Qui-Jon's "A Programmer's Burden"

Regenerating RIA Domain Services and Meta Data from Entity Framework.

2011-08-30T17:36:00.000-05:00

As you all know this is a MAJOR pain point that Microsoft needs to badly address. It really makes you feel sick trying to use this tool without this kind of fundamental support.

Here are the issues and a way around them.

1. Entity and the edmx file doesnt pick up changes to existing entities columns and scheme correctly. You must delete the table and import it back into your edmx file.

2. Updating a Domain Service is something you must do by hand OR regenerate and import using a compare tool.

Method we used.

1. Create a Dummy Project and add it to your solution....use a Class Project...something small and light weight.

2. Add a New Entity file ( edmx ) to your new project selecting the tables you are trying to update in your existing edmx and domain service.

3. Now Add a new Domain Service Class and this will walk you thru the Add New Domain Wizard.

4. Once this file had generated your Domain Service and Metadata classes....you now have fresh classes you can use to compare and import into your main line project you are trying to update.

Gotchas

1. You will have to watch your name spaces and such and dont copy everything...just the metadata classes themselves.

2. Dont forget to Build right after you create or update you EDMX as you wont see the tables or changes in your Domain Wizard dialogue

3. If you are using partials to extend your main line Domain Classes this is nice because you will see these extra Metadata members using the compare tool and thus NOT delete or copy over them.

Most of the blogs I see say DO IT BY HAND and dont use the wizard which in my mind defeats the purpose of using these tools to begin with.

Ask the right question...then ask it again!

2011-04-23T12:19:00.000-05:00

I am reading a book call, "A Leader's Guide to Lateral Thinking.".

There is a good section on asking questions to solve a problem and I am just going to put it out there for my fellow developers and audience to take in and use the next time they are writing stories or huddling before starting to work on an Agile Story.

1. Are we asking the right question...Agile ( does the story make sense ).
2. Why do we need to solve this problem...Agile ( is this still applicable ).
3. Why do we do things this way at all....Agile ( value...is there a better way ).
4. How can we restate the problem...Agile ( clarity...for BO and Developers ).
5. What if we reversed the problem...Agile ( clarity and value ).
6. Who would beneifit and who would lose if we solve this problem...Agile ( value and side effects ).
7. What are the rules of our business and what would happen if we broke those rules...Agile ( Finding a better way...conditions of satisfaction ).
8. What are we assuming about this problem...Agile ( clarity, conditions of satisfaction )
9. What would happen if we challenged those assumptions...Agile ( Finding a better way, clarity, value ).
10. Can we draw a picture of the problem...Agile ( Details better defined, Task resolution ).
11. Can we model the problem...Agile ( Working the Tasks ).
12. How would someone from another planet solve this problem...Agile ( Brain Storming with others ).
13. If we had unlimited resources how would we solve the problem...Agile ( Brain Storming ).
14. How would someone in a different line of business solve this problem...Agile ( Brain Storming with others ).
15. How can we look at this from a different way...Agile ( Details defined, Task resolution, Brain Storming ).

Enjoy the ride...
Qui Jon

Think, Think, Think....and then Think Again.

2011-04-23T12:03:00.000-05:00

I would consider myself first and foremost a great thinker and have a love of solving problems. Especially story problems. I also lament in the complexity of the problem and enjoy the process of simplification.

So...as a software developer I have found we fall into 3 general groups.

1. The code is the ends.
2. The solution is the ends.
3. The paycheck is the ends.

For me I am number 2. and for sure anti-3. as I have made a career choices that many wonder about...and thats because happiness and being around other that are like me 2. is my primary motivation.

As a 2. I am constantly mystified by 1's. It seems as through they could care less about the business value and end result as long as they get an opportunity to code something wild, crazy and new.

I see the value in new coding models, frameworks and such only when they add value to getting me to the solution in a "better" fashion. I also include the aspect of technological overhead, complexity and discover-ability for my fellow software developers.

Having been a coder in some form or fashion for more than 20 years there is nothing more frustrating than something coded so poorly, deeply nested and using a proprietary "framework" so to speak that the intent and discover-ability of the code is very difficult to reach.

Example: The Night Mare Project...

I am working on a project with a friend and co-worker of mine and he is the likes of a 1. however our relationship has shown him over time that my 2. nature is very valuable and together we strike a nice balance.

We are trying to make sense out of a BizTalk 2004 Solution that no one at my company has touched because they cant get their head around the complexity of the beast.

Once we figured out the "port" binding nature of the orchestrations (aka Orchs ) and how this directs what Orchs pick up from a MSMQ we drilled into the Orchs itself. Once into the Orchestration there are code snippets that use a whole host of Legacy Libraries. This is all in VS 2003 understand you... One of the script componets calls a function in an assembly. Now this assembly is a generic wrapper around 10-15 different remoting endpoints. These endpoints are stored in the registry ( remember that thing...the registry ). So we followed this function call which makes a remoting call. We find the endpoint and this function...guess what? This function makes another remoting call to another function. So we are about 2 hrs into this mess just trying to find the exit point where this thing writes to a database. Well the remoting call then dumps a message into another MSMQ which is picked up by another Orch and the process starts all over again...still dont know where this thing exits.

Now we know why no one has touched this code in 8 years. My pair programming partner said his brain was mush and my eyes had dried out from staring at the screen.

So, before you code something, think, think, and think again about your intent, discoverability and all the nasty things people are going to say about you after you have left the company.

Happy Programming...
Qui Jon

VS 2010 Roll Back Change Set Nightmare...

2011-04-06T18:23:00.000-05:00

O.K. so you have finally found out that Microsoft didnt make it easy to roll back to a given change set in the IDE in VS 2010.

