Software Development Notes

Garage Cleanup Idea

2010-10-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ran across this website. I need to forward it along to my parents. I don't think they've seen their garage floor in years.

LNK2019 - Undefined External Symbol

2010-03-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

LNK2019 errors are fun to track down. Nothing like "Undefined External Symbol" to strike fear in your mind.

LNK2019 means that one of the functions or classes that you are using cannot be found. Well duh, but why can't the linker find it?

So you have 2 projects. One is a static lib project, the other is using the static lib. When linking to the static lib, it can't find one of the functions or classes that you are using in your non static lib project.

First make sure that the project settings are looking in the right place for the static lib. Then use dumpbin.exe to analyze the static lib and make sure the symbols are actually defined in the static lib.

If you don't find the symbol your looking for in the output from dumpbin.exe, then take a look at your static lib. What is most likely happening is some of your functions have prototypes, but the actual implementation is missing. i.e. look for .cpp files that need to be added to the static lib, or actually code up the prototypes that are missing bodies.

Turn Text in Drupal to HTML

2010-03-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

So you have some text in drupal, and you want it to be formatted with HTML. Use check_markup.

Joomla: Redirect to same page after login

2009-11-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

Here's some code to redirect Joomla to the page you want, after forcing a user to login first.


           $uri =& JFactory::getURI();
           $redirect = '&return='.base64_encode($uri->toString());
           $this->setRedirect(JRoute::_('/index.php?option=com_user&view=login'.$redirect),
 "Please login.");

A TAB is 4 Spaces

2009-11-25T08:02:00.001-08:00

A TAB is 4 Spaces.

In .vimrc or _vimrc add these lines:

set autoindent
set smartindent
set tabstop=4 shiftwidth=4
set expandtab

Mac Quirks: Multiple From Emails with Apple Mail

2009-11-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Michael Voong for this tip. There is bare minimal documentation from Apple on how to add multiple email addresses to a single account in their email program.

The solution, edit your email account settings using a comma separated list for all the email addresses or email aliases you want to be able to use in Apple Mail.

Recursively Remove .svn directories on Linux

2009-10-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

To recursively remove .svn directories on Linux:


rm -rf `find . -type d -name .svn`

Python 2.6, py2exe, and VC++ Runtime Issues

2009-08-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

I got this annoying error the other day, while freezing a python 2.6 executable on Windows:

py2exe msvcp90.dll no such file or directory

Background:

Python 2.6 uses Visual Studio 2008, and so it requires the Visual Studio 2008 C++ Runtime (vcredist).

I saw a few posts on the web, here and here. They get the solution partially right.

The Correct way to fix py2exe msvcp90.dll no such file or directory.

In your setup.py file first exclude the dll so you can build the exe.


options = {
  "py2exe": {
      "compressed": 1,
"optimize": 2,
      "bundle_files": 2,
      "dll_excludes": [
    "MSVCP90.dll",   
      ]
  }}

Then add this to your manifest file in between the tags:

<dependency>
<dependentassembly>
<assemblyidentity type="win32" name="Microsoft.VC90.CRT" version="9.0.21022.8" processorarchitecture="x86" publickeytoken="1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b"></assemblyidentity>
</dependentassembly>
</dependency>

This allows you to use the vcredist to install the required vc++ dlls on the target system.

Annoing Windows XP issue : _except_handler4_common could not be located

2009-08-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dev Adventures for this one.

I had one of the most annoining Windows XP issue. It happened while building a py2exe project on Windows Vista, and installing it on Windows XP.

The issue, a most cryptic error message:

"The procedure entry point _except_handler4_common could not be located in the dynamic link library msvcrt.dll"

The solution:

Remove the mswsock.dll from the distribution.

Visual Studio 2008 UAC Issue

2009-08-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks Jim!

Visual Studio 2008 UAC Problem

I had a Visual Studio 2005 project with a manifest that set requireAdministrator. When ported to Visual Studoi 2008 I got this error: manifest authoring error c1010001: Values of attribute "level" not equal in different manifest snippets.

Solution

Remove the explicit manifest file and set the UAC.

1. Remove the explicit manifest file "Configuration Properties > Manifest Tool > Input and Output" remove the "Additional Manifest Files" value

2 Go to "Configuration Properties > Linker > Manifest File" and change the UAC Execution Level

SVN Ignore

2009-05-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

CVS allows you to place a .cvsignore file in your path to ignore files you don't want in CVS. Subversion (SVN) has a similar feature, though a little bit different implementation. To ignore a file in SVN:

svn propedit svn:ignore ./some_path

Free Wordpress Tutorials

2009-04-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Some Free Wordpress Tutorials covering the basics of:

Logging into Wordpress
Creating/Editing Posts in Wordpress
Creating/Editing Pages in Wordpress
Using the NGEN Gallery in Wordpress

Ubuntu Mouse Scroll and Vmware

2009-03-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

Edit the xorg.conf file to :


Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "vmmouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Protocol" "ImPS/2"
Option "Buttons" "5"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection

and the mouse scroll starts to work.

Flash Slideshow: ActionScript to Load an XML File

2009-02-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

I've seen a few various ways to load an xml file with flash. Each of them suffer from the same problem. They are hard coded for a specific file, and riddled with magic numbers to access xml node data.

Here's some actionscript to load an XML in Flash. Great for loading say a Flash Slideshow from XML.


var slideshow_images:Array;

var data_xml:XML = new XML();
data_xml.ignoreWhite = true;
data_xml.onLoad = function(loaded) {
if (loaded) {
 slideshow_images = load_images(data_xml);

 //TODO: do something with the images

 delete data_xml;
}
}

data_xml.load("photos.xml");

function load_images(images_xml) {
var images:Array = new Array();
var cur_image_xml = images_xml.firstChild.firstChild;
while (cur_image_xml != null) {
 images.push(get_image_data(cur_image_xml));
 cur_image_xml = cur_image_xml.nextSibling;
}
return images;
}

function get_image_data(image_xml) {
var image = new Object();
var image_prop_iter = image_xml.firstChild;
while (image_prop_iter != null) {
 //trace(image_prop_iter.firstChild.nodeValue);
 image[image_prop_iter.nodeName] = image_prop_iter.firstChild.nodeValue;
 image_prop_iter = image_prop_iter.nextSibling;
}
return image;
}

Cross Browser CSS Opacity

2009-01-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a simple CSS Tip from arbnet.net.

If you want your transparency to translate to all browsers, then make sure to use all four of the elements shown below.

.class { opacity: 0.7; filter:alpha(opacity=70); -moz-opacity:0.7; -khtml-opacity:0.5; }

The first is CSS Standard and will work in all standards compliant browsers, the second is for Internet Explorer, the third for older Mozilla browsers and the last for older Safari browsers.

Idaho SEO

2008-11-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

It really bothers me when local businesses don't take the time to create a website and optimize it for the search engines. Nothing like searching for a local company and having a bunch of national directory websites show up in the search results instead. Have businesses in Idaho ever heard of Idaho SEO? With a few simple SEO tweaks to their websites they could boot the national sites from the list and make a lot of local customers happy.

See What Version of a Package Is Installed on Ubuntu

2008-11-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

To see what version of a package is installed on Ubuntu, or a Debian version of linux:


dpkg -s

jQuery Image Gallery, jQuery Slideshow

2008-10-27T09:33:00.001-07:00

The Galleria module for jQuery makes a really great jQuery Image Gallery. Added some tweaks to it, and now I've got a jQuery Image Gallery and Slideshow. With features such as pause on hover, and a contact sheet.

Theme Drupal Search Results

2008-10-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

I had the most awful time trying to theme the drupal search results page and remove the silly "node type", "author", "date" and "extra" info from the search results.

Initially I tried the easy route which was to copy modules/search/search-result.tpl.php into my theme and then in the themes template.php file remove the search-info div. Because that's the info I didn't want to show up.

Didn't work. Worked only for /search/node. Failed when going to /search/node/some%20search%20term.

Finally was able to get it working by implementing hook_prepocess_search_result, and making sure the $info array didn't have anything.


