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  • Software Development Topics blog

    Owner: Software Development Topics
    URL: http://www.devtopics.com
    Join Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:56:58 -0500
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    Site Description:
    DevTopics.com is a blog about software development topics, with a focus on C# and the Microsoft .NET framework. DevTopics also discusses the creation and management of software companies, the software development process, and improving the computer experi
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.NET Assembly FAQ - Part 2 - Attributes
2007-06-12 10:16:53
This multi-part article answers common questions about assemblies, the basic building blocks of .NET applications.  This Part 2 discusses assembly attributes. (more…)
Read more: Assembly , Attributes

C# Search/Replace in Files
2007-06-07 08:19:30
Sometimes you need a quick & easy way to search and replace text in a file.  The following code shows how it can be done using the static methods on the Regex regular expression class.  Because this sample loads the entire file contents in memory, is not appropriate for very large files. (more…)
Read more: Search

Splogs: Spam Blogs and Stolen Content
2007-06-05 19:29:12
Copyright infringement is the sincerest form of flattery. What's a Splog? A splog or "spam blog" is a blog that steals content from other web sites, then aggregates and republishes all or some of the content on its own blog. Splogs are created to promote and increase search engine ranking of affiliated web sites, and/or to make money from ads shown on the splog.  Typically splogs are automated, but they can also be manual copy & paste.  A recent study indicated that 56% of all blogs are spam, and there are over 575 thousand splogs reported. (more…)
Read more: Blogs , Content

Console Output from a WinForms Application
2007-06-04 16:37:02
You may wish to enable your WinForms application to run from a console window or command line.  And when it does, you probably want to send output messages to the console window that launched your WinForms application.  Unfortunately Console .WriteLine()–the standard method of writing to the console window–by default will not work from a WinForms application.  That's because the console window that launched your WinForms application belongs to the cmd.exe process, which is separate from your WinForms application process.  (more…)
Read more: Output , Application

Obfuscation? Gesundheit!
2007-06-02 17:24:47
If you are a .NET developer, how would you feel if your original C# or VB source code was published on the Web for the world to see?  That's exactly what happens if you release your .NET software without obfuscation. (more…)
Read more: Gesundheit

One-Third of PC Software is Pirated
2007-06-02 11:49:31
About one-third of all software installed on personal computers globally in 2006 was pirated, according to a study from IDC.  This resulted in a worldwide software revenue loss of $40 billion, an increase of more than $5 billion or 15% over 2005.  The software piracy rate exceeded 60% in more than half of the 102 countries studied, and exceeded 75% in about one-third of the countries. (more…)
Read more: Software

.NET Assembly FAQ - Part 1
2007-05-31 09:14:33
Frequently asked questions, some assembly required.  This multi-part article answers common questions about assemblies–the basic building blocks of .NET applications.  Some developers may never need to understand assemblies.  But if you create shared components, use DLLs or deliver a suite of applications, then it's essential to understand what .NET assemblies are and how they work. (more…)
Read more: Assembly

Most Popular Programming Languages
2007-05-30 20:30:25
Debate over the most popular programming language can become an emotional, almost religious battle.  And sometimes there's no debate at all, such as when a developer is assigned to repair legacy software.  "It was written in COBOL?" is a popular refrain. A programming language is just one tool in a developer's expansive collection of specialty software and hardware.  So does it really matter which programming language a developer uses, as long as he or she is meeting customer requirements on time and within budget? Yes, yes it does.  Ford or Chevy.  Stihl or Husky.  Coke or Pepsi.  Let's face it, we all get passionate about our tools. (more…)
Read more: Programming , Languages

Adding Assemblies to the Visual Studio "Add Reference" Dialog
2007-05-30 18:28:09
When you attempt to add an assembly reference to a Visual Studio project, the Add Reference dialog appears with a list of registered global assemblies in the .NET tab:    Add Your Assembly to Visual Studio Unfortunately, adding your assembly to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) does NOT make it automatically appear in the Visual Studio list of installed assemblies; you must add your assembly manually as follows: (more…)
Read more: Dialog

