Use New Bing Maps Road Imagery In Silverlight Map Control (Unofficially and Unsupported)

19. August 2010

NewBingMapsRoadImageryFromSilverlight Recently the consumer facing Bing Maps site changed the map imagery that is displayed for the Road map mode. This map imagery has not been officially made available for Bing Maps for Enterprise developers to use within their applications. The imagery is only officially available to the Bing Maps consumer website. Unofficially, you can still access the imagery if you know the URL format to get it. Below is an example of using the URL format for the new imagery to display it within the Bing Maps Silverlight Control.

I have not seen anything official from Microsoft on this, so I assume that doing this is against their terms of use. You assume any and all responsibility in violating their terms of use if you use the below code. Sorry for the disclaimer, but I don’t want you to tell Microsoft I told you it was ok. Basically, do not use this in a production application, unless you get consent from Microsoft.

Now the code…

Displaying the Map (XAML):

<UserControl x:Class="Silverlight_NewBingMapsRoadImagery_2010.MainPage"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:Silverlight_NewBingMapsRoadImagery_2010"
xmlns:m="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
xmlns:mCore="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.Core;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
mc:Ignorable="d"
d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="400">

<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="White">

<m:Map NavigationVisibility="Collapsed">
<m:Map.Mode>
<!-- Do Not Display Default Bing Maps Imagery -->
<mCore:MercatorMode />
</m:Map.Mode>
<m:Map.Children>
<m:MapTileLayer>
<m:MapTileLayer.TileSources>
<!-- Show the new Bing Maps imagery -->
<local:NewBingMapsTileSource />
</m:MapTileLayer.TileSources>
</m:MapTileLayer>
</m:Map.Children>
</m:Map>

</Grid>
</UserControl>

NewBingMapTileSource (C#):

public class NewBingMapsTileSource : Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.TileSource
{
public NewBingMapsTileSource()
: base("{UriScheme}://ecn.t{subdomain}.tiles.virtualearth.net/tiles/r{quadkey}?g=530&mkt=EN-US&lbl=l1&stl=h&shading=hill&n=z")
{ }
}

Bing Maps, C#, Silverlight , ,

Loading Microsoft CDN Hosted OpenStreetMap Imagery in Silverlight Bing Maps Control

19. August 2010

MSHostedOpenStreetMapImageryFromSilverlight Recently a new Bing Maps App for OpenStreetMap (OSM) was released. This new feature of the Bing Maps consumer facing website is hosting the OpenStreetMap imagery using the Azure CDN, rather than relying on OpenStreetMap’s server. There has been some question as to whether developers can use the Microsoft hosted OpenStreetMap imagery within their own applications.

I have not seen anything official from Microsoft on this, so I assume that doing this is against their terms of use. You assume any and all responsibility in violating their terms of use if you use the below code. Sorry for the disclaimer, but I don’t want you to tell Microsoft I told you it was ok. Basically, do not use this in a production application, unless you get consent from Microsoft.

Now the code…

Displaying the Map (XAML):

<UserControl x:Class="Silverlight_NewBingMapsRoadImagery_2010.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
    xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
    xmlns:local="clr-namespace:Silverlight_NewBingMapsRoadImagery_2010"
    xmlns:m="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
    xmlns:mCore="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.Core;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
    mc:Ignorable="d"
    d:DesignHeight="300" d:DesignWidth="400">

    <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="White">

        <m:Map NavigationVisibility="Collapsed">
            <m:Map.Mode>
                <!-- Do Not Display Default Bing Maps Imagery -->
                <mCore:MercatorMode />
            </m:Map.Mode>
            <m:Map.Children>
                <m:MapTileLayer>
                    <m:MapTileLayer.TileSources>
                        <!-- Display OpenStreetMap Imagery -->
                        <local:OpenStreetMapTileSource />
                    </m:MapTileLayer.TileSources>
                </m:MapTileLayer>
            </m:Map.Children>
        </m:Map>
        
    </Grid>
</UserControl>

OpenStreetMapTileSource (C#):

public class OpenStreetMapTileSource : Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.TileSource
{
    public OpenStreetMapTileSource()
        : base()
    {
        this.UriFormat = "{UriScheme}://{3}.osm.virtualearth.net/{2}/{0}/{1}.png"
            .Replace("{UriScheme}", OpenStreetMapTileSource.PageUriScheme); // <-- set "http" or "https" appropriately
    }

    public override System.Uri GetUri(int x, int y, int zoomLevel)
    {
        // Randomly decide which server to use
        string server;
        var rnd = new Random();
        var i = rnd.Next(0, 2);
        switch (i)
        {
            case 1:
                server = "b";
                break;
            case 2:
                server = "c";
                break;
            default:
                server = "a";
                break;
        }

