Neal Walters - Mostly Biztalk Blogs

2009-10-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

Example of an SQL Query (in a view) that uses XPath to report on XML elements in an XML column:CREATE VIEW [dbo].[ViewEventLog]AS SELECT id, eventDateTime, CAST(TMXML.query('//Source/requestor/text()') AS varchar(50)) AS requestor, CAST(TMXML.query('//Source/requestType/text()') AS varchar(50)) AS requestorType, CAST(TMXML.query('//Source/objectId/text()') AS varchar(40)

2009-09-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

Ray Kurzweil, author of “The Singularity” forecasts geometric growth in knowledge and technology to a point in approximately 2045, beyond which we are unable to see. Consider for example, my first computer had a 10 megabyte hard-drive that cost about $250. Today, I have at least a 4 gigabyte flash drive hanging from my keychain. That’s an increase in 400 times the disk space, and a vast

2009-07-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

Google provides a "gdata" interface for you to access Google Documents via code.http://code.google.com/apis/documents/docs/2.0/developers_guide_protocol.html#DownloadingDocsThere are a few points that I missed in their documentation:1) The domain to be used in the URL of an atom feed is just docs.google.com.If you try docs.yourdomain.com you get a 302 redirect and actually the system throws an

2009-07-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last few months working on Google App Engine (GAE). Yes, it's a big change from my normal work with BizTalk. I'm writing Python Web applications that interact with Google's BigTable datastore. With Google App Engine, you can currently write code in Python or Java. You download the GAE SDK (software development kit) to your local machine, and you can run a test server.

2008-06-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

If you are getting this error:The "succeeded" operator can only be applied to an immediate child scope or service,then make sure you specify a valid transactionName in parentheses, for example:!succeeded(SendLoanData)Note: SendLoanData is not the name of the scope, it is the TransactionIdentifier that you assign to the scope (which you could then use the same text value as the scope name).This

2008-05-20T10:07:00.001-07:00

Another nice blog: SQL Statements that tell you why a Deploy won't work, i.e. what maps or pipelines may be used on ports (Eric Stott's blog): http://blog.biztalk-info.com/archive/2008/03/19/Having_problems_undeploying_that_pesky_BizTalk_Assembly.aspx

2008-05-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

I found this blog from Richard Seroter called "BizTalk Code Review Checklist":http://seroter.wordpress.com/2007/09/04/my-biztalk-code-review-checklist

2008-04-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, I released a new training to learn MySQL.It uses the open-source Joomla database as an example, and teaches the basics of SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, along with how to do backups/restores.

2008-04-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Why I recently attended Intalio BPMN class - see my new blog at M2MSys: http://www.m2msysonline.com/we-blog/show,Why-BizTalk-Guru-Attended-Intalio-BPMN-Class-.html

2007-12-14T19:38:00.000-08:00

I recently created a new set of Joomla Video Tutorials called "Joomla Unmasked". This is a follow-up course to our prior course called Joomla Magic. PACKT Publishing just conducted a contest and named Joomla as Best PHP Open Source Content Management SystemJoomla can be categorized as a CMS, also known as a Content Management System. SharePoint is Microsoft's offering of a CMS (but it is also

2006-08-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

XQuery is a very cool new and upcoming language. It's still not a W3C final recommendation, but Stylus Studio has a great implementation. With Biztalk and working with XML, I have often found it is nice to scan all the files in a directory and extract some xml tags from each file. XQuery doesn't natively support this, but the following will handle it. Unfortunately, it requires a few lines of

2006-06-13T10:14:00.002-07:00

Can you spot the XML error below? This could happen either in a Biztalk expression or in a C# program. strText = ("" + ""); xmlDoc.Load(strText); The error message is Invalid URI: The URI scheme is not valid. System.UriFormatException:

2006-05-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

Stylus Studio - Have you ever thought about what Biztalk left out? even in the 2006 release? I keep Stylus Studio (http://www.stylusstudio.com/) open on my Windows desktop all day. I'm constant copying XML fragments into it, formatting them, and using the XPath "tester" utility. With Stylus Studio, you can also go into tree or grid mode, click a node, then right click to create the XPath.

