CREATE TABLE xml_tab
(
  id INT,
  xml_col  XML
)

 DECLARE @xml_tab TABLE (xml_col XML)
-- document
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('<person/>')
-- fragment
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('<person/><person/>')
SELECT * FROM @xml_tab

 DECLARE @xml_tab TABLE (xml_col XML)
-- text only
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('data data data .....')
-- empty string
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('')
-- null value
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES (null)
SELECT * FROM @xml_tab

 DECLARE @xml_tab TABLE (xml_col XML)
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('<doc/>')
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('<doc xmlns="http://www.doctors.com"/>')
-- این سه سطر در عمل یکی هستند
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('<doc xmlns="http://www.documents.com"/>')
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('<dd:doc xmlns:dd="http://www.documents.com"/>')
INSERT @xml_tab VALUES ('<rr:doc xmlns:rr="http://www.documents.com"/>')
SELECT * FROM @xml_tab

 DECLARE @xml_tab TABLE  (id INT, xml_col XML)

INSERT INTO @xml_tab
VALUES
  (
5,
N'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<doc1>
  <row name="vahid"></row>
</doc1>
')

 XML parsing: line 1, character 38, unable to switch the encoding

 DECLARE @xml_tab TABLE  (id INT, xml_col XML)

INSERT INTO @xml_tab
VALUES
  (
5,
'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><doc1><row name="vahid"></row></doc1>'
  )
   
SELECT * FROM @xml_tab

 <doc1>
  <row name="vahid" />
</doc1>

 DECLARE @xml_tab TABLE  (id INT, xml_col XML)

INSERT INTO @xml_tab
VALUES
  (
5,
'<person><![CDATA[ 3 > 2 ]]></person>'
  )
   
SELECT * FROM @xml_tab

 <person> 3 &gt; 2 </person>

/* 
 * Password Hashing With PBKDF2 (http://crackstation.net/hashing-security.htm).
 * Copyright (c) 2013, Taylor Hornby
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without 
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
 *
 * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, 
 * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 *
 * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
 * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation 
 * and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" 
 * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE 
 * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE 
 * ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE 
 * LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR 
 * CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF 
 * SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS 
 * INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN 
 * CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) 
 * ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE 
 * POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 */

using System;
using System.Text;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

namespace PasswordHash
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Salted password hashing with PBKDF2-SHA1.
    /// Author: havoc AT defuse.ca
    /// www: http://crackstation.net/hashing-security.htm
    /// Compatibility: .NET 3.0 and later.
    /// </summary>
    public class PasswordHash
    {
        // The following constants may be changed without breaking existing hashes.
        public const int SALT_BYTE_SIZE = 24;
        public const int HASH_BYTE_SIZE = 24;
        public const int PBKDF2_ITERATIONS = 1000;

        public const int ITERATION_INDEX = 0;
        public const int SALT_INDEX = 1;
        public const int PBKDF2_INDEX = 2;

        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a salted PBKDF2 hash of the password.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="password">The password to hash.</param>
        /// <returns>The hash of the password.</returns>
        public static string CreateHash(string password)
        {
            // Generate a random salt
            RNGCryptoServiceProvider csprng = new RNGCryptoServiceProvider();
            byte[] salt = new byte[SALT_BYTE_SIZE];
            csprng.GetBytes(salt);

            // Hash the password and encode the parameters
            byte[] hash = PBKDF2(password, salt, PBKDF2_ITERATIONS, HASH_BYTE_SIZE);
            return PBKDF2_ITERATIONS + ":" +
                Convert.ToBase64String(salt) + ":" +
                Convert.ToBase64String(hash);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Validates a password given a hash of the correct one.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="password">The password to check.</param>
        /// <param name="correctHash">A hash of the correct password.</param>
        /// <returns>True if the password is correct. False otherwise.</returns>
        public static bool ValidatePassword(string password, string correctHash)
        {
            // Extract the parameters from the hash
            char[] delimiter = { ':' };
            string[] split = correctHash.Split(delimiter);
            int iterations = Int32.Parse(split[ITERATION_INDEX]);
            byte[] salt = Convert.FromBase64String(split[SALT_INDEX]);
            byte[] hash = Convert.FromBase64String(split[PBKDF2_INDEX]);

            byte[] testHash = PBKDF2(password, salt, iterations, hash.Length);
            return SlowEquals(hash, testHash);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Compares two byte arrays in length-constant time. This comparison
        /// method is used so that password hashes cannot be extracted from
        /// on-line systems using a timing attack and then attacked off-line.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="a">The first byte array.</param>
        /// <param name="b">The second byte array.</param>
        /// <returns>True if both byte arrays are equal. False otherwise.</returns>
        private static bool SlowEquals(byte[] a, byte[] b)
        {
            uint diff = (uint)a.Length ^ (uint)b.Length;
            for (int i = 0; i < a.Length && i < b.Length; i++)
                diff |= (uint)(a[i] ^ b[i]);
            return diff == 0;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Computes the PBKDF2-SHA1 hash of a password.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="password">The password to hash.</param>
        /// <param name="salt">The salt.</param>
        /// <param name="iterations">The PBKDF2 iteration count.</param>
        /// <param name="outputBytes">The length of the hash to generate, in bytes.</param>
        /// <returns>A hash of the password.</returns>
        private static byte[] PBKDF2(string password, byte[] salt, int iterations, int outputBytes)
        {
            Rfc2898DeriveBytes pbkdf2 = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, salt);
            pbkdf2.IterationCount = iterations;
            return pbkdf2.GetBytes(outputBytes);
        }
    }
}

In this post, I will describe how to port a desktop application from .NET Framework to .NET Core. I picked a WinForms application as an example. Steps for WPF application are similar and I’ll describe what needs to be done different for WPF as we go. I will also show how you can keep using the WinForms designer in Visual Studio even though it is under development and is not yet available for .NET Core projects. 

