Answers Unlimited

How to programmatically create a deep zoom composition on the fly?

2011-05-06T02:14:00.000-07:00

In the following example, I am programmically creating a deep zoom composition
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

        protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
             ImageCreator creator = new ImageCreator();
             creator.TileFormat = ImageFormat.Jpg;
             creator.TileOverlap = 1;
             creator.TileSize = 256;

             List<string> files = new List<string>()
             {
                 @"C:\Users\Public\Pictures\Sample Pictures\Toco Toucan.jpg",

                 @"C:\Users\Public\Pictures\Sample Pictures\Winter Leaves.jpg",

                 @"C:\Users\Public\Pictures\Sample Pictures\Humpback Whale.jpg"
             };

             string root = @"C:\Users\XXXX\Desktop\mytest\MyGeneratedImages";
             List<string> dzi = new List<string>();
             foreach (var name in files)
             {
                 string output = Path.Combine(root, Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(name) + ".dzi");
                 dzi.Add(output);
                 creator.Create(name, output);
             }

             CollectionCreator ccreator = new CollectionCreator();
             ccreator.TileFormat = ImageFormat.Jpg;
             ccreator.TileOverlap = 1;
             ccreator.TileSize = 256;
             ccreator.Create(dzi, Path.Combine(root, "da.dzc"));
        }

How to overlap an image or text on another image using css? (Div overlapping, Div absolute, relative position)

2011-05-05T04:57:00.001-07:00

Here I am trying to overlap some text on the Image.

<div style="position:relative">
<img src="../images/MyImage.jpg" />
<div style="text-align: center; right:10px; position:absolute">
Overlapped Text
</div>
</div>

In the above example, the outer Div is styled to align relatively to the parent control, and the inner div is styled to align in absolute position with respective to the parent Div.

Things to remember when implementing WebFarm

2011-03-05T01:47:00.001-08:00

1. Make sure you do not use Application object to store data, as this
data is stored as part of the Application Domain
2. Make sure you use the OutProc mode to store the session data
3. Be aware that session_OnEnd event of the HttpApplication object will not
fire when OutProc mode is used
4. Make sure that all the clusters in the webfarm use the same value for
ValidationKey attribute of the MachineKey element in the configuration

How to save the picture captured from webcam in Silverlight? Saving captured images in Silverlight. ImageTools.

2011-03-05T00:29:00.001-08:00

Silverlight does not have built-in encoders for saving images in different formats. There is a library available for this.

1) Just go to http://imagetools.codeplex.com/ and download ImageTools.
2) Add reference to ImageTools
3) Add reference to ImageTools.Utils
4) Add reference to ImageTools.IO.<preferred file format>

The Code
-------------------------
If the requirement is to save the captured image to local machine

void source_CaptureImageCompleted(object sender, CaptureImageCompletedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Result != null)
{
//CapturedImage is an Image control
CapturedImage.Source = e.Result;
//Cannot directly call 'showDialog' here. Dialog must be user-initiated.
}
}

private void SavePicture_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
SaveFileDialog saveFileDialog = new SaveFileDialog { DefaultExt = ".png", Filter = "PNG Files (*.png)*.pngAll Files (*.*)*.*", FilterIndex = 1 };
bool? dialogResult = saveFileDialog.ShowDialog();
if (dialogResult.HasValue && dialogResult.Value)
{
var image = CapturedImage.ToImage(); //ToImage is an Extension Method, which returns an ExtendedImage
var encoder = new PngEncoder();
using (Stream stream = saveFileDialog.OpenFile())
{
encoder.Encode(image, stream);
stream.Close();
}
}
}
-----------------------------------------------------------
If the requirement is to send the image as byte stream to a service

using (Stream stream = saveFileDialog.OpenFile())
{
byte[] bytes = null;
stream.Write(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
//Pass the bytes to the sevice
stream.Close();
}

Complete Code

XAML

CODE

How to use a Windows Forms Class Libary in Asp.Net

2011-02-25T02:41:00.001-08:00

1. Create a new Windows Forms Control Library Project
2. Add reference to any dependent controls (Com components or activeX controls)
3. Design control according to the requirement
4. Select 'Make assembly COM Visible' under 'Properties of the project > Application > Assembly Information'.
5. Add "c:\windows\Microsoft.NET\framework\v4.0.30319\regAsm.exe /u <TheTargetDll.dll>" Under Build Events > Pre build event command line
6. Add "c:\windows\Microsoft.NET\framework\v4.0.30319\regAsm.exe <TheTargetDll.dll>" Under Build Events > Post build event command line
7. Select 'Register for COM interop' under Build > Output
8. Sign the assembly if you are planning to install the assembly in the GAC

Code to use the component created in the previous step:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. To find the ClassID of the component we just created, go to registry editor and find the name of the dll '<TheTargetDll>'. Copy the classid of that node.
2. Place the following code in the webpage.

How to resolve the "The document was understood, but it could not be processed." error occurred while Adding Service Reference to a WCF Service hosted on a Vista machine?

2010-07-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Do the following on the server
------------------------------
go to - Start > Run
type - %windir%
locate the 'Temp' folder
open properties of the 'Temp' folder
select 'Security' tab
click 'Advanced' button
click 'Edit'
select 'Network Service' and click 'Edit'
check 'List folder / read data'
check 'Create files / write data'
and click 'Ok'

Now try adding a Service Reference to the WCF Service.

