Keith Rull

Sample 3 is similar to Sample 1 and and Sample 2 but it uses the File.ReadAllText method which reads the content of the whole file instead of reading the data line by line or reading the data and putting the values into a string[].

[C# Version]

using System;
using System.IO;

namespace KeithRull.ReadMyFile
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //the filename of the file to read
            string xmlFilename = "Symbols.xml";
          
            //validate if the file exist
            if (File.Exists(xmlFilename))
            {
                //read the contents of the file
                string fileContent = File.ReadAllText(xmlFilename);

                //display the output in the screen
                Console.WriteLine(fileContent);
            }
            else
            {
                //notify that the file was not found
                Console.WriteLine("File not found!");
            }

            //pause and wait for the user.
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

[VB.NET Version]

Imports System 
Imports System.IO 

Namespace KeithRull.ReadMyFile 
    Class Program 
        Private Shared Sub Main(ByVal args As String()) 
            'the filename of the file to read 
            Dim xmlFilename As String = "Symbols.xml" 
            
            'validate if the file exist 
            If File.Exists(xmlFilename) Then 
                'read the contents of the file 
                Dim fileContent As String = File.ReadAllText(xmlFilename) 
                
                'display the output in the screen 
                Console.WriteLine(fileContent) 
            Else 
                'notify that the file was not found 
                Console.WriteLine("File not found!") 
            End If 
            
            'pause and wait for the user. 
            Console.ReadLine() 
        End Sub 
    End Class 
End Namespace 

Sample demonstrates how to use the File.ReadAllLines technique 

[C# Version]

using System;
using System.IO;

namespace KeithRull.ReadMyFile
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //the filename of the file to read
            string xmlFilename = "Symbols.xml";
          
            //validate if the file exist
            if (File.Exists(xmlFilename))
            {
                //read the contents of the file
                string[] fileContent = File.ReadAllLines(xmlFilename);

                //iterate for each line item in our file
                foreach (string lineItem in fileContent)
                {
                    //display the output in the screen
                    Console.WriteLine(lineItem);
                }
            }
            else
            {
                //notify that the file was not found
                Console.WriteLine("File not found!");
            }

            //pause and wait for the user.
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

[VB.NET Version]

Imports System
Imports System.IO

Namespace KeithRull.ReadMyFile
    Class Program
        Private Shared Sub Main(ByVal args As String())
            'the filename of the file to read
            Dim xmlFilename As String = "Symbols.xml"
           
            'validate if the file exist
            If File.Exists(xmlFilename) Then
                'read the contents of the file
                Dim fileContent As String() = File.ReadAllLines(xmlFilename)
               
                'iterate for each line item in our file
                For Each lineItem As String In fileContent
                    'display the output in the screen
                    Console.WriteLine(lineItem)
                Next
            Else
                'notify that the file was not found
                Console.WriteLine("File not found!")
            End If
           
            'pause and wait for the user.
            Console.ReadLine()
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

Sample 1 demonstrates how to use the StreamReader technique when reading the contents of a file

[C# Version]

using System;
using System.IO;

namespace KeithRull.ReadMyFile
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //the filename of the file to read
            string xmlFilename = "Symbols.xml";
          
            //validate if the file exist
            if (File.Exists(xmlFilename))
            {
                //create a new StreamReader object tha would read the file
                using (StreamReader sReader = new StreamReader(xmlFilename))
                {
                    //create a string object that would hold the
                    //value of each line in our file
                    string line = String.Empty;
                    
                    //iterate for each line item in our file
                    while ((line = sReader.ReadLine()) != null)
                    {
                        //display the output in the screen
                        Console.WriteLine(line);
                    }
                }
            }
            else
            {
                //notify that the file was not found
                Console.WriteLine("File not found!");
            }

            //pause and wait for the user.
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
}

[VB.NET Version]

Imports System 
Imports System.IO 

Namespace KeithRull.ReadMyFile 
    Class Program 
        Private Shared Sub Main(ByVal args As String()) 
            'the filename of the file to read 
            Dim xmlFilename As String = "Symbols.xml" 
            
            'validate if the file exist 
            If File.Exists(xmlFilename) Then 
                'create a new StreamReader object tha would read the file 
                Using sReader As New StreamReader(xmlFilename) 
                    'create a string object that would hold the 
                    'value of each line in our file 
                    Dim line As String = [String].Empty 
                    
                    'iterate for each line item in our file 
                    While (line = sReader.ReadLine()) IsNot Nothing 
                        'display the output in the screen 
                        Console.WriteLine(line) 
                    End While 
                End Using 
            Else 
                'notify that the file was not found 
                Console.WriteLine("File not found!") 
            End If 
            
            'pause and wait for the user. 
            Console.ReadLine() 
        End Sub 
    End Class 
End Namespace 

I saw this on the news this morning and at first i thought this guys are some sort terrorist.. I was surprised to find out that these guys are actually "Real-Life Super Heroes" living in my area. Interesting.

