Practical Answers

How do I cycle through a Collection?

Here are the 2 common patterns in .NET:

GIVEN:

PATTERN #1:

Note: this method will work with collections that are typed, but not necessarily defined in a class which manages enumeration

string itemName;

for (int index = 0; index < OrderList.Count;index++)

{

itemName = OrderList[index].ItemName;

// do stuff here

}

PATTERN #2

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;

namespace AskPaulaExamples
{
    public class Whine
    {
       // define AND dub the collection with something
       List<string> OrderList = new List<string>() {"Gloves","Purse","Hat","Skirt","Gown"};

       static void Main()
       {
           Whine wailAbout = new Whine();

           wailAbout.StuffForMe();

       }

       public void StuffForMe()
       {
           IList<string> MyDemands = OrderList.AsReadOnly();
           foreach (string Item in MyDemands)
           {
               Console.WriteLine("What I want for my BIRTHDAY: " + Item.ToString());
           }
       }

}
}

Why Can't I compile my LINQ code?

If you're getting this message:

The type 'System.Data.Linq.DataContext' is defined in an assembly that is not referenced. You must add a reference to assembly 'System.Data.Linq, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089'. C:\Documents and Settings\pldital\My Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\PatentableServices\Transform\PetabyteCompression.svc.cs

... add... System.Data.Linq as a reference to your project.

I still get bit every once in awhile (read: pasting together a poc) when I include a LINQ project in a solution were I've got a dependency !

Where is my Host file on Windows?

usually your host file (DNS/ip addresses) can be found under:

c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc

The Wrong Program is Active when I double Click on a File. How Do I Change it Back? (AKA: How do I change My File Type Association?)

This can be a really irritating problem when suddenly the EXCEL file on your desktop you used to double-click on no longer gets viewed via Microsoft EXCEL, but instead gets viewed through the Microsoft Excel READER program instead! In essence, either a new program you've installed has reset the file association, or you are working on a new computer that may have different software--overall, this area has to do with File Management/File Extension types.

Here's what to do:

In Windows XP:
1. Look for the 'My Computer' icon on your desktop (usually to the far left, near the top of your monitor)
2. Double-click on the icon. A window will appear. Go to 'Tools'. Click on Folder Options...
3. Look to make sure the 'Hide Extensions for known file types' box is unchecked. Click 'Ok',
4. Go to the File Types tab.
5. Look for the File extension (e.g. XLS) you want to change.
6. Once found, highlight it and click on the Change button.
7. Under recommended programs, the one you want is probably there. Be sure the 'Always use the selected program to open this kind of file' is checked. Click OK. (Note: If you can't find your program under recommended programs, continue to scroll until you find the one you want.)

In Vista:
1. open Control Panel. Go to Programs. Click on Make a file type always open in a specific program. ( if you are in classic view, open Default Programs. Click Associate a file type with a program.
2. Locate/highlight a file type in the Set Associations folder.
3. Click on the Change Program button.
4. The Set Associations window will show--pick your program--using the same advice in Step #7 above.
5. When you've selected the program, Click OK.

That should patch you right up!

With that all that said:

If you do not find the program you are looking for, do not try to change the existing association for these files. First determine why the program you think is there no longer appears to be there.

Why do I get the error: "General failure. The URL was: [http text]. The system cannot find file specified" When I click a link from an Outlook Message?

In a nutshell, this is a FireFox last release issue. If Internet Explorer is not your default browser, go into the internet options page (under the gear icon in IE 7) , then go to the programs tab. Click on the 'Make Default' button, then 'Apply'. Try clicking on the link from your email message again. The message should now be gone.

Raymond @ www.raymond.cc has a GREAT detailed blog entry on this issue explaining all of the reasons and conditions.

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2008/03/25/fix-general-failure-when-open-link-or-url-from-outlook-and-windows-mail/

He offers a different, more high tech solution--however, for those of you not interested in techie-stuff per se -- try the 'Easy Button(s)" approach first!

Why am I getting a binding error on an *.msi file for a re-deployment of a BizTalk application that doesn't contain any bindings?

When this dreaded error crops up, its usually right in the midst of a fast and furious development effort. That's always been the case for me! To solve it in a hurry, I just dub the app with a higher version number, recompile and move on--at least that is what I did when I was a bts developer. Now that I'm a bts admin, I've delved into the topic more. Although the re-versioning scenario works, it is possible to re-deploy an *.msi package with the same version number using these few steps:

Go to \Documents and Settings\[deployment acct username]\Application Data\Microsoft\BizTalk Server\Deployment\BindingFiles. (READ: you should see 2 on a reploy, one with a tilda [~]; 1 without)
Since a new app with a new version # creates a BindingInfo xml file on an initial deployment, rename the one you find there to something else. Get rid of the new one (file without the ~) that failed.
Import/re-deploy the *.msi file again.

