Simple Membership + WebMatrix.Data & WebMatrix.WebData

In order to use simple membership roles with an MVC5 project you need WebMatrix.WebData reference.  To obtain this Reference you need to use nuget and install Microsoft.AspNet.WebHelpers.  I am documenting it here so i don't forget. Non-MVC projects need Microsoft.AspNet.WebPages.OAuth (Install-Package Microsoft.AspNet.WebPages.OAuth) http://stackoverflow.com/questions/13324544/how-to-add-asp-net-membership-provider-in-a-empty-mvc-4-project-template/13325883#13325883

Visual Studio 2013 + Angularjs + JasmineJS + Resharper 7/8 (or Chutzpah)

I recently started a project which used the following technologies: Visual Studio 2013 + Angularjs + JasmineJS + Resharper 7/8 (or Chutzpah).

I was having a rough time getting JasmineJS to work with Resharper/Chutzpah.  The strange thing was that it would work in the specrunner but not in the actual resharper or chutzpah interfaces which directly integrate into Visual Studio (which is what i wanted).

After spending a couple hours of research i came upon this blog: http://microsoftwindowsblogger.blogspot.com/2013/10/best-unit-testing-angularjs-with.html

Basically you have to inject the script references into the unit test files (which i knew) but they must ALSO BE RELATIVE PATHS TO THE TEST FILE!

Here is an example of a working Jasmine Unit Test which integrates angularjs and works with both Chutzpah and Resharper 7+:

SQL Express 2012 Automated Backup Script

SQL Express doesn't come with the SQL Server Agent and so you can not use the Full SQL server backup maintenance plans.  To get around this I am using the following script which is executed once a day by the task scheduler.

sp_BackupDatabases can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2019698

database_backup.bat

md c:\temp_database_bak
sqlcmd -S {{MACHINE_NAME}}\SQLEXPRESS -Q "EXEC sp_BackupDatabases @backupLocation='c:\temp_database_bak\', @backupType='F'"

FOR %%A IN (%Date%) DO (
    FOR /F "tokens=1-3 delims=/-" %%B in ("%%~A") DO (
        SET Today=%%D%%B%%C
    )
)

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" a c:\backup_mssql\Database_BAK.%TODAY%.7z "C:\temp_database_bak\"

rmdir c:\temp_database_bak /S /Q

Visio Alternative

If you are a developer you probably have Visio but if you don’t https://www.draw.io/ is a great alternative and its free.

Orchard CMS, Magelia WebStore & Credit Card Processing

I recently became the project manager for a fully integrated CMS and eCommerce solution.  After reviewing  possible options, I selected Orchard CMS(www.orchardproject.net) with a Magelia WebStore (http://www.magelia.org/) integration.

I was able to get both solutions installed without to much trouble using Microsoft Web Platform Installer.  Magelia provides some decent documentation on their website on how to integrate both solutions but their credit card processing documentation is non-existent.

After emailing back and forth with the Magelia CEO and development team, I now have a good understand of how it works and have documented their undocumented API which i am posting here including an overview of the solution.

Overview:

• Once you have installed both Magelia and Orchard and have integrated both products via the Magelia website tutorial (Found Here) you should be able to see products, add them to your cart and begin the checkout process.  
• Once you get to the end of the process you will get the following error:  "Override this view (DisplayTemplates\Checkout\ProceedToPayment.cshtml) in your theme in order to submit payment data to the payment provider of your choice/". see example below:

ProceedToPayment.cshtml

• Magelia provides an Orchard theme based off the default theme to make Paypal the payment gateway for the stores (Found Here).  If we want to use any other payment gateway we will need to override this theme.  It can be downloaded or install manually using the link above OR you can goto the theme gallery in Orchard and install it using the interface (recommend).  
• At this point you can edit the theme directly in notepad.  I have Visual Studio and so i wanted to create a VS project.  Orchard has a great system for generating theme templates which visual studio project solutions. To do so you need to use the Orchard Command Line interface (More Info).  
• Once the Orchard CLI is running execute the following command
• codegen theme MyTheme /BasedOn:TheThemeMachineWithPaypalForMageliaWebStore /CreateProject:true /IncludeInSolution:true
• This will create a new theme with a visual studio project file in it.
• modify {IIS SERVER}\Orchard\Themes\MyTheme\Views\DisplayTemplates\Checkout\ProceedToPayment.cshtml and implement your credit card processing logic using Razor syntax.

Magelia API: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7774960/Magelia_API.html
Code Example 1 (ProceedToPayment.cshtml): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7774960/ProceedToPayment.cshtml
Code Example 2 (Extract Billing Address): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7774960/billingAddress.cshtml

Once complete you will need to log into orchard and apply the theme to your site.

Post questions below

Combining mp3 files.

recently i was trying to combine a bunch of mp3 files from an audio book i purchased so i could play them on my phone.  The files were all 4mb and separated into folders by which of the 10 discs they came from. Originally i looked for opensource software to do this but then discovered that this can be doing using the windows command prompt.

Command:  copy /b *.mp3 Disc1.mp3

This worked great but i had to keep traversing a monster directory structure in the command line to get to were the next group of mp3's were.  In ubuntu there is a feature were you can right click in a folder from the GUI and it would open the command prompt in that directory.  I remember windows not initially having it but it appears that they have finally implemented this great feature though they hid it pretty well.

To open a command prompt in a specific folder from the OS GUI open the folder then hold down the shift key while right clicking.  This will give you an extra option which says "Open command window here".

UPDATE:
This process can have issues with variable bit rate mp3 files.  To fix them use vbrfix and it worked great.

http://windowsfreeware.net/files/vbrfix.zip

Github

Github recently pushed a windows client worth looking at.  Coming from an SVN world, i have had a hard time adjusting to the git methodology but using the Windows client has taken away most of the mystery without losing functionality.

Check out the Windows client for Github here:  http://windows.github.com/

Bootable AntiVirus Apps

Found this article (http://www.thewindowsclub.com/bootable-antivirus-rescue-cd-windows-free-download) which outlines some of the major players.  In the past i have found Kaspersky to be the most thorough (http://support.kaspersky.com/4162).

Instead of "wasting" a CD\DVD i would suggest using the rufus bootable thumbdrive application.  It is the simplest one i have found and works great!  It can be found here:  http://rufus.akeo.ie/

Vmware Copy/Paste (Clipboard)

While working with ESXi 5 vSphere Client i noticed that i couldnt copy and paste into a VM.  After some searching i found the below article on the vmware website which resolved the issue.  

Summary:

Note: VMware Tools must be installed for Copy and Paste to work.

1. Log into a vCenter Server system using the vSphere Client and power off the virtual machine.
2. Select the virtual machine and click the Summary tab.
3. Click Edit Settings.
4. Navigate to Options > Advanced > General and click Configuration Parameters.
5. Click Add Row.
6. Type these values in the Name and Value columns:
   
                               Name                                                Value
   
   
   • isolation.tools.copy.disable    false
   • isolation.tools.paste.disable   false
   Note: These options override any settings made in the VMware Tools control panel of the guest operating system.
   
7. Click OK to close the Configuration Parameters dialog, and click OK again to close the Virtual Machine Properties dialog.
8. Power on the virtual machine.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1026437

Simple Firewall Overview

I found this blog entry which explains what a firewall does in every simple, easy to understand terms.  I highly recommend it as a starting point.

http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2013/01/30/introduction-to-firewalls/

enjoy!