2006-05-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

XQuery and XML Columns in SQL/2005A client recently decided to store a big chunk of XML in a new SQL2005 database using the XML column. Following are some queries to access data in that column. The person doing the query will have to understand the data, and XPath, and define the proper namespaces. Most examples I have seen don't spend much time talking about the namespace issues. There is a "

2006-05-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Another bizarre error - hard to figure this one out (took about an hour). System.InvalidOperationException: This document already has a DocumentElement node. at System.Xml.XmlDocument.IsValidChildType(XmlNodeType type) at System.Xml.XmlNode.AppendChild(XmlNode newChild) at Microsoft.XLANGs.Core.Part.XPathStore(Object rValue, String xpath)I was doing something like this in a Biztalk Message

2006-05-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

Cannot Resolve Schema Location Attribute. An error occurred at (3,4)...You can get this error when working with SourceSafe (or any source control system). Someone else adds schemas to the project, and you might get a new copy of a schema that references those schemas, but forgot to get the schemas themselves. Hope this helps someone! Neal Walters http://Biztalk-Training.com

2006-05-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

Problem: Microsoft.XLANGs.RuntimeTypes.RuntimeInternalErrorException at Microsoft.XLANGs.Core.Part.GetDFDef(String dottedPath)Uncaught exception terminated service Namespace.OrchName(GUID), instance GUID Exception type: RuntimeInternalErrorExceptionSource: Microsoft.XLANGs.EngineTarget Site: Microsoft.XLANGs.RuntimeTypes.DistinguishedFieldDefinition GetDFDef(System.String)Solution: I had

2006-04-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting XSLT scenario. The constraint was the you don't know before-hand how many name/value pairs there will be in the input, or what the naems will be. So the XSLT has to be totally generic. INPUT: first 123 second 45678 XSLT:

2006-03-02T09:35:00.000-08:00

BIZTALK UNDEPLOY/REMOVE SYNTAX I always have trouble understanding the official "doc" of the BTSDEPLOYas it applies to the "REMOVE" option. I'm documenting here for my own sanity - so I can look it up again in the future and not waste time having to test all the permuations. The trick is that you use EITHER keyword 'Assembly=' or 'Name=", each has different parameters. In the case of

2006-02-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Resolving "Could not validate TransportTypeData" for SQL Data PortsFailed updating binding information. BindingException: Could not validate TransportTypeData or Address properties for Primary Transport of Send Port 'MySQLPortName. Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131500Here are some steps: 1) If you are using client-network utility - make sure that it is set up properly on the target machine. 2) If

2005-12-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

Getting around the atomic-scope limitation of XMLNodeThe typical scenario is that you want to loop through nodes of your XML document(you need to do something that can't be done with a map). The XmlNode object is not serializeable, and therefore requires that you be in atomic-scope. I've been thinking about get-arounds for the atomic-scope problem. Atomic-scope is bad because you cannot

2005-12-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

Error: Streaming not supported over multiple column result We got this error after creating a stored proc similar to one we had working earlier: Event ID: 5740Description:The adapter "SQL" raised an error message. Details "

2005-12-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

How to update many records from Biztalk using a Stored Proc. I thought I "knew how" but I never actually did it until today. In this case, we are passing a large "chunk" of data to a web service, it calls a DLL and does various updates. But if we get a SOAP exception, we wanted to update the status in the original Transaction Table to indicate a failure. (For example: Status=1 Biztalk ready to

2005-11-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

Local Variables in an Orchestration?I noticed something for the first time today. When you add a "Scope" shape to your orchestration, it appears in the orchestration view, and it has its own variables, messages, and correlation sets. Students have asked before if you could have local variables, but I always told them that all variables are global. I am now guessing that variables defined in

2005-11-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

Tips on Using Xpath In Orchestration Here's a couple of minor tips on how to use the xpath command in an orchestration.First why would you want to do this. You may need to access an XML element or attribute that was not promoted as a property field nor a distinguished field. 1) Go to the schema, click on the element you want, then copy from value of "Instance Xpath" from the property window.

