I use C# on a daily basis to do most of my coding.

I really don't like #region directives. It's not just a love-hate thing. I really hate it. I have a compulsive need to eliminate them. It's extra fluff that really doesn't need to be in the in the code to make the code any more meaningful. It doesn't add any value to the executable bits.

Using Find/Replace always gets tedius. Why not just remove all instances of it throughout the solution in one action?

Imports System
Imports EnvDTE
Imports EnvDTE80
Imports EnvDTE90
Imports System.Diagnostics

Public Module CodeHelper

    Public Sub RemoveRegions()
        RemoveThisRegexFromSolution("\#region.+")
        RemoveThisRegexFromSolution("\#endregion")
    End Sub

    Public Sub RemoveThisRegexFromSolution(ByVal findRegex As String)

        DTE.Windows.Item(Constants.vsWindowKindFindReplace).Activate() 'Find and Replace
        DTE.Find.FindWhat = findRegex
        DTE.Find.ReplaceWith = ""
        DTE.Find.Target = vsFindTarget.vsFindTargetFiles
        DTE.Find.MatchCase = False
        DTE.Find.MatchWholeWord = False
        DTE.Find.MatchInHiddenText = True
        DTE.Find.PatternSyntax = vsFindPatternSyntax.vsFindPatternSyntaxRegExpr
        DTE.Find.SearchPath = "Entire Solution"
        DTE.Find.SearchSubfolders = True
        DTE.Find.KeepModifiedDocumentsOpen = False
        DTE.Find.FilesOfType = "*.*"
        DTE.Find.ResultsLocation = vsFindResultsLocation.vsFindResults1
        DTE.Find.Action = vsFindAction.vsFindActionReplaceAll

        DTE.Find.Execute() ' Do it

        DTE.Windows.Item(Constants.vsWindowKindFindReplace).Close() ' Close the box

    End Sub

End Module

A colleage approached me and asked how he could convert some ASP Classic code to ASP.Net 2.

Here's the snippet

Dim user 'DOMAIN\USERNAME

Const DomainAuthority = "dc.hq.domain.com"

user = Request.ServerVariables("AUTH_USER") ' BASIC Authentication

user = Mid(user, InStr(user, "\") + 1)

Set user = GetObject("WINNT://" & DomainAuthority & "/" & user)

For Each grp in user.Groups

   If grp.Name = "GroupName1" Then GroupFlag1 = True

   If grp.Name = "GroupName2" Then GroupFlag2 = True

Next

This doesn't compile in a VB.Net web-app.

In order to fix this, lets first add a reference to the types we're using.

At the project level in the Solution Explorer, right click and select Add Reference

Switch to the COM tab, and Choose the "Active DS Type Library"

This will automagically add some things to your project.

These are the magical COM Interop DLLs that are generated for you, and allow you to use the objects inside that library.
Dim up a few objects, to use a bit later.

Dim usr As IADsUser
Dim grp As IADsGroup

Set a reference to your user the same as always, using the WinNT ADSI provider.

usr = GetObject("WINNT://" & TheDC & "/" & UsrName)

Now that the compiler knows what the grp object's type is, it won't puke on you

For Each grp In usr.Groups()
  If (grp.Name = "foo" Or grp.Name = "bar") Then
    ' Do something with it
  End If
Next


There are better ways to do this though, Stay tuned for how to totally pimp this out, the ASP.Net 2.0 way.

If Not InStr(1, WScript.Fullname, "cscript.exe") = 0 Then
 Dim WshShell
 Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
 Call WshShell.Popup("Use this syntax: cscript " & WScript.ScriptFullName, 5, "Error", 0)
 WScript.Quit
End If
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Const olFolderInbox = 6

Dim myolApp 'As Outlook.Application
Dim myNamespace 'As Outlook.NameSpace
Dim myInbox ' As MAPIFolder
Dim sycs 'As Outlook.SyncObjects
Dim syc 'As Outlook.SyncObject

