Double question mark operator in C#

C# has a very neat coalesce operator (??). Here's a quick explanation.

(The following was taken from here)


For two nullable variables, a and b,


int? a = null;
int? b = 5;


If a is not null, return a.
If a is null, then return b only if b is not null.
If b is also null, then I want to return 10;


This logic is written as follows.


if(a != null)
return a;
if(b != null)
return b;
return 10;



Or it can be written as follows.

return (a != null ? a : (b != null ? b : 10));


Or it can also be written as follows.

return ((a ?? b) ?? 10);

VBScript Functions

VBScript Functions

Type Checking | Typecasting | Formatting | Math | Date | String | Other

Type Checking Functions These functions will allow you to determine the data subtype of a variable or expression.

	Value	Constant	Data Type
	0	vbEmpty	Empty [This is the type for a variable that has yet to be used, and is the default data type]
	1	vbNull	Null [no valid data]
	2	vbInteger	Integer
	3	vbLong	Long
	4	vbSingle	Single
	5	vbDouble	Double
	6	vbCurrency	Currency
	7	vbDate	Date
	8	vbString	String
	9	vbObject	Object
	10	vbError	Error
	11	vbBoolean	Boolean
	12	vbVariant	Variant [used with vbArray]
	13	vbDataObject	Data Access Object
	14	vbDecimal	Decimal
	17	vbByte	Byte
	8192	vbArray	Array [VBScript uses 8192 as a base for arrays and adds the code for the datatype to indicate an array. 8204 indicates a variant array, which is the only real kind of array in VBScript]
	TypeName(expression) returns a string with the name of the datatype rather than the code.
	IsNumeric(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is numeric, and False otherwise
	IsArray(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is an array, and False otherwise
	IsDate(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is date/time data, and False otherwise
	IsEmpty(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is an empty value (un-initialised variable), and False otherwise
	IsNull(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression contains no valid data, and False otherwise
	IsObject(expression) returns a Boolean value of True if the expression is an object, and False otherwise

Typecasting Functions Typecasting allows you to convert between data subtypes.

	Cint(expression) casts expression to an integer. If expression is a floating-point value, it is rounded. If it is a string that looks like a number, it is turned into that number and then rounded if necessary. If it is a Boolean value of True, it becomes -1, False becomes 0. It must also be within the range that an integer can store.
	Cbyte(expression) casts expression to a byte value provided that expression falls between 0 and 255, expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Cdbl(expression) casts expression to a double. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Csng(expression) casts expression to a single. It works like Cdbl() but must fall within the range represented by a single.
	Cbool(expression) casts expression to a Boolean value. If expression is zero, the result is False, otherwise the result is True. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Ccur(expression) casts expression to a Currency value. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number.
	Cdate(expression) casts expression to a Date value. expression should be numeric or something that can be cast to a number, or a string of a commonly used date format. DateValue(expression) or TimeValue(expression) can also be used for this.
	Cstr(expression) casts expression to a string. expression can be any kind of data.

Formatting Functions

	FormatDateTime(expression, format) is used to format the date/time data in expression. Format is an optional argument that should be one of the following: vbGeneralDate - Display date , if present, as short date. Display time, if present, as long time. Value is 0. This is the default setting if no format is specified. vbLongDate - Display the date using the server's long date format. Value is 1. vbShortDate - Display the date using the server's short date format. Value is 2. vbLongTime - Display the time using the server's long time format. Value is 3. vbShortTime - Display the time using the server's short time format. Value is 4.
	FormatCurrency(value, numdigits, leadingzero, negparen, delimiter) is used to format the monetary value specified by value. numdigits specifies the number of digits to display after the decimal place. -1 indicates to use the system default. Tristate options have three possible values. If the value is -2, it means use the system default. If it is -1, it means turn on the option. If it is 0, turn off the option. leadingzero is a Tristate option indicating whether to include leading zeroes on values less than 1. negparen is a Tristate option indicating whether to enclose negative values in parentheses. delimiter is a Tristate option indicating whether to use the delimiter specified in the computer's settings to group digits.
	FormatNumber is used to format numerical values. It is almost exactly like FormatCurrency, only it does not display a dollar sign. FormatPercent works the same as the two above, the options being the same except it turns the given value into a percentage.

