Dear Microsoft: Embrace JavaScript Already

It’s 2010:JavaScript is 14 years old, and you’ve officially supported “JScript” for the past 13 years.  Yet today, I have to open my JavaScript file in the FREE, OPENSOURCE, NotePad++ to find a missing closing } deep in my JavaScript file, because your latest premium Visual Studio IDE still can’t properly parse the language.

I appreciate the efforts you’ve gone to with improved intellisense in VS2010, but that is far from enough.  Why do we still need macros or plugins for elementary functionality such as function outlining, a document hierarchy tree, bracket matching and other validation?

As long as there is an internet driven by HTML, there will be JavaScript right beside it.  Embrace it already.

How to Always Run Visual Studio As Administrator

To jum straight to the solution, click here

“Certain tasks, including debugging and creating local IIS applications, require that you start Visual Studio as a user with Administrative privileges. On Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 when not running as the built-in Administrator account, this requires right-clicking the Visual Studio 2008 icon in the Start Menu and choosing Run as administrator.

“To make this process easier, you can create a shortcut and check the Run this program as an administrator check box on the Compatibility tab of the shortcut properties.”
from Using Visual Studio 2008 with IIS 7 @ learn.iis.net

On the last few projects I’ve worked on, we’ve used IIS sites for our development (for a number of reasons I won’t detail here), and the need to open VS in admin mode has been a constant annoyance.  It’s like constantly getting bitten by a mosquito. Today I finally got annoyed enough to spend 5 minutes researching a solution.  (I know.  I procrastinate.)

The solution, or what seems to be working for me so far at least was found at sevenforums.com: How to Run a Program as an Administrator in Windows 7.  Some of these options I knew about, the one I hadn’t tried and which worked for me was this:

1. Right click on the program shortcut or program .exe file, then click on Properties, and on the Compatibility tab. (See screenshots below)
NOTE: If you are doing this while logged on as a standard user instead of an administrator, then you will need to also click on the Change settings for all users button and type in the administrator's password.

2. To Always Run this Program as an Administrator -

A) Check the Run this program as an administrator box, and click on OK. (See screenshots above)

The key is to change the compatibility setting of the Visual Studio EXECUTABLE, not the shortcut to it.  I.e., on my laptop, I went to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\ and right-clicked devenv.exe and then proceeded as above.

I then had to add one more step – when I now clicked on a .sln file, nothing would happen.  It appears the default Open action couldn’t run, I assume, due to inadequate privileges.  To fix this, I right-clicked the .sln file, selected Open With –> Choose Default Program, and then selected Visual Studio, making sure Always use… was checked.

Presto – my .sln files now open asking to be run as admin, as do my jump list projects.

Itch scratched.

Enabling Support for HTML 5 Schema Validation in Visual Studio 2010

Out of the box, HTML 5 schema validation is not supported in Visual Studio 2008 and 2010.  The folks on the Visual Web Developer Team rectified this for VS 2008 and Visual Web Developer, but they did not provide any update for VS 2010 (that I know of).  No matter, you can use the 2008 version – here’s how.

1. Download the schema update for VS 2008/VWD

2. Open the downloaded zip file and follow the instructions in the ReadMe.txt file except:

2.a) Where it says to add the schema to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\Packages\schemas\html, replace the 9.0 with 10.0 – the path for VS 2010 (in 64 bit Windows) is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\Packages\schemas\html

2.b) Edit the VS registry file matching your Windows environment, and again change the 9.0 to 10.0 – e.g. for my Windows 7 64 bit machine the correct registry file is:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\VisualStudio\10.0\Packages\{1B437D20-F8FE-11D2-A6AE-00104BCC7269}\Schemas\Schema 23]
"File"="html\\html_5.xsd"
"Friendly Name"="HTML 5"
"URI"="http://schemas.microsoft.com/intellisense/html-5"

3. Back up your registry

4. Run the registry file (as always, take caution)

Making T4MVC comply with CLS

FXCop rule CA1014 tells you to mark your assembly as CLSCompliant. If you adhere to this, your T4MVC (as of build 2.4.01 at least) will throw compiler warnings saying stuff like

Identifier

‘xxxController._Actions’ ’xxxController._Views’ ’T4MVC._Dummy’

is not CLS-Compliant.

If you have 10 controllers and 50 views this will result in 61 warnings…

The reason is that these are public members that start with an underscore, which is a CLS no-no:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1195030/why-is-this-name-not-cls-compliant

 

To solve this, edit the T4MVC.tt file to mark the code with a [CLSCompliant(false)] attribute.  Once you start this, you’ll also find additional warnings from mebers that implement the now-explicitly-non-compliant members, but a few more [CLSCompliant(false)] attribute handles that. Full code in gist below.

