Just installed a shiny new Google Buzz button for Wordpress by Tejaswini, Sanjeev.
I hacked it a bit, to align to the right. Download this plugin version here, until author updates it.

I’m replacing a diggIt button; Buzz fits my color scheme better

Enjoy.

Just in case someone needs a code snippet.
This one groups Prices by PriceProvider and was intended to pick only last 5 values for each PriceProvider – but sadly, it’s impossible without window functions. Which are not supported in Hibernate in any way.

def c = Price.createCriteria()
c.list {
    priceProvider {
        company {
            country {
                eq('currency.id', 1L)
            }
        }
    }
    projection(
       groupProperty('id')
    )
    order('timestamp', 'desc')
}

Hibernate bug 1895 seems to be still there since 2006.
If, for instance, in Grails, such a syntax won’t work for you (it won’t):

def books = Book.findAll("FROM Book AS b JOIN Chapter AS c WHERE c.active = :isActive")

with a NullPointerException in “HqlSqlWalker.createFromJoinElement” — just use alternative join syntax, via WHERE:

def books = Book.executeQuery("select b FROM Book AS b, Chapter AS c WHERE c.active = :isActive")

Move “WITH” conditions to “WHERE” as needed.

Just published a library I created on one of past jobs out of Updater Application Block and WiX’s ClichThrough component.
Please meet: DotUpdater
It can auto-update an application, just create a RSS feed of updates and Windows Installer (MSI) binaries.

Imagine a task (actually, quite common), if you have:

• a nodes (articles, ads, whatever) taxonomy in Drupal,
• a taxonomy-based url path rewrites, like /monkeys/primates/homosapiens
• and want to show a block/page View with articles only from current path term (and, maybe, its subterms).

It might be a hard time finding out the current term. One could try having two nested views, passing a current term as a parameter to nested view, like Dustin Currie did.

Though, Views has several pre-defined solutions. Just go to /admin/build/views/ and enable this one: “Default Node view: taxonomy_term”, (clone it to play safe), voila!

You got a View for the current term.

In case you, like me, need to compare version of Office documents (under Windows), just know that TortoiseSVN got a pretty set of scripts for that.
It works out of box!
YES!
You can compare Office documents just like plaintext files!.
Just tried it and it worked. If you were afraid of trying, like me – don’t be.

We’re trying Grails, Rails-like web application framework for Java.
It’s fine, just that Groovy debugger support is, er, imperfect, even in the best Gruoovy IDE – IDEA.

And, if you want to unit test, you won’t have fancy domain class methods addTo* – like Customer.addToOrders().
They’re generated by Grails on startup.
In order to have addTo*(), inherit from GrailsUnitTestCase and call mockDomain(Customer) in setUp().

Oh, if you get "NullPointerException: Cannot invoke method containsKey() on null object", add super.setUp() to yout testcase’s setUp().

Having proper save() is more tricky. Implementation from mockDomain() works to some extent: it won’t save connected objects.
So, in order to get save() working, you have to do something like this:

    def savedCustomers = []

    void setUp() {
        super.setUp()
        Customer.metaClass.save = { saveCustomer(delegate) }
        mockDomain(Customer, savedCustomers)
    }

    private def saveCustomer(c) {
        savedCustomers.add(c)
        if (c.orders != null) {
            c.orders.each { x -> x.save() }
        }
    }

Just dealt with another Visual Studio 2008 “feature”.

You can specify all the necessary “Project Dependencies” in Visual Studio, but will get “CSC : error CS0006: Metadata file FooBar.dll could not be found“. Even if your csproj files have correct references to other solution projects, msbuild will fail.
Maybe it appears only if project output path is outside of project directory.

It appears that Visual Studio keeps the dependencies in two ways, only one of which is read by MSBuild. I see that because I still can specify dependencies in GUI, copy solution to other machine and build it with VS in correct order.

Not with MSBuild.

