We are here at the BizSpark event, working on a solution that we are only given two days to develop. We have to get it done and presneted in less than this time.
We are workign hard at it, and have two services running, with https endpoints, as the data is personal.
Twitter is working hard with #WABizCamp. To make some noise….
Lets see how we go, we have a great plan and a lot of work to go…..
Action Filters are a great way to handle cross-cutting concerns in ASP.NET MVC such as Logging, ExceptionHandling, etc. In previous versions of MVC3, action filters have to be explicitly added to each controller.
MVC3 adds the concept of Global Action Filters which allow you to apply action filters globally without the need for explicit declaration. […]
A common requirement for websites that allow user registration is the uploading of user profile images. In many cases, this can be a bother for both user and developer. The implementation of image cropping functionality has traditionally been somewhat cumbersome for developers, and users are generally pained by having to crop an image offline before […]
There’s many cases when you may want to watermark images on your website including:
Protecting copyrighted content
Showing previews of premium content
Identifying the origin of original content
And many more..
We’ll take a look at using the Razor WebImage helper to watermark images on your website easily and efficiently.
Adding the Microsoft.Web.Helpers Library
To add the Microsoft.Web.Helpers library, […]
This blog post is about using the PageObjectListBase-class to access a strongly typed list of Page Objects in EPiServer CMS 6 in conjunction with PageTypeBuilder. Page Objects are a nice way to work…
Daniel Berg’s blog about ASP.NET, EPiServer, SharePoint, BizTalk
I’ve been doing more and more Azure work, and because of my partner Brian
Randell I’ve adopted the TFS lifestyle.
After I updated to the most recent version of the Windows Azure Tools for Visual Studio
I started to get this error:
"windows azure web role entry point has stopped working"
If I debugged the project I got
System.ServiceModel.CommunicationObjectFaultedException was unhandled
Message=The communication object, System.ServiceModel.Channels.ServiceChannel,
cannot be used for communication because it is in the Faulted state.
Source=mscorlib
StackTrace:
Server stack trace:
at System.ServiceModel.Channels.CommunicationObject.Close(TimeSpan
timeout)
Exception rethrown at [0]:
at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.HandleReturnMessage(IMessage
reqMsg, IMessage retMsg)
at System.Runtime.Remoting.Proxies.RealProxy.PrivateInvoke(MessageData&
msgData, Int32 type)
at System.ServiceModel.ICommunicationObject.Close(TimeSpan
timeout)
at System.ServiceModel.ClientBase`1.System.ServiceModel.ICommunicationObject.Close(TimeSpan
timeout)
at Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Hosts.WaIISHost.Program.Main(String[]
args)
InnerException:
Either way I was forced to shutdown Visual Studio and reopen it to get the project
to deploy to the local dev fabric again.
Of course I turned off the “Just My Code” debugging setting and set the debugger to
break on all exceptions and low and behold I got the real exception:
The problem is that the web.config is marked as read-only because it is checked into
source control.
Moral of this story – if you are developing with Windows Azure and using source control
– you always have to keep your web.config checked out. Not sure if a fix is
coming from MS – but I thought this might be helpful to someone out there.
Check out my new book on REST.
Okay, I admit it, I have never spent the time to learn the intricacies of Enterprise Single Sign On. I guess I had a hard time seeing the value when the only description I heard for quite a long time is that it is where BizTalk stores credentials.
I finally sat down and created a sample application that I could see would be useful.
I want to create a generic pipeline that interrogates the target namespace of the xml document in the decode stage, and applies a map. I actually have this requirement where I need to change the document into a different xml document that I can actually apply an envelope schema to.
<Rant>
I have always seen tutorials about how easy it is to create an envelope schema, reference a document schema and viola, BizTalk is splitting documents like crazy! I watched the podcasts, seen the demos eleventeen times and so I was tasked with doing it. I thought, hey, this is going to be easy!
NOT SO
This is a representation of what the order came in as
<orders xmlns="http://WebSiteVendor"><order><Header>Stuff</Header><Detail>Crap</Detail><Details>Even More Crap</Details></order><order><Header>More Stuff</Header><Detail>Yes, Even More Crap</Detail><Details>Hard to believe, but yes, More Crap</Details></order></orders>How am I supposed to create an envelope schema with a document node out of this type of document? I can’t go back to the Website Vendor and have them change it.
