ComVisible

Visual Studio Project Renamer now an open source project at codeplex

Today I have released the source of the visual studio project renamer to open source. The project is hosted at codeplex. I released the source due to the fact that I cant really maintain this project on my own anymore. Just have not enough time. If you want to contribute to this project (and it really needs some improvements / refactoring) drop me an email or submit for contributor access at codeplex.

VisualStudioProjectRenamer goes C++

Today I released version 1.1.303 of the VisualStudioProjectRenamer. The renamer now supports renaming of C++ project types. Also saving the settings works now. On a side note.. The renamer was downloaded over 40 thousand times up to now. Microsoft should have provided this functionality in visual studio if you ask me, seeing the demand for a tool like this. I know why the didnt have tho, it gets totaly out of hand and crazy complex with all the different types of projects and languages etc. Every language has a dozen different projects types with different structures.

I am thinking of making the project opensource since I actually do not have enough time to maintain / implement new features lately. There is still so much stuff that could get into the software like supporting more version control systems..support more project types and languages, adding different locales etc etc..

Anyways, if you have not downloaded the renamer go download it now. If you have, just use the inbuild update feature.

Code Bash #5: Getting eye cancer is part of the job, i guess..

public static DateTime ToDateTime(this string date)
{
    DateTime date1 = DateTime.MinValue;
    string[] dateArr = null;

    try
    {
         dateArr = date.Split('.');

         if (dateArr.Length >= 3)
         {
              date1 = new DateTime(int.Parse(dateArr[2]), int.Parse(dateArr[1]), int.Parse(dateArr[0]));
         }
    }
    catch (Exception)
    {
    }

    return date1;
}

Code Bash #4: TheDayAfterTomorrow.ToString();


string strDay = date.Day.ToString();

string strMonth = date.Month.ToString();

string strYear = date.Year.ToString();

 outDate = string.Concat(strDay, ".", strMonth, ".", strYear);

VSPR Renamer with auto update function

Today I have released a new version of the VSPRRenamer. The tool now comes with an auto updater. This should make it easier to download and install latest versions.

Just click on the update icon in the main window and the tool will check if there is a new version on the server.

Besides the new auto update function I also fixed a couple of bugs and VB projects now can be renamed too.

I removed all other versions of the VSPRenamer from my server. From now on there will be only one installer file, and not multiple versions.

For more info go here and for the download check this page.

Code Bash #3

I override the method because I can.. aka when inheritance goes wrong:

// Object A
public virtual bool Check(Messages messages)
{
    return true;
}

// Object B
public override bool Check(Messages messages)
{
    bool result = base.Check(messages);

    return result;
}

Object B inherits from Object A. You tell me for what reason someone possibly could come up with to override the method from the base class like this, please..I dare you.

Code Bash #2

Find the error:

XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
doc.LoadXml(xml);
XmlElement root = doc.DocumentElement;

if ( doc == null )
{
     throw new InvalidDataException("No valid xml");
}

    .............

Code Bash #1

private string twoDigits(int s)
{
     if (s < 10)
              return "0" + s.ToString();
     else
              return s.ToString();
}

Clever people would use:

return s.ToString("D2");

Hello code bash!

That`s it, I have had enough of awesome code snippets I keep finding in projects I work on. Some of the stuff I find is just too awesome to not be shared with the world. There for from today on I will post the gems I find in the new born category “Code Bash” on ComVisible. Be prepared for alot of WTF`s!

If you have any brilliant code snippets, feel free to send me the stuff and I will publish them.

Haven`t we seen it all

Different kinds of bug reports

Smug Report – a bug submitted by a user who thinks he knows a lot more about the system’s design than he really does. Filled with irrelevant technical details and one or more suggestions (always wrong) about what he thinks is causing the problem and how we should fix it.

Drug Report – a report so utterly incomprehensible that whoever submitted it must have been smoking crack. The lesser version is a chug report, where the submitter is thought to have had one too many.

Shrug Report – a bug report with no error message or repro steps and only a vague description of the problem. Usually contains the phrase “doesn’t work.”

Refuctoring

The process of taking a well-designed piece of code and, through a series of small, reversible changes, making it completely unmaintainable by anyone except yourself.

A play on the term Refactoring which was popularized by Martin Fowler in his book of the same name.

Stringly Typed

An implementation that needlessly relies on strings when programmer and refactor friendly options are available. For example, method parameters that take strings when other more appropriate types should be used. Excessively stringly typed code is usually a pain to understand and detonates at runtime with errors that the compiler would normally find.

A play on the term Strongly Typed, code which restricts the mixing of different or incompatible data types, allowing errors be picked up at compile time.

Different kinds of bugs

Heisenbug - a bug that disappears or alters its characteristics when an attempt is made to study it.

Higgs-Bugson – a hypothetical bug predicted to exist based on a small number of possibly related event log entries and vague anecdotal reports from users, but it is difficult (if not impossible) to reproduce on a dev machine because you don’t really know if it’s there, and if it is there what is causing it. To find these you will need to invest in a Large Hadron debugger.

Hindenbug - a catastrophic data destroying bug – “Oh the humanity!”.

Counterbug - a bug you present when presented with a bug caused by the person presenting the bug.

Bloombug - a bug that accidentally generates money.

Schrödinbug - refers to a function/feature that appears to fluctuate between buggy and correct (like Schrödinger’s cat, fluctuating between alive and dead), until somebody looks at the source code (opens the box), at which point it becomes permanently bugged.

Loch Ness Monster Bug – a bug which cannot be reproduced or has only been sighted by one person. (Also, Bugfoot is a great alternative).

UFO bug – a bug presented by customers, who, even when they’re shown that it doesn’t exist, will repeatedly report it again and again, believing it is real.

Mandelbug – a bug whose causes are so complex that its behavior appears chaotic or even non-deterministic. Named after fractal innovator Benoît Mandelbrot.

Brown-paper-bag bug – a bug in a public software release that is so embarrassing that the author notionally wears a brown paper bag over his head for a while.

Sorcerer’s apprentice mode – a bug in a protocol where, under some circumstances, the receipt of a message causes multiple messages to be sent, each of which, when received, triggers the same bug.

Mad girlfriend bug – a bug whose immediate effect remains hidden – the app outwardly seems to function normally and tells you that everything is fine.

Doctype Decoration

When web designers add a doctype declaration but don’t bother to write valid markup.

New software features

A Unicorny – A feature that’s so early in the planning stages that it might as well be imaginary.

A Barack Obama – A feature we’d really like to add to a project but will probably never get approval for.

Baklava code – Code with too many layers (Also, Lasagne Code can mean the same thing).

Fear Driven Development

When project management adds more pressure (fires someone or something)

Hydra Code

Code that cannot be fixed. One fix causes two new bugs. It should be rewritten.

Protoduction

A prototype that ends up in production.

Ninja Comments

Also known as invisible comments, secret comments, or no comments.

Smurf Naming Convention

When almost every class has the same prefix.

Scar Tissue

Any code that is commented out but still included in the current and/or checked-in version.

I have seen this somewhere but can`t recall the source, if you do..please let me know.