Big T Units WPF and Silverlights Code Rambles

C# Word Wrap

2011-05-05T06:02:00.001-07:00

private StringBuilder WordWrap(string message, int length)
{
StringBuilder build = new StringBuilder();
length++;
while (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(message))
{
var lineLength = message.Length > length ? length : message.Length;

string line = message.Substring(0, lineLength);
if (!line.EndsWith(" "))
{
var lastSpace = line.LastIndexOf(" ");
if (lastSpace != -1)
lineLength = lastSpace;

line = message.Substring(0, lineLength);

}
build.AppendLine(line);
message = message.Remove(0, lineLength);
message = message.TrimStart();

}
return build;
}

Distance between 2 Points

2010-07-27T07:03:00.001-07:00

Search for this on the Internet and it gives you loads of technical details when all you want is a simple example you can use. So here it is

private static double GetlineLength(Point startPoint, Point endPoint)
{
var x = startPoint.X - endPoint.X;
var y = startPoint.Y - endPoint.Y;
return Math.Sqrt(Math.Pow(x, 2) + Math.Pow(y, 2));
}

I hope this ends your search :)

Sample Extension Method

2010-06-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

public static class StringExtentionMethods
{
public static int WordCount(this String str)
{
return str.Split(new char[] { ' ', '.', '?' }, StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries).Length;
}
}

2010-04-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

// C# to convert a string to a byte array.

public static byte[] StrToByteArray(string str)
{
System.Text.ASCIIEncoding encoding=new System.Text.ASCIIEncoding();
return encoding.GetBytes(str);
}

// C# to convert a byte array to a string.

System.Text.ASCIIEncoding enc = new System.Text.ASCIIEncoding();
str = enc.GetString(dBytes);

The Other Event Handler

2009-09-23T07:16:00.001-07:00

Normally when I declare an Event I do it like this. The Easy way.

public event EventHandler Closing;

But you can have more power if you do it like this.

private EventHandler canClose;
public event EventHandler Closing
{
add { this.canClose += value; }
remove { this.canClose -= value; }
}

You can find out who is registering against your event.
Very handy..

C# Inline If Sample

2009-08-19T03:55:00.000-07:00

Sample using WPF

Button newbutton = new Button();
bool a = true;
newbutton.Visibility = a ? System.Windows.Visibility.Visible : System.Windows.Visibility.Collapsed;

(a) being a bool or it could have been String.IsNullEmpty(newbutton.Text)

newbutton.Visibility = !String.IsNullEmpty(newbutton.Text) ? System.Windows.Visibility.Visible : System.Windows.Visibility.Collapsed;

Anything that evaluates to bool. If True do the command after the ? else do the command after the :

DataTrigger Sample

2009-06-25T01:34:00.000-07:00

Sample of Single Conditions

<Window.Resources>
<Style x:Key="Prosessing" TargetType="{x:Type ProgressBar}">
<Setter Property="Visibility" Value="Collapsed" />
<Style.Triggers>
<DataTrigger Binding="{Binding Path=IsProcessing}" Value="true">
<Setter Property="Visibility" Value="Visible" />
</DataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>
</Window.Resources>

Example used on a Control

<ProgressBar Style="{StaticResource Prosessing}" Width="100" Height="15" Maximum="20" Value="0" x:Name="progressBar"/>

Sample of Multi Conditions

<Style TargetType="ListBoxItem">
<Setter Property="Background" Value="Black" />
<Style.Triggers>
<MultiDataTrigger>
<MultiDataTrigger.Conditions>
<Condition Binding="{Binding Path=Name}" Value="Portland" />
<Condition Binding="{Binding Path=State}" Value="OR" />
</MultiDataTrigger.Conditions>
<Setter Property="Background" Value="Red" />
</MultiDataTrigger>
</Style.Triggers>
</Style>

Gotcha Style Triggers

2009-05-07T03:27:00.000-07:00

I was cought out by this. If you want to set a Property using a Style then dont set it in the Control its self.

<Button Height="23" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Name="button1" Width="75" Foreground="Red" Content="Blue Button">
<Button.Style>
<Style TargetType="Button">
<Setter Property="Foreground" Value="Blue"></Setter>
</Style>
</Button.Style>
</Button>

Differnces between Label and TextBlock in WPF and Silverlight

2009-05-05T08:29:00.001-07:00

Differnces between Label and TextBlock in WPF and Silverlight

http://joshsmithonwpf.wordpress.com/2007/07/04/differences-between-label-and-textblock/

Prism Step by Step

2009-04-28T11:04:00.001-07:00

http://ira.me.uk/2009/03/17/building-a-composite-wpf-and-silverlight-application-with-prism-part-4/

In XAML. Whats the difference between a Template and a Style

2009-04-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

A Style

By using styles, you can modify the default values of properties that are set on the control to which the style is applied. For example, you can specify default colors for the background, border, and foreground of a control such as a button.

These style properties can be overridden by the values that are set on the control itself when it is drawn on the artboard. For example, if you set the background color to blue in the style of a button, the button will appear blue when it is drawn on the artboard, but you can change the color.

