TechSoda

Using Underscores with wildcards in SQL queries

2006-03-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I wanted to do a wildcard query on table names that included an underscore. Since the underscore is considered a wildcard for a single character, I needed a way to 'Escape' the underscore. Fortunately there is a keyword that can be used in SQL.

Example: where fieldname like '%sp^_%' ESCAPE '^'

The Escape character now is the caret.

XMLRead and XMLWrite MSBuild Tasks

2006-03-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hey,

I found what I was looking for...MSBuild Tasks for Reading and writing to a config file.

http://msbuildtasks.tigris.org/

MSBuild Equivalents to NAnt Tasks

2006-03-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a pretty good link to equivalent tasks in MSBuild. I was looking for an equivalent to xmlpeak and xmlpoke. Guess I will have to write my own, unless someone else has one created.

http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/default.aspx/MSBuild.EquivalentTasks

Creating Project and Item Templates - Visual Studio 2005

2006-03-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

Folks,

It doesn't get much easier than this. I have created several templates in 2003, what a pain in the rear end.

Life is now simple,
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/01/CodeTemplates/default.aspx

Hanselminutes

2006-03-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

Scott has really done a fine job in all of his Hanselminutes episodes. Great Content!!!!

I thought it is particularly cool that he mentions the ASP.Net 2.0 MVP Hacks book written by David Yack, the head of the Southern Colorado .Net User Group, which I will be presenting at next month.

Partial Classes - Adding a new method from the class designer

2006-03-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday during the Southern Colorado .Net User Group, a question came regarding adding methods to a particular partial class. This is how it is done.

Right-Click on the heading of the partial class in the class diagram and choose Properties.
Change the New Member Location property to the file you want to add to.
Add your method, property, etc. It will now go to the appropriate file location.

You Can't Beat the Price - Axosoft OnTime 5 Users 5 Bucks

2006-02-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

What a great deal. I have tried the eval before. It is real well done.

Thanks to Rob Zelt for the link.

http://www.axosoft.com/Products/ontime.aspx?cn=otm_stepromo

Deal ends February 24, 2006

ASP.NET 2.0 Chapter 13 - Working with XML

2006-02-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

This chapter gives a basic overview on what XML is all about. It shows how to work with all aspects of XML. It is just pure coincidence that Scott Hanselman has put out a Hanselminutes episode this week on XML. As usual, he provides a lot more insight into using XML, including some very good tools to use.

What was that shortcut key

2006-02-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

I prefer using keyboard shortcuts whenever possible in the Visual Studio IDE. There have been several keyboard shortcuts that have changed in 2005. I got frustrated going to Tools - Options just to find a keyboard shortcut, so I wrote a macro that brings up an input box to allow me to type in some text that is equivalent to a command.

But go figure, after implementing this macro and coding on my own, I found a very similar example here.

http://www.mobydisk.com/softdev/techinfo/dotnetkeyboard.html

Data Management in ADO.Net - Chapter 12

2006-02-21T07:02:00.000-07:00

Wow!!!! What a lot of new features:

SQLBulkCopy
MARS
Asynchronous Connections and Commands

And my favorite, The DataTable is now serializable, woohooo!!!!

There is great detail in this chapter about the above areas. This should really enhance the way data retrieval and updates are currently done.

Chapter 11 - Databinding

2006-02-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

The new datasource object, can it really be that simple. At least when it comes to direct access to the database from the UI tier.

I wish that business object binding would have been covered a little more in depth, however, there are some great tips on how to do it.

Even though this is much simpler than the old way to bind data, I still am a little disheartened about such a direct connectivity to the datasource. I wonder what Rocky Lothka did with his CSLA archtecture to utilize these datasource components?

DNRTV

2006-02-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

DotNetRocks podcasts To DNRTV, Carl Franklin has outdone himself again. These shows are top notch.

Kudos go to Mark Miller, the DXCore show was absolutely amazing. I now am going to spend a lot of time looking at the object browser to understand more of what I can do with this FREE (Did I Say Free) developer add-in to extend visual studio in ways I never even thought of before. Thanks Mark.

Chapter 10 - The curveball in the book

2006-02-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

A chapter describing collections and lists (in an ASP.NET book????)

I am not complaining however. This is probably the best reference that I have ever seen on the hows and whys of ArrayLists, Collections, and etc, etc, etc....

Phenomenal guys...This could have been a small ebook all by itself....

Chapter 9 - Themes and Skins

2006-02-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

This chapter tells how to use thems from the App_themes folder to styles, css, and images in the theme. I didn't go too into depth into this chapter, however, doing some more reading on theming and skins won't hurt. I currently build my own skins for DotNetNuke, so I am very familiar with CSS and styles.

Chapter 8 - Working with Master pages

2006-02-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

Visual Master Pages - How Nice!!!!

The best thing about this chapter was how the authors delved in to work with Master Pages for different situations, showing how to work with Master page properties and controls, and configuation options in the web.config file specifically geared to Master Pages.

