Unfortunately I had some decently nasty bugs crop up that couldn’t wait for v2.1 of my control set to come out. Because of that, I had to release v2.0.1 that contains the following fixes:

• Fixed issue where AppendDataBoundItems had no effect when binding against the Multi-Text controls.
• Fixed issue where posting back a page with the ListTransfer controls are present but not visible throws a NULL reference exception.
• Fixed issue where determining the scrollLeft and scrollTop in IE was causing improper behavior when the page scrolled. This breaks the scrolling div fix for IE.
• Fixed issue where disabling the CalendarPopup and TimePicker controls upon a postback with the Image displayed, didn't actually disable the image.
• Fixed issue where it's possible to receive a NULL reference exception in the CalendarPopup or TimePicker when calling the Clear or Reset methods.

While I don’t normally do quick releases like this, I’d rather have a more solid product in the end. Unfortunately these items were not identified sooner and had to wait until the public took a crack at the RTM bits, but I digress. Official build number for this is 2.0.1.2222.

The updated version can be downloaded by visiting http://www.eworldui.net/Download.aspx

The day has finally come! After many hours migrating (and well, re-writing) my website, I’m happy to announce the official RTM release of Excentrics World Server Controls v2.0! There are still a few known issues logged on my forums that didn’t make the cut, however this official release marks an important part since 2004.

With this release comes a few changes…

• Some controls have been dropped due to ASP.NET 2.0 native support.
• There are some breaking changes, which are all noted within the readme file.
• The 1.9 version is still freely available for ASP.NET 1.0 and 1.1.
• Source code licensing price has increased to $100. However, this price increase does not affect current source code license owners.

At this time, my forums are currently down due to the upgrade and I’m working with my hosting company to resolve the issue. However, the site has been fully ported & working great under ASP.NET 2.0!

Enjoy the new release community! Download it Now!

Update 1: Forums are up, and now located at http://forums.eworldui.net however I’m now having issues with my main site. Bear with me!

Update 2: Site is finally back up, but currently sending emails are disabled – so don’t try and contact me as I may not respond… stupid ThreadPool…

Update 3: Site should have email capability now, while slow (I hope just slow). Check out Smart Thread Pool if you need a thread pool that will work in hosted environments.

If you’ve visited my site tonight, you may have noticed that it’s currently down for maintenance. What does this mean? Well, nothing bad of course, just migrating from SQL 2000 to SQL 2005 which will hopefully allow me to utilize some fancier features with the new website coming in a few weeks (hint hint). This migration hasn’t been easy as I started off with high hopes from my hoster. 24 hours later I have a working plan - which involves the following steps…

1. Backup my SQL 2000 database
2. Download my SQL 2000 database to my home server
3. Restore my database to my home server (SQL 2005)
4. Backup my database from my home server
5. Upload my database to my SQL 2005 server
6. Restore my database to SQL 2005
7. Execute a script altering the schema from ‘user’ to ‘dbo’ on all objects
8. Point website / forums to SQL 2005 server & hope it all works!

Eight fricking steps, not too shabby considering it’s considered a major migration. I really wish it would have been easier, however my hoster seems to have some issues restoring SQL 2000 databases to my SQL 2005 server, so it must be ‘cleansed’ prior to a restore. Anyway, hopefully things will go smoothly as I’m currently on step 2. Please let me know if you notice any issues, though I doubt anyone will.

Update: Site is now back up with a smooth migration! Now, if only I could tell the difference from SQL 2000 to SQL 2005…

I’m happy to announce the public release of Excentrics World Server Controls v2.0, RC2! While there haven’t been many changes since the RC1 release, there was a notable change that I believe a lot of users would benefit from if the control set was released. If you’re new to the next version or Release Candidates, please read my RC1 release post.

If you’re interested in test-driving, I’m waiting for you! Help continue flushing out bugs in Server Controls v2.0 prior to it going RTM.

• For public help, please utilize the Server Controls v2.0, Release Candidate Bug Reporting forum.
• For private help, please contact [email protected]
• To download the beta, visit the download page which always has the latest download available.

Enjoy this new Release Candidate community!

This has got to be one of the funniest songs I’ve heard of in awhile. The odd thing is that it speaks to me as well, has a catchy tune, and only costs $1 to buy it from the guy! Without further ado..."Code Monkey" by Jonathan Coulton.

“Code Monkey like Fritos
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew
Code Monkey very simple man
With big warm fuzzy secret heart:
Code Monkey like you”

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Looking for Excentrics World Server Controls v2.0, RC1? I thought so. Check it out!

