How to select a random value from an array

// Initialize the string array
string[] strStrings = { "Random string", "Another random value from the array", "Randomly selected index" };
// Choose a random slogan
Random RandString = new Random();
// Display the random slogan
txtRandom.Text = strStrings[RandString.Next(0, strStrings.Length-1)];

SQL Bulk Copy with C#.Net

The simplest way to copy lots of data from any resources to SQL Server is BulkCopying.
.NET Framework 2.0 contains a class in ADO.NET "System.Data.SqlClient" Class: SqlBulkCopy.

In the first phase you get the source data. The source could be various data platforms such as Access, Excel, SQL.. You must get the source data in your code wrapping it in a DataTable, or any DataReader class which implements IDataReader. After that, in the second phase, you must connect the target SQL Database and perform the bulk copy operation.

The bulk copy operation in .Net is a very fast way to copy large amount of data somewhere to SQL Server. The reason for that is the Bulkcopy Sql Server mechanism. Inserting all data row by row, one after the other is a very time and system resources consuming. But the bulkcopy mechanism process all data at once. So the data inserting becomes very fast.



Sample Code:

//Establishing connection
SqlConnectionStringBuilder cb = new SqlConnectionStringBuilder();
cb.DataSource = "SQLProduction";
cb.InitialCatalog = "Sales";
cb.IntegratedSecurity = true;
SqlConnection cnn = new SqlConnection(cb.ConnectionString);

// Getting source data
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM PendingOrders",cnn);
cnn.Open();
SqlDataReader rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader();

// Initializing an SqlBulkCopy object
SqlBulkCopy sbc = new SqlBulkCopy("server=.;database=ProductionTest;" +
"Integrated Security=SSPI");

// Copying data to destination
sbc.DestinationTableName = "Temp";
sbc.WriteToServer(rdr);

// Closing connection and the others
sbc.Close();
rdr.Close();
cnn.Close();

Get table Schema using the sqlreader

conn.Open();
SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(sql, conn);
SqlDataReader reader = cmd.ExecuteReader();

DataTable schema = reader.GetSchemaTable();

foreach (DataRow row in schema.Rows)
{
foreach (DataColumn col in schema.Columns){
Console.WriteLine(col.ColumnName + " = " + row[col]);
Console.WriteLine("Null value allowed: " + col.AllowDBNull);
}
}
reader.Close();

Issues with Restarting IIS

As per MSDN:

Restarting or stopping IIS, or rebooting your Web server, is a severe action. When you restart the Internet service, all sessions connected to your Web server (including Internet, FTP, SMTP, and NNTP) are dropped. Any data held in Web applications is lost. All Internet sites are unavailable until Internet services are restarted. For this reason, you should avoid restarting, stopping, or rebooting your server if at all possible. IIS 6.0 includes application pool recycling and several other features that provide alternatives to restarting IIS.

For more details chk this link - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/WindowsServer2003/Library/IIS/003ed2fe-6339-4919-b577-6aa965994a9b.mspx?mfr=true

Work around to the "Cross Thread Error"

We can't perform operation on a control, if that control was created by another thread. While doing this kind of operations, we get "Cross Thread is not valid" errors

Workaround: http://www.codeproject.com/useritems/Cross_Thread.asp

Connecting to a VS Team Foundation Server and fetching Work Item Details

1. Download the VS TFS SDK (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb130146%28VS.80%29.aspx) or install the Visual Studio Team Suite. This will install the necessary assemblies required to access the VS TFS.
2. Create a new VS 2005 Project.
3. Browse to the following path (\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\PrivateAssemblies) and add the following references
   
   -using Microsoft.TeamFoundation;
   -using Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Common;
   -using Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Client;
   -using Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client;
4. Use the following code to access the VS TFS:
   
   TeamFoundationServer tfs = null;
   WorkItemStore wis = null;
   
   tfs = new TeamFoundationServer(tfsName, CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials);
   tfs.Authenticate();
   // Display the details about the TeamFoundationServer.
   richTextBox1.Text = "Team Foundation Server details:";
   richTextBox1.Text += " \n Server Name: " + tfs.Name;
   richTextBox1.Text += " \n Uri: " + tfs.Uri;
   richTextBox1.Text += " \n AuthenticatedUserDisplayName: " + tfs.AuthenticatedUserDisplayName;
   richTextBox1.Text += " \n AuthenticatedUserName: " + tfs.AuthenticatedUserName;
5. To Access the Projects inside the TeamFoundationServer:
   
   wis = (WorkItemStore)tfs.GetService(typeof(WorkItemStore));
   //Iterate Through Projects
   foreach (Project tfs_project in wis.Projects)
   {
   treeView2.Nodes.Add(tfs_project.Name);
   }
6. To Access the Workitems in the Projects:
   
   private void treeView2_NodeMouseDoubleClick(object sender, TreeNodeMouseClickEventArgs e)
   {
   string tfs_projectName = e.Node.Text.Trim(); //The project name
   
