Have you ever tried to write a query using the Ed-Fi ODS for reporting or analytics? To say that it is challenging is to use the mildest language. The Data Standard documentation in Tech Docs is top notch. Nevertheless, going from diagrams and definitions to actual query code for, let’s say, each student’s average math grade during a grading period, is not a trivial exercise.
continue reading on ed-fi.org...
Packer is a cross-platform tool for scripting out virtual machine images. Put another way: use it to create new virtual machines with fully automated and repeatable installations. No clicking around. Some of the benefits:
I had just upgraded NuGet packages - a seemingly innocent thing to do.
Everything compiles fine and I tried to run my ASP.NET WebAPI service. Testing
in Postman works fine, but when I try to let the browser call an endpoint (any
endpoint), I get a mysterious 500 server error with a rather unhelpful payload
message of {"message":"An error has occurred."}. However, even with Chrome
accessing the service, a breakpoint in the endpoint showed me that the code was
executing fine. The problem is clearly occurring inside the ASP.NET engine when
trying to send the response back to the browser.
The API for FlightNode is essentially structured along the lines of the onion architecture concept. Follow that link for a full description of the concept. Because my graphics toolkit is currently limited, my diagram for FlightNode has boxes instead of concentric onion-looking circles...
This release candidate nearly wraps up the user management and volunteer work tracking functionality. There are a small few "should have" features that will be added in a future release. So what's new?
The .NET projects for FlightNode were created in several different Git repositories, thus giving us several small, well-contained, and re-usable projects. These small projects would be installed into the Service project as NuGet packages, which also makes for a faster compile in each discrete solution:
But… this has approach has caused problems.
The first beta release of FlightNode is now alive and in the hands of testers. So what's been delivered?
Wow, you'd think nothing had been happening for the past two months. But that's not the case at all. There are now 6 different GitHub repositories (perhaps a few too many). November and December were heads-down coding months. But now the product is almost ready for an MVP launch... and that has me thinking about error handling. Specifically, logging.
Originally I decided to look into NLog for .NET logging, a product I've never used before. I have experience with the Enterprise Library logging block and with Log4Net, and find them both to be useful but not as... pleasant... as I would like. They don't have the interface I would prefer. But they work. It turns out NLog has basically the same interface, and the same tedious configuration.
In order to run FlightNode locally:
Make local copies of all the repositories mentioned in the Architecture
page. Be sure to configure an upstream remote and follow the workflow
described in Git Tutorials, Workflow, and GUI.
Open the FlightNode.Identity solution in Visual Studio 2015. Open the
Package Manager Console (menu: Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Console).
Updated 2021-05-25
Git is a fabulous tool for source control management. While incredibly powerful, it can be a little daunting to learn at first. The following tutorials will help. They are organized from basic to more advanced.
