Category Archives: Web

ASP.net and other C# web-application stuff

Deserializing to Dynamic with RestSharp

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

You can use JSON.NET to convert any RestSharp service response to a list of dynamic instances; you just need a bit of plumbing code to do it. Continue reading →

Posted in Libraries, Silverlight, Web, Wndows Forms, WPF | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Using Enumerations as Bit Flags

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

You can use enumerations as bit flags. The FlagsAttribute is optional; more importantly, you need to assign powers of 2^n to the enum’s values. Depending on the .NET version, checking can be easy (.HasFlag) or hard (bitwise AND operation) Continue reading →

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Creating an Instance Without Using Constructors

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

You can create an instance of a class without calling any of its contructors, via a call to System.Runtime.Serialization.FormatterServices.GetUninitializedObject(typeof(A)). Scary, but useful in certain cases (like creating instances of highly-coupled or hard-to-instantiate classes in tests). Continue reading →

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Simple Strategies to Boost SQL Server Performance

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

SQL Server can be a beast on your disk. Two easy ways to help raise performance for high-volume databases: Use a drive other than the Windows partition for the SQL Server DB files, and split the MDF and LDF files onto different drives if possible. Continue reading →

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Storing a String List in App.Config or Web.Config

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

How can you store a list of strings (or ints, say) into a single appSetting key/value pair? Surprisingly, it’s as easy as using a delimited list (like comma-delimited or semicolon-delimited) and splitting it at runtime. Continue reading →

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Procedure Expects Parameter Which Was Not Supplied

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

SqlCommand’s Parameters prevent SQL injection attacks. Surprisingly, when passed in a null value, you get the exception: Procedure or function “…” expects parameter ‘@foo’, which was not supplied. Continue reading →

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Updated Version of Random Number Generators

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

After several months, I’ve finally updated the normally-distributed random number generator to tolerate negative numbers in its range. Thanks to everybody who complained to get this feature done! Continue reading →

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Configuring NLog for WCF Services

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

NLog didn’t cooperate for my WCF services (server side). I finally did manage to get it working, with a few extra steps; this post outlines how to configure NLog to work with WCF services. Continue reading →

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SQL Server Indexed Views and View Performance

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

SQL Server allows you to index views, which caches the results; what’s more, indexed views may automatically be included in queries at SQL Server’s discretion — no application changes required. Wow! Continue reading →

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Visual Studio Automatic Version Numbering

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Ashiq Alibhai, PMP

Visual Studio (2010+) allows you to specify that it should generate (incremental) build versions for your projects. The syntax is quite simple (for AssemblyInfo.cs), but there are a few caveats to know. Continue reading →

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