Math Functions

	Abs(number) returns the absolute value of number.
	Atn(number) returns the arctangent, in radians, of number.
	Cos(number) returns the cosine of number. number should be in radians.
	Exp(number) returns e (approx. 2.71828) raised to the power number.
	Fix(number) returns the integer portion of number. If number is negative, Fix returns the first integer greater than or equal to number.
	Hex(number) converts number from base 10 to a hexadecimal string.
	Int(number) returns the integer portion of number. If number is negative, Int returns the first integer less than or equal to number.
	Log(number) returns the natural logarithm of number.
	Oct(number) converts number from base 10 to an octal string.
	Rnd number returns a random number less than one and greater than or equal to number. If the argument number is less than 0, the same random number is always returned, using number as a seed. If number is greater than 0, or not provided, Rnd generates the next random number in the sequence. If number is 0, Rnd returns the most recently generated number.
	Randomize initialises the random number generator.
	Round(number) returns number rounded to an integer.
	Round(number, dec) returns number rounded to dec decimal places.
	Sgn(number) returns 1 if number is greater than zero, 0 if number equals zero, and -1 if number is less than zero.
	Sin(number) returns the sine of number. number should be in radians.
	Sqr(number) returns the square root of number. number must be positive
	Tan(number) returns the tangent of number. number should be in radians.

Date Functions

	Date returns the current date on the server.
	Time returns the current time on the server.
	Now returns the current date and time on the server.
	Year(date) returns the year portion from date as a number.
	Month(date) returns the month portion from date as a number.
	MonthName(date) returns the month portion from date as a name.
	Day(date) returns the day portion from date as a number.
	Weekday(date) returns the day of the week of date as a number.
	Hour(time) returns the hour portion from time.
	Minute(time) returns the minute portion from time.
	Second(time) returns the second portion from time.
	DateAdd(interval, number, date) is used to add to the date specified by date. interval is a string that represents whether you want to add days, months, years and so on. number indicates the number of intervals you want to add; that is, the number of days, weeks, years etc.
	DateDiff(interval, date1, date2, firstDOW, firstWOY) is used to find the time between two dates. interval is one of the interval values from Table 1. DateDiff returns the number of intervals elapsed between date1 and date2. The optional integer firstDOW specifies what day of the week to treat as the first. Values for this can be found in Table 2. The optional integer firstWOY specifies which week of the year to treat as the first. Values for this can be found in Table 3.
	DateSerial(year, month, day) takes the integers year, month, and day and puts them together into a date value. They may be negative.
	TimeSerial is similar to DateSerial.
	Timer returns the number of seconds elapsed since midnight.
	DatePart(interval, datetime, firstDOW, firstWOY) allows you to retrieve the part of datetime specified by interval. The valid values for interval are listed in Table 1. The optional integer firstDOW specifies what day of the week to treat as first. The optional integer firstWOY specifies which week of the year to treat as first. These values are listed in Table 2 and Table 3.

Table 1: Interval codes for the Date Functions
	Value	Meaning
	"yyyy"	Year
	"q"	Quarter
	"m"	Month
	"y"	Day of year
	"d"	Day
	"w"	Weekday
	"ww"	Week of year
	"h"	Hour
	"n"	Minute
	"s"	Second

Table 2: Day of the Week Constants
	Value	Name	Meaning
	0	vbUseSystem	National Language Support API Setting
	1	vbSunday	Sunday (default)
	2	vbMonday	Monday
	3	vbTuesday	Tuesday
	4	vbWednesday	Wednesday
	5	vbThursday	Thursday
	6	vbFriday	Friday
	7	vbSaturday	Saturday