Worked for me.

Is there any free IMAP SSL library for c#.Net ?

2010-05-04T04:34:00.001-07:00

http://hellowebapps.com/products/imapx/

Is there any free WMV to AVI / MPEG / MPG converter ?

2010-04-10T20:28:00.001-07:00

http://download.cnet.com/Free-WMV-to-AVI-MPEG-Converter/3000-2194_4-10895648.html

Is there any free IMAP client for .Net ? How to access mailbox from asp.net code?

2010-04-07T01:53:00.001-07:00

Koolwired.Imap is a fully managed IMAP client library written in C#. Download

This library can be used for accessing and making changes to your mail box.

Download the documentation at http://imapnet.codeplex.com/Wikipage

Sample code

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

ImapConnect imapConnect = new ImapConnect("mail.mysmtp.com");

ImapCommand imapCommand = new ImapCommand(imapConnect);

ImapAuthenticate imapAuthenticate = new ImapAuthenticate(imapConnect, "username", "password");

imapConnect.Open();

imapAuthenticate.Login();

ImapMailbox imapMailbox = imapCommand.Select("INBOX");

int totalRecords = imapMailbox.Exist;

imapMailbox = imapCommand.Fetch(imapMailbox);

imapAuthenticate.Logout();

imapConnect.Close();

GridView1.DataSource = imapMailbox.Messages;

GridView1.DataBind();

}

Is there any free tool for merging multiple pdf documents in one document in .Net ?

2010-04-06T23:42:00.001-07:00

iTextDotNet is a free library for working with pdf documents in .Net. You can download the iTextDotNet .NET Library from this blog or the official Website.

Sample Code

using com.lowagie.tools;

public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page

{

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

string[] myFileList = new String[]{@"E:\Pdf\Writer001.pdf", @"E:\Pdf\Writer002.pdf", @"E:\Pdf\Writer003.pdf", @"E:\Pdf\Writer004.pdf",@"E:\Pdf\Writer005.pdf",@"E:\Pdf\Merged.pdf"};

concat_pdf.main(myFileList); //Merges the files and saves them in "E:\Pdf\Merged.pdf", which is the last element in the myFileList array

}

Is there any free online tool similar to Visio ?

2010-04-06T00:35:00.001-07:00

go to http://www.gliffy.com

What is the best free Video File Converting software available?

2010-03-09T23:11:00.001-08:00

My favorite tool for video conversion is WinAVI Video Converter.

WinAVI Video Converter is an incredibly powerful and effective converting software program. It can convert video files from various formats with great stability. The possibilities are nearly endless with AVI, MPEG1/2/4, VCD/SVCD/DVD, DivX, XVid, ASF, WMV and even RM support and others. Also, it can support batch video files conversion of different video formats such as DVD, AVI, ASP, MOV, SWF, MPEG1, and MPEG2 all at the same time. In addition, WinAVI Video Converter can burn to VCD/SVCD/DVD. And best of all, it has a powerful video decompress/compress engine that can convert a whole AVI movie to DVD in just 90 minutes

Download WinAVi at http://www.winavi.com/en/download/download.htm

How to disable submit button while waiting for AJAX response?

2010-03-04T23:47:00.001-08:00

Disabling a submit button during asynchronous postback

ScriptManager control of ASP.Net Ajax Extensions provides both Server-Side and Client-Side Framework to deal with the sequence of events that are fired during asynchronous postback. Client-Side framework is automatically available to the browser if the page has a ScriptManager control placed on it. We can use this framework, with a bit of javascript, to disable the submit button or contents of any container control during the time the asynchronous postback takes place. Following is the example:

-------------------------------------------Design File-----------------------------------------------------------------

<title>Disabling a submit button during asynchronous postback</title>

</head>

<body>

<div>

<asp:ScriptManager ID="ScriptManager1" runat="server">

</asp:ScriptManager>

</div>

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">

<ContentTemplate>

<asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>

<asp:Button ID="Button1" runat="server" OnClick="Button1_Click" Text="Button" />

<input type="button" id="buttonPleaseWait" value="Please wait..." style="display: none" disabled="true" />

</ContentTemplate>

</asp:UpdatePanel>

var prm = Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManager.getInstance();

prm.add_beginRequest(BeginRequestHandler); //registering beginRequest event

prm.add_endRequest(EndRequestHandler); //registering endRequest event

function BeginRequestHandler(sender, args) {

document.getElementById("<%=Button1.ClientID%>").style.display = "none";

document.getElementById("buttonPleaseWait").style.display = "inline";

}

function EndRequestHandler(sender, args) {

document.getElementById("<%=Button1.ClientID%>").style.display = "inline";

document.getElementById("buttonPleaseWait").style.display = "none";

}

</script>

</form>

</body>

</html>

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Code-behind file---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(4000);

TextBox1.Text = "Completed";

}

Why Page.FindControl is returning null ?

2010-02-26T01:59:00.001-08:00

Page.FindControl() finds any control that is only a direct child of Page control (form).

example.