        // Format Uri for the desired map tile image
        return new Uri(string.Format(this.UriFormat, x, y, zoomLevel, server));
    }

    internal static string PageUriScheme
    {
        get
        {
            if ((HtmlPage.IsEnabled && (HtmlPage.Document != null)) && (HtmlPage.Document.DocumentUri != null))
            {
                return HtmlPage.Document.DocumentUri.Scheme;
            }
            return "HTTP";
        }
    }
}

Bing Maps, C#, Silverlight , ,

Community Coding Contest 2010 - Looking for Input and Prizes

4. January 2010

Now that it's 2010, and over a year since the first Community Coding Contest came to an end, I'm thinking about running the contest again in 2010.

Last time it ran for 3 months and we had 6 really great entries. This time around I'm thinking that it may be better to accept entries for 6 months, and have the voting run for a full month. This will give much more time for entries to be submitted, and for people to work on their entries before submitting and/or voting begins.

These are just some initial thoughts, and I'm going to need input on everything from YOU (the community) before I can make a final decision as to when and how to run the contest again. I'd really appreciate if you could fill out the following survey and tell us what you think.

Community Coding Contest 2010 Pre-Contest Survey

Also, we will need some prizes donated before the contest will be able to go on. If you or your company are interested in donating prizes or monetary support (web hosting fees, mailing expenses, etc.) for the contest, please contact the contest directly here: http://communitycodingcontest.org/contact.aspx

You can view the official contest website here: http://communitycodingcontest.org

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing more about what everyone thinks!

asp.net, ASP.NET MVC, Bing Maps, C#, Silverlight, vb.net , , , ,

Prototype of OpenStreetMap Silverlight Control using DeepEarth and Bing Maps SDK

13. November 2009

I’ve decided to expand a little on using OpenStreetMap imagery with the new Bing Maps Silverlight Control in response to the following comment posted by John O’Brien on my previous “Display OpenStreetMap Imagery using Bing Maps Silverlight Control v1” post:

“Very close Chris but you will still need to enter a Bing Maps AppID.
If however you create your own map from MapCore and don't use the Bing Maps services then you don't need creditials”

Yes, it is true that by just displaying the OpenStreetMap imagery on the Bing Maps Silverlight Control using a custom TileSource you still need to provide the control a Bing Maps Key (App ID). However, what if you inherited from the “MapCore” base class (the same one that the Bing Maps “Map” object inherits) and built out a full OpenStreetMap Map control?

Custom “OpenStreetMap” Control

I built out a test “OpenStreetMap” object that inherits from “MapCore” that automatically sets the Map Mode to a “OpenStreetMapMode” object that loads up the OpenStreetMap imagery automatically. This was some simple code to write, basically just extending only a little bit on top of what I posted in the previous post.

Here’s the code for the “OpenStreetMap”, “OpenStreetMapMode” and “OpenStreetMapTileSource” objects:

using System;
using Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;
using Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.Core;

namespace SilverlightApplication1
{
    public class OpenStreetMap : MapCore
    {
        public OpenStreetMap()
            : base()
        {
            this.Mode.SetView(new Location(), 2.0, 0.0, 0.0, false);
            this.Mode = new OpenStreetMapMode();
        }
    }

    public class OpenStreetMapMode : RoadMode
    {
        public OpenStreetMapMode()
            : base()
        {
            var tileLayer = (MapTileLayer)this.Content;
            tileLayer.TileSources.Clear();
            tileLayer.TileSources.Add(new OpenStreetMapTileSource());
        }
    }

    public class OpenStreetMapTileSource : TileSource
    {
        public OpenStreetMapTileSource()
            : base("http://tile.openstreetmap.org/{2}/{0}/{1}.png")
        {
        }

        public override System.Uri GetUri(int x, int y, int zoomLevel)
        {
            return new Uri(string.Format(this.UriFormat, x, y, zoomLevel));
        }
    }
}

 

And, here’s an example of using this new “OpenStreetMap” control:

<UserControl x:Class="SilverlightApplication1.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" 
    xmlns:map="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
    xmlns:local="clr-namespace:SilverlightApplication1"
    mc:Ignorable="d" d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480">
    <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
        <local:OpenStreetMap Name="map">
            <local:OpenStreetMap.Children>
                <map:MapLayer>
                    <Image Source="BluePin.png" Opacity="0.8" Stretch="None" map:MapLayer.Position="42.16, -95"></Image>
                </map:MapLayer>
            </local:OpenStreetMap.Children>
        </local:OpenStreetMap>
    </Grid>
</UserControl>

 

What About Navigation Controls?