/**
 * Implement hook_preprocess_search_result()
 */
function phptemplate_preprocess_search_result(&$variables) {
  $result = $variables['result'];
  $variables['url'] = check_url($result['link']);
  $variables['title'] = check_plain($result['title']);

  $info = array();
  /* HIDE THIS FROM END USER
  if (!empty($result['type'])) {
    $info['type'] = check_plain($result['type']);
  }
  if (!empty($result['user'])) {
    $info['user'] = $result['user'];
  }
  if (!empty($result['date'])) {
    $info['date'] = format_date($result['date'], 'small');
  }
  if (isset($result['extra']) && is_array($result['extra'])) {
    $info = array_merge($info, $result['extra']);
  }
  */
  // Check for existence. User search does not include snippets.
  $variables['snippet'] = isset($result['snippet']) ? $result['snippet'] : '';
  // Provide separated and grouped meta information..
  $variables['info_split'] = $info;
  $variables['info'] = implode(' - ', $info);
  // Provide alternate search result template.
  $variables['template_files'][] = 'search-result-'. $variables['type'];
}

With this gem in my hook_theme implementation

    'search_result' => array(
      'arguments' => array('result' => NULL, 'type' => NULL),
      'template' => 'search-result',
      'path' => drupal_get_path('module', 'search')
    )

Disable the Drupal User Contact Form

2008-10-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

The best way I've found to disable the user "contact form", is to hook_menu_alter and remove the 'contact' fieldset from the user profile form itself.


function modulename_form_alter(&$form, $form_state, $form_id) {
  switch ($form_id) {
    case 'user_profile_form':
      unset($form['contact']);
      break;
...

Webware for Python, and WebKit

2008-09-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

So does anybody still use Webware for Python? And how do the developers of Webware feel about WebKit? Now there stuck with names for their products that companies with bigger pocket books have rebranded.

Ask anyone about WebKit, they won't tell you its a python application server that runs on top of Webware. No, they'll say, WebKit is an open source web browser engine with roots in KHTML, that Apple has invested heavily in.

Drupal CCK Search

2008-09-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

So you've added a custom content type, you've added CCK fields to it. Now you want to create some pages, to provide search result lists for your custom content type.

If your using Drupal 6, make sure the CCK Module, the Views Module, and the Advanced Help module are installed.

Then within the drupal admin, go to "Views". This is where you can create your custom search result pages. The advanced help module, will help you make sense of things, and the "Views" module itself is great in that it tells you the exact SQL that will be used to generate your search results. You can use any thing related to your node to help filter your results; be it CCK, Taxonomy or many other options.

Drupal Gripes

2008-09-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Drupal gripes:

Everything in the database
Difficult to move between development and production servers
Version Control, difficult to have a running production server, add changes to a development server, and then merge the changes into a production environment
No Unit Testing

Why Java, .Net, Ruby, Django, Pylons, TurboGears, etc are better

Unit Testing
Easy to move between development and production code

Drupal Custom Menu

2008-09-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

So, you've made a custom drupal menu, now you want to use it in your theme. How do you use your custom drupal menu in a theme? Here's how.

First, Drupal adds "menu-" to your custom menu. So if you named your menu "custom-menu", when referencing your custom menu you have to call it "menu-custom-menu".

The drupal api call to make is "menu_navigation_links", and then pass the result to "theme" to render the list.


print theme('links', menu_navigation_links('menu-custom-menu',0));

Look how the code above is similar to what you're used to doing for the $primary_links, and $secondary_links that are built into drupal, as shown below:


print theme('links', $primary_links, array('class' => 'links primary-links'));

Vim Tab Preferences

2008-08-29T15:27:00.001-07:00

Vim Tab preferences for PHP and Python Development:


set expandtab
set tabstop=4
set shiftwidth=4
set autoindent
set smartindent

Convert Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds to Decimal Degrees

2008-08-13T12:54:00.001-07:00

Converting Latitude and Longitude values from Degrees, Minutes, Seconds to Decimal Degrees.

Here is the Formula:

(DEG + (MIN * 1/60) + (SEC * 1/60 * 1/60))

If it has an additional North, East, South or West, multiply by -1 for South and West.

Article on Buying a Notebook

2008-07-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Some self promotion here. Here's a link to Buying a Notebook Computer.

2 Things to make Microsoft Web Expression Suck Less

2008-07-10T15:38:00.001-07:00

Microsoft Web Expressions, the Microsoft replacement for the piece of crap software we call Microsoft Frontpage. Web Expressions doesn't suck as bad as Frontpage, but still has its quirks. These 2 tips make it suck less.

Turn off hidden meta data by going to "site" » "site settings" » "general" and unchecking "Manage the web site using hidden Metadata files"
Turn off stupid Byte Order Marker (BOM) "tools" » "page editor options" » "authoring" and unchecking "Add BOM when creating or renaming UTF-8 documents" towards the right of the screen.

jQuery AJAX Login

2008-06-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Wanted to use jQuery to display a login form on a site, and use AJAX to do the login. Seemed easy enough. Prerequisites are jQuery, and jqModal. Created an HTML page with a Login link, and a jqModal div that hides the username, password form.


<a class="display-form">Login</a>

<div id="login" class="jqmDialog">
<div class="jqmdMSG">
   <form id="login-form"> here is the login form. 
hidden in a jqModal div. The css hides the div. 
The jQuery javascript handles the show/hide of the
login form.</form>
</div>
</div>

<script src="text/javascript" >
$().ready( function() {
        // setup the login form to display,
        // hide itself appropriately.
        var t = $('#login div.jqmdMSG');
        $('#login').jqm({
            // a link of class display-form is clicked,
            //  the login dialog will be displayed
            trigger:'a.display-form',  
            target: t,
            overlay: 30,
            onHide: function(h) {
                h.o.remove();  // remove the overlay
                h.w.fadeOut(888);  // fade out the dialog
            }
        });  
     
        // setup the login form to work via ajax
        $('#login-form').ajaxForm({ 
               url: 'url to post form to', 
               beforeSubmit: function(formData, jqForm, options) {             
                   // code executed before form 
                   // is submited could possibly
                   // display a "Please wait ..."
                   // and hide the login button on the form
                   return true;
        },
        success: function(responseText, statusText) {       
                   // code executed if logged in success                     
               },
               error: function(responseText, statusText) { 
                   // code executed if things failed
               }
        });
});
</script>

WebFaction Web Hosting that Doesn't Suck

2008-06-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Have to say I have been quite pleased with my web hosting through WebFaction. When looking for a Web Hosting Provider such as WebFaction, these things are most important to me:

Uptime, the server needs to be up all the time
Fast, even under heaving loads the server needs to respond quickly to user requests
Support, when I contact them at anytime day or night, I expect a response within a few hours
Ease of Use, configuring websites should be easy

I've found that WebFaction meets my web hosting requirements.

I've gone with other hosting providers and have never been that impressed. Other web hosting providers tend to never have competent staff on duty. Don't care about uptime. Give an ancient software interface to configure things. And whats really annoying is when there web hosting is down, they could care less about getting things back up again fast. Drives me crazy, if my site isn't up, there is no money being made. If there is no money being made, then I don't have money for food. If I don't have money for food ... well lets just say I can be a little cranky.

So my hats off to WebFaction. They deliver good service, for a decent price, with good support.

JQuery AJAX Tabs

2008-05-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Really impressed with JQuery tabs. JQuery's documentation isn't half that bad. The Tab Examples were helpful. This website had a little bit more in depth example of how to use JQuery AJAX tabs.

OpenSSL Certificate Authority (CA)

2008-04-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

# To Create the CA Private/Public Keys
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout CA/private/cakey.pem -out
CA/cacert.pem -passout pass:capass -config openssl.cnf

# To sign a Certificate Signing Request
openssl ca -in user.csr -out user.crt -notext -passin pass:capass -config openssl.cnf

Generating a CRL

An empty CRL that is signed by the CA can be generated with the command

openssl ca -gencrl -crldays 15 -out crl.pem

If you omit the -crldays option then the default_crl_days value (30 days) specified in openssl.cnf is used.

If you prefer the CRL to be in binary DER format, then this conversion can be achieved with

openssl crl -in crl.pem -outform DER -out cert.crl

The directory /etc/ipsec.d/crls/ contains all CRLs either in binary DER or in base64 PEM format. Irrespective of the file suffix, pluto "automagically" determines the correct format.