2005-11-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

Proper Version of DotNetFx.exe for SQL 2005 (Express)I just got a new virgin Win2003 dedicated server, and tried to install SQL 2005 express. I installed .NET Version 2.0 by following the link on this page.It turns out the link was out of date! It installed "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 CTP SetupSQL Server 2005 has detected incompatible components from beta versions of Visual Studio, .NET Framework

2005-11-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

XPATH in Business Rule ComposerI suppose everybody has already hit this problem with the Business Rule Composer, but I would like to put it in my own words for newbies. I see how the schema works now. When you add a scshema to the "Facts Explorer", you browse and attach a schema for purposes of simply dragging elements to your rules. It’s the xpath in the rules that have to be fully qualified.

2005-09-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

SUBINACL Utility - Directory PermissionsWe had some weird situation where we could not access files in our Biztalk file drop diretories. I found the following program that saved the day. Without it, we are having to manually take ownership of each file individually. C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools>subinacl.exe /subdirectories "c:\Odimo\*.*" /setowner=AdministratorsTo download this

2005-08-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

HAT Clean-Up Utility / HAT Stored ProcsI was looking to accomplish via software the process of going to HAT, listing all Service Instances, and then selectively terminating service instances that have a specific error message. We have some "errors" that aren't really errors. In other words, our orchestrations get suspended when we call a web service to a legacy system, and for example the

2005-06-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

SQL 2005 with Biztalk 2004My client is an early adapter of SQL 2005, maybe going production in August. We have several Biztalk applications that need to be able to update and retrieve from production databases. Basically, everybody gives the party line that you have to have Biztalk 2006 to work with SQL2005. I think when they say this, they mean that to have the Biztalk databases running on

2005-06-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

Some items in remove assembly being usedFrequently, when you try to undeploy an assembly, Biztalk returns the following error: Some items in the removed assembly are still being used by items not defined in the same assembly, thus removal of the assembly failed.Make sure that items in the assembly you are trying to remove fulfill the following conditions:1. Pipelines, maps, and schemas are not

2005-05-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

SQL Query - XREFs receive ports to maps Here is another VERY useful SQL query. It lists all the receive ports and any maps you have associated with them (along with the assembly that contains this map). Frequently, when you try to undeploy an assembly, Biztalk returns the following error: Some items in the removed assembly are still being used by items not defined in the same assembly, thus

2005-01-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

It is possible to build and test an XSLT stylesheet in a non-Biztalk product such as Stylus Studio (or XML SPY). The advantages are the XSLT wonderful debuggers that these products have. You can set breakpoints, walk through the XSLT, and do things not limited by Biztalk's Functoids. The only downside is you do need to know XSLT. To include the external stylesheet into a map: 1) You

2005-01-06T06:05:00.000-08:00

Handling Error: "More than one schema is deployed for the same message type"If you have worked with Biztalk very long, you have undoubtedly got the following error: Event ID: 5719Description:There was a failure executing the receive pipeline: "Microsoft.BizTalk.DefaultPipelines.XMLReceive" Source: "XML disassembler" Receive Location: "c:\Odimo\Redbird\OrdersIn\*.xml" Reason: The disassembler

2005-01-03T15:28:00.000-08:00

Common XPATH Examples, Questions, Issues with Biztalk Neal Walters (http://biztalk-training.com/) – Blog Date: January 3, 2005 Sample 1 – Simple Data with no namespace issues XPATHResult/TestSchema/AAValue/TestSchema/BBValue /TestSchema/CGroup/CChild1CChild1Value Sample 2 – Simple Data with prefixed namespace NOTE: When you generate test xml data from a Biztalk schema, it generates it as

2004-12-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

Use the Visual Studio Output Window Suppose you are doing a build, or a test schema, or validate instance, and you get dozens (or hundreds of errors) in the Visual Studio Task List. Try switching to the Visual Studio Output Window. The errors there will be in order. Often, the first several messages are the source cause of the error and are much more valuable than all the other messages.

2004-11-14T18:12:00.000-08:00

Scriptomatic for Biztalk-2004 What in it for me? In a few minutes, you can modify a tool that will build VBScripts to list Biztalk entities such as orchestrations, hosts, receive locations, send-ports. You can then save or customize the scripts that it generates. It saves you the time of having to look-up and type-in the many properties associated with each WMI class. Microsoft has