Table 3: First Week of the Year Constants
	Value	Name	Meaning
	0	vbUseSystem	National Language Support API Setting
	1	vbFirstJan1	Week of January 1
	2	vbFirstFourDays	First week with four days of the new year
	3	vbFirstFullWeek	First full week

String Functions

	UCase(string) returns string with all its lowercase letters converted to uppercase letters.
	LCase(string) returns string with all its uppercase letters converted to lowecase letters.
	LTrim(string) removes all the spaces from the left side of string.
	RTrim(string) removes all the spaces from the right side of string.
	Trim(string) removes spaces from both the left and right of string.
	Space(number) returns a string consisting of number spaces.
	String(number, character) returns a string consisting of character repeated number times.
	Len(string) returns the number of characters in string
	Len(variable) returns the number of bytes required by variable.
	LenB(string) returns the number of bytes required to store string.
	StrReverse(string) returns string with the characters in reverse.
	StrComp(string1, string2, comparetype) is used to perform string comparisons. If comparetype is zero or omitted, the two strings are compared as if uppercase letters come before lowercase letters. If comparetype is one, the two strings are compared as if upper- and lowercase letters are the same. StrComp returns -1 if string1 is less than string2. It returns 0 if they are the same, and 1 if string1 is greater than string2.
	Right(string, number) returns the number rightmost characters of string.
	RightB(string, number) works like Right but number is taken to be the number of bytes rather than characters.
	Left(string, number) returns the number leftmost characters of string.
	LeftB(string, number) works like Left but number is taken to be the number of bytes rather than characters.
	Mid(string, start, length) returns length characters from string, starting at position start. When length is greater than the number of characters left in the string, the rest of the string is returned. If length is not specified, the rest of the string starting at the specified starting position is returned.
	MidB(string, start, length) works like Mid, but start and length are both taken to be byte numbers rather than character numbers.
	InStr(start, string1, string2, comparetype) is used to check if and where string2 ocurrs within string1. start is an optional argument that specifies where in string1 to start looking for string2. comparetype is an optional argument that specifies which type of comparison to perform. If comparetype is 0, a binary comparison is performed, and uppercase letters are distinct from lowercase letters. If comparetype is 1, a textual comparison is performed, and uppercase and lowercase letters are the same. InStr returns 0 if string1 is empty (" "), if string2 is not found in string1, or if start is greater than the length of string2. It returns Null if either string is Null. It returns start if string2 is empty. If string2 is successfully found in string1, it returns the starting position where it is first found.
	InStrB works like InStr except that the start position and return value are byte positions, not character positions.
	InStrRev(string1, string2, start, comparetype) starts looking for a match at the right side of the string rather than the left side. start is by default -1, which means to start at the end of the string.
	Replace(string, find, replace, start, count, comparetype) is used to replace ocurrences of find with replace in string. start, count and comparetype are optional, but if you want to use one, you must use the ones that come before it. start indicates where the resulting string will start and where to start searching for find. It defaults to 1. count indicates how many times to perform the replacement. By default, count is -1, which means to replace every ocurrence. If comparetype is 1, a textual comparison is performed, and uppercase and lowercase letters are the same.
	Filter(arrStrings, SearchFor, include, comparetype) searches an array of strings, arrStrings, and returns a subset of the array. include is a Boolean value. if include is True, filter searches through all the strings in arrStrings and returns an array containing the strings that contain SearchFor. If include is False, filter returns an array of the strings that do not contain SearchFor. include is optional and defaults to True. comparetype works the same as in the other string functions. If you want to use comparetype, you must use include.
	Split(expression, delimiter, count, comparetype) takes a string and splits it into an array of strings. expression is the string to split up. If expression is zero length, Split returns an array of no elements. delimiter is a string that indicates what is used to separate the sub-strings in expression. This is optional; by default the delimiter is a space. If delimiter is zero length (" "), an array of one element consisting of the whole string is returned. count is used to specify a maximum number of sub-strings to be created. The default for count is -1, which means no limit. If comparetype is 0, a binary comparison is performed, and uppercase letters are distinct from lowercase letters. If comparetype is 1, a textual comparison is performed, and uppercase and lowercase letters are the same. comparetype is only useful when the delimiter you have chosen is a letter.
	Join(stringarray, delimiter) does just the opposite of Split. It takes an array of strings and joins them into one string, using delimiter to separate them. delimiter is optional; space being the default.

