Optional Parameters Explained

private string YourMethod(string firstName,
string lastName = "Doe", int age = 20)
{
   return firstName + " " + lastName;
}

In the code above the only required parameter is the first parameter, firstName. The second and third parameters are optional. Below are three different ways you can call this one single method:

string name = null;
name = YourMethod("John");

string name = null;
name = YourMethod("John","Smith");

string name = null;
name = YourMethod("John","Smith",30);

After looking at the above examples you may be wondering, what do I do if I want to pass just the first and third parameters, skipping the second? That is where Named Parameters come in:

Named Parameters Explained

string name = null;
name = YourMethod("John", age: 40);

As you can see in the above example, we are able to pass the age parameter by using the new Named Parameters feature.

Related posts:

1. C# Data Types Explained

Just be sure to have a reference to System.IO and then here is the code you need:

C#

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var query = from o in Directory.GetFiles("/YourFolder", "*.*", SearchOption.AllDirectories);
let x = new FileInfo(o);
where x.CreationTime <= DateTime.Now.AddMonths(-6);
select o;
foreach (var item in query)
{
   File.Delete(item);
}

VB

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Dim query = _
From o In Directory.GetFiles("/YourFolder", "*.*", _
SearchOption.AllDirectories) _
Let x = New FileInfo(o) _
Where x.CreationTime <= DateTime.Now.AddMonths(-6) _
Select o
 
For Each item In query
File.Delete(item)
Next item

Summary

The code above will find all files older than 6 months, and delete them. Be sure if you use this code to update the search directory, and to change the search pattern (“*.*”) to only delete the files you intend to delete.

Related posts:

1. C# Data Types Explained

The first thing to understand is that value types are allocated on the stack and are available in almost all programming languages. Reference types are allocated on the heap and normally will represent class instances.

Predefined C# value types

• sbyte: Holds 8-bit signed integers. The s in sbyte stands for signed, meaning that the variable’s value can be either positive or negative. The smallest possible value for an sbyte variable is -128; the largest possible value is 127.

• byte: Holds 8-bit unsigned integers. Unlike sbyte variables, byte variables are not signed and can only hold positive numbers. The smallest possible value for a byte variable is 0; the largest possible value is 255.

• short: Holds 16-bit signed integers. The smallest possible value for a short variable is -32,768; the largest possible value is 32,767.

• ushort: Holds 16-bit unsigned integers. The u in ushort stands for unsigned. The smallest possible value of an ushort variable is 0; the largest possible value is 65,535.

• int: Holds 32-bit signed integers. The smallest possible value of an int variable is -2,147,483,648; the largest possible value is 2,147,483,647.

• uint: Holds 32-bit unsigned integers. The u in uint stands for unsigned. The smallest possible value of a uint variable is 0; the largest possible value is 4,294,967,295.

• long: Holds 64-bit signed integers. The smallest possible value of a long variable is 9,223,372,036,854,775,808; the largest possible value is 9,223,372,036,854,775,807.

• ulong: Holds 64-bit unsigned integers. The u in ulong stands for unsigned. The smallest possible value of a ulong variable is 0; the largest possible value is 18,446,744,073,709,551,615.

• char: Holds 16-bit Unicode characters. The smallest possible value of a char variable is the Unicode character whose value is 0; the largest possible value is the Unicode character whose value is 65,535.

• float: Holds a 32-bit signed floating-point value. The smallest possible value of a float type is approximately 1.5 times 10 to the 45th power; the largest possible value is approximately 3.4 times 10 to the 38th power.

• double: Holds a 64-bit signed floating-point value. The smallest possible value of a double is approximately 5 times 10 to the 324th; the largest possible value is approximately 1.7 times 10 to the 308th.

• decimal: Holds a 128-bit signed floating-point value. Variables of type decimal are good for financial calculations. The smallest possible value of a decimal type is approximately 1 times 10 to the 28th power; the largest possible value is approximately 7.9 times 10 to the 28th power.