Revoking a certificate

A specific host certificate stored in the file host.pem is revoked with the command

openssl ca -revoke host.pem

Next the CRL file must be updated

openssl ca -gencrl -crldays 15 -out crl.pem

The content of the CRL file can be listed with the command

openssl crl -in crl.pem -noout -text

in the case of a base64 CRL, or alternatively for a CRL in DER format

openssl crl -inform DER -in cert.crl -noout -text

How do I generate a certificate request for VeriSign?

Applying for a certificate signed by a recognized certificate authority like VeriSign is a complex bureaucratic process. You’ve got to perform all the requisite paperwork before creating a certificate request.

As in the recipe for creating a self-signed certificate, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want a passphrase on your private key. The recipe below assumes you don’t. You’ll end up with two files: a new private key called mykey.pem and a certificate request called myreq.pem.

openssl req \
-new -newkey rsa:1024 -nodes \
-keyout mykey.pem -out myreq.pem

If you’ve already got a key and would like to use it for generating the request, the syntax is a bit simpler.

openssl req -new -key mykey.pem -out myreq.pem

Similarly, you can also provide subject information on the command line.

openssl req \
-new -newkey rsa:1024 -nodes \
-subj '/CN=www.some-domain-name.com/O=My Dom, Inc./C=US/ST=New York/L=Portland' \
-keyout mykey.pem -out myreq.pem

When dealing with an institution like VeriSign, you need to take special care to make sure that the information you provide during the creation of the certificate request is exactly correct. I know from personal experience that even a difference as trivial as substituting “and” for “&” in the Organization Name will stall the process.

If you’d like, you can double check the signature and information provided in the certificate request.

# verify signature
openssl req -in myreq.pem -noout -verify -key mykey.pem

# check info
openssl req -in myreq.pem -noout -text

Save the key file in a secure location. You’ll need it in order to use the certificate VeriSign sends you. The certificate request will typically be pasted into VeriSign’s online application form.

CherryPy, Mako, and Py2exe

2008-03-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to make a windows service out of CherryPy. CherryPy as the webserver, Mako as my template engine, and Py2exe to turn it into a windows service.

Easy enough I thought, great reference about CherryPy and Windows Services on CherryPy's website. Unfortunately their tutorial didn't work with CherryPy 3.0. Instead I got a "cherrypy No HTTP servers have been created" error. Easy enough to fix though change the cherrypy.server.start() to be cherrypy.server.quickstart().

My next hurdle was wanting the config to be within the code and not in an external file. From Cherry py's example on windows services, cherrypy.tree.mount(HelloWorld(), '/'). There is an optional third parameter, the config object. cherrypy.tree.mount(HelloWorld(), '/', config ).

My config looks like this:

config = {
'/': {
  'tools.staticdir.root': path,
},
'/static': {
  'tools.staticdir.on': True,
  'tools.staticdir.dir': "static",
}
}

Finally a working windows service. Then off to integrating Mako. That was the easy part.

In my controllers code:


from mako.template import Template
from mako.lookup import TemplateLookup

DEBUG_MODE=False
lookup = TemplateLookup( directories=['template'], module_directory="cache",
                   output_encoding="utf-8", encoding_errors="replace",
                   filesystem_checks=DEBUG_MODE)

...

class HelloWorld(object):
def index(self):
  # index.html is in the template dir
  tmp = lookup.get_template("index.html")
  # title used as ${title} in index.html template file
  return tmp.render(**dict(title="Welcome"))
index.exposed = True

The last hurdle was Py2Exe. Did I mention I was using simplejson and YUI? Simplejson's egg needed to be unzipped. Simplejson made it easy to send python data to YUI as something YUI could understand; json.

mako.cache and simplejson needed to be included in my packages list, so my py2exe options looked like this:


OPTIONS = {
"py2exe": {
   "compressed": 1,
   "optimize": 2,
    "bundle_files": 2,
    "packages": [
         "elementtree",
         "simplejson",         
         "mako.cache"
    ],
    "excludes": [
         "Tkinter"
    ]
}
}

My mako template directory needed to be copied to the py2exe dist directory:


DATA_FILES = [
("template", glob.glob("template/*.html"))
]

End result is a Windows HTTP Service that works quite nice.

MSI Testing

2008-02-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

To install with debugging:

msiexec /i your.msi /l* debug.log

or

msiexec /i your.msi /l*v debug.log

To uninstall an msi file without going to add remove programs:

msiexec /x your.msi

Python Beats Ruby

2008-01-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

Interesting news on the Python front, http://www.tiobe.com/tpci.htm

Python beats Ruby. Python holds its ground at #7 while Ruby drops ground from #10 to #11.

Programmatically give Logon as Batch Right

2008-01-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

ntrights.exe is nice and all, but sometimes you want to do things on your own. The code below will allow you to programmatically assign the Logon as Batch Right (SeBatchLogonRight) to a user. This can be applied to any other rights assignment you want to give a user on Windows. For instance:
SeCreateTokenPrivilege, SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege, SeLockMemoryPrivilege, SeIncreaseQuotaPrivilege, SeUnsolicitedInputPrivilege, SeMachineAccountPrivilege, TcbPrivilege, SeSecurityPrivilege, SeTakeOwnershipPrivilege, SeLoadDriverPrivilege, SeSystemProfilePrivilege, SeSystemtimePrivilege, SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege,
SeIncreaseBasePriorityPrivilege, SeCreatePagefilePrivilege, SeCreatePermanentPrivilege,
SeBackupPrivilege, SeRestorePrivilege, SeShutdownPrivilege, SeAuditPrivilege, SeSystemEnvironmentPrivilege, SeChangeNotifyPrivilege, or SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege. This technique, in python, can be carried over easy enough to C++ if desired.

import win32security

user = "Administrator"
system = "Some computer name" # or None for local

handle = win32security.LsaOpenPolicy(
system,
win32security.POLICY_ALL_ACCESS ) 

sid, domain, tmp = win32security.LookupAccountName(system, user)

if not 'SeBatchLogonRight' in \
win32security.LsaEnumerateAccountRights(handle, sid):
    win32security.LsaAddAccountRights(
 handle,
 sid,
 ('SeBatchLogonRight',) )

win32security.LsaClose(handle)

wxPython - Cleanup resources OnDestroy

2007-12-05T09:36:00.000-08:00

Within your __init Method

self.Bind(wx.EVT_WINDOW_DESTROY, self.OnDestroy)

Then add OnDestroy:

def OnDestroy(self, event):
## clean up resources as needed here
event.Skip()

Storing Windows Application Data Properly

2007-11-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

Use SHGetFolderPath for backwards compatibility, SHGetKnownFolderPath for Windows Vista and beyond.

Additional reference:

KB 310294

JavaScript Drag and Drop

2007-11-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Some references on JavaScript Drag and Drop:

http://www.webreference.com/programming/javascript/mk/column2/

http://www.isocra.com/articles/table_dnd.php

DIG MX Records

2007-10-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Query mx record using default DNS server for operating system:

dig mx tech-recipes.com

Specifying a DNS server to query:

dig @dns1.not_a_real_name_server.com mx www.blogger.com

wxPython - Multiple Panels Without Tab Control

2007-10-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

Wanted to display multiple Panels, one at a single time the rest hidden. Without showing the tabs. Found this gem on the wxPython news group from Robin Dunn:

to have no tabs at all but still show a page window? If so, then
you can do that simply but not using the notebook at all when you don't
want the tabs. Just put all the page windows in a box sizer, each with
proportion=1 and wx.EXPAND flag set, and Hide() all but the one you want
to be visible. If you need to change which is visible then Hide() the
current one, Show() the other and call sizer.Layout().

C# SqlCommand

2007-10-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dynamic SQL queries in ADO.Net. How to bind dynamic parameters to a query and avoid concatenating strings. Avoiding problems with cross site scripting attacks. Good link SqlCommand bind parameter info.

SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand( @"SELECT something, anothervalue FROM sometable WHERE something > @param1 AND anothervalue > @param2" );

cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@param1", "2007-10-02");
cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@param2", 5678 );

SqlDataReader reader = cmd.ExecuteReader();
while ( reader.Read() ){
Console.WriteLine( reader["something"].ToString() );
}

C# DateTime to String conversion

2007-10-02T15:30:00.000-07:00

Found this helpful link on C# DateTime to String Conversion.

