Oct 30 2006

Does this mean I am getting old?

Category: PersonalRory Primrose @ 11:14

Today would be the last day of my 20's. I still feel about 23. Maybe the denial will fade one day and I will realise that I have actually left that decade behind. On second thoughts, perhaps not. I think I am just turning 24, maybe even 22. [:P]

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Oct 24 2006

Neovolve.Schema.Extensions 1.0 released

Category: .Net | IT Related | My SoftwareRory Primrose @ 11:25

Neovolve.Schema.Extensions is a project that will do entity mapping for web reference code generations from a WSDL.

When you update a web reference in the Visual Studio IDE, it will get the latest version of the WSDL and generate code to access the web service. As part of this process, it will generate any object types that are exposed by the web service. If you have access to those object definitions on the consumer end point, you will have problems with these object types because the code generated Reference.cs class will use it's own code generated versions of your object types rather than the ones you really want to use.

The schema extensions get around this problem. When the IDE updates a web reference, it will check against the schema extensions to ask whether the extension understands the object type. The extension has the opportunity to return a different object type, include namespaces and also include assembly references.

This project is configuration driven so that when a web service changes, the configuration can be changed to support the new entity mappings.

After the package is installed, add your object mappings to the configuration file. The configuration for the mappings looks like this:

<MapperItem key="MyService.XmlNodeKey"
            xmlName="XmlNode"
            xmlNamespace="http://www.myservice.com/project" />

<MapperItem key="MyService.XmlNodeCollectionKey"
            xmlName="ArrayOfXmlNode"
            xmlNamespace="http://www.myservice.com/project"
            name="List&lt;XmlNode&gt;">
    <AssemblyDependencies>
        <AssemblyDependency assemblyName="SomeAssembly.dll" />
        <AssemblyDependency assemblyName="Another.dll" />
    </AssemblyDependencies>
    <NamespaceDependencies>
        <NamespaceDependency namespace="System.Collections.Generic" />
        <NamespaceDependency namespace="System.Xml" />
    </NamespaceDependencies>
</MapperItem>
Check the log file for the project (found through the start menu) to identify the object types that have not been successfully mapped when web references are updated (assuming logging is enabled in the configuration file). The start menu also has a shortcut to the schema for the configuration file. Because the IDE doesn't restart when a configuration file changes, the IDE must be restarted before changes to the configuration will be reflected in updates to web references.
 

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Oct 17 2006

GAPTCHA

Category: IT Related | .NetRory Primrose @ 05:39

I have to say, Geoff has a very unique take on CAPTCHA which has just gone live on his site. I think his GAPTCHA control is so much fun that it is going to backfire on him. Geoff is going to end up with a whole lot of comment spam regardless because people will want to play with his new toy!

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Oct 17 2006

ASP.Net errors

Category: IT Related | .NetRory Primrose @ 05:29

Sorry people. This is just a note to myself because every few months I come across the same problems with a new development build.

Failed to access IIS metabase:

aspnet_regiis -i

Mutex Could not be Created:

Solution posted here by Joao Morais.

I have got the same issue. It seems like Visual studio 2005 and the web application pool running ASP.NET 2.0 are having a conflict over the temporary folder.
The workaround I have got for now is:
- If you have visual studio 2005 is open, close it
- Go tot the ASP.NET temporary folder for v2.0 of the framework
    <Windows dir>\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v2.0<extra numbers>\Temporary ASpNET pages
- Remove the folder for your application (or all of them)
- Reset IIS (on a command line window, >iisreset) [not always needed, but I had to use it sometimes]
- First Browse your page from IE (http://localhost/your app)
- Then reopen Visual studio

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Oct 12 2006

Too much Xbox

Category: PersonalRory Primrose @ 17:12

Gaming is a tough calling.

20061012-220706

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Oct 11 2006

No VS2002 or VS2003 for Vista

Category: IT Related | .NetRory Primrose @ 03:31

This one is a couple of weeks old, but Soma has indicated that VS2002 and VS2003 will not be supported as development environments in Vista. This is yet another reason why you should make the move to VS2005 sooner rather than later.

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Oct 10 2006

CAPTCHA and accessibility

Category: IT Related | .NetRory Primrose @ 07:08

Over the last week, I have been reading and commenting about CAPTCHA's in Sara Ford's post about her New Comment Policy. This is riding on the back of me implementing CAPTCHA for this site. Sara has some really interesting things to say regarding CAPTCHA and accessibility. I wonder if anyone has actually implemented an accessible CAPTCHA system.

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Oct 9 2006

GreatNews - RSS reader

Category: ApplicationsRory Primrose @ 17:47

I have made a few posts recently about some great little tools that I have been using. As far as RSS readers go, I have used just about all of them over the last couple of years. I have always found things that I didn't like with the readers that I used, so much so that I wrote my own (limited as it was). In recently weeks, I went on the RSS hunt again.

I have found an answer to just about every problem I have with RSS readers in the form of GreatNews. This reader is a fantastic piece of software. If you want to try another reader, I can highly recommend this one.

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Oct 9 2006

Taskbar Shuffle

Category: ApplicationsRory Primrose @ 17:09

Ever had explorer.exe crash, or perhaps more likely, had to kill it off yourself? I always hated not having Outlook, followed by Visual Studio, followed by everything else on the taskbar when explorer started up again.

Taskbar Shuffle is the ultimate answer. This sweet little utility will allow you to drag and drop your taskbar buttons to your re-ordering hearts content.

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Oct 9 2006

WCF services hosted in IIS

Category: IT Related | .NetRory Primrose @ 17:02

Today I have been playing with a WCF service hosted in IIS. Previously, I have always used the self-hosted services running from a console application.

I am having issues with IIS hosting because although the service code is running correctly, the client is throwing a response error because the connection with the server is being unexpectedly closed. Still haven't figured this one out.

Tonight, I have been doing a little bit of reading about this topic and came across this interesting note from the Hosting Services page in the SDK.

The message-based activation provided for an WCF service by IIS 5.1 on Windows XP blocks any other self-hosted WCF service on the same box from using port 80 to communicate.

The Hosting Services page is a great reference for helping you to figure out the best way of hosting your WCF service. Windows Activation Service seems like the most comprehensive hosting solution, but obviously requires Vista as the platform.

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