How do you test if a string is null or empty?

Today as I was studying something related to Asp.Net I got to an example where I had to test if a string variable is null or just an empty string. So, which are the possibilities and which is the most efficient?

• if(myString == String.Empty)
• if(myString == "")
• if(myString.Length == 0) - this could throw an exception if myString is null
• I also found this comparison: if( String.Equals(myString, String.Empty) )
• and of course method IsNullOrEmpty introduced in .Net Framework 2:
  if(string.IsNullOrEmpty(myString)) which is said to be the most efficient.

Now, which methods do you use when comes to test if a string has a value or not? You are invited to write them as comments :) Of course that no matter which one of the methods above you choose won't slow down to much the performance of your application, but is good to build a good practice for future projects, isn't it?

How to format a number to x decimal places in C#?

If you have a decimal, double or int data type number and you want to show the number with a certain decimal places then you can use ToString() method from System namespace.
Have a look at these examples. I hope you will find what you need.

How to rename the /Umbraco directory?

When you want to rename the /Umbraco directory are two possibilities.

1. You rename folder to 'admin', or whatever you want; change in web.config some lines - where is umbraco -> admin. Choosing this solution might not be that nice. When you will install a new package that will try to install on /Umbraco folder, so you will have to move files. Beside you still have to make some updates in Css files as it is hard-coded the paths.
2. The second solution it is a very simple one :) Go to yoursite/Umbraco/UrlRewriting.config and add this  line in <rewrites> 

Good luck, ;)

How to create a sitemap/navigation for website in Umbraco with XSLT?

Working on a project, made in Umbraco CMS, I got to the point where I had to generate a navigation in footer. Just something like this

This is content Tree. Not all pages from footer image above appear in sitemap structure. I put the image just for you to realize what I had to do and what you might also want to achieve.

Now: according to my content, I wanted a list like this:

•  About Patient Direct with childs bellow

1.  Program Coverage (this page as you can see in image above has Hide in navigation = yes, so for me means they are childs of About....) 
2.  Eligibility 

•  Network 

1.  About the Patient...
2.  Dentist Search 

•  Enroll Now 
•  Wellness

Pretty nice, hm?
Good so how do you generate such a menu using Xslt?
Here is code I did and helped me.

< ? xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ? >
< ! DOCTYPE 
xsl:stylesheet [
    < ! ENTITY nbsp " ">
] >



    
    
    
    
    
        
            
        
    

    
        
        
        





                
                    
                
            

                
            
            
        

            
                





                        
                            
                                
                                    
                                
                            
                            
                                
                                    
                                
                            
                        

                    

                        
                            
                        
                    
                

        

    

    
        
        

            

                    
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If you need explanations about code please write it as a comment ;)

How to delete all tables from a Database?

If you want to delete all tables from a database you can help yourself by using this query:

DECLARE @TableName varchar(500)
DECLARE cur CURSOR
      FOR SELECT [name] FROM sys.tables WHERE type in ('u') 

      OPEN cur

      FETCH NEXT FROM cur INTO @TableName
      WHILE @@fetch_status = 0
      BEGIN
            EXEC('DROP TABLE ' + @TableName)
            --select @TableName
            FETCH NEXT FROM cur INTO @TableName
      END
      CLOSE cur
      DEALLOCATE cur 

     

In case you have constraints take special care you delete tables one by one ;)

How to delete procedures, user functions or views from a database in SQL?

In order to delete all functions, procedures or views from a database you can help yourself by using this query:

DECLARE @procedureName varchar(500)
DECLARE cur CURSOR
      FOR SELECT [name] FROM sys.procedures WHERE type in ('p', 'fn') and is_ms_shipped=0 and name not like 'sp[_]%diagram%'

      OPEN cur

      FETCH NEXT FROM cur INTO @procedureName
      WHILE @@fetch_status = 0
      BEGIN
            EXEC('DROP PROCEDURE ' + @procedureName)
            --select @procedureName
            FETCH NEXT FROM cur INTO @procedureName
      END
      CLOSE cur
      DEALLOCATE cur
     

How to get list with procedures, functions or views in Sql?

In order to obtain a list with procedures(P), functions(FN) or views(V) in Sql you can run this query:

SELECT [name], [type], create_date, modify_date

FROM sys.objects

WHERE [type] in ('P', 'FN', 'V') 

order by [Type ] asc