Scott Cate .net Knowledge Base and Weblog

ASP.NET DevConnection Samples

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:13:28 GMT

The Samples that I ran/demo'd in Orlando for the April 2008 DevConnections can be downloaded from the following zip file.

http://www.ScottCate.com/Ajax2008.zip

Scott Cate Ajax Demo Code

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:37:45 GMT

If you've seen me present in a user group or VSLive or any other event, and the topic was on Microsoft ASP.NET Ajax extenstions, chances are you're looking for this code link :)

http://www.scottcate.com/downloads/scottcateajax.zip

Steve Smith's Awesome Caching Pattern

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:26:37 GMT

My friend Steve Smith who wrote this article has solved a major problem for me. With his permission I'm duplicating some of his code here.

About one in 50,000 page views, I was getting an "Object Not Set" exception being thrown in kbAlertz.com. This was a mystery for a very long time, and it's finally solved (Thanks Steve :). Here is ( IMHO ) how the typical developer retreives something from the cache in an ASP.NET application.

1:     HttpContext ctx = HttpContext.Current;

2:     if(ctx.Cache["myCacheDataSet"] != null)

3:     {

4:         DataSet ds = (DataSet)ctx.Cache["myCacheDataSet"];

5:         return ds;

6:     }

7:     else

8:     {

9:         //Go build myCacheItem

10:        DataSet ds = new DataSet;

11:        //Set ds Properties

12:        ctx.Cache.Insert("myCacheDataSet",ds,null,DateTime.Now.AddHours(1), TimeSpan.Zero);

13:        return ds;

14:    }

Steve Smith suggests that you should actually create your object, from the cache, and then check your object != null. This means that you only hit the cache object once, vs. the above method of checking the if the cache item is there, and if so, then hit the cache again, and get your object. Once in a blue moon, the object acually falls from cache in the time between (Is it there = true) and (ok it's there, give it to me), thereby creating a null reference exception.

1:     //Steve Smith's Caching Pattern

2:     Object cacheItem = Cache[key] as DataTable; 

3:     if(cacheItem == null) 

4:     {

5:       cacheItem = GetData();

6:       Cache.Insert(key, cacheItem, null, DateTime.Now.AddHours(1), TimeSpan.Zero);

7:     }

8:     return (DataTable)cacheItem;

So I built a couple of static helper methods that will let me easily get object from the cache.

1:     /// <summary>

2:     /// All objects being pulled from Cache should be used by this method. This method

3:     /// is code safe, and ensures if an object is in the cache, it's used, and it can't

4:     /// (or won't) be removed before the reference is set to it. This was causing random

5:     /// Null Exceptions throughout code, because if you check for Cache["Whatever"] != null

6:     /// and then set string whatever = Cache["Whatever"].ToString(), there is a possibility

7:     /// that the cached item, could expire and not be available by the time the reference is set.

8:     /// </summary>

9:     /// <param name="CacheName">String Name of Cached Item</param>

10:    /// <returns>Object: If object is not found, then null is returned, so ALWAYS check for != null</returns>

11:    public static object RetrieveObjectFromCache(string CacheName, HttpContext ctx)

12:    {

13:        object cacheItem = ctx.Cache[CacheName.ToLower()];

14:        return cacheItem;

15:    }

16:    public static object RetrieveObjectFromCache(string CacheName)

17:    {

18:        object cacheItem = Global.RetreiveObjectFromCache(CacheName, HttpContext.Current);

19:        return cacheItem;

20:    }

21:

And Finally, I would use these static methods through out my code like the following ...

1:     DataSet dsTmp = (DataSet)Global.RetrieveObjectFromCache("myCachedDataSet");

2:     if(dsTmp != null)

3:     {

4:         //DataSet found

5:     }

6:     else

7:     {

8:         //No DataSet in Cache

9:     }

The Honorable Ray Borane is awarded the 2007 "Cesar E. Chavez" award from the state of Arizona.

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 23:34:40 GMT

I had a great time this week with my best friend, Joey Borane. His father is the Mayor of Douglas Arizona. The Honorable Ray Borane was awarded the Cesar E. Chavez award from the State of Arizona.

The session was opened by the Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, she gave a nice introduction, that I was able to grab on video.

Then a few others spoke, and Joey's father was brought up on stage.

Thank you Joey for inviting me to this great event. I had a blast.

RaisedLaptop Pricing.

Fri, 09 Jun 2006 15:02:09 GMT

The laptop stands are currently out of stock

Shipping Charges
$6.00 for the first item.
$2.00 for each additional item.

~~$19.99 Each unit.~~

Laptop Stands

Rasied Laptop

Raise your Laptop

Save your back

Get your 10 Key back.

Raise Your Laptop, with our Laptop Stands! Lift it to Eye Level!

Wed, 02 Nov 2005 09:07:24 GMT

Is your back killing you?

Lift your laptop or notebook up to eye level. This works really great for laptops when you're using an external mouse and keyboard, and an external monitor. Take a look at our pictures of the laptop stands, being raised to eye level, and to match the level of the flat panel monitor.

Raise your laptop!

Raising your laptop to eye level has a ton of great advantages. Using an external keyboard and mouse, will make you much faster and more productive with your work. Blah Blah Blah, the pictures tell it all. You know you need this.

Do you hate using a mini keyboard?

Your fingers are too fast for the mini keys offered by your laptop. Set yourself free with a full size keyboard and mouse. With your laptop at eye level, and a full size keyboard, you don't have to worry about cramped fingers, and a touch pad. Truly make your laptop a desktop replacement.

