Virtual Realm

SQL Server and Powershell Setting up the User Profile

Mykre — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:08:20 GMT

With the bad weather hitting Melbourne and my current situation I thought it was time to get some practice in on some of my SQL Server skills. Over the past few years I have started to use Powershell for a lot of my SQL Server work and Monitoring of those systems. One of the small problems that I do have is that when you start to work with Powershell and SQL Server you need to make sure that some components are loaded for each script to work.

When working with SQL Server 2005 and below I would need to make sure that the management objects where loaded, and with SQL Server 2008 I need to make sure that the SQL Server Plugins are loaded. With SQL Server 20098 you could always use the built in command from the management studio to start the Powershell session, but if you are working with an IDE like Sapian’s Powerscript this does not work.

The good thing is with the power shell system you have the ability to set up your environment to automatically load these components during the start up of the shell, this is done by adding the commands to the Users or Systems Profile scripts.

The first thing you need to do is to locate the Profile Script that you wish to modify. Start by starting a Powershell Session and typing the following line into the command prompt.

$profile

When you run this command it will return the location of the Powershell Profile for the current user, by default this path has not been created on the file system and to continue we will need to create the directory. As I am using Powershell 2 on my Windows 7 Desktop the path is located inside my Documents directory under the directory “WindowsPowerShell”.

Enter the following Command to create the new Directory.

new-item -type directory -path c:\Users\Admin\Documents\WindowsPowerShell

Once the Directory has been created we now need to create the default Profile script for the user. The easiest way to do this is to let the system create it for us. This can be done by running the following command inside the command prompt.

notepad $profile

When you run this command the system will find that there is no file there and ask if you would like to create it.

Now if you look at the directory you will find that there will be a default profile script created. This script will be executed each time the user starts a new Powershell Session. Note that there are other locations that you can create profiles, but each of these have a different function and security level. I normally just stick to the user profiles in the documents directory.

The next stage is to add the loading functions to the profile. I have listed the code to do this below, all you need to do is copy and past the code into your profile script, using notepad as the editor.

Once you have finished you will now be able to execute your SQL Server based Powershell scripts straight from the default Powershell Prompt.

######################################################
#
# PowerShell User Profile
#
######################################################

write-host "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
write-host "Loading User Profile"
write-host "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"

# Set the Execution Policy
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

#
# Add the SQL Server provider.
#

write-host "Setting up SQL 2008 Provider"

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"

$sqlpsreg="HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.PowerShell.sqlps"

if (Get-ChildItem $sqlpsreg -ErrorAction "SilentlyContinue")
{
    throw "SQL Server Provider is not installed."
}
else
{
    $item = Get-ItemProperty $sqlpsreg
    $sqlpsPath = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($item.Path)
}

#
# Set mandatory variables for the SQL Server Provider
#
write-host " - Setting up the Mandatory Varibles for the SQL Server Provider"

Set-Variable -scope Global -name SqlServerMaximumChildItems -Value 0
Set-Variable -scope Global -name SqlServerConnectionTimeout -Value 30
Set-Variable -scope Global -name SqlServerIncludeSystemObjects -Value $false
Set-Variable -scope Global -name SqlServerMaximumTabCompletion -Value 1000

#
# Loads the SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
#
write-host " - Loading the SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)"

$assemblylist =
"Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.Dmf ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.SqlWmiManagement ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.ConnectionInfo ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.SmoExtended ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.RegisteredServers ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Sdk.Sfc ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.SqlEnum ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.RegSvrEnum ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.WmiEnum ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.ServiceBrokerEnum ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.ConnectionInfoExtended ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Collector ",
"Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.CollectorEnum"

foreach ($asm in $assemblylist)
{
    $asm = [Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName($asm)
}

#
# Load the snapins, type data, format data
#

write-host " - Load the SQL Powershell Snapins, type and format data"

Push-Location
cd $sqlpsPath
Add-PSSnapin SqlServerCmdletSnapin100
Add-PSSnapin SqlServerProviderSnapin100
Update-TypeData -PrependPath SQLProvider.Types.ps1xml
update-FormatData -prependpath SQLProvider.Format.ps1xml
Pop-Location

# Display Status
write-host "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"
write-host "User Profile Loaded"
write-host "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------"

Blender 2.5 Alpha 1 Released

Mykre — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:11:44 GMT

The latest release of the Blender 2.5 product has finally hit the web.

Here is the link to the Official Announcement.

