Chinh Do

It’s my first open source project! I’ve gone open source with my Transactional File Manager. Check out the CodePlex link here.

Use any file system as a transactional file system! Transactional File Manager is a .NET API that supports including file system operations such as file copy, move, delete in a transaction. It’s an implementation of System.Transaction.IEnlistmentNotification (works with System.Transactions.TransactionScope).

More on Transactional File Manager in my original blog post on it. If you are interested in contributing to the project, let me know.

If you get one of these errors starting MSMQ Server or installing MSMQ on Windows (Server 2008), this article describes a potential solution:

• You cannot start MSMQ Service with the following entry in the Application Event Log: The Message Queuing service cannot start. The internal private queue ‘admin_queue$’ cannot be initialized. If the problem persists, reinstall Message Queuing. Error 0xc00e0001.
• You cannot install MSMQ with the following error: Attempt to install Message Queuing Server failed with error code 0×80070643. Fatal error during installation. The following features were not installed: Message Queuing Services/Message Queuing Server.

  

For me, the solution was to delete the Registry key KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ, then try the installation again.

See also:

• MSMQ won’t install on Windows 2008 with a Fatal Error (0×80070643)

Your house is haunted. You can’t stand living with the ghosts anymore and decide to call in the professional, a ghost hunter. The ghost hunter comes, nicely equipped with all kinds of shiny ghost hunting equipment, and proceeds to immediately pass out and fall to to the floor with a loud thud at first sight of the ghosts.

Well, in a nutshell, that is the story of the new Event Viewer in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. The new Event Viewer looks very nice and all. Trouble is, it now won’t work when there is a syntax error in machine.config or other .NET Framework problems. Apparently, in Windows Vista and Windows 2008, someone at Microsoft decided to rewrite the Event Viewer utility (a perfectly usable and solid utility in previous versions of Windows) in .NET.

So, the lesson I learned from this is: don’t hire ghost hunters who are afraid of ghosts. Or, don’t write a utility designed to view monitoring and troubleshooting messages that can fail due to unnecessary dependencies. A critical system troubleshooting utility such as Event Viewer should be the last thing that fails.

What to do when you cannot run Event Viewer in Windows Vista/Windows Server 2008/or Windows 7?

If you get the following error:

MMC could not create the snap-in. The snap-in might now have been installed correctly. Name: Event Viewer. CLSID: FX:{b05566ad-fe9c-4363-be05-7a4cbb7cb510}

Try the following:

• Fix any syntax errors in machine.config. Restore to a previously known working copy.
• Rename EventVwr.exe.config in %WINDIR%\System32.

To programmatically switch bindings on the fly, you can do it via the constructor of the generated client:

var client = new WeatherClient(“MyEndpoint”);

“MyEndpoint” is the name of the endpoint defined in your config file:

<client>
    <endpoint address="" binding="basicHttpBinding" bindingConfiguration="http1" contract="MyContract" name="MyEndpoint" />

</client>

If you get the following exception calling a WebSphere web service from your .NET WCF Client (service reference):

System.ServiceModel.CommunicationException: The underlying connection was closed: The connection was closed unexpectedly. —>  System.Net.WebException: The underlying connection was closed: The connection was closed unexpectedly.

Try adding this code before the service call:

System.Net.ServicePointManager.Expect100Continue = false;

More info on the 100-Continue behavior from MSDN.

Here’s a method to convert a generic List<T> to a DataTable. This can be used with ObjectDataSource so you get automatic sorting, etc.

/// <summary>
/// Convert a List{T} to a DataTable.
/// </summary>
private DataTable ToDataTable<T>(List<T> items)
{
    var tb = new DataTable(typeof (T).Name);

    PropertyInfo[] props = typeof (T).GetProperties(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.Instance);

    foreach (PropertyInfo prop in props)
    {
        Type t = GetCoreType(prop.PropertyType);
        tb.Columns.Add(prop.Name, t);
    }

    foreach (T item in items)
    {
        var values = new object[props.Length];

        for (int i = 0; i < props.Length; i++)
        {
            values[i] = props[i].GetValue(item, null);
        }

        tb.Rows.Add(values);
    }22/

    return tb;
}

/// <summary>
/// Determine of specified type is nullable
/// </summary>
public static bool IsNullable(Type t)
{
    return !t.IsValueType || (t.IsGenericType && t.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Nullable<>));
}

/// <summary>
/// Return underlying type if type is Nullable otherwise return the type
/// </summary>
public static Type GetCoreType(Type t)
{
    if (t != null && IsNullable(t))
    {
        if (!t.IsValueType)
        {
            return t;
        }
        else
        {
            return Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(t);
        }
    }
    else
    {
        return t;
    }
}

• 1/22/2010 – Fix to support Nullable types.

Is anyone else experiencing a problem with Visual Studio 2008 Intellisense with jQuery and jqModal?