Match the height of your external monitor!

Where is your 10 key?

Your external keyboard will make it easier and faster, and you'll get your 10 key back.

Stop reading! Buy now!

If you're still reading this, the pictures haven't don their job. The pictures are supposed to distract you enoguh, to not read all this stuff. They say a picture is worth 1000 words, are these pictures working?

CD/DVD on the Side?

Your raised laptop stands will work best if your laptop has a CD/DVD drive on the side. If the CD/DVD door is on the front, then it's facing down when in the stand, and must be taken out of the stand to access. My laptop loads in the front, but I don't use the CD/DVD that often, so it's not a big deal. But to be fair, your should know that if you use your CD/DVD alot, and it's a front loaded, then you will not be happy wtih these stands. Keep looking :)

Laptop Stands :: Pictures Page 2

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 09:52:58 GMT

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Tue, 25 Oct 2005 09:52:28 GMT




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The Famous Laptop Stands

Sun, 23 Oct 2005 19:31:58 GMT

Will ship within 1 business day. Buy through PayPal :: 19.99 This is a copy of a regular running ebay Auction. The price is the same, but this page is always available.

Mouse Over Images to see Instant Larger Picture
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We finally made Channel 9

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 11:40:34 GMT

PDC this year was a lot of fun. The weekend prior to PDC, we were able to have some fun sailing in the Pacific Ocean. While on deck, my friend Lorin Thwaits, whips out a video camera, and convinced me that the PDC ShowOff would be a quick and fun video to put together.

So with a little improv, screen capture, and a few takes, this is the final result.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=121812

Richard Hundausen (Microsoft RD), is the background.

It was a great day, and none of us got sun burned ...

Lorin Thwaits (the camera man) also had his video published on Channel 9. He did a GREAT JOB editing his. It was by far the most polished, and comes with a great sense of humor as well.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=121809

Visual Studio Keyboard Shortcuts

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:19:07 GMT

My good friend Michael Palermo today showed me the best keyboard shortcut ever. In fact, this is to a feature I didn't even know existed. When in a code window for Visual Studio, you can go full screen, hiding all the other windows, tool bars, title bars, and even your start bar. This is the same effect that Internet Explorer has when it's in "Full Screen" mode.

[SHIFT ]+ [ALT] + [ENTER] = Toggle Full Screen Mode

I'm sure this works in all versions, but I haven't tested it, as I'm running the 1.1 framework. I'm told it also continues to work in Whidbey.

[CTRL]+[i] = Incremental Search. I've stopped using [CTRL]+[F] to find. Incremental search works without a dialog box, and searches as you type. So you're in a class, and you want to find the word public. [CTRL]+[i] puts you into Incremental Search Mode, now just start typing. When you've found what you're looking for press [ESC] to get out of incremental search mode. Remember the famous [F3] is find again, and works with this incremental search also. : ) I love this one..... Thanks Simon.

[CTRL] + [-] = Move cursor back to it's last position. This works great when working with large pages. I commonly will [CTRL]+[Home] to enter a Using statement, then [CTRL]+[-] brings me rights back to my previous edit point.

[CTRL] + [}] = Toggle to Open/Close { }. This is great. If you're working with nested code (who doesn't) then you'll use this constantly. Place your cursor on any { or } and press [CTRL] + [}] and your cursor will jump to the opposite end of your code block.

[CTRL] + [C] = Copy.
[CTRL] + [V] = Paste.
Of course we all know that combination, but here's the trick. Copy two items in succession. You might know that these items are placed on a "Clipboard Ring" You can access them from the UI but that entails thinking, and clicking and dragging.

[CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[V] = Paste whatever is on top of the "Clipboard Ring". If you press [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[V] again, since your pasted code is still highlighted, it will be replaced with the second item, and again, will be the third, etc. I love this. How many times do you have to copy two or three items from one page to another (none if you're refactoring; right)?

(Thanks Sreenth for this tip)
[CTRL]+[ALT]+[P] = Show Processes. This is a great, fast way to open the processes window. Why do that? I use it daily to attach to the ASP.net worker process. This let's me dive 15 pages deep into my web application, and attach to the process, so I don't have to run through the 15 pages every time I debug.

(Thanks Sreenth for this tip)
[CTRL]+[ALT]+[R] = Launch MSDN Home Page

If you have a favorite shortcut, you want me to list, e-mail me (see e-mail in header), and I'll get it up on this page.

Looking for the new ConfigurationManager?

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 17:55:17 GMT

I was just spinning up a little console application, as a utility, and I'm pulling an encrypted connection string from the app.config file. Using 1.1 code that I'm used to, I used....

System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings["connstr"].ToString();

And the compiler gave me the following error.

Warning 1 'System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings.AppSettings' is obsolete: 'This method is obsolete, it has been replaced by ConfigurationManager.AppSettings'

So I try and change my Code to the following ...

System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["connstr"].ToString();

and I get a compiler error, saying the compiler can't find ConfigurationManager.

Well here's the confusion.... The Original System.Configuration.ConfigurationSettings class is found in the System.dll assembly. There is a new assembly with all the new ConfigurationManager classes as System.Configuration.dll. Before using the ConfigurationManager class, you must first set a reference to the new System.Configuration.dll.

-=- Hope this helps someone ....

Securing Trace.axd - Remote & Local

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:14:17 GMT

In the Arizona .NET User Group (http://www.AZDNUG.com) that I run we were talking about tracing and all the awesome features and abilities it has and we ran into a problem.

