Kiyoshi's Blog

Convert Array of Objects to a Generic List

Kiyoshi — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:33:34 GMT

Working with generic lists is a lot easier and fun than working with arrays.

To convert an array to a generic list use the following code.  (List of string in example)

C#

string stringSet = "a,b,c,d";
string[] stringArray = stringSet.Split(new char[] { ',' });
System.Collections.Generic.List<string> genericList = new System.Collections.Generic.List<string>(stringArray);

VB.NET

Dim stringSet As String = "a,b,c,d"
Dim stringArray() = stringSet.Split(",")
Dim genericList As New List(Of String)(stringArray)

Sorting a generic list in ascending or descending order

Kiyoshi — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:56:00 GMT

Sorting a generic list can be as easy as 3 lines. Use the Sort method to accomplish this task. More info about List<T> can be found here.

    class TestSort
    {
        List<Article> MyArticles = new List<Article>();
        public class Article
        {
            private DateTime _createdDate;
            public DateTime CreatedDate 
            {
                get { return _createdDate; }
                set { this._createdDate = value; }
            }
        }
 
        public void SortAscending()
        {
            MyArticles.Sort(delegate(Article a, Article b)
            {
                return a.CreatedDate.CompareTo(b.CreatedDate);
            });
        }
 
        public void SortDescending()
        {
            MyArticles.Sort(delegate(Article a, Article b)
            {
                return a.CreatedDate.CompareTo(b.CreatedDate) * -1;
            });
        }
    }

Render aspx page as a string

Kiyoshi — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:14:00 GMT

To render a page into a string use a StringWriter object. This can be useful when making AJAX type of queries. Using an aspx page for AJAX calls makes it easy to reference session state information.

        System.IO.StringWriter htmlStringWriter = new System.IO.StringWriter();
        Server.Execute("Page.aspx", htmlStringWriter);
        string htmlOutput = htmlStringWriter.GetStringBuilder().ToString();

Convert Database String to DateTime

Kiyoshi — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:15:30 GMT

When debugging database datetime in my apps, I like to sometimes fake the data going to the database. Heres a code snippet that converts a database string to a DateTime object.

DateTime testDate = DateTime.ParseExact("2006-10-20 15:53:25.047", "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.fff", null)
 
More string conversions can be found in my post DateTime.ToString() Patterns

Using Reflection and Type.GetType

Kiyoshi — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 05:36:54 GMT

Recently I had to use Type.GetType to use Remote Objects in IIS (yea its old) and I kept running into a problem with Type.GetType("...") returning null.

So after trying and trying and rechecking my spelling over and over, I discovered this article.

http://blogs.msdn.com/haibo_luo/archive/2005/08/21/454213.aspx

Moral of the story - Type.GetType(<string>) will only search inside of the current assembly. To get this to work use:

Type.GetType(typeof(<object>).AssemblyQualifiedName)

ex:

   31             RemoteObject obj;
   32             obj = (RemoteObject)Activator.GetObject(Type.GetType(typeof(RemoteObject).AssemblyQualifiedName), "http://localhost:4736/RemoteObject.rem");

WCF - Using WebHttpBinding for REST services

Kiyoshi — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:23:03 GMT

You can use WebHttpBinding to have REST endpoints in your WCF application to expose simple public service calls.

Use a UriTemplate in your service contract and a WebHttpBinding endpoint. Here's an example...

(IContractName.cs)

namespace TestNamespace
{

    [ServiceContract(SessionMode=SessionMode.NotAllowed)]
    public interface IContractName
    {
        [WebGet(UriTemplate = "date/{year}/{month}/{day}", ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Xml)]
        [OperationContract]
        string GetDate(string day, string month, string year);
    }

}

(ServiceType.cs)

namespace TestNamespace
{

    public class ServiceType : IContractName
    {
        public string GetDate(string day, string month, string year)
        {
           return new DateTime(Convert.ToInt32(year), Convert.ToInt32(month), Convert.ToInt32(day)).ToString("dddd, MMMM dd, yyyy");
        }
    }

}

Creating a WebHttpBinding endpoint into your WCF service.