Issues with WebDav on Windows Vista

2007-10-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

Had to install this patch for things to even work.

Work vs Play, Boss Hoss Saves the Day

2007-08-30T07:29:00.001-07:00

Ever feel this way? Remember those old Dukes of Hazard movies, where Boss Hoss sleeps all day? Boss Hoss has to be the worse boss of all time. Got to love those Bosses that sit on their rumps, or play all day while their employees slave away.

2 Linux Tips

2007-06-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

Use ntpdate to synchronize linux server with a public ntp server

Do it automatically within crontab:
0 3,9,15,21 * * * /usr/sbin/ntpdate -u time.nist.gov | logger -t NTP
Change the default editor in Ubuntu to VIM
sudo update-alternatives --config editor
Select VIM and say farewell to Nano.

Greek Alphabet

2007-06-25T07:48:00.001-07:00

Ah, the Greek Alphabet. I just hate it when a book uses a symbol from the Greek alphabet, yet forgets to teach the reader how to pronounce the symbol. So here it is the Greek alphabet and English equivalent pronunciation:

(One may argue that any book that uses the Greek Alphabet is absolutely boring and I would have to agree.)

alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, and omega.

TurboGears, MySQL Quirk

2007-05-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

From the TurboGears FAQ. My comments injected in bold.

Why does my application work fine until it's idle for a while then the next request returns a "500 Internal Error" response?

Are you on mysql? If so, this is probably the mysql time out. Because cherrypy is a long running process it doesn't make a new connection on every page load. After a period of inactivity the mysql server will timeout the connection. This causes an error the next time the application attempts to use the connection. Why doesn't it attempt to reconnect before throwing an error?

One solution some people use is to set up a cron job that every so often wgets a page from the application that will cause a database query. There is also apparently a mysql wait_timeout setting that can be adjusted to stop the connection from timing out.

I noticed this Quirk/Bug on a TurboGears site I've been working on. This is really annoying.

Web Accessibility

2007-05-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

The all to neglected topic of Web Accessibility. Found this W3C reference on Web Accessibility.

SQLAlchemy Supported Databases

2007-05-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Object relational mappers such as SQLAlchemy make database access so much easier. SQLAlchemy is my personal favorite. Below is a list of SQLALchemy supported databases.

Supported Databases

Postgres: psycopg2
SQLite: pysqlite
MySQL: MySQLDB
Oracle: cx_Oracle
MS-SQL: pyodbc (recommended) adodbapi pymssql
Firebird: kinterbasdb
Informix: informixdb

Digg Surrenders to Mob

2007-05-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

Fun, fun, fun, Digg surrenders to mob.

Paging Dr. Watson Postmortem Debugger

2007-04-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

To enable Dr. Watson: drwtsn32.exe -i

To configure Dr. Watson to generate a mini dump file, launch drwtsn32.exe without any args. Check mini under Crash Dump Type, and make sure it's set to Create Crash Dump File.

Using Dr. Watson for postmortem debugging:

Alternative to LD_LIBRARY_PATH

2007-04-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Trying out pymssql example. After installing the prerequisite freetds. I got this fun error: 'libsybdb.so.5: cannot open shared object file'. Which ment it didn't like where my libsydbd.so file was installed. So I had to update the load library path. Instead of something like this: export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH. I edited '/etc/ld.so.conf' adding /usr/local/lib. Then I ran ldconfig. No more error.

Ricoh, IBM deal not all roses

2007-04-11T07:43:00.001-07:00

Ricoh's purchase of IBM Printer Division what does that mean for IPDS printing?. Ricoh keeps relationship with Intermate giving them time to integrate with IBM code at later date. What they neglect to mention is that if you buy an InfoPrint now and want IPDS support you have to purchase an IPDS dimm. You make ask, whose code is on that dimm? From what I've seen, it is Intermate's (InfoPrint owners pop out your dimm and look for the word copyright Intermate hidden on the dimm).

So all this talk about native IBM IPDS support seems a little silly. Yes Ricoh will eventually gain control of the AFP/IPDS code that is used by PSF (kind of like the print spooler on windows, but specific to IBM's System i or zSeries services). But that's not the code embedded on the printers.

read more | digg story

Here's some links to other players in the IPDS market:

Poem to Read at a Funeral

2007-03-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice poem to read at a funeral or for a funeral service.

Crossing the Bar
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

How to Check My Charter Email

2007-03-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

Wordtracker is your friend. How else would you find out about "How to Check My Charter Email". Started a new blog about email. This one is about forwarded email. The obnoxious kind that friends and relatives tend to send you. Haven't been bold enough to reply with "REMOVE" in the subject line to any of them yet. So I waste my time documenting the emails at my forwarded email website.

new info on windows vista

2007-03-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

Bought a new HP desktop over the weekend. The HP Pavilion Slimline. It came with Windows Vista Home Basic Edition preinstalled. Nothing fancy. It came with an AMD Sempron processor, 512 MB ram, 200 GB Hardrive, Modem, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi. I was one over by how tiny the box was. Now this is probably not new info for anyone, but Windows Vista sucks. It took forever, and I mean forever to do anything on my new computer. Now I know I don't have much ram, the processor isn't the greatest. But hey, it should at least be faster than my Pentium II I got hiding in the closet.

So my solution, install FC6. Would have went with Ubuntu, but figured if I was getting rid of Vista why not try some of the other linux distros before committing to just one.

My first impressions, it didn't auto detected my lcd monitor correctly, I had to do a ctrl-alt-backspace to kill xwindows and use system-config-monitor to get things right. Which is obviously not optimal. But speed wise, man FC6 is beating the pants off of Vista. I can actually use my computer for something. Granted, when you first get a new computer, especially from one of the bigger chains its full of crappy software that bogs it down and hinders performance from the get go. But hey, right out of the box when you get a new computer it should be fast, not slow and Vista, like it or not, is definitely SLOW.