I love being busy. I do.

I love working and building applications. I love making sure that what I build is a high quality application that has the 'Wow' factor stamped all over it. I guess it's just my nature to enjoy work and build stuff.

I love building stuff. I do.

Being busy makes me feel productive. Pressure makes me better and seeing my users smile at the end of the project motivates me to do my best job everytime. Thinking of my family and our future keeps me moving. It does. It really does.

I've been busy this past few weeks (i think it's almost a month and half know) with so much stuff going on at work doing UAT and production launch in a big ASP.NET dashboard application that I have been building in the past few months and I haven't had the change to post anything useful since early February because of these work related things.

None. Zip. Nada.

Anyway, that should change soon since my schedule would be a little bit more relax in the next few weeks other than a week I need to spend with some Cognos guys to show them our data and help them mine it. Oh well! I'll post something code related tonight. Promise!

I'll keep you posted for sure! Later!

Microsoft Philippines is conducting an event for developers called "Defy All Challenges: The .NET Developer Roadshow" on March 26, 2008 at SM Megamall Cinema 4, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. I think this is going to be a great event! I've already talked to few developers and they are definetely excited although some raise concerns about the cost of the event (P500).

Paolo Tioseco, a Technology Specialist for Microsoft Philippines asked me to post the event details at DevPinoy.org and I've decided to create my own banner based on their original poster.

Oh! and I have a small one too!

Tech is fun!

My wife and I went to the Heroes Happen {here} event in Los Angeles, CA last month and boy, it was a blast! The event was a fullhouse with hundreds of developers and IT professionals attending this big day. My wife took some photos of me at the event during idle time and this is what came up.

{ Staring at (IT) Heroes }

---

{ Is dot you? }

---

{ Waiting to launch }

---

{ Curly-braced couple }

---

{ I was there! }

---

{ DevPinoy.org was there too! =) }

---

{ Someday, in God's time DevPinoy will be a platinum sponsor in one the Microsoft events. Heheh!
My wife told me to take a picture of this banner and put the DevPinoy logo to it and right there and then I caught a vision. }

---

We had fun that day. I'm really thankful that my wife is a techie like me because we can go to the same conference and enjoy the same technology. I saw Woody at the event and as always he is a cool guy. Hmmm.. I wonder if all MS Developer Evangelist are like him. Hehehe!

The next launch event that we are going to attend is the San Diego launch event which is happening sometime around May. Yipee!

Yup! Me and my wife are coming to the VS 2008 Kickoff event in Los Angeles today. Wohoo! This is the first time we'll see Bill Gates live in person and we are excited about it.

Wohoo!

I'll post some pictures here tommorow to show you guys what transpired at the Nokia Theatre and Los Angeles Convention Center.

See yah at the event!

I've gotten this question 3 times in different flavors since last week and I've decided that it's time to post the solution in my blog. I've added comments on the code to explain what every line is doing.

The code below will demonstrate how you can read the assembly information in both C# and VB.NET.

[------------------ C# ------------------]

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Reflection;
using System.IO;

namespace KeithRull.ReadingAssemblyInformation
{
    /// <summary>
    /// A sample program that demonstrates how to get the
    /// Assembly information. This is useful when you want
    /// to see the version of your class library.
    /// </summary>
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            //create a new assembly object that would signify
            //the current running assembly
            Assembly currentAssembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();

            //create the dictionary object that would contain
            //all the information about our assembly
            Dictionary<string, string> dictionaryOfProperties 
                        = GetAssemblyInfoDictionary(currentAssembly);

            //iterate thru each key in the dictionary
            foreach (string key in dictionaryOfProperties.Keys)
            {
                //print the key and its value
                Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", key, dictionaryOfProperties[key]);
            }

            //pause
            Console.ReadLine();

        }

        /// <summary>
        /// A method that returns a Dictionary of Assembly properties
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="selectedAssembly">The assembly to inspect</param>
        /// <returns>The dictrionary containing the assembly information</returns>
        public static Dictionary<string, string> GetAssemblyInfoDictionary(Assembly selectedAssembly)
        {
            //Create the dictionary
            Dictionary<string, string> dictionaryOfProperties 
                                    = new Dictionary<string, string>();

            //get the location of the assembly
            string assemblyPath = selectedAssembly.Location;
            //add the assembly location to out dictionary
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("AssemblyLocation", assemblyPath);

            //create the AssemblyName object based on our Assembly
            //this will enable us to get the version information
            //and other properties related to our assembly
            AssemblyName assemblyName = selectedAssembly.GetName();

            //add the FullName of out assembly
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("AssemblyFullName", assemblyName.FullName);
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("AssemblyName", assemblyName.FullName);

            //add the assembly version information
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version", assemblyName.Version.ToString());
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Major", assemblyName.Version.Major.ToString());
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Minor", assemblyName.Version.Minor.ToString());
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Build", assemblyName.Version.Build.ToString());
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Revision", assemblyName.Version.Revision.ToString());
            
