Developer Tip: Avoid random numerical constants

There always comes a time when we just need to use a single number or set of numbers in our code…. but please avoid typing something like:

if (permissionID == 3){

    // do something

}

Instantly I thinking

What is 3?

Is there a 1 and 2?

Is there documentation somewhere that can help?”

You can add a comment, that would be a bit helpful. But I believe a better solution is either an Enum or Class of constants. These solutions make your code more readable, and give more context around what “3” is.

Enum:

enum Permissions : int{

    None = 0,

    Read = 1,

    Write = 2,

    FullControl = 3

}

// .....

if (permissionID == (int)Permissions.FullControl){

    // do something

}

Class of Constants:

public static class Permissions {

    public static const int None = 0;

    public static const int Read = 1;

    public static const int Write = 2;

    public static const int FullControl = 3;

}

// .....

if (permissionID == Permissions.FullControl){

    // do something

}

Obviously these aren’t the only solutions… simply making a variable with a descriptive name might be enough…. but DO NOT just type a constant in the middle of your code.

A must have SharePoint Management Tool

I know I’m late to the game on this, but I thought I would share for others that are unaware.

If you manage or develop against SharePoint you should look into

SharePoint Manager 2010

It’s a great tool for finding feature ID’s, managing lists, pretty much anything you need to know about your SharePoint server and everything in it.

C# code to force the debugger to launch

There are times where you just can’t manually attach the Visual Studio debugger to your code. Like when you’re trying to debug Sharepoint feature events (FeatureActivated, FeatureDeactivating, etc.) when Visual Studio is deploying your SharePoint project.

For those situations you can use this line of code to attach Visual Studio to your process.

System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Launch();

Just make sure to remove it before you ship your software.

HTTP Request Headers Testing

This is a trick I’ve been using for a while, but I wanted to share.

Sometimes third party software requests your Web Pages/Services and pass data via the HTTP Request Headers.

If you want to simulate these requests you can do so with Fiddler. Fiddler acts as a “man in the middle” for all the requests coming from your browser. Therefore, it has the ability to alter your HTTP requests before they are passed along to the appropriate destination.

Here is how you add a header to your browser requests.

Launch Fiddler and select Rules > Custom Rules…

Find the function called

static function OnBeforeRequest(oSession: Session)

Within this function you can add items to your request header by assigning key/value combination to the “oSession.oRequest” array.

Here’s an example:

static function OnBeforeRequest(oSession: Session)

{ 

    oSession.oRequest["Custom_Header_Key"] = "Custom Header Value";

}

Now any request from a browser will contain that value. Including localhost requests

For more information about Custom Rules, I encourage your to visit the Fiddler Script Cookbook

What is the “Mythical Man Month”

Well, there is a book out there explaining it.
The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition)
Though a great source, it’s one dry read.

I actually recommend the cliff notes.

The basic gist is this:

If a developer gives an estimate for a project that might take 320 hours or “2 Man Months.” Some might think 2 developers can complete the same task in half the time. 

This might work in a manufacturing world, but not so well in a software world because of two factors, partitioning and communication to maintain the partitions.

The reality of the matter is, software depends on other software. Some things can’t be independently partitioned. When they can’t, developers must constantly communicate to make sure their pieces will work together. This communication takes additional time.  The more developers you add, the more communication you need, and therefore the more time you’ll have to spend.

There is a “sweet spot,” but unfortunately, there isn’t a perfect way to calculate it. When writing software, every project is different.

-Justin Kohnen

For a better explanation I encourage you to read the book, or at least the cliff notes.

How to use Window 8 on a PC

So you’re thinking about installing Windows 8 (or you’ve already installed it) and you’re wondering “It’s changed so much, How the heck do I use it?”

I wanted to share an instructional video with you that will answer just that question.

Here is the 25 minute version

And here is the “3 minute” version

Preparing a SQL database for CLR assembly loading

A few times, I’ve had to install CLR assemblies into a Microsoft SQL database.