Other Functions

	LBound(array) returns the smallest valid index for array.
	UBound(array) returns the largest valid index for array.
	Asc(string) returns the ANSI character code for the first character of string.
	Chr(integer) returns a string consisting of the character that matches the ANSI character code specified by integer.
	Array(value1, value2, ..., valueN) returns an array containing the specified values. This is an alternative to assigning the values to array elements one at a time.

　

Understanding C# Class and Member Modifiers

Understanding C# Class and Member Modifiers
By　Peter Aitken May 13, 2005
　
　
Access Modifiers

Some of the keywords you use with classes are access modifiers. In other words, they control the extent to which the class is available to code (similar to variable scope). For example, look at this code which creates, or attempts to create, an instance of the class MyClass:

MyClass cls = new MyClass();

If MyClass is accessible at the location where this code is located, there is no problem. If MyClass is not accessible, you get a compile error, to the effect that the type MyClass cannot be found.
Additional confusion comes from the fact that some of the access modifiers can be used with class members (methods, for example) as well as with the classes themselves. Let's take a look at these access modifier keywords, first as they apply to classes and then as they apply to class members.

Class Access Modifiers

The default class access modifier is internal. This makes the class accessible from other classes in the same assembly. By default, I mean that this is the access provided if you include no access modifier keyword. Thus, these two are equivalent:

class MyClass { ... }
internal class MyClass { ... }

The default internal access is appropriate for the vast majority of classes you will create.
Less restrictive access is provided by the public keyword. A public class is accessible without restriction. In practical terms, it means that a public class in one assembly is accessible from another assembly:

public class MyClass { ... }

The most restrictive class access is created with the private keyword. You can use private only with a nested class, one that is defined within another class. The result is that the private class is accessible only from within the containing class:

public class OuterClass
{
...
private class InnerClass
{
}
}

Member Access Modifiers

By default, class members are private, which means they are accessible only from code in the class. You can include the private keyword or omit it with the same effect:

SomeMethod() { ... }
private SomeMethod() { ... }

Slightly less restrictive is protected access, obtained with the (you guessed it) protected keyword. A protected member is accessible in the type in which it is defined and in types derived from that type:

protected SomeMethod() { ... }

Thus, if you create a protected member in class A and then create class B that inherits from A, the member will be available to code in class B.
Internal access means the member is accessible to other types that are defined in the same assembly:

internal SomeMethod() { ... }

You can combine the protected and internal keywords to provide member access that is a combination of the two:

protected internal SomeMethod() { ... }

The least restrictive access is obtained with the public keyword. Use the public keyword to make a class member freely accessible inside and outside of the class.

public internal SomeMethod() { ... }

Other Class Modifiers

Some class modifiers are not related to access at all but place limitations on inheritance and instantiation. By default, a class can be instantiated — in other words, you can create an object from it — and it can also be used as the base class for a new class. You can modify this with the abstract and sealed keywords.
A class defined using the abstract keyword cannot be instantiated. Thus if you have a class definition like this :

abstract class MyClass { ... }

you cannot do this:

MyClass cls = new MyClass(); // Causes compilation error.

Abstract classes are usually created to serve as base classes. The .Net Framework itself contains many base classes. For example, your program may need three classes that have many members in common, but differ in a few crucial details. A good programming strategy would be to create an abstract class that contains all the common elements, then create the three individual classes that each inherits from the abstract class. Abstract classes can also be used to provide functionality without data storage, such as the Math class in the .Net Framework.