Blender 2.5 Alpha 1

The Blender Foundation and online developer community is proud to present Blender 2.5 Alpha 1. This release is the second official testing release of the Blender 2.5 series, representing the culmination of many years of redesign and development work.

What to Expect

Big improvements - The 2.5 alpha 1 release has 100s of essential fixes compared to the alpha 0.

Missing/Incomplete Features - Although most of it is there, not all functionality from pre-2.5 versions has been restored yet. Some functionality may be re-implemented a different way.

Bugs - We've fixed a lot lately, but there are still quite a few bugs. This is alpha software, we're still working on it!

Changes - If you're used to the old Blenders, Blender 2.5 may seem quite different at first, but it won't be long before it grows on you even more than before.

Working on some Artwork

Mykre — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:11:53 GMT

This week end worked out to be a quite one, but in during the several down hours I decided to pick up the Tablet again and see what I could do. The main focus was to start top convert some of the developer art I have been using in a small game I am working on. The by product of the session meant that I picked up a pencil and did some more drawing.

Here is one of the Pencil drawings that I put together in a few minutes.

It is nothing much but it shows one of the characters in the xna project, as well as one of the items I am adding to the project. Once this was done I transferred the image to Photoshop and started work.

Here is the current progress on the picture, It is late here and I need some sleep so I will continue it tomorrow.

For those who are interested here is a small grouping of the artwork in game, please be aware that the fish are still in developer art mode, and I will get to them soon.

XNA Rotated PerPixel Collision

Mykre — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:42:11 GMT

Yesterday I posted a quick post on a small project I was playing with (Link), and today I saw a post on the XNA Forums where a user was having problems with rotated rectangles and collision. So to help here is the ruff code that i have been playing with, hopefully it will help some one with their project, ATM it is not really complete and i am not fully happy with it. Currently the system slows down the game when I am doing the check on over 300 objects.

A lot of this code is based on the Samples from the Creators Site.

