Problem:

I created a team project and did not select the option to create a share point site and now I want to add one.

Solution:

Create a dummy site and remove the link to sharepoint and wire it up to the original team project. Or two create a new site in SharePoint and wire it up.

Explantion:

There is a great write up here on how to do both options.

Problem:

The only way I can verify the success of my web test is to read a value from a database.

Solution:

Create a custom validation rule that can validate the value in the database.

Code:

using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data.SqlClient;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.WebTesting;
 
namespace TestUtil
{
   [DisplayName("SQL Validation Rule")]
   [Description("Executes the query and compares the first column of the
    first row to the Expected value.")]
   public class SQLValidationRule : ValidationRule
   {
      public SQLValidationRule()
      {
         IgnoreCase = true;
      }
 
      [Description("The query to execute and extract the first column from.
       In Select * from x where column={0}. You can leave the where clause
       if it is not needed.")]
      public string Query { get; set; }
 
      [DisplayName("Connection String")]
      [Description("The full connection string to the database")]
      public string ConnectionString { get; set; }
 
      [DisplayName("Where Clause Context Parameter Name")]
      [Description("The name of an optional context parameter to use if
       there is a where clause in the query.")]
      public string WhereClauseContextParameterName { get; set; }
 
      [DefaultValue(true)]
      [DisplayName("Ignore Case")]
      [Description("When set to true the case of the word is not used")]
      public bool IgnoreCase { get; set; }
 
      [DisplayName("Expected Value")]
      [Description("The value to compare the first column too.")]
      public string ExpectedValue { get; set; }
 
      public override void Validate(object sender, ValidationEventArgs e)
      {
         string where = null;
         if(!string.IsNullOrEmpty(WhereClauseContextParameterName))
            where = e.WebTest.Context[WhereClauseContextParameterName].ToString();
 
         string result = ExecuteQuery(ConnectionString, Query, where);
 
         e.IsValid = string.Compare(result, ExpectedValue, IgnoreCase) == 0;
      }
 
      private string ExecuteQuery(string connectionString, string query, string where)
      {
         SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString);
 
         string cmdText = string.Format(query, where);
         SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(cmdText, conn);
 
         try
         {
            conn.Open();
            SqlDataReader dr = cmd.ExecuteReader();
 
            if(dr.Read())
               return dr.GetValue(0).ToString();
         }
         catch(Exception e)
         {
            System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(e.Message);
         }
         finally
         {
            conn.Close();
         }
 
         return null;
      }
   }
}

Explanation:

Creating a custom validation rule for web test is extremely simple.  Simply create a new public class that derives from Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.WebTesting.ValidationRule and override the Validate method.  If you create the class in your test project it will become immediately available the next time you try to add a validation rule to a web request.  If you created the class in a separate class library simply add a reference to that class library in your test project.

This particular validation rule has the five following properties:

1. Query – This is the query to be executed on the database connection.  Only the first column of the first record is used in the comparison of this validation rule.  The query can have a single where condition in the where clause that uses a context parameter value.  For example “Select Name from Table1 where ID={0}”.  At runtime the validation rule will look up the value of the provided context parameter and replace {0} with the value stored in the context parameter.  Using a context parameter is completely optional.
2. Connection String – The connection string to a SQL Server database. This can also be a context parameter entered in {{ContextParameterName}} format.  Otherwise you may simple enter a literal string.
3. Where Clause Context Parameter Name – The context parameter to be used to replace the {0} if any of the query.
4. Ignore Case – Identifies if case should be ignored or not during the string comparison.
5. Expected Value – The value to compare the first column of the first row too.  This can also be a context parameter entered in {{ContextParameterName}} format.  Otherwise you may simple enter a literal string.

You can download the file below.

SQLValidationRule.cs (2.48 kb)

Problem

I can’t easily tell what my Find Text validation rule is searching for in my Web Test.

Solution

Change the DisplayName value in the Web Test xml to something more meaningful.

From Solution Explorer right click on the Web Test and select Open With… then select XML (Text) Editor and click OK.  Once the file is open search the file for DisplayName="Find Text".  Replace Find Text with something more meaningful.  Save the file and close it.  Now right click on the Web Test from Solution Explorer and select Open With… and select the Web Test Editor (Default).  Now expand the Validation Rules folder under the desired web request.  The Find Text validation rule label will be the value you typed in.