One side effect of creating this completely custom Map Control based off MapCore is that the other controls that the “Map” control includes automatically do not get displayed.

The “Map” control displays the “MapControlNavigationBar” control via the “MapForeground” object, however due to the MapForeground constructor that lets you tell it what MapBase object to attach to being marked “internal” is seems that it can’t be easily reused.

However, with a little help from the newest controls in developments within the DeepEarth project, you can fairly simply modify the Bing Maps Navigation control within the DeepEarth project to be used with the new “OpenStreetMap” control.

Here’s the code I worked up for a DeepEarth NavigationPanel for the “OpenStreetMap” control created earlier:

using System;
using System.Windows;
using DeepEarth.Client.BingMaps.Convertors;
using DeepEarth.Client.Common;
using GeoAPI.Geometries;
using GisSharpBlog.NetTopologySuite.Geometries;
using Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;
using Point = System.Windows.Point;
using Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.Core;

namespace NewDeepEarth.NavigationPanel
{
    public class NavigationPanel : DeepEarth.Client.Controls.NavigationPanel.NavigationPanel, IMapControl<MapCore>
    {
        private string mapName;

        public NavigationPanel()
        {
            Loaded += CoordinatePanel_Loaded;
        }

        public override double ZoomLevel
        {
            get
            {
                if (MapInstance != null)
                {
                    return MapInstance.ZoomLevel;
                }
                return 0;
            }
            set
            {
                if (MapInstance != null)
                {
                    MapInstance.ZoomLevel = value;
                }
            }
        }

        public override ICoordinate Center
        {
            get
            {
                if (MapInstance != null)
                {
                    return CoordinateConvertor.Convert(MapInstance.Center);
                }
                return new Coordinate(0, 0);
            }
            set
            {
                if (MapInstance != null)
                {
                    MapInstance.Center = CoordinateConvertor.ConvertBack(value);
                }
            }
        }

        #region IMapControl<MapCore> Members

        public string MapName
        {
            get { return mapName; }
            set
            {
                mapName = value;
                setMapInstance(MapName);
            }
        }

        public MapCore MapInstance { get; set; }

        public new void Dispose()
        {
            MapInstance = null;
            base.Dispose();
        }

        public override void PanMap(int deltaX, int deltaY)
        {
            if (MapInstance != null)
            {
                NewDeepEarth.Client.BingMaps.Utilities.Pan(deltaX, deltaY, MapInstance);
            }
        }

        #endregion

        private void CoordinatePanel_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            setMapInstance(MapName);
        }

        private void setMapInstance(string mapname)
        {
            MapInstance = Utilities.FindVisualChildByName<MapCore>(Application.Current.RootVisual, mapname);
        }

    }
}

Also, hers a small utility method that I needed to modify slightly within the DeepEarth project to get the above NavigationPanel to work:

using Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.Core;
using Point = System.Windows.Point;

namespace NewDeepEarth.Client.BingMaps
{
    public static class Utilities
    {
        // Convert to accept Bing Maps "MapCore" instead of "Map" object
        public static void Pan(double deltaX, double deltaY, MapCore map) //Map map)
        {
            Point center = map.LocationToViewportPoint(map.Center);
            center.X = center.X + deltaX;
            center.Y = center.Y + deltaY;
            map.Center = map.ViewportPointToLocation(center);
        }
    }
}

 

Suggestion for the DeepEarth Preview Controls

One big suggestion I have for the DeepEarth projects new Preview Controls is to make the Bing Maps objects/libraries within the project use/accept “MapCore” or “MapBase” where ever it can instead of “Map”. This way as much of the DeepEarth code can be reused, without modification, when building a completely custom Map Control using the Bing Maps Silverlight SDK.

A perfect example of this are the modifications I needed to make to the NavigationPanel object and Utilities.Pan method posted above. By simply changing them from referencing/using “Map” to “MapCore” instead, they can not be used with any Map Control built using the Bing Maps Silverlight SDK.