If you get a "The Address property on ChannelFactory.Endpoint was null." exception, make sure to add a "behaviorConfiguration" property to your endpoint. This value should point to a custom defined "endpointBehavior".

(App.config)

<system.serviceModel>
    <services>
         <service behaviorConfiguration="Default" name="TestNamespace.ServiceType">
            <endpoint address="" behaviorConfiguration="webBehavior" binding="webHttpBinding" contract="TestNamespace.ServiceContract" />
            <host>
                <baseAddresses>
                    <add baseAddress="http://localhost:8080/testservice" />
                </baseAddresses>
            </host>
        </service>
    </services>
    <behaviors>
        <endpointBehaviors>
            <behavior name="webBehavior">
                <webHttp />
            </behavior>
        </endpointBehaviors>
        <serviceBehaviors>
            <behavior name="Default">
                <serviceMetadata httpGetEnabled="true"/>
            </behavior>
        </serviceBehaviors>
    </behaviors>
</system.serviceModel>

Using your browser to point to http://localhost:8080/testservice/date/1995/10/10 , the result will look like this:

Moving futher ..... If you would like to add this running service into another application like a Web application, use a WebChannelFactory in your application.

WebChannelFactory<IContractName> cf = new WebChannelFactory<IContractName>(new Uri("http://localhost:8080/testservice"));
ServiceType channel = cf.CreateChannel();
string testDate = channel.GetDate("1995","10","10");

Get an Enum value from a string

Kiyoshi — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:53:19 GMT

I love to use enumerated datatypes for programming. This code snippet is really useful for getting an enum value from it's name rather than it's integer index.

The original article was here: http://blog.paranoidferret.com/index.php/2007/09/17/csharp-snippet-tutorial-how-to-get-an-enum-from-a-string/

UPDATE - I've updated the code to check if the Enum contains the value first

private T StringToEnum<T>(string name)
{
    string[] names = Enum.GetNames(typeof(T));
    if (((IList)names).Contains(name))
    {
        return (T)Enum.Parse(typeof(T), name);
    }
    else return default(T);
}

Original Code:

public static T StringToEnum<T>(string name)
{
return (T)Enum.Parse(typeof(T), name);
}

Examples:

public enum DaysOfWeek
{
   Monday,
   Tuesday,
   Wednesday,
   Thursday,
   Friday,
   Saturday,
   Sunday
}

public enum MonthsInYear
{
   January,
   February,
   March,
   April,
   May,
   June,
   July,
   August,
   September,
   October,
   November,
   December
}

DaysOfWeek d = StringToEnum<DaysOfWeek>("Monday");
//d is now DaysOfWeek.Monday

MonthsInYear m = StringToEnum<MonthsInYear>("January");
//m is now MonthsInYear.January

DaysOfWeek d = StringToEnum<DaysOfWeek>("Katillsday");
//throws an ArgumentException
//Requested value "Katillsday" was not found.

if(Enum.IsDefined(typeof(DaysOfWeek), "Katillsday"))
StringToEnum<DaysOfWeek>("Katillsday");

http://blog.paranoidferret.com/index.php/2007/09/17/csharp-snippet-tutorial-how-to-get-an-enum-from-a-string/

Update browser cache for CSS and JS files for modified files

Kiyoshi — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:50:57 GMT

When working with CSS and JS I've noticed that sometimes the browser (ex: Firefox) doesn't download the latest version of the .css or .js files that I'm working on and goes straight to it's cached version.