In the above case, Page.FindControl() will only be able to find control that are direct childs of the form. So, Page.FindControl() will return null if you try to find TextBoxName or TextBoxAge.

Solution:

I found this solution from a blog.

//Function for finding a control using recursion

private Control findControlRecursive(Control root, string controlIdToFind)

{

if (root.ID == controlIdToFind)

{

return root;

}

foreach (Control currentControl in root.Controls)

{

Control foundControl = findControlRecursive(currentControl, controlIdToFind);

if (foundControl != null)

{

return foundControl;

}

return null;

}

//Using the function

Control foundControl = null;

foundControl = findControlRecursive(Page, "TextBoxName");

How to show javascript alert from code-behind in asp.net?

2010-02-22T03:51:00.000-08:00

In code-behind file:

if (!FormAttached(fileList))

{

string str = null;

str = "Please Attach a copy of the form.";

StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();

builder.Append("<script language=JavaScript>");

builder.Append("alert('" + str + "');");
builder.Append("</script>");

this.RegisterStartupScript("PreAuthAttachment", builder.ToString());

return;

}

How can I save a whole web page in Image format?

2010-02-17T22:56:00.001-08:00

Use EasyWeb2Pic Pro. It's free IE toolbar, using which the whole web page can be saved in image format like JPEG, BMP, etc.

Where can I find free video tutorials for learning WCF ?

2010-02-15T03:43:00.001-08:00

Try...

Control focus is lost when using UpdatePanel - Solution

2010-02-10T23:31:00.001-08:00

I had a problem with UpdatePanels. The focus of the control was getting lost after asynchronous postback gets completed, and even the data entered, while the asynchronous postback was going on, was getting lost.

Key points:

1. UpdateMode="conditional"

2. Using seperate UpdatePanel for each control.

3. ScriptManager.SetFocus() method

Problemetic Code:

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">

TextBox1 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" AutoPostBack="True" OnTextChanged="TextBox1_TextChanged"

TabIndex="1"></asp:TextBox><br />

TextBox2 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox2" runat="server" TabIndex="2"></asp:TextBox>

</ContentTemplate>

</asp:UpdatePanel>

<br />

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel2" runat="server">

TextBox3 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox3" runat="server" AutoPostBack="True" OnTextChanged="TextBox1_TextChanged"

TabIndex="3"></asp:TextBox>

<br />

TextBox4 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox4" runat="server" TabIndex="4"></asp:TextBox>

</ContentTemplate>

</asp:UpdatePanel>

protected void TextBox1_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);

TextBox3.Text = TextBox1.Text;

}

Problem with above code: Enter some text in TextBox1 and tab to TextBox2 and keep entering some text. And once the asynchronous postback is completed, whatever the data you entered in TextBox2 is lost and even the focus is lost.

Solution:

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel1" runat="server">

TextBox1 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox1" runat="server" AutoPostBack="True" OnTextChanged="TextBox1_TextChanged"

TabIndex="1"></asp:TextBox>

</ContentTemplate>

</asp:UpdatePanel>

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel3" runat="server" UpdateMode="Conditional">

<ContentTemplate>

TextBox2 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox2" runat="server" TabIndex="2"></asp:TextBox>

</ContentTemplate>

</asp:UpdatePanel>

<br />

<asp:UpdatePanel ID="UpdatePanel2" runat="server">

TextBox3 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox3" runat="server" AutoPostBack="True" OnTextChanged="TextBox1_TextChanged"

TabIndex="3"></asp:TextBox>

<br />

TextBox4 <asp:TextBox ID="TextBox4" runat="server" TabIndex="4"></asp:TextBox>

</ContentTemplate>

</asp:UpdatePanel>

protected void TextBox1_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(1000);

TextBox3.Text = TextBox1.Text;

}

Now try entering the text the same way, the focus as well the text entered during the asynchronous postback is not lost.

Please leave your comments. Thanks.

Examples for validation using regular expressions in C#?

2010-02-02T00:01:00.001-08:00

The following example shows the use of Regular Expresssions in C#.This program has basic validation scripts for validation easily useable in all programs.

