Thanks Christian. Seems like a bit of a roundabout way of doing it though. I ended up opting for a small function which simply compares the type to the list of existing types and does the conversion directly if it's a numeric type.

NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: snowdevil [@] gmail.com !! Are you a skilled ASP.Net programmer or web designer and would like to help bring the best new ASP.Net CMS (http://www.sprocketcms.com[^]) into the forefront of the ASP.Net community? Please contact me and let me know.

I'm having trouble trying to determine if some arbitrary object can convert to type decimal. The underlying TypeConverters for int and decimal seem to think that an int can't be converted to a decimal. Now we all know that Convert.ToDecimal(someInt32Value) works just fine, but consider the following piece of code: int n = 5; TypeConverter tc = TypeDescriptor.GetConverter(n); bool canConvert = tc.CanConvertTo(typeof(decimal)); // canConvert = false at this point Can anyone see what I'm doing wrong? Is this a framework bug, or have I missed something?

NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: snowdevil [@] gmail.com !! Are you a skilled ASP.Net programmer or web designer and would like to help bring the best new ASP.Net CMS (http://www.sprocketcms.com[^]) into the forefront of the ASP.Net community? Please contact me and let me know.

try this with your body tag: ...

NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: snowdevil [@] gmail.com web/blog: www.ersysgroup.com[^]

I'm looking for help on my CMS (Sprocket) which I believe is significantly architecturally superior to the god-awful mess that is DotNetNuke. DNN is basically the only major open source CMS for the .Net community (unless you count Rainbow which is basically the C# version of it). There are others, but the only ones I have found are very simple, have mountains of sprawling ASPX/ASCX clutter to try and maintain, and/or are trying to be another 3-column portal engine (like we don't have enough of those). The CMS already has a large established code base that has been well designed (in my opinion) and has been improved and evolved for over a year now. Take a look at http://www.sprocketcms.com[^] for a complete feature list and to get access to the open source (BSD license) code base for review. There are several sites running it so far and more in development, but the code base has been 100% written by me and some help would be greatly appreciated to help accelerate things to the point where it can start to be viable competition to DNN. In particular, I'm looking for some assistance with: - improving the embedded scripting language - getting the CMS page admin UI up and running - building some community-related extensions This will most definitely be one of the next big open source ASP.Net CMS's available. Help me push it over the line!

NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: snowdevil [@] gmail.com web/blog: www.ersysgroup.com[^]

I'm looking for help on my CMS (Sprocket) which I believe is significantly architecturally superior to the god-awful mess that is DotNetNuke. DNN is basically the only major open source CMS for the .Net community (unless you count Rainbow which is basically the C# version of it). There are others, but the only ones I have found are either very simple, have mountains of sprawling ASPX/ASCX clutter to try and maintain, and/or are trying to be another 3-column portal engine (like we don't have enough of those). Clocking in at over 23,000 lines of code so far, Sprocket boasts features such as a completely free-form templating system that borrows inheritance and polymorphism concepts for extreme versatility, in-built english-language-readable scripting language that can be used anywhere, e.g. in the templates, content, or wherever, friendly URLs, a full AJAX framework, and a bunch of other stuff too. The CMS is built using C# and ASP.Net 2.0 but WITHOUT all those nasty aspx pages and ascx controls. In fact, there are no ASPX/ASCX files to be found anywhere, as the whole system has been built to bypass that messy stuff and work in a much more unified fashion. Take a look at www.sprocketcms.com[^] (redirects to the google project hosting site) for a complete feature list and to get access to the open source (BSD license) code base for review. There are several sites running it so far and more in development, but the code base has been 100% written by me and some help would be greatly appreciated to help accelerate things to the point where it can start to be viable competition to DNN.

NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: snowdevil [@] gmail.com web/blog: www.sprocketcms.com[^]

Umm... yeah dude this is the suggestions forum ;-) NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: snowdevil [@] gmail.com web/blog: www.ersysgroup.com[^]

Guys, I think that you should update the current article submission process. I understand that you have it the way it is to ensure quality control, but surely you could have this all happen online in the wizard without having to zip up and email changes to previously published articles. Frankly, it's a pain in the butt and when I get the momentary urge to make an update, then I think to myself about having to do the whole zipping up and emailing thing and I think... ahh can't be bothered right now. Let's look at the facts. People these days are motivated by convenience. If you make this a convenient and super-quick process, you'll find people making updates much more often. You don't have to publish the changes straight away, just make it quick to log in, find your article, make some changes and submit the changes for approval. Upon approval, the article would be re-published. The current process is inconvenient. Sure, you can come back with "well don't be lazy" or something to that effect, but let's be realistic. If you improve the whole article submission/approval process for published articles, you're going to get a lot more people bothering to actually keep their articles up to date. Easier process = more authors making updates. As a result, The Code Project's average quality of articles will increase. Help us busy people make spur-of-the-moment updates when it's on our mind and we have 5 minutes to blow without forcing us to stuff around just to make a minor update. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: snowdevil [@] gmail.com web/blog: www.ersysgroup.com[^]