You may know that if tracing is enabled and is not specifically flagged as LocalOnly="True" then you can access Trace.axd from anywhere. This can be very dangerous if your are Trace.Write(ing) things like

Configuration/Connection Strings (which is a terrible idea)
SQL Strings
Variable Name/Value Pairs
Whatever

So we figured out a way to secure the Trace.axd file. It's pretty simple actually. The ASP.NET Worker Process is in charge of rendering the Trace.axd file so that means we can secure the file through the web.config file.

Add the following additions and/or modifications to your web.config file.

1:     <location path="trace.axd">

2:       <system.web>

3:         <authorization>

4:           <allow users="ScottCate" />

5:           <deny users="*" />

6:         </authorization>

7:       </system.web>

8:     </location>

and then modify your Trace Statement

1:     <trace enabled="True" requestLimit="10" pageOutput="False"

2:            traceMode="SortByTime" localOnly="False" />

Because your web.config turns on the tracing, the Trace.axd file is activated and then because your location security only allow certain users, you've now secured your trace.axd file

Happy Coding.
scottc@myKBPro.com

Looking for System.Web.Ui.Design ?

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 15:29:50 GMT

I just inherited a project where one of the class files was "using System.Web.UI.Design;" My project did not compile of course, because I didn't have the assembly referenced. I had System.Web already referenced, so naturally I thought I'd add a reference to System.Web.UI and everything would be peachy.

Right?

Wrong.

There is not a System.Web.UI.dll or System.Web.UI.Design.dll to reference. After 5 wasted minutes I found the namespace in System.Design.dll.

So I decided to waste another 5 minutes writing this, and hopefully help someone else, in the future.

Announcement: 2005 MVP Award

Tue, 04 Jan 2005 23:08:13 GMT

Thank you to Microsoft for awarding my community efforts with another MVP award. My first MVP award came one year ago in January 2004. The award is given for community work done the year before. I'll continue to devote as much time as possible to ASP.NET with a goal of helping as many people as possible in 2005.

Thank you Microsoft for the recognition, and thank you to all the people who've asked me for ASP.NET help, including all the members of my User Group ( http://www.AZGroups.com ) that have helped to make this award possible.

November 2004 -- AZGroups.com Tips/Tricks

Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:06:13 GMT

For my user group ( www.AZGroups.com ) ( November 2004 Session ) I will be showing ASP.NET tips and tricks. The Parentheses give hints to the files in the project that contain the code samples. Session highlights will include ...

Using String.Format() with Web.Config
URL and Path Variables
Advanced keyboard maneuvers inside the Visual Studio IDE
Configuration: Get outside the Web.Config with better performance
- ( /Config/ShowConfig.aspx )
Caching Patterns to Guarantee Object Existence
- ( /CachePatterns/BadCacheExample.aspx )
- ( /CachePatterns/GoodCacheExample.aspx )
My Favorite: Using Context.Items – Caching Per Request.
Storing Passwords.
- Bad -- Plain Text ( /Password/Password1.aspx )
- Better -- Hashed ( /Password/Password2.aspx )
- Best -- Hashed and Salted. ( /Password/Password3.aspx )
URL Rewriting, Turn Default.aspx?myValue=5 into Article5.aspx
- ( /Rewrite/Article.aspx )
Secure Trace.AXD for local and remote access.
Time Allotted there are many more items I can put into this category.

The project I created and sampled can be downloaded here.
http://www.scottcate.com/Downloads/Talks/AspNetTipTricks-Nov2004.zip

And the Database that is used in the Password Encryption/Decryption Routines
http://www.scottcate.com/Downloads/Talks/AspNetTipTricks-DB-Nov2004.zip

Retrieving File and Request Path Information

Mon, 15 Nov 2004 15:47:50 GMT

It seems to be a very common practice to check the URL and File paths. Many, Many scenarios require this information, and it seems that a lot of native classes are commonly overlooked. To bring awareness to classes that you may or may not know exist, I've thrown together a little table that shows several ways to get path information.

Syntax to Request Path Information	Result
Request.ApplicationPath	/MyWebSite
Request.CurrentExecutionFilePath	/MyWebSite/Paths/Paths.aspx
Request.FilePath	/MyWebSite/Paths/Paths.aspx
Request.PhysicalApplicationPath	c:\inetpub\wwwRoot\MyWebSite\
Request.Physicalpath	c:\inetpub\wwwRoot\MyWebSite\Path\Paths.aspx
Request.MapPath("/")	c:\inetpub\wwwRoot\
Request.RawUrl	/MyWebSite/Paths/Paths.aspx
System.IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(Request.PhysicalPath)	Paths
System.IO.Path.GetExtension(Request.PhysicalPath)	.aspx
System.IO.Path.GetDirectoryName(Request.PhysicalPath)	c:\inetpub\wwwRoot\MyWebSite\Path

Enjoy!!

Poor Bird. You thought you were having a bad day?

Sun, 14 Nov 2004 20:24:40 GMT

Ever see a bid hit the windshield of a car? How about stuck in a store, airport, hotel lobby, or other public place? How about a plate glass window?

My friend J. lives on the second floor, and has a wall of windows. Each plate glass window is about 14 feet tall, and brings a nice view of the city. It's easy for us to see out, but unfortunately it's not so easy for the bird to see.

This poor bird actually left an impression in the dust on the outside of the glass, and I was able to capture it. It was able to fly away, but I'm sure he had a headache.

