hooking a database

I feel hopeful that I'm going to get this process. But, I struggle with the database/SQL piece. Everything takes so long because I seem to have to look up how to do everything. Still I guess that just means I haven't done it enough times to remember. It seems difficult to create a decent view with the webform. And I'm unclear how a whole project comes together with static html and dynamic html. I wonder if its easier to creat the visual presentation in html, add it as an existing item and convert the necessary pices to rich server controls or whatever they need to be.

local host over secure

Homework this week invoved attaching a database to a VS project. Whenever I tried to run it I got this error:
The Microsoft Jet database engine cannot open the file 'C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\AllTheFlicks.mdb'. It is already opened exclusively by another user, or you need permission to view its data.

Seems this is a known security glitch that denies your own computer the permission to run your own work on local host. But, Microsoft doesn't see the ned to correct the problem. There are a few steps that are needed to be able to run localhost with a databse. They have to do with changing permissions, sharing, and turning off the option to let IIS control a password. Here are are couple links to describe them.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/189408
http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxpsimsh.htm

searching for code

I was searching for a way to crawl text accross the screen and come upon this site. Its full of all kinds of code for a lot of different effects. I'm not sure I'll be able to decipher the scrolling code well enough to use it but, its what I'm looking for.

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/

SQL

I'm glad we're going over SQL in class. I felt like it was something I could learn in 143 but we barely touched it. We did almost everything in the access query grid and looked over the SQL that was generated. We had to write only the most basic select statements. And, of course, that was a year ago. As I have trouble remembering an hour ago, the basics we're reviewing are only vaguly familiar.

By contrast, I had a class with a student to had another instructor for 143 and she said most of the semester was spent on SQL and their whole final was SQL statements.

OLE vs ODBC

We had a short discussion about OLE and ODBC today. Here is what Microsoft has to offer as explanation and when to use what.

http://www.mindcracker.com/mindcracker/c_cafe/database/mdac.asp

my help

So, I've been looking for decent help. I'm not sure what I'm looking for and there doesn't seem to be as much as I've found for HTML when I need it and what I do find doesn't seem to be very easy to understand. This site has links to other "helpful" sites:
http://www.programmingtutorials.com/aspnet.aspx
among the links are MSDN and W3Schools. Both of which I've seen used in class.

Here is a nicely organized page of tutorials
http://aspalliance.com/articleViewer.aspx?aId=144&pId=

The problem is, it seems that everything I find uses the code that's generated instead of explaining how to actually use it and set it up on the webForm. As a matter of fact, nothing I've looked at deals with the webFomr. Its all code. Don't they get the point of webForms and controls?

mid term

So, I imagine I had the most trouble with the mid term. I couldn't get the web control validations to work. I don't know why, they seem pretty straight forward. Actually, I got 1 or two but couldn't get another couple. And, I couldn't get the validation summary to display the way I wanted. Of course, by the time I got to the validations (which I saved for last) I was the only one left in lab and quickly running out of time.

Anyway, the validate a number should have been an easy one. But every time I set the data type to integer, or any other number declaration, I got an error. I finally just left it a string and used a range validator from 49 to 57. Strings are read one character at a time as ASCII and 49-57 are numbers 0-9 in ASCII code. It was sloppy, and totally the wrong way, but it worked. Sure hope I can get a better grip on validation going forward. I can't write the code for it at all in VB.net or Javascript. And I know its in the top five of things I have to know to be able to function in the .NET world.

help confusion

I'm confused about and consequently unsuccessful at finding help on the internet. I don't know if I should be looking for help with VisualStudio.net, ASP.net, or VP.net

ASP.net control links

I'm looking for the way to add a reset button to a web form. Everytime I think I've found it, it doesn't work. So, I'm guessing what I don't know is the how to use it part. I did run accross and list of asp.net controls and corresponding codes. Maybe it will be useful on the other side of the midterm.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dndotnet/html/introwebforms.asp

lab6

I actually wrote code tonight. And after some brain frying thinking it actually works. The breakthrough came in Tues lab with a little computer role play with the instructor. I was able to apply the concept of "entity a gives something to entity b and wants something else back. entity b takes the information, does what it needs to do to get the answer and gives the answer back to entity a". That explanation has created a breakthrough. A minor one at best but still enough to celebrate. The code I wrote is most likely the long way around but I'm happy it works. And I have to think way to much and way to slow but at least I could think! (a little)