Conclusion

Even though the above code works, it’s really just a prototype of what can be done using the current Preview controls within the DeepEarth project along with the new Bing Maps Silverlight Control. There is definitely some cool stuff to be done with both the Bing Maps Silverlight SDK and the DeepEarth project!

Anyway, here’s a download link to the full code of the project for the above code:

 

Bing Maps, C#, Silverlight , , , ,

Getting Started with Bing Maps Silverlight Control v1.0

12. November 2009

BingMapsRTW_BasicMapIt’s been 8 months since the CTP release of the Bing Maps Silverlight Control at MIX’08, and finally this week Microsoft released the Final v1.0 release of the control to the web.  Now, we can all finally start using the Bing Maps Silverlight Control in Production!

If you’ve worked with the CTP, then you’ll want to take a look at Ricky’s “Migrating from Bing Maps Silverlight CTP to Production Version” article. It explains all the stuff you’ll need to modify within your project in order to gracefully switch from the CTP to the v1 Map Control.

Now for those of you who haven’t worked with the CTP…

Where to Start?

First you’ll need to make sure you have the following Tools installed:

Of course you’ll also need to at least be familiar with the basics of Silverlight development. I’m mostly referring to XAML, so if your familiar with WPF that should be enough to get you started.

For those Bing Maps (formerly Virtual Earth) developers new to Silverlight; If you need a little help getting started learning the basics, here are some resources that will help you get started:

Now that you have all the necessary tools installed, you can go ahead and download and install the Bing Maps Silverlight v1 Control.

Download: Bing Maps Silverlight Control SDK Version 1.0

The installer will install the Bing Maps Silverlight Control within the “Program Files” on your computer, along with an SDK Documentation Help (.chm) file.

If you would like to see the Bing Maps Silverligth Control “In Action” and see the source code that powers each example, then you’ll want to check out the Bing Maps Silverlight Control Interactive SDK.

Display a Basic Map

Create a New Silverlight Application Project
  • Run VIsual Studio 2008 and Create a New Project using the Silverlight Application template.
    BingMapsRTW_CreateSilverlightProject
  • In the “Add Silverlight Application” dialog box, select “Host the Silverlight application in a new Web site” option and click “OK”. You must select this option to create an ASP.NET Web Application Project, ASP.NET Website, or ASP.NET MVC Website because the URL Access Restrictions in Silverlight require the page that hosts the Map control be hosted using HTTP in order to load/access the Map TIle Imagery.
    BingMapsRTW_CreateHostWebsite 
Add a Reference to Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.dll
  • Go to the “Solution Explorer” and RIght-Click “ References” in the Silverlight Project (not the ASP.NET Web Application Project), and Select “Add Reference…
    BingMapsRTW_AddReference 
  • Within the “Add Reference“ Dialog, Select the “Browse“ tab and navigate to the folder where the SDK is installed, then select the “Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.dll” and “Microsoft.Maps.MapControl.Common.dll” files.

    Note: Be Default the SDK is installed in this folder on x64 version of Windows: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Bing Maps Silverlight Control\V1\Libraries”. On x86 (or 32-bit) versions of Windows it’s installed within the “Program Files” folder instead of “Program Files (x86)”.

    BingMapsRTW_AddReferenceBrowse 
Display a Bing Maps Map!
  • Add a Namespace declaration to Page.xaml for the Microsoft Maps.MapControl namespace.
    To do this add the following to the <UserControl> tag:
    xmlns:m=”clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl”
  • Add the Map Control to the Page by adding the following tag within the Grid in the Page:
    <m:Map></m:Map> The resulting Page.xaml will look like this:
    <UserControl x:Class="BingMapsSilverlightApplication1.MainPage"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" 
        xmlns:m="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
        mc:Ignorable="d" d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480">
        <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
            <m:Map></m:Map>
        </Grid>
    </UserControl>
    Now, when you run the application (press F5 within Visual Studio) you will see a fully interactive Bing Maps map displayed.
    BingMapsRTW_BasicMap

BingMapsRTW_BasicMapWithDevAccountSignUpWarningSetting Up a Bing Maps Developer Account

When running the above example you may have noticed the “Invalid Credentials. Sign up for a developer account at: http://www.microsoft.com/maps/developers” message being displayed over top of the Map. This is because in order for you to use the Silverlight Map control within an application, Microsoft is requiring you to setup a Developer Account for the domain you will be hosting your application in.

