To get windows which are off-screen back to your main screen, right click on the Windows Toolbar and select "Cascade Windows".
Tuesday 31 May 2016
Monday 23 May 2016
Basics of MEF
MEF allows C# applications to scale.. specifically it allows application "extensibility". Hence the name, Managed Extensibility Framework.
Data Lineage
The modern day Windows maven cannot be solely excellent at all the latest characteristics of the Dot Net platform but needs a broader understanding of wider computing issues.
One such issue is data lineage, a subcategory of the field of data governance. Data lineage relates to understanding the flow of data from source to destination, including any transformations that occur along the way.
One such issue is data lineage, a subcategory of the field of data governance. Data lineage relates to understanding the flow of data from source to destination, including any transformations that occur along the way.
Sunday 22 May 2016
The MEF as an Integral Part of .NET 4 and an Important Part of .NET 4.5
The Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF) was introduced in .NET 4. It is supported by the MEF "composition engine". Its main namespace is System.ComponentModel.Composition.
Roll your own MD5 implementation - here's how!
Roll your own MD5 implementation - here's how!
If you wish to implement an MD5 algorithm (commonly used to verify data integrity) in C# the "right way" to go about it is to inherit from class MD5.
public (abstract) class MD5: HashAlgorithm [From mscorlib and in System.Security.Cryptography]
public (abstract) class HashAlgorithm: IDisposable, ICryptoTransform
Brainchild of Yale Mathematician Ron Rivest!
The MD5 ("message digest") algorithm was designed in 1991 by Ronald Rivest (whose academic journey began with a Bachelors in Mathematics from Yale) as the successor to MD4, although execution speed is slower. It is described in RFC1321. It produces a 128 bit digest or "fingerprint" of the input data. That "fingerprint" can then be used to validate the integrity of downloaded data files.
The Avalanche Effect
A concept that comes up in discussions of MD5 and other related algorithms is the notion of the avalanche effect. This is a scenario where an input bit is allowed to impact two or more output bits. Berlin-born cryptographer Horst Feistel, whose research led to the formation of the Data Encryption Standard, or DES, in the 1970s, and gave his name to the Feistel cipher, coined the term.
The Idea of a One Way Hash Function or Cryptographic Checksum
To understand MD5 as a cryptographic checksum or one-way hash function, we should understand the basics of hash functions. A hash function converts a variable length input into a fixed length output (the former is known as the "pre-image" and the latter the "hash value"). The application is verification - to validate if a given "pre-image" is "likely" to be the same as the real "pre-image" the user is trying to validate. The key to a cryptographic hash, or one-way hash, is that it is difficult to create a "pre-image" that hashes to a particular value. In short, it is hard to spoof the true "pre-image".
If you wish to implement an MD5 algorithm (commonly used to verify data integrity) in C# the "right way" to go about it is to inherit from class MD5.
public (abstract) class MD5: HashAlgorithm [From mscorlib and in System.Security.Cryptography]
public (abstract) class HashAlgorithm: IDisposable, ICryptoTransform
Brainchild of Yale Mathematician Ron Rivest!
The MD5 ("message digest") algorithm was designed in 1991 by Ronald Rivest (whose academic journey began with a Bachelors in Mathematics from Yale) as the successor to MD4, although execution speed is slower. It is described in RFC1321. It produces a 128 bit digest or "fingerprint" of the input data. That "fingerprint" can then be used to validate the integrity of downloaded data files.
The Avalanche Effect
A concept that comes up in discussions of MD5 and other related algorithms is the notion of the avalanche effect. This is a scenario where an input bit is allowed to impact two or more output bits. Berlin-born cryptographer Horst Feistel, whose research led to the formation of the Data Encryption Standard, or DES, in the 1970s, and gave his name to the Feistel cipher, coined the term.
The Idea of a One Way Hash Function or Cryptographic Checksum
To understand MD5 as a cryptographic checksum or one-way hash function, we should understand the basics of hash functions. A hash function converts a variable length input into a fixed length output (the former is known as the "pre-image" and the latter the "hash value"). The application is verification - to validate if a given "pre-image" is "likely" to be the same as the real "pre-image" the user is trying to validate. The key to a cryptographic hash, or one-way hash, is that it is difficult to create a "pre-image" that hashes to a particular value. In short, it is hard to spoof the true "pre-image".
GIMP for Windows
The Current Stable Version and Other Logistics
Current stable version as of 22 May 2016 is 2.8.16. The GIMP installer for Windows is around 100MB. GIMP has its own wiki. On Windows GIMP installs to C:\Program Files and subdirectory GIMP 2 by default. GIMP supports the writing of plugins in Python. Wilber the dog is the GIMP mascot.
Compelling Reasons to use GIMP
Among the many interesting and useful features of GIMP is the ability to re-save JPEG images at user-controllable levels of quality.
Current stable version as of 22 May 2016 is 2.8.16. The GIMP installer for Windows is around 100MB. GIMP has its own wiki. On Windows GIMP installs to C:\Program Files and subdirectory GIMP 2 by default. GIMP supports the writing of plugins in Python. Wilber the dog is the GIMP mascot.
Compelling Reasons to use GIMP
Among the many interesting and useful features of GIMP is the ability to re-save JPEG images at user-controllable levels of quality.
Sunday 8 May 2016
Opening VBA Editor in Excel 2010 Onwards
File -> Options -> Customize Ribbon -> Check Developer
By default the Developer tab is not visible in Excel!
By default the Developer tab is not visible in Excel!
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