' Setup Outlook
Set myolApp = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
If Err Then
    WScript.StdOut.Writeline "Could not create Outlook Application!"
    WScript.Quit
End If

' Setup the default MAPI namespace
Set myNamespace = myolApp.GetNamespace("MAPI")
If Err Then
    WScript.StdOut.Writeline "Could not create MAPI Namespace!"
    WScript.Quit
End If

' Force a send/receive
' Start Syncing (send/receive groups)
Set sycs = myNamespace.SyncObjects
For i = 1 To sycs.Count
 Set syc = sycs.Item(i)
 WScript.StdOut.Writeline "Starting send/receive on " & syc.Name
 syc.Start
Next

WScript.StdOut.Writeline "Retreiving unread count"
Set myInbox = myNamespace.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderInbox)

WScript.StdOut.Writeline "There are " & myInbox.UnReadItemCount & " unread messages"
WScript.Quit myInbox.UnReadItemCount

' Return code == 0 means there is no unread mail.
' Return code != 0 means there is that many read mail.

More DOS Scripting goodness. This snippet appends some arbitrary location to your PATH variable, so you can call the executables inside of it.

@ECHO OFF
ECHO %PATH% | FIND /I "C:\Folder1\Folder2\Folder with Spaces\bin\Release"
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\Folder1\Folder2\Folder with Spaces\bin\Release

That, ladies and gentleman, will save you minutes of grief. Isn't that what it's all about anyway? makes it all worth while.

Some people (like myself) should learn not to touch a compiler on Monday mornings (before the third cup of coffee at least)

I don't know why I couldn't remember how to do this, but I feel like a noob.

I was just trying to build a Xml Document in memory with a XmlWriter and a MemoryStream simple stuff right?

...

}

Now what if you want to get that back into a string? Say for use in a web-service query or something. like, I don't know, the SharePoint 2003 Search Web Service.

That conversion back to a string might look something like this.

string s;
System.O.MemoryStream ms;
System.IO.StreamReader sr = new System.IO.StreamReader(ms));
s = sr.ReadToEnd();
sr.Close();
ms.Close();

Of course later in the day, I decided to actually download the Research Service SDK, grab a copy of the QueryPacket Schema I was working against, generated a class against it with the XSD tool, and subclassed it to make sure I was submitting a valid search request. All was well with the world again, and I didn't feel so horribly inept for a Monday morning. Yeah me!

Using a text file to hold sequential numbers

This method is more useful in some situations. The biggest advantage is that the sequential number is no longer tied to a particular machine - it can be stored on a common server, or even a thumb drive. Disadvantages include difficulty in keeping the file from being modified simultaneously by two users, or of the file being more easily deleted or modified. This function will return the next sequential number:

Public Function GetNextSeqNumber(Optional sFileName As String, Optional nSeqNumber As Long = -1) As Long            
	Const sDEFAULT_PATH As String = "<your path here>"            
	Const sDEFAULT_FNAME As String = "defaultseq.txt"            
	Dim nFileNumber As Long                    
	nFileNumber = FreeFile            
	If sFileName = "" Then sFileName = sDEFAULT_FNAME                
		If InStr(sFileName, Application.PathSeparator) = 0 Then _                       
			sFileName = sDEFAULT_PATH & Application.PathSeparator & sFileName            

	If nSeqNumber = -1& Then                    
		If Dir(sFileName) <> "" Then                            
			Open sFileName For Input As nFileNumber                            
			Input #nFileNumber, nSeqNumber
			nSeqNumber = nSeqNumber + 1
			Close nFileNumber                    
		Else                            
			nSeqNumber = 1
		End If            
	End If                        

	On Error GoTo PathError                        
		Open sFileName For Output As nFileNumber                        

	On Error GoTo 0                        
		Print #nFileNumber, nSeqNumber                        
		Close nFileNumber            
		NextSeqNumber = nSeqNumber            
		Exit Function    

	PathError:            
		NextSeqNumber = -1
End Function

If you provide a full path in sFileName, that's where the file will be stored. If not, the file will be stored in whatever default directory you specify. You can set the sequential number by providing a value for nSeqNumber.