   //Perform WIQL Query
   WorkItemCollection wic = wis.Query(
   " SELECT [System.Id], [System.WorkItemType]," +
   " [System.State], [System.AssignedTo], [System.Title] " +
   " FROM WorkItems " +
   " WHERE [System.TeamProject] = '" + tfs_projectName +
   "' ORDER BY [System.WorkItemType], [System.Id]");
   
   
   foreach (WorkItem wi in wic)
   {
   TreeNode newnode = new TreeNode();
   newnode.Text = wi.Id + wi.Title + "-" + wi.Description;
   newnode.Tag = wi;
   treeView1.Nodes.Add(newnode);
   //treeView1.Nodes.Add(wi.Title + "[" + wi.Type.Name + "]" + wi.Description );
   }

Issues: While connecting from home I found that it takes really long, or sometimes times out during performing the following:
wis = (WorkItemStore)tfs.GetService(typeof(WorkItemStore))

The solution that I found in the net was :
Go to Internet Exploreer> Connections> LAN Settings
Instead of having a "Detect Proxy Automatically", put in a definite "Proxy setting"

Show a context menu when right clicking on a treeview

private void tvwMenu_MouseUp(object sender, MouseEventArgs e)
{
//Select Node When Right Clicked & Set Context Menu To Use
if( e.Button == MouseButtons.Right )
{
TreeNode node = tvwMenu.GetNodeAt( new Point( e.X, e.Y ) );
if( node != null )
{
TreeNodeMenuTag tag = (TreeNodeMenuTag)node.Tag;
tvwMenu.SelectedNode = node;
tvwMenu.ContextMenuStrip = (tag.isMenu) ? cmnuMenuNode :
cmnuProgramNode;
}
}
}

Enum Functions

1. Iterating through an Enum:
   
   foreach (enmResponseInterval value in Enum.GetValues(typeof(enmResponseInterval)))
   {
   cmbXXX.Items.Add(value.ToString());
   }
   
2. Conditional Switch Statement with Enumeration String Value
   public enum Product
   {
   Word,
   Outlook,
   Excel
   }
   
   public void Process(string productName)
   {
   switch ((Product)Enum.Parse(typeof(Product), productName.ToString()))
   {
   case Product.Excel:
   // Do something
   break;
   case Product.Outlook:
   // Do Something
   break;
   case Product.Word:
   // Do something
   break;
   }
   }

SQL Server Projects in C# - Some important links

How to: Connect to a Database - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms165037(VS.80).aspx CLR Integration Security Issues - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms254940(VS.80).aspx Advantages of Using Managed Code to Create Database Objects - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/k2e1fb36(VS.80).aspx Item Templates for SQL Server Projects - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/eaf9k1as(VS.80).aspx Accessing Application Configuration Settings from SQL CLR - http://sqljunkies.com/Article/6CA864E9-E107-408E-B30A-4BA15B0CD11C.scuk Introducing SQL Server 2005's CLR Integration - http://www.devsource.com/print_article2/0,1217,a=151093,00.asp CLR Integration Programming Model Restrictions - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms403273.aspx Invoke WCF Service via SQL - http://blogs.msdn.com/saradhic/archive/2007/09/12/invoke-wcf-service-via-sql.aspx SQL CLR and WCF Compatibility - http://blogs.neudesic.com/blogs/shaun_collett/archive/2007/04/29/6048.aspx

SQL Server Projects - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/c8dbfz8s(VS.80).aspx Introduction to SQL Server CLR Integration - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms254498(VS.80).aspx Enabling CLR Integration - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms254506(VS.80).aspx Compiling and Deploying a CLR Assembly - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms254956(VS.80).aspx How to: Debug a SQL CLR Stored Procedure - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms165051(VS.80).aspx Debugging SQL Database Objects - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms165034(VS.80).aspx Setting Up SQL Debugging - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/s4sszxst(VS.80).aspx

C# : Drawing a Pie Chart and saving as jpeg

////Namespace:
using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Imaging;
using System.Drawing.Text;

////Create canvas and fill the background
Bitmap objBitmap;
Graphics objGraphics;

objBitmap = new Bitmap(400, 440);
objGraphics = Graphics.FromImage(objBitmap);


objGraphics.Clear(Color.White);