• bool: Holds one of two possible values, true or false. The use of the bool type is one of the areas in which C# breaks from its C and C++ heritage. In C and C++, the integer value 0 was synonymous with false, and any nonzero value was synonymous with true. In C#, however, the types are not synonymous. You cannot convert an integer variable into an equivalent bool value. If you want to work with a variable that needs to represent a true or false condition, use a bool variable and not an int variable.

Predefined C# reference types

• string: Represents a string of Unicode characters. It allows easy manipulation and assignment of strings. Strings are immutable, meaning that once it is created it can’t be modified. So when you try to modify a string, such as concatenating it with another string, a new string object is actually created to hold the new resulting string.

• object: Represents a general purpose type. In C#, all predefined and user-defined types inherit from the object type or System.Object class.

Summary

Proper usage of correct data types allows developers to make the most of the language, but may take some time for those who have used different programming languages prior to switching to C#.

Related posts:

1. Optional Parameters and Named Parameters in C# 4.0 Explained
2. Use LINQ to Delete Old Files

The Problem:

You are probably using 1&1 to host your website, and just found out your site needs to use PHP5, but is currently using PHP4.

The Solution:

To fix this issue you can simply add the following two lines to the .htaccess file located in your sites root directory:

AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
AddHandler x-mapp-php5 .php

And that’s it! You are now using PHP5.

No related posts.

Here is the issue:

• Windows did not find the driver for the device: SMBus Controller?
• The device manager shows a yellow question mark for the SMBus Controller?
• The device manager lists the SMBus controller under Other Devices?

The SMBus Controller is the System Management Bus device that controls low-speed system management communications. This device is common to most Intel chipsets.

To fix this issue you can simply download and run the Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility. This download will install the chipset driver files so Windows can properly recognize the chipset’s built-in SMBus Controller.

This will apply to the following Operating Systems:

Windows 98, Windows 98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server

No related posts.

Step 1: Update Software and Grab Tools

You should always start off the same way and ensure your system is up to date, and has the tools you will need.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openssh-server

Step 2: Install Subversion

This will install Subversion, and set the base for you to use to create your repositories:

sudo apt-get install subversion

Step 3: Security

At this step we will setup a security structure that will allow for expansion, but will not be too complex for the average home user. We will first create a group named ’svn’ and then add yourself and any other users you want to be able to access your repository.

sudo addgroup svn
sudo gpasswd -a yourusername svn

Step 4: Additional Security

Next you will need to add a place to store your repositories, and will need to set permissions there that match what you did for step 3.

sudo mkdir /home/repos
sudo chown root:svn /home/repos
sudo chmod -R 770 /home/repos

In order for the changes from steps 3 and four to take effect relating to the security group ’svn’ that we created you will need to reboot your machine. I suggest you bookmark this page and save any open work, because the next command will restart your machine:

sudo reboot

Step 5: Create Your Repository

Now that you have rebooted, you should be able to create a new repository in the directory /home/repos

Be sure to not use sudo on this step.

svnadmin create /home/repos/reponame

If all goes well and you don’t receive any errors, then go on to step 6. If you do receive permissions errors, go back to step 4 and run the second and third commands once again.

Step 6: Add Files To Your Repository

Now that you have your repository up and running you can go ahead and add files to it. Assuming you have a project named mycoolapp that is stored in /home/youruser/ you would type this command to import it:

svn import /home/youruser/mycoolapp file:///home/repos/reponame -m "initial import"

Step 7: Checkout Your Project

Now that your project is stored in your repository you will need to check it out to work on it and make changes. Be sure to change the server name to the name of your machine.

svn co svn+ssh://servername.com/home/repos/reponame

That’s it! The next steps you may want to do include:

a) Learn more about Subversion with the free online svnbook: http://svnbook.red-bean.com/
b) Setup Subversion to be accessible with Apache2 and WebDAV: (Article coming soon, let me know if you need it quickly)

No related posts.

Here is a quick way to find out what ports are open or exposed:

Click: Start -> Run and type: cmd {enter}
At the command prompt type:

netstat -a

Netstat will display a list of all listening ports, and for established connections it will show who’s on the other end.

Related posts:

1. SM Bus Controller Driver