DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by pmbrown

How to Compare / Test the Equality of two Queries in SQL Server

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:01:07 GMT

Compare / Test the Equality of two Queries in SQL Server using this short T-SQL

C# 4.0 Feature Focus - Part 1 - Optional Parameters

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:19:47 GMT

Welcome to the first post in my new C# 4.0 Feature Focus series. Today we'll start by taking a look at optional parameters, a long-standing request from the community that made it to C# 4.0. By itself, the feature is definitely useful but in conjunction with the mission to make COM interop easier, there's even more value to it.

C# Structs

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:16:02 GMT

What are the benefit of structs in C#? When can they improve performance and memory use? See examples and benchmarks as well as screens from CLRProfiler and the Visual Studio debugger. Is this is the best struct article in the world? Maybe!

SVN-Monitor is finally out for free download!

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:31:02 GMT

A full-featured .net application that integrates SubVersion, TortoiseSVN and all your checked-out folders and repositories. Use it to perform all your svn commands and monitor all your projects' activities in a single place. Access all commands from the tray menu or from the main window. This is a must-have tool for every windows+svn user!

Embedding data in images

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:50:08 GMT

Embedding data in images in most cases is a part of the image format; it is a very effective way to save copyrights, watermarks, metadata, company information and anything else you may want to pass on. In this article we will explore two different ways of saving information in images. This article also includes a small .NET windows application available to download and test for free.

Measure String Size In Pixels (C#)

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:16:03 GMT

Sometimes we need to know the width of a given string in pixels, do you know how to compute it? Before writing some long code, please notice that the .NET framework class library provides such a method...

Tidy Things Up

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:16:16 GMT

Ever wanted to have one assembly, but be able to manage your code in separate assemblies?

Why you REALLY need to think about your interfaces

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:46:02 GMT

When you write your interfaces in C#, you might be casting them in stone. You REALLY need to think about how you write your interfaces. Avoid interfaces with concrete parameters such as Dictionary<> and List<> and prefer interfaces such as IDictionary<> and IList<>. Here is why!

Avoiding Dependencies

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:46:03 GMT

As a rule, code should not directly depend on external resources such as System.Net.Mail's email sending capabilities. Having code that directly calls out to System.Net.Mail is difficult to unit test as well as difficult to walk through in a test or stage environment without having actual emails sent. Two design patterns can be used to reduce this dependency: Facade and Strategy. The Strategy pattern offers a host of benefits above and beyond what the facade layer provides, as this articles demonstrates with code examples.

Changing Your Garbage Collector Settings on the Fly

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:12 GMT

.NET 3.5 and 2.0 SP1 jointly included a new feature which lets you programmatically manipulate the way your garbage collector acts. This can be done through changing the value of a new property of the System.Runtime.GCSettings class named LatencyMode. In this article I will walk you through this new property and the different effects of each of it's possible settings.

Completely Scripting a SQL Server Database

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:16:02 GMT

A guide on how to easily script out an entire database (schema and data) using the Database Publishing Wizard. A tool that you may not know you have access to. And if you have Visual Studio 2008, you already have installed!

Visual Studio Tip: Split Views

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:01:08 GMT

There are a couple of ways to get a split view in Visual Studio. Both are incredible time savers that I use daily. The first is one that most developers will be aware of, but the second seems to be one that many do not seem to know about.

Software development dogmata - good practices gone bad

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:46:03 GMT

Many practices in the software development world are widely accepted at some moment in time as the "true way". The trouble starts when the "true way" is forced down the throats of people who need a "new way". Usually popular practices follow a similar path between the moment somebody discovers/creates them and until they get massively popular.

How bad comments are born in your code

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:46:02 GMT

Many programmers mention their support for "good" comments in the code. A significant percentage of all developers think the quality of the comments is one of the traits that separate good experienced programmers from the rest. But the cruel reality is lots of code out there is not commented at all or, even worse, it is commented but the comments are so bad they make understanding the code harder.

The Agile 800 Pounds Gorilla

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:46:02 GMT

I woke up this morning and I was Agile. We are all Agile now. Or we are gonna become Agile. Soon. No doubt about it. It is an order. And orders are not to be discussed, just executed. The Enterprise goes Agile! With the elegance of the huge battleship being pulled across a desert between oceans by slaves, camels and elephants, the Enterprise goes Agile.

Using The "Using" Statement On a Method Rather Than a Class

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:01:04 GMT

Have you ever tried using the "Using" statement with a method and not a class? Why not take the "Using" statement and make it more useful. The Dispose method we want to be called does not have to Dispose of stuff, it can do anything we want!

Using Regions in Code Files

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:31:03 GMT

Recently I have been confronted with a movement that seems to hate using #Regions in source code files. Personally I really like using regions and I absolutely like the ability to collapse sections of code I am not directly working with.

The woes of SourceForge.net and SVN

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 04:37:16 GMT

A little information about the MergeInfo not supported message with Tortoise 1.5.x and previous versions of SVN servers like SourceForge.net

What a C# Coder Should Know Before They Write VB

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:31:12 GMT

"I just had an e-mail exchange with someone looking for a VB lead in Colorado Springs. I think they are going to have trouble filling it with an existing VB expert, and it occurred to me that someone who had led a successful VB 6 -> C# project could fit the bill, if they knew some key things about VB. I told the recruiter I thought the right person with a C# background and the right (respectful) attitude could be a good fit with two weeks work."

Interfaces vs. Concrete Classes

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:01:12 GMT

When designing architectures in .NET, I frequently use interfaces for parameter types in my method signatures. This post will help to explain why I choose to do this and the benefits of coding in this manner.

Update to: Microsoft cracking down on community extensions

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:31:02 GMT

The original story (http://www.dotnetkicks.com/csharp/Microsoft_cracking_down_on_community_extensions) got quite a bit of traffic from here. There've been some clarifications and updates from Microsoft and the StyleCop team that, I think, make their position clear and reasonable -- also, the original how-to that had been taken down "at Microsoft's request" is back up. A lot of people kicked the original story, so I hope you'll all take the opportunity to read Microsoft's responses and give them fair consideration.

New C# and .NET oriented search engine

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:46:02 GMT

A new search engine is available. Created with the Google Custom Search you can: - Search in MSDN forums - Search in Microsoft newsgroup - Search in .NET related sites (including dotnetkicks.com) - Search in everywhere with the standard Google search - Find any .NET tools or components

.NET 3.0 Partial Methods

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:16:03 GMT

No, not partial classes, partial methods. Read on if you did a double take like I did.

Control.InvokeRequired, DelegateMarshaler and Anonymous Methods

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:50:58 GMT

Tired of checking Control.InvokeRequired, and BackgroundWorker isn't flexible enough? Try out the DelegateMarshaler with anonymous methods to make sure they are called on the correct thread.