You can set only pre-existing properties in the style. For example, you cannot set a default value for a property that belongs to a new part that you added to the template.

Finally, you can use styles to specify the default behavior of a control. For example, in a style for a button, you can specify a trigger so that when users move their mouse pointer over the button, the background color will change. These property changes are instantaneous (they cannot be animated gradually).

A Template

Using templates, you can modify the structure of the control to which the template is applied. You can modify a control template to rearrange, add, or delete the elements (or parts) in the control. For example, you can add a background image or design to a control such as a button.

You can also modify the values of properties (such as background color) that are set on the control to which the template is applied. These template values cannot be overridden by the values that are set on the control itself when it is drawn on the artboard. However, you can use template-binding to set the properties of a template according to the values of properties of the control when it is drawn on the artboard.

When you modify a template, you have access to more parts of a control than when you modify a style. For example, you can change the way the pop-up list appears in a combo box, or you change the look of the button that triggers the pop-up list in the combo box by modifying the items template. Some templates consist of the following parts:

Content Presenter A content presenter is a placeholder in the control template to display the content of the control to which the template is applied. This might be the value of a content property (in a button for example), or a text property (in a text box).

Header Some controls have multiple properties that hold content. In this case, an additional content presenter is used in the template as a placeholder for the type of content that is used as a header. An example of a headered control is a tab item control where the header is the label on the tab and the content is displayed underneath the header.

Items Host An items host is used as a placeholder for the child elements of a control. The items host part of a template is identified by Is_Items_Host = True in the Properties panel.

ItemContainerTemplate An item container template is applied to a control that contains items, such as a Menu or List control. This template is used when items are added to the list.

Finally, you can specify the behavior of any new and existing parts in a template by using triggers. For example, you can specify a trigger so that when users move their mouse pointer over a button, the color of one of the parts will change. These property changes can be instantaneous or animated to produce a smooth transition.

Note:
You cannot animate from the value of a template-bound property or a color resource to another value. When using animations in triggers, use specific property values.

Validation in Windows Presentation Foundation

2009-04-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

Validation in Windows Presentation Foundation
By Paul Stovell

In this article, Paul will walk you through using the built-in Validation classes that exist in c.

View Article

Useful site for Creating Connection Strings

2009-04-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.connectionstrings.com

How to put Curly Braces in XAML

2009-04-27T02:57:00.000-07:00

How to put Curly Braces in XAML


<TextBlock Text="{}This is {my} text!" />


<TextBlock Text="This is {my} text!" />

MSDN has posted an article explaining this escape sequence in detail, so check there for more information.

DependencyProperty with a Sample Deligate

2009-04-23T01:38:00.001-07:00

DependencyProperty with a Sample Deligate

public TimeZones TimeZone
{
get { return (TimeZones)GetValue(TimeZoneProperty); }
set { SetValue(TimeZoneProperty, value); }
}

// Using a DependencyProperty as the backing store for TimeZone. This enables animation, styling, binding, etc...
public static readonly DependencyProperty TimeZoneProperty =
DependencyProperty.Register("TimeZone", typeof(TimeZones), typeof(DigitalClock), new PropertyMetadata(new
PropertyChangedCallback(TimeZone_OnChanged)));

static void TimeZone_OnChanged(DependencyObject sender,
DependencyPropertyChangedEventArgs args)
{
TimeZoneDataCollection _collection = new TimeZoneDataCollection();
DigitalClock thisControl = (DigitalClock)sender;
thisControl._timeZoneData = _collection.GetTimeZone((TimeZones)args.NewValue);
}

Silverlight 2 Notes cont...

2009-04-03T02:41:00.001-07:00

C# Sample Code for a creating Animation in Code

// Selected is the UIElement you want to Resize and Move.

Storyboard story = new Storyboard();
DoubleAnimation move = new DoubleAnimation();
move.From = 0.0;
move.To = 100.0;
move.Duration = new Duration(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 0, 1000));
story.Children.Add(move);
DoubleAnimation sizeX = new DoubleAnimation();
sizeX.From = (double)10;
sizeX.To = (double)20;
sizeX.Duration = new Duration(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 0, 500));
sizeX.RepeatBehavior = new RepeatBehavior(1);
sizeX.AutoReverse = true;
story.Children.Add(sizeX);
DoubleAnimation sizeY = new DoubleAnimation();
sizeY.From = (double)10;
sizeY.To = (double)20;
sizeY.Duration = new Duration(new TimeSpan(0, 0, 0, 0, 500));
sizeY.RepeatBehavior = new RepeatBehavior(1);
sizeY.AutoReverse = true;
story.Children.Add(sizeY);
Storyboard.SetTarget(story, Selected);
Storyboard.SetTargetProperty(sizeX, new PropertyPath(Ellipse.WidthProperty));
Storyboard.SetTargetProperty(sizeY, new PropertyPath(Ellipse.HeightProperty));
Storyboard.SetTargetProperty(move, new PropertyPath(Canvas.TopProperty));

Silverlight 2 Notes cont...

