Beau's Tech Blog

A problem I run into from time to time is inserting Null values into a SQL Server DateTime field. We typically use Stored Procedures for everything and catch all statements to handle errors during insert. Usually, when you don't set a default on a control its value is Null. Likewise, if you explicitly set a control to Nothing (vb.net) It sends a Null. However, DateTime fields like to send the time with no date, which creates a non-null and invalid date for SQL server leading to an overflow exception. After a lot of frustration with setting values to nothing, DbNull, etc... I found a solution. I check to make sure it is a valid SQL date (not VB.net) by testing if it is greater than 01/01/1900 and if not, setting it to System.SqlTypes.SqlDateTime.Null. You could place this in a BLL, or directly before you pass the date in. If Not EventDate > "01/01/1900" Then EventDate = System.Data.SqlTypes.SqlDateTime.Null End If I hope this helps someone as it has become standard pra...

ASP.NET Mini Tutorial - Referencing a control inside of a user control Let's say you have a usercontrol that contains a dropdown list of states that you use across many pages. In the codebehind of the page, you will likely need to reference that dropdown list, but it's nested inside a usercontrol, so you must use the FindControl method to access it. Example: First, create a new object called ddlState and make it a dropdownlist Dim ddlState As DropDownList = StatesDropDown1.FindControl("ddlState") Now you can reference it just like it was a control on the page: txtExample.text = ddlState.SelectedValue