Chinh Do

How often do you see DataReader code that looks like this?

using (IDataReader dr = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery())
{
    while (dr.Read())
    {
        int orderId = dr.GetInt32(0);
        string customerId = dr.GetString(1);
        int employeeId = dr.GetInt32(2);
        DateTime orderDate = dr.GetDateTime(3);
        double freight = dr.GetDouble(4);

        // do stuff
    }

    dr.Close();
}

If that looks like your code, you are not alone . Try searching codesearch.google.com for the following:

lang:c# (reader|dr)\.GetInt32\(

With the above code, anytime the order of columns in the SQL statement or stored procedure changes, the code is broken. And if you have lots of columns to read from, it’s a real nightmare to maintain the indexes.

The next time you write another DataReader loop, consider doing it this way instead:

using (IDataReader dr = cmd.ExecuteNonQuery())
{
    int ORDER_ID = dr.GetOrdinal("OrderID");
    int CUSTOMER_ID = dr.GetOrdinal("CustomerID");
    int EMPLOYEE_ID = dr.GetOrdinal("EmployeeID");
    int ORDER_DATE = dr.GetOrdinal("OrderDate");
    int FREIGHT = dr.GetDecimal("Freight");

    while (dr.Read())
    {
        int orderId = dr.GetInt32(ORDER_ID);
        string customerId = dr.GetString(CUSTOMER_ID);
        int employeeId = dr.GetInt32(EMPLOYEE_ID);
        DateTime orderDate = dr.GetDateTime(ORDER_DATE);
        double freight = dr.GetDouble(FREIGHT);

        // do stuff
    }

    dr.Close();
}

Using GetOrdinal makes the code much more readable and maintainable. You are calling GetOrdinal just once for each column, any performance penalty is insignificant compared to the benefits. Be careful not to put the GetOrdinal code inside the while block as that will unnecessarily slow you down (about 3% according to this article).

I think this is useful and not well known enough to warrant its own blog post.

Did you know that there is a Visual Studio command called File.OpenContainingFolder? Asmita A Wankhede wrote about it, but he left a few important details out.

By default, this command does not have a shortcut, so you would have to assign one to it (try CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+O). Also, the "item" that this command works on is the currently opened item in the editor, not the selected item in the Solution Explorer. See my Visual Studio tips article for instructions on how to create new shortcuts (section 3 – Make New Shortcuts).

This works with both Visual Studio 2005 and 2008.

It’s 2008. Happy New Year!

Tips and Tricks

• I can’t believe I didn’t know about this Visual Studio command before: File.OpenContainingFolder. Asmita A Wankhede mentioned it, but he left a few important details out. By default, this command does not have a shortcut, so you would have to assign one to it (try CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+O). Also, the "item" that this command works on is the currently opened item in the editor, not the selected item in the Solution Explorer. See my Visual Studio tips article for instructions on how to create new shortcuts (section 3 – Make New Shortcuts).
   
• Aaron Lerch shared a tip on how to use Powershell to perform search-and-replace on an entire folder hierarchy.

.NET, C#, Programming

• Derik Whittaker’s article on Things to think about if you want to be a consultant lists some questions to ask and things to be aware of if you are thinking about becoming a consultant or contractor.
• I need to start using Log4Net soon at work and Emanuele Bartolesi’s walk-through on how to use Log4net in your ASP.net application will come in handy.
• Dare Obasanjo asked a thought-provoking question: Does C# 3.0 Beat Dynamic Languages at their Own Game?
• Aaronontheweb made 8 Bold Predictions for Web 2.0 in 2008. One of the predictions is that Google will have its first failure in 2008. I thought Google Answers was it.
• If you are learning WCF, check out Michele Bustamante’s That Indigo Girl. Via Is This Thing On.
• If you have done or are planning to do automated GUI testing, check out Automated GUI testing – Is it worth it? by Mladen Prajdić.
• Bruce Eckel wrote about the The Mythical 5% of top developers and shared tips on how you can be part of that exclusive club.
• For Oracle developers, ODAC 11g has been released. Via Mark A Williams.
• If like me, you have heard about SubSonic but don’t know much about it, Kent Sharkey’s Introduction to SubSonic (Dotnetslackers) provides a quick primer.

Software And Tools

• Did you know that something called Robocopy (short for Robust File Copy, not Robot Copy), is the new XCOPY? It’s a standard tool in Windows Vista and is also available as part of the Windows Resource Kit. Via Don Box’s Spoutlet on Pluralsight.

  

• I recently tried and liked GhostDoc very much. It’s a free Visual Studio add-in to help write XML documentation comments. Roland Weigelt wrote a nice intro article on GhostDoc on DotnetSlackers here.
• SyncBackSE is a great folder synchronization utility. It has tons of features… maybe even a little bit on the bloated side. It costs $30 for a single license. If you just want something simple, Microsoft’s free SyncToy may do the trick for you.

   

Gadgets

• From CES, it looks like Blu-ray will be the winner of the HD format war. No, the war is not completely over, but this was the landing at Normandy… so to speak. The loss is just too great for the HD-DVD camp to recover.

And Now, Something Different

• Richmond’s Lunar New Year Festival is on Jan 27.

Did you know Microsoft Outlook has supported type-ahead since Outlook 2003?

I didn’t. I upgrade my home PC to Outlook 2007 a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised to find type-ahead working. I fired up the old copy of Outlook 2003 and type-ahead worked in that version too. I am pretty sure it didn’t work in versions prior to 2003.

Type-ahead is great for using with the Move to Folder or Copy to Folder features. If you use Outlook to get your Gmail via IMAP, you’ll appreciate the type-ahead feature since you need to move messages a lot.

To see type-ahead working, in the Move Items dialog box (with a message selected, press CTRL+SHIFT+V), type the first few letters of any folder name. The current folder selection will move to the folder that matches what you type.