I have made a small windows service and I want a system tray icon I can use to interact with the service. I Suspect I'll need to create a separate application that controls the icon and monitors the service. My question is, how do I only have the application running when the service is running? Obviously the application would only run when a user is logged in, but can someone point me in the right direction, or possibly to an article that can help me solve this problem? NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

Hi, I'm having a problem with my mail sending code. The latest version of Outlook Express strips out my html and screws it all up, complaining of "potentially harmful" attachments, etc, rendering the final email ugly. It seems that by specifying HTML formatting, the MailMessage class is generating text and html formats of the message and attaching the html for people who have html support. How do I make it not try and be fancy and "helpful" in this way, and just format the whole email as html, like I want it to? When it tries to make a text version of the email, it ends up splitting long URLs over two lines, and then outlook screws them up. In trying to be more "functional", MailMessage is ending up being a pain in the butt.public void Send() { MailMessage msg = new MailMessage(); string mailto = _recipients[0]; for(int i=1; i<_recipients.Count; i++) mailto += ";" + _recipients[i]; msg.To = mailto; msg.Subject = _subject; msg.From = _from; if(_useTemplate) { foreach(DictionaryEntry de in _keys) _body = _body.Replace(de.Key.ToString(), de.Value.ToString()); } msg.BodyFormat = _isHtml ? MailFormat.Html : MailFormat.Text; msg.Body = _body; SmtpMail.Send(msg); }
NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

I can understand your position, but I think it clearly means that the cost of living in some other nations is significantly less than countries like the USA and Australia. I can't see how anyone could misconstrue what I was trying to say. At the moment, India is a popular country for offshoring due to this fact. Obviously I'm not intending anything racial in this respect. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

Thanks, I'll check it out. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

Thanks Nish, I'll take your advice on board. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

Thanks, I've checked it out and it looks like it might be a pretty good option! NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

Thanks for the feedback. I understand your position, and really, I was just trying to find out what's involved, pro's, cons, etc. I didn't really expect this kind of reaction. Actually the only reason I was even looking at this to see if it were a viable option, was because I have to pay for some stuff to be done out of my own pocket, and it seemed like possibly an idea to fill in the gap for the moment until I'm in a position to pay someone local (which I'd prefer to be able to do anyway) at local rates. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

I totally sympathise. I would never sack anyone with the intent to move development offshore. My intent is more to get a bit of cheap work done to start with, before moving to a totally in-house non-offshore setup once that becomes an option. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

Who is (was) John Peel? NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

That would be somewhat premature seeing as right now I'm just researching my options. I'm really just curious to know what is available considering that I have to personally fund this out of my own salaried pocket if I go ahead with it. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

I agree with you on the code review. I would not pay any developer to work for me if I had not seen what he/she can do in advance, plus I would be asking them a bunch of questions about their coding style, etc, just to get a feel for what kind of programmer they are. Really I was just trying to find out about the offshore contracting option in general. I thought some people on here may have had some experiences in that area. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

The reason I asked was myself an a friend run a business. It is currently a very small business and we both have full time jobs. We can't afford very much, and certainly not the $30+/hr full time rates of hiring someone normally. This is why we are investigating our options. The reason I suggested "India" is because I have seen a lot in the news lately that India is a good place to look for outsourcing because the rates over there are generally much better than Australia/USA and also because they have a lot of skilled professionals. And please let me re-emphasize the fact that I am merely investigating our options. I just want to know what is available, and what sort of pricing is available. And no I'm not advertising a job right now. I'm just asking people what they know about it. NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]

Hi, I am doing a bit of investigating at the moment as we have some work we need to get done on a budget soon, and we've decided it may be beneficial to contract an Indian (or other less expensive nationality) programmer on a semi-ongoing basis to do the work for us. My questions are, what kind of money am I likely looking at, and what would be the best way to go about locating somebody decent who isn't too expensive? Also, do you have any recommendations as to where to look/start? FYI, we basically need to develop a bunch of business objects with C#/DotNet that perform a variety of tasks. --------------- UPDATE: To anyone reading this, please take note that I am simply researching my options. I'm not advertising a job, and I have no racial or prejudicial motivations here. I am merely shopping around for cost effective solutions, and getting a start on a couple of things with an offshore developer (cheaper due to lower cost of living) seems like a good kickstart until I can afford to hire someone local. --------------- NATHAN RIDLEY Web Application Developer email: nathan @ netlab.com.au [remove the spaces before and after the @ symbol]