2004 Nov 08 -- Fun Fact: How To tell if glass is dual pane glass

Mon, 08 Nov 2004 11:41:33 GMT

myKB.com has recently moved into new office space in Scottsdale, Arizona. The building we've moved into is newly constructed and is pretty fancy looking with an all glass exterior. Our entire office is frame with external windows, needless to say we have a lot of light.

Anyway, to the fun fact.

Due to the building shifting and settling, one of the huge sheets of glass has cracked. being lazy, and not wanting to walk outside the question was asked. "I wonder if it's dual pain safety glass?". The Answer: Get a lighter, hold it up to the glass.

Any old piece of glass will show you two flame reflections. This is due to one reflection from the front of the glass, and another from the other side of the glass.

If it's dual pane glass, you'll actually see four flame reflections. Once for each side of "both" pieces of glass that have been sandwiched together.

See, I told you it was useless information ...

My Big Ride at the Arizona State Fair

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 12:53:00 GMT

Once a year the Arizona State Fair comes to town. This year I was able to get some ride passes from a friend of mine who works at the fair. I just happened to be recording some movies and these two came out pretty good.

You must watch them in order for them to make sense.

The first movie, is a quick movie of the ride it self, while we were standing in line.
http://www.scottcate.com/Downloads/Fair/TheRide.avi

The second movie is a recording of the acutal ride.
http://www.scottcate.com/Downloads/Fair/TheDrop.avi

Enjoy...

Web.Config + string.format() Trick

Sun, 01 Aug 2004 16:01:52 GMT

One of the most common questions about the web.config file is... Is it secure?

Well it's as secure as you make it. Anyone with access to the file system, probably has access to the web.config file. So here's a little obfuscation trick. Move some of your sensitive data out of the web.config, or pull it form different parts of the web.config with string.format().

Consider the following web.config entry.

So this is a SUPER generic connection string, and now in my application on start I can pull data from another, more secure area, like the DPAPI.

string server = "localhost";
string user = "user";
string password = "password";
string catalog = "catalog";
string ConfigDBString = Appsettings DBConnection

string connection = string.format(ConfigDBString, server, user, password, catalog);

Then you have your connection string. Obviously these values are not hard coded as in the example above, but I'm sure you get the point.

UPDATED: August 1, 2004
After reading this, my buddy DonXML sent me a note about his Object Oriented approch to this topic. Here are his comments...

I saw your post on the connection string stuff in the web.config file, and was wondering if you saw my Encrypted Connection String code example at GotDotNet. You could either use it instead of your example, or, just use the base ConnectionString class as a simple and easy way to parse your connection string into it’s components (in an OO style). I also have a SqlServerConnectionString class and an OracleConnectionString Class that inherit from the base class, with all the rules from the respective documentation implemented (so you can’t build a connection string that will not work).

Very helpful indeed, thanks Don.

Find and parse hyperlinks in string

Fri, 18 Jun 2004 16:37:54 GMT

<a[\s]?href=["'](?<url>[^"]+[.\s]*)["']>(?<name>[^<]+[.\s]*)</a>

Isn't she a beauty? This is my first ever regular expression, that I actually come up with on my own. I did have help from Eric Gunnerson's "Regular Expression Workbench", but I still take credit for coming up with the regular expression on my own.

So I feed in an HTML string, and this Regex.Matches returns a MatchCollection that I can cycle through. Each Match has a groups collection that looks something like this.

[0] = <a href="http://www.scottcate.com">scottcate</a>
[url] = "http://www.scottcate.com"
[name] = scottcate

And there is one of these for every hyperlink on the page. Basically gives me access to the href="" property and the display text.

Hope this helps someone else out there in happy coding land...

HttpModule that acts as a SSL Switcher

Wed, 28 Apr 2004 14:55:53 GMT

If you're working with SSL and ASP.NET, you know it's a challenge to be able to know when to switch back and forth between HTTP and HTTPS calls.

I've thrown together a little HttpModule that inpects requests, and matches them to settings in web.config custom sections. There are files and paths sections. There are a ton of ways to do this, but I wanted a way to add this to projects that are already in existence, and an HttpModule seems to be the best bet.

Basically you can add this to your project in 2 easy steps.

Copy DLL into /Bin
Add Settings into web.config file.

Here is the sample web.config settings to wire up the module, and the custom sections data.

{BACKGROUND-COLOR:#ffffff;PADDING-RIGHT: 3px;Border: 0px;FONT-SIZE: 11px;PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px;PADDING-TOP: 0px;FONT-FAMILY: "Courier New";}.ColorLineNumber { color:red; }.DefaultFontFace { color:arial; }.DefaultFontSize { size:3; }.ColorBackGroundLine { color:#EEEECC; }.ColorAlternatingBackGroundLine { color:#FFFFEE; }.ColorComment { color:green; }.ColorServerSideTag { color:green; }.ColorDataBinding { color:dodgerblue; }.ColorControlTag { color:maroon; }.ColorAspTemplateTag { color:green; }.ColorStartHtmlTag { color:blue; }.ColorEndHtmlTag { color:blue; }.ColorVBKeyword { color:blue; }.ColorVBComment { color:green; }.ColorCSKeyword { color:blue; }.ColorSQLKeyword { color:blue; }.ColorCSComment { color:green; }.ColorSQLComment { color:green; }.ColorSQLFunctions { color:maroon; }.ColorSQLDataTypes { color:green; } rLineNumber">1: <configuration> <configSections> <sectionGroup name="RequiresSSL"> <section name="RequiresSSL_Files" type="System.Configuration.NameValueSectionHandler,system,Version=1.0.3300.0,Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089,Custom=null" /> <section name="RequiresSSL_Paths" type="System.Configuration.NameValueSectionHandler,system,Version=1.0.3300.0,Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089,Custom=null" /> </sectionGroup> </configSections> <RequiresSSL> <RequiresSSL_Files> <add key="login.aspx" value="true" /> <add key="WebForm1.aspx" value="true" /> </RequiresSSL_Files> <RequiresSSL_Paths> <add key="/Secure" value="true" /> </RequiresSSL_Paths> </RequiresSSL> <system.web> <httpModules> <add type="HttpSslSwitcher.SslSwitcher, HttpSslSwitcher" name="SslSwitcher" /> </httpModules> </system.web> </configuration>

