DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by RhythmAddict

Pex For Fun: Pex Automated Unit Test Creation Online

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:33:08 GMT

A demo of the Pex Unit Test Generation Tool online

Better Living Through Callbacks

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:38:02 GMT

In this article I critique some code (don't worry, it's mine!) and demonstrate how I could have used JavaScript callbacks & optional parameters to make my code a whole lot better.

Translating routes (ASP.NET MVC and Webforms)

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:30:45 GMT

For one of the first blog posts of the new year, I thought about doing something cool. And being someone working with ASP.NET MVC, I thought about a cool thing related to that: let's do something with routes! Since System.Web.Routing is not limited to ASP.NET MVC, this post will also play nice with ASP.NET Webforms. But what's the cool thing? How about. translating route values?

Measuring the Performance of Asynchronous Controllers

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:15:00 GMT

It's easy enough to start using Asynchronous Controllers with ASP.NET MVC 2.0. But how do you know whether it's giving you any benefits? You might be surprised to learn that, in many default scenarios, you won't get any benefit unless you also make some crucial configuration changes. In this blog post you'll see a simple way to load test your asynchronous controllers, and find a rundown of important configuration options that will dramatically affect their behavior.

Making Your Code Instantly Readable...

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:14:18 GMT

Semi-rant/insight on how you can make your code more readable with minimal effort.

Performance: CSS Data URIs

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:48:10 GMT

This post briefly explains the concept of CSS Data URIs and how you can get started using them in your applications for a performance gain.

Error Handling in ASP.NET [2 of 2]

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:14:49 GMT

Part 2 summarizes extending MVC's standard error-handling [for logging, etc.], or rolling your own error-handling logic entirely.

Error Handling in ASP.NET [1 of 2]

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:09:34 GMT

Part 1 summarizes basic out-of-the-box MVC 1 error handling.

Get the index of a given item using LINQ [quick-tip]

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:27:21 GMT

How to get the index of an item, using LINQ

Design Patterns - Using the Builder Pattern in C#

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:15:00 GMT

The Builder Pattern falls under the category of the Creational Patterns as it controls the instantiation of a class. This pattern is suitable in scenarios in which an object is made up several parts and the constituent parts need to be created in the same order using an algorithm. A real world example is in making a pizza. A pizza is made up of several parts (the crust, cheese and the toppings) that are constructed using an algorithm (bake the crust, add cheese and add the toppings).

Returning values from your LINQ queries [quick tip]

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:20:22 GMT

Short post on how to return values from your LINQ queries from a method.

XmlSerializer & XmlSerializerFactory: Mostly sure you aren't insane

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:20:35 GMT

Something you may not know about XmlSerializer & XmlSerializerFactory...[short and sweet]

ASP.NET MVC 2 Preview 1 is released!

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:30:00 GMT

ASP.NET MVC 2 first preview is released to public now and you can download it from Microsoft download site. Here is short overview of technical requirements and main new features of ASP.NET MVC 2 Preview 1.

How to add "Open with reflector" to your right-click actions

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:45:00 GMT

A tip for convenience, this post provides instructions on how to easily add "Open with reflector" to your windows explorer right-click menu so you can right-click and open any DLL with reflector.

Remotely Enabling Remote Desktop from the Command Line

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:51:18 GMT

How to enable RDP for a remote machine via the command line.

Open Source ASP.NET Maintenance Mode Module - AM3

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:45:01 GMT

Web developers at times need to put their web applications in an offline mode so as to prevent visitors from accessing the site while they are updating it. The classic way to do this would be to upload an app_offline.html file to the root of the web application. The limitation of this technique is that even the developer cannot visit the site! A developer might need to ensure if everything is working fine and at the same time prevent other users from accessing the web site.

ASP.NET Charting: Rendering Options

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:17:25 GMT

This article covers the options you have for rendering charts using .NET 3.5 SP1's charting component. It also introduces a less conventional method of returning chart images via AJAX requests with no post back.

Life After Loops

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:15:00 GMT

Eliminating cumbersome looping code using Linq

Asp.Net vs php : Speed Comparison

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:00 GMT

Why is the myth that php is faster than Asp.Net so prevalent? Asp.Net is faster than php, here are the facts. So many times I have heard php pushers claim that php is so much faster than Asp.Net and that Asp.Net is clunky and slow. The most annoying part is that everything I have read (that is not factless opinion), and I mean everything, says that this is wrong; but for some reason, this myth is widely accepted. It has become a religious argument that ignores the facts...

Learning Doesn't Work if You Don't Do It Right...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:56:03 GMT

If you're going to spend time reading and searching, make sure you know what works best for your brain.

Dynamic Image Loading, Caching, & Performance

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:44:28 GMT

Explains how to force the browser to cache dynamic images that come from a file-system or DB.

What Free Tools Do You Install on a New Machine?

Wed, 27 May 2009 12:16:25 GMT

A listing of development tools I use regularly...

Download MS products for Free

Mon, 25 May 2009 19:31:29 GMT

Download Microsoft Visual Studio Pro, Expression Studio and Sql Server Developers Edition for free.

Using Forms Authentication with HTML Pages (or, really, any file-type

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:41:51 GMT

Simple steps on how to use forms auth logic (e.g., request interception) with file types other than ASPX.

10 Most Interesting Upload Widgets

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:30:06 GMT

In this article we reviews the best upload widgets based on AJAX and Flash technologies.