasure trove of free media. Some of it, including Podcasts and iTunes U educational content do not require an account to download. However, any other free content, including free iPhone/iPod Touch apps and free or promotional music, videos, and TV Shows all require an account to download. If you try to download a free movie or music download, you will be required to enter payment information. Even though your card will not be charged, it will be kept on file so you can be charged if you download a for-pay item. However, if you only plan to download free items, it may be preferable to not have your account linked to a credit card. The following steps will get you an account without entering your credit card info. Getting Started First, make sure you have iTunes installed. If you don’t already have it, download and install it (link below) with the default settings. Now open iTunes, and click the iTunes Store link on the left. Click the App Store link on the top of this page. Select a free app to download. A simple way to do this is to scroll down to the Top Free Apps box on the right side, hover your mouse over the first item, and click on the Free button that appears when you hover over it. A popup will open asking you to sign in with your Apple ID. Click “Create New Account”. Click Continue to create your account. Check the box to accept the Store Terms and Conditions, and click Continue. Enter your email address, password, security question, and date of birth, and uncheck the boxes to get email if you don’t want it…then click Continue. Now, you will be asked to provide a payment method. Notice now that the last option says None! Click that bullet option… Then enter your billing address. Simply enter your normal billing address, even though you are not entering a payment method. Click Continue and your account will be created! If you get the Address Verification screen just verify your county and click Done. An email will be sent to you to verify your account… Click on the link in your email to verify your account, iTunes will launch and you’re prompted to enter in the Apple ID and Password you just created. Your account is successfully created! Now you can easily download any free media from iTunes. Keep an eye on the Free on iTunes box on the bottom of the iTunes Store page for interesting downloads, or if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, watch the popular Free downloads on the Apps page. And of course there is always great content on iTunes U to grab free as well. Purchasing for-pay media If you want to purchase an item on the iTunes store later, simply click on the item to download as normal. Click Buy to proceed with the purchase. iTunes will prompt you that you need to enter payment information to complete the purchase. Enter your Apple ID email and password, and then add the payment information as prompted. Remove Payment Information from an iTunes Account If you’ve already entered payment information into your iTunes account, and would like to remove it, click Store in the top iTunes menu, and select View My Account. Enter your Apple ID email and password, and click View Account. This will open your account information. Click the Edit Payment Information button. Now, click the None button to remove your payment information. Click Done to save the changes. Your account will now prompt you to enter payment information if you try to make a purchase. You could repeat these steps after making a purchase if you do not want iTunes to keep your payment info on file. Conclusion This is a great way to make an iTunes account without entering your credit card, or to remove your credit card info from your account. Parents may especially enjoy this tip, as they can have an iTunes account on their kids computer or iPod Touch without worrying about them spending money with it. Links Download iTunes Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Quick Tip: Switch Between Signatures in Outlook 2007 the Easy WayRedeem Pre-paid Zune Card Points for Zune Marketplace MediaCreate An Electronic Business Card In Outlook 2007Understanding Windows Vista Aero Glass RequirementsSpeed up Your Windows Vista Computer with ReadyBoost TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Draw Online using Harmony How to Browse Privately in Firefox Kill Processes Quickly with Process Assassin Need to Come Up with a Good Name? Try Wordoid StockFox puts a Lightweight Stock Ticker in your Statusbar Explore Google Public Data Visually

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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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