Thus, if I'm only using one sequence I can use

Public Sub Workbook_Open()            
	ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1).Range("B2").Value = GetNextSeqNumber    
End Sub

to return the next sequence number. If I'm using multiple sequences, I include the filename (with path, if the text file is not in the default path).

Public Sub NewClientInvoice()            
	This.Workbook.Sheets(1).Range("B2").Value = GetNextSeqNumber("Client1.txt")    
End Sub

And if I want to start a new sequence, beginning at, say, 1001, include that number in the function call. If the client name were in cell B4:

Public Sub SetUpNewClient()
	With ThisWorkbook.Sheets(1)        
		.Range("B2").Value = GetNextSeqNumber(.Range("B4").Value & ".txt", 1001)            
	End With    
End Sub

I was looking around the Microsoft Windodws Media Center Edition website and they had this great rolling banner ad.

I'm not sure where they think there's anywhere near the equivalency of the company to fruitcake, but it made me smile just the same.

Speaking of which, I my Home Theater PC is up and running (90%) now and I have to say it's the coolest gadget we have in the house. The only thing that isn't working yet is the VFD, but I suspect that it's bad for some reason. So. We'll just have to trouble shoot that until we figure it out out, now won't we? 

COVER YOUR SECURITY HOLES! It's quick, it's painless, and should be a standard procedure for all production apps.

On with the blog.

I was reading my daily email and ran accross a new alert. Apparantly on 10/6/2004 Microsoft released KB Article 887459. This article can be read here http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;887459  The site that I visit to find out about these is http://kbalertz.com. Great site, they have a free email letter. Sign up if you're any kind of a respectable Microsoft geek.

So, in this website, on the feedback someone says, “Well, we have URLScan installed. Aren't we already covered“

Yes, my friend, you are covered from a canononical attack if you use the default install of URLScan, and it hasn't been tampered with, and you can ensure some sysadmin hasn't uninstalled it, or some developer who is too lazy to write code that is kosher with that kind of tool. Lets not forget, gasp, our customers may not have this installed.

If you read the documentation for URLScan here  http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnnetsec/html/HT_URLScan.asp You'll find the following info

• URLScan blocks requests that contain potentially harmful characters, for example, characters that have been used to exploit vulnerabilities in the past such as "." used for directory traversal. It is not recommended that project paths contain the "." character. If you must allow this, you need to set AllowDotInPath=1 in URLScan.ini. 

It's very clear that URLScan does do the same 'thing' (blocking a period to avoid canononical traversal) only in the sense that it accomplishes it as an end result. It does not do provide a total solution for all vectors of attack. The problem is that if you deploy a webapp to a customer's box, you cannot ensure that they have (or will have) Urlscan installed. If you the vendor do not take steps to make sure that kind of functionality is provided within the app, you're going to loose one (if not many more) customers. This kind of common sense is not something they put in KB articles, and is reserved mostly for blogs. Sigh. Maybe someone will read this and take it to heart.

Update,

I pulled this information from Scott Hanselman's blog http://www.hanselman.com/blog/PermaLink.aspx?guid=78159d3b-40f2-45d0-93ad-2718274cbccb

1) Updated http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/aspnet.mspx with new information about the reported vulnerability.  This should help clear up some of the confusion we've seen about what is affected by this.  To be super clear, all ASP.NET applications, on ALL OS's should follow the guidance provided.

2) A new HTTP Module mitigation best practice.  This is in the form of an MSI installer that will help protect all ASP.NET applications on a Web server.  This MSI installer will place a binary into the GAC and update the machine.config file for ASP.NET.  You can find download information at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=da77b852-dfa0-4631-aaf9-8bcc6c743026&displaylang=en

You can also download the MSI directly at http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/6/1/461433d5-cbac-4721-85cb-c5a514fd0049/VPModule.msi

3) Detailed guidance about the HTTP Module, how the MSI works, and how to deploy it.  You can find this KB Article at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=887289