/*
<HowToCompile>
csc /r:System.Text.RegularExpressions.dll,System.dll Validation.cs
</HowToComplie>
*/
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
using System;
class Validation
{
public static void Main()
{
String strToTest;
Validation objValidate=new Validation();
Console.Write("Enter a String to Test for Alphabets:");
strToTest=Console.ReadLine();
if(objValidate.IsAlpha(strToTest))
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} is Valid Alpha String",strToTest);
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} is not a Valid Alpha String",strToTest);
}
}
// Function to test for Positive Integers.
public bool IsNaturalNumber(String strNumber)
{
Regex objNotNaturalPattern=new Regex("[^0-9]");
Regex objNaturalPattern=new Regex("0*[1-9][0-9]*");
return !objNotNaturalPattern.IsMatch(strNumber) &&objNaturalPattern.IsMatch strNumber);
}
// Function to test for Positive Integers with zero inclusive
public bool IsWholeNumber(String strNumber)
{
Regex objNotWholePattern=new Regex("[^0-9]");
return !objNotWholePattern.IsMatch(strNumber);
}
// Function to Test for Integers both Positive & Negative
public bool IsInteger(String strNumber)
{
Regex objNotIntPattern=new Regex("[^0-9-]");
Regex objIntPattern=new Regex("^-[0-9]+$|^[0-9]+$");
return !objNotIntPattern.IsMatch(strNumber) &&
objIntPattern.IsMatch(strNumber);
}
// Function to Test for Positive Number both Integer & Real
public bool IsPositiveNumber(String strNumber)
{
Regex objNotPositivePattern=new Regex("[^0-9.]");
Regex objPositivePattern=new Regex("^[.][0-9]+$|[0-9]*[.]*[0-9]+$");
Regex objTwoDotPattern=new Regex("[0-9]*[.][0-9]*[.][0-9]*");
return !objNotPositivePattern.IsMatch(strNumber) &&
objPositivePattern.IsMatch(strNumber) &&!objTwoDotPattern.IsMatch(strNumber);
}
// Function to test whether the string is valid number or not
public bool IsNumber(String strNumber)
{
Regex objNotNumberPattern=new Regex("[^0-9.-]");
Regex objTwoDotPattern=new Regex("[0-9]*[.][0-9]*[.][0-9]*");
Regex objTwoMinusPattern=new Regex("[0-9]*[-][0-9]*[-][0-9]*");
String strValidRealPattern="^([-]|[.]|[-.]|[0-9])[0-9]*[.]*[0-9]+$";
String strValidIntegerPattern="^([-]|[0-9])[0-9]*$";
Regex objNumberPattern =new Regex("(" + strValidRealPattern +")|(" +
trValidIntegerPattern + ")");
return !objNotNumberPattern.IsMatch(strNumber) &&!objTwoDotPattern.IsMatch
strNumber) && !objTwoMinusPattern.IsMatch(strNumber) && objNumberPattern.IsMatch(strNumber);
}
// Function To test for Alphabets.
public bool IsAlpha(String strToCheck)
{
Regex objAlphaPattern=new Regex("[^a-zA-Z]");
return !objAlphaPattern.IsMatch(strToCheck);
}
// Function to Check for AlphaNumeric.
public bool IsAlphaNumeric(String strToCheck)
{
Regex objAlphaNumericPattern=new Regex("[^a-zA-Z0-9]");
return !objAlphaNumericPattern.IsMatch(strToCheck);
}
}

There is another simple way to perform these validation think of it while the next article comes.

A basics Regular Expression explained.

2010-02-01T23:58:00.001-08:00

To match a string that contains only those characters (or an empty string) : "^[a-zA-Z0-9_]*$"

Breaking it down:

^ : start of string [ : beginning of character group a-z : any lowercase letter A-Z: any uppercase letter 0-9: any digit _ : underscore ] : end of character group * : zero or more of the given characters $ : end of string

If you don't want to allow empty strings, use + instead of *.

How to format a DateTime field in GridView?

2010-01-25T01:08:00.001-08:00

http://www.codedigest.com/Articles/ASPNET/137_How_to_format_DateTime_in_GridView_BoundColumn_and_TemplateColumn.aspx

How to test browser compatibility of my web application?

2010-01-20T22:08:00.001-08:00

Useful material that I found on Internet for testing browser compatibility:

http://freelancefolder.com/7-fresh-and-simple-ways-to-test-cross-browser-compatibility/

No files were found to look in. Find was stopped in progress.

2010-01-07T03:23:00.001-08:00

Press Ctrl + Scroll Lock. Thanks to Franny's Adobe blog.

Operator '==' cannot be applied to operands of type 'method group' and 'string'. Why?

2009-12-21T23:48:00.001-08:00

I didn't understand why, but I worked it around the following way.

Erroneous Code:

if (tpaResponse.ToUpper == "APPROVED")

{

}

Workaround:

tpaResponse = tpaResponse.ToUpper();

if (tpaResponse == "APPROVED")

{

}

Taking a backup of all the databases in Sql Server using script.

2009-12-14T21:48:00.001-08:00

I found this useful script on internet for taking a backup of all the databases in Sql Server using script.

DECLARE @name VARCHAR(50) -- database name

DECLARE @path VARCHAR(256) -- path for backup files

DECLARE @fileName VARCHAR(256) -- filename for backup

DECLARE @fileDate VARCHAR(20) -- used for file name

SET @path = 'E:\Backups from C & D drive\\'

SELECT @fileDate = CONVERT(VARCHAR(20),GETDATE(),112)

DECLARE db_cursor CURSOR FOR SELECT name FROM master.dbo.sysdatabases WHERE name NOT IN ('master','model','msdb','tempdb')

OPEN db_cursor

FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name

WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0

BEGIN

SET @fileName = @path + @name + '_' + @fileDate + '.BAK'

BACKUP DATABASE @name TO DISK = @fileName

FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name

END

CLOSE db_cursor

DEALLOCATE db_cursor

How to analyze ASP.NET Web Application Performance by Using the Performance Administration Tool?

2009-12-14T20:05:00.001-08:00

A good article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/815159

FileUpload control is not working with UpdatePanel. Is there any alternative?