and Here is the class code for the module.

1:     using System;

2:     using System.Web;

3:     using System.Collections;

4:     using System.Configuration;

5:     using System.Collections.Specialized;

6:     

7:     namespace HttpSslSwitcher

8:     {

9:         /// <summary>

10:        /// Summary description for SslSwitcher.

11:        /// </summary>

12:        public class SslSwitcher : IHttpModule

13:        {

14:            public SslSwitcher()

15:            {

16:                //

17:                // TODO: Add constructor logic here

18:                //

19:            }

20:            #region IHttpModule Members

21:    

22:            public void Init(HttpApplication context)

23:            {

24:                context.PreRequestHandlerExecute += new EventHandler(context_PreRequestHandlerExecute);

25:            }

26:    

27:            public void Dispose()

28:            {

29:                // Nothing To Do

30:            }

31:            #endregion

32:    

33:            private void context_PreRequestHandlerExecute(object sender, EventArgs e)

34:            {

35:                HttpApplication myApp = (HttpApplication)sender;

36:                HttpContext ctx = HttpContext.Current;

37:    

38:                //Get list of files to be secured

39:                NameValueCollection sslFiles = (NameValueCollection)

40:                    ConfigurationSettings.GetConfig("RequiresSSL/RequiresSSL_Files");

41:                

42:                //Get list of paths to be secured

43:                NameValueCollection sslPaths = (NameValueCollection)

44:                    ConfigurationSettings.GetConfig("RequiresSSL/RequiresSSL_Paths");

45:    

46:                bool RequiresSSL = false;

47:    

48:                //Simple Screen Writes to let the user know what's going on, what we found

49:                WriteEntriesToResponse(sslFiles,"Files",ctx);

50:                WriteEntriesToResponse(sslPaths,"Paths",ctx);

51:    

52:                string Host = ctx.Request.Url.Host.ToString();

53:                string File = ctx.Request.Url.PathAndQuery.ToLower();

54:    

55:                //Strip queary string for now

56:                if(File.IndexOf("?") > -1)

57:                    File = File.Substring(0,File.IndexOf("?"));

58:    

59:                //First check the paths

60:                RequiresSSL = IsFileInrequiredCollection(sslPaths, ctx, File);

61:    

62:                //Now check the files, only if path doesn't require SSL

63:                if(RequiresSSL == false)

64:                    RequiresSSL = IsFileInrequiredCollection(sslFiles, ctx, File);

65:    

66:                if(RequiresSSL && ctx.Request.IsSecureConnection == false)

67:                    ctx.Response.Redirect(ctx.Request.Url.ToString().ToLower().Replace("http:","https:"));

68:                if(RequiresSSL == false && ctx.Request.IsSecureConnection)

69:                    ctx.Response.Redirect(ctx.Request.Url.ToString().ToLower().Replace("https:","http:"));

70:            }

71:    

72:    

73:            private bool IsFileInrequiredCollection(NameValueCollection nv, HttpContext ctx, string filename)

74:            {

75:                bool RequiresSSL = false;        

76:                foreach(string key in nv.Keys)

77:                {

78:                    if(filename.StartsWith(key.ToLower()) || filename.EndsWith(key.ToLower()))

79:                    {

80:                        RequiresSSL = true;

81:                        break;

82:                    }

83:                }

84:                return RequiresSSL;

85:            }

86:    

87:            private void WriteEntriesToResponse(NameValueCollection nv, string title, HttpContext ctx)

88:            {

89:                ctx.Response.Write("<HR><B>Secured " + title + " Section</B><BR>");

90:                foreach(string key in nv.Keys)

91:                {

92:                    ctx.Response.Write(key + "<BR>");

93:                }

94:            }

95:        }

96:    }

97:

Scott Watermasysk's HTML Friendly Code Viewer

Fri, 02 Apr 2004 16:21:52 GMT

If you've ever wondered how the color coded C Sharp Code files get displayed in my web pages. Scott Watermasysk's ShowCode.aspx page gives you the ability to paste in a code snippet. The page on post back will then format your code, optionally add line numbers, and give you back a great HTML string that looks beautiful.

The link is below. The article reference are invaluable if you're showing code online.

Thanks Scott !!!!

Using and Understanding BitWise Operations

Fri, 02 Apr 2004 14:37:50 GMT

Bitwise Operations are extremely fast, accurate, and amazingly useful. Unfortunately the term "bitwise" is not mainstream, and therefor seems to have an intimidating connotation.

Remember the old days, when you had a 9600 Baud modem, and you had control over certain options by flipping "Dip Switches" on the back of the modem? You may have not known it, but you were using bitwise security.

