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Using Polymer in Visual Studio 2012

A friend of mine at work had asked if I had ever heard of Polymer before...I hadn't. I took a look at http://www.polymer-project.org/ and watched a few videos and was interested in throwing together a HelloWorld project.

Here's a quick walk-through of that exercise. I thought it was pretty cool:

1. Create an empty MVC project.

2. Right-Click on the MVC Project and select "Manage NuGet Packages" 3. Search for "Bower" in the Online > nuget.org section 4. Select the latest version of Bower and install it. (I used version 1.3.5.2, published on 6/24/2014) 5. Right-Click on your MVC Project and select "Open Folder in File Explorer". 6. Hold Shift down and right click in the new explorer window that popped up and select "Open command window here" 7. type "bower init" and follow the prompts. 8. type "bower install --save Polymer/polymer" to install the base Polymer package. 9. type "bower install --save Polymer/core-elements" to install the Polymer Core elements collection. (http://www.polymer-project.org/docs/elements/core-elements.html) 10. type "bower install --save Polymer/paper-elements" to install the Paper elements collection. (http://www.polymer-project.org/docs/elements/paper-elements.html) 11. Close the command window. 12. Right-Click on Controllers in the MVC project and select "Add > Controller" Create a "HomeController" with empty methods. 13. Open the newly created "HomeController" and make it look like this:

using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Web; using System.Web.Mvc;

namespace PolymerMVCPlayground.Controllers { public class HomeController : Controller { // // GET: /Home/

public ActionResult Index() { return View(); }

} }

14. Right-Click on the "Index" method and select "Add View" 15. Make "Index.cshtml" look like this:

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head>  <script src="bower_components/platform/platform.js"></script>

<link rel="import" href="bower_components/core-scaffold/core-scaffold.html"> <link rel="import" href="bower_components/core-header-panel/core-header-panel.html"> <link rel="import" href="bower_components/core-menu/core-menu.html"> <link rel="import" href="bower_components/core-item/core-item.html"> <link rel="import" href="bower_components/paper-button/paper-button.html"> <link rel="import" href="bower_components/paper-toast/paper-toast.html"> </head> <body>

<core-scaffold> <core-header-panel navigation flex mode="seamed"> <core-toolbar>Demo</core-toolbar> <core-menu theme="core-light-theme"> <core-item icon="folder" label="Folder 1"></core-item> <core-item icon="folder" label="Folder 2"></core-item> <core-item icon="settings" label="Settings"></core-item> </core-menu> </core-header-panel> <div tool>Hello World</div> <div class="content"> <paper-button label="flat button" id="flatButton"></paper-button> <paper-button label="raised button" id="raisedButton" raisedbutton></paper-button>

</div> </core-scaffold>

<paper-toast id="toast" text="Your draft has been discarded."></paper-toast>

// Store the toast object in a variable for easy reference. var toast = document.getElementById('toast');

// Add a listener for "click" on the flat button document.getElementById('flatButton').addEventListener('click', function (e) { toast.text = 'You clicked the FLAT button.'; toast.show(); }); // Add a listener for "click" on the raised button document.getElementById('raisedButton').addEventListener('click', function (e) { toast.text = 'You clicked the RAISED button.'; toast.show(); });

}); </script> </body> </html>

16. Run the project.

Tips:

List of core elements: http://www.polymer-project.org/docs/elements/core-elements.html

List of paper elements: http://www.polymer-project.org/docs/elements/paper-elements.html

List of core icons can be found here: http://polymer.github.io/core-icons/components/core-icons/demo.html

You can see the elements in the

#Polymer #Visual Studio #MVC

SQL Help Needed - WennSoft Contracts

This post is to provide some follow up information to the following LinkedIn question (here):