2009-11-09T21:25:00.001-08:00

FileUpload is one of the controls that cannot be placed inside an UpdatePanel control. After a little search on internet, I found an alternative, FileUploadAjax, which is free and worked perfect for me. This is also very easy to use. More on the control at http://en.fileuploadajax.subgurim.net/

Horizontal scrollbar is not displayed for Report Viewer control.

2009-10-27T23:42:00.001-07:00

I observed that this problem exists only with IE 7.

One solution I have found after googling is to add a bottom-margin style to the reportviewer control in code-behind file.

eg.

ReportViewer1.Attributes.Add("style", "margin-bottom: 50px;");

How to convert various files into PDF programmatically in Asp.Net?

2009-10-07T22:57:00.001-07:00

Here is a very useful article about converting various files (doc, docx, xls, xlsx, txt, etc) into pdf in Asp.Net. http://aspalliance.com/1447_Creating_PDFs_with_C_using_Ghostscript.all

How to find if rows exist with a particular value in dataset/dataview/datatable?

2009-09-29T06:02:00.001-07:00

First specify the condition using RowFilter property of DataView.

eg. dvProcessedItems.Table.DefaultView.RowFilter = "DocumentName='myDoc.docx'";

Then check if the condition results in any rows. If not, no rows exists with the specified condition.

eg.

if (dvProcessedItems.Table.DefaultView.Count == 0)

{

//No rows resulted

}

Find more about search criteria at :http://www.csharp-examples.net/dataview-rowfilter/

Regular expression for "string length can be zero or more, but must contain at least one digit if length is more than zero"?

2009-08-18T02:47:00.001-07:00

^(?=.*[0-9]+.*)[\w]{0,50}$

An unexpected error occurred in the .NET Framework Data Provdier for MySQL?

2009-08-16T04:07:00.001-07:00

The error ‘An unexpected error occurred in the .NET Framework Data Provdier for MySQL’ occurs when visual studio searches for a MySql connector related dll in the GAC, which is not present.

To resolve this issues:

1. Re-install the mysql-connector-net-X.X.X

2. Open the visual studio, and make sure the same error is not occurring.

3. Close the visual studio. And uninstall the mysql-connector-net-X.X.X from Add/Remove programs.

This worked for me.

How do I speed-up my website?

2009-08-15T11:09:00.001-07:00

A few quick tips on improving the performance of a website at http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html#expires

How to analyze the performance of a webpage?

2009-08-14T10:05:00.001-07:00

YSlow is a Firefox add-on that analyzes web pages and why they're slow based on Yahoo!'s rules for high performance web sites.

Do the following:

1. Install Firefox if you don’t have.

2. Install Firebug add-on (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843)

3. Install YSlow add-on (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5369)

Running a test:

1. Open the page to be tested in Firefox.

2. Click YSlow icon on the status bar.

3. Click Run Test button.

How to count number of occurrences of a specific character in a string in TSQL?

2009-08-06T23:37:00.001-07:00

I did not find any built-in function for this. So I achieved this in the following way.

declare @myText varchar(10); --variable to contain text
set @myText = '33.3.3'; --Initializing the var with some text
select len(@myText) - len(replace(@myText, '.', '')) --Finding the number of occurrances of '.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E.g. of user defined function

CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[udf_CountNumberOfOccurrances]
(
-- Add the parameters for the function here
@TextToSearch varchar(100),
@character nchar(1)
)
RETURNS int
AS
BEGIN
-- Declare the return variable here
DECLARE @Result int
SELECT @Result = len(@TextToSearch) - len(replace(@TextToSearch, @character, '')) --Finding the number of occurrances of '.'
-- Return the result of the function
RETURN @Result
END

Is there a way to avoid the .Net application from being reverse-engineered?

2009-08-05T23:15:00.001-07:00

.NET applications are compiled into Intermediary Language (MSIL) and then during execution, just-in-time (JIT) compiled into native code. It is very hard to reverse engineer native code because it is in binary machine-readable form. MSIL on the other hand was designed to be human-readable. A tool like IL Disassembler (ILDASM) or .NET Reflector will show you the code. This is probably your concern. To protect this, you can do one of two things - (1) obfuscate your code with many obfuscators available in the market. Dotfuscator is one example. (2) Use ngen.exe to create the binary format - this will however compromise the feature of .NET that allows it to optimally target the JIT compiled EXE according to the hardware/processor architecture

How to copy entire data of one table to a new table?

2009-08-05T22:45:00.001-07:00

The easiest of all ways is using SELECT ... INTO <NEW TABLE> from <Source Table>

Is there any free online tool for virus scanning and registry cleanups?

2009-08-01T02:28:00.001-07:00

You can use free online Microsoft OneCare safety scanner at http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm?s_cid=sah/?s_cid=sah

Protection tool is for virus scan.
Clean up tool is for temporary file removal and registry cleanup
Tune up tool is for improving performance.

But you need to have a internet connection with good speed.

How to resolve 'mcafee agent cannot be removed because other products are still using it' error while uninstalling McAfee?

2009-08-01T01:39:00.001-07:00

Step 1: Find where the FrmInst.exe file is located. Generally located in C:\program Files\McAfee\Common Framework

Step 2: Open command prompt.

Step 3: Run this command: C:\program Files\McAfee\Common Framework\frminst /forceuninstall

This worked for me.

How to remove tazebama.dll virus?

