Develop Reference

How to lock a file under local workspace via TFS 2012 API

I am attempting to check-out a single file via workspace.PendEdit with an exclusive lock LockLevel.CheckOut. The following function succeeds (no errors) but it seems to have no effect on the file in TFS (not checked-out and no lock).
public static void Lock(string filePath)
{
var workspace = GetWorkspace(filePath);
workspace.PendEdit(new[] {filePath}, RecursionType.None, null, LockLevel.CheckOut);
}
I am suspecting that this has something to do with my TFS Workspace being local. However, Visual Studio 2015 seems to have no problem establishing a lock on the file via [Source Control Explorer]->[Right Click Selected File]->[Advanced]->[Lock]. What am I doing that's different than what VS is doing? Am I missing something?

You should use RecursionType.Full not RecursionType.None.
workspace.PendEdit(new[] {filePath}, RecursionType.Full, null, LockLevel.CheckOut);
The PendEdit() method return the number of files that were checked out/locked for the filePath you specify. The RecursionType.Full will recurse to the last child of the path.
Update:
Please try to install this TFS nuget package(https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.TeamFoundationServer.ExtendedClient/) for your API project and test if this issue still exists. If it works, no matter what version of VS you use, this issue won't appear.

After much trial and error I ended up implementing an event handler for NonFatalError like this:
private static void VersionControlServer_NonFatalError(object sender, ExceptionEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Failure != null && e.Failure.Severity == SeverityType.Error)
throw new ApplicationException("An internal TFS error occurred. See failure message for details:\r\n"+e.Failure.Message);
}
Once the event handler was hooked up to the versionControlServer object via versionControlServer.NonFatalError += VersionControlServer_NonFatalError; I was able to see what was going on with my exclusive check-outs. As it turned out, TFS was failing silently with the following error:
TF400022: The item $/Fake/Server/Path/project.config cannot be locked for checkout in workspace MYWORKSPACE;Dan Lastname. Checkout locks are not supported in local workspaces.
The solution was to change the LockLevel from LockLevel.CheckOut to LockLevel.Checkin. Its a slightly different type of lock but its sufficient for my needs and that's the type of lock VS is using when you attempt to lock a file in a local workspace. So here is my original function with the tiny change in LockLevel that made all the difference.
public static void Lock(string filePath)
{
var workspace = GetWorkspace(filePath);
workspace.PendEdit(new[] {filePath}, RecursionType.None, null, LockLevel.Checkin);
}

Cannot get ValidStates of WindowsInstaller features

I've encountered a problem when I try to retrieve the valid states of all features within an MSI package using the Microsoft.Deployment.WindowsInstaller.Installer class.
I want to copy the ValidStates property of each FeatureInfo within a Session. However when doing so I get a "Handle is in an invalid state." exception.
If I print each of these values out using Console.WriteLine() or step through the code in Visual Studio there is no exception.
I am at a loss as to what is preventing me from doing this.
Thanks in advance!
My Code:
var featureDictionary = new Dictionary<string, string[]>();
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(mPath))
return featureDictionary;
try
{
Installer.SetInternalUI(InstallUIOptions.Silent);
using (var session = Installer.OpenPackage(mPath, true))
{
foreach (var feature in session.Features)
{
try
{
var states = feature.ValidStates.Select((state) => state.ToString());
featureDictionary.Add(feature.Name, states.ToArray());
}
catch (InstallerException ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
}
}
catch (InstallerException) { }
return featureDictionary;

The basic problem appears to be that you are opening the MSI as a file. Since you haven't posted its declaration, or how it is set, I'm assuming that mpath means it's a path to the file. Your OpenPackage method parameters seem to indicate this too. You're getting that error because you are trying to open the MSI file as a file during the actual install, and failing.
The way to get hold of the database for the running install is to use Session.Database.
You can't open the running MSI as a file during the install perhaps for the same reason you can't run an MSI file that you have open with Orca, a simple file sharing violation. When you step through with Visual Studio you're simply accessing the static file and getting default values and the file isn't being used for an install. The other issue is that there can only be one Session object per process (as the OpenPackage docs say) and you are attempting to get a second one while there is already a Session object associated with the handle of the install.
As a custom action it needs to be sequenced after CostFinalize.
Windows Installer conditional expressions such as !feature-state will tell you what state the feature is in, because it's usually better to avoid code where Windows Installer will just give you the answer.