tim mcgraw last dollar

2007-03-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

a little bored, so here's some music. Tim Mcgraw's Last Dollar

Success Strategies for Optimizing Online Press Release Campaigns

2007-03-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

By Craig Cannings

I was recently having breakfast with a good friend of mine who is in management with a large Brick and Mortar Company and the topic of Press Releases came up in our conversation. My friend questioned the real value of this medium and pointed out that Press Releases, while certainly apart of his company's communication strategy seemed to have little impact or value on their business as a whole and were rarely picked up by major news publications. Well, in my last online press release campaign, I can honestly say we did not receive an enthusiastic call from the Business editor of USA Today or the New York Times or even the Grand Forks Herald for that matter!
However, this recent Press Release campaign did result in a top 5 listing for one of my keywords in Google, multiple top 20 listings, strong placement in Yahoo and Google News, many new quality in-bound links and a significant íncrease in our overall web visibility. The campaign proved to be a roaring success in driving quality traffíc and gaining great exposure for our site, even though we were largely ignored by all of the mainstream news publications. So, how did we do it?
Before I outline the key steps we took in our own online PR endeavors, let's first review the key benefits of an optimized Press Release campaign:
• High Quality One-Way Links to Your Website
A well-constructed Press Release campaign can result in multiple in-bound links from various sources such as industry-related websites, news and media sites, many of which have a decent Google Page Rank. Given that our business was launching a new website, we literally went from zero exposure to hundreds of one-way links and listings within a couple days.
• Top Listings in the News Search Engines
An optimized press release may see top placement in many key news engines such as Google News, MSN News and Yahoo News potentially resulting in a steady stream of traffíc for up to a period of 30 days. To put it into perspective, Google and Yahoo News have the largest Internet News Audience in the world, even bígger than CNN or the BBC.
• Improved Natural Search Results for Particular Keywords
As mentioned earlier, a recent Press Release Campaign of ours resulted in a top 5 listing for one of our keywords in Google as well as multiple top 20 listings all in matter of a two week period.
• Increased Web Visibility
For new web companies, Press Releases can be a very effective and low cost means of increasing the sheer number of web listings and overall exposure.
• Enhanced Brand Awareness
Optimized Press Releases through useful media portals like Prweb.com and Pr.com can significantly íncrease the brand awareness and recognition for both new and existing web businesses.
• Promotion in a Rapidly Growing Medium
Statistics have revealed that more than 70% of Americans actually read their news online, so press releases are certainly a part of an increasingly popular news medium.
• Low Cost Means for Increasing Exposure and Web Visibility
As mentioned, there are a number of key PR distribution portals such as Prweb.com that provide a great vehicle for syndicating your releases to thousands of news outlets as well as optimizing it for the Search Engines. I would highly recommend spending at least a couple hundred dollars to take advantage of a few SEO tools offered there.
• Quality Exposure to Industry Specific Editors
I include this last benefit as an added bonus since your press release might be deemed very newsworthy and subsequently picked up by multiple editors and news channels. However, I must emphasize the number of editor calls or inquiries certainly should not be the primary measure of success for your Online Press Release campaigns.
So, the big question here is how do you actually optimize the Press Release in order to achieve some of the results we experienced in previous campaigns. Let me roll back the curtain and show you the basic formula we employed.
1. Targeted Keyword Research and Selection
Before even commencing with drafting your online Press Release, it is imperative to conduct some thorough keyword research for your targeted audience and subject matter through such tools as wordtracker.com and keyworddiscovery.com. It is ideal to select targeted keywords that have the greatest degree of volume with the fewest competitors that will also make the most sense in the context of your Press Release. Again, it is important to marry relevant and newsworthy content with good SEO practices.
I would recommend narrowing your keyword selection to approximately two to three words for your Press Release with a primary keyword and a couple secondary words. You will löse SEO potency by trying to incorporate too many keywords into one 500-800 word Press Release.
2. Strategic Keyword Placement in the Press Release
It is essential to include your main keyword(s) in the title of the Press Release as well as in the first or second paragraphs of the body. I would recommend optimizing the first 250 words of your press release and then include the keywords in strategic and relevant spots throughout the remainder of the body.
It is also recommended to maintain a keyword density of approximately 3-5% for the main keyword and 1-2% for secondary keywords. (Keyword Density refers to the percentage of words on a web page that match a specified set of keywords) I must emphasize here though that while it is important to be aware of your keyword density, it should not come at the expense of relevant and high quality content. That will ultimately defeat the purpose and desired result of your PR campaign.
3. The Effective Use of Anchor Text
Creating Anchor Text (keyword-rich links) with your targeted keyword(s) will provide valuable optimization and relevant back-links to your respective landing page.
4. Relevant and Optimized Website Content
The use of targeted keywords in your Press Release will only have real value if you also include those same words with reasonable keyword density on your landing page. Make sure to include the keywords in the H1 Header Tag as well as strategically placed in the first 250 words or so of the landing page.
5. Tagging Strategies
Finally I have experienced great value in incorporating Technorati Keyword Tags as well as popular Social Bookmark tags such as Del.icio.us and Digg at the end of the Press Release. Those visitors that like the Press Release and choose to clíck on a technorati tag or a social bookmark tag provide high quality trackbacks or back links that will ultimately enhance your site's link popularity.
In summary, I believe an optimized Press Release using some of the above strategies can be an excellent marketing channel with a good viral effect and great SEO potential long-term. I would highly recommend making the small ínvestment through popular PR distribution sites such as Prweb.com, Prleap.com and Pr.com in order to maximize the potential for yielding top keyword listings, high quality back links and great long-term exposure for your business.
I should note that while the optimization of your Press Release is paramount, it is essential to provide a newsworthy and journalistic feel to the release as well. Great content combined with skillful optimization will yield the best results for your PR campaigns.

Linux Timezone Change

2007-03-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Pretty good instructions found here http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS6300294422.html

Noticed my timezone wasn't set so did a:

ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/MyTimeZone /etc/localtime

Visual Studio Quirks

2007-03-05T10:43:00.000-08:00

Today's Visual Studio Quirk.

When using Visual Studio 2005 and numeric_limits (from #include ) I get the following error.

"not enough actual parameters for macro 'max'"

To resolve this
#define NOMINMAX in stdafx.h before #include

Thank you Microsoft!!

Why can't I unlink a read-only file on Windows?

2007-02-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

Every now and then when programming on windows, you run into little quirks, that make you go huh? Then you file the quirk away in your mind and move on.

Today's quirk, which I can't believe I didn't realize a long, long, long time ago. unlink on Windows doesn't remove read-only files.

References:

http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-bugs-list/2005-November/031026.html
Personal experience: char *file = "path to readonly file"; int res = unlink(file); assert(res==0);

And the Fix:

Obviously we can't modify unlink to behave like Linux. So if unlink fails we need to remove the read-only attribute from the file to properly remove the file. Here is how to remove the read-only attribute from file programmatically in C++ on Windows:

::SetFileAttributes( "path to readonly file", FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL);

Client does not support authentication ..

2007-02-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

Having some fun with TurboGears. Trying out it's Python 2.3 support. Got the following error, Client does not support authentication protocol requested by server; consider upgrading MySQL client. I should be using at least Python 2.4, but doing work on an older server that only has Python 2.3 support. Not an optimal fix, but I found this one when searching on the topic.

Client does not support authentication

Login to mysql as an administrator, then, paste the following command, editing as necessary, to change the password of the user to the old format.

UPDATE mysql.user
SET password=OLD_PASSWORD('somepassword')
WHERE user='someuser'
AND host='somehost';

After you have set the passwords to the old format, flush the tables.

flush privileges;

685 of the best programming links

2007-02-14T19:49:00.001-08:00

Some good programming links sorted by category and popularity. Includes: .net,ajax, c, c#, c++, flash, java, javascript, perl, php, python, ruby,sql and xml.

read more | digg story

The 10 Most Spectacularly Awful Gifts You Can Give Your Girlfriend

2007-02-14T13:58:00.001-08:00

Here are 10 half-baked gifts you should never, under any circumstances, give your girlfriend on Valentine's Day.Though the Wind-Breaking Teddy Bear seems like it could be lots of fun.

read more | digg story

Some interesting Links

2007-02-13T08:23:00.001-08:00

http://www.azoogleads.com/corp/index.php
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/rss/rssfeeds.html
http://www.seomoz.org/
http://blog.mindvalleylabs.com/marketing/the-top-10-killer-blogs-and-resources-for-entrepreneurs/

Creating a Discretionary Access Control List (DACL)

2007-02-12T09:41:00.001-08:00

Needed to create a DACL for a Named Pipe today. Here's what I ended up with.

Microsoft Developer Documentation Links:

SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES
Creating a DACL
SDDL

Some code below, (note LocalFree needs to be used on the SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpSecurityDescriptor member.)

#include <sddl.h>
BOOL CreateDACL( SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES * pSA ) {
TCHAR * szSD = TEXT("D:") // Discretionary ACL
TEXT("(D;OICI;GA;;;BG)") // Deny access to built-in guests
TEXT("(D;OICI;GA;;;AN)") // Deny access to anonymous logon
TEXT("(A;OICI;GRGWGX;;;AU)") // Allow read/write/execute to authenticated users
TEXT("(A;OICI;GA;;;BA)"); // Allow full control to administrators

if ( NULL == pSA ) { return FALSE; }
return ConvertStringSecurityDescriptorToSecurityDescriptor(
szSD,
SDDL_REVISION_1,
&(pSA->lpSecurityDescriptor),
NULL );
}

Da Bears

2007-02-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

So Da Bears lost the super bowl but it doesn't mean they didn't have a great season. Go Bears!!
Not a Bears fan, how about Ditka? Get a Ditka shirt from www.crystalcosmos.com

One of these days

2007-02-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

ESFP - "Entertainer". Radiates attractive warmth and optimism. Smooth, witty, charming, clever. Fun to be with. Very generous. 8.5% of the total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Absolutely Must Have Software

2007-02-09T08:01:00.000-08:00

Launchy
I can't live without Launchy. No more Windows Start Menu for me.
Firefox Cause Internet Explorer ... Let's just say I don't prefer it.
Adobe Reader
iTunes
OpenOffice.org
VIM
Python
Eclipse
Microsoft Visual Studio
Java
InnoSetup
putty.exe
WinSCP
OpenCMD Window here

