Passing SolutionDir to NAnt For Post-Build Event in TeamCity

I just spent the better part of a day trying to solve this problem, so I’m posting the solution for any who may encounter it in the future. You’re welcome 😉 For a project I am currently working on, I needed to add a post-build event which invokes a PowerShell script. The script performs some minor tasks involving a database and is called PostBuild-DbSync.ps1. At the outset, this was a straightforward proposition. I created the script file, then referenced it in the Build Events section in Visual Studio. Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -file “$(SolutionDir)Build\PostBuild-DbSync.ps1” The…

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The Good Bits – September 8

A few interesting articles/posts I have come across recently and wanted to share… **Two Months with a Tesla**– This is an awesome write-up from Andrew Connell about his experience with his new Tesla S 85D. Like him, I have always been interested in Tesla and the cars they are producing. They are poised to radically change the automobile industry, in a good and lasting way. For years though, that change has felt like it is a long way off, as the appetite for electric cars has languished and the infrastructure was sorely lacking. Now, however, basedon Andrew’s…

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Open in IE Version 1.5

Today marks the release of an updated version of my Open in IE add-on for Firefox. This add-on is utilized by over 10,000 people on a daily basis to open certain sites in Internet Explorer that don’t work correctly in Firefox. I originally developed this to addressmy own frustrations, but I am thrilled to see that so many other people have benefited from my work. Looking Back This update fixes a couple nagging bugs which I had received feedback about. But it also marks a major change in the architecture of the add-on. Prior versions were XUL-based,…

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The Good Bits - July 21

**The Ultimate Guide For Getting Freelance-Ready When You’re A Self-Taught Coder**– This article caught my attention because I am a self-taught coder, and I hope to one day be a freelancer. Joyce Akiko tackles the burning questions that many in my situation have asked or will ask if they have freelancing as a goal. She packs a lot of information into this guide, but distills each key point into a takeaway, 10 in all. After reading it, I can not only picture myself in the role of a freelancer, but I can start working towards that even now. **Attracting…

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The Good Bits - July 6

This is the first in what will be a recurring series of blog posts for me. As an avid learner in general, and in the field ofsoftware development more specifically, I come across a great many articles and blog posts which I find valuable and/or interesting. Beginning with this post, I will collate the best of that information along with a few of my own thoughts and publish it for you. Organizational Skills Beat Algorithmic Wizardry –An interesting post from 2013 by James Hague where he discusses the reality of modern software engineering jobs. The guts and the…

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Using KnockoutJS to Bind to Unknown Dataset

I’m currently working on a web applicationthat retrieves data from a web API and displays it in a web page, using KnockoutJS to provide the view model to bind to. In some scenarios, the shape of the data that is retrieved will be unknown at design time. The tables and columns that make up the dataset will be configurable via an admin section of the site. So when it comes to displaying the data on the page, I won’t know how many tables, rows, or columns are available. Here is how Iretrieve the dataset from the…

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MinistryMate 2.4 Released

TodayI released version 2.4 of my popular Windows Phone ministry app, MinistryMate.This is the first update in several months, butI’m certain the wait was worth it.This update brings some very important functionality to the app: the ability to sync data to “the cloud.”This functionality is useful for acouple reasons. First, it removes the need for manual backups of the app data.Since the app was first released, backing up the data has been a constant concern among users who were fearful of unexpected crashes or phone malfunctions.So I added the ability…

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Watchtower Library on Windows Phone 8?

I recently wrote a post about the fact that the Watchtower Library program is not available on Windows Phone 7, and detailing some possible workarounds.A reader responded with the following question: Do you have any news about WTLIB on Windows 8 Phone? In short, no, I don’t have any information about the availability of Watchtower Library on WP8.However, based on the redesign of the jw.org website, and the inclusion of the Watchtower Online Library, it seems to me that the branch does not intend to build native apps for any mobile platforms. That site is accessible…

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