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Object Pipelines

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:51:38 GMT

A pipeline is a chain of connected steps that process information. In object pipelines, each step receives an object and performs an action using it before passing an object to the next step. This repeats until every step is complete.

Disabling the Screensaver Programmatically

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:07:38 GMT

Screensavers can be a useful tool for protecting some types of display from damage or a visually pleasing alternative to the open windows when a computer is not in use. For some types of software it is necessary to temporarily disable the screensaver.

Creating Type Aliases in C#

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:26:53 GMT

The using directive of the C# programming language is often used to create namespace aliases, allowing types with matching names that appear in separate namespaces to be easily accessed. A lesser known use of the directive is to create aliases for types.

Detecting Power Events

Sun, 06 May 2012 16:08:55 GMT

Microsoft Windows raises notifications in response to power events, including when the user sleeps, hibernates or resumes the computer, or when the power supply switches between battery mode and A/C power. The notifications can be detected using events.

Creating Parallel Tasks with TaskFactory

Fri, 04 May 2012 13:48:56 GMT

The Task Parallel Library provides a number of ways in which parallel tasks can be instantiated. This article describes the use of the TaskFactory class, which uses the factory method design pattern to generate and start tasks with a single method call.

An Extensible Appointment Scheduling Library

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:29:13 GMT

Scheduling software can be used to plan future appointments, including those appointments that repeat on a regular basis. This article describes a library with four types of scheduling rule and the potential for additional rules to be incorporated.

Adding Lists and Tables to XML Documentation

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:52:35 GMT

Bullet lists, numbered lists and tables provide useful ways to provide information about the use of a framework, a single class or a member. These ways of displaying data can be included in XML documentation comments and compiled into help files.

SQL Server Transaction Savepoints

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:58:05 GMT

Sometimes Transact-SQL (T-SQL) scripts require the ability to roll back some parts of a transaction whilst allowing other elements of a process to be committed to the database normally. This can be achieved with the use of transaction savepoints.

10 illustrated examples of Visual Studio 11

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:08:10 GMT

Visual Studio 11: it's new and it's grey but there's more to it than just a dour monotone veneer. Here are 10 things that make it a step forward from the old.

Minify your CSS & JavaScript with SquishIt

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:03:13 GMT

NuGet package to minify your website CSS and JavaScript file.

Using the DebuggerBrowsable Attribute

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:59:23 GMT

Visual Studio's debugging windows and tools allow you to examine in-scope objects and the values contained within their properties, indexers and fields. When this is undesirable, a class may change the way in which its debugging information is provided.

67% of ASP.NET websites have serious config related vulnerabilities

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 07:19:37 GMT

Actually, it's even worse than that - it's really 67.37%. It's an alarmingly high number for what amounts to very simple configuration vulnerabilities. The numbers come courtesy of ASafaWeb, the Automated Security Analyser for ASP.NET Websites which is a free online scanner at asafaweb.com. Let me walk you through these results and offer a bit of insight as to where things are going wrong when ASP.NET web sites are published. Hopefully this will be a bit of a "call to action" which helps developers understand where they might need to do a bit of tweaking in their apps.

A LINQ Style Range Generator

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 09:48:07 GMT

Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) provides the Enumerable.Range method that generates incrementing sequences of integers. This article describes a similar method that allows the creation of more complex ranges with the repeated application of a function.

Application Setting Events

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:53:26 GMT

Application settings provide a useful means for configuring applications and retaining user settings between program executions. When it is necessary to monitor those settings for changes, four standard events can be subscribed to.

Generating Random Pronounceable Passwords

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 06:13:23 GMT

The use of passwords as a security measure is increasingly common for technical and non-technical users alike. Generating passwords that are both strong and memorable can be difficult. This article describes one method to alleviate this problem.

.NET Known and System Colours

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:32:47 GMT

The Color class can represent over sixteen million colour shades with over two hundred and fifty levels of transparency. Often, however, a simple, named colour or a system colour is desired. These can be obtained using the KnownColor enumeration.

Thread-Safety with the Interlocked Class

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:10:26 GMT

When developing multi-threaded software or using parallel programming techniques, it is essential that classes remain thread-safe. The Interlocked class provides methods that assist with thread safety by performing atomic operations.

The Law of Demeter

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 23:23:01 GMT

Coupling in object-oriented software indicates the level to which classes are reliant upon each other. A tightly coupled system is usually harder to maintain and modify than a loosely coupled one. The Law of Demeter addresses a specific coupling problem.

Documenting Exceptions

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:38:17 GMT

Code can be decorated with XML documentation comments, which can be compiled into documentation files. When members can throw exceptions, the comments can include a description of each expected exception and the reasons why it may be thrown.

A SQL Server Leap Year Test Function

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:55:31 GMT

Transact-SQL does not provide a standard function that allows developers to determine if a year is a leap year. This article describes two functions. One to calculate the number of days in a year and one that utilises the result to identify leap years.

Visual Studio Achievements, now a reality!

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:13:24 GMT

Follow up to last year's comic story on Visual Studio having game-like achievements.

A Generic Equality Comparer for LINQ

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:26:20 GMT

LINQ operators generally use lambda expressions to control their processing and output. Some operators use IEqualityComparer<T> implementations to compare values. This article describes a generic comparer, driven by delegates, designed for use in queries.

Basic Volume Control

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:34:42 GMT

Microsoft Windows allows the system audio volume to be changed or muted with on-screen controls. This software control can be exploited in .NET applications to increase or decrease the volume or to mute the computer's sound altogether.

Attaching Continuation Tasks to the UI Thread

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:30:27 GMT

Parallel tasks can be used in Windows Forms and Windows Presentation Foundation applications to run slow processes without blocking the user interface thread. However, this presents a problem, as both systems prevent other threads from updating controls.

Cancelling Parallel Loops

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:02:22 GMT

The Task Parallel Library includes static methods that provide parallel equivalents of the for and foreach loops. As with parallel tasks, these loops can be cancelled by other processes using a system of cancellation tokens.