Use transforms with any XML file in Visual Studio, not just web.config

Yesterday I discovered a handy little Visual Studio extension called, for some reason, SlowCheetah. Once installed you can right-click any XML file (usually you'll use this for config files) and get an 'Add Transform' option. This allows you to use the XML transform notation so that published sites will pick up the correct settings based on the configuration used. It also means you won't be publishing files containing settings for other environments. Nice!

Responsive design infographic

I just stumbled across this great infographic containing 10 top tips for building responsive layouts. Great place to start.

General programming rules #1

Don't use boolean method parameters.

Why? Because it makes your code unreadable and inextensible.

e.g. render(true) is meaningless but render(PageMode.Readonly) is semantic and unambiguous.

Post an array in integers using Jquery & Ajax to MVC controller action

Mvc Action

public JsonResult Receive(int[] ages)
{            
    return Json(string.Format("ages {0} received", String.Join(",",ages)));
}

Jquery Code

        $(function() {


            $("#PostArray").click(function() {

                var arr = new Array();
                arr.push(1);
                arr.push(21);
                arr.push(23);

                $.ajax({
                    url: '/Home/Receive',
                    type: 'POST',
                    contentType: 'application/json',
                    dataType: 'json',
                    data: JSON.stringify({ages: arr }),
                    success: function(data) {
                        alert(data);
                    }
                });

            });

        });

Download Example

List of ASP.NET Web API and HttpClient Samples

I just came across this massive list of web API code samples which is well worth a gander if you're looking at API development. And let's face it, in this new mobile age no developer can really be without this knowledge.

Entity Framework 5 Many to Many relationship setup

Sample Solution Download Link
How to setup entity framework objects for many to many relationship.
I had a problem trying to get this to work but after I managed to get it working
I decided to post the solution here with a hope that it will help someone someday.

To begin.
1. Download the solution (it is a vs-2012 solution) & unzip accordingly
2. Create a database called (EdkSamples)
3. Create a login (user: developer, password: letmein$123)
4. Create database tables using the scripts
    Edikgale.Samples.Data\Database Setup\DatabaseCreate.sql
5. Initialise the database data with the script in folder
    Edikgale.Samples.Data\Database Setup\DataSetup.sql
6. To see how this works simply run the test in
    EdwardDikgale\Edikgale.Samples.Data.Tests\EdikgaleEfContextTest.cs

Note
1. The test project uses a connection string defined in App.config which
you may wish to adapt accordingly.
2. The linking table is not modelled as a poco object because there is no need to unless
you happen to have some extra properties on it.

if you have any problems feel free to email me: edward.dikgale@gmail.com

I hope this helps you in some way
Ed

posted by: Edward Dikgale

100 Cool jQuery Plugins

Here's a great resource - 100 cool (and, in some cases, super-cool) jQuery plugins

• 1 to 50
• 51 to 100

Some useful SQL statements

Here are a couple of SQL statements I seem to use on a regular basis.

1. Find all objects that contain specific text:
   

   SELECT DISTINCT b.name + '.' + a.[name]
   FROM sys.objects a
   INNER JOIN sys.schemas b ON a.schema_id = b.schema_id
   INNER JOIN syscomments c ON a.object_id = c.id
   WHERE c.[text] LIKE '%CPRS%' 
   -- AND a.[type] = 'P' -- stored procedure
   -- AND a.[type] = 'V' -- view 
   -- AND a.[type] = 'FN' -- function etc.
   

2. Find all foreign keys for a specific table column:
   

   SELECT 
       f.name AS ForeignKey,
       OBJECT_NAME(f.parent_object_id) AS TableName,
       COL_NAME(fc.parent_object_id,
       fc.parent_column_id) AS ColumnName,
       OBJECT_NAME (f.referenced_object_id) AS ReferenceTableName,
       COL_NAME(fc.referenced_object_id,
       fc.referenced_column_id) AS ReferenceColumnName,
       COL_NAME(fc.parent_object_id, fc.parent_column_id)
   FROM 
       sys.foreign_keys AS f
       INNER JOIN sys.foreign_key_columns AS fc ON f.OBJECT_ID = fc.constraint_object_id
   WHERE
    OBJECT_NAME (f.referenced_object_id) = '[TABLE_NAME]' 
   AND 
    COL_NAME(fc.parent_object_id, fc.parent_column_id) = '[COLUMN_NAME]'
   

A few Twitter Bootstrap resources

Twitter Bootstrap is my best friend. Here are a few resources:

1. Full overview of Bootstrap components
2. The Big Badass List of Useful Bootstrap Resourcse
3. Bootsnipp - gallery of HTML snippets for Bootstrap

If you have more to add to this list let me know.

Code syntax highlighting in Blogger

I've added syntax highlighting to this blog's template. Here's an example:

// Comment
public class Testing {
    public Testing() {
    }
 
    public void Method() {
        /* Another Comment
        on multiple lines */
        int x = 9;
    }
}

Tutorial here