Setup a Bing Maps Developer Account
  • Go to the Bing Maps Account Center at https://www.bingmapsportal.com
  • Click the “Create an Account” link on the left side of the site.
  • Sign in with your Windows Live ID
  • Enter it the required Account Details
Get a Bing Maps Key
BingMapsRTW_CreateBingMapsKey
  • Once you have created a Bing Maps Developer Account, just click the “Create or view keys” link on the left side of the Bing Maps Account Center website.
  • Type in some Application Name. This is your name for the application.
  • Type if the Application URL. This is the domain name that you will be hosting the application at.
  • Click the “Create key” button. Now you have a Bing Maps Key that you can use within your application to get rid of that pesky little warning message displayed over the top of the Map and everything on it.
    Note: For testing purposes I entered in an Application Name of “Test” and Application URL of “http://localhost”. This way I have a Bing Maps Key to use for testing/playing with the Silverlight Map Control that wont track any usage to the application I’ll eventually build.
Use the Bing Maps Key within Your Application

Now that you have a Bing Maps Key for your application, you can set your Map within that application to use this key.

To do so, just set the Map controls “CredentialsProvider” property value within XAML to the Bing Maps Key. Just copy and paste the key from the Bing Maps Account Center into your XAML code.

<UserControl x:Class="BingMapsSilverlightApplication1.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" 
    xmlns:m="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
    mc:Ignorable="d" d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480">
    <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
        <m:Map CredentialsProvider="[Bing Maps Key Here]"></m:Map>
    </Grid>
</UserControl>

 

Set Map Properties Declaratively Using XAML and Programmatically Using Code

You can change/set the Bing Maps Controls properties Declaratively using XAML, and Programmatically using Code.

Below is an example of setting the Map Mode to Aerial using XAML:

<UserControl x:Class="BingMapsSilverlightApplication1.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" 
    xmlns:m="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
    mc:Ignorable="d" d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480">
    <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
        <m:Map Mode="Aerial"></m:Map>
    </Grid>
</UserControl>

 

Below is an example of setting the Map Mode to Aerial using C# code:

using System.Windows.Controls;
using Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;

namespace BingMapsSilverlightApplication1
{
    public partial class MainPage : UserControl
    {
        public MainPage()
        {
            InitializeComponent();

            Map1.Mode = new AerialMode();
        }
    }
}

 

First, in order to access the Map Control programmatically you’ll need to assign its “Name”  property within XAML so you have a name to reference it by; like the following:

<UserControl x:Class="BingMapsSilverlightApplication1.MainPage"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation" 
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008" xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" 
    xmlns:m="clr-namespace:Microsoft.Maps.MapControl;assembly=Microsoft.Maps.MapControl"
    mc:Ignorable="d" d:DesignWidth="640" d:DesignHeight="480">
    <Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot">
        <m:Map Name="Map1"></m:Map>
    </Grid>
</UserControl>

 

Additional Articles

Here are some links to additional articles on using the Bing Maps Silverlight Version 1.0 Control:

Conclusion

It’s pretty exciting that we now have a Bing Maps Silverlight control to use within our applications, and finally there is an option other than the JavaScript Control that has far superior performance when plotting over just a couple hundred Pushpins. Plus the Silverlight controls bring the full power of Silverlight to Bing Maps development; which allows for much richer mapping applications to be built.

Keep an eye out, I’ll be posting more articles/tutorials to help you out in exploring this shiny, new Bing Maps Silverlight Control.

Bing Maps, C#, Silverlight , , ,

Virtual Router Project – Turn any Windows 7 PC into a Wireless Access Point / Hot Spot

9. November 2009

Over the last week some of you may have heard about Connectify. It’s an app that unleashes the “Virtual WiFi” and Wireless Hosted Network features of Windows 7 to turn a PC into a Wireless Access Point or Hot Spot. Well, I looked into what it would take to build such an app, and it really wasn’t that difficult since Windows 7 has all the API’s built in to do it. After some time of looking things up and referencing the “Wireless Hosted Network” C++ sample within the WIndows 7 SDK, I now have a nice working version of the application to release. I’m calling this project “Virtual Router” since it essentially allows you to host a software based wireless router from your laptop or other PC with a Wifi card. Oh, and did I mention that this is FREE and OPEN SOURCE!