It seems that jqModal (a jQuery plugin for modal dialogs) is breaking jQuery Intellisense on my Visual Studio 2008 setup. Without a reference to jqModal.js, jQuery Intellisense works fine:

As soon as I add the reference to jqModal.js, the Intellisense stops working with this error:

Warning    1    Error updating JScript IntelliSense: …\scripts\jquery-1.3.2-vsdoc.js: ‘jQuery.support.htmlSerialize’ is null or not an object @ 1430:4

Workaround

To work around the problem, generate the script include tag dynamically so that the JavaScript Intellisense engine doesn’t see the jqModal reference at design time.

<head runat="server">

    <title>My Web</title>

    <asp:Literal ID="LitJqModalScript" runat="server"></asp:Literal>

    <script src="../scripts/jquery-1.3.2.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

</head>

protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e)

{

    base.OnLoad(e);

    LitJqModalScript.Text = @"<script src=""../scripts/jqModal.js"" type=""text/javascript""></script>";

}

In my opinion, the top three hardware items that help maximize programmer productivity are sufficient RAM, multiple monitors, and a fast multi-core CPU. For RAM, try to have at least 2GB for Visual Studio development, especially if you have additional applications such as Resharper, a local SQL Server instance, IIS, etc. Remember that on Windows XP or Vista 32-bit, the maximum usable RAM is limited to about 3.2 GB or so.

My current company-provided laptop, which I must perform most programming activities on, is a Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz. It is satisfactory for what I am doing. Given the choice however, I would go for a quad-core CPU desktop. Desktop usually has faster drives, better video cards, etc. And the additional cores allow for smooth multitasking and better performance when using virtual machines.

Plenty of RAM and multiple fast CPU cores will keep the waiting down to a minimum. Now you need to give yourself the ability to see all of those things that you have going on. Research has demonstrated that multiple monitors increase productivity. For most programmers, I would recommend two monitors. Adding that second monitor is a relatively inexpensive affair. Most laptops or desktop video cards has built-in support for a second monitor so all you have to do is getting that second LCD, which cost very little these days compared to three years ago. The third monitor and beyond is where things start to get complicated. You either have to install a second video card, or use a second PC/laptop in conjunction with a software application named MaxiVista. Unless you have spare monitors sitting around, I think the return on investment starts to diminish greatly beyond two monitors.

Another way to use that third or fourth monitor is to simply attach them to additional computers. Sure, you won’t be able to control all those monitors with the same mouse and keyboard but this setup is not without advantages:

• When the first computer is rebooting or not responding, you still have a fully functioning computer.
• The screens on the second computer are not using CPU/memory resources on the first computer.

My 5-Monitor Setup

I work from home most of the time and on my desk, there are five monitors, hooked up to three laptops. I know… it’s over the top but it’s not like I bought all of these laptops/monitors specifically for this setup. The second laptop is my personal laptop. The third one is another old personal laptop that would otherwise would be sitting around gathering dust. I might as well put them all to use. Here’s how the monitors are arranged:

The main laptop is hooked up to monitor #1, an ASUS 24″ running at 1920×1080 resolution and monitor #2, the main laptop’s built-in 15.4-inch LCD running at 1680×1050. I spend most of my time on these two monitors. The ASUS 24″ is great for programming/debugging and is where I normally park Visual Studio 2008 or Rational Software Architect. If you can get one with more vertical resolution (such as 1920×1200), that’s even better.

The extra width on the main monitor allows me to permanently open supporting panes like Solution Explorer that I otherwise would configure to “auto hide”. Note where I have my Start menu: on the right edge of the main monitor. This gives me more vertical space so I can see more code without scrolling. The additional benefits are that more opened windows can fit on the task bar, and that I don’t have to move the mouse as much to access the start menu.

The built-in laptop monitor (#2) is where I have miscellaneous supporting windows such as rolling logs, instant messaging client, email client, documents, etc.

For taking notes, I use Microsoft OneNote and since it’s not installed on my company PC, I use my own laptop for it. This laptop is monitor #3, sitting to the left of the main monitor. Monitors #4 and #5 are used once in a while to display server logs, various server telnet and remote desktop connections, and anything I don’t need to control often.

Update 2/25/2008 – Synergy

Rohan kindly pointed out to me a free keyboard/mouse sharing utility called Synergy. You should give this a try if you have multiple computers on your desk. Synergy lets you use a single keyboard/mouse to control multiple computers, running multiple operating systems. Additional features include clipboard sharing, screen saver, and single password login. The configuration is not the most intuitive but once you have everything set up correctly, it works like a charm.

I now can control all three laptops and 5 monitors with one mouse/keyboard combo! Very nice.