Security is one of the most important aspects of any application – and when we talk about security, particularly in ASP.NET applications, it is not limited to development. A secure app involves multiple layers of security in the configuration, framework, web server, database server, and more. In this post, we’ll take a look at the top nine tips for writing secure applications in ASP.NET. 

If you haven’t tried Xamarin yet, now is the time! Read this free white paper from Syncfusion to learn how Xamarin can improve your cross-platform development:

• Deliver apps faster by sharing code across platforms, using one code base and UI.
• Use best-in-class development tools, like Visual Studio.
• Produce genuine native apps that don’t compromise the end user experience.
• And more! 

MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database that makes it a great backend for Web APIs which lend themselves towards a document store rather than a relational store. In this blog we show how you can use MongoDB with ASP.NET Web API to build an ApiController with support for HTTP GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE. 

var members = context.Members
                                    .Select(member => new { Name = member.Surname + ", " + member.FirstName })
                                    .ToList();

var facilities = context.Facilities
                                        .Where(facility => facility.Name.StartsWith("Tennis"))
                                        .ToList();

var members = context.Members
                                    .Select(member => new { member.MemId, member.Telephone })
                                    .Where(member => member.Telephone.Contains("(")
                                                    && member.Telephone.Contains(")"))
                                    .ToList();

members = context.Members
                                    .Select(member => new { member.MemId, member.Telephone })
                                    .Where(member => EF.Functions.Like(member.Telephone, "%[()]%"))
                                    .ToList();

SELECT   CONVERT (NVARCHAR (MAX), [m].[ZipCode]) AS [Zip]
FROM     [Members] AS [m]
ORDER BY CONVERT (NVARCHAR (MAX), [m].[ZipCode]);

var members = context.Members
                                    .Select(member => new { ZipCode = Convert.ToString(member.ZipCode) })
                                    .OrderBy(m => m.ZipCode)
                                    .ToList();
// Now using LINQ to Objects
members = members.Select(member => new { ZipCode = member.ZipCode.PadLeft(5, '0') })
                                                    .OrderBy(m => m.ZipCode)
                                                    .ToList();

namespace EFCorePgExercises.Utils
{
    public static class SqlDbFunctionsExtensions
    {
        public static string SqlReplicate(string expression, int count)
            => throw new InvalidOperationException($"{nameof(SqlReplicate)} method cannot be called from the client side.");

        private static readonly MethodInfo _sqlReplicateMethodInfo = typeof(SqlDbFunctionsExtensions)
            .GetRuntimeMethod(
                nameof(SqlDbFunctionsExtensions.SqlReplicate),
                new[] { typeof(string), typeof(int) }
            );


        public static void AddCustomSqlFunctions(this ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
        {
            modelBuilder.HasDbFunction(_sqlReplicateMethodInfo)
                .HasTranslation(args =>
                {
                    return SqlFunctionExpression.Create("REPLICATE",
                        args,
                        _sqlReplicateMethodInfo.ReturnType,
                        typeMapping: null);
                });
        }
    }
}

namespace EFCorePgExercises.DataLayer
{
    public class ApplicationDbContext : DbContext
    {
         // ...

        protected override void OnModelCreating(ModelBuilder modelBuilder)
        {
         // ...
            modelBuilder.AddCustomSqlFunctions();
         // ...
        }
    }
}

var newMembers = context.Members
                                        .Select(member => new
                                        {
                                            ZipCode =
                                                SqlDbFunctionsExtensions.SqlReplicate(
                                                    "0", 5 - Convert.ToString(member.ZipCode).Length)
                                                + member.ZipCode
                                        })
                        .OrderBy(m => m.ZipCode)
                        .ToList();

var members = context.Members
                                    .Select(member => new { Letter = member.Surname.Substring(0, 1) })
                                    .GroupBy(m => m.Letter)
                                    .Select(g => new
                                    {
                                        Letter = g.Key,
                                        Count = g.Count()
                                    })
                                    .OrderBy(r => r.Letter)
                                    .ToList();

select memid, regexp_replace(telephone, '[^0-9]', '', 'g') as telephone
from members
order by memid;

var members = context.Members
                                .Select(member => new
                                {
                                    member.MemId,
                                    Telephone = member.Telephone.Replace("-", "")
                                                        .Replace("(", "")
                                                        .Replace(")", "")
                                                        .Replace(" ", "")
                                })
                                .OrderBy(r => r.MemId)
                                .ToList();

A few of the customer-requested updates in Microsoft SQL Server 2014 SP1 are:

• Column store performance is improved when batch mode operators spill over to disk. A new XEvent provides insights into column store inserts.
• Several issues in buffer pool extension SSD configuration are addressed, including the ability to do instant initialization of the buffer pool extension file.
• Certain queries compile faster when using new cardinality estimator, and other cardinality estimation query plans are more efficient when using TF-4199. 
• The scalability benefits of two trace flags (TF-1236, TF-9024) are applied automatically.
• Backup header information retrieval works better with encrypted backups.