To understand Bitwise operations, you must know we'll be comparing bits. So first, What's a bit? A bit is a zero or one. Plain and simple, nothing more, nothing less. The value of a bit will always have the value 0 or 1.

So lets look at the binary system that uses bits to represent a number system.

(The following is blank for white board presentations.)

128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1

128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1

The integer 8 is represented in binary as 1000.

| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
------------------
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

The integer 9 is represented in binary as 1001.

| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
------------------
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

The integer 10 is represented in binary as 1010.

| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
------------------
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

The integer 13 is represented in binary as 1101.

| 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
------------------
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

Okay, enough examples.

Going back to the modem example, image a bank of four bit switched, that can be flipped up or down. This gives us 16 combinations. 0000 - 1111. These values represented in integer values would be 0 - 15.

Okay, so now we have a general understanding of binary. What does this have to do with bitwise operations while programming in C# or VB.NET?

Well imagine that our program needs to read the dip switch settings from our modem above. We basically have 4 options that can be turned on or off, right? Lets assume that we're reading the switches from left to right, the options are ....

Show Power Light (Left most switch) [Value 8]
Show Outbound Bandwidth Light [Value = 4]
Show Inbound Bandwidth Light [Value=2]
Show Any Activity Light (Right most switch) [Value=1]

(I've ran out of time today, and can't finish the article. Hopefully I'll have tim in the future to come back and finish this article.)

HttpContext.Cache Viewer (With DataSet Support)

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 01:24:31 GMT

Aw, the HttpContext.Cache. Most of the items I place in the Cache are named with GUID's so it's not very helpful to loop through and print out the Cache Item Name. I've built this handy ASPX page that gives a nice little view of the Cache in human readable form. All the Datasets, are displayed, including the DataTables. now keep in mind, that I'm not worried about the graphic design, or the looks here, I just wanted to make something work. I did add a little javascript to expand/collapse the items since they tend to be rather large.

I'm happy to answer questions, and I'm eager for advice, on a better way, faster way, or just general feedback on the code.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" >

<script language="javascript">

<!--

   function OpenOrCloseSpan(spanTag)

   {

      var st = document.getElementById( spanTag );

      if ( st.style.display == 'none' )

         st.style.display = '';

      else

         st.style.display = 'none';

   }

// -->

</script>

<HTML>

   <HEAD>

      <title>Display Cache Keys And Values</title>

   </HEAD>

   <body>

      <a href="DisplayCacheKeyValues.aspx">Refresh Page</a>

      <form id="Form1" method="post" runat="server">

         <asp:PlaceHolder ID="phTable" Runat="server" />

      </form>

   </body>

</HTML>

protected System.Web.UI.WebControls.PlaceHolder phTable;



private void Page_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)

{

    if(!Page.IsPostBack)

    {

        GetAndDisplayCacheItems();

    }

    else

    {

        //These have to be bound to fire the event. This method

        //Bind the link buttons, but without the rest of the over head

        CreateAndBindRemoveButtons();

    }

}



private void GetAndDisplayCacheItems()

{

    //this stringbuilder gets used throughout the method as needed.

    StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();



    //Grab the context item, for reference so it has local scope to

    //save having to get walk back and get the Context item

    HttpContext ctx = HttpContext.Current;

    IDictionaryEnumerator d = ctx.Cache.GetEnumerator();

    while(d.MoveNext())

    {

        // Create HTML table for display of each item in cache

        HtmlTable t = new HtmlTable();

        //Set General Table Properties

        t.BorderColor = "FF0000";

        t.CellPadding = 10;

        t.CellSpacing = 0;

        t.Border = 1;

        

        HtmlTableRow r = new HtmlTableRow();

        HtmlTableCell CacheKeyTableCell = new HtmlTableCell();

        CacheKeyTableCell.VAlign = "top";



        //Clear the stringbuilder and add the CachItem Type and value

        sb.Length = 0;

        sb.Append("<B>Cache Item Type: </B>");

        sb.Append(ctx.Cache[d.Key.ToString()].GetType().ToString());

        sb.Append("<BR /><B>Value: </B><BR />");

        sb.Append(Server.HtmlEncode(d.Value.ToString()));



        //Add the Item Type

        CacheKeyTableCell.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(sb.ToString()));

        r.Cells.Add(CacheKeyTableCell);



        HtmlTableCell CacheValueTableCell = new HtmlTableCell();

        switch(d.Value.ToString())

        {

                //This is the fun code, that turns dataset tables,

                //into HTML Tables

            case "System.Data.DataSet" :

                //Coutner to Create a label

                int tblCounter = 0;

                //Create a new dataset to be used as a copy of the cached dataset

                //We do this, becuase some of the values get manipulated and we

                //don't want to chagne the actual values.

                DataSet ds = new DataSet();

                //Get copy of dataset from Cache

                ds = ((DataSet)ctx.Cache[d.Key.ToString()]).Copy();

                //Iterate throguht the tables in the dataset

                foreach(DataTable dt in ds.Tables)

                {

                    //Set flag to see if the table has rows.

                    //We won't add empty tables to the view

                    bool rowsProcessed = false;

                    foreach(DataRow dr in dt.Rows )

                    {

                        //Found rows, set flag to true

                        rowsProcessed = true;

                        //loop through each colomn int he DataRow and convert

                        //any text, to HTML text. A lot of cached data, is data that

                        //gets rendered as XML, or HTML, so this makes the data human

                        //readable. This is the reason for working with a copy of the

                        //dataset, and not the real cached item.

