Mark Brown

Scripting the XP IIS single site limitation

The single site limitation in IIS on XP is frustrating. Since I can't have more then one site on the box, I needed a way to quickly change the Home Directory of the root web. To satisfy my need I came up with this little script.

' setw3.vbs
Dim objArgs
Set objArgs = WScript.Arguments

If objArgs.Length = 0 Then

  ' Use the current patch
  Set WshShell=WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
  Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
  currentPath = fs.GetAbsolutePathName(".\")

Else

  currentPath = objArgs.Item(0)

End If

Set IISObject = GetObject("IIS://LocalHost/w3svc/1/Root")
IISObject.Path = currentPath
IISObject.Setinfo

I put this script in my path and can call it from the command line or a batch file. 

For example:

w3set “e:\dev\project1“

or a batch file sitting on my Desktop

cd /D e:\dev\project1
w3set

Unit Testing in all VS 2005 Versions

I agree with Scott.

“Unit Testing support should be included with all versions of Visual Studio 2005 and not just with Team System.“

I've been wondering why this was only available in the Team System.

Here's Peter Provost's origianl post.

Integrate NUnit into the IDE

As I've mentioned before I've been jumping into NUnit more and more lately. I just found this little gem to integrate NUnit and the IDE.

“TestRunner seamlessly integrates NUnit testing and debugging into a compact Visual Studio .NET 2003 add-in.“

http://www.mailframe.net/Products/TestRunner.htm

1using System;

2using NUnit.Framework;

3

4namespace TestRunner

5{

6 public class Library

7 {

8  public static string HelloWorld()

9  {

10   return "Hello World!";

11  }

12 }

13

14 [TestFixture]

15 public class UnitTest

16 {

17  [Test]

18  public void TestEqual()

19  {

20   string TestString = Library.HelloWorld();

21   Assert.AreEqual("Hello World!", TestString );

22  }

23 }

24}

Microsoft Security Updates via RSS

"TechNet is now providing an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feed for its Security Bulletins, with more RSS content for IT pros on the way in the months ahead. RSS feeds deliver new content to you on the topics you are interested in."

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/secrss.aspx

Windows XP Service Pack 2

Virtual PC Tip

This is probably common knowledge but it just dawned on me after installing Virtual PC for the first time. Make a copy of your Virtual PC Hard Disk before you start installing other software. This allows you to have a clean OS build anytime you want to start over.

Visual Studio 2005 Beta Install

I've been having problems installing the May CTP inside a Virtual PC host. The error log message had this entry:

Errror 1310: Error writing to file: CppCodeProvier.dll. Verify that you have access.

This blog entry gave me some clues but didn't solve my problem. The solution that worked for me was to copy the Visual Studio directory locally and create a share that the VPC host could access.

Burning ISO Images

From MSDN Downloads:

"Common utilities for writing an ISO file to recordable media such as CD-R include ISORecorder and Nero. The contents of images files can be extracted to hard drive using utilities such as ISObuster or DaemonTools. Image files can be mounted locally using the Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel for Windows XP."

Windows Security

Microsoft should make the security CD available each quarter. It should be automatically shipped to all MSDN subscribers. The last time the CD was updated was October 2003. Much has changed since then. You can get the old version at: http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

Test Driven Development

I've been reading about the topic for some time but haven't been able to jump in with both feet. I needed a nudge. Last week, I listened to a presentation by James Newkirk and enjoyed it so much I'm committing to following the process on my next project. I guess the presentation was all I needed. If you need a nudge, go over and listen to the presentation.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032254189

"In Kent Beck's book titled "Test-Driven Development, By Example" he defines Test-Driven Development (TDD) as driving software development with automated tests. He goes further by stating that TDD is governed by two simple rules: Write new code only if an automated test has failed and eliminate duplication. The implications of these two simple rules can proffer a profound change to the way that software is written. Most of the literature to date has bundled TDD along with Extreme Programming (XP). However, the benefits of using TDD are not limited to XP, and can be realized in any programming methodology."