	<#
	/*
	T4MVC Version 2.4.01 + AIS Modifications
	AIS Modifications are to fix StyleCop and CLSCompliant-related issues:
	* Marking the file with an // <auto-generated /> comment
	* Changing the region to include the term 'Generated Code'
	* Marking all public members that start with _ as CLSCompliant(false)
	* Marking all members that reference said members as CLSCompliant(false)
	Full details at http://mo.notono.us/2009/08/making-t4mvc-comply-with-stylecop.html
	and http://mo.notono.us/2009/08/making-t4mvc-comply-with-cls.html
	Find latest version on http://aspnet.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=24471&ProjectName=aspnet
	Written by David Ebbo, with much feedback from the MVC community (thanks all!)
	david.ebbo@microsoft.com
	http://twitter.com/davidebbo
	http://blogs.msdn.com/davidebb
	Related blog posts:
	http://blogs.msdn.com/davidebb/archive/2009/07/28/t4mvc-2-4-updates-settings-file-sub-view-folders-actionname-support-and-more.aspx
	http://blogs.msdn.com/davidebb/archive/2009/06/30/t4mvc-2-2-update-routing-forms-di-container-fixes.aspx
	http://blogs.msdn.com/davidebb/archive/2009/06/26/the-mvc-t4-template-is-now-up-on-codeplex-and-it-does-change-your-code-a-bit.aspx
	http://blogs.msdn.com/davidebb/archive/2009/06/17/a-new-and-improved-asp-net-mvc-t4-template.aspx
	Feel free to use and modify to fit your needs.
	This T4 template for ASP.NET MVC apps creates strongly typed helpers that eliminate the use
	of literal strings when referring the controllers, actions and views.
	To use it, simply copy it and T4MVC.settings.t4 to the root of your MVC application.
	This will enable the following scenarios:
	Refer to controller, action and view names as shown in these examples:
	- MVC.Dinners.Name: "Dinners" (controller name).
	- MVC.Dinners.Views.DinnerForm: "DinnerForm" (view name)
	- MVC.Dinners.Actions.Delete: "Delete" (action name)
	Strong type certain scenarios that refer to controller actions. e.g.
	- Html.ActionLink("Delete Dinner", MVC.Dinners.Delete(Model.DinnerID))
	- Url.Action(MVC.Dinners.Delete(Model.DinnerID))
	- RedirectToAction(MVC.Dinners.Delete(dinner.DinnerID))
	- Route defaults e.g.
	routes.MapRoute(
	"UpcomingDinners",
	"Dinners/Page/{page}",
	MVC.Dinners.Index(null)
	);
	Refer to your static images and script files with strong typing, e.g.
	Instead of <img src="/Content/nerd.jpg" ...>, you can write <img src="<%= Links.Content.nerd_jpg %>" ...>
	Instead of <script src="/Scripts/Map.js" ...>, you can write <script src="<%= Links.Scripts.Map_js %>" ...>
	Or if the file name is dynamic, you can write: Links.Content.Url("foo.jpg")
	KNOWN ISSUES:
	- Users running VisualSVN have reported some errors when T4MVC tries to change actions to virtual and controllers to partial.
	The suggestion when that happens is to manually make those changes. This is just a one time thing you need to do.
	- It will not locate controllers that live in a different project or assembly
	HISTORY:
	2.4.01 (07-29-2009):
	- Put all the generated code in a T4MVC #region. This is useful to tell tools like ReSharper to ignore it.
	- Fixed issue where controller methods returning generic types cause template to blow up
	- Added a setting in T4MVC.settings.t4 to turn off the behavior that always keeps the template dirty
	2.4.00 (07-28-2009):
	- Added support for configurable settings in a separate T4MVC.settings.t4 file
	- Added a parameter-less pseudo-action for every action that doesn't already have a parameter-less overload
	- Added support for having T4MVC.tt in a sub folder instead of always at the root of the project
	- Fixed issue when a base controller doesn't have a default ctor
	- Added T4Extensions into System.Web.Mvc namespace to fix ambiguous resolution issue
	- Misc cleanup
	2.3.01 (07-10-2009):
	- Fixed issue with [ActionName] attribute set to non literal string values (e.g. [ActionName(SomeConst + "Abc")])
	- Fixed duplication issue when partial controller classes have a base type which contains action methods
	- Skip App_LocalResources when processing views
	- Cleaned up rendering logic
	2.3.00 (07-07-2009):
	- Added support for sub view folders
	- Added support for [ActionName] attribute
	- Improved handling when the controller comes from a different project
	- Don't try to process generic controller classes
	2.2.03 (07-06-2009):
	- Added support for action methods defined on controller base classes
	- Improved error handling when not able to change actions to virtual and controllers to partial
	2.2.02 (07-01-2009):
	- Fixed break caused by incorrect support for derived ActionResult types in 2.2.01
	- Fixed issue with duplicate view tokens getting generated when you have both foo.aspx and foo.ascx
	2.2.01 (07-01-2009):
	- Added support for action methods that return a type derived from ActionResult (as opposed to exactly an ActionResult)
	- Fixed issue when controller is using partial classes
	- Fixed folder handling logic to deal with generated files
	- Fixed issue with folder names that are C# keyword
	- Throw NotSupportedException instead of NotImplementedException to avoid being viewed as a TODO
	2.2.00 (06-30-2009):
	- Added strongly typed support to MapRoute
	- Changed constructor generation to avoid confusing IoC containers
	- Fixed issue with empty Content folder
	- Fixed issue with abstract controller base classes
	2.1.00 (06-29-2009):
	- Added Html.BeginForm overloads that use the strongly typed pattern
	- Added Url() helpers on static resources to increase flexibility
	- Changed generated constants (view and action names, static files) to be readonly strings
	- Fixed null ref exception in Solution Folder logic
	2.0.04 (06-28-2009):
	- Fixed issue with files and folders with names starting with a digit
	2.0.03 (06-27-2009):
	- Rework code element enumeration logic to work around a VS2010 issue. The template should now work with VS2010 beta 1!
	- Reduced some redundancy in the generated code
	2.0.02 (06-27-2009):
	- Added ActionLink overloads that take object instead of dictionary (from both Html and Ajax)
	2.0.01 (06-26-2009):
	- Fixed issue with files and folders with invalid identifier characters (e.g. spaces, '-', '.')
	2.0.00 (06-26-2009): as described in http://blogs.msdn.com/davidebb/archive/2009/06/26/the-mvc-t4-template-is-now-up-on-codeplex-and-it-does-change-your-code-a-bit.aspx
	- Added support for refactoring in Action methods
	- The T4 file automatically runs whenever you build, instead of being done manually
	- Support for strongly typed links to static resources
	- Fix: supports controllers that are in sub-folders of the Controllers folder and not directly in there
	- Fix: works better with nested solution folder
	- Random other small fixes
	1.0.xx (06-17-2009): the original based on this post
	http://blogs.msdn.com/davidebb/archive/2009/06/17/a-new-and-improved-asp-net-mvc-t4-template.aspx
	*/
	#>
	<#@ template language="C#v3.5" debug="true" hostspecific="true" #>
	<#@ assembly name="System.Core" #>
	<#@ assembly name="Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Interop.8.0" #>
	<#@ assembly name="EnvDTE" #>
	<#@ assembly name="EnvDTE80" #>
	<#@ import namespace="System.Collections.Generic" #>
	<#@ import namespace="System.IO" #>
	<#@ import namespace="System.Linq" #>
	<#@ import namespace="System.Text.RegularExpressions" #>
	<#@ import namespace="Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Interop" #>
	<#@ import namespace="EnvDTE" #>
	<#@ import namespace="EnvDTE80" #>
