mind the gap

ASP.NET C# Eval int null

2011-09-22T06:00:00.000+01:00

Earlier this day, I've came across this issue with Evaluating nullable ints. So I have:

A Custom User Control (A);
A Repeater of A;

So I was trying to do something lilke this:

<asp:Repeater ID="rA" runat="server" OnItemCommand="rAHandler">

<td>

<uc1:UC_A ID="UC_A" runat="server" value='<%#Eval("value") %>' />

...

So that when the page loads, every existing control in the repeater can be properly displayed and binded with values from the database.

The big issue here, is that value is represented as a nullable int in the database, so if the value is in fact null, the Eval method throws an exception..

Best way I figured after a couple of hours trying to understand if there was something wrong with the tableadapter, was a simple method used to Pre-Evaluate the Eval:

protected int? EvalCheck(object obj)

{

if (object.ReferenceEquals(obj, DBNull.Value))

{

return null;

}

else

{

return (int?)obj;

}

And in the repeater:

<uc1:UC_A ID="UC_A" runat="server" value='<%#EvalCheck(Eval("value")) %>' />

That's it! = )

Rubber Duck Method of Debugging

2009-06-26T11:59:00.004+01:00

We called it the Rubber Duck method of debugging. It goes like this:

1) Beg, borrow, steal, buy, fabricate or otherwise obtain a rubber duck
(bathtub variety)
2) Place rubber duck on desk and inform it you are just going to go over
some code with it, if that's all right.
3) Explain to the duck what your code is supposed to do, and then go into
detail and explain things line by line
4) At some point you will tell the duck what you are doing next and then
realize that that it's not in fact what you are actually doing. The duck
will sit there serenely, happy in the knowledge that it has helped you
on your way.

Works every time. Actually, if you don't have a rubber duck you could at
a pinch ask a fellow programmer or engineer to sit in.

PHP + MySQL + IIS6 + MediaWiki in Windows Server 2003

2008-03-17T23:17:00.003Z

Used:

Windows Server 2003 Web Edition (with SP2)
MySQL 5.0.24
PHP 5.2.5

Install MySQL 5.0.24

Install MySQL to the default directory using the default options:

Complete the installation by pressing "Next" all the way thru
Select “Detailed Configuration”
Choose “Developer Machine”
Choose “MultiFunctional Database”
Select path for Data, this configuration used the default location.
Choose “Decision Support (DSS)/OLAP
Enable TCP/IP Networking on 3306 and Enable Strict Mode
Enable standard character set
Install as a Windows Service and set to launch automatically, check “Include Bin Directory in Windows PATH”
Enter a Root Password
Create the setup
You may need to edit the Windows Firewall settings to allow for TCP port 3306 to be opened for the installation to complete.

Install PHP 5.2.5

Change the install folder to C:\PHP
Select IIS CGI from the list of WebServers
Expand Extensions and select “MySQL” to install, but note other extensions may be useful but can be added later. Hint: If you plan on using Active Directory authentication later on, be sure to select “LDAP”, “OpenSSL” and “MCrypt” now. If you add them later, not all necessary files are copied. You can get these files by performing a reinstall, but this will mess up your php.ini file.
Install all extras (PHP Manual and PEAR)
In explorer create folders C:\PHP\sessiondata and C:\PHP\uploadtemp
Select both folders, right click, and choose properties. On the Security tab grant user IUSR_ “Modify” rights to both folders
In Notepad open C:\PHP\php.ini
Find the line “;cgi.force_redirect = 1” and uncomment it, change the value of “1” to “0”
Find the line “upload_tmp_dir="C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\php\upload"” and change to “upload_tmp_dir="C:\PHP\uploadtemp"”
Change the next line to read: “session.save_path="C:\php\sessiondata"”

NOTE: Search PHP.INI for other instances of session.save_path and upload_tmp_dir. Comment them out, if found.