Download “Virtual Router”

Virtual Router Project - Turn Windows 7 into a Wifi Hot Spot

C# , ,

Resolve IP Address And Host Name From MAC Address using C# and Windows ARP Utility

8. November 2009

While working on the Virtual Router project, I’ve come across a need to be able to retrieve the IP Address and Host Name of a given machine on the local network when only the machines MAC Address is known. This took a bit of research to figure out, and eventually I stumbled across the “arp.exe” utility within Windows.

“arp.exe” uses the Address Resolution Protocol to provide functionality to add, delete or display the IP address for MAC (Media Access Control) address translation.

To see the IP / MAC Address translations, just open up the Command Prompt in Windows, and type “arp –a” and press enter.

Now, you may be asking, how do we use this utility from within a .NET application? Well, it’s rather simple. All you need to do is use the System.Diagnostics.Process class to execute the “arp –a” call and retrieve the results. Then just parse through the results and get out the IP Address for the desired MAC Address.

I’m not going to give full detail on how to call “arp” from .NET. Below is an example on using the “IPInfo” class I created to perform the previously mentioned method of retrieving the IP Address for a specified MAC Address. I also added in the ability to get the machines Host Name using the the “Dns.GetHostEntry” method.

var ipinfo = IPInfo.GetIPInfo(txtMAC.Text);

if (ipinfo == null)
{
    // Machine Not Found!
}
else
{
    var ip = ipinfo.IPAddress;
    var hostname = ipinfo.HostName;
}


Below is the full code of my “IPInfo” class:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net;

/// <summary>
/// This class allows you to retrieve the IP Address and Host Name for a specific machine on the local network when you only know it's MAC Address.
/// </summary>
public class IPInfo
{
    public IPInfo(string macAddress, string ipAddress)
    {
        this.MacAddress = macAddress;
        this.IPAddress = ipAddress;
    }

    public string MacAddress { get; private set; }
    public string IPAddress { get; private set; }

    private string _HostName = string.Empty;
    public string HostName
    {
        get
        {
            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(this._HostName))
            {
                try
                {
                    // Retrieve the "Host Name" for this IP Address. This is the "Name" of the machine.
                    this._HostName = Dns.GetHostEntry(this.IPAddress).HostName;
                }
                catch
                {
                    this._HostName = string.Empty;
                }
            }
            return this._HostName;
        }
    }


    #region "Static Methods"

    /// <summary>
    /// Retrieves the IPInfo for the machine on the local network with the specified MAC Address.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="macAddress">The MAC Address of the IPInfo to retrieve.</param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public static IPInfo GetIPInfo(string macAddress)
    {
        var ipinfo = (from ip in IPInfo.GetIPInfo()
                  where ip.MacAddress.ToLowerInvariant() == macAddress.ToLowerInvariant()
                  select ip).FirstOrDefault();

        return ipinfo;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Retrieves the IPInfo for All machines on the local network.
    /// </summary>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public static List<IPInfo> GetIPInfo()
    {
        try
        {
            var list = new List<IPInfo>();

            foreach (var arp in GetARPResult().Split(new char[] { '\n', '\r' }))
            {
                // Parse out all the MAC / IP Address combinations
                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(arp))
                {
                    var pieces = (from piece in arp.Split(new char[] { ' ', '\t' })
                                  where !string.IsNullOrEmpty(piece)
                                  select piece).ToArray();
                    if (pieces.Length == 3)
                    {
                        list.Add(new IPInfo(pieces[1], pieces[0]));
                    }
                }
            }

            // Return list of IPInfo objects containing MAC / IP Address combinations
            return list;
        }
        catch(Exception ex)
        {
            throw new Exception("IPInfo: Error Parsing 'arp -a' results", ex);
        }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// This runs the "arp" utility in Windows to retrieve all the MAC / IP Address entries.
    /// </summary>
    /// <returns></returns>
    private static string GetARPResult()
    {
        Process p = null;
        string output = string.Empty;

        try
        {
            p = Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo("arp", "-a")
            {
                CreateNoWindow = true,
                UseShellExecute = false,
                RedirectStandardOutput = true
            });

            output = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();

            p.Close();
        }
        catch(Exception ex)
        {
            throw new Exception("IPInfo: Error Retrieving 'arp -a' Results", ex);
        }
        finally
        {
            if (p != null)
            {
                p.Close();
            }
        }
        
        return output;
    }

    #endregion
}

C# , ,

.NET Windows Service Installer and Auto Start After Installation

6. November 2009

It’s not very often that I need to build a Windows Service for a specific task, and it’s even more rare that I need to create an Installer (.msi) to install/uninstall the service. Well, the project I’m currently working on (http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com) requires me to 1) Install a Windows Service using a Setup Project, and 2) Start the Windows Service immediately after installation.