Code for Rotated PerPixel Collision.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Xna.Framework;
using Microsoft.Xna.Framework.Graphics;
namespace TranslatedSpriteCollisions
{
    public class GameObject
    {
        private Texture2D texture;
        private Color[] colorData;
        private Matrix transform;
        public Vector2 Position;
        public Vector2 Origin;
        public Vector2 Velocity;
        public float Rotation;
        public float Scale = 1.0f;
        public Texture2D Texture
        {
            get { return texture; }
            set
            {
                texture = value;
                colorData = new Color[texture.Width * texture.Height];
                texture.GetData(colorData);
                this.Origin = new Vector2(texture.Width / 2, texture.Height / 2);
            }
        }
        public Matrix Transform
        {
            get { return transform; }
        }
        public void UpdateTransform()
        {
            transform = Matrix.CreateTranslation(new Vector3(-Origin, 0.0f)) *
                        Matrix.CreateScale(Scale) *
                        Matrix.CreateRotationZ(Rotation) *
                        Matrix.CreateTranslation(new Vector3(Position, 0.0f));
        }
        public void Draw(SpriteBatch spriteBatch)
        {
            spriteBatch.Draw(Texture, Position, null, Color.White, Rotation, Origin,
                Scale, SpriteEffects.None, 0.0f);
        }
        public bool IntersectPixels(GameObject b)
        {
            return IntersectPixels(transform, texture.Width, texture.Height, colorData,
                           b.transform, b.texture.Width, b.texture.Height, b.colorData);
        }
        /// <summary>
        /// Determines if there is overlap of the non-transparent pixels between two
        /// sprites.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="transformA">World transform of the first sprite.</param>
        /// <param name="widthA">Width of the first sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="heightA">Height of the first sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="dataA">Pixel color data of the first sprite.</param>
        /// <param name="transformB">World transform of the second sprite.</param>
        /// <param name="widthB">Width of the second sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="heightB">Height of the second sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="dataB">Pixel color data of the second sprite.</param>
        /// <returns>True if non-transparent pixels overlap; false otherwise</returns>
        public static bool IntersectPixelsSlow(
            Matrix transformA, int widthA, int heightA, Color[] dataA,
            Matrix transformB, int widthB, int heightB, Color[] dataB)
        {
            // Calculate a matrix which transforms from A's local space into
            // world space and then into B's local space
            Matrix transformAToB = transformA * Matrix.Invert(transformB);
            // For each row of pixels in A
            for (int yA = 0; yA < heightA; yA++)
            {
                // For each pixel in this row
                for (int xA = 0; xA < widthA; xA++)
                {
                    // Calculate this pixel's location in B
                    Vector2 positionInB =
                        Vector2.Transform(new Vector2(xA, yA), transformAToB);
                    // Round to the nearest pixel
                    int xB = (int)Math.Round(positionInB.X);
                    int yB = (int)Math.Round(positionInB.Y);
                    // If the pixel lies within the bounds of B
                    if (0 <= xB && xB < widthB &&
                        0 <= yB && yB < heightB)
                    {
                        // Get the colors of the overlapping pixels
                        Color colorA = dataA[xA + yA * widthA];
                        Color colorB = dataB[xB + yB * widthB];
                        // If both pixels are not completely transparent,
                        if (colorA.A != 0 && colorB.A != 0)
                        {
                            // then an intersection has been found
                            return true;
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
            // No intersection found
            return false;
        }
        /// <summary>
        /// Determines if there is overlap of the non-transparent pixels between two
        /// sprites.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="transformA">World transform of the first sprite.</param>
        /// <param name="widthA">Width of the first sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="heightA">Height of the first sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="dataA">Pixel color data of the first sprite.</param>
        /// <param name="transformB">World transform of the second sprite.</param>
        /// <param name="widthB">Width of the second sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="heightB">Height of the second sprite's texture.</param>
        /// <param name="dataB">Pixel color data of the second sprite.</param>
        /// <returns>True if non-transparent pixels overlap; false otherwise</returns>
        public static bool IntersectPixels(
            Matrix transformA, int widthA, int heightA, Color[] dataA,
            Matrix transformB, int widthB, int heightB, Color[] dataB)
        {
            // Calculate a matrix which transforms from A's local space into
            // world space and then into B's local space
            Matrix transformAToB = transformA * Matrix.Invert(transformB);
            // When a point moves in A's local space, it moves in B's local space with a
            // fixed direction and distance proportional to the movement in A.
            // This algorithm steps through A one pixel at a time along A's X and Y axes
            // Calculate the analogous steps in B:
            Vector2 stepX = Vector2.TransformNormal(Vector2.UnitX, transformAToB);
            Vector2 stepY = Vector2.TransformNormal(Vector2.UnitY, transformAToB);
            // Calculate the top left corner of A in B's local space
            // This variable will be reused to keep track of the start of each row
            Vector2 yPosInB = Vector2.Transform(Vector2.Zero, transformAToB);
            // For each row of pixels in A
            for (int yA = 0; yA < heightA; yA++)
            {
                // Start at the beginning of the row
                Vector2 posInB = yPosInB;
                // For each pixel in this row
                for (int xA = 0; xA < widthA; xA++)
                {
                    // Round to the nearest pixel
                    int xB = (int)Math.Round(posInB.X);
                    int yB = (int)Math.Round(posInB.Y);
                    // If the pixel lies within the bounds of B
                    if (0 <= xB && xB < widthB &&
                        0 <= yB && yB < heightB)
                    {
                        // Get the colors of the overlapping pixels
                        Color colorA = dataA[xA + yA * widthA];
                        Color colorB = dataB[xB + yB * widthB];
                        // If both pixels are not completely transparent,
                        if (colorA.A != 0 && colorB.A != 0)
                        {
                            // then an intersection has been found
                            return true;
                        }
                    }
                    // Move to the next pixel in the row
                    posInB += stepX;
                }
                // Move to the next row
                yPosInB += stepY;
            }
            // No intersection found
            return false;
        }
    }
}

Playing with Sprites and Collision Detection

Mykre — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 03:18:54 GMT

While on the XNA Game Camp I was playing with a simple 2d collision sample that did per pixel detection on translated sprites. Over this weekend and today I have picked the code back up and have started to play around with the internals to see if I can get it to run faster.

So far it looks like I have it running well, but it still starts to slow down at about the 300 sprite mark. I think I still have some work to do with the code before I post what I have.

GraffitiCMS – Setting up Development Environment

Mykre — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:56:21 GMT

Now that the GraffitiCMS Engine has gone Open Source, I now have the need to set up the development environment for the system. The first stage here is to download all that is needed and then get it running in the raw form from the latest version of the source code.

Here are the steps that I went through to complete the task.