Save PHP.INI

Install mail and net_smtp pear modules

From Internet Explorer goto: http://pear.php.net/go-pear
Copy entire webpage, and paste into file: c:\php\pear\go-pear.bat
From Command Line, do the following:

c:
cd \php
.\php pear\go-pear.bat
pear install mail
pear install net_smtp

Install MediaWiki in IIS

Extract MediaWiki from its downloaded file and place the entire folder in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mediawiki
Right click on this folder. Add IUSR_ to the permissions list with "Read & Execute" permissions
Open IIS Manager
Stop the Default Website
Right click on “Web Sites” and choose New, Website
Call it “MediaWiki”
Select the path “C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mediawiki”
Allow the permissions Read and Execute
Right click on MediaWiki and choose Properties
On the Documents tab add “index.php” as the default content page and move to the top of the list
Save settings and exit IIS Manager
Enable write permissions on the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mediawiki\config folder (at least during the setup process).
Run “iisreset”
From ANOTHER MACHINE navigate to http:// Note: My machine was a virtual Windows 2000 Professional SP4 installation with the machine joined to the domain and logged on using a domain user account.
Configure MediaWiki as to your needs
Copy LocalSettings.php from C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mediawiki\config to C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\mediawiki
Navigate back to http://
You are good to go…

Troubles & Solutions

Error in my_thread_global_end(): 1 threads didn't exit

Using PHP 5.2.3 and MYSQL 5.0.24, ran into the issue where the http page request for each wiki page would hang for about 5 seconds before closing the connection, then finally display a message at the bottom of the page "Error in my_thread_global_end(): 1 threads didn't exit".

The fix for this was

Download the PHP 5.2.1 Windows binary
Rename your c:\php\libmysql.dll to c:\php\libmysql.dll_old
Unzip and copy libmysql.dll from the 5.2.1 version to c:\php\libmysql.dll

Fix Email problem when using IIS SMTP Relay / Exchange

If you are having problems getting email notifications working and receive and error message of Invalid Address 5.5.4 (when using MediaWiki 1.6.5) then you can edit includes/UserMailer.php around line 45:

Before:

class MailAddress {
/**
* @param mixed $address String with an email address, or a User object
* @param string $name Human-readable name if a string address is given
*/
function MailAddress( $address, $name=null ) {
     if( is_object( $address ) && is_a( $address, 'User' ) ) {
             $this->address = $address->getEmail();
             $this->name = $address->getName();
     } else {
             $this->address = strval( $address );
             $this->name = strval( $name );
     }
}

After:

class MailAddress {
/**
* @param mixed $address String with an email address, or a User object
* @param string $name Human-readable name if a string address is given
*/
function MailAddress( $address, $name=null ) {

#To get round IIS SMTP Invalid Address Problem
$this->name = "";
     if( is_object( $address ) && is_a( $address, 'User' ) ) {
             $this->address = $address->getEmail();
     } else {
             $this->address = strval( $address );
     }
}

acknowledgement

DotNetNuke Development Notes (Part I - DNN & IIS)

2008-02-11T02:32:00.001Z

Used:
Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS 6)
Visual Studio 2008
DotNetNuke 4.8.0 Source Package

I. Install IIS6 (if not already installed) before installing VS2008 and any other ASP.NET stuff

II. Create a a new Physical Folder, preferentialy under C:\Inetpub (e.g. C:\Inetpub\DNN), and extract the .zip (Website and Library Folders, and two solution files) into that folder.

III. Create a new Virtual Folder via IIS (Control Panel -> Admin Tools -> IIS Manager) providing the path to the previously created physical folder, \Website (e.g. C:\Inetpub\DNN\Website) with at least Read, Run scripts and Execute permissions. After that, in Website properties, make sure the Web Site's ASP.NET version is 2.0.50727

IV. Rename release.config to web.config

V. In a web browser (IE or Firefox) go to http://localhost/Website (e.g. http://localhost/DNN/)

VI. Select the automatic install option, the website will be installed.