MySQL User Stuff

2007-02-08T21:47:00.001-08:00

A stupid way to be easily hacked.

mysql> GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'anybody'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY '123';
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.14 sec)

mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.16 sec)

Ultimate Guide to Link Baiting

2007-02-07T13:14:00.001-08:00

http://tropicalseo.com/2007/andy-hagans-ultimate-guide-to-link-baiting-and-social-media-marketing/

Copyblogger’s title cheat sheet:

Who Else Wants [blank]?
The Secret of [blank]
Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]
Little Known Ways to [blank]
Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]
Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance]
[Do something] like [world-class example]
Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of
What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank]

Want an example? Let’s run through the cheat sheet Andy Hagans style:

Who Else Wants Build Links and Rank High in Google?
The Secret of Link Baiting (It’s all in the title!)
Here is a Method That is Helping Webmasters to Link Bait Better
Little Known Ways to Link Bait Like an SEO Pro
Get Rid of Your Backlink Problem Once and For All
Here’s a Quick Way to Rank Highly in Google by Link Baiting
Now You Can Have that #1 Rank in Google
Learn to Link Bait like Andy Hagans
Build a Backlink Structure You Can Be Proud Of
What Everybody Ought to Know About Link Baiting

Windows Code Signing (Authenticode)

2007-02-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

signtool.exe which comes with Windows Visual Studio 2005 has totally different command line options than signcode.exe, the later being part of the original Microsoft Authenticode toolkit and came bundled with Windows Visual Studio 2003.

If your migrating your code signing from VC7 to VC8 you'll need to take your PRIVATEKEYFILE and SPCFILE that you get from Verisign, Thawte, Geotrust, etc. and create a pfx file. This pfx file will be used to sign your files.

Creating a pfx file:

pvk2pfx.exe -pvk PRIVATEKEYFILE -spc SPCFILE -pfx your_new_pfx_filename.pfx

Signing a file:

signtool.exe sign /f PATH_TO_PFX_FILE -t http://timestamp.verisign.com/scripts/timstamp.dll /v $(OutDir)\$(TargetFileName)

See signtool.exe for more options.
See pvk2pfx.exe for more options.

Note to self

2007-02-02T08:26:00.001-08:00

Found this snippet of Python code about a dictionary proxy metaclass. No time today, so I'll have to look at it later.

Sometimes when programming in Python I just want to type:

d = {}
d.some_key = 'some data'

instead of:

d['some_key'] = 'some data'

like you can in JavaScript.

Boost C++ Libraries

2007-02-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Boost libraries found at http://www.boost.org are wonderful. Been using them for years.

Here are the build instructions:

Download latest boost source
Download bjam.exe
Extract boost source
cd into the newly created directory
bjam "-sTOOLS=TOOLKIT" --prefix=PREFIX install

Replace TOOLKIT with the appropriate toolkit for your compiler. That list can be found here http://www.boost.org/more/getting_started.html#step2. Replace PREFIX with the prefix of choice Windows Default: C:\Boost. Others Default to: /usr/local on Unix. Linux, etc.

So if your using Visual Studio 2005 SP1 and want boost to be installed onto your D drive the command would be:

bjam "-sTOOLS=vc-8_0" --prefix=D:\Boost install

It's that simple. What you get from Boost? OS independent thread code, a good shared pointer implementation, and more.

Free website design tools

2007-02-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

Trying to keep a list of free web design stuff.

Website templates:

Royalty free stock images:

The Weekly Search Report

2007-01-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

Question: Inno Setup how to not require admin rights on vista?
Answer: Get the latest version of Inno Setup at least version 5.1.9 or better.

Question: why does my computer not boot up?
Answer: Is your computer plugged in? Does your house have electricity? Are all the cables plugged in? Is your memory bad? Is your hard drive bad?

Question: my pc is too slow why?
Answer: Not enough memory? To many programs running in the background? Your still using your old 486? Your computer is infected with viruses and other malware?

Question: doctor's who make a lot of money?
Answer: Plastic Surgeons

Question: how to choose a genealogy test?
Answer: The more markers the better. See worldfamilies.net

Question: why is my pc so slow?
Answer: See answer for my pc is too slow why above

WorldFamilies.Net and Surname DNA Testing

2007-01-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of WorldFamilies.net? If your into genealogy. You might want to give them a visit. They specialize in Surname DNA Testing, managing several thousand surname DNA projects. Search for your surname DNA project. Can't find your surname, ask them to add a DNA project for you.

Take a look at some of WorldFamilies.Net's top surname DNA projects:

Some PDF Forms Research

2007-01-25T07:43:00.001-08:00

Starting a new project, can you guess what I'm working on?

Maxam-Gilbert DNA sequence method

2007-01-23T22:21:00.000-08:00

When is Google going to do something about search engine spam? Take this page for instance. Wordtracker tells me the words "maxam-gilbert dna sequence method" where searched for 34 times in the last 24 hour period. Not knowing much about the maxam-gilbert dna sequence method I'd go to http://www.attotron.com/pub/dnaquiz/Q6SEQ.htm and find out that,
The Maxam-Gilbert method of nucleotide sequence determination is based on preferential, base-specific methylation followed by chemical cleavage to generate a nested set of end- labeled derivatives. The funny thing is within a few weeks because of this blogspot.com url, google will rank this page pretty high. Not that I even know a thing about the Maxam-Gilbert DNA sequence method.

Fried Cisco

2007-01-23T20:03:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of a fish called Cisco? First thing I thought of was the co mpany. Someone says these Cisco are only found at Bear Lake. They must mean the specific subspecies of Cisco found at Bear Lake are unique. Seeing as anyone can google Cisco and find more results than just Bear Lake. Was told they were spawning. Took a little drive down to Bear Lake for some ice fishing with the scouts, came back to Idaho Falls with a whole lot of Cisco.

Using a net or a hook, the later taking more skill; it was actually pretty fun. Bear Lake had totally frozen over the previous week. Not that it mattered the Cisco were right by the edge of the aptly named Cisco Beach. There had to be thousands of them. They seemed to like our Marabou Jigs, and Silver Kastmasters. One person would tease them with the bait, another scooping them up with the net.

The real fun was cleaning and descaling the fish. My 25 Cisco took way to long to clean (the daily limit is 30). It was worth it though. They sure were yummy. Deep fat fried them. umm, umm good.

(Great) Employees Only

2007-01-22T08:20:00.001-08:00

So my boss has a subscription to Audio-Tech Business Book Summaries most of the cds are actually pretty interesting to listen too.

I was impressed with a cd he shared with me recently. (Great) Employees Only How Gifted Bosses Hire and De-Hire Their Way to Success by Dale Dauten. What I enjoyed most about it where the six questions Dale Dauten says to ask an employee that is in line to be de-hired.

1. Are you happy here?
2. What are you passionate about?
3. Does this job do that for you?
4. How can we make changes so that happens?
5. What would you rather be doing?
6. How can I help you move in that direction?

Compiler COM Support

2007-01-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

Touching code that I had long since forgotten about. Documented in the source, but also here in case I ever need it someday long after I have left my current company. Not that the links will be valid, but at least It will help me remember search terms to get the knowledge back.

Compiler COM Support
#import directive

Windows Vista and Windows Help

2007-01-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I really enjoy reading Microsoft documentation. Especially marketing fluff. I have nothing better to do each day. Why not just waste it reading Microsoft marketing fluff, excuse me ... developer documentation. Maybe your familiar with what I'm writing about, the documentation that tells you how good Microsoft is but doesn't really tell you how to implement any of their technologies. My second favorite Microsoft documentation to read is the You can't do it this way anymore, but were not going to give you any links, cause we change them daily, so good luck figuring it out on your own style of documentation.

I've been reminded of my Microsoft documentation pet peeves, as I'm currently focused on migrating some old Windows Help files (.hlp files) to Vista.

Source: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa480152.aspx#appcomp_topic15
Windows Help (WinHelp.exe and WinHlp32.exe) is being deprecated for Windows Vista. Windows Help is not supported in Beta 2 and some of the Windows Help code has been removed for the release ... HTML Help and .CHM files will continue to be supported for Windows Vista.

Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917607/en-us
We strongly recommend that software developers stop using the Windows Help application in Windows Vista. Software developers who ship programs that rely on .hlp files are encouraged to transition their Help experience to an alternative Help file format, such as .chm, .html, or .xml. You will also have to change your calls from the WinHelp() API to the new content source.

Now I know HTML Help has been around forever, almost as long as WinHelp. But I don't work with Html Help everyday, so they should say. HTML Help uses the HtmlHelp api, here is a link to the documentation. Don't force me to use the msdn search engine, it's useless.

For my own benefit, a few years down the road if I actually have to worry about help files again.

Source: MSDN Documentation
The HTML Help API function is modeled after the WinHelp API function to simplify the process of updating existing programs from WinHelp to HTML Help. However, the HTML Help API command names and parameters are not the same as those in the WinHelp API, and the output file formats are very different.

Useful links:

http://www.help-info.de/en/Help_Info_WinHelp/hw.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=00535334-c8a6-452f-9aa0-d597d16580cc&displaylang=en
http://www.helpblocks.com
http://frogleg.mvps.org/helptechnologies/htmlhelp/hhtutorials.html#lammers_api

Windows Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1

2007-01-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

Upgrade it's that simple. Download and Install otherwise be doomed to waste your time scouring the web for resolutions to obscure bugs.

The bug I'm most happy about being fixed this Memory leak. It also resolves the Vista Manifest Crash reported earlier without any fancy work around. Though you still have to worry about how to distribute the CRT dlls and such.

Thoughts on Windows Vista User Access Control

2007-01-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

Bye, Bye Power Users

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/00d04415-2b2f-422c-b70e-b18ff918c2811033.mspx?mfr=true

Finally, a parent can let a child view a DVD, while preventing them from installing software; courtesy of User Access Control(UAC) and the infamous split token.

Virtualization

"IT administrators will not need to replace the majority of pre-Windows Vista applications when running Windows Vista with UAC enabled."

The cynic in me thinks it should read, "IT administrators will need to replace the majority of pre-Windows Vista applications when running Windows Vista with UAC enabled."

Blog Sites

2007-01-03T10:55:00.000-08:00

Some blog sites. Found these on some site off of Digg. Just here so I can slowly work my way through them in my spare time.

Name: 2RSS
URL: http://www.2rss.com
Description:RSS Feed Directory
Add your blog here: On front page
Note: Requires RSS Feed

Name: Blogarama
URL: http://www.blogarama.com
Description:Small search engine
Add your blog here: http://www.blogarama.com/index.php?show=add

Name: Blogdigger
URL: http://www.blogdigger.com
Description: Small search engine
Add your blog here: http://www.blogdigger.com/addFeedForm.jsp
Note: Need RSS feed

Name: Bloghop
URL: http://www.bloghop.com
Description: Small search engine
Add your blog here: http://www.bloghop.com/addblog.htm

Name: Bloglines
URL: http://www.bloglines.com
Description: Search and aggregate RSS feeds
Add your blog here: No submission process, users add feeds they wish to track

Name: Blogmatrix
URL: http://www.blogmatrix.com
Description: Blog tool provider, offers search as well
Add your blog here: http://www.blogmatrix.com/join

Name: Blogsearchengine
URL: http://www.blogsearchengine.com
Description: Blog search engine
Add your blog here: http://www.blogsearchengine.com/add_link.html

Name: Blogtastic
URL: http://www.blogstreet.com
Description: Metasearch
Add your blog here: http://www.blogstreet.com/bin/add.cgi

Name: Blogwise
URL: http://www.blogwise.com
Description: Categorized Blog search
Add your blog here: http://www.blogwise.com/submit

Name: Bloogz
URL: http://www.bloogz.com
Description: Blog search engine
Add your blog here: http://www.bloogz.com/man_en/add_your_url.php

Name: Daypop
URL: http://www.daypop.com
Description: News oriented search
Add your blog here: http://www.daypop.com/info/submit.htm
Note: Requires your site to be "frequently updated"

Name: Eatonweb
URL: http://portal.eatonweb.com
Description: Blog search engine
Add your blog here: http://portal.eatonweb.com/add.php

Name: Globeofblogs
URL: http://www.globeofblogs.com
Description: Blog search engine
Add your blog here: Click "Register" in upper-right corner of front page
Note: Strange site, requires extensive classification of blogs

Name: LocalFeeds.com/GeoURL
URL: http://www.localfeeds.com , http://www.geourl.org
Description: Blogs and headlines by geographic region. GeoURL is by lat/longitude while LocalFeeds is by ZIP or country.
Add your blog here: http://www.geourl.org/add.html (for both)
Note: Complex instructions, you must edit your blog's meta tags prior to submission.

NEW! Name: Memigo
URL: http://www.memigo.com
Description: Customized news portal
Add your blog here: http://www.memigo.com/feed

Name: NewsIsFree
URL: http://www.newsisfree.com
Description: Search for RSS feeds
Add your blog here: http://www.newsisfree.com/contact.php

Name: Popdex
URL: http://www.popdex.com
Description: Hot topics listing and search engine
Add your blog here: http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
Note: "Fast Track" if you link to Popdex

Name: RDF Ticker
URL: http://www.anse.de/rdfticker/findchannels.php
Description: Search and aggregate RSS feeds
Add your blog here: http://www.anse.de/rdfticker/addchannel.php

Name: Read A Blog
URL: http://www.readablog.com
Description: Blog Search Engine
Add your blog here: http://www.readablog.com/AddFeed.aspx

Name: RSSFeedsDirectory
URL: http://rss-feeds-directory.com/directory
Description: RSS Directory
Add your blog here: Not clear

Name: Search4RSS
URL: http://www.search4rss.com
Description: RSS Search Engine
Add your blog here: Not available, must be added by site owners.

Name: Sindic8
URL: http://www.syndic8.com
Description: Search and aggregate RSS feeds
Add your blog here: http://www.syndic8.com/suggest.php?Mode=data
Note: Need RSS feed

Name: Technorati
URL: http://www.technorati.com
Description: Index of links between millions of blogs
Add your blog here: http://www.technorati.com/ping.html

Name: Waypath
URL: http://www.waypath.com
Description: Keyword searches and "find similar" searches
Add your blog here: Automatically adds blogs through a spidering process.

XP to Vista upgrade, is it worth it?

2007-01-03T09:40:00.000-08:00

Upgrading from Windows XP to Vista is it really worth it? That's for you to decide. I've been using the Vista RTM for development/testing. It's not that bad, though there are some quirks to get used to. If you're thinking of upgrading, I'd recommend a clean install. Things have changed way to much, and your in for a world of hurt if you believe Microsoft and think most software will work on Vista out of the box. It won't. If you go into the upgrade realizing most things won't work, mentally, you'll probably be better off.

Recommended path of Upgrade:

Make a list of all the software you use
Verify that each software product you use works with Windows Vista
Backup configuration information for each of your products
Install Windows Vista on a brand new computer
Install the software you use
Import over configuration information

What you can look forward too:

Enhanced security
Better eye candy
User Access Control (UAC) prompts
Gadgets

Things you may miss:

Lack of UAC prompts

C/C++ and Distributing a VC8 application

2006-12-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

C/C++ in Visual Studio 8 has changed once again. Seems Microsoft can't decide on the best way to handle their C/C++ runtime dlls (CRT).

VC6 and dll hell was fun.

VC7, VC7.1 got better because the compiler was a bit more standard. Redistributing files wasn't as bad, just copy msvcrt71.dll or msvcr71.dll to your application directory and things worked.

VC8 changes things once again. Introducing side-by-side assemblies. If I were a C# guy, I'm sure I'd be familiar with assemblies by now, but alas, I prefer the C/C++. So here are some links on how to deal with the VC8 CRT dlls, so that your applications don't crash after you distribute them because your missing required dlls.

A more thorough explanation of VC8 CRT and WinSxS
Using Windows Installer XML (WiX) and VC8 CRT Merge Modules
I'm an InnoSetup fan, but without merge module support, or a better way to install the VC8 CRT dlls the above works.
Silently install vcredist_x86.exe Though for InnoSetup and other non-msi based installs, silently installing vcredist_x86.exe is less of a kludge.