So my solution for this is to add a querystring to the .css or .js url with the last modified datetime stamp in ticks. The outcome will look something like this:

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/test1.css?t=633543081724531250" />

<script src="/js/test1.js?t=633537082284531250" type="text/javascript"></script>

VB.net

    'This file list will be used to place all .css or .js files 
    Dim fileList As List(Of String) = New List(Of String)
 
    'Register CSS and JS with last modified datetime ticks stamp 
    fileList = New List(Of String)
    fileList.Add("/css/file1.css")
    fileList.Add("/css/file2.css")
    fileList.Add("/js/file1.js")
    fileList.Add("/js/file2.js")
    For Each fileName As String In fileList
        Dim dModified As String = New System.IO.FileInfo(Server.MapPath(fileName)).LastWriteTime.Ticks.ToString()
        Dim fSrc As String = fileName & "?t=" & dModified
        If fileName.ToLower().Contains(".css") Then
 
             Using cssLink As New HtmlLink()
                   cssLink.Attributes.Add("rel", "stylesheet")
                   cssLink.Attributes.Add("type", "text/css")
                   cssLink.Href = fSrc
                   Page.Header.Controls.Add(cssLink)
             End Using
 
        ElseIf fileName.ToLower().Contains(".js") Then
             Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptInclude(Me.GetType(), fSrc, fSrc)
        End If
    Next
    fileList.Clear()

 
    //This file list will be used to place all .css or .js files
    List<string> fileList = new List<string>();
 
    //Register CSS and JS with last modified datetime ticks stamp
    fileList = new List<string>();
    fileList.Add("/css/file1.css");
    fileList.Add("/css/file2.css");
    fileList.Add("/js/file1.js");
    fileList.Add("/js/file2.js");
    foreach (string fileName in fileList)
    {
        string dModified = new System.IO.FileInfo(Server.MapPath(fileName)).LastWriteTime.Ticks.ToString();
        string fSrc = fileName + "?t=" + dModified;
        if (fileName.ToLower().Contains(".css"))
        {
            using (HtmlLink cssLink = new HtmlLink())
            {
                cssLink.Attributes.Add("rel", "stylesheet");
                cssLink.Attributes.Add("type", "text/css");
                cssLink.Href = fSrc;
                Page.Header.Controls.Add(cssLink);
            }
        }
        else if (fileName.ToLower().Contains(".js"))
        {
            Page.ClientScript.RegisterClientScriptInclude(this.GetType(), fSrc, fSrc);
        }
    }
    fileList.Clear();

DateTime.ToString() Patterns

Kiyoshi — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:27:52 GMT

I've taken this from: http://www.geekzilla.co.uk/View00FF7904-B510-468C-A2C8-F859AA20581F.htm because I use it so much and would be devastated if it ever went down :)

0	MM/dd/yyyy	08/22/2006
1	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy	Tuesday, 22 August 2006
2	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy	HH:mm Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30
3	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy	hh:mm tt Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30 AM
4	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy	H:mm Tuesday, 22 August 2006 6:30
5	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy	h:mm tt Tuesday, 22 August 2006 6:30 AM
6	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm:ss	Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30:07
7	MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm	08/22/2006 06:30
8	MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm tt	08/22/2006 06:30 AM
9	MM/dd/yyyy H:mm	08/22/2006 6:30
10	MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt	08/22/2006 6:30 AM
10	MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt	08/22/2006 6:30 AM
10	MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt	08/22/2006 6:30 AM
11	MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss	08/22/2006 06:30:07
12	MMMM dd	August 22
13	MMMM dd	August 22
14	yyyy'-'MM'-'dd'T'HH':'mm':'ss.fffffffK	2006-08-22T06:30:07.7199222-04:00
15	yyyy'-'MM'-'dd'T'HH':'mm':'ss.fffffffK	2006-08-22T06:30:07.7199222-04:00
16	ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH':'mm':'ss 'GMT'	Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:30:07 GMT
17	ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH':'mm':'ss 'GMT'	Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:30:07 GMT
18	yyyy'-'MM'-'dd'T'HH':'mm':'ss	2006-08-22T06:30:07
19	HH:mm	06:30
20	hh:mm tt	06:30 AM
21	H:mm	6:30
22	h:mm tt	6:30 AM
23	HH:mm:ss	06:30:07
24	yyyy'-'MM'-'dd HH':'mm':'ss'Z'	2006-08-22 06:30:07Z
25	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm:ss	Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30:07
26	yyyy MMMM	2006 August
27	yyyy MMMM	2006 August