A sealed class is sort of the opposite of abstract. It can be instantiated but cannot serve as a base class. The primary reason to seal a class is to prevent your users from fiddling around with it and breaking it (and of course blaming you, usually!). It's also the case that sealing a class permits certain compiler optimizations that are not possible with non-sealed classes. Obviously, a class cannot be both sealed and abstract.

The New ModifierThe New keyword is usually seen as an operator that is used to create new objects. It also plays a role as a modifier in class definitions and has a totally different meaning. It is used when you want a member of a derived class to hide a member of the same name in the base class. For example, here's a simple class:

public class A
{
public int total;
}

Suppose you want to derive a new class from A and give it a member called total that is type float. Here's where you need to use the new modifier:

public class B:A
{
new float total;
}

You don't see new used very often, for two reasons. First of all, omitting new does not prevent compilation; it just results in a warning. The class works as if you had included new — that is, the member in the derived class hides the same-name member in the base class. It can be included as an indication, perhaps to some maintenance programmer down the road, that you really did mean to include the member in the derived class even though the base class already had one of that name. Second, it is usually preferred to explicitly override the base class member using the override keyword.

I hope that this brief exposition has helped you to understand all these keywords and their uses. For convenience I have summarized this information in the following table and included the Visual Basic counterparts for each of the C# keywords.
　
C#
VB
　
Class cannot be inherited (cannot be a base class).
Sealed
NotInheritable
　
Class cannot be instantiated but only used as based class and/or with abstract methods.
Abstract
MustInherit
　
For class members: member is accessible only from the class in which it is declared. For classes: only allowed on nested classes to restrict access to the nested class to the containing class..
Private
Private
　
For class members: member is accessible only from types defined in the same assembly. For classes: class is accessible only from types in the same assembly.
Internal
Friend
　
For members: member is accessible from the class in which it is declared and from any class derived from that class.
Protected
Protected
　
Combines the access of Protected and Internal for a class member
Protected Internal
Protected Friend
　
Access is not restricted.
Public
Public
　
Hides a member inherited from a base class.
New
Shadows
　

Working with null values in the .NET Framework

The following article was useful in figuring out how C# and VB.NET uses null and DBNull.Value differently. For C# is just "null", but for VB.NET, it's a littl tricky. Thanks TechRepublic!

Takeaway: Dealing with null or nonexistent data in application development can be tricky. Tony Patton takes a closer look at working with null values within the .NET Framework.
One of the trickier aspects of application development is dealing with null or nonexistent data. It gets complicated when the application expects a data value and gets nothing or unexpected values; that's when you must perform coding that properly handles these situations to avoid application failure. This requires a close examination of the data wherever and whenever it's needed. Let's take a closer look at working with null values within the .NET Framework.

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5764862.html

Home (Documentary in HD on YouTube)

My good buddy Wayne introduced me to this great documentary about Planet Earth and its fateful possibilities of detriment due to human abuse and overconsumption toward the environment. You can watch this wonderful documentary in true high definition (probably in 720p) for free of charge at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU.

Thanks Wayne!

Use PSCONFIG to set SharePoint's Config and AdminContent database names

Just came across Kit Kai's Tech blog where he talks about how to specify the name of the central admin content database before running the SharePoint Config Wizard. It is an excellent idea to set the names of AdminContent and Config databases as desired instead of changing the db names manually after having the Config Wizard automatically create the databases (my previous article talks about how to change the existing Config and AdminContent's database names).

In short, Kit Kai's article says the following.

Assuming the following,
{
Database Server Name = "myDatabaseServer"
AdminContent DB Name = "SP_AdminContent"
Config DB Name = "SP_Config"
Service Account = "myDomain\svcAccount"
}
1. Install SharePoint on the server. Do not run the Config Wizard just yet.

2. Go to the path "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\bin".

3. Run psconfig.exe -cmd configdb -create -server "myDatabaseServer"
-database "SP_Config" -user "myDomain\svcAccount" -password ""
-admincontentdatabase "SP_AdminContent"
(if you encounter an error at this point, I suggest that you assign local admin rights to the service account and use "runas" to run the psconfig under the service account's credential)

4. Make sure the collation of the newly created databases is "Latin1_General_CI_AS_KS_WS".

5. Run SharePoint Config Wizard. Choose "Do not disconnect from the server farm".



Thank you Kit Kai!

