Learning-phase

The past few months has been really hectic. I was into new projects, in a different role. Could not make time to post here.
There were a lot many new things I had learnt during this phase, came across many a critical situation where thoughts and logic has to be utilized to the best. Finally, yes, all the situations were solved.

one of the main challenges we had faced was to create a PDF file dynamically using Crystal Reports 9 in VS.NET 2003, and display the dynamic images. Let me explain in detail. The requirement was to create a PDF file that displays the images stored on harddisk for a particular item in the database. These items will be decided based on criteria. All the process is automated.

We had decided to use Crystal Reports. Conversion to PDF was easy, if its displaying the report and then exporting. Runtime, we faced some issues. Thanks to the articles all over the internet, (Will post another article in detail), we solved the issue. Next, the chanllenge was to display images dynamically. CR 9 cannot display dynamic images. It can read only pre-defined images from a location or display from DB. But, we were not using DB to store images, as that would increase the DB load. MySQL was the DB and it has some restrictions regarding GIF, when it comes to CR.
we have to overcome all these issues, and finally, after much thoguh process, we came over. I intend to publish the details in another post, for the ease of developers who face the similar situation.

Next is another challenge, learning .NET 2005 and executing a project with in a short period. Well, we did it. And this time, we faced issues with DB. SQLServer 2005 is different from its earlier versions, and hence some of the regualr commands failed. we have to find our way out. The complexity of the queries that we executed was high. Also, there were lot of dynamic queries.
Thanks to our Database team, we were able to complete it, and it was a learning curve for all of us. A post on the issues we faced during development will done, to help others in work arounds. There are lot issues that we faced in .net 2005 and that was a learning curve.

Now, we are gearing up for the next challenge.

One thing is true, the more the technology advances, the more complex will be the tasks that we execute and complex tasks give immense satisfaction :-)

Help required with Blogger software

Hey,

anyone who come across this post, I need a help.

We are planning to host Blogging software in our organization so that our colleagues would start posting their entries for intranet.

I am on lookout for a software that's suitable for corporate environment, but is open source.

After going through all the available Open source or GPL licensed software, am confused on which of the following is the best

1. Drupal
2. Wordpress
3. Textpatten
4. Pivot
5. b2Evolution

The numbering is not in the ranking of the prefrence, but, if someone can help me in the ranking, that would be a great help.

Thanks
Kiran

Developing Software in Visual Studio .NET with Non-Administrative Privileges

Developing Software in Visual Studio .NET with Non-Administrative Privileges

Security is important. No one argues with this and everyone spends a lot of time thinking about security issues, security bugs, and malicious users. However, very few people are willing make the effort to eradicate the largest single reason that e-mail viruses and cracks in general are so dangerous: everyone logs in as a user who is a member of the local Administrators group, and most services run as Administrators. The principle of "least privilege" states that running with the minimal set of rights needed to perform an action minimizes the damage done when something bad happens, whether it is a corrupt attachment in an e-mail received from Outlook, or a service that has a security risk. By running programs without Administrative privileges whenever possible, you ensure a more secure environment.

Currently available software often requires elevated privileges in order to run correctly. To end this situation, developers must take the first step and stop running as administrators. Then, if we all consistently log in, develop, and test applications as non-administrative users, the software we produce is more likely to be executable without artificial requirements of elevated privileges. Until developers fix the software they are writing and shipping, users will never be able to run in a secure environment, too!

Came across this while searching for some info and then it being a useful article, decided to blog it so that others who are facing problems with privilieges while working with Visual Studio.Net may find it useful

How to write content on MSDN Blogs?

Hey,

I was trying to get an account for myself on MSDN blogs and atlast got an account. But, when I tried to see the way to post content, I couldnot find any.

Is there a way to post content there?


Please do let me know.

.NET Namespaces

.NET Namespaces (Logged in as: kiranmayee): "Why is it that namespaces in .Net are referenced with an http:// prefix? You can see this in Avalon and Indigo samples, where a namespace will be declared as follows:

namespace Microsoft.ServiceModel.Samples{
...
}


Then, a namespace will be referenced as follows:

[ServiceContract(Namespace = 'http://Microsoft.ServiceModel.Samples')]
...


If you attempt to navigate to such an address, it won't resolve to anything. The same goes with the Avalon/XAML namespace. I just don't understand..."


Check the thread for answer....

Reboting Windows via a web page

Reboting Windows via a web page (Logged in as: kiranmayee): "Hi!
First off, please do not visit the web http://winboot.mine.nu/ because when you visit it, your PC will reboot. Trust me, I experienced it myself. I was very angry, my friend sent me the link. Firefox and IE are affected, Opera is said to be resistant.

I'd like to ask if Microsoft (or you) knows about this 'bug' or whatever it is.

The page tries to resize a pixel large image to 9999999999... pixels - it kills Windows (this is what I heard).

Thanks."

I came across this in Channel 9 Techoff and thought of blogging it immediately.

Please read the complete thread for more details.

Enterprise Library-download

Enterprise Library

MSDN .NET Framework Developer Center: Downloads

MSDN .NET Framework Developer Center: Downloads: "Downloads

Find code samples and downloads for the .NET Framework.

SDKs, Redistributables & Service Packs
Stay up-to-date with these downloadable service packs, updates, samples, and related components for the .NET Framework.

Tools & Utilities
Learn about the various utility applications available for use with the .NET Framework.

* CLR Profiler
* Fx Cop

Code Samples
Download these .NET samples to learn more about building Microsoft Windows-based applications, Web applications, and XML Web services. "

MSDN .NET Framework Developer Center: Tools & Utilities

MSDN .NET Framework Developer Center: Tools & Utilities: "Tools & Utilities

Learn about these downloadable utilities and related software components that can be used to enhance your development experience or your applications.
"

Threat Modeling Web Applications

Threat Modeling Web ApplicationsThis guidance presents the patterns & practices approach to creating threat models for Web applications. Threat modeling is an engineering technique you can use to help you identify threats, attacks, vulnerabilities, and countermeasures that could affect your application. You can use threat modeling to shape your application's design, meet your company's security objectives, and reduce risk.