2009-07-31T23:30:00.001-07:00

tazebama is a trozan horse, which corrupts the data files and executable files. And it also sends out emails with funny messages to email-ids in the outlook address book.

I got rid of this virus as following:

Step 1: Delete the following files and directories:

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\tazebama.dl_

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\hook.dl_

%UserProfile%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\zPharoh.exe

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\tazebama.dll

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\[USER NAME]\Application Data\tazebama

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\[USER NAME]\Application Data\tazebama\tazebama.log

%SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\[USER NAME]\Application Data\tazebama\zPharaoh.dat

Step 2: Download RegRun (a free tool) from http://rapidshare.com/files/260565415/reanimator.zip Run this tool, which lists out the hidden virus-related files in various system directories eg, startup, autorun. Click 'Get It Out' to get rid of the files one by one (make sure you get rid of the autorun.inf files in the all the drives and tazebama.dll). Follow the steps in the wizard.

Restart and you are done. This worked for me.

What are different options for displaying rotational add banners in Asp.Net?

2009-07-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

1. AdRotator control
2. UpdatePanel with Ajax Timer (asynchronously update the images on Tick event of Ajax Timer)
3. SlideShow control of AjaxControlToolKit (http://www.asp.net/AJAX/AjaxControlToolkit/Samples/SlideShow/SlideShow.aspx).

How to use validation control (RangeValidator or CompareValidator) to ensure the date selected is greater than today?

2009-07-29T00:00:00.001-07:00

Step 1. Use CompareValidator

Step 2. Set the Type and ValueToCompare properties in code-behind, eg., in page_load

eg.

if (!IsPostBack)

{

CompareValidatorRecommendedDate.Type = ValidationDataType.Date;

CompareValidatorRecommendedDate.ValueToCompare = DateTime.Today.ToShortDateString();

}

It worked for me.

But the following ways did not work for me:

1. ValueToCompare = '<%= DateTime.Today.ToShortString() %>'

2. ValueToCompare="<%# DateTime.Today.ToShortDateString() %>"

HTTP Error 401.3 - Unauthorized: Access is denied due to an ACL set on the requested resource. How to resolve?

2009-07-24T22:48:00.001-07:00

The following error generally occurs in IIS 6.0 if the target physical directory of a web application is not under c:\inetpub\wwwroot. This is because by default wwwroot folder has all the required permissions.

Solution:

If you would like to have the target physical directory of a web application in a path other than wwwroot, then you would need to configure the application as below. It worked for me.

1. Right click the physical folder of the application -> properties -> web sharing (tab). Provide an alias name, which will become the name of virtual directory in IIS.

2. Right click the physical folder of the application again -> properties -> security (tab). Provide Modify, read, write permissions to the IIS_WPG user. If you don’t see the IIS_WPG user in the list, you can use ‘advanced’ option to find all the names and then select IIS_WPG.

Problem solved.

The error

You are not authorized to view this page

You do not have permission to view this directory or page due to the access control list (ACL) that is configured for this resource on the Web server.

Please try the following:

Contact the Web site administrator if you believe you should be able to view this directory or page.
Click the Refresh button to try again with different credentials.

HTTP Error 401.3 - Unauthorized: Access is denied due to an ACL set on the requested resource.
Internet Information Services (IIS)

Technical Information (for support personnel)

Go to Microsoft Product Support Services and perform a title search for the words HTTP and 401.
Open IIS Help, which is accessible in IIS Manager (inetmgr), and search for topics titled About Security, Access Control, and About Custom Error Messages.

How to work with dynamic arrays in .Net?

2009-07-24T05:26:00.001-07:00

If the size of an array is not known during initialization (the array is expected to grow dynamically) , we can use dynamic arrays.

Follwing options are available to work with dynamic arrays in .Net:

1. ArrayList

2. List<>

ArrayList example

ArrayList myDynamicList = new ArrayList();

for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)

{

myDynamicList.Add(i.ToString());

}

List<> example

List<string> myDynamicList = new List<string>();

for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++)

{

myDynamicList.Add(i.ToString());

}

How to find an element in an array without looping through in .Net?

2009-07-23T00:07:00.001-07:00

Array class has static methods to find if an element exists in an array, which are very handy when using with value types and string types.

eg.

string

[] tempAllRelationships = new string[] { "Father", "Mother", "Son", "Doughter", "Brother", "Sister", "Spouse", "Uncle", "Aunthy", "Grandfather", "Grandmother", "Bother In-Law", "Sister In-Law", "Mother In-law", "Father In-law", "Friend", "Others" };

int foundItemIndex = Array.IndexOf<string>(tempAllRelationships, "Son");

How to access my local drives from remote computer using Remote Desktop?

2009-07-22T05:23:00.001-07:00

Everytime I had to setup a new application in a remote system, I used to upload the files using ftp and configure the application using Remote Desktop.

Recently a friend gave me a trick to access local drives from remote computer using Remote Desktop:

Please follow these steps to connect your local machine drives to your remote server:

Go to ->start->run

How to resolve 'Parser Error' while deploying web service application in IIS ?