VC8 C/C++ CRT Distrubution/Deployment Howto Offers various ways to install the VC8 CRT dlls. The xcopy way looks appealing, though some of the fine print suggests Windows 2000 server doesn't like things this way.
VC8 Guidelines for Creating Side-By-Side (WinSxS ) Assemblies You maybe wondering what side-by-side assemblies are. This may give some insight to you.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

2006-12-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

Web Marketing

Google Adwords
Miva UK
Findwhat
MSN Adcenter
Miva US
Overture
Tucows
Upload.com
Kanoodle

Design - SEO Tools

Boxed Art
Net mechanic
Webtrends
Clip art
Anim Factory
Market Leap
Wordtracker
Flash Components
Search Engine promotion help
Go Daddy

Vista Manifest Crash

2006-12-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Since a lot of people are searching for it here it is again.

Out of the box, when you create a manifest using Windows Visual Studio 2005 your program will crash when run on Non Windows Vista boxes. Microsoft uses a gentler word and says reboot in their KB article.

To fix the Vista Manifest Crash issue taken from my previous blog entry:

In Windows Visual Studio 2005 there are multiple copies of the mt.exe (Manifest Tool) program. There is an older version in the $InstallDir\VC\bin that you need to replace with the mt.exe found in $InstallDir\Common7\Tools\Bin.

After you replace the mt.exe file with the one that works. Rebuild your project and the manifest file will be created properly. Your program will no longer crash when run on non vista boxes.

Windows Vista Launch Developer Resource DVD

2006-12-06T10:40:00.000-08:00

Got the Windows Vista Launch Developer Resource DVD in the mail today. Found it extremely funny that it didn't run properly on my Windows Vista Ultimate test computer. So if Microsoft can't even get their programs to work right on Vista, what are the rest of us to do?

Unspecialized class template can't be used ...

2006-11-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

Ever had fun with Compiler Error C3203 and Visual Studio 2005 (VC8)? I maintain a project that uses the Windows Template Library (WTL). When upgrading the project to use VC8 I noticed hundreds upon hundreds of compile errors with this cryptic statement "unspecialized class template can't be used as a template argument for template parameter 'T', expected a real type".

Here's Microsoft's explanation:

Here's my translation:

Say you have a class definition something like below. Pay attention to the text in bold.

template <class TItem = CCustomTabItem>
class CDotNetButtonTabCtrl :
public CCustomTabCtrl<CDotNetButtonTabCtrl, TItem>

Change the code to below so it will compile, and your C3203 compile errors will disappear.

template <class TItem = CCustomTabItem>
class CDotNetButtonTabCtrl :
public CCustomTabCtrl<CDotNetButtonTabCtrl<TItem>, TItem>

Windows Vista CreateProcess Issues

2006-11-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista has been nothing but fun. I came across an issue where all CreateProcess calls in the application I'm upgrading to Vista now fail. The processes are launched from within a GUI application. The launched process requires Administrator rights. The launched process was upgraded to include the appropriate Vista Maniftest, though when launched from the old application the CreateProcess call fails with error 740 ERROR_ELEVATION_REQUIRED.

Turns out I can no longer use CreateProcess to launch the process. I have to use ShellExecute instead.


::ShellExecute( 
          m_hWnd,
          _T("runas"), 
          szProcess,
          0, // params
          0, // directory
          SW_SHOWNORMAL
);

I've found this resources somewhat useful Microsoft Vista Developer Reference. Though most of Microsoft's Vista documentation tends to be a bunch of marketing fluff with no real substance. My favorite example of this can be found here. In it's current state the article is nothing more than a poorly organized mess, sprinkled with keywords, giving the developer no real hope of ever figuring out what wonderful changes are ahead with Microsoft Vista.

Ode to the Doctor's Excuse

2006-11-20T21:34:00.000-08:00

Doctor's excuse oh Doctor's excuse why do I need thee? Did I fall out of bed and break my head?
Or am I just to lazy? I've been so sick I fear my rear is stuck to the bed though I am not dead.
For work for school the form I seek, but don't know where to find it? Where can I go, I do not know? The doctor I know is not willing to give it. Unless, I get out of bed and drive to town and ask him for the Doctor's Excuse Form. Signed by him or maybe her, it doesn't matter. As long as my boss or maybe my teacher doesn't fire me over the matter.

The Egg Roll

2006-11-19T08:52:00.000-08:00

My wife made some Hmong Egg Rolls for me. I have to say they were so yummy! Best Egg Rolls I've had in a long time. Here's the recipe. I think the secret to the egg roll recipe is letting the bean thread soak up all the juices from the cilantro, meat, and other ingredients. Then when you cook them in the peanut oil ... delicious!! I've seen a few other recipes for Hmong egg rolls around some better than others. If you were to search for Hmong egg rolls you'll also see it called kabyob; which is just how to spell egg roll in in the Hmong language. Kabyob pronounced more like ga yaw in English means egg roll. Each Hmong family tends to have their own egg roll recipe, not really written down, but adapted to their own tastes.

Windows Vista Code Signing

2006-11-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista Code Signing. Seems with Windows latest OS code signing isn't optional. Its something you need to do. Why? Cause if you don't Windows Vista makes your program to appear as if it's a malware or a virus program. The "Do you really want to do this?" and "Are you really, really sure?" dialogs are all over the place in Windows Vista. So bottom line, you need to sign your executables.

Code signing has actually gotten easier over the years. You used to have to download the Microsoft Code Signing Tool. Now it just comes bundled with Visual Studio; which actually makes things a little easier.

So first off, you need to get a Code Signing Certificate. These can be obtained from a Windows Vista Trusted Certificate Authority (CA). Verisign, Thawte, and GeoTrust are the big ones (Though Thawte is owned by Verisign). You'll need to order a Microsoft Authenticode signing certificate. The company you purchase from can walk you through the step of generating the certificate.

Once you have a certificate you can add a post build event to your visual studio project that will sign the exe, or dll after it's built. The command to run will look something like this:

signcode.exe -v your.pvk -spc your.spc $(OutDir)\$(TargetFileName) -t http://timestamp.verisign.com/scripts/timstamp.dll

You'll probably find these links helpful:

SignCode.exe Documentation
SignTool.exe Documentation
Cert2Spc.exe Documentation

Windows Vista Manifest File Issues

2006-11-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

In the process of upgrading a product to work with Windows Vista and having way to much fun.

Part of my issues have been with adding the new requestedExecutionLevel to an exe so it can be run as an administrator.

Per Microsoft Vista Documentation a manifest needs to be added which adds the appropriate requestedExecutionLevel, in my case administrator.

So how do you add the requestedExecutionlevel to a program?

1) Create a file and paste the required XML found in the Microsoft Vista Documentation

It looks something like this:


<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestversion="1.0">
<trustinfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
<security>
  <requestedprivileges>
    <requestedexecutionlevel level="requireAdministrator" uiaccess="false">
  </requestedexecutionlevel>
</requestedprivileges>
</security>
</trustinfo>

2) Tell VC8 about the manifest file you just created. From the VC8 project properties you need to go to Manifest Tool > Input and Output > Additional Manifest Files. Set Additional Manifest Files to be the filename you created above.

3) Compile your project.

If you have a working Manifest Tool program, your program will now have a good manifest file. If you don't, then the manifest created will be broken, and your program will have a great feature when run on Windows XP. It will automatically reboot the computer for you!! Isn't that wonderful?

The fix for this Windows Vista Manifest crash on Windows XP is a gem I found in one of the Microsoft Forumns. Since it is a gem, the solution is buried away in the forumn. Here is the gem:

In Windows Visual Studio 2005 there are multiple copies of the mt.exe (Manifest Tool) program. There is an older version in the $InstallDir\VC\bin that you need to replace with the mt.exe found in $InstallDir\Common7\Tools\Bin.

Follow the above steps and you should have a program that will run as an administrator on Windows Vista and actually work on previous versions of Windows without crashing. (Always a plus)

Possible additional steps, use your code signing certificate and sign the executable for a more user friendly dialog when your program is run on Windows Vista.

In search of a good website stat counter

2006-10-17T16:11:00.001-07:00

Looking for some good website stat counters. I've been using http://statcounter.com.

Came across http://103bees.com impressed by how it helps you with search terms. Also pretty fond of http://www.google.com/analytics.

Any better ones out there?