Archives
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Linq to SQL Null Value Handling
Here is what SQLMetal generates when you have a column in your database that allows nulls:
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SQL Metal and Linq - Refreshing Schema Warnings
So it turns out the simplest way to update your dbml schema is to just delete the existing files and recreate them with SQL Metal. Then, when you include the updated dbml file in your VS 2008 project you will get new dbml.layout and .designer.cs files. You'll of course have to reset your layout if you've modified that. If you do this, you're safe. If you need that layout, continue reading.
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Good Day to be a Programmer
So I'm looking at all the new stuff that was just released and the things that are going to be released soon. It's a good time to be a programmer in the Microsoft way as long as you are aligning yourself appropriately with the stars.
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Using SQL Metal To Get Connected with Linq
SQLMetal.exe is the command line tool that will allow you to very quickly spin up the object model you'll need to connect from your SQL Server database via Linq. Here are the basics of using SQLMetal.
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Linq to SQL with VS 2008 and MOSS
So here's my current plan for firing up these new technologies. As background, I gave a 15 minute presentation at a user group last night on the generalities of data abstraction and although I think I did ok, I also think that there are a lot more questions than answers in the developer community right now with regard to how to get data back into SQL Server through Linq.
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Visual Studio 2008 and Web Parts
I've posted on a couple of forums for SharePoint development and haven't received a response yet. The bottom line appears to be that regardless of whether or not you have WSS or MOSS loaded onto your machine, you will not get project or item templates for web parts. If someone knows what I'm missing, please post a comment.
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What developers do when a VM goes awry
So my MOSS VM decided to spend an hour running a check disk and recovering bad sectors. This is a very unhappy time when you think of all the code you didn't check in yet... One of my daughters had requested a Dr. Seuss book for bedtime and I was in a verse-ish kind of place... so here is how I spent that hour or so:
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Helpful Tips for SharePoint Developers - #3: 12 Hive Shortcut
So no matter what you do, you are going to need to drop and modify things in the "12 hive" in SharePoint. I navigated to it exactly 3 times before I decided my best move would be to just create a shortcut. I made the shortcut to this folder:
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Helpful Tips for SharePoint Developers - #2: VPC Hot Key
I've been a keyboard-centric guy since Windows 3.1 and 3.11. Having one of the alt keys reserved for getting in and out of the VPC kills me every time. So go into your Virtual PC Console: "File" -> "Options". Select "Keyboard" and enter your new value. Since I nearly always go directly to MSDN or Google when I have a problem or question, it seemed natural to reallocate the F1 key for this.
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Helpful Tips for SharePoint Developers - #1: Warmup.bat file
Create a warmup.bat file based on this blog post:
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Create a New Page Layout in SharePoint 2007 - Feature-Based
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Creating and Deploying a Simple Feature
I found this a week or so ago, lost it and then found it again. At only 29 minutes, its an ideal starter for a develper with my background to create, deploy and activate a feature for a site or site collection. Well spoken and concise with a lot of bits and pieces described in just enough detail to get you working.
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Free SharePoint and Workflow Training
I started looking into this guy a week or so ago and have been very impressed with the volume of training info he is either responsible for or finds. I haven't gotten too deeply into any of it yet but it seems pretty well targeted for what I'm doing these days.
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SharePoint Extensions for VS 2005
*sigh*
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Reporting Services and SharePoint MOSS Configuration Woes
In my current position, it always helps to take a small step back and do something else for a little while. I'm working on a simple problem involving building a reporting services report (SSRS) from a SharePoint task list. It will involve building the report against a dataset that was created programmatically. I've looked and can find no secure way of reporting directly against a list of data within the current user's context. Once complete I'll post how I did it. That's not the problem.
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Blood Sweat and Tears... Almost
So this is an inappropriate venue for this but its been on my mind a lot since my trip to China to adopt my second daughter.
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Starting Out References
Here is the book that was recommended to me. The Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Administrator's Companion. Its very well written when compared to some of the books I've read recently (see my old blog). It also has a companion CD with the complete searchable PDF which is also nice. It does, however, read like an administrators book. This is good for when you want to accomplish something but bad when you want to just read it for knowledge.
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Learning SharePoint MOSS at 2.5 Weeks - Perspective of an ASP.Net guy
Some observations about SharePoint and MOSS after working to master it for 2 1/2 weeks. By the way, I have as yet, not mastered it.
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SharePoint Server Deployment Plan MPP
Joel Oleson, on the SharePoint Team Blog has posted a sample deployment plan for a MOSS installation. Looks pretty comprehensive.
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Screen-Based Reading PlaceHolder
So what I find is that as I dive into SharePoint Services and MOSS, I need help reading all the online content more than ever before. I have a minor astigmatism that glasses help with. Still, even with glasses it gets really old trying to scan back and forth across the screen. I downloaded a free designer's ruler that I could drag around the screen but it wasn't good enough.
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Sharepoint Recycle Bin Administration
It seems that with Sharepoint and MOSS, Microsoft has either gone in a new direction with their documentation, they are just behind the power curve on getting documentation out there OR there is just so much to this product that they decided to let the community figure it out. So, in the interest of helping out, I will post tidbits that I'm learning about this product as I figure it out.
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Interactive Developer Maps
I believe that as you age in the software development business, you start realizing that there is very little new in the world. This means that for someone like me who doesn't read very fast and has kids who need shoes, the desire to go out and purchase a new 60 dollar book about the latest technology wanes somewhat. The problem is that half the book is philosophy and half the other half is basic stuff I already knew anyway. Culling through a myriad magazine and internet articles presents the same problem though admittedly without the expense. The authors are often not interesting enough to really keep my attention and the subject matter is frequently a rehash. I long for a diagram that shows me the lay of the land and allows me to just pick out what I want to learn, learn it and move on at my own pace and in my own direction.
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Introductions
Many thanks to Joe for allowing me a venue here at ASP.net! My previous blog is at http://frameworkpatterns.blogspot.com and, as you may notice, it got a LOT of traffic and allowed me to really open the eyes of the uneducated masses. In reality, it allowed me to vent now and then but I never put much into it because I knew it wasn't getting many hits.