You have also found out that you can use the tfs command line to do this and when you see what you have to put into the command line tool you start to cry.

So, here is another work around.

1. Get your specific change set through the Source Control Explorer.
2, Detach your solution by opening it in VS 2010 highlighting your solution and then go to File->Source Control and Unbind your solution.
3. Now move your solution somewhere else...
4. Delete the folder from source control where your solution was located and check in your changes.
5. Now add back a folder with a different name in Source Control.
6. Copy your "detached" Solution there.
7. In your solution right click and add to source control.
8. Check in your changes.

I want to thank Microsoft for NOT including something as simple and basic in their TFS version control IDE as fundamental as rolling back to a given change set.

I give MicroSoft an F++ on this feature.

Enjoy

Qui-Jon

Fixing vshost-clr2.exe has stopped working Error

2011-03-15T12:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just want an answer to try and fix the issue.

So if you are getting this when debugging in VS 2010 try the following:

1. Make sure all of your projects are using the same Framework version ( preferrably 4.0 ) as VS 2010 doesnt like mixed mode framework debugging in X64 bit mode.

2. Under your Projects Properties go to Debug tab and Enable Unmanaged Code Debugging.

Enjoy
Qui Jon

VS 2010 Click Once Deployment Clunk

2011-03-11T16:48:00.003-06:00

So click once deployment not easily deploying and you are getting an error message when you try to publish saying you need to install or enable some IIS 6 components.

If you are publishing to Server 2008 then make sure of the following

You are running in VS2010 under an Administration account for the publishing serve. This is because click once is trying to set up rights and such on the web site that its going to create.
Make sure you have set up this Server with the role of Web server so that IIS 7 is up and running on this machine Administration->Server Manager->Roles->Add Role
Try turning off UAC

MVVM How, What, Why, When, Where

2011-03-03T10:23:00.003-06:00

OK so take a deep breath and check out Karl's tutorial...that is if you have VS 2010

http://karlshifflett.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/in-the-box-ndash-mvvm-training/

Then try these resources:

http://jmorrill.hjtcentral.com/Home/tabid/428/EntryId/432/MVVM-for-Tarded-Folks-Like-Me-or-MVVM-and-What-it-Means-to-Me.aspx

http://olivercode.net/2010/02/12/mvvm-model-view-view-model-for-dummiessimplified/

If you need to get away from work to learn then talk to Developmentor...been there 3 times and they are excellent

http://browse.develop.com/&search-executed=true&query=MVVM

Extinction: How to survive changes in the workplace.

2011-02-19T11:47:00.003-06:00

So...now that I have been in the Corporate world for almost 15 years I can tell you one common theme you will find in many highly per-formant companies. CHANGE.

I was surfing the web and listening to my son's DVD of the different species of extinct sharks. A biologist chimed in and said that when large whales disappeared the main food source of the Megaladon was gone and thus it became extinct.

If the environment around a species changes to quickly for them to accommodate that change they perish. That is the magical connection.

Over the past few weeks I have been approached but a whole host of people about how I deal with workspace and workplace change. My response has been mute as I feel in my old age I have become less change tohlerant. I enjoy my personal workspace however change in high performing companies is common place. Whats not common place is a person's natural biological needs to resist change and make their surroundings something comfortable, predictable, and settling.

The studies are back and forth about engagement levels and a personalized work spaces running in contradiction to high levels of output in team/collaborative work spaces. So where does the compromise exist?

This is something that companies and psychologist have been studying for many years...and the vote is still out.

So, for each individual there is an introspective dialog that needs to take place...does the work environment define you as a person or do you define yourself? Hopefully the latter is true...and yes this is how I have survived 8-9 moves at the same company in the last 6 years and am still happy and engaged.

Cool and Cheap PDF Multi-Page Organization Tool

2011-01-24T16:47:00.002-06:00

Do you have the need in a production setting for non-techincal folks to quickly manage, sort and organize multipage PDFs?

Check this out...very simple to use and cheap.

A-PDF Page Master

http://www.a-pdf.com/page-master/

Singleton's Monostate and Managed Memory

2011-01-24T16:17:00.005-06:00

My head is swimming from all the crazy comments about this topic. So...here is my GUT feeling and as always remember unsolicited advice is worth what you paid for it...nothing.

1. Coming from C and C++ world globals, statics, and the like are dangerous and thus discouraged...why: un-managed memory not managed correctly can cause memory leaks and crazy bugs.

2. Yes, we used it in C and C ++ but had to be VERY CAREFUL mostly to communicate metrics and state to multi-threaded systems that want to know what other threads are "doing"...like load balancing and thread management. Remember this is 15-20 years ago...

3. In the Java and C# .net world of managed memory today such memory management FEARS are mostly gone and we have very robust thread management frameworks that do all of this "book keeping" for us...so...now what?

4. "Pro-Static" code optimizers like ReSharper suggest you use Statics and such whenever possible...I am guessing for performance in .net but I dont really know...thing about it...allocating memory and de-allocating it still takes up cycles you dont have to spend in a Global space.

5. Some kinds of desired behaviors like state machines need a monostate or singleton pattern to be robust and reflect the desired behavior ( monitoring and persisting state inter-process ) with the least amount of code and maximum performance. If you forbid this kind of persistence you would have to persist it in some other fashion like FILE IO or a Database hit...and you can kiss your performance goodbye.

6. Google discourages Singletons and monostate and if Google doesnt do this then we wont. Well, I am guessing if you REALLY dig into Google code you will see the use of these patterns when it makes the most sense. I will wait to see if someone from Google pipes in on this comment but I doubt they will.