How to change database names for SharePoint's Config and Admin Content databases

I revisited and documented in simple format one of the very tedious yet useful techniqes in SharePoint administration. These tips took me some time and many frustrating moments of trial-and-error's. Hopefully, those who are just entering the world of SharePoint administration find these tips useful and can save some time.

To change SharePoint_AdminContent database name
{   assuming the following ...

• Central admin site = "http://mysharepoint:13311/"
• Service account = "myDomain\John Doe" - (allow dbcreator role temporarily while performing this name change task)
• Databse server name = "myDatabaseServer"
• New admin content database name = "SharePoint_AdminContent"

}

1. Backup current admin content database and restore it to a new database with the desirable name (i.e. SharePoint_AdminContent)
2. In central admin site, remove the content database of the Central Admin site. After this, the Central Admin site becomes non- functional.
3. On the web server that runs SharePoint Central Admin site, give local admin rights to the impersonator account("myDomain\John Doe") that connects to the database server for SharePoint.
4. On the web server that runs SharePoint Central Admin site, open the command console and run the following command, [runas /u:"myDomain\John Doe" cmd.exe]. Enter password of "myDomain\John Doe" when prompted. A new console window will open up. 
5. This will allow "myDomain\John Doe" to perform the following tasks as service account and relieve you of lots of permission-related conflict.
6. On the new console window (running under "myDomain\John Doe"), go to the following path "C:\Progra~1\common files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\bin\".
7. Run "stsadm -o addcontentdb -url "http://mysharepoint:13311/" - databasename "SharePoint_AdminContent" -databaseserver "myDatabaseServer"

To change SharePoint_Config database name
{  assuming the following ...

1. Central admin site = "http://mysharepoint:13311/"
2. Service account = "myDomain\John Doe" - (allow dbcreator role temporarily for this example)
3. Databse server name = "myDatabaseServer"
4. New config database name = "SharePoint_Config"

}

::Method A

1. Backup current config database. Create a new database with the desired name (i.e., SharePoint_Config) and restore from the database backup of the original config database.
2. On the web server that runs SharePoint Central Admin site, give local admin rights to the impersonator account("myDomain\John Doe") that connects to the database server for SharePoint.
3. On the web server that runs SharePoint Central Admin site, open the command console and run the following command, [ runas /u:"myDomain\John Doe" cmd.exe ]. Enter password of "myDomain\John Doe" when prompted. A new console window will open up. 
4. This will allow "myDomain\John Doe" to perform the following tasks as service account and relieve you of lots of permission-related conflicts.
5. On the new console window (running under "myDomain\John Doe"), go to the following path "C:\Progra~1\common files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\bin\".
6. Run stsadm -o deleteconfigdb
7. Run stsadm -o setconfigdb -connect -databaseserver "myDatabaseServer" -databasename "SharePoint_Config" -farmuser "myDomain\John Doe" -farmpassword ""
8. Run stsadm -o setadminport 13311.
9. Run Configuration Wizard to re-install the Central Admin site.

::Method B

1. Backup current config database. Create a new database with the desired name (i.e., SharePoint_Config) and restore from the database backup of the original config database.
2. Run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard on the server that hosts Central Admin Site.
3. Disjoin from the current config database (current farm).
4. Run the Configuration Wizard again and join an existing farm by specifying the database server name ("myDatabaseServer") and the new config database name ("SharePoint_Config").
5. Run the Configuration Wizard again. Choose the option that the machine (server) will continue to host the web site.
6. On the next window, you will see the URL of the Central Admin Site listed as (http://mysharepoint:13311/). Click Next.
7. After the Wizard completes, you should have the Central Admin site come up automatically(http://mysharepoint:13311/).