2009-04-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Notes on Styles

A Style can only be set once and as soon as its loaded or "Sealed" it cannot be changed at runtime.
So if you have your own control that requires for best result a specfic Template then set it on the Loaded event of your control. Giving the end user a chance to set there own template.

void RadioListBox_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
//If a Template is assigned it cannot be replaced
if (this.Style == null)
this.Style = (Style)App.Current.Resources["DannyRadioListBox"];
}

Silverlight 2 Notes cont...

2009-04-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

How to Access a named element in a Template

public override void OnApplyTemplate()
{
base.OnApplyTemplate();
Selected = this.GetTemplateChild("Selected") as Ellipse;
}

Silverlight 2 Notes cont...

2009-04-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

Getting the Actual Position on an UIElement in relation to a Parent UI Element

GeneralTransform gt = ((UIElement)childelement).TransformToVisual(parentelement);
Point p = gt.Transform(new Point(0, 0));

Convert Strings To and From Base 64

2009-03-27T09:01:00.001-07:00

http://arcanecode.wordpress.com/2007/03/21/encoding-strings-to-base64-in-c/

Silverlight 2 Notes

2009-03-25T03:35:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for the DataGrid for your Silverlight2 App then this is how you get them

1. If in Blend right click on your Project and Edit in Visual Studio
2. Go to the Solution Explorer and Add Reference
3. Add System.Window.Controls.Data
4. Return to Blend and there you have it

All new controls in your Asset Library

Mistake Revealed

2008-10-15T02:27:00.000-07:00

Ok well here is a classic mistake I made. I am telling you so you don't make the same. Yesterday I was stuck for ages on registering my Search Protocol, no matter how many times I tried to register it using RegAsm, Micorosoft Search server could not find it. The problem was the search server I developed on was Windows Server 2003. It was installed on Windows Server 2008 64bit. So this was my classic mistake I did a search in dos on the 64bit Server and found regasm used it. That was my mistake on 64bit there are 2 version of RegAsm I used the 32bit Version.

Lazymans way to create an Array

2008-09-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Lazymans Way

This is a useful tip when you want to create an array that you dont know the size of.

Generics are the way

private string[] CreateArray(DataRow input)
{

System.Collections.Generic.List<string> output = new System.Collections.Generic.List<string>();
foreach (DataColumn i in input.Table.Columns)
{
     output.Add(Convert.ToString(input[i.ColumnName]));
}
return output.ToArray();


This is just a sample on how to create a string array based on another array of data but it can be used in multiple ways.

IE8 Is comming. Run for the hills...

2008-09-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

Ok don't panic people. IE8 will be stricked but you can appease it with one simple header attribute on your web page

<meta http-equiv="X-US-Compatible" content="IE=7" >

And yes all goes back to normal giving you time to learn the new rules

Remix 08 Cont... My Favorite

2008-09-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

And yes later they will have more controls for Silverlight 2. Including the much waited for DataGrid and my favorite Ribbon Bars.

Let me introduce my favorite speaker Scott Guthrie pop over to his blogg.

And yes the waited for Crossdomain support for Silverlight. It was a real worry to me that i could not have my webservices on a different domain to my website. Seemed a little limiting. Silverlight 2 can when you have a policy file on the webservice server.

called clientaccesspolicy.xml

SilverLight Adaptive Video

2008-09-21T13:21:00.001-07:00

Well you cant talk about Silverlight without mentioning online video. Ever seen that message before you watch streaming video. What Download speed do you want to watch it at. Well most don't know and either get rubbish video or see that Buffering going on and on and on. Well due to a new feature and Silverlight 2 you have adaptive video, that's video that has multiple resolutions encoded into one video type that lets Silverlight make its own decision it will increase the quality if the band with is good and seamlessly downgrade when bandwidth gets a tighter.

The ReMix08 Conference

2008-09-21T12:56:00.000-07:00

17th September 2008

I was privileged to go the ReMix 08 Conferences in Brighton England

Well worth going. I never like the sell you the product conferences. This was different good and techy. Primarily Silverlight 2 but some good stuff on ADO.NET Data Services

Now I have seen a bit on Silverlight and thought oh yes another Flash copy but its more much more. I can see whole ideas of Client Side applications. Yes i know you can use WPF and you need Microsoft Framework 3.5 to use it. But Silverlight 2 is one multi operating system and is only a 4mb download.

Ok so whats so good about it. I can do all that with ASP.NET well one thing is you can separate the presentation data from the data. Meaning in ASP.NET each time you download a page you download the presentation e.g the HTML and the data e.g. your Data that makes up the your datagrid. With Silverlight you first download your program to the client and any new calls are just to fetch data.

This is great. Imagine state that's retained on the client. But there is more you have access to Isolated storage. That is storage that is stored on the client. Its so much more than a cookie it big and can be made bigger. You can access the storage at a User and Application level or at User and Domain Level so you can share you data between your different Silverlight Applications on the same domain.

Links to Blogg on i found on the subject