Why do these steps work? It appears that new app deployments create the Binding.Info.xml file based on the initial assembly reflection which has the orchestrations, etc. -- however -- when you redeploy an existing app, the binding file gets generated based on the details stored in the bts management database (BizTalkMgmt) for that existing assembly. The binding file that gets generated from that process is the one without the ~.

When you get rid of the base/initial bindings file, bts does not try to apply the bindings it expects to find (even if there aren't any) like it does the first time it recognizes the file.

These steps should solve the "ghost" bindings issue, but if not for some reason, there's always the tried and true re-versioning of the app!!

Why am I getting the error: CLSID_BizTalkPropertyBagFactory error in the BTS Admin console

Perhaps you've experienced the scenario where you hit the F5 key on the Group Overview in the BizTalk Admin console and instead of seeing your message queues, you see instead the very ugly () message:

Failed to create a CLSID_BizTalkPropertyBagFactory COM component installed
with a BizTalk server. A dynamic link library (DLL) initialization routine
failed. (WinMgmt)

Go to the event viewer and look for any COM/COM+ errors under applications. Chances are you will see a conflict with WMI services--perhaps a threading error. Since the SSO, BizTalk Admin Console, SCOM...(even event viewer) use WMI for the MMC console, one of the DLLs for WMI may have become unavailable. If WMI is not available, or the WMI service has crashed, the console for the BizTalk Admin can fail with this error message as its swan song ().

Aaron Tiensivu's blog offers a way to isolate WMI issues on svchost:

http://blog.tiensivu.com/aaron/archives/294-Suspect-that-WMI-is-crashing-your-SVCHOST-Run-it-standalone..html

There are 2 solutions that I know of, 1 radical and 1 less so...

restart the server [waaay radical, but effective]
restart the WMI windows service

Why am I getting the error: SQL Network Interfaces: The Local Security Authority cannot be contacted.[SQL Native Client]Cannot generate SSPI context

The full error message looks like this:

[SNAC] “[SQL Native Client]SQL Network Interfaces: The Local Security Authority cannot be contacted.[SQL Native Client]Cannot generate SSPI context”
[MDAC] “Cannot generate SSPI context”;
[.Net1.0/2.0]” Failed System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Cannot generate SSPI context”

When this message occurs--especially when the same access 20 minutes ago worked, chances are you've logged off of your primary network. An example would be that at work you were using an ODBC connection to reverse engineer a database into a Visio diagram on a local MSSQL Express instance, then when you went to work on it after hours at home offline the connection fails with this error message.

In essence, your desktop/laptop with the local db instance is disconnected from its domain. The immediate solution in this case would be to VPN back into the network and keep moving forward!

There are other causes, and there are workarounds to the disconnected network roadblock that are explained exceptionally well in this MSDN blog:

http://blogs.msdn.com/sql_protocols/archive/2005/10/19/482782.aspx

How do I view/see the PATH in a windows environment?

For those of you working with LINUX/UNIX and you've typed:

c:> echo $PATH

..in a command line expecting to see everything in your path on startup and saw only 'PATH', don't fret!

type this instead:

c:> echo %path%

Why am I getting the "operation has been canceled" message in Outllook?

If you are getting the message...

This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer

...whenever you try to click on a hyperlink in a mail message when you are in Outlook or in a Word document, it is primarily because your default web browser has a 3rd-party setting that doesn't work and play well with Office products. For example if you are using the FireFox web browser, try changing the default web application to be Internet Explorer.

To do this, follow these steps:

Start>Control Panel>Add Remove Programs>Set Program Access and Defaults
Once you're in Program Access and Defaults, go to Custom
Click on Internet Explorer; click on the Enable access to this program checkbox.

Try the hyperlink again. If the problem still occurs after this, that means that there is a setting still active under Internet Explorer which is now your default. To bring back Internet Explorer to where it was before any 3rd-party tools (e.g. Google Toolbar, etc.) may have been installed, do the following:

In Internet Explorer, click on Options (if IE 7, go to Tools, Options)
Go to Advanced.
Click on Reset button.

Note: Once you click on the reset button all your browser add ons will be disabled.

Once you complete this, follow steps 1-3. This should eliminate this message from reappearing.