Configuration files for Windows Forms Applications

• March 5, 2009
• James Skemp

Since I know I'll run across this again ... In my iTunes Playlists to Xml application I wanted to allow users the ability to persist their name across sessions. The supported method seems to be using application configuration files; in my case, something like iTunesApplication.exe.config. However, try as I could, I just couldn't find anything solid on how to create the configuration file. First, I had to add a reference to "System.

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iTunes Playlists to Xml - version 0.4b released

• March 2, 2009
• James Skemp

This application has since been updated. Read about the current version of iTunes Playlists to Xml. Having just released version 0.3b of iTunes Playlists to Xml, I've got yet another release. This release includes menus, the ability to select what data you want in the Xml, and a schema for validation. Unfortunately, I've discovered one bug (that would have existed before) with playlists getting updated in iTunes, between the refresh in this application, and the time it was clicked on.

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iTunes Playlists to Xml - version 0.3b released

• February 27, 2009
• James Skemp

This application has since been updated. Read about the current version of iTunes Playlists to Xml. Having just released version 0.2b of iTunes Playlists to Xml, I've done some updates, bringing it up to version 0.3b. This release fixes all of the known issues, from version 0.2b. There are no known issues with version 0.3b. Download iTunes Playlists to Xml - version 0.3b. iTunes Playlists to Xml requires .NET Framework 2.

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iTunes Playlists to Xml - version 0.2b released

• February 26, 2009
• James Skemp

This application has since been updated. Read about the current version of iTunes Playlists to Xml. Previously I discussed an iTunes application that I was working on, in C#. That application has been fixed up a bit, and is now available for download. Download iTunes Playlists to Xml - version 0.2b. To run the application extract the contents of the zip to a directory. Then open iTunesApplication.exe. If iTunes is not running, it will start before this application does.

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Parsing iTunes data with C#

• February 22, 2009
• James Skemp

This application has since been updated. Read about the current version of iTunes Playlists to Xml. For better or worse, when I began setting up my iPod I opted to manually organize my iPod. In large part, this was because at the time I had a machine with a pretty small hard drive, and couldn't keep all of my music on it. However, with a new HP, I was able to store all my music on that computer, as well as back it up to a USB drive.

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Microsoft Log Parser timestamp formats

• February 6, 2009
• James Skemp

The following article covers the timestamp format specifiers accepted by Microsoft Log Parser. Date Year y, yy, yyy, yyyy = last 1, 2, 3, or 4 digits, relative to 2000 Month M = no leading zero MM = leading zero MP = leading space MX = no leading zero, or with or without zero when parsing MMM = 3-character abbreviation MMMM = full name of month Day d = no leading zero dd = leading zero dp = leading space dx = no leading zero, or with or without zero when parsing ddd = 3-character abbreviation dddd = full name of day Time Hour h or H = no leading zero hh or HH = leading zero hp or HP = leading space hx or HX = leading zero, or with or without leading zero when parsing Minute m = no leading zero mm = leading zero mp = leading space mx = leading zero, or with or without leading zero when parsing Second s = no leading zero ss = leading zero sp = leading space sx = leading zero, or with or without leading zero when parsing Millisecond l = no leading zero ll = leading zero lp = leading space lx = leading zero, or with or without leading zero when parsing Nanosecond n = no leading zero nn = leading zero np = leading space nx = leading zero, or with or without leading zero when parsing Other tt = AM/PM ?

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Necessary iTunes changes

• December 26, 2008
• James Skemp

Moving from my XP to my Vista machine, for purchasing and using iTunes, it seems I've got some changes to make. Edit > Preferences... > Store > Buy using a Shopping Cart Edit > Preferences... > Store > Automatically check for available downloads Why the first option is the default, not sure, but ...

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If Firefox recommends ad blocking software ...

• December 24, 2008
• James Skemp

The other day I installed YSlow on my home machine. When I did so I noticed that they were recommending the major ad blocking add-on, but I didn't think too much of it. I was reading an article that questioned again (id est, old news) whether Chrome would strain the Google/Mozilla relationship. Since the ad blocking add-on blocks Google ads, I wonder if instead of Chrome, it's these recommended add-ons that are causing the strain.

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Parse FileZilla Server logs with Log Parser

• November 23, 2008
• James Skemp

While FileZilla Server is one of the best FTP servers available, it's logging leaves much to be desired. However, after a couple of hours, I've created a script for Log Parser that will generate a W3C log from FileZilla Server's logs. Save the following to a file, for example, FileZillaServer.sql: SELECT  SUBSTR(Text, 1, SUB(INDEX_OF(Text, ')'), 1)) AS RequestNumber  , TO_TIMESTAMP(   TRIM(    SUBSTR(     Text     , ADD(INDEX_OF(Text, ')'), 1)     , SUB(INDEX_OF(Text, '-'), ADD(INDEX_OF(Text, ')'), 4))

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Current, major, browsers

• November 23, 2008
• James Skemp

Do users know that they're not using the current version of their browser? While many browsers will check for updated versions (Firefox, for example), some do not. Anywho, I've decided, looking at the numbers, that I would start adding a check on my sites to alert users if there browser is out of date, and tell them where they can get an updated version. Note that I refer to the desktop version of these browsers, and mention only the major browsers.

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