Downloaded and uncompressed that latest version of the source code from the Codeplex site.
Downloaded the additional libraries from the telligent website as per the readme and notes on the front page of the Codeplex project site.
Created a Directory just inside the first directory of the extracted source and then extracted the Telligent Assemblies to that directory. I called this Directory “Telligent Assemblies”
Open the Visual Studio Project for the Graffiti Project
Expand the Graffiti Core Project and then the References
Add the references to the Telligent Assemblies that you have extracted, when done do the same for the Graffiti.Web Project.
You should now be able to perform a build of each of the Projects
In the Windows Explorer browse to the Graffiti.Web Project Directory and Delete the App_Data Directory
In the Solution Explorer expand the Graffiti.Web Project and add a new ASP.Net Folder, select the App_Data Folder.
Back in the Windows Explorer, copy the Graffiti.mdb file from the data directory and paste it into the App_Data directory inside the Graffiti.Web Project
In the Solution Explorer right click on the App_Data Directory and select Add existing Item, select the Graffiti.mdb file
In the Solution Explorer right click on the Graffiti.Web Project and set it as the Start up Project, you should see the project name is now highlighted or in Bold text.
You should now be able to execute the application and start the development work.

With that task now complete there are several things that I now wish to do to the raw system. Here is a small list.

Convert the Base code to run using SQL Express as this is my preferred method for development (My production system uses the full SQL Server Engine)
As I will need some Test Data, run the scripts to add some test data to the site, the default install does not have this data.

Then the tasks grow….

Download my site and files to test the upgrade path
Recompile all of my custom add-ons for the system to make sure that they still work, and if not work on upgrading them
Start to work on the changes that I have had on hold while waiting for the system to have it’s new direction.

GraffitiCMS Goes Open Source

Mykre — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:35:20 GMT

For a long while I have been using the GraffitiCMS Engine to run my Blog and my Website, now that the GraffitiCMS has finally been released to Open Source I think it is time that I started to look at upgrading the site and continuing to work on the engine.

Here is the Direct link to the Codeplex site for the GraffitiCMS Project. (link)

For those that are interested here is a collection of other projects for GraffitiCMS that are listed on Codeplex.

Random Test Data for Applications

Mykre — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:39:38 GMT

I have been working on a couple of datasets over the last few weeks, as well as a couple of small LOB Applications for my own purposes. While developing these I have had to play with the data so that I have a quantity of data that will allow me to test the main functions.

I know there are a couple of different options to create the data, but today I was told about www.generatedata.com and to be honest it does almost all that I need to create the test data.

“Ever needed custom formatted sample / test data, like, bad? Well, that's the idea of the Data Generator. It's a free, open source script written in JavaScript, PHP and MySQL that lets you quickly generate large volumes of custom data in a variety of formats for use in testing software, populating databases, and scoring with girls. “

Features

(JS-enabled) browser-friendly.
Many data types available: names, phone numbers, email addresses, cities, states, provinces, counties, dates, street addresses, number ranges, alphanumeric strings, lorem ipsum text and more.
Option to generate data in XML, Excel, HTML, CSV or SQL.
Country specific data (state / province / county) for Canada, US, Netherlands and UK.
Does your laundry.
Saves your data generation forms for later use (downloadable version & for donators only)

Blender Tutorials - BlenderCourse.com

Mykre — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 00:08:04 GMT

BlenderCourse.com has a good selection of Blender tutorials for the beginner. All of the course material is in downloadable format and is easy to follow. The site also includes a small selection of free textures.

Australian XNA Game Camp

Mykre — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:16:16 GMT

Last week end I had the absolute pleasure of spending a couple of days with a large group made up of mainly University Students and a few others who all had the common goal of learning a little bit about XNA, the Imagine Cup and off course having some fun.

I just wanted to say thankyou to Microsoft (Andrew and Karo) for giving Luke and myself a chance to talk at the event and meet the group.

During the event we took the guys through several introductory and some intermediate topics relating to XNA, some of these included looking at Avatars, Collision Detection, Audio, Particles and Game State. The good thing is that by the end of the event we had some time for the students to demonstrate some of the projects that they had been working on over the weekend. In the end we where shown about 10 games, with each of these showing promise and even a couple of them where almost in a complete state.

As this was the first XNA Game Camp to be held in Australia, I think that it was organised really well and was received by all those who attended in a positive manner. I am hoping this will not be the last, and once the Imagine Cup for this year is complete we can start to organise the next.

Just to finish off, I would like to wish all the guys who are going to drop an entry into the Imagine Cup good luck and I hope you do well, but remember that there is also the Dream Build Play.