However, for the DASM, I require an xml document that looks like this:
<orders xmlns="http://WebSiteVendor"><order xmlsn="http://WebSiteVendorOrder"><Header>Stuff</Header><Detail>Crap</Detail><Details>Even More Crap</Details></order><order xmlsn="http://WebSiteVendorOrder"><Header>More Stuff</Header><Detail>Yes, Even More Crap</Detail><Details>Hard to believe, but yes, More Crap</Details></order></orders>Probably the worst thing is that a resolution (how to split this type of document up) has not been explained very well, if at all anywhere on the web.
</Rant>
After exploring all sorts of ways I can prep the data by removing name spaces, adding them back in, etc…, I started feeling like Thomas Edison. When Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up by now. Perplexed, Edison replied, “Young man, why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitively over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.” And shortly after that, and over 10,000 attempts, Edison invented the light bulb.
Finally it dawned on me, that if I simply had a map that would execute in the Decode stage, I could then use the XML Disassembler to break up the ’modified’ message into individual orders. I had created the envelope schema and imported the ’document’ schema and made it a child.
Oddly enough, what is not terribly documented well is that the Body Xpath attribute needs to be pointing to the ’parent’ of the document that you want to split up. (What is that about?)
So I looked around and voil%u00e0: there is a pipeline component in the SDK that does EXACTLY what I need. (SDK\Samples\Pipelines\XslTransformComponent)
So here is what I wanted to do:
- I wanted it to be on the receive side, in the decode stage.
- I wanted it to be dynamic so that if multiple messages came in, it would be able to figure out what the correct map was and invoke it.
So I decided that the SSO would be the perfect place to store the following key values:
| Key | Value |
| http://targetnamespace.com#node | c:\{path}\map.xsl |
Obvious, that this table would increase as more and more documents started to be processed by this splitting component.
The first thing I did was download the Enterprise Single Sign On application to allow you to put key value pairs in the SSO Database. You can download the SSO Configuration Application MMC Snap-In. When you install it, it creates a new menu in your Start Menu. You have to register it, but then you can start placing key value pairs.
I created an application called DecodeTransformations. and here is what my dictionary looks like:
So now I have to take the existing code and have it use ESSO to resolve the xslt instead of hard coding it in the properties of the pipeline.
As part of the download, Microsoft in their kindness, included sample code on how to retrieve values. You have to supply two values:
I included the class and referenced it in the primary class. Instead of giving you bits and pieces, I am going to tell you what lines I modified, and then show the resulting code (so you can use it yourself).
1: using System;2: using System.IO;3: using System.Xml;4: using System.Xml.Xsl;5: using System.Xml.Linq;6: using System.ComponentModel;7: using System.Collections;8: using Microsoft.BizTalk.Message.Interop;9: using Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop;10: using Microsoft.Win32;11: using SSO.Utility;12:13: namespace Microsoft.BizTalk.SDKSamples.Pipelines.XslTransformComponent14: {15: /// <summary>16: /// Implements a pipeline component that applies Xsl Transformations to XML messages17: /// </summary>18: /// <remarks>19: /// XslTransformer class implements pipeline components that can be used in send pipelines20: /// to convert XML messages to HTML format for sending using SMTP transport. Component can21: /// be placed only in Encoding stage of send pipeline22: /// </remarks>23: [ComponentCategory(CategoryTypes.CATID_PipelineComponent)]24: [ComponentCategory(CategoryTypes.CATID_Decoder)]25: [System.Runtime.InteropServices.Guid("FA7F9C55-6E8E-4855-8DAC-FA1BC8A499E2")]26: public class XslTransformer : Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IBaseComponent,27: Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IComponent,28: Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IPersistPropertyBag,29: Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IComponentUI30: {31: #region IBaseComponent32: /// <summary>33: /// Name of the component.34: /// </summary>35: [Browsable(false)]36: public string Name37: {38: get { return "XSL Transform Component"; }39: }40: /// <summary>41: /// Version of the component.42: /// </summary>43: [Browsable(false)]44: public string Version45: {46: get { return "1.0"; }47: }48: /// <summary>49: /// Description of the component.50: /// </summary>51: [Browsable(false)]52: public string Description53: {54: get { return "XSL Transform Pipeline Component"; }55: }56: #endregion57: #region IComponent58: /// <summary>59: /// Implements IComponent.Execute method.60: /// </summary>61: /// <param name="pc">Pipeline context</param>62: /// <param name="inmsg">Input message.