7. Testability...test, test and test some more. For some reason people comment that the Singleton pattern kills testing...I am still trying to figure that one out as the singleton pattern is used in scenarios where its o.k. to have persistence so the tests reflect how the code would behave in production. If the singleton causes erratic behavior then that screams this is a bad pattern and you should remove it. So...remove the singleton.

Let pragmatism guide your developer thoughts and keyboard actions and dont bang your head on state persistence if THATS WHAT YOU NEED AND WANT. Use a clean Singleton or Monostate class and go home to spend more productive time with your family and friends.

XP_CMDSHELL Nightmares...

2010-09-17T10:04:00.003-05:00

So you have tried everything and you still get the dreadfull error:

An error occurred during the execution of xp_cmdshell. A call to 'CreateProcessAsUser' failed with error code: '1314'

Nothing in the world of GOOGLE has fixed your issues.

You have given all the rights to the user executing the xp_cmdshell and still no luck.

Here is a little statement I pulled off the web to help you test as you mess with permissions on the user that cant execute xp_cmdshell

--Run as login x
EXECUTE AS login = 'Domain\User'
--Below fails, no execute permission on xp_cmdshell
EXEC xp_cmdshell 'DIR C:\*.*'
REVERT
GO

1. Did you grant Execute rights on XP_CMDSHELL to ''Domain\User' ?
2. Did you add Domain\User to the Master db?
3. Did you create a proxy account for non-sysadmins using sp_xp_cmdshell_proxy_account?
4. Did you make sure xp_cmdshell is enabled using EXEC sp_configure 'xp_cmdshell', 1 ?

If you did all of this and you still get the same error:

An error occurred during the execution of xp_cmdshell. A call to 'CreateProcessAsUser' failed with error code: '1314'

Add the user in question to the SysAdmin role and then try it again.

That was the ONLY thing that worked for us and this included 1 day of 2 DBA, 2 Developers, 1 SysAdmin and 1 Data Architect.

Guess thats why we make the big bucks eh???

SSIS and GUIDs and Strings and Casting

2010-09-03T16:41:00.000-05:00

Long time no post...

So I was working with GUID's and storing and passing them around in SSIS as User Variables and parameters without much luck.

To avoid all of the "TYPE" issues with GUID and strings and GUID types I was storing it from the sproc into SSIS as a User Variable type of STRING.

Well, nothing was working and my down stream spocs were not finding GUID specific result sets as I passed the User Varible to the sprocs as parameters in SSIS.

The issue...eventhough I defined the SSIS User Variable as a type of STRING...the sproc that was returning the value into SSIS was of the type UniqueIdentifyer...and SSIS decided to "get smart" and stored it as a UniqueIdentifying in the User Variable eventhough it was of type String.

To fix this I had to case the return type to a Varchar(50) to fix the issue.

How did I know this was the issue. Well, I put a break point in the SSIS package after I returned the GUID and viewed the User Variable I was storing it in and noticed an extra set of brackets around the variable...so my GUID was stored in the string as

{73BEAE7A-148E-443B-BECD-964D3EC25DCA}

and likewise passed to the down stream sprocs as the same {73BEAE7A-148E-443B-BECD-964D3EC25DCA}...and since its a VARCHAR(50) it was trying to match the sproc parm {73BEAE7A-148E-443B-BECD-964D3EC25DCA} to the value 73BEAE7A-148E-443B-BECD-964D3EC25DCA.

No match...DUH...so by casting the result of the GUID to a Varchar(50) in the spoc that generates my GUID it gets passed into SSIS and the User Variable correctly so that down stream these extra backets are not an issue.

Enjoy
QuiJon

Import AmeriTrade Gain/Loss into TurboTax 2009

2010-04-15T18:13:00.004-05:00

OK after a few experiments, deleting all of the data imported from Ameritrade into Turbo Tax ( which was sales data only...resulting in me owing the IRS $150,000 ) I finally gave in and called TD Ameritrade.

So here it is...simple and easy.

1. In Turbo Tax when you get to the area to import your stock information and you are selecting the Financial Institution to import search for Gainskeeper ( NOT TD Ameritrade or Ameritrade ).

2. Select GainsKeeper

3. Enter your TD Ameritrade User id followed by @amtd.

Example:
So if you TD Ameritrade user id is smith212 you would enter smith212@amtd

4. Enter your TD Ameritrade password.

BAM! Now send me $10 because thats what you would have paid to export it from Ameritrade as an Excel Spreadsheet then convert it to a TXF file...Ha...

PS An alternative is to go to your TD Ameritrade Accounts->History & Statements->TaxCenter tab. Go to the Realized Gain/Loss Report section and click on the Show with wash sale adjustments: 2009 link. This will open GainsKeeper and display all the information with wash adjustments...at the top tool bar of the window you will see and Export format called TXF...this is the Quicken format and you can import this format into Turbo Tax instead of downloading it directly from Gainskeeper.

Rock On Fellow Traders...Tea Party at my place after I hit the post office at 11:59 PM

Jedi vs Samuri: The Age Old Battle for best IT Team Name.

2010-03-09T09:39:00.004-06:00

There we were, in a team meeting and debating on our new Team name. After months of re-organization of out IT Team make-up and structure, on our 4th new Team Leader it had all come down to this...the name that would define us for the next 1-2 years. The name that would unite and join us...after days spend dwelling on the choices it had come down to 2 names.

Team Jedi or Team Samurai...

Both represent many of the same core values that we wanted to convey in our branding of our team with a new Team name.

Something that represented honesty, integrity, fearlessness, honor, and a state of perfection.

The final debate was on and the conversation ebbed and flowed to the final definitive winner.

