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?
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:
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 Convert a Generic List to a Comma-Delimited List
The Situation: You have a List<string> and need to convert it to a comma-delimited list (for display or storage). A Solution: This is a great example of how C# has improved over the years. I found this solution in this StackOverflow discussion and don't want to lose it, so I am copying it here for … Continue reading How to Convert a Generic List to a Comma-Delimited List
How to Add a New Table to an Existing Database via EF Code-First Migrations
The Situation: You have been using Entity Framework code-first migrations with an existing database. Making changes to an existing table, such as adding a new field, go smoothly, and the database is updated correctly when you run an "Update-database" command. However, when you create an entirely new entity in your model and run "Update-database", the … Continue reading How to Add a New Table to an Existing Database via EF Code-First Migrations
