Stack Overflow had a security breach, and they have generously shared the details of how a hacker worked through multiple layers of security over 11 days. They gained access to source code, security keys, build processes, and some PII. Reading their account (at https://stackoverflow.blog/2021/01/25/a-deeper-dive-into-our-may-2019-security-incident) really brought home an important lesson... small issues in overlapping layers … Continue reading What we can all learn from Stack Overflow’s security incident
The Antidote to Impostor Syndrome in the Software Development World
On the teams you work with, there are probably one or two individuals who are considered the "rock stars". They seem to know just what they are doing. Ask yourself, "How did the 'rock stars' get to be that way?"
I’m a software development and technology manager – so why did I get a PMP certification?
Last week, I earned my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. It wasn't easy. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is about a thousand pages of material, and it is dense. And frankly, it includes some stuff that is not directly relevant to my current position. I am in the software development and technology management … Continue reading I’m a software development and technology manager – so why did I get a PMP certification?
Programming Zealots
I was reading a blog post the other day -- well, it was more of a rant, actually -- about the evils of using regions in your .NET code. The guy had joined a team that used regions as one of their programming conventions, and he refused (rudely, I thought) to abide by the team's … Continue reading Programming Zealots
How to Set a Default Value on a Configurable Variable in a SQL Server Stored Procedure Using IsNull()
The Situation You have a SQL Server stored procedure that needs variable for use in a query, but you don't want to pass it into the stored procedure as a parameter, and you don't want to hard-code it. Instead you have the value stored in a table and want to retrieve it from there. There … Continue reading How to Set a Default Value on a Configurable Variable in a SQL Server Stored Procedure Using IsNull()
How to Sort a Generic List of Objects
The Situation You are trying to sort a Generic List of Objects based on a property of the Objects. A Solution There are two easy options for sorting a Generic List populated with Objects: in place and sorting to a new List. Use Linq. "In Place" sorting of an existing List (the code below only … Continue reading How to Sort a Generic List of Objects
How To Extend the Timeout Period on an Entity Framework Query
The Situation: You have a long running Entity Framework query that often creates a "System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException" with the message "Timeout expired. The timeout period elapsed prior to completion of the operation or the server is not responding." A Solution: As near as I can find, the default timeout for EF queries using the SQL Server 2008 … Continue reading How To Extend the Timeout Period on an Entity Framework Query
How To Process a Portion of a Form via Callback and Display a Results Message Using DevExpress Controls
The Situation: You have an ASP.NET page with multiple form sections, and you want to process only one section when an ASPxButton control is clicked. You also want to display a status message after processing. A Solution: This should be basic Ajax-type stuff, but as I am a self-taught programmer, I came to this late. … Continue reading How To Process a Portion of a Form via Callback and Display a Results Message Using DevExpress Controls
How To Perform a Callback on an ASPxGridLookup Control
The Situation: You have a DevExpress ASPxGridLookup control on your page and need to update its contents when some event occurs (such as a parent drop-down value changes). The problem is that the ASPxGridLookup control does not implement an OnCallback event. A Solution: First of all, this is not my solution. I found it on … Continue reading How To Perform a Callback on an ASPxGridLookup Control
How to Split a String into a Generic List Rather Than an Array
The Situation You want to split a string, but the C# split() function returns a string[] array. You want a List<string> instead. A Solution If you are using .Net 3.5 or later, use Linq extensions:
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