////Draw the pie and fill
Pen p=new Pen(Color.Yellow,0);
Rectangle rect=new Rectangle(10,10,280,280);
objGraphics.DrawEllipse(p,rect);

Brush b1=new SolidBrush(Color.Red);
Brush b2=new SolidBrush(Color.Green);
Brush b3=new SolidBrush(Color.Blue);
objGraphics.FillPie(b1, rect, 0f, 60f);
objGraphics.FillPie(b2, rect, 60f, 150f);
objGraphics.FillPie(b3, rect, 210f, 150f);

////Draw font
FontFamily fontfml = new FontFamily(GenericFontFamilies.Serif);
Font font = new Font(fontfml, 16);
SolidBrush brush = new SolidBrush(Color.Blue);
objGraphics.DrawString("Drawing Graphics", font, brush, 70, 300);

////Export and save to picture
objBitmap.Save(Response.OutputStream, ImageFormat.Gif);
objBitmap.Save(Server.MapPath("x.jpg"), ImageFormat.Jpeg);

////End drawing
objBitmap.Dispose();
objGraphics.Dispose();

TableLayoutPanel in C#

The Tablelayoutpanel is a easy way to add Controls in a Tabular format.

////--------Sample code-------
TextBox questionText = new TextBox();
questionText.Text = questionName;
questionText.MouseHover += new EventHandler(Question_MouseHover);
questionText.Width = 200;
questionText.BorderStyle = BorderStyle.FixedSingle;
questionText.BackColor = Color.Black;
questionText.ForeColor = Color.White;

GroupBox grRadios = new GroupBox();
grRadios.Height = 25;
grRadios.Width = 100;
grRadios.Padding = new Padding(2);
grRadios.Tag = questionId.ToString();
grRadios.Text = string.Empty;

RadioButton[] radios = new RadioButton[3];
radios[0] = new RadioButton();
radios[0].Tag = "Yes";
radios[1] = new RadioButton();
radios[1].Tag = "No";
radios[2] = new RadioButton();
radios[2].Tag = "Not Applicable";

////Add a event handler to the radio buttons
for (int i = 0; i < radios.Length; i++)
{
radios[i].Width = 20;
radios[i].MouseHover += new EventHandler(Radio_MouseHover);
if (i == checkedRadio)
{
radios[i].Checked = true;
}
}

grRadios.Controls.AddRange(radios);

radios[0].Left = 0;
radios[0].Top = radios[0].Top;
radios[1].Left = radios[1].Left + 20;
radios[1].Top = radios[0].Top;
radios[2].Left = radios[2].Left + 20;
radios[2].Top = radios[0].Top;


tblQuestions.Controls.Add(questionText);
tblQuestions.Controls.Add(grRadios);

SQL Server - Parse a delimited string

alter procedure web_ParseArray
( @Array varchar(1000),
@separator char(1) )
AS
-- Created by graz@sqlteam.com
-- Modified to result a table by Bart@prove.be

set nocount on
-- @Array is the array we wish to parse
-- @Separator is the separator charactor such as a comma
declare @separator_position int -- This is used to locate each separator character
declare @array_value varchar(1000) -- this holds each array value as it is returned

create table #ParsedArrays (array_Value varchar(1000))

-- For my loop to work I need an extra separator at the end. I always look to the
-- left of the separator character for each array value
set @array = @array + @separator

-- Loop through the string searching for separtor characters
while patindex('%' + @separator + '%' , @array) <> 0
begin

-- patindex matches the a pattern against a string
select @separator_position = patindex('%' + @separator + '%' , @array)
select @array_value = left(@array, @separator_position - 1)

-- This is where you process the values passed.
-- Replace this select statement with your processing
-- @array_value holds the value of this element of the array
insert #ParsedArrays VALUES (@array_value)


-- This replaces what we just processed with and empty string
select @array = stuff(@array, 1, @separator_position, '')
end

set nocount off
select * from #ParsedArrays
drop table #ParsedArrays
go

Configure Database mail

Sometimes we need to send mails from inside a database, both through sql or thru .net codes. We can configure SQLserver to send mails by following these steps

-------CREATING A DEFAULT PROFILE--------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--STEP 1: enable the Database Mail feature on the server
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
use master
go
sp_configure 'show advanced options',1
go
reconfigure with override
go
sp_configure 'Database Mail XPs',1
--go
--sp_configure 'SQL Mail XPs',0
go
reconfigure
go