The conversation unfolds:

Samurai were part of feudal Japan and thats not a good thing in many ways...
Jedi were part of a Universal collaborative of "Saint like" warriors...
Samurai were part of an ancient culture still respected and held in high regard to this very day...
O.K. if a Jedi and and Samurai battle who would win...
The Jedi of course...with his Light Sabre is would slice the Samurai's Katana like butter...
Humm....your right....
Humm....wait a minute! Samurai were real and Jedi's are not.
Crap...your right...

So, introducing our new team to our new name...

TEAM JEDI !

Leave it to a group of developers and they will always come to agreement on something that just doesnt make sense...but its fun and intellectual non-the-less.

So this is where my name and thus my blog name came from...

Qui-Jon

Removing a word containing a token: RegEx Again

2010-01-25T15:27:00.004-06:00

So you want to remove whole words contain a give token...here is a nice little RegEx way to do this.

Lets remove words with the token "ug" in the following string.

Here is a code snippet to do this in C#

string test = "Break Plug dug on through slugit to the 233bugme other side";
string regExExpression = @"\S*ug\S*"; //This is the brains of the process...

string result = Regex.Replace(test, regExExpression, "");

If you write the result to the console you will get:

Break on through to the other side

PS I dont know if this Regex also grabs capital "UG" tokens?

Fun, Fun...
QuiJon

VS 2008: DeploymentItem Attribute Not Copying File

2010-01-25T13:32:00.004-06:00

OK Unit Test Fans.

Have you slapped a DeploymentItem attribute on your unit test and its not copying files.

1. Add the file you are trying to copy to your project.
2. Right Click on the file in Solution Explorer and click on Properties.
3. Under the Advanced list set Copy to Output Directory to Copy always

Now give it a try...

Enjoy
Qui Jon

Thumbnails Missing Server 2008 R2: Where for art thou?

2010-01-19T14:24:00.004-06:00

OK...search for this fix and you will get a simple answer like:

1. Go to Organize->Folder and Search Options then go to the View Tab and uncheck Display file icon on thumbnails.

Then this doesnt work so you find a nasty hack to the registry...not going to post that one...

Then you try this and you should be cooking with propane.

2. Control Panel->System and Security->System then click on Advanced system Settings Click on Advanced Tab then under Performance click on the Settings buttong. Here you will see a check box called Show thumbnails instead of icons...so 1. above is 1/2 the answer.

Now it still doesnt show thumbnails so try this.

3. In the folder where you have picture files like jpg or png or the like go to the change your view slider in the upper right hand corner of the screen and drag the slider to Medium Icons. You will see that small icons wont display thumbnails but just larger than small will.

Rock on fellow humans
QuiJon

Server 2008 Adaptec Dell SCSI HostRaid Drivers

2009-12-13T13:49:00.002-06:00

So, having issues with your on board DELL Workstation Adaptec SCSI controller being recognized by Windows Server 2008. Well that’s because Adaptec missed the release of their update after the release of Server 2008 OR Server 2008 isnt smart enough to detect this legacy controller and install it on its own.

At any rate, have no fear. Just download this compressed zip file here:
http://www.adaptec.com/en-US/speed/scsi/windows/a320raid_win2k8_x64_b212_exe.htm

and extract it to a floppy OR USB thumb drive then when Server 2008 prompts you for the drivers for the mass storage device click on Load Driver then Browse to your USB and BAM!!! You are ready to run into the NEXT Server 2008 installation issue.

Rock on my fellow geeksters…
Qui-Jon

Biztalk Business Rules Engine Article

2009-10-16T14:32:00.002-05:00

Here is a great BRE article that walks thru testing a BRE with a .net assembly. Pretty cool...you can run the BRE and test it outside of a Biztalk Application or Orch.

Qui Jon

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/biztalk/BRE.aspx

Seattle Adventures...Redmond WA and Coffee

2009-10-16T12:33:00.004-05:00

Here I am at the Redmond Inn going to training in Biztalk.

Biztalk Conclusion:

Biztalk is Awesome...
Biztalk is Configuration Intensive...
Biztalk is a Speciality that would require a dedicated Team and Admin staff...
Biztalk is very scalable...
Biztalk is ment to automate dataflow and decisioning...
Biztalk is underused by most companies that are using Biztalk...
Biztalk integrates very nicely with Sharepoint...

Redmond Conclusion:

Redmond has more dentist than any other city I have been in...one on every corner?
Redmond has a coffee shop on every corner...duh?
Redmond has a wine bar on every corner...humm?
Redmond has 3 Asian restaurants on every corner...odd?
Redmond is very nice to walk around...
Redmond Inn is $100 less a night than the Marriott and its only a 10 min walk from the center of the town...GOOD VALUE!
Redmond Inn will drive you anywhere you want to go for FREE...Better Value!
Redmond Inn has very nice rooms and is by the bike trail that goes around a lake...cool!

The NorthWest Rocks...and yes it rains every day

Redmond best place to eat Matt's Oyster Bar ( Expensive but nice place...sit at the bar ), COHO Seafood ( great fish taco's ), the Matador Tequila Bar ( great Margarita's ).

IT Leadership 101: 20 things great leaders do...

2009-09-10T10:32:00.008-05:00

Having spent the last 20 years or so in some kind of IT capacity I have run the gauntlet of IT roles and jobs. From junior developer, to senior engineer, to a Team Leader of Software engineers, to AVP of IT department...to...you guessed it software developer/consultant.

Here are some of the things I have learned and experienced along the way...

1. Dont micromanage developers...I would guess most of them have IQs greater than 95% of the population and need to feel independent and valued.

