C# (Visual C# & VS.Net) New and Updated KB Posts

Using this quickie code snippet, you can attach an ASP:Gridview  to an external RSS Feed.

All you need to accomplish this is the URL of a usable feed.

This article will show how to access a function in a legacy COM dll from a ASP.NET web page. By legacy I mean a dll that is not a .NET managed code dll (a Win32 DLL). 

When designing a WinForms application, the most straightforward way to authenticate a user is using NTLM or Active Directory using WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent. Over the Internet, you can use the whole ASP.Net security setup with Membership.GetUser. The GenericPrincipal object works well when you deploy to a mixed web/WinForms environment. See new GenericIdentity.

The .Net framework offers a static method in the string class: String.IsNullOrEmpty.

Add new methods to predefined types and objects with extension methods (no need to recompile the base code).  To use this extension, all i have to do is include the  namespace ExtensionExample.

Although pointer data types in C# coding are less important than in other languages such as C++, C# does support developer defined pointers. Use the * operator to declare a pointer data type. Use the & operator to return the current address of a variable.

In .Net managed coding the use of pointers is not safe because the garbage collector may move memory around. To safely use pointers, use the unsafe keyword.

C++/CLI has more extensive support for pointers than C#. If you have needs that go beyond what C# offers, you can code in C++/CLI and add it to your project.

To refer to the current instance of a class, use the this keyword. The this keyword provides a way to refer to the specific instance in which the code is currently executing. It is particularly useful for passing information about the currently executing instance.

The this keyword is also used as a modifier of the first parameter of an extension method.

You cannot use this with static method functions because static methods do not belong to an object instance. If you try, you'll get an error.

The method modifiers are abstract, extern, new, partial, sealed, virtual, and override. Specify C# member modifiers as follows:

abstract SomeMethod() {..}

The field modifiers are const, readonly, static, volatile. Specify field modifiers as follows:

readonly int MyAge;

Same as C++ and Java. C# logical operators:

C# projects require the .Net framework and any additional dependencies you've added such as Crystal Reports.

In Visual Studio.Net, you can create a Setup and Deployment project by using any of the templates available on the New Project dialog (Other Project Types).

In addition, C# projects also support ClickOnce which brings the ease of Web deployment to Windows Forms and console applications. To get started, right click on your solution in the Solution Explorer, click Properties then select the Security tab. 

In addition, you can use any of the many free and commercially available installation packages.

Using this quickie code snippet, you can attach an ASP:Gridview  to an external RSS Feed.

All you need to accomplish this is the URL of a usable feed.

Add new methods to predefined types and objects with extension methods (no need to recompile the base code).  To use this extension, all i have to do is include the  namespace ExtensionExample.

This article will show how to access a function in a legacy COM dll from a ASP.NET web page. By legacy I mean a dll that is not a .NET managed code dll (a Win32 DLL). 

When designing a WinForms application, the most straightforward way to authenticate a user is using NTLM or Active Directory using WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent. Over the Internet, you can use the whole ASP.Net security setup with Membership.GetUser. The GenericPrincipal object works well when you deploy to a mixed web/WinForms environment. See new GenericIdentity.

This code shows how to ask the webserver where the site's root directory is, and how to convert a relative path (like /Uploads) to the full filesystem path.  This will work across environments (i.e. Development/QA/Production).

In C#, the Object keyword is an alias for the base System.Object class and is the single base class all classes ultimately inherit from.

C# is case sensitive. The following does NOT:

The first time you type any other case for commands or variables, VS.Net will change it to the accepted or defined case. For example, if you type messagebox.show it is converted to MessageBox.Show. Once corrected, you can break it again by editing MessageBox to messagebox and the compiler will give you an error.

The .Net framework offers a static method in the string class: String.IsNullOrEmpty.

In C# you can set the visibility of a member field to any visibility: private, protected, public, internal or protected internal. You can intialize a member field with a default when declared. If you set the member field value in your constructor, it will override the default value. Finally, you can use the static modifier (no instance required) and readonly modifier (similar to a constant).