.NET Garbage Collector

How much do you really know about the garbage collector in .NET?  Take the .NET GC PopQuiz and then read the followup to find out the real answers.

Technorati Tags: .NET, garbage collection, Orcas, programming, software development

Borland BDS 2005 Problem

I have been struggling with an issue when launching Borland BDS 2005 lately. I kept seeing an error during launch that an EPackageRegistrationException in coreide90.bpl. I tried searching for everything that I could find to fix the issue, but there was just no information beyond they fix for the same error involving HTMLHelp.IDERegister.

I am running Vista, by the way. I had missed on the error dialog
earlier that there was an access denied error. So, I thought about a
possible permissions issue which did not really seem to make sense.
Nonetheless, I went through the process of changing the permissions on
my login user account for the "C:\Program Files\Borland" directory from
Read+Execute to Full Control.

Upon launching the BDS environment, I had no more errors. Finally! Success!

Technorati Tags: Delphi, BDS, EPackageRegistrationException, Vista

SQL Server

I have used SQL Server a lot in the past and I have written simple SELECT, INSERT, and DELETE statements, but I have been diving into it a lot more lately. I have messed around lately with triggers and stored procedures.

I am currently working on complex stored procedures making use of data output from another stored procedure. Getting the SELECT statements just right when joining tables is what is currently throwing me for a loop.

See more progress on: Learn SQL

Obscure T-SQL Annoyance

We are moving toward the use of SQL Server 2005 at work, so I have been getting my head wrapped around things like stored procedures and triggers. I have been using SQL Server Management Studio to create my stored procedures on my test database.

I created a stored procedure tonight that would insert a new record in the database and return the new identity in an output parameter. My stored procedure looked like this...
Use testing
GO

CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].AddName
@firstname varchar(20) = NULL,
@lastname varchar(30) = NULL,
@NameID int OUTPUT
AS
SET @NameID = 0 -- return zero if the insert fails

IF @firstname IS NOT NULL AND @lastname IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
SELECT @NameID = ID
FROM names
WHERE firstname = @firstname
and lastname = @lastname

IF @NameID IS NULL
BEGIN
INSERT INTO names (firstname, lastname)
VALUES (@firstname, @lastname)

SELECT @NameID = SCOPE_IDENTITY()
END
END
SELECT @NameID
GO

Everything that I did just would not work. I kept getting a NULL back for the output parameter value. My test went something like this....

DECLARE @NameID INT
EXEC AddName 'John', 'Smith', @NameID
SELECT @NameID

I used the Template Explorer and setup a new stored procedure on the test database using the template. It worked like a charm with the output parameter being properly populated when the stored procedure returned.

I finally figured it out a little while ago. That little light blue word called OUTPUT over on the right after the last parameter in the EXEC statement for the stored procedure. I completely missed that on the template code example. I did not realize that you had to include the direction declaration there since the procedure itself already designated the last parameter as an output parameter.

My EXEC statement should have looked like this to work properly...

EXEC AddName 'John', 'Smith', @NameID OUTPUT

Oh well... I still have my hair. :)

Technorati Tags: database, programming, software development, SQL Server 2005

Nerd Factor

I came across the Nerd Quiz on another blog this afternoon and just had to find out my nerd factor after 20 years of using computers.

MCPD - Microsoft Certified Professional Developer

Because of the way that we are headed at work, I have decided to go the Microsoft Certified Professional Developer route. To do this, I have to get the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification first. I am going to do this on the .NET 2.0 Windows Applications path first and then the Web Applications path.

I ordered the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-536) late last week. I want to try and do this in the next six months to a year.

See more progress on: get a Microsoft certification

Four Days on Rails: Day 1 complete

I finished working through the Day 1 section of Four Days on Rails this evening. It was a struggle at first trying to get everything setup, especially on Windows (still not fixed there), but that is behind me now. The deeper I get into it, the more interesting it gets.

See more progress on: Work through Four Days on Rails

Issues with RoR, Apache, and Windows

I have had some issues getting started, especially on my Dell laptop. I have been trying to get the tutorial application working on Apache 2 on the laptop, but I am unable to get it going that way.

On my Power Mac, everything went very smoothly.

See more progress on: read Agile Web Development with Rails

Finally started with RoR

I finally got started on this yesterday. I pulled down the InstantRails setup and got it all unzipped, but I could not get my first small application (from a tutorial) working. I kept getting an error message when trying to launch the server.

I pulled down Locomotive and set it up on my Power Mac at home and got the same tutorial working in just a matter of minutes.

I need to try again on the Windows laptop today and see if I can get it working there.

See more progress on: learn ruby on rails

Technorati Tags: programming, Rails, Ruby, software development, InstantRails, Locomotive

Chapter 1 of "Agile Web Development with Rails"

I finally picked up the book and started reading today. I had to do something other than all of the moving of boxes that I have been doing as of late.

I am eager to get into later chapters now and start producing something with Rails.

See more progress on: read Agile Web Development with Rails

Technorati Tags: programming, Rails, Ruby, software development

ComputerZen.com - Scott Hanselman - Scott Hanselman's 2005 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List

Scott Hanselman's 2005 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List is just awesome if you are a software developer. Scott tells you about all the tools that he uses that might be helpful in your day-to-day activities.