Overwrite restricted application file?

I'm trying to manually patch my application. The application makes use of a Service which i make sure to stop and uninstall prior to attempting any overwriting of the application dll's.
The issue is that i can't overwrite, or even delete some of the dll files which are the core of the application, these dll files are used by the service i uninstalled first.
I use the following method to pass in the new file-path in order to replace the old DLL which is located inside the root directory of the application in C:\Program Files\AppName\
public static bool CopyFile(string newFile, string oldFile)
{
var newfile = new FileInfo(newFile);
var oldfile = new FileInfo(oldFile);
var f2 = new FileIOPermission(FileIOPermissionAccess.AllAccess, oldFile);
f2.AddPathList(FileIOPermissionAccess.Write | FileIOPermissionAccess.Read, newFile);
try
{
f2.Demand();
}
catch (SecurityException s)
{
Console.WriteLine(s.Message);
}
for (int x = 0; x < 100; x++)
{
try
{
File.Delete(oldfile.FullName);
newfile.CopyTo(oldfile.FullName, true);
return true;
}
catch
{
Thread.Sleep(200);
}
}
return false;
}
I just wish to provide a new file and remove the old one, replace it, overwrite it.... The application
Note: The application i run to do the patching runs as administrator.
Any idea?

I was able to fix this issue by making use of a "middle man" in other words, another application which downloads another executable and passes command line arguments to it.
Originally, my service would download an executable (call it Installer.exe). Installer.exe would then attempt to stop the service and patch the content, this did not work.
I now have the service running, it downloads "Installer.exe".
Installer.exe will load up and download PatchPayload.exe.
PatchPayload.exe runs and kills off the Service, uninstalls it and then download all required patch content from a centralized server and patch the service core files individually then install the service and run it again.

Saving image to a folder in IIS localhost

I have to save images to a folder located in "c:\inetpub\wwwroot\" and named as "UploadedImages". Here is my code:
public string SaveImage(string base64,int compno)
{
string res = "";
try
{
using (MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream(Convert.FromBase64String(base64)))
{
using (Bitmap bm2 = new Bitmap(ms))
{
bm2.Save(Server.MapPath("~/UploadedImages/ID"+compno+".jpg"));
}
}
res = "done";
}
catch (Exception ex) {
res = ex.ToString();
}
return res;
}
but it throws "A generic error occured in GDI+ at System.Drawing.Image.Save" exception. What am I doing wrong? This code works fine when saving image locally as
bm2.Save("D:Embasy\UploadedImages\ID"+compno+".jpg"));
What changes do I need to make to save images in localhost directory?

Your not going to believe this -- the site running v1.1 had a virtual directory set-up which was mapped to the directory in which the image was saved to -- things worked fine.
The v2.0 site also had the same virtual directory name, but the physical path was different -- I changed the path to point to the same directory as the v1.0 site and now the code works.
So in short -- you were right about the "path must exist".
Classes within the System.Drawing namespace are not supported for use within a Windows or ASP.NET service. Attempting to use these classes from within one of these application types may produce unexpected problems, such as diminished service performance and run-time exceptions. For a supported alternative, see Windows Imaging Components.
and kindly refer this link
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/xs6ftd89.aspx

When you are using Server.Mappath
bm2.Save(Server.MapPath("~/UploadedImages/ID"+compno+".jpg"));
"~(tield)" : is point to project/application root folder c:\inetpub\wwwroot\yourproject
then find remaining your path /UploadedImages and then create ID1.jpg.
But your imagefolder "UploadImages" is exist in d: not in c:\inetpub\wwwroot\yourproject
if you want to exist your image folder in D: then you should to create
virtual directory and then you need to apply path as relevant

My problem actually was that every time i published website, I replaced the "UploadedImages" folder too and thus permissions were changed. So, i didnt replaced the folder again after changing its permissions and creating "everyone" group and giving full rights to it. Now code is working perfectly :)

Use C# to interact with Windows Update

Is there any API for writing a C# program that could interface with Windows update, and use it to selectively install certain updates?
I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of storing a list in a central repository of approved updates. Then the client side applications (which would have to be installed once) would interface with Windows Update to determine what updates are available, then install the ones that are on the approved list. That way the updates are still applied automatically from a client-side perspective, but I can select which updates are being applied.
This is not my role in the company by the way, I was really just wondering if there is an API for windows update and how to use it.