2009-07-21T22:53:00.001-07:00

When a web service is being deployed in IIS, the following error may occur. This error generally occurs if you have multiple .Net Framework versions installed in your system, and the default Framework version the IIS is configured to use might be different from the framework that your application is designed to use.

For example, the following error occurred because I created the web service application using framework 2.0, but the IIS is using framework 1.1 as the default framework.

The solution is to simply configure virual folder of your application to use appropriate version of framework. To do this:

Go to properties of your virual directory
Under the ASP.NET tab, change the ASP.NET Version to the correct version that your application is designed to target.

Server Error in '/xx' Application.

Parser Error

Description: An error occurred during the parsing of a resource required to service this request. Please review the following specific parse error details and modify your source file appropriately.

Parser Error Message: Could not create type 'Service'.

Source Error:

Line 1:  <%@ WebService Language="C#" CodeBehind="~/App_Code/Service.cs" Class="Service" %>

Source File: E:\vijay\xx\Service.asmx Line: 1

Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:1.1.4322.573; ASP.NET Version:1.1.4322.573

Is there a way to assign null to value types in .Net? What are nullable types?

2009-07-21T00:09:00.001-07:00

One of the new concepts introduced in .Net 2.0 is Nullable types. This allows you to assign nulls to value types.

eg.

int? myInt = null;

DateTime? myDateTime;

myDateTime = GetAvailableDate();

if (myInt.HasValue && myDateTime.HasValue)

{

//Have values

}

else

{

//No values

}

What's the best datatype for storing currency in .Net?

2009-07-20T22:39:00.001-07:00

Always use decimal type to store currency values in .Net. decimal has greater precision than other types. Although very minor errors may occur due to rounding, these are almost negligible when compared to other types such as double. The upshot is "always use decimal for currency values".

How to authenticate webservices? What is SOAP Header Security?

2009-07-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

If we need to authenticate each request that comes to a web service, we need to accept user credentials along with the request and validate them against the values in the database.

It is a good idea to wrap the credentials in the SOAP Header, instead of SOAP body. The following code exemplifies the usage of SOAP Header Security in ASMX web service.

Step 1: Create a class containing the fields required for authentication. This class needs to inherit from the SoapHeader class.

/// <summary>

/// A class representing user credentials for authenticating the user

/// </summary>

public class ServiceAuthenticationHeader : SoapHeader

{

private string userName;

private string password;

public string UserName

{

get { return userName; }

set { userName = value; }

}

public string Password

{

get { return password; }

set { password = value; }

}

}

Step 2: Declare an object of the above type in the actual web service class.

namespace MyServices

{

/// <summary>

/// Class representing the consumable web services by the clients

/// </summary>

[WebService(Namespace = http://xxx.com/)]

[WebServiceBinding(ConformsTo = WsiProfiles.BasicProfile1_1)]

public class XXXServices : System.Web.Services.WebService

{

// SoapHeader for authentication

public ServiceAuthenticationHeader UserCredentials;

}

Step 3: Decorate the webmethods that require authentication using SoapHeaderAttribute

/// <summary>

/// Gets the db details.

/// </summary>

/// <param name="uhid">The id.</param>

/// <returns></returns>

[WebMethod(Description = "Gets the db details.")]

[SoapHeader("UserCredentials")]

public Patient GetDbDetails(string id)

{

//Authenticate the user (Throws back webexception if authentication fails)

ServiceAuthentication.Validate(UserCredentials);

return DbService.GetDbDetails(id);

}

Step 4: Create a static method named Validate in which you validate the credentials agaist the database, and on success, you can throw an exception.

public static bool Validate(ServiceAuthenticationHeader userCredentials)

{

if (userCredentials == null)

{

throw new NullReferenceException("No credentials were specified."); // or validate against the database

}

How to pad characters to an integer in T-SQL?

2009-07-19T21:44:00.001-07:00

I needed to create a unique id for each user in the format like XXXX.00001, XXXX.00022, etc. After generating the unique number (1, 22, etc) , I needed to pad the integer with 0s on the left. The following code worked for me.

declare

@numberToPad int;

set @numberToPad = 12;

declare @numberOfPaddingCharacters as tinyint;

set @numberOfPaddingCharacters = 5 - cast(len(@numberToPad) as varchar(10));

select replicate('0', @numberOfPaddingCharacters) + cast (@numberToPad as varchar(10));

How to resolve "Invalid postback or callback argument." error ?

2009-07-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

Invalid postback or callback argument. Event validation is enabled using <pages enableEventValidation="true"/> in configuration or <%@ Page EnableEventValidation="true" %> in a page. For security purposes, this feature verifies that arguments to postback or callback events originate from the server control that originally rendered them. If the data is valid and expected, use the ClientScriptManager.RegisterForEventValidation method in order to register the postback or callback data for validation.

I got the above problem, and it got resolved when I added <%@ Page EnableEventValidation="false" %>. For the whole application add an entry <pages enableEventValidation="false"/> in the web.config file.

How to select literal text as column values? Select query to select text as column data? How to query a list of values?

2009-07-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

For horizontal output :

Select 'Male', 'Female', Others', 'Not Stated'

For vertical output

select 'Male' as G
union all
select 'Female' as G
union all
select 'Others' as G
union all
select 'Not stated' as G

How to bypass the browser cache while refreshing a page?