	<#@ import namespace="Microsoft.VisualStudio.TextTemplating" #>
	<# PrepareDataToRender(this); #>
	// <auto-generated />
	// This file was generated by a T4 template.
	// Don't change it directly as your change would get overwritten. Instead, make changes
	// to the .tt file (i.e. the T4 template) and save it to regenerate this file.
	#region T4MVC Generated Code
	using System;
	using System.Collections.Generic;
	using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
	using System.Web;
	using System.Web.Mvc;
	using System.Web.Mvc.Ajax;
	using System.Web.Mvc.Html;
	using System.Web.Routing;
	using <#= T4MVCNamespace #>;
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public static class <#= HelpersPrefix #> {
	<# foreach (var controller in GetControllers()) { #>
	public static <#= controller.FullClassName #> <#= controller.Name #> = new <#= controller.DerivedClassName #>();
	<# } #>
	}
	<# foreach (var controller in GetAbstractControllers().Where(c => !c.HasDefaultConstructor)) { #>
	namespace <#= controller.Namespace #> {
	public partial class <#= controller.ClassName #> {
	protected <#= controller.ClassName #>() { }
	}
	}
	<# } #>
	<# foreach (var controller in GetControllers()) { #>
	namespace <#= controller.Namespace #> {
	public <# if (!controller.SharedViewFolder) { #>partial <# } #>class <#= controller.ClassName #> {
	<# if (!controller.SharedViewFolder) { #>
	<# if (!controller.HasExplicitConstructor) { #>
	public <#= controller.ClassName #>() { }
	<# } #>
	[CLSCompliant(false)]
	[CompilerGenerated]
	protected <#= controller.ClassName #>(_Dummy d) { }
	protected RedirectToRouteResult RedirectToAction(ActionResult result) {
	var callInfo = (IT4MVCActionResult)result;
	return RedirectToRoute(callInfo.RouteValues);
	}
	<# foreach (var method in controller.ActionMethodsUniqueWithoutParameterlessOverload) { #>
	[NonAction]
	public ActionResult <#= method.Name #>() {
	return new T4MVC_ActionResult(Name, Actions.<#= method.ActionName #>);
	}
	<# } #>
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public readonly string Name = "<#= controller.Name #>";
	static readonly _Actions s_actions = new _Actions();
	[CLSCompliant(false)]
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public _Actions Actions { get { return s_actions; } }
	[CLSCompliant(false)]
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public class _Actions {
	<# foreach (var method in controller.ActionMethodsWithUniqueNames) { #>
	public readonly string <#= method.ActionName #> = <#= method.ActionNameValueExpression #>;
	<# } #>
	}
	<# } #>
	static readonly _Views s_views = new _Views();
	[CLSCompliant(false)]
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public _Views Views { get { return s_views; } }
	[CLSCompliant(false)]
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public class _Views {
	<# RenderControllerViews(controller);#>
	}
	}
	}
	<# } #>
	namespace <#= T4MVCNamespace #> {
	<# foreach (var controller in GetControllers().Where(c => !c.SharedViewFolder)) { #>
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public class <#= controller.DerivedClassName #>: <#= controller.FullClassName #> {
	public <#= controller.DerivedClassName #>() : base(_Dummy.Instance) { }
	<# foreach (var method in controller.ActionMethods) { #>
	public override <#= method.ReturnType #> <#= method.Name #>(<# method.WriteFormalParameters(true); #>) {
	var callInfo = new T4MVC_<#= method.ReturnType #>("<#= controller.Name #>", Actions.<#= method.ActionName #>);
	<# if (method.Parameters.Count > 0) { #>
	<# foreach (var p in method.Parameters) { #>
	callInfo.RouteValues.Add("<#= p.Name #>", <#= p.Name #>);
	<# } #>
	<# }#>
	return callInfo;
	}
	<# } #>
	}
	<# } #>
	[CLSCompliant(false)]
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public class _Dummy {
	private _Dummy() { }
	public static _Dummy Instance = new _Dummy();
	}
	}
	namespace System.Web.Mvc {
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public static class T4Extensions {
	public static string ActionLink(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, string linkText, ActionResult result) {
	return htmlHelper.RouteLink(linkText, result.GetRouteValueDictionary());
	}
	public static string ActionLink(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, string linkText, ActionResult result, object htmlAttributes) {
	return ActionLink(htmlHelper, linkText, result, new RouteValueDictionary(htmlAttributes));
	}
	public static string ActionLink(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, string linkText, ActionResult result, IDictionary<string, object> htmlAttributes) {
	return htmlHelper.RouteLink(linkText, result.GetRouteValueDictionary(), htmlAttributes);
	}
	public static MvcForm BeginForm(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, ActionResult result, FormMethod formMethod) {
	return htmlHelper.BeginForm(result, formMethod, null);
	}
	public static MvcForm BeginForm(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, ActionResult result, FormMethod formMethod, object htmlAttributes) {
	return BeginForm(htmlHelper, result, formMethod, new RouteValueDictionary(htmlAttributes));
	}
	public static MvcForm BeginForm(this HtmlHelper htmlHelper, ActionResult result, FormMethod formMethod, IDictionary<string, object> htmlAttributes) {
	var callInfo = (IT4MVCActionResult)result;
	return htmlHelper.BeginForm(callInfo.Action, callInfo.Controller, callInfo.RouteValues, formMethod, htmlAttributes);
	}
	public static string Action(this UrlHelper urlHelper, ActionResult result) {
	return urlHelper.RouteUrl(result.GetRouteValueDictionary());
	}
	public static string ActionLink(this AjaxHelper ajaxHelper, string linkText, ActionResult result, AjaxOptions ajaxOptions) {
	return ajaxHelper.RouteLink(linkText, result.GetRouteValueDictionary(), ajaxOptions);
	}
	public static string ActionLink(this AjaxHelper ajaxHelper, string linkText, ActionResult result, AjaxOptions ajaxOptions, object htmlAttributes) {
	return ajaxHelper.RouteLink(linkText, result.GetRouteValueDictionary(), ajaxOptions, new RouteValueDictionary(htmlAttributes));
	}
	public static string ActionLink(this AjaxHelper ajaxHelper, string linkText, ActionResult result, AjaxOptions ajaxOptions, IDictionary<string, object> htmlAttributes) {
	return ajaxHelper.RouteLink(linkText, result.GetRouteValueDictionary(), ajaxOptions, htmlAttributes);
	}
	public static Route MapRoute(this RouteCollection routes, string name, string url, ActionResult result) {
	return routes.MapRoute(name, url, result, (ActionResult)null);
	}
	public static Route MapRoute(this RouteCollection routes, string name, string url, ActionResult result, object defaults) {
	// Start by adding the default values from the anonymous object (if any)
	var routeValues = new RouteValueDictionary(defaults);
	// Then add the Controller/Action names and the parameters from the call
	foreach (var pair in result.GetRouteValueDictionary()) {
	routeValues.Add(pair.Key, pair.Value);
	}
	// Create and add the route
	var route = new Route(url, routeValues, new MvcRouteHandler());
	routes.Add(name, route);
	return route;
	}
	public static RouteValueDictionary GetRouteValueDictionary(this ActionResult result) {
	return ((IT4MVCActionResult)result).RouteValues;
	}
	public static void InitMVCT4Result(this IT4MVCActionResult result, string controller, string action) {
	result.Controller = controller;
	result.Action = action; ;
	result.RouteValues = new RouteValueDictionary();
