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Recently I wrote a console application that generates SQL code to populate a database with sample data. I wanted it to be as generic as possible, but it still relies on a Source database to get sample data from. The application is configurable in that it lets you specify which Database is the source database, as well which tables to get the data out of. I did not want this application to depend on any stored procedures; it needs to be self contained, which is why I'm hard-coding the table definition sql query. So I call the console app via a batch file. The batch file calls the exe file, outputting the text to a file: 01: @ECHO OFF 02: bin\debug\SqlGenerator.exe > "C:\run.sql" 03: ECHO done. Here is the main method in the console app: 01: class Program { 02: static void Main( string [] args) { 03: Console.WriteLine(Database.GenerateSQL()); 04: } 05: } Here is the relevant excerpt from the App.config file: 01: < a...

I hate repeating code and sometimes generics can make things a bit easier. One of the things that needs to be done a lot with Drop-down lists is adding a "Please Select" as the first option, but I don't particularly like doing that in the data layer (stored procedure, etc.). I like to add that to the list, but why repeat the same code for every Drop-down list if there are several on the page? Here is one way I like to take care of that: Here are the supporting Classes: 01: #region Supporting Classes 02: public interface IReportObject { 03: int ID { get; set; } 04: string Name { get; set; } 05: } 06: public class CSP : IReportObject { 07: public int ID { get; set; } 08: public string Name { get; set; } 09: } 10: public class Base : IReportObject { 11: public int ID { get; set; } 12: public string Name { get; set; } 13: } 14: public class Property : IReportObject { 15: public int...

I always like to use helper methods, and the ASP.NET MVC HtmlHelper methods are great. But sometimes you need some extra logic that they don't provide... Enter custom extension methods. Here is a class I wrote specifically for extension methods ( Note: Some of the extension methods are calling some static Utility methods, and their implementation is not shown here ): 01: public static class HtmlHelperExtensions { 02:   03: public static string DateFormatterTextBox( this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, string name, 04: DateTime date, string format, object attributes) { 05: string val = string .Format(format, date); 06: if (date.Year == 1900) 07: val = "0000-00-00" ; 08: return htmlHelper.TextBox(name, val, attributes); 09: } 10: public static string DateFormatterTextBox( this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, string name, 11: DateTime date, string format) { 12: strin...

I recently created a SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) report which used a Stored Procedure as a datasource, but the report needed some extra customization we're getting by using PaxScript in a similar web page. This isn't easily achievable using SQL stored procedures, so I decided to use a web service instead as the data source for the report. This way I have the advantage of LINQ/C# and PaxScript. Also, we have a need to run different versions of the web service, each for a different client. So the data source's web service URL needs to be dynamic, rather than static. Here's how it's done... In the report Data Source properties, the Type is XML and the Connection string value is a Report Parameter: Next, the report's Dataset Text should be in the following format: Note: There is a Parameter for each Web Service method parameter with the correct Name and Type. The ElementPath value is derived partly from the WSDL and partly f...