Determine the Version of a Loaded .NET Assembly
2007-05-29 18:11:01
Sometimes you need to know which version of an assembly was loaded by your .NET application.  The following code snippet makes it easy: (more…)
Read more: Assembly , Loaded

.NET Assembly FAQ - Part 3 - Strong Names and Signing
2007-06-15 10:16:32
This multi-part article answers common questions about assemblies, the basic building blocks of .NET applications.  This Part 3 discusses assembly security using strong names, signing and public-private key pairs. (more…)
Read more: Assembly , Strong , Names

Internet Explorer 7 Cookies and Temporary Files
2007-06-14 18:30:49
Have you ever tried to find your Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) cookies or temporary files on disk using Windows Explorer?  Chances are Explorer is configured to hide system files, which is how Microsoft has designated the folder that contains its IE7 files. (more…)
Read more: Cookies , Temporary , Internet Explorer

Blogging Tips for Developers
2007-06-14 10:54:05
Blogs are becoming an important and prevalent method for software developers to share knowledge, tips and code.  Unlike code-sharing sites that have publication guidelines and restrictions, blogs are typically privately-owned, which gives developers freedom to deliver and format their content in many ways.  But this freedom can also result in a poor experience for the blog reader, ranging from code samples that won't compile, to the equivalent of a messy desk where nothing useful can be found. Following are several tips for software developers to write and manage their blogs, and to make the blogs easier to use and navigate for their readers. (more…)
Read more: Blogging , Developers

Move "My Documents" Folder
2007-06-13 12:18:08
Many applications store data in the "My Documents " folder.  Unfortunately, by default this folder is buried at "C:Documents and SettingsUserNameMy Documents". A smarter approach is to separate your programs and data.  For example, I store the operating system and programs on my C: drive and all data on my D: drive.  But simply moving your data is not enough–you need to tell applications and the operating system where to find it. (more…)
Read more: Folder

Embed Google Ad in First WordPress Post
2007-06-19 09:04:43
The leading SEO (Search Engine Optimization) sites will tell you that placing an ad after the first post in your blog's home page is particularly effective.  This is because the ad is essentially embedded in the blog content, hence your readers are less likely to develop "ad blindness" and skip over the ad as usual. To place an ad after the first post in your WordPress blog main page: (more…)
Read more: Google , First

Lighten and Darken Colors in .NET
2007-06-22 11:50:27
There is a very handy .NET class called ControlPaint in the System.Windows.Forms namespace that enables you to draw your own controls and control elements using the standard Windows style and theme.  Buried in this rich class are four methods that enable you to lighten and darken colors: (more…)
Read more: Colors

C# GetPixel and SetPixel
2007-06-20 12:32:49
It's hard to believe the comprehensive .NET framework would omit such obvious functions as GetPixel and SetPixel from its Drawing library.  Fortunately, we can access the GDI functions using Interop, as shown below. Notice the conversion required between the COLORREF integer used by the GDI methods and the Color structure used by our static .NET methods. (more…)


List Drives and Volumes from .NET
2007-06-25 11:28:04
The .NET Framework v2.0 did a nice job filling many holes in the System.IO namespace, especially when it comes to managing the file system.  One such addition is the DriveInfo class, which enables you to determine what drives are available, their type, capacity and available free space. (more…)
Read more: Volumes

Determine if a Loaded .NET Assembly is Signed
2007-06-25 09:51:02
A .NET assembly is "signed" if the developer compiled the assembly with the private key of a digital signature.  When the system later loads the assembly, it verifies the assembly with the corresponding public key.  Occasionally you may need to determine whether an assembly you have loaded has been signed. (more…)
Read more: Loaded , Assembly , Signed

