DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by happer

Exporting a DataTable to Excel (DataTable to CSV)

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:39:19 GMT

Ever needed to export a DataTable to Excel(csv) well here is a good way to write it so that you don't have to rewrite the code for each query. You don't even need to remember what columns you selected.

Execute a special build on TFS using Team Foundation Object Model

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Nice article that shows how to execute a special build on TFS using Team Foundation Object Model

Testing E-Mail Functionality

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:30:00 GMT

If you are looking for a very robust testing utility for e-mailing applications, you need to get Neptune. This is a quick introduction to how Neptune works. Every software developer who has ever written software that sends e-mail of any kind will appreciate the features this little testing utility.

CLR Injection: Runtime Method Replacer

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:30:00 GMT

how the JIT compiles MSIL and create a utility that allow us to programmatically replace any JIT'ed method with another method at runtime. We will also create a debugging utility that will intercept JIT calls and print diagnostics information to the console.

Variable boxing and the equal operator vs. the Equals method

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:19:06 GMT

An article about the difference between the == operator and the Equals method

SilverBullet #3 - System.Windows.Input.FocusManager

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:02:27 GMT

When you want to know what element has focus in other situations or if you need to get the focus synchronously, you can use the FocusManager class which can be found in the System.Windows.Input namespace.

How to prevent Extension methods from appearing as global functions

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:39:54 GMT

C# have static (or shared) classes which VB lacks. Instead VB uses modules which are almost the same thing. One thing differs though and that is that modules makes its public methods appear as global accessible functions, meaning you don't have to type the ModuleName.MethodName() when calling such a member. You can instead simply call MethodName() directly. A disadvantage of this fact is that extension methods, that must exist in modules in VB, will appear in IntelliSense as global functions and not only as a method of the type you extended.

Implementing KeyBoard Shortcuts in ASP.NET applications using jQuery

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:15:00 GMT

Cool post on how to implement Keyboard Shortcuts in ASP.NET applications using jQuery

More On Structs

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:32:03 GMT

On Friday, I wrote a post that listed guidelines for when to use a struct rather than a class. A commenter asked me to elaborate on the 16-byte rule.

LINQ to SQL is NOT dead!

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:00:03 GMT

Ever since Microsoft announced that the Entity Framework was their ORM of choice, people everywhere have been saying, "LINQ to SQL is dead!" A lot of people feel like they're not allowed to use LINQ to SQL anymore and that they have to use Entity Framework instead. In fact, LINQ to SQL is not only alive and well, Microsoft has even announced LINQ to SQL improvements in .NET 4.0, including finally adding using ITable<T> for tables instead of Table<T>, which makes it much easier to test. Combine that with this open source tool that will create an IDataContext interface for you and you're on your way to testable LINQ to SQL. So no, LINQ to SQL is not dead!!

LINQ in Action samples available in LINQPad

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:15:00 GMT

In addition to being a great LINQ tool and C# and VB snippet IDE, LINQPad now integrates code samples from LINQ books. The first LINQPad-enabled book is LINQ in Action. This allows you to quickly and painlessly discover LINQ.

Should We Return Null From Our Methods?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 18:15:06 GMT

I read a interesting article recently about the potential perils of Null Check Hell. The author's suggestion? Stop allowing any of your methods to return nulls, ever . No nulls returned, no null checks necessary. Problem solved, right?

LINQ to SQL changes in .NET 4.0

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:15:00 GMT

What's fixed and breaking changes for LINQ to SQL in .NET 4.0

Performance testing of Dictionary, List and HashSet

Fri, 29 May 2009 20:30:00 GMT

A quick little test of how the .net 3.5 Dictionary, List and HashSet compare adding and finding items.

VS Explorer adds a Explorer-Like browsing window to Visual Studio

Fri, 29 May 2009 05:28:32 GMT

VS Explorer adds a Windows Explorer-Like file and folder browsing window to Visual Studio. It provides complete access to file and folder context menus (including 3rd party extensions such as TortoiseSVN) and drag-drop functionality which allows directly adding files/folders to your projects. It can quickly browse to the current solution folder, project folder or the selected item. It can add selected dll/exe files as references and open command prompt window on selected folder. VS Explorer eliminates switching back and forth between Visual Studio and Windows Explorer and other external programs and allows you to focus on your work flow and preserve concentration, save time, reduce stress and work efficiently. VS Explorer supports Auto-Install for VS 2010 via extension manager.

My Dot Net Developer's tools list, and more.

Wed, 27 May 2009 04:00:01 GMT

I gave a brownbag presentation at my current client recently about the common tools (in addition to Visual Studio), that I use on a regular basis for working with .NET or web development in general. I also threw in some non-development tools that are a part of my day to day life and make things easier. Here's the complete list:

Solution to Famous Error 40 of SQL Server - A Must Bookmark

Fri, 22 May 2009 19:46:14 GMT

Everybody who has ever used SQL Server might have encountered this error one time or another time. This is absolutely must bookmark link.

Announcing FsCheck 0.6

Thu, 14 May 2009 01:57:38 GMT

New version of FsCheck with C# and VB support.

Microsoft Test and Lab Manager

Wed, 13 May 2009 23:22:02 GMT

Visual Studio Team System is getting a new tool: Microsoft Test and Lab Manager.

How to test your multi-threaded code (part 3 of 3)?

Wed, 13 May 2009 21:16:05 GMT

In the last post we learned how to find and fix a simple multi-thread problem. Now we will see a more complex scenario and see how CHESS wil find the solution.

Difference between BasicHttpBinding and WsHttpBinding

Wed, 13 May 2009 14:56:01 GMT

WCF has introduced lot of bindings and protocols. This article will concentrate on two important protocols BasicHttpBinding and WsHttpBinding which look similar but have some huge fundamental differences. So we will first start with the difference and then we will make a small project and see how the differences look practically.

How to test your multi-threaded code (part 2 of 3)?

Wed, 13 May 2009 18:16:03 GMT

Previously we saw how to build a test to find a multi-thread bug our your code. Now we will look at how to reproduce debug and fix it.

Integrate FxCop with Visual Studio

Sun, 10 May 2009 08:31:02 GMT

Step by step how to integrate FxCop with Visual Studio.

Free T4 Editor for your ASP.NET MVC T4 Templates available

Sat, 09 May 2009 01:01:06 GMT

Found on tangible blog, that the new tangible T4 Editor 1.4 FREE EDITION now includes full Intelli-Sense support for MVC Host and related namespaces used in ASP.NET MVC 1.0 RTM T4 Templates. In addition it provides a nice highlighting for ASP.NET and T4 Code. Seems like anyone can now edit MVC T4 Templates with full comfort without investing a penny. Awesome!

How to test your multi-threaded code (part 1 of 3)?

Thu, 07 May 2009 01:01:04 GMT

CHESS is the answer. At least this is what we have best right now.