The data needed by MSBuild is a “ProjectSection(ProjectDependencies) = postProject” section of SLN file. Like this:

Project("{8BC9CEB8-8B4A-11D0-8D11-00A0C91BC942}") = "make_versioninfo", "make_versioninfo.vcproj", "{F0E0541E-F17D-430B-97C4-93ADF0DD284E}"
EndProject
Project("{8BC9CEB8-8B4A-11D0-8D11-00A0C91BC942}") = "pythoncore", "pythoncore.vcproj", "{CF7AC3D1-E2DF-41D2-BEA6-1E2556CDEA26}"
	ProjectSection(ProjectDependencies) = postProject
		{F0E0541E-F17D-430B-97C4-93ADF0DD284E} = {F0E0541E-F17D-430B-97C4-93ADF0DD284E}
	EndProjectSection
EndProject

Note where to take the GUID of a referenced project.
If you create this section by hand, your project will build.

Not too much fun, if you have over 20 projects, where you can have up to 190 project dependencies… Have fun.

I just won a bet for $10 by solving a quiz:

Check the correctness of a braces, brackets and parentheses sequence. The solution should be of linear complexity (to say more, it’s 1-pass).

For instance, these expressions are correct: “()”, “()()[]“, “([][][]{})”, “([])()[]“, and these are not: “][", "())(", "(()".

It's basically solved in 15 lines, all others being auxiliary. Can you reproduce the algorithm?

The solution follows.

import java.security.InvalidParameterException;
import java.util.Stack;

public class Braces
{
    private static boolean isClosing(char c)
    {
        return c == ')' || c == '}' || c == ']‘;
    }

    private static boolean isOpening(char c)
    {
        return c == ‘(‘ || c == ‘{‘ || c == ‘[';
    }

    private static char matching(char c)
    {
        switch (c)
        {
        case '(': return ')';
        case '[': return ']‘;
        case ‘{‘: return ‘}’;
        case ‘)’: return ‘(‘;
        case ‘]’: return ‘[';
        case '}': return '{';
        default:
            throw new InvalidParameterException("Not a brace");
        }
    }

    public static boolean isCorrect(String expression)
    {
        Stack<Character> lastBrace = new Stack<Character>();

        for (int i=0; i<expression.length(); i++)
        {
            char c = expression.charAt(i);

            if (isClosing(c))
            {
                if (lastBrace.size() == 0) return false;
                if (lastBrace.peek().charValue() != matching(c)) return false;
                lastBrace.pop();
            }
            else if (isOpening(c))
            {
                lastBrace.push(Character.valueOf(c));
            }
            else
            {
                throw new InvalidParameterException(expression + "[" + i + "]=” + c);
            }
        }

        return lastBrace.size() == 0;
    }
}

import junit.framework.TestCase;

public class BracesTest extends TestCase {

    public void testIsCorrect()
    {
        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("()"));
        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("[]"));
        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("{}"));
        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("([])"));
        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("()()[]"));

        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("([][][]{})"));
        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("(()[()]())"));
        assertTrue(Braces.isCorrect("([])()[]"));

        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("([]"));
        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("[]]"));

        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("]["));
        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("(][)"));
        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("(][)"));

        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("(][)"));
        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("[(){}}"));

        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("]["));
        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("(("));

        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("(()))"));

        assertFalse(Braces.isCorrect("{}{}}{"));
    }
}

Whenever you implement own datasource for .NET GUI binding, you’lll have the choice – whether to implement IList or IListSource.

IListSource is a simplistic interface with two members: IList<T> GetList() and bool ContainsListCollection;

MSDN help about IListSource.ContainsListCollection states it’s “indicating whether the collection is a collection of IList objects”.
MSDN is not true here.

If IListSource.ContainsListCollection is false, GetList() just returns your IList.

If IListSource.ContainsListCollection is true, GetList() is expected to return ITypedList, which needs to provide a collection of PropertyDescriptor-s for every field of your collection.
Its purpose is to provide field names (including by-name field access) in runtime.

