Expressions......

Looking at this URL: Inside MS Build from June 2006 issue of MSDN magazine,
I was amazed how online content from Microsoft also contains errors.
Apart from a missing step, there was an absence of caveats to make this article useful.
Disclaimer: I appreciate the efforts taken by the author to write this article. But, since the article says that it is written for VS 2005, and I tested it on the same, coming from MS is a bit shoddy.

Anyways, these were the issues I had the with the article:

1. Missing step: Does not define the SourceCopy variable.
2. Missing caveat: Any hard enters in the project XML file are transliterated.
   

Following is workaround/fix:

1. Missing step: Does not define the SourceCopy variable.
   Define it!

<propertygroup>
<copylocation>SourceCopy</copylocation>
</propertygroup>

2. Any hard enters in the project XML file are transliterated. So make sure that the entire path in on one physical line.

Labels: MSBuild

What would you slot VB as - language or a tool? When other items in the languages list are C#, C, C++ etc and the other items in the Tools are VS.Net, Visual Cafe etc.
VB was categorized as a tool :). I saw this categorisation and listing in one of the documents which I had to fill. As I had to fill in data for VB.Net, I asked the concerned person - can I add VB.Net in the Languages list? The answer was - No, just add it in the Tools section.
When I explained to him that VB.Net is a language just like C#, he said, OK, then add it to the Miscellaneous section at the bottom of the list !!! :(
What exactly is this guy thinking? Why don't people try and understand first what they are trying to do before doing it?
Have some similar experiences? - please share them.

Short description:

There is a ban on the sale of non-iodized salt in India (by a law introduced on May 17, 2006 by the government) and experts have warned that this will cause various skin allergies and disorders along with mental depression on a massive scale in years to come.

From 17th May, a law has been passed which bans sale of un-iodized salt in India. Iodized salt is available for an average of Rs. 10/- whereas un-iodized salt was available for @ Re 1/-. Where are ten rupees and where is one rupee?

Sign the petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/petition-sign.cgi?pil0001

I am planning to write a series of posts regarding my experiences during migration from VB 6 to VB.Net 2005. In general, the posts will be divided in following:

(1) General background - why the migration is needed, goals, expected outcome etc.
(2) Tools available - what they do in brief.
(3) Examination of tools in detail during the life cycle.
(4) Implementation of the tools and related experience.
(5) Conclusion - Caveats, notes etc.

The text may not actually be detailed/long enough to warrant separate posts - but thats my plan right now, I may add/remove some parts as I see fit.

Labels: VB.Net, VB.Net Migration, VB6

Please do not stop the exemptions on housing loan and contribution to PF.
We are already paying the road tax, water tax, land tax, electricity bills etc. These are all required expenses for our day to day living.

In today's world, it is not possible to get a decent house without investing large sums of money. Where does this money come from ? - it comes from banks in form of loans. Thus these loans drive the economy.

Initially, why did the government give exemption on interest of housing loans ? - because it wanted to increase the investment in infrastructure and real investment. Is this goal achieved ? - NO. Then why stop them now? - if at all, they should be gradually decreased over a period of time.

People who have taken big loans for long periods by calculating the exemptions they will get, all their planning will go for a toss.

Do you feel it is fun to pay 60% of your salary as repayment towards housing loan and THEN, if the IT exemption is removed, to shell out 30% of the salary to the Income Tax department? So a person is left with only 10% of his salary to pay for food, water, clothing and electricity.

The Government should lower the lending rates of interest to 3-4% OR bring down the real estate prices to realistic levels before implementing this ill-thought proposal.

It is interesting that the government has still not done away with the exemption on agriculture income when it has been sufficiently proved that the benefits to be accrued from this exemption are not reaching the intended recipients - the poor farmers Or that they anyways fall out of the purview of taxable income simply because they don't earn more than 1.5 lakhs. OR maybe, the government is continuing these exemptions for exactly those reasons !!! - so that the political big cats can subvert the system by earning directly/indirectly crores of rupees and file it under agricultural income. I also heard/read somewhere that the Big B was also claiming to be a farmer :).

Also send in your comments to these people in Indian Government:

jstpl1@nic.in; dirtpl1@nic.in; dirtpl2@nic.in