Phoenix

I am resurrecting this tech blog for notes related to Azure Logic Apps with SAP.

SQL to Excel - Cleanup tabs, new lines, ect...

DECLARE @CrLf CHAR(2);
SET @CrLf = CHAR(13) + CHAR(10); -- CarriageReturn + LineFeed

SELECT [PROB_TYPE]
  ,[CONTACTNAME]
      ,[TECHNITION]
      ,[NUMBER]
  --,[DESCRIPTION]
  ,REPLACE(REPLACE(SUBSTRING([DESCRIPTION],1,DATALENGTH([DESCRIPTION])),@CrLf,'-'), CHAR(9), '') AS [DESCRIPTION]
      ,[OPENED]
      ,[CLOSED]
      ,[CLOSINGREMARKS]
      ,[STATUS]
      ,[ENTERED_BY]
      ,[CONT_PHONE]
      ,[CONT_ADDRESS]
      ,[CONT_EMAIL]
      ,[TAG_NO]
      ,[SERIAL_NO]
      ,[MODEL]
      ,[PRIORITY]
      ,[SHOW]
      ,[CODE]
      ,[CLOSEID]
      ,[EMERGENCY_CHANGE]
      ,[ENTERED_ID]
      ,[HRS_EST]
      ,[HRS_ACTUAL]
  FROM [problems]
  where status not in ('closed')
 order by prob_type

MS SQL Tables to C# objects

I am putting this here so I don't have to search for it later.

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5873170/generate-class-from-database-table

SQLITE NHibernate DateTime2

While working on a project I was using a MsSQL 2012 database for my persistence layer but wanted to use a SQLITE in memory database for my unit/integration testing.  As part of my mapping setup I used an NHibernate Version column which used DateTime2:

NHibernate Mapping Code:

Unforntuently SQLITE doesn't support DateTime2. After searching around and not finding a good solution, I ended up extending SQLiteDialect class to map it to TEXT per the following link:   http://stackoverflow.com/a/16597386/2544235

SQLiteDialect Code:

Great Read

http://lifehacker.com/what-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-started-my-career-as-a-softwa-1681002791

Windows 10 "element not found" - explorer.exe error

I recently installed windows 10 preview on an old laptop (Dell Precision) which has an Nvidia Quadro 3000M video card.  After running windows update i was getting an error every time i tried to load any metro app including the feedback app.

Error: The error popped up a box saying Explorer.exe with text "element not found".

Fix: Disable the Optimus feature in the bois.

It appears to be a Nvidia optimus problem similar to the one that initially affected Windows 8 and most likely will not be fixed till the vendor puts out windows 10 specific drivers.

More info:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_tp-hardware/nvidia-optimus-not-working-properly/a059390d-dfc1-44aa-9a47-d2172d70933e

https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/779669/nvidia-optimus-doesnt-work-with-windows-10-tech-preview/?offset=2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_Optimus

Recurly Credit Card Processing - True Metered Billing

Overview:  I have a client that wants to simply bill a transaction fee at the end of each month.  After doing my due diligence, Recruly appeared to be the best solution for the problem as they assured me that what was i doing was not only possible but simple.

To make a long story short, technical support couldn't provide me with an example nor would they tell me anything but "look at our website" which was less then helpful as it contradicted itself.  Sometimes it would say to modify the plan subscription itself, sometimes it would say to create an addon.  None of this is correct.

The correct way to do metered billing with Recurly using is to use the following procedure:

1. Create an account without a subscription plan
2. At the end of each month simple add an adjustment to the account and invoice the pending charges.

Code (C#):

private void CreateAccount(RecurlyAccount recurlyAccount)
        {

            var account = new Account(recurlyAccount.AccountCode)
            {
                FirstName = recurlyAccount.FirstName,
                LastName = recurlyAccount.LastName,
                Email = recurlyAccount.Email,
                CompanyName = recurlyAccount.CompanyName,
            };

            account.BillingInfo = new BillingInfo(account)
            {
                LastName = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.FirstName,
                FirstName = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.LastName,
                Address1 = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.Address1,
                Address2 = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.Address2,
                City = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.City,
                State = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.State,
                Country = "US",
                PostalCode = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.PostalCode,
                CreditCardNumber = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.CreditCardNumber,
                CardType = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.CardType,
                ExpirationMonth = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.ExpirationMonth,
                ExpirationYear = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.ExpirationYear,
                Company = recurlyAccount.RecurlyBillingInfo.Company
            };

            account.Create();
        }

 
public virtual void BillCreditCard(Account account, int quantity, int amountInCents)
        {

            account.NewAdjustment("USD", amountInCents, "Orders", quantity).Create();
            account.InvoicePendingCharges();
            
        }

Scaling Agile Across the Enterprise

Microsoft put out some videos about "Scaling Agile Across the Enterprise".  I particularly like the video which talks about how the waterfall method is not a good way to design software anymore and how businesses struggle with that.

It can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n79fJUiQ-PU

Nhibernate, Abstract Base Classes and JSON.NET

While working on a project I ran into an issue where JSON.NET was not serializing and deserializing my nhibernate entities that used polymorphism. I found plenty of examples that showed how to do this with objects directly but none with Lists and Collections. This code isn't generic like it should be but worked for my purposes. So here is my code:

POCO:

---

 
[JsonConverter(typeof(LineItemConverter))]
public virtual ICollection LineItems { get; set; }

JsonConverter:

---

 
public class LineItemConverter : JsonConverter
    {
        public override bool CanConvert(Type objectType)
        {
            return typeof(LineItem).IsAssignableFrom(objectType);
        }

        public override object ReadJson(JsonReader reader, Type objectType, object existingValue, JsonSerializer serializer)
        {

            var lineitems = JArray.Load(reader);
            var lineItemObjects = new List();


            foreach (var lineitem in lineitems)
            {
                switch (EnumUtil.ParseEnum(lineitem["lineItemType"].Value()))
                {
                    case LineItemType.Assessorial:
                        lineItemObjects.Add(lineitem.ToObject());
                        break;

                    case LineItemType.DeficitWeight:
                        lineItemObjects.Add(lineitem.ToObject());
                        break;

                    case LineItemType.Discount:
                        lineItemObjects.Add(lineitem.ToObject());
                        break;

                    case LineItemType.FloorAdjustment:
                        lineItemObjects.Add(lineitem.ToObject());
                        break;

                    case LineItemType.Freight:
                        lineItemObjects.Add(lineitem.ToObject());
                        break;

                    case LineItemType.Fuel:
                        lineItemObjects.Add(lineitem.ToObject());
                        break;

                    case LineItemType.Other:
                        lineItemObjects.Add(lineitem.ToObject());
                        break;

                    default:
                        break;

                } 
            }

            return lineItemObjects;
            
        }


        public override void WriteJson(JsonWriter writer, object value, JsonSerializer serializer)
        {

            var lineitems = value as ICollection;
            serializer.Serialize(writer, lineitems.ToArray());
            
        }

---

Angluar JS + c# Web API decimals not routing

For some reason when i would put/get decimal values with the angularjs $resource i would get a 404. After lots of research i found out that this is due to $resource dropping trailing slashes (more info here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14533117/angular-trailing-slash-for-resource ). There is talk that in angular 1.3 they will add this as an option but for now we need to use a hack.
HACK: Add "\\/" to the end of your url in the $resource. For example: return $resource('/api/pricingAgreementItem/:id/:action/:value\\/', { id: '@id' },... See below for a more complete example.
 Javascript: C#:

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!