Quoted below is a code piece from a Microsoft newsgroup that resolves both cases to a data list (field values list, in second case).

And yes, if you’re planning to mutate the UI-bound collection, use IBindingList<> instead of IList<>.

static IEnumerable GetResolvedDataSource(object dataSource, string dataMember)
{
    if (dataSource != null)

    {
        IListSource source1 = dataSource as IListSource;
        if (source1 != null)

        {
            IList list1 = source1.GetList();
            if (!source1.ContainsListCollection)

            {
                return list1;
            }
            if ((list1 != null) && (list1 is ITypedList))

            {
                ITypedList list2 = (ITypedList) list1;
                PropertyDescriptorCollection collection1 = list2.GetItemProperties(new PropertyDescriptor[0]);

                if ((collection1 == null) || (collection1.Count == 0))

                {
                    throw new HttpException(HttpRuntime.FormatResourceString("ListSource_Without_DataMembers"));

                }
                PropertyDescriptor descriptor1 = null;
                if ((dataMember == null) || (dataMember.Length == 0))

                {
                    descriptor1 = collection1[0];
                }
                else

                {
                    descriptor1 = collection1.Find(dataMember, true);
                }

                if (descriptor1 != null)
                {
                    object obj1 = list1[0];

                    object obj2 = descriptor1.GetValue(obj1);
                    if ((obj2 != null) && (obj2 is IEnumerable))

                    {
                        return (IEnumerable) obj2;
                    }
                }

                throw new HttpException(HttpRuntime.FormatResourceString("ListSource_Missing_DataMember", dataMember));

            }
        }
        if (dataSource is IEnumerable)
        {
            return (IEnumerable) dataSource;

        }
    }
    return null;
}

A friend asked me for it, so probably someone might need a jumpstart in unit tests.

Here’s a short list of short (though very deep, if not best) intros.

• Except for JUnit cookbook (~2 pages) (which has a lot of “ports”, like CppUnit cookbook), I’d name:
• “Endo-Testing: Unit Testing with Mock Objects” at mockobjects.com (Tim Mackinnon, Steve Freeman, Philip Craig) (7 pages);
• “Mocks aren’t stubs” by Martin Fowler (about 7 pages);

For deeper dive, take a “xUnit patterns” book (this one is longer).

For Kent Beck’s book on TDD, shame on me – I never read it. Though after “XP explained” I don’t strive for reading his books.

// If you’re interested in XP and “XP explained” criticism, take a look at “Extreme Programming Considered Harmful for Reliable Software Development” by Gerald Keefer.

My not-so-humble evaluation of VS tests distinctions from NUnit is (in points on -10 to 10 scale).

• (-4) To run tests, VS launches an entire process which takes no less then 3 seconds to start. If you’re in “F5 hit breakpoint – Shift-F5″ loop, that’s disgusting. NUnit tests can be run in-process by Resharper or TestDriver.NET;
• (-2) GUI that shows where test failed is ugly. You don’t get to failed line on double-click, you first get to test log page. Status and call stack are necessary, but I’d like not to trash my document tabs, I already have enough of them open. You can’t make that kind of windows docked/floating;
• (-1) You got a “public TestContext TestContext;” sticking in your code. You’ll need it only when it comes to testing on data, which doesn’t always happen, even in a data-driven application;
• (-1) It’s a “not invented here” technology, while NUnit was around for years;

Edit: In a moment of madness, I mixed together coverage profiling and unit testing tools. May God and readers forgive my aberration.

Edit2: If you need a half-page kickstart in unit testing techniques, the next post can help.

Lua recently became very popular. I encountered Lua scripting in several applications including popular games, I believe it’s used in even more then Wikipedia says.

It’s extremely simple:

• 6 data types (that’s counting “nul” and “function”),
• no C++-style OOP out-of-box (but you can program one, he-he),
• 400K of pure-C code

but is loaded with in-fashion features like

• first-class functions,
• closures,
• coroutines…
• again, Wikipedia is the best.

