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Integrating NUnit with CruiseControl.NET
Interested in using CruiseControl.NET to execute NUnit tasks and integrate the results in the dashboard, without using the nunit task type? You can do it through exec, if you merge the results. This article outlines how. Continue reading
Fetching Connection Strings from App.Config in a Library via ConfigurationManager
System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager doesn’t (easily) allow you to read connection strings from an App.Config file inside a library. You need to add a few extra steps to pull this off, like using KeyValueConfigurationElement. Continue reading
Posted in Core .NET, Web, Wndows Forms
Tagged app.config, connection strings, database
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Using NInject For Compile-Time AOP
An update to my aspect-oriented design pattern for compile-time checking: you can implement aspects as interfaces with singular implementations, and use Ninject to inject the interface implementations. Smooth, easy, and it works! Continue reading
Posted in Core .NET, Silverlight, Web, Wndows Forms, WPF
Tagged aspect-oriented programming, dependency injection, design patterns
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Creating Background Applications in C#
How can you create a .NET application that runs in the background, without a console or any forms? Just create a Windows Application type application, and make sure no windows appear. That’s it! Continue reading
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
Posted in Libraries, Silverlight, Web, Wndows Forms
Tagged enterprise library, updater block
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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
Posted in Libraries, Silverlight, Web, Wndows Forms
Tagged enterprise library, updater block
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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
Posted in Libraries, Silverlight, Web, Wndows Forms
Tagged 64-bit, enterprise library, updater block
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Debugging Silverlight Apps in Firefox
Debugging Silverlight applications in Firefox without a Web project is easy; just enable the dom.ipc.plugins.enabled configuration point in Firefox, restart your browser, and you’re ready to go! Continue reading
Dropping an Active Database in SQL Server
How can you close open/active connections in SQL Server and drop the database? With a little statement like SET SINGLE USER. You can also abort transactions and force the database to drop immediately. Continue reading
Enums, SQL Server, and Null
Ever wonder how to deal with enumerations that might be null? Should you have a “nothing” value? What about SQL Server? As it turns out, enumerations are value types (often represented by integers), which means that they can be nullable! Continue reading
Posted in Core .NET, Silverlight, Web, Wndows Forms, WPF
Tagged enumerations, null, nullable types
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