	result.RouteValues.Add("Controller", controller);
	result.RouteValues.Add("Action", action);
	}
	}
	}
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public interface IT4MVCActionResult {
	string Action { get; set; }
	string Controller { get; set; }
	RouteValueDictionary RouteValues { get; set; }
	}
	<# foreach (var resultType in ResultTypes.Values) { #>
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public class T4MVC_<#= resultType.Name #> : <#= resultType.Name #>, IT4MVCActionResult {
	public T4MVC_<#= resultType.Name #>(string controller, string action): base(<# resultType.Constructor.WriteNonEmptyParameterValues(true); #>) {
	this.InitMVCT4Result(controller, action);
	}
	<# foreach (var method in resultType.AbstractMethods) { #>
	<#= method.IsPublic ? "public" : "protected" #> override void <#= method.Name #>(<# method.WriteFormalParameters(true); #>) { }
	<# } #>
	public string Controller { get; set; }
	public string Action { get; set; }
	public RouteValueDictionary RouteValues { get; set; }
	}
	<# } #>
	namespace Links {
	<#
	foreach (string folder in StaticFilesFolders) {
	ProcessStaticFiles(Project, folder);
	}
	#>
	}
	#endregion T4MVC
	<#@ Include File="T4MVC.settings.t4" #>
	<#+
	const string T4MVCNamespace = "T4MVC";
	const string ControllerSuffix = "Controller";
	static DTE Dte;
	static Project Project;
	static HashSet<ControllerInfo> Controllers;
	static Dictionary<string, ResultTypeInfo> ResultTypes;
	static TextTransformation TT;
	static string T4FileName;
	static IEnumerable<ControllerInfo> GetControllers() {
	return Controllers.Where(c => !c.IsAbstract);
	}
	static IEnumerable<ControllerInfo> GetAbstractControllers() {
	return Controllers.Where(c => c.IsAbstract);
	}
	void PrepareDataToRender(TextTransformation tt) {
	TT = tt;
	T4FileName = Path.GetFileName(Host.TemplateFile);
	Controllers = new HashSet<ControllerInfo>();
	ResultTypes = new Dictionary<string, ResultTypeInfo>();
	// Get the DTE service from the host
	Dte = (DTE)((IServiceProvider)Host).GetService(typeof(SDTE));
	Project = GetProjectContainingT4File(Dte);
	if (Project == null) {
	Error("Could not find the VS Project containing the T4 file.");
	return;
	}
	ProcessControllersFolder(Project);
	ProcessAllViews(Project);
	}
	Project GetProjectContainingT4File(DTE dte) {
	// Just locating the Project that contains this T4 file is immensely difficult.
	// If there is an easier way to do it, I'd love to know!
	foreach (Project project in dte.Solution.Projects) {
	Project foundProject = GetProjectContainingT4File(project);
	if (foundProject != null)
	return foundProject;
	}
	return null;
	}
	Project GetProjectContainingT4File(Project project) {
	if (project.ConfigurationManager != null) {
	// It's a Project
	// Get the folder the project is in, making sure it ends with '\'
	string projectFolder = Path.GetDirectoryName(project.FileName);
	if (!projectFolder.EndsWith("\\"))
	projectFolder += '\\';
	// If the .tt file is not under this folder, skip the project
	if (!Host.TemplateFile.StartsWith(projectFolder, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
	return null;
	// Get the relative path to the .tt file inside the project
	string t4SubPath = Host.TemplateFile.Substring(projectFolder.Length);
	// If it has the T4 file we're looking for, it's the one we want
	ProjectItem projectItem = GetProjectItem(project, t4SubPath);
	if (projectItem != null) {
	// If the .tt file is not opened, open it
	if (projectItem.Document == null)
	projectItem.Open(Constants.vsViewKindCode);
	if (AlwaysKeepTemplateDirty) {
	// Mark the .tt file as unsaved. This way it will be saved and update itself next time the
	// project is built. Basically, it keeps marking itself as unsaved to make the next build work.
	// Note: this is certainly hacky, but is the best I could come up with so far.
	projectItem.Document.Saved = false;
	}
	return project;
	}
	}
	else if (project.ProjectItems != null) {
	// It may be a solution folder. Need to recurse.
	foreach (ProjectItem item in project.ProjectItems) {
	if (item.SubProject == null)
	continue;
	Project foundProject = GetProjectContainingT4File(item.SubProject);
	if (foundProject != null)
	return foundProject;
	}
	}
	return null;
	}
	void ProcessControllersFolder(Project project) {
	// Get the Controllers folder
	ProjectItem controllerProjectItem = GetProjectItem(project, ControllersFolder);
	if (controllerProjectItem == null)
	return;
	ProcessControllersRecursive(controllerProjectItem);
	}
	void ProcessControllersRecursive(ProjectItem projectItem) {
	// Recurse into all the sub-items (both files and folder can have some - e.g. .tt files)
	foreach (ProjectItem item in projectItem.ProjectItems) {
	ProcessControllersRecursive(item);
	}
	if (projectItem.FileCodeModel != null) {
	// Process all the elements that are namespaces
	foreach (CodeNamespace ns in GetNamespaces(projectItem.FileCodeModel.CodeElements)) {
	ProcessControllerTypesInNamespace(ns);
	}
	}
	}
	void ProcessControllerTypesInNamespace(CodeNamespace ns) {
	foreach (CodeClass2 type in GetClasses(ns.Members)) {
	// Only process types that end with Controller
	// REVIEW: this check is not super reliable. Should look at base class.
	if (!type.Name.EndsWith(ControllerSuffix, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
	continue;
	// Don't process generic classes (their concrete derived classes will be processed)
	if (type.IsGeneric)
	continue;
	// Make sure the class is partial
	if (type.ClassKind != vsCMClassKind.vsCMClassKindPartialClass) {
	try {
	type.ClassKind = vsCMClassKind.vsCMClassKindPartialClass;
	}
	catch {
	// If we couldn't make it partial, give a warning and skip it
	Warning(String.Format("{0} was not able to make the class {1} partial. Please change it manually if possible", T4FileName, type.Name));
	continue;
	}
	Warning(String.Format("{0} changed the class {1} to be partial", T4FileName, type.Name));
	}
	// Collect misc info about the controller class and add it to the collection
	var controllerInfo = new ControllerInfo() {
	Namespace = ns.Name,
	ClassName = type.Name
	};
	// Either process new ControllerInfo or integrate results into existing object for partially defined controllers
	var target = Controllers.Add(controllerInfo) ? controllerInfo : Controllers.First(c => c.Equals(controllerInfo));
	target.HasExplicitConstructor |= HasExplicitConstructor(type);
	target.HasExplicitDefaultConstructor |= HasExplicitDefaultConstructor(type);
	if (type.IsAbstract) {
	// If it's abstract, set a flag and don't process action methods (derived classes will)
	target.IsAbstract = true;
	}
	else {
	// Process all the action methods in the controller
	ProcessControllerActionMethods(target, type);
	}
	}
	}
	void ProcessControllerActionMethods(ControllerInfo controllerInfo, CodeClass2 current) {
	// We want to process not just the controller class itself, but also its parents, as they
	// may themselves define actions
	for (CodeClass2 type = current; type != null && type.FullName != "System.Web.Mvc.Controller"; type = (CodeClass2)type.Bases.Item(1)) {
	// If the type doesn't come from this project, some actions on it will fail. Try to get a real project type if possible.
	if (type.InfoLocation != vsCMInfoLocation.vsCMInfoLocationProject) {
	// Go through all the projects in the solution
	foreach (Project prj in Dte.Solution.Projects) {
	// Skip it if it's the current project or doesn't have a code model
	if (prj == Project || prj.CodeModel == null)
	continue;