The only metaprogramming tutorial (with a ready code to implement virtual methods) is “Programming in Lua” book. Still, I don’t see a code to implement ad-hoc polymorphism… Maybe it’s a reason for another post

Redistributed book removed: it violated copyright.

Did you ever think, what happens if you take a member pointer to a virtual function of a class, and then call it on another instance of derived class (that overrides that member)?

What if you do the same for nonvirtual function?

Here’s a test:

#include <iostream>

class A
{
  public:
  virtual void f() { std::cout << "A::f()\n"; };
  void g() { std::cout << "A::g()\n"; };
};

class B : public A
{
  public:
  virtual void f() { std::cout << "B::f()\n"; };
  void g() { std::cout << "B::g()\n"; };
};

typedef void (A::*VirtualFunctionPointer) ();

int main()
{
  A a;
  B b;
  B* pb = &b;

  VirtualFunctionPointer p = &A::f;
  (pb->*p) ();

  p = &A::g;
  (pb->*p) ();
  return 0;
}

Answer is in comments.

One of my friends once encountered a C++ compilation issue.
A program is given:

#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
using namespace std;

#define SFORMAT(e) ((dynamic_cast<const ostringstream&>(ostringstream() << e)).str())

int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
cout << SFORMAT("2 x " << " 2 = " << 2*2);
return 0;
}

No one asks you what it will print, unless you’re a god.

Question is: why is the first const char* printed as a pointer, instead of what we need?
Two years ago, I couldn’t tell.
Some guru from Apple answered this in a newsgroup.

Here, take another, simpler C++ quiz about member pointers.

A couple of notes how NOT to use MSBuild.

1. Don’t generate files with AssemblyInfo task. It screws comments, screws InternalsVisibleTo attributes, and whatever else it doesn’t account for.
   Instead: Use
   <FileUpdate Files="@(AssemblyInfoFiles)"
Regex="AssemblyVersion\(".*?"\)\]"
ReplacementText="AssemblyVersion("$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)")]"
/>
<FileUpdate Files="@(AssemblyInfoFiles)"
Regex="AssemblyFileVersion\(".*?"\)\]"
ReplacementText="AssemblyFileVersion("$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)")]"
/>
2. Don’t account for TfsXXXX community tasks – it won’t run on VS 2008 with Team Explorer 9.0.
   Instead:  Use <Exec Command=”tf …”>.
   And if you have domain authentication in TFS and don’t run integration under domain user (which happens), you even can’t run tf in cmd-line mode: stupid authentication dialog will pop up.
3. Do not use local files to store version number. You will lose them when moving build to another host, so use only source control-dependent files.
   Might seem evident, but strange how many people miss this.
   So you’ll need to
   <Attrib Files="version.txt" Normal="true" />
4. Per Scott Colestock’s post, “since TfsVersion interrogates the build server’s workspace, and BuildNumberOverrideTarget comes early in the process… you might find that you don’t get the changeset number you expect”.
5. Don’t try to operate on XML node collections with tasks other then Xslt.
   For instance, XmlRead returns a Nodeset only as a string of “;”-joined
   Node.Value-s.
   XmlQuery supports Values property, though I wasn’t able to operate it’s results.
   Instead you can use ReadLinesFromFile (sadly, this will trim the lines).
   My personal choice for not-too-complex XML is… you can guess… yes, FileUpdate.
6. Don’t use FtpUpload. It won’t create folders for you.
   Just <Exec> a ftp…
   By the way, Windows’ ftp.exe client is unable to upload in passive mode. You can download passively, if you issue “LITERAL PASV“, but it won’t help the client.

Another problem with MSBuild bootstrappers that can screw all your installation…

If scheduling reboot after installing .NET or other prerequisites, bootstrapper copies itself to run from TEMP on boot. Why not staying where it is – who knows. And definitely, all the other MSIs are not copied, so it won’t find them. Reproduced for me.

