Category Archives: Libraries

Anything related to .NET libraries–whether Microsoft or third-party.

Configuring NLog for WCF Services

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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Finding Circular Dependencies in SQL Server

SQL Server doesn’t allow a cycle of foreign keys, nor two or more paths to cascadingly delete rows from a table. Thankfully, there’s a script you can use to detect at least table reference cycles. Continue reading

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Testing Rendered HTML in ASP.NET MVC3

HtmlUnit and IKVM together give you the power to test your ASP.NET MVC3 application. Submit forms, and even verify the resulting HTML! All with a little help from Java, and Steve Anderson. Continue reading

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Sending Multiple Updates Through the Updater Block

Adding multiple updates to an updater block manifest is actually quite easy. Simply package every update into its own manifest XML file, reference the manifests from the main/index manifest, and update the ID of the main/index manifest so that clients can tell that changes occurred. That’s it! Continue reading

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An Overview of the Updater Application Block

The Updater Application Block from Microsoft’s Enterprise Library is not immediately obvious in design. How does it work? We go through the basics. It’s a client-server architecture, which exposes an XML file containing a list of updates — what to download, and what to execute when that’s done. It uses BITS for passive transferring. Continue reading

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Fixing ApplicationBlocks.Updater Exception in x64

Microsoft Enterprise Library’s Update block throws an exception in 64-bit machines; this is because of the BG_BASIC_CREDENTIALS struct that uses a field offset of 4 instead of 8. Change it to eight, and your exception will vanish. Continue reading

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Aggregate Objects in DevExpress

DevExpress has an amazing feature called “aggregation,” which is not explained terribly well in their documentation. What is aggregation, and how does it work? Simply, aggregation is two things: Cascading Delete: Aggregated objects can’t live without their parents; deleting the … Continue reading

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Excel-Style Auto-Filtering List Views in DevExpress

How can you apply Excel-style auto-filtering on list views in DevExpress? It’s surprisingly easy: open up your model, expand Views, select the view you want, and set the ShowAutoFilterRow property (under Behaviour) to true. Instantly, you’ll see a filteration row appear under your table header. And you can use a GUI filter designer! Continue reading

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Regular Expression Model Validation in DevExpress

How do you add model-level validation in DevExpress? Very simply, with an attribute; there’s a RuleRequired attribute, and a RuleRegularExpression attribute; the former guarantees null/blank values are not allowed, and the latter allows you to specify a regular expression to validate against the field value. Continue reading

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Forcing a Database Update with DevExpress

How can you force DevExpress to update the database? Either change the module versions in the ModuleInfo table, or else obliterate the entire database. Then run the DB Updater (in either case) and it will regenerate the schema. Continue reading

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