Code Examples and Developer Resources
These are four short programming exercises and one document. Each fills a recent need or request.
- Adding Google Maps V3 to Iron Speed Designer 7.x Web pages
- Maps add both value and “sizzle” to applications. All of my recent projects have included interactive maps. If your site is publically available at no charge, or if you can afford to buy a license, Google maps can be integrated into your Iron Speed Designer application in a few steps. This is a cut-and-paste do-it-yourself project, and is also published on the Iron Speed Designer Web site.
- If you are not using Iron Speed Designer, you can cut and past the code, and download the files into your own project. You might need to correct a few references to match your own directory structure. Other than that, there should be no problem.
- I have created samples of Web maps. These are static maps, that is, they are not connected to a database. All are free for developers and maybe for non-commercial use.
- Google Map
- Microsoft Bing Map
- Nokia Ovi Map
- You can view the Source of the map Web pages to see how to make your own maps. I have used both Microsoft and Google maps in successful commercial applications.
- My implementation of the Google Map is the most complex and uses JavaScript in a separate .js file. Find more information here.
- The Bing Map requires registering and obtaining a key for your Web site from Microsoft. My Bing key won't work on your site. Browse with IE on the Bing site.
- The Nokia Ovi Map is easy and fun. I haven't tried to combine an Ovi map with data, so I don't know how well it would work in a commercial application.
- A few small JavaScript and jQuery functions
- I have spent some time writing or finding JavaScript and jQuery string functions and dynamic formating functions that provide maximum functionality with minimum code. If you are interested in the code, view source. This project came out of a couple of job applications which asked for code samples to solve specific problems.
- Three SQL scripts to document your database - a small zip file containing all three scripts
- The code in the following scripts is partly original but largely derivative. For all practical puposes, it is in the public domain.
- ListUserObjects.sql will list all of the tables, views, stored procedures, and constraints in your database. The output is an HTML table that you can copy and paste into a spreadsheet or drop into a Web page.
- TableColumnsRows.sql will list all of the tables in your database with the number of columns and the number of rows for each table. The output is an HTML table that you can copy and paste into a spreadsheet or drop into a Web page.
- TableViewColumns.sql will list all of the tables and views in your database as well as each column with its data type. The output is an HTML table that you can copy and paste into a spreadsheet or drop into a Web page.
- The scripts copy the HTML tables to a directory named "C:\bin". You need to either create a directory of that name, or change the scripts to point to another directory.
- You might need to turn on Ole Automation for your server to write out the files. Use SQL Server Management Studio, select Facet from the right-click menu on the relevant server, then choose Surface Area Configuration at the top of the page, and change OleAutomationEnabled to True.
- A calendar table to simplify date logic
- Pre-calculating business days and holidays simplifies all kinds of date calculations and makes it possible to access this data through normal data access code and business logic code.
The calendar includes secular, Christian, and Jewish holidays. I would have included Islamic holidays, but the major Islamic holidays are not computed, they are determined by astronomic observation each year. The vagaries of visual observation can cause the date of a holy day to vary by a day.
- This calendar covers January 2010 through May 2032. There are over 8,000 dates and over 900 holidays.
- A Database Schema for User info, Authentication, Authorization, and Managing Passwords and Login Attempts
- This database schema is the final version as documented in one of my database course sections.
Three brief technical documents and some links to resources for programmers.
- A Brief Explanation of How Database Software Works
- A Brief Explanation of Normalizing Database Tables
- A Brief Explanation of the evolution of XML
- Microsoft Access and VBA programming resources
- MS Access 2007, Maximum Capacities Table
- A Simple Table of Object Naming Conventions for Access and VBA, compiled by Conrad Muller
- Helpful Web Links for MS Access programmers
- SQL Server and t-SQL resources
- A great resource that requires free registration, SQL Server Central
- The SQL section of simple-talk. This is probably my favorite. It covers fewer subjects but has more depth than most sites.
- Stump the SQL Guru from 4 Guys from Rolla
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Transact-SQL Reference. Not always an easy read, it is the official reference.
- stackoverflow.com SQL Server 2008 questions and answers
- Great tools for developing SQL and maintaining servers from redgate software
Note: This page used to have dozens of resources, but I was too busy to keep all of the articles current. I have retained these articles because they are the most popular, and I could find time to maintain them.