.NET/C# Programming

• Thread synchronization: Wait and Pulse demystified. By Nick Butler.
• Use a shortened GUID for file names and request strings. ShortGuid – A shorter and url friendly GUID class in C#. By Dave Transom.
• Top Ten Tips to Using XPath and XPointer. By John E. Simpson.
• Client-side caching for script methods access in ASP.NET AJAX, by Jeffrey Zhao.
• A very nice two-part introduction to jQuery, by Rick Strahl.
• A COMPARISON OF MICROSOFT’S C# PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE TO SUN MICROSYSTEMS’ JAVA PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE. By Dare Obasanjo.
• Silverlight
  • Silverlight 2 End to End Tutorial: Building a Digg Search Client, by Scott Guthrie.
  • Fluid Canvas in Silverlight, by neo.
• WCF
  • Performance Improvement for WCF Client Proxy Creation in .NET 3.5 and Best Practices. By Wenlon Dong.
  • A comprehensive guide to using MsmqIntegrationBinding with MSMQ 3.0 in WCF. By Simon Evans.
  • If your WSE 3.0 Mutual Certificate Authentication web service runs very slowly, try setting establishSecurityContext to true.

PowerShell

• PowerShell Community Extensions has very useful cmdlets such as Get/Set-Clipboard, Write-GZip, Start-Process, Select-Xml and many others.
• John D. Cook’s PowerShell Cookbook has lots of useful PowerShell recipes.

Apps and Tools

• Microsoft Windows SteadyState (free) is great for maintaining public-access computers.

Other Stuff

• Anatomy of a malware scam – The evil genius of XP Antivirus 2008. By Jesper M. Johansson. If you’ve had to help your relatives and friends clean up after XP Antivirus 2008/2009, read this very detailed analysis of the malware.

I feel like I am discovering a whole new world. For my latest project, I have to do a lot of stuff in Java (1.6). While I am familiar with Java the language, I am a total newbie when it comes to Java related technologies, frameworks, and tools. Some of the specific Java technologies and tools I am using are JAXB/JAX-WS web services, Spring Framework, WebSphere Application Server, Maven, Rational Software Architect/Eclipse IDE.

Java Learning Resources

Here are some of the resources I found very useful while learning Java and related technologies in the past several weeks:

Portals

• Java.sun.com – From the creator of Java itself.
• Dzone – It’s like DotNetKicks but has everything including Java stuff.
• IBM Redbooks – Tons of reference materials and everything is free.
• developerWorks: IBM’s version of MSDN. There is a busy community section with forums as well.
• Safari Books Online offers on-demand digital access to reference books. It’s not free, but it’s a great resource if you can read lots of books in a short time. Subscribe to their unlimited account and read all the books you want for a month. Remember to cancel before the month is over. Also remember that IBM Redbooks are free on the Redbooks site. Don’t waste your Safari points on Redbooks. And even if you have an unlimited Safari account, IBM’s site is still better because it offers PDFs.

Java

• Dare Obasanjo’s “A Comparison of Microsoft’s C# Programming Lanauge to Sun Microsystems’ Java Programming Langauge” is the most comprehensive comparison of language features I have found. Highly recommended.
• Essential Java Resources, by Ted Neward, developerWorks. Another highly recommended read. Full of useful links.
• Java Tutorials and Java EE Tutorial from Sun Microsystems.
• Managing the Java classpath (Windows), by Elliotte Rusty Harold (developerWorks).
• Threading lightly series from developerWorks: Part 1, Part 3, Part 3. I found this series while searching for the equivalence of C#’s ThreadStatic attribute: the ThreadLocal class.

Web Services

• Web Services Handbook for WebSphere Application Server Version 6.1. IBM.

Spring Framework

• Data Access Using Spring Framework JDBC, A.P.Raishekhar (devshed.com).
• Getting started with Maven and Spring, by P. Christian.
• Spring Framework Reference (PDF), SpringSource.
• Spring Framework Best Practices, mydeveloperconnection.com.

Eclipse IDE, Rational Software Developer/Architect

• Keeping Eclipse Running Clean, by Riyad Kalla.
• Eclipse Hidden Treasures, by Zviki Cohen.
• Effective Eclipse: Shortcut Keys, by Tomas Karmar.
• Rational Application Developer V7 Programming Guide, IBM.

Misc

• Maven in 5 Minutes, Apache Maven Project.

C# Features I Wish Java Has

I am sure Microsoft was pretty much thinking about Java when they created C#. The Java language itself it very similar to C# in terms of syntax, keywords, and use of punctuations such as semicolons and braces. I have found that most language features in C# have equivalents in Java. However, there are a few notable exceptions which I particularly miss:

• Code regions – I use code regions extensively in C#. Eclipse does support code outlining but it’s only for existing code structures (methods) and is not nearly as flexible as c# regions.
• Properties – Java only has fields and methods. “Properties” are implemented as get* and set* methods. I really miss properties, especially after typing 10 getters and setters in a row.
• var keyword – Another small but very nice feature in C# that helps make code more compact and reduce typing.
• Verbatim (@) strings – Very handy for regular expressions and other string literals that contain lots of escape characters.

Java is still evolving. Here’s hoping that some of the above features will make it into the next version of the language.