So ever since I introduced the concept of “nullability” for the CalendarPopup and TimePicker controls, everyone has continuously asked the same basic question:

“Why is it when I try to bind my data source to SelectedDate, I get the error ‘The type DBNull cannot be converted to the type DateTime’? How can I bind it to this field?”

So the answer is, well you have to make a method call to see if the value is NULL, and return DateTime.MinValue instead. Wow, it seems so simple – this is where I believe the design flaw comes in…if it’s so darn simple, why do I keep getting asked the same question?

So, obviously, with the advancements in .NET 2.0, and the introduction of Nullable<T>, I have the opportunity to nick this in the butt so I don’t have to field this question so often. However, this would require a huge breaking change from the current version to Server Controls v2.0 in the sense that SelectedDate / SelectedTime would now become Nullable<DateTime>.

Now, if you know your CLR internals well enough, typeof(Nullable<DateTime>) != typeof(DateTime). This means that existing code where you could do .SelectedDate.ToShortDateString() no longer “just works” because you have to take it 1 step further: .SelectedDate.Value.ToShortDateString().

So, being that I develop the controls for the community, how big of a hit would it be if modifying the current signature of SelectedDate / SelectedTime to be Nullable<DateTime>? Let me know by utilizing the comment’s feature to leave your vote. Thanks, and I appreciate your honesty.

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Are you living under a rock? No? Did you see that Excentrics World Server Controls v2.0, RC1 is out in public? Check it out!

I’m proud to announce the public release of Excentrics World Server Controls v2.0, RC1! With a complete rewrite from .NET 1.1 to .NET 2.0, over 120 bug fixes or new additions, 2 alpha releases, 2 beta releases, and full reimplemented design-time support, it’s been a long time in the waiting for all! Today marks the day that Excentrics World moves into vNext.

So, if you’re interested in test-driving, great! Excentrics World is looking for the public to help flush out any of the final kink’s prior to Server Controls v2.0 goes RTM.

• For public help, please utilize the Server Controls v2.0, Release Candidate Bug Reporting forum.
• For private help, please contact [email protected]
• To download the beta, visit the download page which always has the latest download available.

Thanks again to all of my beta testers! Enjoy the release candidate community!

Coinciding with the release of NewsGator Inbox v2.6 today, I’ve released a patch to the current version that enables my NNTP Posting Plugin to start working again. Sometime in the time prior to the 2.5 roll-out, they changed how a few attributes in the NewsGator OPML was stored, which didn’t allow me to retrieve the correct URL for the posts. As such, this release fixes this issue, as well as upgrading to .NET 2.0. If you’re currently running the plugin, it should alert you the next time you attempt to post. Otherwise, head on over and download the latest version.

Pulling a late night tonight to get the official Beta 1 out the door! I’ve locked the control set, which will include the following controls:

  - CalendarPopup
  - CollapsablePanel
  - CompareValidator *
  - CustomValidator *
  - FaqRepeater
  - ListTransfer
  - MaskedTextBox
  - MultiTextDropDownList
  - MultiTextListBox
  - NumericBox
  - RangeValidator *
  - RegularExpressionValidator *
  - RequiredFieldValidator *
  - TimePicker

* These validation controls only add support for use with the CalendarPopup / TimePicker controls, however work independently with other controls as well.

I will be continuing to fix bugs, tidy up the API, and clean up the design-time experience from now until I release. I will be taking the month of April off, as it’ll be a much deserved break, but I do have a good reason as I’ll be getting married and taking my honeymoon! So until later, I’m tired & need to hit the sack! Enjoy beta testers!

Ahh, another week another beta. I just dropped my Beta 1 Preview, Refresh 1 to my beta testers, and boy does it feel great. This beta drop included support for 2 more controls from my collection, as well as some breaking of backwards compatability. In summary, I’ve removed AccordianPanel and OrderedListBox. However, I implemented the

• “Grouping” feature of the AccordianPanel into the CollapsablePanel control
• Added support for “sliding” for FireFox
• Fixed the ever-so-painful Nested Sliding Panel’s issue.

As far as the OrderedListBox, well that’s a whole different story. I’ve disbanded from the Composite Control nature that it was previously in hopes that a ListTransfer control (that implements this same functionality for individually moving up, down, to another ListBox, or deleting an item) will allow developers more freedom over layout.

So, hoping that these teasers keep the community actively involved, there will definately be more of them. If you have any features you’re wishing were implemented, make sure you drop me a line and let me know. Now’s the time, since I’m re-writing the controls. Also, if you’re just dying to get your hands on the beta’s, make sure you contact me as well and I’ll add you to the contact list. Enjoy!