Add a Reference to WUApiLib to your C# project.
using WUApiLib;
protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e){
base.OnLoad(e);
UpdateSession uSession = new UpdateSession();
IUpdateSearcher uSearcher = uSession.CreateUpdateSearcher();
uSearcher.Online = false;
try {
ISearchResult sResult = uSearcher.Search("IsInstalled=1 And IsHidden=0");
textBox1.Text = "Found " + sResult.Updates.Count + " updates" + Environment.NewLine;
foreach (IUpdate update in sResult.Updates) {
textBox1.AppendText(update.Title + Environment.NewLine);
}
}
catch (Exception ex) {
Console.WriteLine("Something went wrong: " + ex.Message);
}
}
Given you have a form with a TextBox this will give you a list of the currently installed updates. See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa387102(VS.85).aspx for more documentation.
This will, however, not allow you to find KB hotfixes which are not distributed via Windows Update.

The easiest way to do what you want is using WSUS. It's free and basically lets you setup your own local windows update server where you decide which updates are "approved" for your computers. Neither the WSUS server nor the clients need to be in a domain, though it makes it easier to configure the clients if they are. If you have different sets of machines that need different sets of updates approved, that's also supported.
Not only does this accomplish your stated goal, it saves your overall network bandwidth as well by only downloading the updates once from the WSUS server.

If in your context you're allowed to use Windows Server Update Service (WSUS), it will give you access to the Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration Namespace.
From there, you should be able to do some nice things :)

P-L right. I tried first the Christoph Grimmer-Die method, and in some case, it was not working. I guess it was due to different version of .net or OS architecture (32 or 64 bits).
Then, to be sure that my program get always the Windows Update waiting list of each of my computer domain, I did the following :
Install a serveur with WSUS (may save some internet bandwith) : http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=5216
Add all your workstations & servers to your WSUS server
Get SimpleImpersonation Lib to run this program with different admin right (optional)
Install only the administration console component on your dev workstation and run the following program :
It will print in the console all Windows updates with UpdateInstallationStates.Downloaded
using System;
using Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration;
using SimpleImpersonation;
namespace MAJSRS_CalendarChecker
{
class WSUS
{
public WSUS()
{
// I use impersonation to use other logon than mine. Remove the following "using" if not needed
using (Impersonation.LogonUser("mydomain.local", "admin_account_wsus", "Password", LogonType.Batch))
{
ComputerTargetScope scope = new ComputerTargetScope();
IUpdateServer server = AdminProxy.GetUpdateServer("wsus_server.mydomain.local", false, 80);
ComputerTargetCollection targets = server.GetComputerTargets(scope);
// Search
targets = server.SearchComputerTargets("any_server_name_or_ip");
// To get only on server FindTarget method
IComputerTarget target = FindTarget(targets, "any_server_name_or_ip");
Console.WriteLine(target.FullDomainName);
IUpdateSummary summary = target.GetUpdateInstallationSummary();
UpdateScope _updateScope = new UpdateScope();
// See in UpdateInstallationStates all other properties criteria
_updateScope.IncludedInstallationStates = UpdateInstallationStates.Downloaded;
UpdateInstallationInfoCollection updatesInfo = target.GetUpdateInstallationInfoPerUpdate(_updateScope);
int updateCount = updatesInfo.Count;
foreach (IUpdateInstallationInfo updateInfo in updatesInfo)
{
Console.WriteLine(updateInfo.GetUpdate().Title);
}
}
}
public IComputerTarget FindTarget(ComputerTargetCollection coll, string computername)
{
foreach (IComputerTarget target in coll)
{
if (target.FullDomainName.Contains(computername.ToLower()))
return target;
}
return null;
}
}
}