I am writing a query for an SSRS report and have run into a roadblock. I need to pull all of the service calls from a specific contract. I am pulling them from the most recent contract (the one with the most recent WSCONTSQ number from the SV00500 table). When I use that query as a dataset with multi valued parameters, it throws an error. When I enter just one contract in the parameter, it works fine. It only aborts processing when there are multiple contracts to look across. My dataset query is as follows: SELECT Type_Call_Short, Contract_Number, Call_Time, Service_Call_ID, ADRSCODE, CUSTNMBR FROM SV00300 WHERE Contract_Number = @Contract_Number AND Type_Call_Short = 'MC' and WSCONTSQ = (select WSCONTSQ from SV00500 where Contract_Number = @Contract_Number)

The problem occurs because the "SELECT WSCONTSQ FROM SV00500 WHERE Contract_Number = @Contract_Number" sub query could return multiple records, which cannot be used with the "=" clause. You would have to use MAX in the subquery in order to ensure only a single record would return like this:

SELECT sc.Type_Call_Short, sc.Contract_Number, sc.Call_Time, sc.Service_Call_ID, sc.ADRSCODE, sc.CUSTNMBR FROM dbo.SV00300 sc WHERE Type_Call_Short IN ('MC','MCC') AND Contract_Number = @Contract_Number AND WSCONTSQ = (SELECT MAX(WSCONTSQ) FROM dbo.SV00500 WHERE Contract_Number = @Contract_Number)

This would solve the problem because the subquery would only return a single WSCONTSQ.

A couple of thoughts around this query:

1. Contract_Number is not a strong enough link between the SV00300 (Service Call) and SV00500 (Open Maintenance Contracts) tables. You would be better off using: CUSTNMBR, ADRSCODE, Contract_Number, and WSCONTSQ to ensure a solid join. Keep in mind if Contract_Number is ALWAYS unique what is above shouldn't be a problem...just know your dataset.

2. Make sure to include "MC" and "MCC": both are related to a Maintenance contract. "MCC" calls are dropped by WennSoft automatically based on a schedule. "MC" calls are created by users.

3. I would leverage a common table expression (cte) and determine the MAX(WSCONTSQ) from the SV00500 and then join onto the SV00300 since Contract_Number is indexed in the SV00500 and is typically a smaller table.

4. I would recommend adding the "dbo." prefix before your table names so the execution plan doesn't have to figure it out.

Factoring all these in and assuming that you have unique Contract Numbers I would have written the query like this:

;WITH cteContract AS ( SELECT CUSTNMBR, ADRSCODE, Contract_Number, MAX(WSCONTSQ) WSCONTSQ FROM dbo.SV00500 WHERE Contract_Number = @Contract_Number GROUP BY CUSTNMBR, ADRSCODE, Contract_Number ) SELECT sc.Type_Call_Short, sc.Contract_Number, sc.Call_Time, sc.Service_Call_ID, sc.ADRSCODE, sc.CUSTNMBR FROM dbo.SV00300 sc JOIN cteContract c ON sc.CUSTNMBR = c.CUSTNMBR AND sc.ADRSCODE = c.ADRSCODE AND sc.Contract_Number = c.Contract_Number AND sc.WSCONTSQ = c.WSCONTSQ WHERE Type_Call_Short IN ('MC','MCC')

I hope this helps!

#SQL #WennSoft #LinkedIn

ASP.Net MVC Multiple Parameter Routes

I keep forgetting how to do this and found a good post on StackOverflow that explains it here:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2246481/routing-with-multiple-parameters-using-asp-net-mvc

Basically for a URL like this:

/Artist/GetImages/cher/api-key

Add a route like this to App_Start\RouteConfig.cs:

routes.MapRoute( "ArtistImages", // Route name "{controller}/{action}/{artistName}/{apikey}", // URL with parameters new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", artistName = "", apikey = "" } // Parameter defaults );

Add a method like this to your controller:

public ActionResult GetImages(string artistName, string apiKey)

#asp.net mvc

ClickOnce Deployment Icon

Had a problem getting an icon to show on a ClickOnce deployment and used this to resolve:

OK, here the solution using only VS2005 and MSBuild:

1 - Add the icon file at the root of the project.