Hide Form from Alt+Tab
2007-06-29 07:35:12
When you show a .NET Form, by default the form will appear in the Windows Start bar and in the list of open windows shown when the user presses Alt+Tab. (more…)


.NET Assembly FAQ - Part 4 - Global Assembly Cache
2007-06-28 11:36:08
This multi-part article answers common questions about assemblies, the basic building blocks of .NET applications.  This Part 4 covers shared assemblies and the Global Assembly Cache. (more…)


Change Font Style
2007-07-05 08:02:53
Changing a font style is a bit easier than changing its size, as there is a Font constructor that accepts a font and style as arguments.  For example, to bold a label's font: (more…)
Read more: Change , Style

Change Font Size
2007-07-05 07:58:39
An inspection of the Font class will reveal that every public property is read-only.  This means to change a font's size, you need to create a new Font object with all the same properties of your current font but with the new size.  Here is a handy method to do just that: (more…)
Read more: Change

Determine Installed .NET Versions from a Web Page
2007-07-11 11:59:34
You can use the following JavaScript code in a web page to determine which versions of .NET are installed on a client PC: (more…)
Read more: Web Page

Determine the .NET Versions on which an Application is Compiled and Running
2007-07-11 20:52:58
The version of .NET against which you compile an application or assembly may not be the same version of .NET on which the application is currently running.  A .NET application should always be able to run on the same or newer version of .NET against which it was compiled. This is because .NET is backward compatible.  This means that an application compiled on .NET v1.1 should run OK on .NET v2.0 and v3.0.  But an application compiled on .NET v2.0 will not run on .NET v1.1. (more…)
Read more: Application

ASCII Table
2007-07-16 10:02:06
Did you know?  You can type ASCII characters into any application.  Press and hold the Left-Alt key, then using the numeric keypad, type the four-digit decimal number for the ASCII character you want, then release the Left-Alt key.  For example, to type è, press and hold Left-Alt, then type 0232 on the numeric keypad.  When you release the Left-Alt key, è will be typed.  Here is the world famous ASCII table: (more…)
Read more: Table

Truncate File Path with Ellipsis
2007-07-16 09:39:57
The Microsoft .NET Framework is quite comprehensive, but occasionally an obvious function slips through the cracks and you have to use InteropServices to access the Windows API.  One such obvious miss is the ability to truncate a file path.  If you are drawing text and know the font and desired output size, you can use the WinForms TextRenderer class.  But to truncate a file path to a specific number of characters, you need the "Shell Lightweight Utility Library" function PathCompactPathEx: (more…)


In C#, a string is a String
2007-07-19 08:45:28
C# includes a number of pre-defined "built-in" data types.  Each built-in data type is represented by a class in the System namespace that inherits from the base System.Object class.  For example, an integer is represented by the System.Int32 class, and a string is represented by the System.String class. C# defines an alias keyword for each built-in type.  The alias keyword and its corresponding C# type are interchangeable.  For example, you can define a string with the "string" keyword or "System.String" type: (more…)


C# String Tips
2007-07-18 12:15:04
The .NET string class is quite comprehensive, yet some common string functions are missing or not entirely obvious.  This article provides quick tips on using .NET strings. (more…)
Read more: String

What is .NET?
2007-07-20 10:21:14
I was having lunch recently with a colleague when he asked, "Are you still messing around with that .NET stuff?"  I could tell by the tone of his voice that he—like many computer users—still viewed .NET with suspicion.  And perhaps with good reason.  Purposefully kept separate from the Windows operating system, the 22MB Microsoft .NET Framework is an hour download on dialup and four minutes on broadband.  For .NET developers, this extra step adds one more hurdle for a potential customer to overcome when purchasing our software. So in this article I attempt to demystify .NET, encourage you to download the latest version of the .NET Framework so you can run the latest and greatest .NET software, and help convince Microsoft that it needs to ensure every PC user has the newest .NET. (more…)


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