So many people assume that ASP is dead. After all, at the time of this post little brother ASP.NET is almost 10 years old. That is like 32 human years, which makes ASP 56 and counting. It is true that ASP’s family at Microsoft has favored his younger brother for his depth and resourcefulness. They have all but cut off support for ASP, and most have turned their back on him. If you are one of those individuals I have news for you. 56 is far from dead and ASP does not need Microsoft’s support. He is mature, stable, and has a world of experience. Many articles have been written and ASP is rich in resources. As long as Microsoft does not shut the doors to IIS for ASP, then he will be there to run your code.

All joking aside, the fact is that ASP is a great scripting language.  ASP.NET is just bit too cumbersome for some of our simple projects. I can write an ASP app in notepad and it will handle about 95% the projects that come across my desk. There are still plenty of happy and productive ASP developers around today that just do not feel the need to switch yet. You can do just about anything with ASP. In fact, everyone did do anything with ASP for a decade before ASP.NET was ready for prime time.

If you are like me and still have some love for ASP this post is for you.

Here is an example of ASP Localization. It uses the “SetLocale” method and works in much the same way as ASP.NET, but far more simple.

As a bonus this application allows for a separate currency than the default Locale (In case you want to sell World Cup T-Shirts in EUROs, instead of Pounds). This application has a drop-down to change locale and currency.  There is a function to display the correct formatting and a function to normalize the data back to US format so it can be saved to the database.  It will also put that currency symbol on the correct side of the number (for those of you in France).

• Here is the ASP localization demo
• Download the Code

Enjoy!

Did you ever design a project that required a Queue?

It comes up from time to time that it makes sense to build a queue.

• Batch Processing
  • Emails
  • Payments
• 3rd Party Integrations
  • Keeping a Communication Log
  • Asynchronous Communication

Well, recently I was working on such a project and had to ask myself the question:

What if new items are being added to the queue at the same time I am selecting (e.g. running the Queue)?

In other words, how can I grab information from the queue and ensure I don’t grab the same thing twice?

Here are some options:

• Use “No Count” to lock the table while you process the queue.  After you process the queue update each items status to “Processed”.
• Select and Update all at once.  That way the queue is not locked, but there is no overlap.

I knew right away that the first option would not work for me.  It did not want that queue locked up because items were being added constantly.  I also did not even know if the second option was possible, but luckily it is.

So without further a due..  Here it is:

UPDATE Queue
SET Queue.QueueStatus=1
OUTPUT INSERTED.*
WHERE Queue.QueueStatus=0

The code above selects all items in the queue with a status of 0 and simultaneously updates them to a status of 1 using “OUTPUT” command.

Well, I have to admit I have been a pretty lazy blogger recently. I have been really busy fixing problems at work, but haven’t had time to share the solutions. Over the weekend I am going to try to get some of those solutions online.

Here is a good one for you.

You have setup all of Database Mail for SQL Server Agent and get the following error in your Job “Note: Failed to notify via email“. It is because you did not make your profile the default. SQL Server Agent automatically uses the default profile.

Go to the database mail configuration wizard (Management > Database Mail) and right-click > Configure Database Mail. Select the option for “Manage Profile Security” and make sure your mail profile has Default Profile set to “Yes”.

Keep in mind that with Database Mail the test button will always be grey in SQL Server Agent. However, you will now be able to send emails properly from your Job.

I recently upgraded our WCF services to ASP.NET 4.0.

For whatever reason you are receiving this error, I can help.

First off, this simply means there is an error somewhere in the WCF service that is preventing any data from being returned. In Firefox when no data exists it shows you the error message above.

There are many causes for this error so the first thing is to get a meaningful error message. So add the following code to your Global.asax in the “Application_Error” section:

Server.GetLastError().GetBaseException()

Now when you run the service you should find a meaningful error message that you can Google. Here are some of most common problems:

1. You do not have a handler in Web.config file for the “.svc” extension. If your service works locally, but not on the host (e.g. GoDaddy), then this is probably the cause. I have another post specifically on this httphandler issue.

2. You are updating to ASP.NET 4.0 and started to get this error. You need to remove the element aspNetCompatibilityEnabled=”true” from the Web.config.

I was just completing a task for work when I found myself digging through notes looking for my link to the website that packs .js files. So for future reference and anyone else whom needs to compress their js files. Here is is: http://dean.edwards.name/packer/

24 October 2009
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION

While you’re here please take a moment to read my recipe for Garlic Chicken Marsala.  To help save carbon emmisions reduce cooking time 5 mintues and turn oven up to 350 degrees.

If you are here looking for the global global warming initiative may I direct your attention to the correct URL 350.org.