Technorati Tags: programming, .NET, software development

Sample source for Visual Studio 2005

What better than having sample source from the very company who brought us Visual Studio 2005 and the .NET 2.0 Framework? Check out the 101 Samples for Visual Studio 2005.

Technorati Tags: .NET, ASP.NET 2.0, C#, CLR, Visual Studio 2005

Take web apps offline for maintenance

I found a very interesting entry at ScottGu's Blog regarding maintenance on ASP.NET 2.0 web applications. It basically consists of adding a file named asp_offline.htm to the root directory of your web application and ASP.NET 2.0 will shut down the app.

read more

Technorati Tags: ASP.NET 2.0

SQL Server 2005 Express

I was playing around with SQL Server Express 2005 at work today. We are thinking about using it for the next release of one of our products. I moved my database over and attached it to the server and started working in Visual Studio 2005.

When I finished creating a CLR based stored procedure, on deployment, I got an error about “Incorrect syntax near 'EXTERNAL'”. I did some searching and finally found that you have to update the compatibility index on your database when moving from SQL Server 2000 to SQL Server 2005. The command to do this is ...

Exec sp_dbcmptlevel 'DatabaseName', '90'

Even after setting the compatibility index, I was still unable to execute my stored procedure, because CLR Integration was not enabled for SQL Server 2005 Express. I had to use the SQL Server Surface Area Configuration tool to enable the CLR Integration. Once that was done, all worked fine.

I hope this helps someone to avoid headaches in the future.

Technorati Tags: CLR, SQL, SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005

AJAX and Atlas

I just started looking into AJAX. I am a .NET developer by trade, so naturally, I am looking at the Atlas framework which plugs into ASP.NET and lets you take advantage of AJAX techniques in web apps.

I worked with a tutorial last night and I was not impressed, but I watched a tutorial video earlier today and I now understand it a lot more. It is some very interesting technology.

See more progress on: learn ajax

Technorati Tags: Atlas, AJAX, .NET, ASP.NET

SQL weakness

One of my big weaknesses at work is SQL. I have been at the same job for almost 17 years. Unfortunately, my skills have been retarded due to the things that we do with our client software.

I was doing some things for a new piece of software today that uses a MSSQL for data persistence. I was doing a join on two tables, but I was not getting the results back that I expected. I finally figured out that I needed a “left join”, because not all of the records for one table had matching records in the joined table.

See more progress on: Become a better programmer

Geek Heaven

I came across the Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures tonight on Digg. This site has everything you would ever want to know on an exhaustive list of algorithms, algorithmic techniques, data structures, archetypical problems, and related definitions.

Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures

Technorati Tags: algorithms, data structures

Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming

I came across this list tonight. These are some very interesting principles to live by in regards to one's programming career.

Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming - (Lamont Adams, Builder.com | Sunday, July 14 2002)

1. Understand and accept that you will make mistakes. The point is to find them early, before they make it into production. Fortunately, except for the few of us developing rocket guidance software at JPL, mistakes are rarely fatal in our industry, so we can, and should, learn, laugh, and move on.
2. You are not your code. Remember that the entire point of a review is to find problems, and problems will be found. Don't take it personally when one is uncovered.
3. No matter how much "karate" you know, someone else will always know more. Such an individual can teach you some new moves if you ask. Seek and accept input from others, especially when you think it's not needed.
4. Don't rewrite code without consultation. There's a fine line between "fixing code" and "rewriting code." Know the difference, and pursue stylistic changes within the framework of a code review, not as a lone enforcer.
5. Treat people who know less than you with respect, deference, and patience. Nontechnical people who deal with developers on a regular basis almost universally hold the opinion that we are prima donnas at best and crybabies at worst. Don't reinforce this stereotype with anger and impatience.
6. The only constant in the world is change. Be open to it and accept it with a smile. Look at each change to your requirements, platform, or tool as a new challenge, not as some serious inconvenience to be fought.
7. The only true authority stems from knowledge, not from position. Knowledge engenders authority, and authority engenders respect—so if you want respect in an egoless environment, cultivate knowledge.
8. Fight for what you believe, but gracefully accept defeat. Understand that sometimes your ideas will be overruled. Even if you do turn out to be right, don't take revenge or say, "I told you so" more than a few times at most, and don't make your dearly departed idea a martyr or rallying cry.
9. Don't be "the guy in the room." Don't be the guy coding in the dark office emerging only to buy cola. The guy in the room is out of touch, out of sight, and out of control and has no place in an open, collaborative environment.
10. Critique code instead of people—be kind to the coder, not to the code. As much as possible, make all of your comments positive and oriented to improving the code. Relate comments to local standards, program specs, increased performance, etc

SQL Server

Currently installing SQL Server 2005. I get to do some work with the latest SQL Server version starting today. Time to go visit the local bookstore.

tags: SQL Server 2005

Ten essential add-ins for Visual Studio

James Avery has posted an article on MSDN where he focuses on 10 essential add-ins that every Visual Studio developer must have now.

I have used TestDriven.Net in the past myself, but I have not used any of the other tools. I need to download the tools that Mr. Avery talks about in the article and try them out.

read more | tags: MSDN, Visual Studio, .NET development