	// If we can get a local project type, use it instead of the original
	var codeType = prj.CodeModel.CodeTypeFromFullName(type.FullName);
	if (codeType != null && codeType.InfoLocation == vsCMInfoLocation.vsCMInfoLocationProject) {
	type = (CodeClass2)codeType;
	break;
	}
	}
	}
	foreach (CodeFunction2 method in GetMethods(type)) {
	// Ignore non-public methods
	if (method.Access != vsCMAccess.vsCMAccessPublic)
	continue;
	// This takes care of avoiding generic types which cause method.Type.CodeType to blow up
	if (method.Type.TypeKind != vsCMTypeRef.vsCMTypeRefCodeType)
	continue;
	// We only support action methods that return an ActionResult derived type
	if (!method.Type.CodeType.get_IsDerivedFrom("System.Web.Mvc.ActionResult")) {
	Warning(String.Format("{0} doesn't support {1}.{2} because it doesn't return a supported ActionResult type", T4FileName, type.Name, method.Name));
	continue;
	}
	// If we haven't yet seen this return type, keep track of it
	if (!ResultTypes.ContainsKey(method.Type.CodeType.Name)) {
	var resTypeInfo = new ResultTypeInfo(method.Type.CodeType);
	ResultTypes[method.Type.CodeType.Name] = resTypeInfo;
	}
	// Make sure the method is virtual
	if (!method.CanOverride) {
	try {
	method.CanOverride = true;
	}
	catch {
	// If we couldn't make it virtual, give a warning and skip it
	Warning(String.Format("{0} was not able to make the action method {1}.{2} virtual. Please change it manually if possible", T4FileName, type.Name, method.Name));
	continue;
	}
	Warning(String.Format("{0} changed the action method {1}.{2} to be virtual", T4FileName, type.Name, method.Name));
	}
	// Collect misc info about the action method and add it to the collection
	controllerInfo.ActionMethods.Add(new ActionMethodInfo(method, controllerInfo));
	}
	}
	}
	void ProcessAllViews(Project project) {
	// Get the Views folder
	ProjectItem viewsProjectItem = GetProjectItem(project, ViewsRootFolder);
	if (viewsProjectItem == null)
	return;
	// Go through all the sub-folders in the Views folder
	foreach (ProjectItem item in viewsProjectItem.ProjectItems) {
	// We only care about sub-folders, not files
	if (!IsFolder(item))
	continue;
	ControllerInfo controller;
	// Treat Shared as a pseudo-controller for consistency
	if (item.Name.Equals("Shared", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)) {
	controller = new ControllerInfo() { SharedViewFolder = true, Namespace = T4MVCNamespace, ClassName = "Shared" + ControllerSuffix };
	Controllers.Add(controller);
	}
	else {
	// Find the controller for this view folder
	controller = Controllers.SingleOrDefault(c => c.Name.Equals(item.Name, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase));
	if (controller == null) {
	Error(String.Format("The Views folder has a sub-folder named '{0}', but there is no matching controller", item.Name));
	continue;
	}
	}
	AddViewsRecursive(String.Empty, item.ProjectItems, controller.ViewsFolder);
	}
	}
	void AddViewsRecursive(string prefix, ProjectItems items, ViewsFolderInfo viewsFolder) {
	// Go through all the files in the subfolder to get the view names
	foreach (ProjectItem item in items) {
	string viewName = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(item.Name);
	if (item.Kind == Constants.vsProjectItemKindPhysicalFile) {
	if (Path.GetExtension(item.Name).Equals(".master", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
	continue; // ignore master files
	viewsFolder.Views.Add(viewName);
	}
	else if (item.Kind == Constants.vsProjectItemKindPhysicalFolder) {
	var subViewFolder = new ViewsFolderInfo() { FullName = prefix + viewName };
	if (subViewFolder.Name.Equals("App_LocalResources", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
	continue;
	viewsFolder.SubFolders.Add(subViewFolder);
	AddViewsRecursive(prefix + viewName + "/", item.ProjectItems, subViewFolder);
	}
	}
	}
	void RenderControllerViews(ControllerInfo controller) {
	PushIndent(" ");
	RenderViewsRecursive(controller.ViewsFolder);
	PopIndent();
	}
	void RenderViewsRecursive(ViewsFolderInfo viewsFolder) {
	// For each view, generate a readonly string
	foreach (string view in viewsFolder.Views) {
	WriteLine("public readonly string " + Sanitize(view) + " = \"" + viewsFolder.GetFullViewName(view) + "\";");
	}
	// For each sub folder, generate a class and recurse
	foreach (var subFolder in viewsFolder.SubFolders) {
	string newClassName = Sanitize(subFolder.Name);#>
	static readonly _<#=newClassName#> s_<#=newClassName#> = new _<#=newClassName#>();
	public _<#=newClassName#> <#=newClassName#> { get { return s_<#=newClassName#>; } }
	public partial class _<#=newClassName#>{
	<#+
	PushIndent(" ");
	RenderViewsRecursive(subFolder);
	PopIndent();
	WriteLine("}");
	}
	}
	void ProcessStaticFiles(Project project, string folder) {
	ProjectItem folderProjectItem = GetProjectItem(project, folder);
	if (folderProjectItem != null) {
	ProcessStaticFilesRecursive(folderProjectItem, "~");
	}
	}
	void ProcessStaticFilesRecursive(ProjectItem projectItem, string path) {
	if (IsFolder(projectItem)) { #>
	[CompilerGenerated]
	public static class @<#=Sanitize(projectItem.Name) #> {
	public static string Url() { return VirtualPathUtility.ToAbsolute("<#=path#>/<#=projectItem.Name#>"); }
	public static string Url(string fileName) { return VirtualPathUtility.ToAbsolute("<#=path#>/<#=projectItem.Name#>/" + fileName); }
	<#+
	PushIndent(" ");
	// Recurse into all the items in the folder
	foreach (ProjectItem item in projectItem.ProjectItems) {
	ProcessStaticFilesRecursive(item, path + "/" + projectItem.Name);
	}
	PopIndent();
	#>
	}
	<#+
	}
	else { #>
	public static readonly string <#=Sanitize(projectItem.Name)#> = Url("<#=projectItem.Name#>");
	<#+
	// Non folder items may also have children (virtual folders, Class.cs -> Class.Designer.cs, template output)
	// Just register them on the same path as their parent item
	foreach (ProjectItem item in projectItem.ProjectItems) {
	ProcessStaticFilesRecursive(item, path);
	}
	}
	}
	ProjectItem GetProjectItem(Project project, string name) {
	return GetProjectItem(project.ProjectItems, name);
	}
	ProjectItem GetProjectItem(ProjectItems items, string subPath) {
	ProjectItem current = null;
	foreach (string name in subPath.Split('\\')) {
	try {
	// ProjectItems.Item() throws when it doesn't exist, so catch the exception
	// to return null instead.
	current = items.Item(name);
	}
	catch {
	// If any chunk couldn't be found, fail
	return null;
	}
	items = current.ProjectItems;
	}
	return current;
	}
	// Return all the CodeNamespaces in the CodeElements collection
	static IEnumerable<CodeNamespace> GetNamespaces(CodeElements codeElements) {
	return GetElements<CodeNamespace>(codeElements);
	}
	// Return all the CodeClass2 in the CodeElements collection
	static IEnumerable<CodeClass2> GetClasses(CodeElements codeElements) {
	return GetElements<CodeClass2>(codeElements);
	}
	// Return all the CodeFunction2 in the CodeElements collection
	static IEnumerable<CodeFunction2> GetMethods(CodeClass2 codeClass) {
	// Only look at regular method (e.g. ignore things like contructors)
	return GetElements<CodeFunction2>(codeClass.Members)
	.Where(f => f.FunctionKind == vsCMFunction.vsCMFunctionFunction);
	}
	// Check if the class has any explicit constructor
	static bool HasExplicitConstructor(CodeClass2 codeClass) {
	return GetElements<CodeFunction2>(codeClass.Members).Any(
	f => f.FunctionKind == vsCMFunction.vsCMFunctionConstructor);
	}
	// Check if the class has a default (i.e. no params) constructor