2. When you are angry or challenged...Be nice

3. Avoid one liner opening statements like BUT, HOWEVER, WHY, NO...

4. Use injections like "I understand your position" or "this is just my opinion and I have been wrong before".

5. Compliment and respect your team and team mates.

6. Champion your team...NO MATTER WHAT.

7. Be present and accounted for with your team...co-located and always at their service. If you are connecting with individuals on a daily basis there wont be anything to talk about in a weekly one on one or the like.

8. You serve the team and the team serves themselves and the company. The team DOESNT serve you.

9. Spark knowledge, experimentation and freedom...remember you are dealing with an intellectual resource.

10. Dont micro-manage time. In the end most developers work 45 hours a week or more. If you have to micro-manage time take into consideration how LATE your team mates stay, how committed they are on-call or after hours and how much time the spend outside of the work place staying active in the developer community or self-training.

11. Be transparent, open and accessible to all on your team.

12. Dont openly criticize your team mates in a negative manner...if you have a question then phrase it as a question. Ask for more information and for input from the team. Open negative comments deter individuals from voicing concerns, ideas or input. It also undermines the feeling that your team is a SAFE place to challenge and voice concerns.

13. Never dictate or command...always solicit ideas, support and create more than 1 option for the team to entertain...or stand down if you dont have more than 1 option or choice.

14. If the team is spinning their wheels then make the decision and take responsibility for that decision. The team will support the decision even if they dont all agree. If not then you probably have a relationship issue you need to address between team mates or yourself.

15. Its o.k. to change your mind or admit you dont have the answer...thats what Google is for.

16. Have fun...spend "quality time" and your own $$$ on the team. It will pay off BIG time in their loyalty and your happiness. Both are good career choices...plus it maybe tax deductible.

17. Let the team be part of the hiring process...in the end let them chose a potential team mate.

18. Openly solicit feedback on your own performance and what you can do to make things better. If you dont your position of authority may create a "Yes Man" mentality which blinds you from the truth.

19. The "Golden Rule" still applies so dont forget to reflect on how you like to be treated as a standard for how you treat others. That is unless you are deranged or have some serious character flaws...which are not conducive to a successful leader.

20. If you feel you are not a good leader then let the team know and ask them if you should stand aside and let someone else on the team lead. Chances are someone else is already doing that anyway.

Read on what makes a good leader and understand that great leadership is a lot of common sense on what makes someone a good person, friend or partner. Meaning that what makes a great leader typically makes a great friend, companion, or co-worker. Think about it...

Qui-Jon

See my reading list on Linked In for reading materials on this subject.

TFS Undeleting a project or file

2009-09-09T15:08:00.006-05:00

O.K. fans...if you have deleted a folder or file in TFS source control you can restore it very easily.

All you have to do is enable View Deleted Files in TFS source control.

1. Go to Tools->Options->Source Control-> Visual Studio Team Foundation Server
2. Check Show Deleted Items in Source Control Explorer.

Now go to the folder or file you want to restore in Source Control Explorer...right click and select UnDelete.

BAM! Your files are back in action...now you are the TFS hero and this is why source control is good.

Qui-Jon

Down and Out...

2009-08-06T10:19:00.003-05:00

So, with a super busy schedule and a ruptured bicep tendon and surgery to boot I have been MIA. I have a whole bunch of posts that I need to get out there and no one to read them so please stay tuned for more good stuff.

Quinn

Moron AgentRansack: Command Line Example

2009-04-20T11:44:00.006-05:00

Ha...I just love the title, Moron a.k.a. More On AgentRansack.

I left some folks hanging without an example of how to use the command-line. Well here it is:

So if you want to scan a folder located here:

Z:\FolderWithFiles\ScanMeFolder

You only want to scan files that are *.dtsconfig for the contents of the following text fields:

lookformetoken1 or lookformetoken2 or lookformetoken3

And you want to dump the results to a text file here:

C:\BadConfigVariablesDevelopment.txt

This is how you do that:

Call "C:\Program Files\Mythicsoft\Agent Ransack\Agentransack.exe" -o "C:\BadConfigVariablesDevelopment.txt" -d "Z:\FolderWithFiles\ScanMeFolder" -c "(lookformetoken1)(lookformetoken2)(lookformetoken3)" -f *.dtsconfig -fd -cr

Enjoy fellow Ransack Newbees
Qui-Jon

Ignoring Blanks in Data Dude...

2009-04-09T08:13:00.000-05:00

Alright...I just surfed 20 minutes to find this needle in a haystack.

They say the more dense your grey matter the higher your intelligence. So if someone trys to insult you by saying you are dense just say, "Thank You".

Need to ignore white space in VS Team System or VS 2008 "Data Dude". Cant find the simple link to tell you how to do this.

Here it is http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa833234.aspx

and here are the cliff notes from that link.

In VS 2008 go to Tools-> Options -> Database Tools -> Schema Compare

In the Advanced schema compare options box you can select Ignore White space amoungst other nice ignore settings.

Code on fellow junkies...
QuiJon

LINQ...No Pain No Gain: Left Join Basics

2009-04-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

Howdy, so I was pulling my hair out trying to find a way to perform a left join in LINQ. I said to a fellow developer, "...well, I am neck deep in LINQ trying to find a way to do something thats fairly trival in SQL". Another developer overheard me and said, "gosh darn it, dont say those kinds of things or they will never let use use LINQ because it gives it a bad name.".

I have two things to say about that kind of comment.

1. SQL is easy, direct and the sooner they can simplify the LINQ notation the better.
2. Monkey see Monkey do...find a SQL to LINQ tool like LINGER.

At any rate here is an example of what I am talking about.

SQL Query needs a left join on 2 conditions.

