Code Retard

Changing the name of a SQL Server
Renaming a system 'beneath' a SQL server causes a variety of problems; SQL goes into an identity crisis, MSDTC develops amnesia and chaos reigns. As a general rule, I don't like to rename servers upon which SQL is installed, but sometimes, there's no choice. Note: you must have an SA-level account or be in the System Administrators group on the SQL Server to perform this operation.

I was happily tagging away my just-released source code on my Cygwin Linux for Windows emulation layer using the good old fashioned Cygwin command prompt with the good old fashioned ‘cvs’ command when my tag aborted suddenly and spit out this error:

cvs [tag aborted]: cannot rename file /my/cvs/repo/,userguide.pdf, to /my/cvs/repo/userguide.pdf,v: File exists

…Much to my horror since it was in the middle of a CVS tag operation. This occurs because of a permissions problem, namely that the file cannot be renamed because you don’t have write permissions for it. This is a peculiar anomaly on Windows only, since I certainly did not have userguide.pdf open anywhere. It turns out that WinCVS, like Cygwin, has this problem as well. It seems to occur because the file doesn’t get closed properly for some reason on Windows. If you’re using WinCVS, try shutting it down and restarting it again. Hopefully it will properly close the file. On Cygwin, there’s not really any way to “restart” anything except your entire OS. To get around this, I simply executed the CVS tag again from a proper Linux terminal. On Linux you won’t get this sort of problem. The tagging operation then resumed seamlessly without any problems, even though it had quit halfway on Windows. Or if you must use Cygwin, restart the OS as I mentioned earlier.

Security Exception
Description: The application attempted to perform an operation not allowed by the security policy. To grant this application the required permission please contact your system administrator or change the application’s trust level in the configuration file.

Exception Details: System.Security.SecurityException: Request for the permission of type ‘System.Net.WebPermission, System, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089′ failed.

Source Error:

An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.

If you care getting the error above in SharePoint, there is a simple work around to get your code to work.

1. Open the wss_minimaltrust.config located: “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\CONFIG”

2. Under the XML section <namedpermissionsets> and under the last <permissionset> add


<ipermission>
class="WebPermission"
version="1"
Unrestricted="true">
</ipermission>

3. Save the file and you are good to go!

The following code snippet shows how to generate a random number between a range in C#, where min and max are minimum and maximum range of the new number.

private int RandomNumber(int min, int max)
{
Random random = new Random();
return random.Next(min, max);
}

How to use it?

Copy the above code in your class where you want to use it and call like this:

int returnValue = RandomNumber(5, 20);

This seams to be a common problem, and one that I get many calls from users about:

I have a query with our Sharepoint site and was advised that you were probably the best person to ask.

I have created a list under:

http://sharepoint/sites/department/Lists/ListName/AllItems.aspx

I need the first column (Issue ID) to be an automatically generated number but can’t seem to get it. Would it be possible for you to take a look and advise?

You can’t add a new unique auto-generated ID to a SharePoint list, but there already is one there! If you edit the “All Items” view you will see a list of columns that do not have the display option checked.

There are quite a few of these columns that exist but that are never displayed, like “Created By” and “Created”. These fields are used within SharePoint, but they are not displayed by default so as not to clutter up the display. You can’t edit these fields, but you can display them to the user. if you check the “Display” box beside the ID field you will get a unique and auto-generated ID field displayed in your list.

Recenlty i was trying to get a development environment setup on my new Windows 2008 computer, and was installing the typical Microsoft items. Little did i know that SharePoint 2007 wont install on Windows 2008:

Here is the error I ran into: Read more »

for automating backups, you can use this: http://www.mysqldumper.de/en/

\or you can run this automatic script

Here’s an essential automatic script and a cron job you will need in order to keep your backup automatic.

Yes, if you get a dedicated server, don’t get their stupid extra $15/month for backing up your database. (All they do is make scripts like this one and charge you for it)

You can follow this example and go spend that money on junk food.

So all you have to do is FTP your backup files.

This is way better than going into your phpMyAdmin and downloading from the web interface since the file is already ready for you to download.

Here’s how you do it:

1) Make a new file called backup.sh in your home directory. 2) Use the following syntax:

Read more »

Make a file called functions.php in your theme directory. (if you don’t have one yet)

Add the following code and save the file:

if ( function_exists(’register_sidebar’) )
register_sidebar(array(
‘before_widget’ => ”,
‘after_widget’ => ”,
‘before_title’ => ‘

‘,
‘after_title’ => ‘
‘,
));
?>

Then add the following anywhere you want to add dynamic widgets:

Read more »

Missing the Column Ordering button on the List settings screen? Need to figure out how to move items around on the edit screen? Recently I ran into this issue where the “Column Ordering” option that was normally there went missing on a few of my lists.

Go to the list you want to edit
Click on any of the 3 links listed under the Columns section

In the URL bar, replace the aspx page with “formEdt.aspx” and that will bring you to the Column ordering section.

Read more »

If you’re an avid Unix user you’ve probably used Emacs at one point or another. Ever wonder how sometimes when you open up a file (like .cpp) the editor is able to highlight and color all the right keywords pertaining to the programming language the file is coded in? The secret is in the .emacs file located in your home directory. I’ve worked with both Verilog and Specman Elite files before, and found the correct code to add in the .emacs file to enable the beautiful keyword syntax highlighting/coloring that makes the code much more readable. Read more »