	static bool HasExplicitDefaultConstructor(CodeClass2 codeClass) {
	return GetElements<CodeFunction2>(codeClass.Members).Any(
	f => f.FunctionKind == vsCMFunction.vsCMFunctionConstructor && f.Parameters.Count == 0);
	}
	// Find a method with a given name
	static CodeFunction2 GetMethod(CodeClass2 codeClass, string name) {
	return GetMethods(codeClass).FirstOrDefault(f => f.Name == name);
	}
	static IEnumerable<T> GetElements<T>(CodeElements codeElements) where T : class {
	// Note: this code can be simplified to just:
	// return codeElements.OfType<T>();
	// But this breaks on VS2010 beta due to a VS bug (that should be fixed in VS2010 beta 2).
	// For now, work around using this alternate code which avoids getting the enumerator
	for (int i = 1; i <= codeElements.Count; i++) {
	var codeNamespace = codeElements.Item(i) as T;
	if (codeNamespace != null)
	yield return codeNamespace;
	}
	}
	// Return whether a ProjectItem is a folder and not a file
	static bool IsFolder(ProjectItem item) {
	return (item.Kind == Constants.vsProjectItemKindPhysicalFolder);
	}
	static string Sanitize(string token) {
	// Replace all invalid chars by underscores
	token = Regex.Replace(token, @"[\W\b]", "_", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
	// If it starts with a digit, prefix it with an underscore
	token = Regex.Replace(token, @"^\d", @"_$0");
	// Check for reserved words
	// TODO: Clean this up and add other reserved words (keywords, etc)
	if (token == "Url") token = "_Url";
	return token;
	}
	// Data structure to collect data about a controller class
	class ControllerInfo {
	public ControllerInfo() {
	ActionMethods = new HashSet<ActionMethodInfo>();
	ViewsFolder = new ViewsFolderInfo();
	}
	// True when this is not a real controller, but a placeholder for the Shared views folder
	public bool SharedViewFolder { get; set; }
	public bool HasExplicitConstructor { get; set; }
	public bool HasExplicitDefaultConstructor { get; set; }
	public bool HasDefaultConstructor { get { return !HasExplicitConstructor || HasExplicitDefaultConstructor; } }
	public bool IsAbstract { get; set; }
	public string ClassName { get; set; }
	public string Name {
	get {
	// Trim the Controller suffix
	return ClassName.Substring(0, ClassName.Length - ControllerSuffix.Length);
	}
	}
	public string Namespace { get; set; }
	public string FullClassName {
	get {
	return Namespace + "." + ClassName;
	}
	}
	public string DerivedClassName {
	get {
	if (SharedViewFolder)
	return FullClassName;
	return "T4MVC_" + ClassName;
	}
	}
	public HashSet<ActionMethodInfo> ActionMethods { get; set; }
	IEnumerable<ActionMethodInfo> ActionMethodsWithNoParameters {
	get {
	return ActionMethods.Where(m => m.Parameters.Count == 0);
	}
	}
	public IEnumerable<ActionMethodInfo> ActionMethodsUniqueWithoutParameterlessOverload {
	get {
	return ActionMethodsWithUniqueNames.Except(ActionMethodsWithNoParameters, new ActionComparer());
	}
	}
	// Return a list of actions without duplicate names (even with multiple overloads)
	public IEnumerable<ActionMethodInfo> ActionMethodsWithUniqueNames {
	get {
	return ActionMethods.Distinct(new ActionComparer());
	}
	}
	class ActionComparer : IEqualityComparer<ActionMethodInfo> {
	public bool Equals(ActionMethodInfo x, ActionMethodInfo y) {
	return x.ActionName == y.ActionName;
	}
	public int GetHashCode(ActionMethodInfo obj) {
	return obj.ActionName.GetHashCode();
	}
	}
	public ViewsFolderInfo ViewsFolder { get; private set; }
	public override string ToString() {
	return Name;
	}
	public override bool Equals(object obj) {
	return obj != null && FullClassName == ((ControllerInfo)obj).FullClassName;
	}
	public override int GetHashCode() {
	return FullClassName.GetHashCode();
	}
	}
	// Info about a view folder, its views and its sub view folders
	class ViewsFolderInfo {
	public ViewsFolderInfo() {
	Views = new HashSet<string>();
	SubFolders = new List<ViewsFolderInfo>();
	}
	public string FullName { get; set; }
	public string Name {
	get {
	return FullName.Substring(FullName.LastIndexOf("/") + 1);
	}
	}
	public HashSet<string> Views { get; private set; }
	public List<ViewsFolderInfo> SubFolders { get; set; }
	public string GetFullViewName(string viewName) {
	if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(FullName))
	return viewName;
	return FullName + "/" + viewName;
	}
	}
	// Data structure to collect data about a method
	class FunctionInfo {
	protected CodeFunction2 _method;
	private string _signature;
	public FunctionInfo(CodeFunction2 method) {
	_method = method;
	// Build a unique signature for the method, used to avoid duplication
	_signature = method.Name;
	// Process all the parameters
	Parameters = new List<MethodParamInfo>();
	foreach (var p in GetElements<CodeParameter2>(method.Parameters)) {
	Parameters.Add(
	new MethodParamInfo() {
	Name = p.Name,
	Type = p.Type.AsString
	});
	_signature += "," + p.Type.AsString;
	}
	}
	public string Name { get { return _method.Name; } }
	public string ReturnType { get { return _method.Type.CodeType.Name; } }
	public bool IsPublic { get { return _method.Access == vsCMAccess.vsCMAccessPublic; } }
	public List<MethodParamInfo> Parameters { get; private set; }
	// Write out all the parameters as part of a method declaration
	public void WriteFormalParameters(bool first) {
	foreach (var p in Parameters) {
	if (first)
	first = false;
	else
	TT.Write(", ");
	TT.Write(p.Type + " " + p.Name);
	}
	}
	// Pass non-empty param values to make sure the ActionResult ctors don't complain
	// REVIEW: this is a bit dirty
	public void WriteNonEmptyParameterValues(bool first) {
	foreach (var p in Parameters) {
	if (first)
	first = false;
	else
	TT.Write(", ");
	switch (p.Type) {
	case "string":
	TT.Write("\" \"");
	break;
	case "byte[]":
	TT.Write("new byte[0]");
	break;
	default:
	TT.Write("null");
	break;
	}
	}
	}
	public override bool Equals(object obj) {
	return obj != null && _signature == ((FunctionInfo)obj)._signature;
	}
	public override int GetHashCode() {
	return _signature.GetHashCode();
	}
	}
	// Data structure to collect data about an action method
	class ActionMethodInfo: FunctionInfo {
	public ActionMethodInfo(CodeFunction2 method, ControllerInfo controller): base(method) {
	// Normally, the action name is the method name. But if there is an [ActionName] on
	// the method, get the expression from that instead
	ActionNameValueExpression = '"' + Name + '"';
	for (int i = 1; i <= method.Attributes.Count; i++) {
	var attrib = (CodeAttribute2)method.Attributes.Item(i);
	if (attrib.FullName == "System.Web.Mvc.ActionNameAttribute") {
	var arg = (CodeAttributeArgument)attrib.Arguments.Item(1);
	ActionNameValueExpression = arg.Value;
	}
	}
	}
	public string ActionName { get { return Name; } }
	public string ActionNameValueExpression { get; set; }
	}
	// Data about an ActionResult derived type
	class ResultTypeInfo {
	CodeType _codeType;
	public ResultTypeInfo(CodeType codeType) {
	_codeType = codeType;
	var ctor = GetElements<CodeFunction2>(_codeType.Members).FirstOrDefault(
	f => f.FunctionKind == vsCMFunction.vsCMFunctionConstructor);
	Constructor = new FunctionInfo(ctor);
	}
	public string Name { get { return _codeType.Name; } }
	public FunctionInfo Constructor { get; set; }
	public IEnumerable<FunctionInfo> AbstractMethods {
	get {
	return GetElements<CodeFunction2>(_codeType.Members).Where(
	f => f.MustImplement).Select(f => new FunctionInfo(f));
	}
	}
	}
	class MethodParamInfo {
	public string Name { get; set; }
	public string Type { get; set; }
	}
	#>