                        for(int x = 0; x < dr.ItemArray.GetLength(0); x++)

                        {

                            //This is my sloppy way to catch nulls, and any other

                            //conversion errors.

                            try

                            {

                                string columnData = Server.HtmlEncode(dr[x].ToString());

                                dr[x] = columnData;

                            }

                            catch {}

                        }

                    }

                    //Add populated tables to ValueTableCell, via

                    //new datagrid.AutoGenerateColumns

                    if(rowsProcessed)

                    {

                        //Add Seperation bar between Tables

                        if(tblCounter > 0)

                        {

                            CacheValueTableCell.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("<HR>"));

                        }

                        DataGrid dg = new DataGrid();

                        dg.GridLines = GridLines.Both;

                        dg.AutoGenerateColumns = true;

                        dg.BorderColor = Color.Black;

                        dg.BorderWidth = Unit.Pixel(2);

                        dg.DataSource = dt;

                        dg.DataBind();

                        //Set some styles on the columns for readability

                        foreach(DataGridColumn c in dg.Columns)

                        {

                            c.ItemStyle.HorizontalAlign = HorizontalAlign.Left;

                            c.ItemStyle.VerticalAlign = VerticalAlign.Top;

                        }

                        //Add a Table Counter Label

                        sb.Length = 0;

                        sb.Append("DataTable ");

                        sb.Append(tblCounter.ToString());

                        sb.Append("<BR />");

                        CacheValueTableCell.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(sb.ToString()));

                        CacheValueTableCell.Controls.Add(dg);

                    }

                    tblCounter++;

                }

                r.Cells.Add(CacheValueTableCell);

                break;

            default :

                break;

        }

        //Add the row to the HTML table

        t.Rows.Add(r);



        //Start <P> Tag

        phTable.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("<P>"));



        //Create and add Remove Link Button

        phTable.Controls.Add(CreateRemoveLinkButton(d.Key.ToString()));



        //Add a spacer between the remove link button and the open/close javascript

        phTable.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("&nbsp;"));



        //Create and add the anchor tag to open/close javascript

        HtmlAnchor a = new HtmlAnchor();

        a.HRef= "Javascript:OpenOrCloseSpan('Span_" + d.Key.ToString() + "')";

        a.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("Open/Close"));

        phTable.Controls.Add(a);



        //Create and add the Name of the Cache Item (preeceded with a space)

        StringBuilder CacheItemDisplayName = new StringBuilder();

        CacheItemDisplayName.Append("&nbsp;");

        CacheItemDisplayName.Append(d.Key.ToString());



        //Add the Open Span Tag and ID for javascript to open and close

        CacheItemDisplayName.Append("<span id=\"span_");

        CacheItemDisplayName.Append(d.Key.ToString());

        CacheItemDisplayName.Append("\" style=\"Display: None\">");

        phTable.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl(CacheItemDisplayName.ToString()));

        

        //Add the data table to the placeholder

        phTable.Controls.Add(t);

        //Add the closing Span and P tags.

        phTable.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("</span></P>"));

    }

}



private LinkButton CreateRemoveLinkButton(string buttonID)

{

    LinkButton RemoveLinkButton = new LinkButton();

    RemoveLinkButton.Text = "Remove";

    //Set the ID of the LinkButton to the Cache Key Name.

    //This is going to be used in the eventhandler, to remove item from cache

    RemoveLinkButton.ID = buttonID;

    //Wire up event

    RemoveLinkButton.Click += new EventHandler(RemoveLinkButton_Click);

    return RemoveLinkButton;

}



private void CreateAndBindRemoveButtons()

{

    HttpContext ctx = HttpContext.Current;

    IDictionaryEnumerator d = ctx.Cache.GetEnumerator();

    while(d.MoveNext())

    {

        phTable.Controls.Add(CreateRemoveLinkButton(d.Key.ToString()));

    }

}



private void RemoveLinkButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

{

    HttpContext ctx = HttpContext.Current;

    //Cast sender as LinkButton and Check if still in cache

    if(ctx.Cache[((LinkButton)sender).ID] != null)

    {

        //Remove item from Cache

        ctx.Cache.Remove(((LinkButton)sender).ID);

    }

    phTable.Controls.Clear();

    GetAndDisplayCacheItems();

}



#region Web Form Designer generated code

override protected void OnInit(EventArgs e)

{

    //

    // CODEGEN: This call is required by the ASP.NET Web Form Designer.

    //

    InitializeComponent();

    base.OnInit(e);

}



/// <summary>

/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify

/// the contents of this method with the code editor.

/// </summary>

private void InitializeComponent()

{    

    this.Load += new System.EventHandler(this.Page_Load);

}

#endregion

New Photo Album Application

Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:41:51 GMT

I just treated myself to a new digital camera. I've been wanting this camera since I saw it over a year ago. A friend of mine took my picture with this credit card sized camera, and I was in love with it ever since. My goal was to have a camera I could carry around, and not look like a tourist, so the number one objective was size. The Casio Exilim 3.2 S2 is perfect for my needs. It's external memory uses Secure Digital cards, which are also in use on my pocket PC phone, and my laptop, the second biggest selling point.

So now I have all these pictures how am I going to share them? Last weekend I went hiking with a small group of 10 people, and of course I'm picture snap happy. So I decided to build a little app that would just work for me on my site. All I want to do is FTP JPG files up to my web server, and have this little application do the rest.