Now give up and go write own bootstrapper. I’m setiously considering going for InnoSetup deployment.

For now, I’m trying a crazy ting, to copy MSI to TEMP for Setup.exe to find it after reincarnation… It’s the way to use given tools.

Now I know it.

It’s Windows Installer error 1618 that I didn’t see somewhy when attempting to fix .NET bootstrapper. Either I was inattentive or it wasn’t there: “Another copy of msiexec is running”. You can’t have two Windows Installers running, at least if one of them installs .NET. Information is from this maillist post.

Why? Implementation limitations, I believe. No sane reasons for such a contract, no article mentioned this. Surely, who’s going to declare own “features” of that kind – just a gentle hints that “you should better use bootstrapper”. Another reason to long for a systems where setup is just a copy.

So go pack a MSI, then make a MSBuild bootstrapper.

Oh wait, do I have to have 2 files in my installation? And my customers can’t download one file?

Yes. Or go for WinZip Self-Extractor, or WinRar, or whatever else.

What about build scripts? For WinRar, here’s a nice sample. For WinZip sfx, there’s also a command-line interface. Do a

wzipse32 %ARC_NAME% -setup -auto -runasuser -le -i ../icon.ico -wait msiexec -c ".\setup.exe"

WinZip will do the thing, though displaying some dialogs we don’t need at all.

Oh, WinRar won’t work, because it erases temporary files upon setup.exe completion. And we need to wait for msiexec, because setup.exe exits earlier. What a pity.

After Microsoft didn’t include .NET 3.5 in any current release of Windows (read “Vista service pack 1″), some of us developers who believed in long-ago C# 3.0 ads, had to roll back to .NET 3.0 and C# 2.0.

Including me.

Not mentioning pain of rolling back all LINQ tasties in code and debugging our replacements (do you know why you can’t implement Where() just with yield-style function?), it means installing .NET 3.0.

It seemed to be not a problem, having a MSBuild code snippet that worked for 3.5 – just replace 3.5 with 3.0:

<ItemGroup>
<BootstrapperFile Include="Microsoft.Net.Framework.3.0">
<ProductName>.NET Framework 3.0</ProductName>
</BootstrapperFile>
<BootstrapperFile Include="Microsoft.Windows.Installer.3.1">
<ProductName>Windows Installer 3.1</ProductName>
</BootstrapperFile>

<Target Name="Bootstrapper">
<GenerateBootstrapper
ApplicationName="blah blah blah blah"
BootstrapperItems="@(BootstrapperFile)"
BootstrapperKeyFile=""
OutputPath="obj"
ComponentsLocation="HomeSite" CopyComponents="false"
SupportUrl="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=10CC340B-F857-4A14-83F5-25634C3BF043"
Culture="en" Path="$(BootstrapperPath)"/>
</Target>

Won’t work.

Hell why? Who knows. Logs in temp don’t give proper diagnostics, nor system events do. WPF fails to install at some point onto every XP installations we have, including clean special test XP SP2 VMWare images downloaded from Microsoft.

Update: Here’s the answer.

Now I rolled back to dotnetfx3setup.exe redistributable. It’s 2.8M compared to 300K bootstrapper generated by MSBuild, and it’s a pain to see installer grow…And if .NET 3.0 is already installed it starts to uninstall it… and there is no key to make it just “check or install”, need to trick it via WiX.

But we have to pay it. Oh my.

All over the Web I see no evidence that any man walked this path before. For.NET 2.0 – a lot of mentions and code samples. And completely empty for .NET 3.0.

Did you ever try parsing C++? What about parsing for every combination of possible define-s at once?

Microsoft has a static code checker tools for C++, like FxCop for .NET.

That’s awfully complex task, you now see. In .NET you can analyze bytecode, and luckily don’t really need to account for conditional compilation. In C++ where everthing is about #ifdef – it’s hell.

I never heared of anything like that. Though Insure++ or AQTime do way more things when profiling runtime, they of course find only things that were on necessary execution paths.