Of course.... Visually view master pages is the best...

Chapter 7 - Validation, Validation, Validation

2006-02-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

In depth coverage of the validation controls are found in this chapter. What a concept, using images as the validation error. I had no idea. These are the best examples of the CompareValidator that I have seen.

And how about the best...."Validator Groups"

It doesn't get any better than this

Chapter 6 - The New Server Controls

2006-02-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days of slicing images and placing them in a table to create an image map ("Hotspots"). This chapter delves into some of the best new Web Server Controls that are included in ASP.NET 2.0. I am really happy to see:

A bulleted List Control
The new file upload control rocks!!!! There is a lot of detail in this chapter about using the file upload control. It is fabulous.
Wizard and Multi-View Controls (hmmm) I will have to see how customizable these are. I wonder, can the multi-view be set up as tabs?????

All these and more. Microsoft has really helped the developer with these new controls.

ASP.NET Web Server Controls

2006-02-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

I thought this chapter had some very good insights on how some of the standard web server controls (ASP.Net 1.0, 1.1) have changed. Key changes that caught my eye:

Hot key functionality (accelerator keys). This should provide for better navigation.
Mode attribute in the literal control - This should really help with code examples.
A great reference to the autocomplete attribute is in this chapter. Great for those of us who don't like to type.
Postback URL Attribute on buttons...Awesome...

Also there are several great examples of coding controls such as checkbox lists, calendars, and the table server control. I am especially going to look at the new OnClientClick attribute for buttons.

Enjoy

Chapter 4 - Server Controls and Client-Side Scripts

2006-02-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

This chapter was a pretty high level overview of server controls and how to use them in development. Some good information was given regarding CSS. I really like the example that was given with the HTMLGenericControl, and it was interesting to see the new server controls that are now available in 2.0.

A fantastic job was done, explaining how to use javascript with the server controls. There were pretty detailed examples of how the different ClientScript.Register methods are used.

Implementing a Client-Side Callback in javascript was something that I had never done. This section was very well written and I plan on using this functionality later down the line.

Great Chapter!!!! This is the kind of information developers need.

ASP.NET 2.0 - chapter 3 (Now for the content)

2006-02-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Where Chapters 1 and 2 were pretty much just an overview, chapter 3 introduces the user to some pretty good information. This chapter titled Application and Page Frameworks, covers many great things.

Directives and attributes tables: these are a fantastic reference
Cross-page postbacks - I can't wait to use this functionality. This should save developers an immense amount of work in capturing workflow and confirmation pages.
An Explanation of the new App_ folders. Great information here.
Compilation of the website by just typing in the URL + precompile.axd. It also covers how to precompile from the command line. No more hitting every page to bring the site up to speed.

This was real good information. I am looking forward to the next chapter.

Professional ASP.Net 2.0 - Chapters 1 and 2

2006-02-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1 - Introduction

This chapter gives a very very quick overview of what is new in ASP.Net 2.0.

What I benefited from:
I gained a new appreciation as to the intent of the change to 2.0. I believe that there has been a great focus shift to better equip the developer with the best tools and resources.

Chapter 2 - Visual Studio 2005

A broad overview was given on how the Visual Studio 2005 IDE is organized.

What I benefited from:
It is good to see some of the vast improvements in the IDE were hit on in this chapter. The tip on right clicking the tabs to get the new list of options for opening containing folder and closing all documents was the best nugget for me.

Professional ASP.Net 2.0 (User Group Book Reviews)

2006-02-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to reviewing the Professional ASP.Net 2.0 Book by Wrox for my local .Net User Group. It is a pretty cool idea to get members from the user group to review some books by the top developers in the world and let other members know what we think.

There were several books to review, but I chose Professional ASP.Net 2.0 because of my respect for the authors of the book. I have my work cut out for me though. It is over 1000 pages of content.

Unit Testing in Visual Studio 2005

2005-12-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Unit Testing in Visual Studio 2005: "Unit Testing support should be included with all versions of Visual Studio 2005 and not just with Team System."

Visual Studio Magazine - Execute User-Defined Functions From ADO.NET

2005-09-14T08:58:00.000-06:00

The framework I am currently using has provided no support for executing scalar UDFs in the data layer, or for that matter scalars period. Since I am not able to modify the framework, I went searching. Roman Rehak has provided a very good article on executing UDFs. To my surprise, treat them like a stored proc.

View this article online

Visual Studio Team System Weekly Tips

2005-09-07T06:45:00.000-06:00

A quick way to get some good ideas on the Team System Environment.

Upon subscribing you will receive in email (upon subscribing) each week a short (5 - 8 minute) video link which will present a useful Visual Studio 2005 Team System feature, such as code analysis, testing, or IDE enhancements and so much more! You can view the video from your PC, at your convenience.

http://blogs.msdn.com/trobbins/archive/2005/08/29/457595.aspx