2 - In the Solution Explorer, unload the project.

3 - In the Solution Explorer, edit the project file.

4 - In the project file, add these lines (with the correct name for the icon file).

<_DeploymentManifestIconFile Include="MyApp.ico">

<TargetPath>MyApp.ico</TargetPath>

</_DeploymentManifestIconFile>

</ItemGroup>

5 - In the Solution Explorer, reload the project.

You should now see the icon file in the Solution Explorer. If you look at its properties, you'll notice that the Build Action is "_DeploymentManifestIconFile".

Original Post

This is one of the coolest things I've seen with css.

Using EntityFramework with a GPConn.Net Connection

A long while ago I wondered if it was possible to take an existing SQLConnection created by GPConn.Net and create an EntityFramework context for it. I have finally gotten around to proving that it can work quite nicely.

For clarity, the Connection property in the code below is a SQLConnection object that was created using GPConn.Net. This means that my applications can now have the users login with their DynamicsGP username and password. We get the convenience of the EntityFramework with security and context of DynamicsGP.

//Creates an EntityFramework context from an EXISTING SqlConnection (From GPConn) MetadataWorkspace workspace = new MetadataWorkspace(new string[]{"res://*/"},new Assembly[]{Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly()}); using (EntityConnection entityConnection = new EntityConnection(workspace, this.Connection)) { using (GPDataClassesDataContext context = new GPDataClassesDataContext(entityConnection)) { //Create new ViewModel and pass context ViewModels.JobCostBurdenSetupViewModel vm = new ViewModels.JobCostBurdenSetupViewModel(context); //Create new Control and pass in viewmodel _control = new BSystem.Payroll.Views.JobCostBurdenSetupUserControl(vm); base.Initialize(); } }

#C Sharp #EntityFramework #DynamicsGP #GPConn.Net

List<> Custom Compare

I seem to always forget the syntax to define a custom sort for a list on the fly:

jobList.Sort((a,b)=>a.Job_Number.CompareTo(b.Job_Number));

ASP.Net MVC 4 Entity Framework CRUD Example

Just when through the great tutorial at ASP.Net here. Found out a few things were different, I'm guessing because the tutorial was written for MVC 3 and probably a different version of EF. Here is my final code that had full CRUD using EF and MVC 4:

using System; using System.Linq; using System.Web.Mvc; namespace MovieApp.Controllers { public class HomeController : Controller { private Models.MoviesDBEntities _db = new Models.MoviesDBEntities(); // // GET: /Home/ public ActionResult Index() { return View(_db.Movies1.ToList()); } // // GET: /Home/Details/5 public ActionResult Details(int id) { var movieToView = (from m in _db.Movies1 where m.Id == id select m).First(); return View(movieToView); } // // GET: /Home/Create public ActionResult Create() { return View(); } // // POST: /Home/Create [HttpPost] public ActionResult Create([Bind(Exclude="Id")]Models.Movie movieToCreate) { try { if (!ModelState.IsValid) return View(); _db.AddToMovies1(movieToCreate); _db.SaveChanges(); return RedirectToAction("Index"); } catch { return View(); } } // // GET: /Home/Edit/5 public ActionResult Edit(int id) { var movieToEdit = (from m in _db.Movies1 where m.Id == id select m).First(); return View(movieToEdit); } // // POST: /Home/Edit/5 [HttpPost] public ActionResult Edit(Models.Movie movieToEdit) { try { var originalMovie = (from m in _db.Movies1 where m.Id == movieToEdit.Id select m).First(); if (!ModelState.IsValid) return View(originalMovie); _db.Movies1.ApplyCurrentValues(movieToEdit); _db.SaveChanges(); return RedirectToAction("Index"); } catch { return View(); } } // // GET: /Home/Delete/5 public ActionResult Delete(int id) { var moiveToDelete = (from m in _db.Movies1 where m.Id == id select m).First(); return View(moiveToDelete); } // // POST: /Home/Delete/5 [HttpPost] public ActionResult Delete(Models.Movie movieToDelete) { try { var originalMovie = (from m in _db.Movies1 where m.Id == movieToDelete.Id select m).First(); _db.DeleteObject(originalMovie); _db.SaveChanges(); return RedirectToAction("Index"); } catch { return View(); } } } }

Thanks again to Stephen for the great tutorial, it really helped me get the basics down.