2009-07-15T22:17:00.001-07:00

F5 is for normal refresh.

Ctrl+F5 is for Hard refresh, which means the whole page content is downloaded from origin, not from the browser cache. Use this shortcut to bypass the browser cache.

What are the best Firefox extensions (add-ons) a web developer must have?

2009-07-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Web Developer Essentials (Firefox add-ons)

· FireFTP

· Firebug

· Web Developer

· MeasureIt

· ColorZilla

· Download Statusbar

· Download Sort

· Nuke Anything Enhanced

· Forecastfox

· AccuWeather.com.

· Answers

· Google Browser Sync & Foxmarks Bookmark Synchronizer

· Session Manager

· All-in-One Gestures

· IE Tab

· Firefox Showcase

· Cooliris Previews

· Colorful Tabs

· ChromaTabs

· StumbleUpon

· Gmail Manager & Yahoo Mail Notifier

· Gmail Manager

· Greasemonkey

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9011975/20_must_have_Firefox_extensions?taxonomyId=16&pageNumber=5

Which are other good pay-per-click programs other than AdSense?

2009-07-13T05:18:00.001-07:00

www.adbrite.com/ (pays up to 1 to 3 cents per click)

http://www.bidvertiser.com/ (pays up to 10 cents per click)

Where can I find Firebug for IE ?

2009-07-12T10:29:00.001-07:00

Firebug Lite 1.2 works with IE too.
Option 1: If you want to inspect your own web page with Firebug in IE, just place the following javascript code into your page.
<script type='text/javascript' src='http://getfirebug.com/releases/lite/1.2/firebug-lite-compressed.js'></script>

Option 2: To use firebug with any webpage:
o Bookmark the following link.

javascript:var%20firebug=document.createElement('script');firebug.setAttribute('src','http://getfirebug.com/releases/lite/1.2/firebug-lite-compressed.js');document.body.appendChild(firebug);(function(){if(window.firebug.version){firebug.init();}else{setTimeout(arguments.callee);}})();void(firebug);

o Open the book mark to use firebug on any opened webpage.

For detailed information on using firebug in IE: http://getfirebug.com/lite.html

How do I measure the loading time of my webpage?

2009-07-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

You can measure the loading time of a webpage using StopWatch at http://www.numion.com/Stopwatch/

How to show control menu when mouse moved in full screen mode in vlc player ?

2009-07-11T04:50:00.001-07:00

To show the taskbar when mouse moved when vlc player is in full screen mode:

Settings > Preferences > Interface > Show interface with mouse (select)

When in fullscreen mode, simply pressing i or Moving mouse to the top of the screen will display taskbar. Then you can use the 'VLC medial player' window to control the player.

Button not posting back after disabling it in javascript?

2009-07-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

I had a situation where I had to disable the button until the postback execution is completed. I did some R&D and understood that disabled controls cannot cause postback. So the workaround I found was to make the actual button invisible and display a disabled button in its place.


function ValidateFormForSubmit()
{
document.getElementById('buttonPleaseWait').style.display = 'inline';
document.getElementById('<%=btnSave.ClientID%>').style.display = 'none';
}

< id="btnSave" onclick="btnSave_Click" runat="server" validationgroup="Save" text="Submit" onclientclick="ValidateFormForSubmit();">
< type="button" id="buttonPleaseWait" value="Please wait..." style="border-color:#1F487C;border-width:1px;border-style:Solid;height:18px;display:none; ">

Is ViewState affecting the performance of your webpage?

2009-07-10T01:39:00.000-07:00

Answer: If the performance of a webpage is compromised by viewstate data (Why is my webpage slow? ), you can think of storing the ViewState information elsewhere other than the webpage itself.
Refer to the article http://www.eggheadcafe.com/articles/20040613.asp
It took me only 10 minutes to do this.

Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManagerTimeoutException: The server request timed out

2009-07-09T00:06:00.000-07:00

This error occurs when an asynchronous postback occurrs after the webpage has been inactive for 90 seconds. This happens because the default value for AsyncPostBackTimeOut attribute of ScriptManager is 90 seconds. Increase this value to resolve the issue.
Eg.


< id="ScriptManager1" runat="server" asyncpostbacktimeout="800">

How to perform client-side validation for FileUpload server control?

2009-07-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

Answer: Use validation controls (RegularExpressionValidator).
Eg.


< id="fupPI1" runat="server" enableviewstate="true">
< id="lblPI1" runat="server">

Why doesn't RowCommand event fire when GridView is inside the UpdatePanel ?

2009-07-08T02:33:00.000-07:00

How to disable UpdatePanel contents during asynchronous postbacks?

2009-07-08T02:31:00.000-07:00

http://mattberseth.com/blog/2007/08/disable_updatepanel_contents_d.html

Why is my webpage slow?

2009-07-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

You need to watch out the response of your webpage. Many a times, webpages send a lot of unnecessary content along with the request.

Install the follwing firefox add-ons and observe what your page is sending to the browser.
1. Firebug
2. Google's page-speed

How to make make free international calls?

2009-07-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Goto http://www.jaxtr.com/
1. Enter your number to get local jaxtr number
2. Call the jaxtr number on your phone
3. Dial your destination number after the prompt and talk