In order to do so, the deploying user must be granted certain permissions.

Here is the script I use.

/*===========================================================

  THIS SCRIPT WILL PREPARE A SERVER FOR LOADING AN ASSEMBLY 

  BY GRANTING RIGHTS FOR THE SPECIFIED USER TO LOAD

  ASSEMBLIES OF ALL PERMISSION SETS

  AND SETTING THE DATABASE TO TRUSTWORTHY TO 

  ALLOW THE ASSEMBLY TO BE LOADED INTO CLR

  NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU REPLACE THE <Username> PLACEHOLDER

    WITH THE USERNAME YOU WISH TO ELEVATE PERMISSIONS FOR

  NOTE 2: A USER CANNOT ELEVATE THEIR OWN PERMISSIONS. THIS SCRIPT

    SHOULD BE RUN BY A DIFFERENT USER THAN THE ONE BEING ELEVATED

  NOTE 3: RUN IN DATABASE YOU WANT TO LOAD THE ASSEMBLY

  ===========================================================*/

       DECLARE @user NVARCHAR(50)

       DECLARE @tsql NVARCHAR(MAX)

       DECLARE @error INT

       SELECT @user = '<Username>'

       PRINT 'STEP PREPARE SERVER AND DATABASE FOR ASSEMBLY LOADING'

       PRINT 'SERVER  :   [' + @@SERVERNAME + ']'

       PRINT 'DATEBASE:   [' + db_name() + ']'

       PRINT 'USER    :   ' + @user

       PRINT 'START TIME: ' + convert(varchar(max), getdate())

       PRINT ''

       PRINT 'GRANT PERMISSION TO LOAD EXTERNAL_ACCESS ASSEMBLIES'

       SET @tsql = 'USE MASTER ' + char(13) + char(10) + 

                            'GRANT EXTERNAL ACCESS ASSEMBLY TO ' + @user + ''

       EXEC sp_ExecuteSQL @tsql 

       SET @Error = @@Error

       IF @Error <> 0 

              BEGIN

                     PRINT 'ERROR OCCURRED: ' + CONVERT(varchar(50), @error)

                     PRINT 'GRANTING EXTERNAL_ACCESS LOADING PERMISSIONS'

                     PRINT 'TO ' + @user

              END

       ELSE

              BEGIN

              PRINT 'GRANT PERMISSION TO LOAD UNSAFE ASSEMBLIES'

              SET @tsql = 'USE MASTER ' + char(13) + char(10) + 

                                   'GRANT UNSAFE ASSEMBLY TO ' + @user + ''

              EXECUTE sp_ExecuteSQL @tsql 

              SET @Error = @@Error

              IF @Error <> 0 

                     BEGIN

                           PRINT 'ERROR OCCURRED: ' + CONVERT(varchar(50), @error)

                           PRINT 'GRANTING UNSAFE LOADING PERMISSIONS'

                           PRINT 'TO ' + @user

                     END

              ELSE

                     BEGIN

                     PRINT 'MARK DATABASE ' + db_name() + ' SO ASSEMBLIES CAN RUN'

                     SET @tsql = N'USE MASTER ' + char(13) + char(10) + 

                                          'ALTER DATABASE ' + db_name() +

                                         ' SET TRUSTWORTHY ON '

                     EXEC sp_Executesql @tsql 

                     SET @error = @@ERROR

                     IF @error <> 0 

                           BEGIN

                           PRINT 'ERROR OCCURRED: ' + CONVERT(varchar(50), @error)

                           PRINT 'MARKING DATABASE ' + db_name() + ' SAFE TO RUN ASSEMBLIES'

                           END

                     END

              END                        

       PRINT ''

       PRINT 'STEP COMPLETED'

       PRINT 'END TIME: ' + convert(varchar(max), getdate())

I post this in hopes that someone else will find value in it.

Cheers,

Justin