Select Distinct x, y, z
From table_a a join table_b b
on a.parm1 = b.parm1
left join table c
on a.parm1 = c.parm1 and a.parm2 = c.parm2
where
c.parm1 is NULL

In LINQ this same logic gets funky

var results = (from a in table_a
join b in table_b
on a.parm1 equals b.parm1
join c in table_c
on new { a.parm1, a.parm2 } equals new { c.parm1, c.parm2 }
into tempRecSet
from t in tempRecSet.DefaultIfEmpty()
where t.parm1 == null)
select new
{
x = a.parm1,
y = a.parm2,
z = a.parm3
}).Distinct();

Not that I am complaining...LINQ is just very different and I guess as long as things get more complicated and harder my job security increases. That is to the point that I can absorb and understand these new tools. I think age is working against me...

I guess old programmers never die...they just become BizTalk developers.

Take this string and STUFF it...

2009-03-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

O.K. so once again I have been asked how to zero pad some output queries for a main frame input DAT file and the amount of wild approaches still baffles me.

I use STUFF and just wanted to share the love with anyone thats been doing something wild and crazy with their strings to zero pad them.

Here is an example of the SQL code behind using STUFF to zero pad your values.

Take this string and stuff it...

Declare @source varchar(10)
Declare @zeroPaddedSource varchar(10)

Set @source = '12345'
Set @zeroPaddedSource = '00012345'

--What we start with...
select @source

--Our desired result...
select @zeroPaddedSource

--These are declared for clarity sake...the code should be self-explanitory
Declare @startingOffset int
Declare @copyLength int

Set @startingOffset = (8 - LEN(@source)) + 1
Set @copyLength = LEN(@source)

--Take these strings and STUFF it...
select STUFF('00000000', @startingOffset, @copyLength, @source)

Fitnesse and testing database objects using DBFIT

2009-03-09T15:32:00.000-05:00

So, most of us have run into database HEAVY application development project where most of your time is spent in database developer mode. One of the pains for most database developers and development is the fact that direct, simple, quick testability of database objects escapes most database concentric projects.

Suppose for a moment that after creating a database concentric project you have a ton of stored procedures, custom functions and the like. Being pressed for time ( as always ) and not wanting to spin up a software project just for the sake of testing you database objects, instead you want a direct simple way to pass parameters to your database objects and then test the result returned by that operation.

DBFIT is one answer to this question and provides a simple, direct approach to enable database developers and quality assurance engineers ability to test and create regression suits against large databases and tables. This is especially true if your development shop is already using Fitnesse for service level testing in other projects.

To setup DBFIT you can go to this link http://www.fitnesse.info/dbfit:reference as well as view more examples of how to use DBFIT.

One of the nice features about DBFIT is the "Flow Mode" which wraps all transactions that occur in your DBFIT test page in a transaction which is rolled back to conserve the state of your test data and thus makes the test suite easily repeatable. Great if you are using this approach as a regression suite to protect your database objects from breaking changes.

The way you run in "Flow Mode" is to merely make DbFit test name the first table on the page.

Example:

!|dbfit.SqlServerTest|

!define COMMAND_PATTERN {%m %p}
!define TEST_RUNNER {dotnet2\FitServer.exe}
!define PATH_SEPARATOR {;}
!path dotnet2\*.dll
.
.
.

One approach I have used to stream-line the sprocs I have tested is to create a DBFIT sproc which is merely a wrapper around the sproc I want to test an has some insert or delete statements to prepare "upstream" tables that I am joining on to create a repeatable test suite. Since I am running in "Flow Mode" DBFIT automatically rolls back these inserts or updates to put the data in a "testable" state to ensure consistent, re-usable test results.

Example:
--sproc you want to test
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[my_example_add_columns_s]
( @id integer )
AS

BEGIN

Select a.number1 + b.number2 + c.number3 as total
from table1 as a join
table2 as b
on a.key1 = b.key1
join table3 as c
on a.key1 = c.key1
where a.key1 = @id
END

--sproc you call from dbfit to test the sproc above
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[my_example_add_columns_s_dbfit]
( @id integer )
AS

BEGIN

--You could do this in the dbfit page but this method allows you to
--use intellisense in SQL 2008 or Red Gate to check your query
insert some data into table1
insert some data into table2
insert some data into table3

Execute my_example_add_columns_s @id

END

Now all you do is call the dbfit version of the sproc to run your test.

!|dbfit.SqlServerTest|

!define COMMAND_PATTERN {%m %p}
!define TEST_RUNNER {dotnet2\FitServer.exe}
!define PATH_SEPARATOR {;}
!path dotnet2\*.dll

!|Connect|connectionstring|

|set option|fixed length string parsing|true|

!|set parameter|id|60|

!|Query|execute my_example_add_columns_s_dbfit @id|
|total?|
|12354|

That's it. You will see there are a couple of different ways to call a database object and this is just one of them. If you have many different parameters that you want to pass you would use the method in the DBFIT page outlined here.

The Simple Life: A trip to Grandma Betty's house.

2009-03-02T09:53:00.000-06:00

She is a widowed farmers wife and my “step father in-law’s mother” and she is 81 years old and lives on the outskirts of Atlantic Iowa alone in a modest 2 bedroom ranch on 120 acres of farm land which has been in her family for 2 generations. The ranch home is surrounded by hundreds of plants, flower beds, and ceramic animals with a large covered porch. The porch boundary is surrounded by many different flowers potted in all kinds of odd things like a favorite lavender toilet base from the 50’s that they had in their first farm house.

She is very active around the yard, has a brand new 2008 Ford Taurus she is very proud of ( she made me sit in the back seat because it has miles of leg room ) and loves to watch my kids ( her great grand kids ) buzz around the yard and play on the large pink granite boulders that dot her landscape.