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--STEP 2 create the account
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sysmail_add_account_sp
@account_name = 'MyMailAccount',
@description = 'Mail account for PMMA Database Mail',
@email_address = 'mayukh@maxx.com,
@display_name = 'PMMA DEV',
@username='mayukhd@maxx.com',
@password='abc123',
@mailserver_name = 'mail.maxx.com'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--STEP 3 create a Database Mail profile
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sysmail_add_profile_sp
@profile_name = 'MyMailProfile',
@description = 'Profile used for database mail'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--STEP 4 add the Database Mail account we created in step 2, to the Database Mail profile you created in step 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sysmail_add_profileaccount_sp
@profile_name = 'MyMailProfile',
@account_name = 'MyMailAccount',
@sequence_number = 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--STEP 5 grant the Database Mail profile access to the msdb public database role and to make the profile the default Database Mail profile
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sysmail_add_principalprofile_sp
@profile_name = 'MyMailProfile',
@principal_name = 'public',
@is_default = 1 ;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Test
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_send_dbmail @recipients='mayukh@maxxzone.com',
@subject = 'My Mail Test',
@body = 'Test Body',
@body_format = 'HTML' ;

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

Following is the code to send databse mails through C# :

string SprocSendEmail = "msdb.dbo.sp_send_dbmail";
string msgSubject = "Message Subject";
string msgBodyFormat = "HTML";
//// *******Setup the Static Data[Message Body]*********************************
StringBuilder msgBody = new StringBuilder();
msgBody.Append("Start of Message Body <hr >");
msgBody.Append("Any other body text ");
msgBody.Append(" <hr >");
////*******Call the sp_send_dbmail SPROC*********************************
SqlCommand sqlCommand = new SqlCommand();
sqlCommand.Connection = connection;
sqlCommand.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
sqlCommand.CommandText = SprocSendEmail;
SqlParameter paramRecipients = new SqlParameter();
paramRecipients.ParameterName = "@recipients";
paramRecipients.SqlDbType = SqlDbType.VarChar;
paramRecipients.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input;
SqlParameter paramBody = new SqlParameter();
paramBody.ParameterName = "@body";
paramBody.SqlDbType = SqlDbType.VarChar;
paramBody.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input;
SqlParameter paramSubject = new SqlParameter();
paramSubject.ParameterName = "@subject";
paramSubject.SqlDbType = SqlDbType.VarChar;
paramSubject.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input;
SqlParameter paramBodyFormat = new SqlParameter();
paramBodyFormat.ParameterName = "@body_format";
paramBodyFormat.SqlDbType = SqlDbType.VarChar;
paramBodyFormat.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input;
sqlCommand.Parameters.Add(paramRecipients); //// parameter 0
sqlCommand.Parameters.Add(paramBody); //// parameter 1
sqlCommand.Parameters.Add(paramSubject); //// parameter 2
sqlCommand.Parameters.Add(paramBodyFormat); //// parameter 3
paramRecipients.Value = systemParametersCollection["mailingAddress"].ToString();
paramBody.Value = msgBody.ToString();
paramSubject.Value = msgSubject;
paramBodyFormat.Value = msgBodyFormat;
sqlCommand.ExecuteNonQuery();

---

Some additional web resources
How to configure SQL 2005 Database Mail
sp_send_dbmail (Transact-SQL)

Debugging CLR Code Using the SQL Server Project

SQL Server 2005: CLR Integration : Using Webservices and Xml Serialization in CLR Integration

2 very informative pages in this regrd

http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlclr/archive/2005/07/25/Vineet.aspx

http://www.u2u.be/Article.aspx?ART=WebServicesinSQL05

Enabling the CLR in the Sql Server 2005

If you want to run a CLR object in Sql Server 2005 (or SqlExpress), (note that CLR is disabled by default on Sql Server 2005).
You will need to enable the CLR.
Here are the commands that I used to enable the CLR.
-----------------------------------------------------------
EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options' , '1';
go
reconfigure;
go
EXEC sp_configure 'clr enabled' , '1'
go
reconfigure;
-----------------------------------------------------------

Connecting to Sql Server 2005 from c# winforms An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005

c# winforms An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections. (provider: TCP Provider, error: 0 - No such host is known.)

---

Q: I get the following error when trying to connect:"An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server)"

I enabled Named Pipes but left TCP/IP disabled because this is a localhost connection on the same computer.

Here is the portion of the code I am using to connect:
string dbCString = "Persist Security Info=False;Integrated Security=true;Trusted_Connection=true;
Initial Catalog=MxData;server=(local)";
SqlConnection ThisConnection = new SqlConnection(dbCString);ThisConnection.Open();

---

After a lot of research, here's the answer.
The connection string should read as follows:
"Server=.\\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=MxData;Integrated Security=SSPI";
Note that you need a dot followed by TWO left slashes in your server name.
BTW, Initial Catalog is whatever database you want to use.