#asp.net mvc #entity framework #c

Load content into Bootstrap Modal window with jquery

I've been working with Twitter's Bootstrap 2.0 with ASP.Net 4 (with Razor) and just figured out a decent way to load modal window content from an action using jquery. Here's the breakdown:

Use the following in your main view somewhere in the <body> to "host" the modal window:

Use something like this to put a button to activate the opening of the content in the view:

Add a "scripts" section to include the following javascript:

@section scripts { <script language="javascript"> $(document).ready(function () { $(".modalButtonItem").click(function () { var url = "/MyController/MyMethod/" + $(this).attr('href'); $.get(url, function (data) { $("#myModalWindowContent ").html(data); $("#myModalWindow ").modal(show=true,backdrop=false); }); }); }); </script> }

The "MyController" "MyMethod" looks something like this:

[Authorize] public ActionResult MyMethod(int id) { //Get Data ViewBag.MyData = myData; return PartialView(); }

The "MyMethod" partial view would look something like this:

<div class="modal-header"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal">×</button> <h3>WINDOW NAME</h3> </div> <div class="modal-body"> BODY </div> <div class="modal-footer"> <a href="#" class="btn" data-dismiss="modal">Cancel</a> <a href="#" class="btn btn-primary">Save</a> </div>

Basically it works like this:

On document load jquery associates a click event handler to all DOM objects that have a "modalButtonItem" class.

When a user clicks a button with the "modalButtonItem" the function fires.

The url is calculated using the path of the MVC Controller and adds the ID from the href of the button pushed.

The jquery AJAX get method is used to get a response from the controller using the url calculated.

The MVC framework responds to the request and returns a PartialView called "MyMethod" in the "Views\MyController".

When the data gets back, the html contents of the "myModalWindowContent " div tag is set to the result.

The show modal method is used to actually display the modal information.

Hope this helps someone that may be struggling like I was!

#Bootstrap #jquery #ASP.Net MVC

WPF WaterMarkTextBox Example

Pulled together a few pieces from different places on the interweb to come up with a pretty easy WaterMarkTextBox solution in WPF.

Here's the style:

And to use it:

The Tag property of the TextBox will be used for the watermark while the control is empty.

Hope this helps...

SSRS Divide By Zero Error

Ran into an issue where I kept seeing "#error" displayed in my SSRS reports even though I was trapping for a 0 denominator using an IIF. Turns out the the entire IIF function is evaluated before the conditional is applied.

I found this post that suggested creating custom code to handle this, making it much easier. Here is the post: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/is/sqlreportingservices/thread/b8e0730b-da60-49a8-8613-2309ff1a2c90

In the Report Designer, go to Report Properties and click on Code. In the Custom code section paste the following code:

Public Function Divide(numerator as double, denominator as double) AS double IF IsNothing(numerator) Or IsNothing(denominator) Or numerator = 0.00 Then Divide = 0 ELSEIF denominator = 0.00 Divide = 0 ELSE Divide = numerator / denominator END IF End Function

To use the custom function in you simply call it like this:

=code.Divide(Sum(Fields!MyNumerator.Value),Sum(Fields!MyDenominator.Value))

#SSRS

Use GridSplitter Control In Silverlight

I found a link to allow me to use the GridSplitter control in Silverlight that I didn't want to forget. Here's the basics:

Add a reference to System.Windows.Controls to your Silverlight project

Add the following in namespace definition in the XAML of your page: xmlns:basics="clr-namespace:System.Windows.Controls;assembly=System.Windows.Controls"

You can now use the control in the XAML of your page like this:

<basics:GridSplitter Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0" VerticalAlignment="Stretch" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Background="Gray" Width="5"/>

#Silverlight

This site has a great web SDK showing company and Dynamics DB SQL objects.