Create Setup Project for Windows Service

Just create a Setup Project within your Solution in Visual Studio, then follow the below steps:

1) Right-Click the Setup Project you just created
2) Click “Add”, then “Project Output…”
3) In the dialog that appears select your Windows Service Project as Primary Output, then click OK.

That’s really all that’s required. When the resulting Installer is executed it will Install / Uninstall the Windows Service.

You can find a longer description of how to do this here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/317421

Auto Start Windows Service After Installation

Whether you use a Setup Project of the “installutil” tool to install your Windows Service, it can be very convenient if the service were to automatically start once installed. To do this all it takes is adding a couple lines of code to the ServiceInstaller that you have defined within your Windows Service Project to handle the “Committed” event, then use the ServiceController class to Start the service.

Here’s an example ServiceInstaller with the “Auto Start” code in place:

[RunInstaller(true)]
public class ServiceInstaller : Installer
{
    string strServiceName = "MyServiceName";

    public ServiceInstaller()
    {
        var processInstaller = new ServiceProcessInstaller();
        var serviceInstaller = new ServiceInstaller();

        processInstaller.Account = ServiceAccount.LocalSystem;
        processInstaller.Username = null;
        processInstaller.Password = null;

        serviceInstaller.DisplayName = strServiceName;
        serviceInstaller.StartType = ServiceStartMode.Automatic;

        serviceInstaller.ServiceName = strServiceName;

        this.Installers.Add(processInstaller);
        this.Installers.Add(serviceInstaller);

        this.Committed += new InstallEventHandler(ServiceInstaller_Committed);
    }

    void ServiceInstaller_Committed(object sender, InstallEventArgs e)
    {
        // Auto Start the Service Once Installation is Finished.
        var controller = new ServiceController(strServiceName);
        controller.Start();
    }
}

 

Conclusion

These are two tips that for some reason had eluded me for a long time. Usually I just created a .bat file to call “installutil” and “net start” to install and start my services manually. In most cases that worked perfect since it was very rare that the service was installed on a new computer or updated to a newer version. However, while building an “End User Friendly” Installer that anyone can run, you need to automate the installation and start up of the Windows Service.

This is just the thing that I’m running into with the new http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com project that I’m working on. The “Virtual Router” project utilizes Windows 7’s Virtual Wifi and Wireless Hosted Network API’s to turn any computer into a Wireless Access Point / Router. Look for the first release of this project soon!

C# , , ,

Develop Software for the Microsoft Windows Platform for FREE

11. December 2008

I've been lucky enough to get 2 free MSDN subscriptions over the last few years, so I've never needed to purchase Visual Studio, Office or SQL Server. The first MSDN subscription I won in a blogging contest back in 2006, and the second I got when I won the Microsoft MVP award earlier this year (2008). Before you start to think that I'm braging; just let me point out that I am very greatful for this. Below is a list/guide that I would follow if I wasn't so fortunate, and I'm not talking about softare piracy (that really is stealing!).

Now the point of this post... What if I didn't win these MSDN Subscriptions? Then, how exactly would I obtain the software necessary to do my job?

No the answer isn't to borrow CD/DVD's from work or a buddy. And, No it's not to fire up Bit Torrent. The software I mention below (all of it) are all freely available to anyone.

Free Tools for Developers

There a quire a few tools out there of various types. Below, I'll focus on the ways you can obtain, for FREE, software that you may otherwise have to pay for. Also, there are so many tools of various kinds, so I'll just be focusing on the main ones that you should be aware of.

Integrated Developement Environment (IDE)

  • MS Visual Studio Express Editions - These are FREE editions of the full Visual Studio product. There is no restriction to selling the software you build using these tools, and they contain all the features necessary for you to build your software. These include Visual Basic Express, Visual C# Express, Visual C++ Express and Visual Web Developer Express.
  • SharpDevelop - This is a FREE, Open Source IDE for developing .NET applications. It's been around since before Microsoft released the Visual Studio Express editions.
  • MS Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008 SP1 - This is a FREE add-on to Visual Studio (both Full Editions and Free Express editions) that enables you to build Silverlight 2 applications. You can find more info on this here.