</param>63: /// <returns>Converted to HTML input message.</returns>64: /// <remarks>65: /// IComponent.Execute method is used to convert XML messages66: /// to HTML messages using provided Xslt file.67: /// It also sets the content type of the message part to be "text/html"68: /// which is necessary for client mail applications to correctly render69: /// the message70: /// </remarks>71: public IBaseMessage Execute(IPipelineContext pc, IBaseMessage inmsg)72: {73: inmsg.BodyPart.Data = TransformMessage(inmsg.BodyPart.Data);74: inmsg.BodyPart.ContentType = "text/html";75: return inmsg;76: }77: #endregion78: #region Helper function79: /// <summary>80: /// Transforms XML message in input stream to xml message81: /// </summary>82: /// <param name="stm">Stream with input XML message</param>83: /// <returns>Stream with output xml message</returns>84: private Stream TransformMessage(Stream stm)85: {86: MemoryStream ms = null;87: string validXsltPath = null;88: try89: {90: //Load Xml stream in XmlDocument.91: XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();92: doc.Load(stm);93: // Get the target name space94: string tns = ReturnTargetNamespace(doc);95: string xsltPath = SSOClientHelper.Read(this.SSOApplication, tns);96: // Get the full path to the Xslt file97: validXsltPath = GetValidXsltPath(xsltPath);98: //Create memory stream to hold transformed data.99: ms = new MemoryStream();100: // Load transform101: XslTransform transform = new XslTransform();102: transform.Load(validXsltPath);103: //Preform transform104: transform.Transform(doc, null, ms, null);105: ms.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);106: }107: catch(Exception e)108: {109: System.Diagnostics.Trace.WriteLine(e.Message);110: System.Diagnostics.Trace.WriteLine(e.StackTrace);111: throw e;112: }113: return ms;114: }115: /// <summary>116: /// Get a valid full path to a Xslt file117: /// </summary>118: /// <param name="path">Path provided by user in Pipeline Designer</param>119: /// <returns>The full path</returns>120: /// <remarks>121: /// If user provides absolute path then it is used as long as the file can be opened there122: /// If user provides just a name of file or relative path then we try to open a file in123: /// [Install foder]\Pipeline Components124: /// </remarks>125: private string GetValidXsltPath(string path)126: {127: string validPath = path;128: if (!System.IO.File.Exists(path))129: {130: RegistryKey rk = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(@"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\BizTalk Server\3.0");131: string InstallPath = string.Empty;132:133: if (null != rk)134: InstallPath = (String)rk.GetValue("InstallPath");135:136: validPath = InstallPath + @"Pipeline Components\" + path;137: if (!System.IO.File.Exists(validPath))138: {139: throw new ArgumentException("The XSL transformation file " + path + " can not be found");140: }141: }142: return validPath;143: }144: private string GetXSLPathFromSSO(string Application,string MessageType)145: {146: string MapName = SSOClientHelper.Read(Application, MessageType);147: return MapName;148: }149: #endregion150: #region IPersistPropertyBag151: private string _SSOApplication;152: public string SSOApplication153: {154: get { return _SSOApplication; }155: set { _SSOApplication = value; }156: }157: /// <summary>158: /// Gets class ID of component for usage from unmanaged code.159: /// </summary>160: /// <param name="classid">Class ID of the component.</param>161: public void GetClassID(out Guid classid)162: {163: classid = new System.Guid("FA7F9C55-6E8E-4855-8DAC-FA1BC8A499E2");164: }165: /// <summary>166: /// Not implemented.167: /// </summary>168: public void InitNew()169: {170: }171: public void Load(Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IPropertyBag pb, Int32 errlog)172: {173: string val = (string)ReadPropertyBag(pb, "SSOApplication");174: if (val != null) SSOApplication = val;175: }176: /// <summary>177: /// Saves the current component configuration into the property bag.178: /// </summary>179: /// <param name="pb">Configuration property bag.</param>180: /// <param name="fClearDirty">Not used.</param>181: /// <param name="fSaveAllProperties">Not used.</param>182: public void Save(Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IPropertyBag pb, Boolean fClearDirty, Boolean fSaveAllProperties)183: {184: object val = (object) SSOApplication;185: WritePropertyBag(pb, "SSOApplication", val);186: }187: /// <summary>188: /// Reads property value from property bag.189: /// </summary>190: /// <param name="pb">Property bag.