Of course us men had to fix a few odds and ends around the place while the ladies enjoyed the kids and talking with each other.

It’s REALLY a much more calm pace of life in the country. Every second of every minute isn’t filled with some “mi-nute” task that constantly drones around in the back of your head. It was a very refreshing day minus the drive there and back. Although even the drive was kind of refreshing as it was country 2 lane and very peaceful ( the kids slept most of the way back ).

I left Atlantic Iowa wondering if I will ever have the opportunity to live such a peaceful, calm life ? Sometimes I think all of this technology, pagers, cell phones and the like have actually REDUCED the human condition to a lower quality of life? I am guessing it has...

Searching SSIS packages for data objects, tables, stored procedures

2009-02-19T14:26:00.001-06:00

So you are wondering which SSIS packages have the functionality you are looking for or touch certain tables or execute certain stored procedures and you don’t want to have to open up each SSIS package and search for this task, query or script. We have all run into this situation where you have a load process that has 10-20 SSIS packages and you just want to focus and debug the one or two packages that touch the address table. Help is not only one free utility away and it’s as easy to use as eating cake.

Agent Ransack (http://www.mythicsoft.com/agentransack/download.aspx ) is what I use to search for stings within my SSIS packages as well as any other use where you are looking for text in a set of suspect files or sub-folders.

Just point AR to the folder of interest where your SSIS packages are and use the wildcard expression of choice (DOS *.* will get you a search of all files in that folder) then type in the text and click the search button.

What’s really nice about AR is the fact that it shows you the file that it found the hit in the left lower pane and clicking on that file the actual text is shown in the right hand pane. It’s one hell of a time saver when you are debugging or maintaining a group of SSIS packages and you have no idea where to start.

It also can be run from the command line for those file searching tasks where you are looking for a certain token like an error code in a group of error logs or whatever and that result can be dumped to a log file. So, if the log file is greater than 0 bytes then there must be an error of interest in the error log and bam…off goes an email to production support.

Battle On Fellow SSIS Warriors…

Create, Fill, and Return Rows Using a Temp Table in MS SQL...Simplicity is Best

2009-02-12T16:23:00.000-06:00

Hello SQL Fans-

Here is a little post on an example of how one would create, fill, return and clean up a temp table using MS SQL.

Simply stated this is more of a SEED example and you can easily take code and make it your own.

This is a Sproc to create and return a set of dates which I later used in a SSIS for each loop and passed to another sproc to generate and populate some data...but thats for another time.

USE [SomeDatebase]
GO

SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
Alter PROCEDURE [dbo].[Create_Test_Dates](
@StartDate DATETIME,
@EndDate DATETIME )
AS

BEGIN

/*You need this little goody to expose your return parms to SSIS...
If you dont believe me comment this out these two lines then call this sproc from SSIS
using a OLE DB Source Data Flow component. You would see anything thats mappable
in the columns area.
*/
SET NOCOUNT ON
SET FMTONLY OFF

create table #TempDate (
SeedDate datetime NULL
)

DECLARE @KEEPGOING as Int
DECLARE @DAYCOUNTER as Int
DECLARE @NEWDATE as Datetime

Set @DAYCOUNTER = 0
Set @KEEPGOING = 1
Set @NEWDATE = @StartDate

WHILE @KEEPGOING = 1
BEGIN

IF @NEWDATE < @EndDate
BEGIN
insert into #TempDate
Select @NEWDATE

Set @NEWDATE = DATEADD(day, 1, @NEWDATE)
END
ELSE
BEGIN
SET @KEEPGOING = 0
END
END

select * from #TempDate
drop table #TempDate

END

Taxing Government Cheese

2009-02-04T14:32:00.001-06:00

Taxation has gotten so out of control that folks on WIC have to cut a 1/3 chunk of their monthly cheese ration and send it to Congress.

Our fore-fathers are turning in their graves at the perversion of the state of the Federal Government and its intrusion into the sanctity of the American household. A death grip on the life blood income of every America...even those in need of unemployment or welfare assistance.

The United States of America is ashamed of the spending, the lack of restraint, the high level of waste and the IRS tax code.

What Ifs

1. What if the government took 1 Trillion Dollars and paid off Americans Mortgages?
2. What if the government took the 1 Trillion Dollars and gave every America business $10,000 for hiring a new employee?
3. What if the government took the 1 Trillion Dollars and spent it on buying solar farms, wind farms, and nuclear energy to regain our energy Independence?
4. What if the government took the 1 Trillion Dollars and matched every penny that a person spent on health care or insurance?

What if the government took a very focused hard look at 2-3 items that need "FIXED" and fixed them with this bail out package...going right to the source, cutting out the middle men, the executives lining their pockets with fat bonuses?

The USA is better letting these banks go into bankruptcy, fail and then buying them outright, firing the executives, cleaning the "slate" and hiring new leadership to point the USA Titanic away from the ice berg.

Working on Sunday and Hello World

2009-02-01T14:27:00.000-06:00

Remember the good old 80's and Lover Boy's "Every body's working for the weekend..."?

We the true code junkie/entrepreneur/money maker in us forces the statement Everybody like me is working on the weekend.

You will find me most of the time on a Sunday afternoon not doing what I am supposed to be doing which is resting and enjoying time with my family. Instead I am in a coffee shop in Omaha where there is free Wi-Fi ripping out a weeks worth of IT code, answering emails, writing for my blog in a matter of 3-4 hrs. In fact, I am more productive in 3-4 hrs in a coffee shop in Omaha working of my own accord than I am 8-10 hrs in corporate America working for "the man".

I remember in my other life before marriage, kids, house and the like I managed 2-3 jobs, college and still had time for myself. So, is it in my nature and the nature of my fellow developer junkies to ALWAYS fill my day with stuff?