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'd' ) :

MM/dd/yyyy

08/22/2006

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'D' ) :

dddd, dd MMMM yyyy

Tuesday, 22 August 2006

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'f' ) :

0	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm	Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30
1	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy hh:mm	tt Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30 AM
2	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy H:mm	Tuesday, 22 August 2006 6:30
3	dddd, dd MMMM yyyy h:mm	tt Tuesday, 22 August 2006 6:30 AM

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'F' ) :

dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm:ss

Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30:07

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'g' ) :

0	MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm	08/22/2006 06:30
1	MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm	tt 08/22/2006 06:30 AM
2	MM/dd/yyyy H:mm	08/22/2006 6:30
3	MM/dd/yyyy h:mm tt	08/22/2006 6:30 AM

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'G' ) :

MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss

08/22/2006 06:30:07

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'm' ) :

MMMM dd

August 22

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'r' ) :

ddd, dd MMM yyyy HH':'mm':'ss 'GMT'

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 06:30:07 GMT

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 's' ) :

yyyy'-'MM'-'dd'T'HH':'mm':'ss

2006-08-22T06:30:07

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'u' ) :

yyyy'-'MM'-'dd HH':'mm':'ss'Z'

2006-08-22 06:30:07Z

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'U' ) :

dddd, dd MMMM yyyy HH:mm:ss

Tuesday, 22 August 2006 06:30:07

The patterns for DateTime.ToString ( 'y' ) :

0	yyyy MMMM 2006 August

Author: Paul Hayman

Published: Tuesday, 22 August, 2006

Cool Javascript Tools for the Web

Kiyoshi — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:06:00 GMT

The AJAX control toolkit is great, but it's always better to have more tools and controls.

I found a few great sites that have really nice demos and open source javascript code to make your site look cool.

http://orangoo.com/labs/GreyBox/

http://cow.neondragon.net/stuff/reflection/

http://web-graphics.com/mtarchive/001717.php

http://www.ajaxim.com/

http://www.mochikit.com/

Update: To make the Reflector work in IE, you need to add this tag:

Call Javascript Function on Postback

Kiyoshi — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:55:00 GMT

I ran into this problem when I had to call a javascript on page load after my server-side code threw an exception to the user.

If you want to call a javascript function on page postback, you'll need to add an EventListner to the current document.

function doSomething(){.... }

if (window.addEventListener)
    window.addEventListener("load", doSomething, false);
else if (window.attachEvent)
    window.attachEvent("onload", doSomething);
else if (document.getElementById)
    window.onload= doSomething;

</script>

Hello Community

Kiyoshi — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:56:02 GMT

Hi everyone! Big thanks to Joe and my friend Aaron for opening me up to a community that's actually worth being in. All of this Web2.0 technology is pretty interesting. Also big thanks to Telligent for making this magnificent Community Server software.

My name is Kiyoshi Kusachi and I am currently a Senior Application Developer for an Airline Company, which is located on the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii. My main role is to develop web/intranet applications for the business along with helping them evaluate technology and improving processes. I also code on my free-time when I'm not at the company and feel that there's never enough time in each day.

I have decided to "blog" in this community because I think posting/sharing interesting findings is a much better approach than just emailing myself URLs (which I have been doing for a while). By the way, I am a big fan of ASP.NET/Visual Studio/getting things done so I feel I will fit right in.

Just a precaution, my postings won't always be the "latest and greatest", but if I could reach out to just one person then it would all be worthwhile :).

-Kiyoshi