            //add the creation time
            DateTime creationTime = File.GetCreationTime(assemblyPath);
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("CreationTime", creationTime.ToString());

            //add the last write time
            DateTime lastWriteTime = File.GetLastWriteTime(assemblyPath);
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("LastWriteTime", creationTime.ToString());

            //return our dictionary obeject
            return dictionaryOfProperties;
        }
    }
}

[------------------ VB.NET ------------------]

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.IO

Namespace KeithRull.ReadingAssemblyInformation
    ''' <summary> 
    ''' A sample program that demonstrates how to get the 
    ''' Assembly information. This is useful when you want 
    ''' to see the version of your class library. 
    ''' </summary> 
    Module Program
        Sub Main(ByVal args As String())
            'create a new assembly object that would signify 
            'the current running assembly 
            Dim currentAssembly As Assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly()

            'create the dictionary object that would contain 
            'all the information about our assembly 
            Dim dictionaryOfProperties As Dictionary(Of String, String) = GetAssemblyInfoDictionary(currentAssembly)

            'iterate thru each key in the dictionary 
            For Each key As String In dictionaryOfProperties.Keys
                'print the key and its value 
                Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", key, dictionaryOfProperties(key))
            Next

            'pause 
            Console.ReadLine()

        End Sub

        ''' <summary> 
        ''' A method that returns a Dictionary of Assembly properties 
        ''' </summary> 
        ''' <param name="selectedAssembly">The assembly to inspect</param> 
        ''' <returns>The dictrionary containing the assembly information</returns> 
        Public Function GetAssemblyInfoDictionary(ByVal selectedAssembly As Assembly) As Dictionary(Of String, String)
            'Create the dictionary 
            Dim dictionaryOfProperties As New Dictionary(Of String, String)()

            'get the location of the assembly 
            Dim assemblyPath As String = selectedAssembly.Location
            'add the assembly location to out dictionary 
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("AssemblyLocation", assemblyPath)

            'create the AssemblyName object based on our Assembly 
            'this will enable us to get the version information 
            'and other properties related to our assembly 
            Dim assemblyName As AssemblyName = selectedAssembly.GetName()

            'add the FullName of our assembly 
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("AssemblyFullName", assemblyName.FullName)
            'add the Name of the assembly
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("AssemblyName", assemblyName.Name)

            'add the assembly version information 
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version", assemblyName.Version.ToString())
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Major", assemblyName.Version.Major.ToString())
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Minor", assemblyName.Version.Minor.ToString())
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Build", assemblyName.Version.Build.ToString())
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("Version.Revision", assemblyName.Version.Revision.ToString())

            'add the creation time 
            Dim creationTime As DateTime = File.GetCreationTime(assemblyPath)
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("CreationTime", creationTime.ToString())

            'add the last write time 
            Dim lastWriteTime As DateTime = File.GetLastWriteTime(assemblyPath)
            dictionaryOfProperties.Add("LastWriteTime", creationTime.ToString())

            'return our dictionary obeject 
            Return dictionaryOfProperties
        End Function
    End Module
End Namespace

HTH ;)

I've been working on ASP.NET AJAX eversince it's beta days and the UpdateProgress and UpdatePanel has been my bestfriend since day one. I've learned a few tricks while using ASP.NET and today I'd like to share with you several ways to customize the look and feel of you UpdateProgress control with this sample solution. I have created a sample application that would demonstrate different ways to position your UpdateProgress control in the web browser. 

The samples included in the solution is as follows:

• Sample 1

  The usual ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control usage. This demonstrates the typical use of the UpdateProgress control in an application

• Sample 2

  An ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control positioned in the top right of the browser. (GMAIL like behavior)

• Sample 3

  An ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control positioned in the top right of the browser with a transparent gray background. (GMAIL like behavior)

• Sample 4

  An ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control positioned in the top right of the browser with a transparent gray background and the notification following the scrollbar position (fixed position).

• Sample 5

  An ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control positioned in the middle of the browser with a transparent gray background.

• Sample 6

  An ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control positioned in the middle of the browser with a transparent gray background and the notification following the scrollbar position (fixed position).

• Sample 7

  An ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control that uses the AlwaysVisibleControlExtender trick to place the progress notification at the top right of the browser.

• Sample 8

  An ASP.NET AJAX UpdateProgress control that uses the AlwaysVisibleControlExtender trick to place the progress notification at the middle of the browser.

The project includes all aspx files, images and stylesheets that demonstrates effective UpdateProgress notifications. You can checkout the running sample of this ASP.NET AJAX project at the DevPinoy.org demo site. 

I hope what I shared with you can be useful in your daily life as a .NET developer. If you are interested you can download the source code for the whole project here: KeithRull.BuildingABetterAJAXLoadingNotification.zip (191.48 KB)