Hi, just realized my article from codeproject was duplicated to howtocode.net - just wondering, is there any official affiliation or was this just a way to "borrow" articles? Couldn't find anything neither on Google nor in the forums... For example, http://www.howtocode.net/web-development/asp-net/asynchronous-http-handler-for-asynchronous-blob-datareader[^] http://beta.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/AsyncBLOB.aspx[^] Thanks in advance

You are still not answering my comments :^) Obviously you got nothing better to say than attacking a total stranger on a personal level :sigh: I did get my MCSD.NET in less than a week, true, without taking any training. At least that's more than what you've got or ever will. I guess I've hit your own nerve right there... Get a life X| .leON.

MajorTom123 wrote:

Your comments are myopic.

Why do you feel my comments are myopic? To which part don't you agree? I'd rather have constructive comments than pathetic ones...

MajorTom123 wrote:

I have no degree, and no certs.

Based on your comments it's easy to tell you don't have any degree nor cert, and that might be the quality of consultation you gave your clients. I work for a company 8 times the size of the company you currently work for (with a bigger revenue than that per quarter), and that still doesn't change the fact that you have to prove your ability - either by real-life experience or degree/cert (as originally mentioned in my comment). I am SURE you didn't apply for work at Sherwin-Williams as a novice and actually already had "some" experience... That was exactly my point!

MajorTom123 wrote:

My programs are in all 3000+ stores

I guess you are doing some kind of programming job. That explains why you worry about "program fails", and shows exactly my point - quoting from my original comment: "unless you want to remain a pity programmer all your life, at some stage you'll need something to climb up the role steps..." So obviously, your lack of degree/cert or whatever experience you think you have got you in reality a programmer job, which I'll remind you is still considered an entry job in the IT world.

MajorTom123 wrote:

When you are ready to leave high school and get some real world experience

Don't see why you think you can patronize me, after all based on your comments you fit exactly my scenario - a pity programmer. I feel sorry for you and the company you work for, obviously you didn't get my point in the first place. Don't see why you've decided to get down to a personal level, after all you don't even know me, but maybe based on your comment you are the one still in high-school? Or maybe, even pre-school when the insecure kids were pushing around the smart kids to make themselves feel better... Either way, next time you reply to someone's comment make sure you know what you are talking about, otherwise I'll suggest YOU to stick around and "just read for a while", you might learn something new. Keep the flaming at other message boards, this one is a serious one. .leON.

I know what you mean - keep looking and you'll find a job that you'll love doing and doesn't interfere with your private life... .leON.

Interesting that all the comments about "who needs a certification" comes from people that obviously don't have any. Are you guys jealous? Never wanted to invest in your knowledge? Everything these days is a "money milking machine", including "corporate starbacks". Stop complaining about how others succeeded and do whatever fits you and your plans for the future. Either way, real life experience is always at the top - but when you don't have that (either because you are a newcomer or looking to "switch"), technical certifications are ALWAYS more appreciated (with ANY company) than a college/university degree from the simple reason that those put you a spot to do your work straight away - not the same with the useless theory stuff you learn at the university. If you can get a job without any certs good for you - but then look at the size of the company and the role of your work - unless you want to remain a pity programmer all your life, at some stage you'll need something to climb up the role steps... Just my $.02 .leON.

You seem to be contradicting yourself - "I was using idioms... was no big deal" and then you say "architects started using them to add complexity to their flawed designs" - when you were using them I guess you were no architect, but you obviously still added complexity to your own flawed design :sigh:;-) Patterns, planning strategies, even UMLs for that case are just there to try and bring "order" in a world of chaos (same as Economics X| ) Good architects don't need any of that and would run a project with their own methodology which none would mind if the project succeeds. Obviously in reality most SW projects fail, and the more analytic people among us try to "organize" and "suggest" the best way of doing things, which again cannot always be 1-to-1 applied to real life. Either, ignore buzzwords (except in Presentations) and always do what you feel is right. If it all works out you'll get a pat on the back, otherwise a methodology might be forced upon you... May the force be with you :laugh:;-) .leON.

Your check would still not catch the NULL value. A much better way to validate all strings would be: if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(strUser)){ throw new ArgumentNullException(strUser); } else { strDest.Format(... } Hope this helps. .leON.

PIEBALDconsult wrote:

Even if I became rich and bought a Carribean island I'd spend too much time inside at a computer.

That's true to some extent, yet I wonder if you'd have internet on that island? Without a real connection it might get pretty boring quite fast ;-) .leON.

I am personally more on the technical side of things, so for me growing into the Architect role proved more practical (I never wanted to manage people and/or projects). There's obviously still programming involved in that, but a lot more "design meetings" and telling other junior programmers how things should work (or be written). Architecture is a very demanding role, as you have to "see the big picture" - sometimes wrong architecture decisions are not discovered till later in the game (sometimes years), and the right ones will always be remembered by your employers. There are several ways to get into such a role - me personally being on the .NET side I chose the MCSD.NET certification which does seem to open a lot of doors (not the easiest cert but worth it). Either way try to ignore those negative comments ("there's only death after programming"), since from my experience there's a lot more to do after "death" ;-) Hope this helps :) .leON.

If your web.config appSettings sections looks like the following: You can then use ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["SecurityKey"] to access it. Hope this helps. .leON.

Storing it in your business layer should be the last resort, as will require recompiling and redeploying every time you need to change it. Other options are: - store in web.config as clear text - store in web.config as encrypted string (ASP.NET v2 feature) - store encrypted in registry (current server) with registry keyname stored in web.config It all depends on how secure you want it to be (who else has access to your web.config file?) and your deployment process (manual/automated). .leON.