</param>191: /// <param name="propName">Name of property.</param>192: /// <returns>Value of the property.</returns>193: private static object ReadPropertyBag(Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IPropertyBag pb, string propName)194: {195: object val = null;196: try197: {198: pb.Read(propName,out val,0);199: }200: catch(System.ArgumentException)201: {202: return val;203: }204: catch(Exception ex)205: {206: throw new ApplicationException( ex.Message);207: }208: return val;209: }210: private static void WritePropertyBag(Microsoft.BizTalk.Component.Interop.IPropertyBag pb, string propName, object val)211: {212: try213: {214: pb.Write(propName, ref val);215: }216: catch(Exception ex)217: {218: throw new ApplicationException( ex.Message);219: }220: }221: #endregion222: #region IComponentUI223: /// <summary>224: /// Component icon to use in BizTalk Editor.225: /// </summary>226: [Browsable(false)]227: public IntPtr Icon228: {229: get { return IntPtr.Zero; }230: }231: /// <summary>232: /// The Validate method is called by the BizTalk Editor during the build233: /// of a BizTalk project.234: /// </summary>235: /// <param name="obj">Project system.</param>236: /// <returns>237: /// A list of error and/or warning messages encounter during validation238: /// of this component.239: /// </returns>240: public IEnumerator Validate(object projectSystem)241: {242: if (projectSystem==null)243: throw new System.ArgumentNullException("No project system");244: IEnumerator enumerator = null;245: ArrayList strList = new ArrayList();246: try247: {248: //GetValidXsltPath(SSOApplication);249: }250: catch(Exception e)251: {252: strList.Add(e.Message);253: enumerator = strList.GetEnumerator();254: }255: return enumerator;256: }257: private string ReturnTargetNamespace(XmlDocument xdoc)258: {259: XmlNodeReader xmlndRdr = new XmlNodeReader(xdoc);260: string TargetNamespace = XElement.Load(xmlndRdr).GetDefaultNamespace().ToString();261: TargetNamespace = TargetNamespace + "#" + xdoc.DocumentElement.Name;262: return TargetNamespace;263: }264: #endregion265: }266: }267:Once that is completed, simply place the dll in the pipeline components folder.
I created the pipeline that has the XSLTransform pipeline component and the XML Disassembler pipeline component and it works like a charm!
Now I can use the same component in multiple locations and can receive multiple messages in the same location and based on the application deployed to SSO, it will resolve where the xsl lives and transform it. Unlike the ESB dispatcher pipeline component, I actually don’t even need to deploy the map, I simply need to place it somewhere and I am ready to go.
Here is what the pipeline looks like
As part of my efforts around introducing Round Table : Squire, I’ve started a project to centralize useful pieces of code which have application across many projects. One of these was my code I wrote about some time ago, a Gravatar HtmlHelper extension. I’ve now centralized that code, the body of which can be seen below, into the Round Table : Armory project on github. If you’d like the full code, with all the tests, then just head over to the repository and download or clone it. If you have improvements, please feel free to send me a pull request.
As a BizTalk consultant I always implement BAM to do basic auditing. This is besides the BAM a business analist would want to see. The basic functionality of this audit trial is: When was the message received Where did it came from Where did it go What…(read more)
So I created a script that created a silent install of BizTalk from a server that had SQL server installed to having BizTalk, UDDI, and ESB installed. I figured I was pretty ’tricky’ by using the dot as the database server name.
However, when I went to deploy a rule from within the Business Rule Engine, I received the following error: Error Message: The database “.:BizTalkRuleEngineDb” associated with the deployment driver does not match the database “.:BizTalkRuleEngineDb” specified during product configuration
I looked over a few blog entries, where the registry needed to be altered:
Open the Registry Editor (regedit) and locate the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\BusinessRules\3.0
If you have installed the rule processing components on a 64-bit version of Windows, they key will be at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\BusinessRules\3.0
Change the following keys DeploymentDriverAssembly and DeploymentDriverClass values under the key.
NADA
The ultimate solution was to go into the adm_Group table and change the server name
There are two other databases that also refer the DB Server for the rules engine:
Don’t bother changing them;it does not matter.
Once I made that single entry, I could deploy policies again.