Database

  • MS SQL Server Express Edition - This is a FREE edition of SQL Server. There are some scalability requirements with it, but it's still perfect for development purposes.

Other Tools

  • .NET Reflector - This allows you to easily view, navigate and searh through the class hierarchies of any .NET assembly; even if you don't have the source code. This tool is invaluable, since it can decompile .NET assemblies and show you the VB.NET, C# or IL code.
  • Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar - This is an add-on to IE7 that adds a much improved (and needed) set of client-side/javascript debugging tools.

There are plenty of tools you can use to develop software for the Microsoft/Windows platform that are completely FREE. All you need is a copy of Windows to begin with, and that comes with any PC you buy.

How to obtain paid tools at No Co$t

Since you can't exactly go to Microsoft.com and download the Full/Paid versions of their software for Free; there are time when they give it away. You just need to look out for those nice opportunities and take advantage of them.

Here's a couple examples in the past that I took advantage of, if I remeber them correctly:

  • Once upon a time there were some online screencasts for VB.NET from Microsoft. If you viewed a certain number of them within a certain time period, then you could enter your mailing address and Microsoft would send you a copy of Visual Basic .NET 2003 for FREE.
  • Back in 2005, Microsoft had this "Ready to Launch" tour that was put on by the MSDN Events people (it was a free conference). If you attended you got a CD/DVD pack that included the Full, RTM versions of Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition and SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition for FREE.
  • In Dec. 2006, Microsoft gave a bunch of copies of Visual Studio 2008 Professional edition to the Wisconsin .NET Users Group to give away at a special Launch/Holiday meeting that month.
  • In early 2008, Microsoft put on the {Heroes Happen Here} events across the country, again they were free copies of Windows Vista Ultimate w/ Service Pack 1, Visual Studio 2008 Standard, SQL Server 2008 CTP, and Windows Server 2008 1 year trial.

As you can see, I've been able to take advantage of a few FREE opportunities to obtain the tools I need to do my job. I really encourage you to take advantage of these if you can.

 

Happy coding, now go get your Free Tools. And, remember, Do Not Pirate Steal Software; would you want someone to steal the software you write, the same software you're trying to make money on?

 

asp.net, C#, database, Silverlight, vb.net , , ,

A Couple VB.NET Language Tips for C# Developers

31. October 2008

Originally, I started out as a Visual Basic developer, and have since moved mostly to C#. However, when doing consulting work, I do need to cross back and forth quite often. Here are a couple VB.NET tips that you probably aren't aware of if you're mostly a C# developer. Some VB.NET developers may not even know about then either.

Null Coalesce

Null Coalescing is really simple in C#:

// If "someValue" is Null then set "i" to 0 (zero)
// otherwise set it to the value of "someValue"
int? i = someValue ?? 0;

But what about VB.NET?

<code:VB>

Dim i = If(someValue, 0)

</code>

Granted the VB.NET Null Coalesce is a method call, but at least there's still an equivalent available in the language. Also, I believe this is something that was introduced in VB.NET 9.0.

Ternary Conditional Operator

This is the ability have a complete If..Else..Then statement on a single line and have it return a value. This is really simple in C#:

// This performs the same logical operation as the Null Coalesce example above
int? i = (someValue == null ? 0 : someValue);

How about in VB.NET?

<code:VB>

Dim i = If(someValue = Nothing, 0, someValue)

'' The above can be simplified, since if the first parameter is equal to "Nothing"
'' then the "true" (second) parameter is return, otherwise the
'' "false" (third) parameter is returned.
Dim i = If(someValue, 0, someValue)

'' Also to further simplify, you can just pass in the "false" (second) parameter
'' and if its equal to "Nothing" then the "false" (second) parameter is returns,
'' otherwise the value itself is returned.
Dim i = If(someValue, 0) 

</code>

Lock Statement

You may be familiar with the lock statement in C#, especially if you're used to worrying about concurrency.

lock (expression)
{

    ...Some Code...

}

At first it appears to not exist in VB.NET, but they just named it SyncLock instead:

<code:VB>

SyncLock (expression)

    ...Some Code...

End SyncLock

</code>

 

Please, excuse the bad syntax highlighting for the VB.NET code, it seems that my instance of BlogEngine.NET doesn't like to highlight too many blocks of code within the same post.

C#, vb.net , ,