Explanation

For some reason the creator of this validation run did not expose the DisplayName property so it could be change from the Properties Window.  However, the value is there and can be changed from the xml file.  This is very helpful when you have several Find Text validation rules on the same request.

Problem

I need my VS2010/VS2012 build to perform an “Xcopy deployment” of my ASP.NET application to an existing virtual directory.

Solution

Customize the build template to use the CopyDirectory activity to copy the ASP.NET application to the virtual directory.

Explanation

One of the benefits of ASP.NET development is the simply “Xcopy deployment”. ASP.NET applications require no changes to the registry and have no special installation requirements for the hosting server.  Therefore, you can use the drag-and-drop feature in Microsoft Windows Explorer, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or the DOS Xcopy command to copy files from one computer to another.

The only prerequisite of this technique is the virtual directory in IIS must already be created and configured.

The goal of this build is to not have to install any special features or extensions in IIS to facilitate deployment of my ASP.NET application.  I want my environments to match production as close as possible and I never intend on installing IIS Extensions in production.

When you configure a build definition that builds and ASP.NET application the binaries directory and drop location contain a folder named _PublishedWebsites.  Each ASP.NET application built during the build will have a sub directory that contains all the files needed for the application.

To perform an “Xcopy deployment” we simply need to identify the source and destination directories.  We are going to store this information in arguments passed to the build.  To begin open the DefaultTemplate.xaml file in VS2010 and click the Arguments button at the bottom of the workflow designer to show the workflow arguments.  Add two string arguments  VDir and SiteDir. Now let’s add a nice coat of polish on our arguments.  Click the ellipses next to the default value of the Metadata argument to show the Process Parameter Metadata Editor window.  Click the Add button and enter in the following information and click OK.

Parameter Name – VDir
Display Name – Virtual Directory
Category – Deploy
Description – The full UNC path to the virtual directory to copy the website too.
Editor – leave blank
Required – leave unchecked
View this parameter when – Always show the parameter

and

Parameter Name – SiteDir
Display Name – Site Directory
Category – Deploy
Description – The sub directory of _PublishedWebsites to copy from.
Editor – leave blank
Required – leave unchecked
View this parameter when – Always show the parameter

We are simply going to add a CopyDirectory activity that uses the arguments we just created to perform the copy.  To begin we must locate the correct area of the build template to add our CopyDirectory activity.  I find the quickest way to do this is to click the Collapse All button at the top of the workflow designer window.  Now double click on the words Double-click to view on all of the following activities:

1.    Run On Agent
2.    Try Compile, Test, and Associate Changesets and Work Items
3.    Sequence
4.    Compile, Test, and Associate Changesets and Work Items
5.    Try Compile and Test
6.    Compile and Test
7.    For Each Configuration in BuildSettings.PlatformConfigurations
8.    Compile and Test for Configuration

When we configured the metadata for our arguments we left the Required checkbox unchecked.  This will allow users of this build template to leave the values for VDir and SiteDir blank if they are not building an ASP.NET application or simply do not want to deploy them.  Therefore, we need to check the value of the arguments to determine if we need to perform the copy or not.  In the toolbox expand the Control Flow tab and drag and drop the If activity right above the If Not Disable Test activity.  Click the double down arrows in the title bar of the if to show its contents. In the Condition text box enter the following:

Not String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(VDir)

From the toolbox drag and drop a Sequence activity from the Control Flow tab onto the Then side of the If.  Change the DisplayName of the sequence to Deploy ASP.NET Application. We add a sequence here so that we can use multiple activities. Click the double down arrows in the title bar of the sequence to show its contents.  This is where we are going to add the activities needed to copy the ASP.NET application to the virtual directory in IIS.

Now we can add the CopyDirectory activity and set the properties to deploy our ASP.NET application during the build.  To get started simply drag and drop the CopyDirectory activity from the Team Foundation Build Activities tab into the Deploy ASP.NET Application sequence.  With the CopyDirectory activity selected set the following values in the properties window:

•    Destination – Vdir
•    Source  - BinariesDirectory + "\_PublishedWebsites\" + SiteDir

Now save your xaml file, check in your changes and queue a new build.

You can download a copy of the final file below.

TFS2010 DeployTemplate.xaml (55.16 kb)

TFS2012 DeployTemplate.11.1.xaml (75.68 kb)