The only difference between then and now it the "stuff" has changed. Its no longer working 2-3 crappy paying jobs and then off to classes where idealogs fill my brain with a lot of knowledge that will I never use.

I still have not used Lagrange's Equations or needed to do a Fourier Transform to estimate the shape of a wave. You can put Maxwell's equations in the trash or for that matter Einstein's infamous E=MC^2 ( which by the way excludes the momentum of the particle in question...why is this in my brain ). I havent used Calculus 1,2,3 or Linear Algebra, or Differential Equations let alone Fermi-Dirac notation or any of the statistical mechanics or thermo-dynamics.

Cant I just purge this data from my memory stores and make room for something useful like memorizing the WCF or WPF or LINQ or how about the 10,000 configuration setting in an infragistics grid control.

So much of our time is wasted just getting that sheet of paper proving that we could suck it up and suck down complicated theories, formula's and the like which is time and energy wasted once you are in your career and working ON the weekend.

Is "Hello World" the beginning of something meaningful for us programmer types? Remember when you would print "Hello World" in a GOTO loop on the screen of a unsuspecting Commodore 64 at K-Mart or a TRS80 at Radio Shack.

10 Print "Hello World"
20 GoTo 10

Ahhhhhhh, memories...

Working with Great People, Pair Programming Challenges

2009-01-30T17:16:00.001-06:00

Yes, I am blessed to work amongst some of the best talent in the Midwest. I wont name "names" but I can tell you that our shop has the majority of local leaders for all the MS user groups as well as just brute force talent.

So, with all of this talent you would be surprised to know that Big Ego's are rare and in fact most of these assumptions about these individuals are false.

In much of the studying I have done on research about Pair Programming and its successes and failures its a commonly commented topic that "right matching" pair programming "bond pairs" is as important as the act of pair programming itself.

The studies show that 2 advanced veteran developers paired together on the average code at a slower pace than do 2 mid level or entry level developers.

This poses the question...much like studies I used to read when I was grouping students in my Physics labs...whats the best combination of bond pairs in the Pair Programming paradigm? Setting all other potential issues aside ( like ego maniacs, type A vs type B, introverts vs extroverts and the like ) one would think that you bond a veteran with a rookie so that you bring up the skill sets of the rookie and pass on the brain power to the "wet behind the ears" newbie.

I like this approach however it begs the question of what advantages does this yield to the veteran. Well, I can say from experience there is an internal joy and satisfaction that comes from being in the "Mentor" role. Kind of a Teacher/Student bond that forms within the confines of the Pair Programming bond.

O.K. so now we have the philosophical mind experiment that we play and the pros and cons to each paring ( this is just my mind wandering thru the years of what I have witnessed ).

Veteran to Veteran pairing:

Pros

Very advanced solution will probably wash out of this bond
Each person will most likely walk away with more knowledge than they started with.
Highly Complex problems are most likely solved in a first pass.

Cons

Potential for a lot of time tied up in debating multiple solutions.
Ego's may break down the pair programming relationship ( "fist-a-cufs" may result ).
Highly complex solutions may escape the realm of "ease of maintainability"
Talent isnt transferred to those who need it most ( the Rookies ).
Story hogs ( Veteran + Veteran may take the best stories and leave the crud to everyone else...not a fair or fun practice )

Veteran Rookie pairing:

Pros

Intermediate solution will probably wash out of this bond.
Rookie person will gain knowledge from the Veteran.
Veteran will gain insight from the pragmatic mindset of most Rookie level developers.

Cons

Veteran may hog the pair bond and over the rookie level developer jeopardising a constructive working relationship.
Communication differences between Veteran and Rookie level may slow down velocity ( this has positive side-effects...).
Yin/Yang of Drive/Navigate switch off may be compromised ( Veteran may hog the steering wheel or not relinquish control ).
Rookie may reside in the bond in a state of fear for not wanting to appear stupid or incompetent.

Rookie Rookie pairing:

Pros

Direct, simplistic approach usually the easiest to manage/maintain.
Less of a fear of failure/embarrassment due to common skill level.
Communication may be more verbose with business owners as Rookies flush out the solution.

Cons

"Stupid is as Stupid Does", lack of balance to catch common Rookie mistakes like checking to see if a files exists before you open it or using "USING" to make sure connections are managed effectively.
Rookies can slow down if they are solving a problem for the first time ( Veterans rarely see a problem that they havent solved before....whats different are the tools at their disposal to render the solution ).
Knowledge transfer between the Veterans with the advanced skills and the Rookies developing the skills is lost.

Now, take all of this into the mix with personality, cultural, and sexual differences ( men and women do think differently ) and you have all kinds of dynamics that can work for and against the Pair Programming Paradigm.

I guess to quote a co-worker of mine in the end..."We are all grown ups and should be expected to work together in a rewarding, productive fashion."

So, on that note, Pair Programming will flush out those folks that may need to get on a different bus.

My next blog on Pair Programming will touch upon the "Picking Cotton Factor" of pair programming. I love talking to myself.

Welcome to the Real World...

2009-01-30T16:45:00.000-06:00

Finally, a blog to end all blogs. One Blog to rule them all, One Blog to find them, One Blog to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

OK maybe thats a little bit of a stretch...

I am amazed at such works like the Lord of the Rings and the fact that an entire reality can be created and extrapolated by one, single human mind.

I never could get through that book...to many tangents and "songs of old". If you could get through the thick of the L.O.R. you are a special person.

Well, I am here and I will try to stay faithful to the blog. There are always thoughts in my head from past, present and future and hopefully people can enjoy in my life and professional experiences.