The Problem: I could find no obvious way to update the mscorlib reference in my solution, so I decide to simply delete it and add it again, and hope that it magically updates to the most recent version.  This is actually what usually happens with Visual Studio.  However, I delete the mscorlib reference, and I am unable to add it back again, I get the error message telling me that mscorlib is already included in the project.

The Cause: This is a known problem in Visual Studio.

The Solution: I just went into my project (.csproj) file and added the following line

<Reference Include=”mscorlib” />

And that fixed it.  I still have no idea how to make it use the most recent .Net Framework though.

photo credit: dasapfe

As it turned out, I was very, very wrong.   I spent part of the day Sunday and all day Monday wading through non-working sample code, looking at near duplicate setup guides for the 56 (how it is 56 I don’t know) versions of their Website Payments Pro system, installing all of the add-ons needed to get the sample apps going and so on and so forth.  All of that merely to make a Get request with the proper query string (which is all the Website Payments Pro System really is).

At the end of Monday I reasoned that if it started out this bad there would no redeeming features down the road and signed up for Authorize.net.  I was approved and got their sample code working (with test data, but working) in about 45 minutes!

Lessons learned from the experience:

• Quick start guides are mandatory
• Descriptive URLs are more helpful than I previously thought
• If something is obsolete, be it a help file, or a download, keep it available, but mark every page  as obsolete.
• Call different things with different names.  For instance, Website Payments Pro is easily confused with Website Payments Pro, PayFlow Edition (which predates Website Payments Pro actually)
• Do not require third party software in sample code, even if it is free open source software
• Use the bare minimum amount of code as sample code
• If you have a knowledge base, answer the actual questions, do not refer people to guides, help files or similar questions.
• Do not require special permissions to run sample code
• Provide sample code in snippets, not solution files

photo credit: mangpages

• In the beginning: web creators used text and html, Advantage Developers
• 1997 – People discover html tables, allowing precise graphic placement.  Placement allowed graphic designers to go nuts with Photoshop – Advantage Designers
• 1998 – ASP, Perl and PHP come about, allowing developers to make content decisions – Advantage Developers
• 2000 – Flash gets easy enough to use – Advantage Designers
• 2005 – Browser standards and search engines become competant, which makes the actual code matter – Advantage Developers
• 2008 – Tools like TypePad, Wordpress, and JQuery automate Javascript, SEO and CSS standardization, which had been a huge part of what developers did on a day to day basis.  The automation allows emphasis to shift to the look and feel – Advantage Designers
• 2010 – Html 5 arrives (sort of), making the web much more of an application!  - Advantage Developers

I haven’t had much time to research Html 5, but I’m impressed so far.  It’s not a sea change from anything that exists now, but Html 5 is an impressive refinement of existing technology.

photo credit: B.K. Ragsdale

photo credit: mil8

“Before I tell you about it you have to sign this!” is what they all say.  The idea will be written out over five pages, usually in the passive voice, with as many adjectives and adverbs as possible.  By the time you finish reading the document the concept will be fuzzier than when you started reading the document.

As a solo web/software I’ve signed 15 or so non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) over my past eight years in business for new products and companies.  I don’t recall any of the products being successful in the long term.  In fact, I can’t recall any of the products being around after six months.  Most of the products never reached any sort of development at all.  To a man the people pitching the NDAs had great enthusiasm, and  they all insisted on a great many meetings.  Why is this?

The idea they present probably is easy to steal, and also not worth stealing.  If the idea is easy to steal (i.e. such as “Let’s come up with something that makes it hard to pirate software” or “let’s make a website that runs a business by work flow stages” then it is so general that the idea proponent doesn’t have a clue about the problem that the new idea is supposed to solve.  If the product is specific, then it is generally pointless to copy it, as the person with the idea will always be able to do it better.  People with refined concepts have confidence in their ideas, and generally don’t ask you to sign anything.

Instead NDAs are a way for the NDA pr0ponent to feel good about himself, indeed, proof that his idea is for real.  It’s easier to have expensive documents drawn up than to refine an idea that might turn into nothing when you think it through.  So think carefully before signing one.  Not that the NDA will make any difference, but anyone who asks you to sign the NDA has probably not refined the idea, and you will be wasting your time.  If all they have is the idea they don’t know anything about the industry (whichever industry that is).  If you do sign and NDA, do it just to be nice to the person asking you.

NDAs are usually not the sign of a bad idea, just an unformed one, which is the sign of a bad client.  Avoid if possible.

And please note, I am not talking about situations where trade secrets (the formula for Coca Cola for example) are at stake, just new business ideas.

Derek Sivers has an excellent blog post related to this one:Ideas are just a multiplier of execution .

Please Note:

An NDA is not the same as a work for hire agreement, or a non-compete agreement.  Both of those contracts have value.  Read them very, very carefully.

I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice

The Cause: The dll must be marked as “Copy Local – True” and “Specific Version – True”.

The Solution: Mark the two options as true in the properties and the problem will go away.  It’s always the stupid errors that cause the most problems.  One of the purposes of blogging these errors is to  reduce their frequency.