<add key="LowResImageWidth" value="600" /> 
<add key="ImagesPerRow" value="4" />
<add key="ThumbnailImageWidth" value="125" />

In the web.config I set the "PhotoPath", "ThumbnailImageWidth", "ImagesPerRow", and "LowResImageWidth" properties. After that, all you'll have to do, to throw the DLL in your BIN directory, and all your code will be e-mailed to me. HaHa just kidding, seeing if you're paying attention. All the appSettings have defaults set int eh code, so they are not necessary, unless you want to change the values.

The "RootImageDirectory" property should be set to the Subdirectory that you plan to place your images in, and this will also be the directory, that you place the following 3 files.

Default.aspx (This is just a placeholder for Album.ascx)
ShowImage.aspx (This is the Low Res - Resize Code)
Album.ascx (This is the repeated user control)

When the Default.aspx page loads, it looks for JPG files. If it finds them, it looks for a Directory named "TN" for Thumbnail. If it finds the Dir, it checks to see if the same filename is found, if it is, it shows the thumbnail, if it isn't, it creates it, and then shows the thumbnail.

Because the application is writing to your directories, you'll need to grant the asp.net worker process account write permissions to the directories.

For those of you, a little more enthusiastic, the entire project code is also available here.

This code is not warranted, has not been tested, and is available for example use only. Please use it at your own risk........ Basically, you can use it, steal it, say it was yours, but just don't delete your hard drive and come blaming me.

[WINDOWS KEY] - More then just the start menu

Thu, 22 Jan 2004 17:18:36 GMT

The [WINDOWS KEY] usually found on your keyboard on either side of the space bar, or possibly on the outside of the [ALT] keys by pace-bar. If you don't have a [WINDOWS KEY] then this article can't help you, other then to have a general knowledge of the actions, but it seems to me that people are usually keyboard or mouse driven people, and if you don't use these commands on a regular basis, then you'll forget and never use them.

Most people use this key as a single keystroke to activate the start menu.

This key is actually used for more then your Start Menu and I use it a ton, especially when I'm using someone else's machine.

[WINDOWS KEY] + [E] = Launch Windows Explorer
[WINDOWS KEY] + [R] = Same as Start | Run
[WINDOWS KEY] + [M] = Minimize all Windows
[SHIFT] + [WINDOWS KEY] + [M] = Undo Minimize all Windows
[WINDOWS KEY] + [D] = Toggle Desktop On|Off
- This is the same as [M] but when you toggle all your applications are still in place, instead of being minimized.
[WINDOWS KEY] + [U] = Launch Utility Manager
[WINDOWS KEY] + [F] = Same as Start | Find
[WINDOWS KEY] + [L] = Lock Computer - Same as [CTRL]+[ALT]+[DELETE] and then click or select "Lock Computer"
[WINDOWS KEY] + [CTRL] + [F] = Find Computers
[WINDOWS KEY] + [TAB] = Start Bar Focus, on the application list
- Then use [RIGHT] and [LEFT] arrow keys to move back and forth, press [ENTER] to activate application.
[CTRL] + [WINDOWS KEY] + [TAB] = Ever wanted keyboard access to your system tray?
- This is VERY helpful if you end up mouseless.
- It's kinda weird, some systems make you [WINDOWS KEY] + [TAB] to set focus to the start bar application list, then [CTRL] + [WINDOWS KEY] + [TAB] will move over tot he System Tray.
[WINDOWS KEY] + [BREAK] = Launch System Properties

If you know of more, send me an e-mail ( scottc@myKBPro.com ) and I'll get them posted.

Happy Coding

Microsoft says thanks with an MVP Award for 2004

Tue, 20 Jan 2004 15:30:28 GMT

Wew huuuu .... is that how you spell excitement?

Microsoft has handed me it's most distinguished award for my contributions to the ASP.net and .Net communities with an MVP award. This is most likely because of the success of the Arizona .NET User Group that I run, my Board Member position with ASPInsiders.com, and the community site kbAlertz.com. Official text below.

Hi Scott,

I would like to thank you for your community participation for the past year. You have done great work and Microsoft’s customers have been the beneficiaries.

As you may know, the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award is presented to those whose recent contributions stand out from others in online and offline communities focusing on Microsoft technologies.

It is with great excitement that I can inform you that you have been awarded as a MVP in ASP.NET for your community contributions in the past year.

We greatly value your past accomplishments and contributions. Thank you for all of your support and I hope you enjoy the benefits of the MVP program for the next year!

..........

Sincerely,

Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft MVP Lead

Undocumented SQL 2003 Encryption Routines

Sun, 30 Nov 2003 02:38:00 GMT

My good friend Brady Gaster, once again, comes through with the best tip of today. A SQL guru he works with tipped him to this and he shared with me (just so proper credit gets served).

Really pretty simple actually. Paste this into Query Analyzer.

select pwdencrypt('Scott Cate')
select pwdcompare('Scott Cate',pwdencrypt('Scott Cate')

I found this article online about a buffer overrun error, but it's pretty old and seems to have been fixed with SP3. They claimed a buffer overrun with this call.

SELECT pwdencrypt(REPLICATE('A',353))

I tried it in SP3 and it fails because the parameter is invalid, not because of an overrun.

Thanks Brady.

Warning/Update: Since I read about and wrote this, I've been sent a couple of links; informing me that this is not a good idea to use. First of all, since it's undocumented the hashing algorithms inside SQL server might change, rendering your pwdCompare() function useless. Also the hashed code itself can be broken pretty easily.

Thanks Tim Heuer for this link, explaining the vulnerability.