C# Typecasting: Casting Vs System.Convert.ChangeType

C# Typecasting: AS,IS,WHERE Keywords

Type conversion in C#

Bruce Eckel's MindView, Inc: Book Download Sites

Technical Book Site

Send Mail Using Lotus Notes

'This public sub will send a mail and attachment if neccessary to the recipient including the body text. 

'Requires that notes client is installed on the system. 

Public Sub SendNotesMail(Subject As String, attachment As String, recipient As String, bodytext As String, saveit As Boolean) 
'Set up the objects required for Automation into lotus notes 
Dim Maildb As Object 'The mail database 
Dim UserName As String 'The current users notes name 
Dim MailDbName As String 'THe current users notes mail database name 
Dim MailDoc As Object 'The mail document itself 
Dim AttachME As Object 'The attachment richtextfile object 
Dim Session As Object 'The notes session 
Dim EmbedObj As Object 'The embedded object (Attachment) 
'Start a session to notes 
Set Session = CreateObject("Notes.NotesSession") 
'Get the sessions username and then calculate the mail file name 
'You may or may not need this as for MailDBname with some systems you 
'can pass an empty string 
UserName = Session.UserName 
MailDbName = Left$(UserName, 1) & Right$(UserName, (Len(UserName) - InStr(1, UserName, " "))) & ".nsf" 
'Open the mail database in notes 
Set Maildb = Session.GETDATABASE("", MailDbName) 
If Maildb.IsOpen = True Then 
'Already open for mail 
Else 
Maildb.OPENMAIL 
End If 
'Set up the new mail document 
Set MailDoc = Maildb.CREATEDOCUMENT 
MailDoc.Form = "Memo" 
MailDoc.sendto = recipient 
MailDoc.Subject = Subject 
MailDoc.Body = bodytext 
MailDoc.SAVEMESSAGEONSEND = saveit 
'Set up the embedded object and attachment and attach it 
If attachment <> "" Then 
Set AttachME = MailDoc.CREATERICHTEXTITEM("Attachment") 
Set EmbedObj = AttachME.EMBEDOBJECT(1454, "", attachment, "Attachment") 
MailDoc.CREATERICHTEXTITEM ("Attachment") 
End If 
'Send the document 
MailDoc.PostedDate = Now() 'Gets the mail to appear in the sent items folder 
MailDoc.SEND 0, recipient 
'Clean Up 
Set Maildb = Nothing 
Set MailDoc = Nothing 
Set AttachME = Nothing 
Set Session = Nothing 
Set EmbedObj = Nothing 
End Sub 

ADO.NET DataSet Programming Framework 1.1

Enterprise Library for .NET Framework 1.1

Caching Application Block

Passing a list/array to SQL Server stored procedure :

Adding controls to ASP.NET page at runtime

We add control dynamically, attach event handler to it's event and nothing happened. What is wrong?

It is common question asked again and again. Adding controls to ASP.NET WebForm at runtime is a simple task:
private void Page_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    Button newButton = new Button();
    newButton.Text = "New Button";
    newButton.ID = "newButton";
    newButton.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.newButton_Click);

    WebUserControl1 newUserControl = (WebUserControl1)LoadControl("WebUserControl1.ascx");
    newUserControl.ID = "newUserControl";

    this.PlaceHolder.Add(newUserControl);
    this.PlaceHolder.Add(newButton);
}

Problem



Now let's raise a bet little. What if we want to add new control as a result of some user action (button click for example)? 

We are moving the same code from Page_Load to Button_Click event and… Here troubles begin. Our controls will show as expected, but only first time. 
Any postback will reset page to its original state. Dynamically created controls will be unable to fire any event. 
What is happening here? The answer is simple. 
Page class is stateless. It is destroyed after rendering. Page recreates child controls collection, 
based on tags in aspx file, then postback data can be handled and event handlers attached (in OnInit event). 
Controls we just created dynamically do not exist in aspx file; page has no knowledge about them.


Solution


Solution is also simple. We have to recreate controls on load stage of page lifecycle. After it's done, each control can handle his postback data, 
retrieve saved viewstate, raise events etc.

Now code skeleton will look like this:


private void Page_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    RecreatePersistedControls();
}
private void Button_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    CreateControl("newControl");
    PersistControl("newControl");
}
private void RecreatePersistedControls()
{
    // Call CreateControl for each persisted control
}
private void CreateControl(string id)
{
    // Create controll with specified id,
    // add it to controls collection, attach event handlers
}
private void PersistControl(string id)
{
    // Persist specified id (in session for example)
}


See fully functional example at Code Project