view raw T4MVC.tt hosted with ❤ by GitHub

Making T4MVC comply with StyleCop

On a current MVC project we’re also using the excellent T4MVC template by David Ebbo.  StyleCop however, thinks the generated code is well, less than perfect – it generates some 500 warnings at the moment. 

The solution to this is a simple choice between two options:

Fix the TT file to generate StyleCop compliant code, or exclude the generated T4MVC.cs class from StyleCop.

The pragmatic choice here is of course to exclude the file.  But how?

I first tried to add <ExcludeFromStyleCop>true</ExcludeFromStyleCop> to the Compile entry in the csproj file. Unfortunately that only works with builds from OUTSIDE Visual Studio.

Sergey Shishkin has the answers:

Encapsulating the code in a region that contains the string “generated code” does the trick, but even easier is to simply put a // <auto-generated /> comment at the top of the generated file – which of course means edit the TT file to stick it there.

Would be nice to see this included in the next release….

Visual Studio: A handful of useful Find and Replace Expressions

• Find empty get; set; property declarations:
  \n:b*\{:b*\n:b*get;:b*\n:b*set;:b*\n:b*\}
• Replace empty get; set; declarations with single line equivalent:
  { get; set; }
• Find candidates for single line summary comments:
  /// \<summary\>\n:b+///:b*{[^\n]*}:b*\n:b+/// \</summary\>
• Replace candidates with single line equivalent:
  /// \<summary\>\1\</summary\>
• Find Class Diagram generated get:
  get\n:b+\{\n:b+throw new System.NotImplementedException\(\);\n:b+\}
• Find Class Diagram generated empty set:
  set\n:b+\{\n:b+\}

Installing VS 2008 SP1: Installing |/-\|/-\|

zzz….  zzz…

The Visual Studio 2008 SP1 install takes forever, and the vast majority of the time is spent in that tiny little sliver of the progress bar at the right.  The only sense you get that something is actually still running is the sad little ascii-based spinner (|/-\|/-\|).

First time I ran this I thought something had crashed, so I cancelled.  Don’t – it takes almost as long.  So I ran it again, same issue – stuck at the apparent “95%”  for longer than it takes for a cup of coffee to wear off – I was about to throw in the towel a second time when – something happened!  I was asked to shut down Word and then eventually I got this:

Yay for completing.

Boo for lousy installation progress feedback.

C#: String.Inject() - Format strings by key tokens

I generally prefer to use String.Format() instead of doing a bunch of string additions, but constantly find myself splitting the code onto multiple lines with an appended comment to keep track of the indices:

string myString = string.Format("{0} is {1} and {2} is {3}",

  o.foo, //0

  o.bar, //1

  o.yadi, //2

  o.yada //3

);

Wouldn't it be nice you could instead write something like this?:

string myString = "{foo} is {bar} and {yadi} is {yada}".Inject(o);

Well, now you can - see the string extension method Inject below; it accepts an object, IDictionary or HashTable and replaces the property name/key tokens with the instance values.  Since it uses string.Format internally, it also supports string.Format-like custom formatting:

   1:  using System;

   2:  using System.Text.RegularExpressions;

   3:  using System.Collections;

   4:  using System.Globalization;

   5:  using System.ComponentModel;

   6:   

   7:  [assembly: CLSCompliant(true)]

   8:  namespace StringInject

   9:  {

  10:    public static class StringInjectExtension

  11:    {

  12:      /// <summary>

  13:      /// Extension method that replaces keys in a string with the values of matching object properties.

  14:      /// <remarks>Uses <see cref="String.Format()"/> internally; custom formats should match those used for that method.</remarks>

  15:      /// </summary>

  16:      /// <param name="formatString">The format string, containing keys like {foo} and {foo:SomeFormat}.</param>

  17:      /// <param name="injectionObject">The object whose properties should be injected in the string</param>

  18:      /// <returns>A version of the formatString string with keys replaced by (formatted) key values.</returns>

  19:      public static string Inject(this string formatString, object injectionObject)

  20:      {

  21:        return formatString.Inject(GetPropertyHash(injectionObject));

  22:      }

  23:   

  24:      /// <summary>

  25:      /// Extension method that replaces keys in a string with the values of matching dictionary entries.

  26:      /// <remarks>Uses <see cref="String.Format()"/> internally; custom formats should match those used for that method.</remarks>

  27:      /// </summary>

  28:      /// <param name="formatString">The format string, containing keys like {foo} and {foo:SomeFormat}.</param>

  29:      /// <param name="dictionary">An <see cref="IDictionary"/> with keys and values to inject into the string</param>

  30:      /// <returns>A version of the formatString string with dictionary keys replaced by (formatted) key values.</returns>

  31:      public static string Inject(this string formatString, IDictionary dictionary)

  32:      {

  33:        return formatString.Inject(new Hashtable(dictionary));

  34:      }

  35:   

  36:      /// <summary>

  37:      /// Extension method that replaces keys in a string with the values of matching hashtable entries.

  38:      /// <remarks>Uses <see cref="String.Format()"/> internally; custom formats should match those used for that method.</remarks>

  39:      /// </summary>

  40:      /// <param name="formatString">The format string, containing keys like {foo} and {foo:SomeFormat}.</param>

  41:      /// <param name="attributes">A <see cref="Hashtable"/> with keys and values to inject into the string</param>

  42:      /// <returns>A version of the formatString string with hastable keys replaced by (formatted) key values.</returns>

  43:      public static string Inject(this string formatString, Hashtable attributes)

  44:      {

  45:        string result = formatString;

  46:        if (attributes == null || formatString == null)

  47:          return result;

  48:   

  49:        foreach (string attributeKey in attributes.Keys)

  50:        {

  51:          result = result.InjectSingleValue(attributeKey, attributes[attributeKey]);

  52:        }

  53:        return result;

  54:      }

  55:   

  56:      /// <summary>

  57:      /// Replaces all instances of a 'key' (e.g. {foo} or {foo:SomeFormat}) in a string with an optionally formatted value, and returns the result.