Software and Usability

I just finished reading an article on the iPhone 4S and the new Siri feature (here). What struck me the most, was what the author said about user acquisition. Here's a snippet of his musings:

We pride ourselves in the product we associate with and we are more than comfortable paying (big dollars when it comes to European football with jerseys at $70-$80 a pop) to advertise them. Its an emotion so strong that it soon becomes an integral part of our identity that we wish to share.

I can't help to think that one of the key indicators of good software is that people WANT to talk about and evangelize it. People really just want help to get through their busy lives. If they get that help from a product, service, or piece of software they share that with others. But it has to be painless. Nobody wants to fight a piece of software or have to cajole it into doing what they want. It is supposed to just work.

I believe that people really crave simplicity. The base use of any software product needs to be able to be consumed by the masses of its audience. You can add more features but you must do it carefully to avoid confusing the "base use" message. You need to make sure the software stays out of the users way.

I believe context (or intent) has a huge part to play in the success of software. It is akin to "know thy audience" of old.

Another user commented in the same post linked to above this:

The first time I walked into IKEA, I didn't realize I could go upstairs. So, I walked around the warehouse in amazement thinking 'Wow, look at all this stuff'. Then I walked upstairs and saw it in context.

What a perfect analogy. I go to IKEA with my wife all the time and we tink through the upstairs more than anything and like to see the creative uses of the products on display. I'm amazed by how much can be put into such a small area.

The warehouse is less visually impressive though. It is organized, but not visually stimulating and hardly gets anyone excited.

What strikes me as odd is that both the upstairs showroom and the warehouse hold the EXACT SAME STUFF. Seriously, the same furniture. The only thing different is the context and presentation of the items.

Software can have the items (features) of the warehouse, but the flare of the showroom. The showroom puts all the dirty (assembly required) pieces out of mind.

Hiding the warehouse from the user and have them live in the showroom lets them fully appreciate the application and not have to worry about the assembly required.

#Software

WPF: Easy way to dim images on disabled buttons

Found this easy style trick to give images in buttons a grayed out look when disabled. I added this to my resources in my App.xaml...

Source: http://infiniteimprobability.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-make-images-look-disabled-greyed.html

#WPF

ASMX Web Service Error when multiple WebMethods return the same response object

When working on a set of web services to help with the integration of two systems I ran into this error when navigating to one of the asmx pages from the web server where the services were deployed on:

The XML element 'PayrollActualCostInquiryResponse' from namespace 'http://tempuri.org/' references a method and a type. Change the method's message name using WebMethodAttribute or change the type's root element using the XmlRootAttribute.

It only cropped up once I added a second web method that returned the same response class PayrollActualCostInquiryResponse. It seems the problem comes into play when the SOAP proxy is generated, because it compiles and deploys fine. It is only when a client tries to consume it does it get the error.

After some searching around I found this post that gave some insight to the error and how to resolve: http://mattonsoftware.com/archive/2006/03/06/8.aspx.

By changing my original code of:

[Serializable] [XmlInclude(typeof(WennSoftIntegrationResponse))] [XmlInclude(typeof((Payroll.PayrollTransaction))] public class PayrollActualCostInquiryResponse : Responses.WennSoftIntegrationResponse { public List<PayrollTransaction> Transactions { get; set; } }

to:

[Serializable] [XmlInclude(typeof(WennSoftIntegrationResponse))] [XmlInclude(typeof((Payroll.PayrollTransaction))] [XmlRoot(Namespace = "http://tempuri.org/", ElementName = "PayrollActualCostInquiryResponseDummy", DataType = "PayrollActualCostInquiryResponse", IsNullable = false)] public class PayrollActualCostInquiryResponse : Responses.WennSoftIntegrationResponse { public List<PayrollTransaction> Transactions { get; set; } }

It works like a charm now.

#ASMX #Web Services #C #Errors

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