  58:      /// </summary>

  59:      /// <param name="formatString">The string containing the key; unformatted ({foo}), or formatted ({foo:SomeFormat})</param>

  60:      /// <param name="key">The key name (foo)</param>

  61:      /// <param name="replacementValue">The replacement value; if null is replaced with an empty string</param>

  62:      /// <returns>The input string with any instances of the key replaced with the replacement value</returns>

  63:      public static string InjectSingleValue(this string formatString, string key, object replacementValue)

  64:      {

  65:        string result = formatString;

  66:        //regex replacement of key with value, where the generic key format is:

  67:        //Regex foo = new Regex("{(foo)(?:}|(?::(.[^}]*)}))");

  68:        Regex attributeRegex = new Regex("{(" + key + ")(?:}|(?::(.[^}]*)}))");  //for key = foo, matches {foo} and {foo:SomeFormat}

  69:        

  70:        //loop through matches, since each key may be used more than once (and with a different format string)

  71:        foreach (Match m in attributeRegex.Matches(formatString))

  72:        {

  73:          string replacement = m.ToString();

  74:          if (m.Groups[2].Length > 0) //matched {foo:SomeFormat}

  75:          {

  76:            //do a double string.Format - first to build the proper format string, and then to format the replacement value

  77:            string attributeFormatString = string.Format(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, "{{0:{0}}}", m.Groups[2]);

  78:            replacement = string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, attributeFormatString, replacementValue);

  79:          }

  80:          else //matched {foo}

  81:          {

  82:            replacement = (replacementValue ?? string.Empty).ToString();

  83:          }

  84:          //perform replacements, one match at a time

  85:          result = result.Replace(m.ToString(), replacement);  //attributeRegex.Replace(result, replacement, 1);

  86:        }

  87:        return result;

  88:   

  89:      }

  90:   

  91:   

  92:      /// <summary>

  93:      /// Creates a HashTable based on current object state.

  94:      /// <remarks>Copied from the MVCToolkit HtmlExtensionUtility class</remarks>

  95:      /// </summary>

  96:      /// <param name="properties">The object from which to get the properties</param>

  97:      /// <returns>A <see cref="Hashtable"/> containing the object instance's property names and their values</returns>

  98:      private static Hashtable GetPropertyHash(object properties)

  99:      {

 100:        Hashtable values = null;

 101:        if (properties != null)

 102:        {

 103:          values = new Hashtable();

 104:          PropertyDescriptorCollection props = TypeDescriptor.GetProperties(properties);

 105:          foreach (PropertyDescriptor prop in props)

 106:          {

 107:            values.Add(prop.Name, prop.GetValue(properties));

 108:          }

 109:        }

 110:        return values;

 111:      }

 112:   

 113:    }

 114:  }

File downloads:

• StringInjectExtension CS file.
• VisualStudio 2008 project (including 14 unit tests).

VSS: How to Fix a Broken 'Working Folder' Structure

I have a VS project that somehow ended up with a less than advantageous folder path of

C:\Documents and Settings\moss-admin\My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Projects\MyProjectName\

Changing this in VSS proved to be difficult: you have to edit each folder's working folder path.  P.I.T.A.

Then Kevin pointed me to my very own ss.ini file sitting on the server:

\\server\vssfolderpath\vss\users\oskar_au\ss.ini

Turns out this file stores all the unique Working Folder paths - to fix my problem all I had to do was replace all the individual entries that looked something like this

[$/MyProjectName/Foo/Bar]
Dir (POA1) = C:\Documents and Settings\moss-admin\My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Projects\MyProjectName\Foo\Bar

with a single

[$/]
Dir (POA1) = C:\Projects

Problem solved.

Generic Batch File to GAC Assembly DLLs and PDBs

::----------------------------------------------------------------------------
:: GACs assemblies located in the Assemblies folder - these have been stuck 
:: there by the following post-build event script on each individual project:
::	copy "$(TargetPath)" "$(SolutionDir)\Assemblies\$(ConfigurationName)\"
::	copy $(TargetDir)$(TargetName).pdb "$(SolutionDir)\Assemblies\$(ConfigurationName)
::----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@ECHO OFF

:: Temporarily navigate to the Assemblies folder
PUSHD C:\Projects\YOURPROJECT\Assemblies\Debug

:: Call the GacAssembly subroutine once for each assembly
CALL :GacAssembly YOURPROJECT.BusinessLogic
CALL :GacAssembly YOURPROJECT.DataAccess
CALL :GacAssembly YOURPROJECT.Interfaces
CALL :GacAssembly YOURPROJECT.ServiceImplementation


ECHO Recycle the "YOURAPPPOOLNAME IIS Application Pool
%windir%\system32\cscript.exe c:\windows\system32\iisapp.vbs /a YOURAPPPOOLNAME /r

POPD
PAUSE
GOTO:EOF

::----------------------------------------------------------------------------
:GacAssembly
ECHO -------------------------------------------------------------------------
ECHO GACing the %1 assembly and its PDB file
ECHO -------------------------------------------------------------------------
ECHO.
@"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\gacutil" /u %1
@"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\gacutil" /i %1.dll
copy %1.pdb "C:\WINDOWS\assembly\GAC_MSIL\%1\1.0.0.0__YOURPUBLICKEY\"
ECHO.
GOTO:EOF

VS2005: Where is my Code Snippets Manager?

It appears that the Code Snippets manager in VS 2005 may or may not be hidden from view.  Normally it should be located under the Tools menu.  If you can't find it there, simply add it by selecting Customize from the Tools menu, then adding it as you would any other missing command.  In the customize dialog it is located (as it should) under the Tools category. 

VS 2008 JavaScript Intellisense

Scott Guthrie has another great post on VS 2008, this time on JavaScript Intellisense:

Topics he discusses are:

• JavaScript Type Inference
• Intellisense for External JavaScript Libraries
• Adding Intellisense Hints to JavaScript
• Intellisense within External JavaScript files
• Calling Web Services using ASP.NET AJAX
• Creating Re-Usable ASP.NET AJAX Behaviors, Controls and Libraries

Read it all at VS 2008 JavaScript Intellisense

Technorati tags: visualstudio, javascript

7 Reasons For ASP.NET 2.0 Developers to Use VS 2008

VS 2008 can target both the 2.0 and the 3.0 (as well as the new 3.5) versions of .NET. But if you're not using 3.5, why would you want to use VS 2008?

Direct from the horse's Scott Guthrie's mouth:

1. JavaScript intellisense
2. Much richer JavaScript debugging
3. Nested ASP.NET master page support at design-time
4. Rich CSS editing and layout support within the WYSIWYG designer
5. Split-view designer support for having both source and design views open on a page at the same time
6. A much faster ASP.NET page designer - with dramatic perf improvements in view-switches between source/design mode
7. Automated .SQL script generation and hosting deployment support for databases on remote servers

I for one am looking forward to it.

Technorati tags: visualstudio

VS: Select Block

This one's for Peter - though it has been detailed extensively before:

In Visual Studio (all versions), to select a block of text (spanning portions of multiple lines), simply hold down the Alt key while clicking and dragging.

Very helpful for removing repeated whitespace, etc.

del.icio.us tags: visualstudio, usability, howto