Visual Studio

Copyright Notice

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Licensing and Warranty

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Liability

In no event shall SFL Services LLC be liable for any incidental, indirect, special or consequential damages whatsoever (including but not limited to lost profits) arising out of or related to this document or the information contained in it, even if SFL Services LLC had been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages, and even if they had acted negligently.

Visual Studio - Deploy to Linux
Visual Studio - Entity Framework Tips
Visual Studio - Bag of Tricks
Service - Add Installer and Setup
Log4Net - Wrapper
DataGrid - Working with Cells and Rows
Visual Studio - Publish to Linux and Restart Service
Visual Studio - Git Create new repo in on-prem Azure Devops
Visual Studio Code - Git Create new repo in on-prem Azure Devops

Visual Studio - Deploy to Linux

The only thing that you need to do do to deploy to Linux is too change the target runtime setting.

This allows for the deployment to add the specific files to the folder.

Visual Studio - Entity Framework Tips

dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef
dotnet ef migrations add CreateInitial
dotnet ef database update
//https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbf_ua2t6v4

Scaffold

dotnet ef dbcontext scaffold "Data Source=mfb-us-sql-001;Initial Catalog=MyFFLBookAPI;TrustServerCertificate=True;User Id=XXXXXX;Password=XXXXXX" Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer -c DataContext --context-dir Data -o Data -f

Redo

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/36741793/ef-7-migration-to-existing-database

Visual Studio - Bag of Tricks

To Add underscore to fieldNames

Service - Add Installer and Setup

Go to Solution Explorer and right-click on your project solution then go to the view designer then look at the design view then right-click on the design page and click on “add installer” and it will look like this:

After adding the ProjectInstaller.cs you have 2 components in the design view of the ProjectInstaller.cs (serviceProcessInstaller1 and serviceInstaller1). You should then set up the properties as you need.

Click on serviceinstaller1 and go to the properties in the right pane and edit the service name Service1 to your project solution as in the following:

Click on serviceProcessInstaller1 and go to the properties in the right pane and select Account and choose LocalService from the dropdown and save. See the following:

You have two assemblies under References as in the following highlighted (1) System.Configuration.Install and (2) System.ServiceProcess.

Create Setup Project

Build your service project, you need to set up the project to install the build/compiled project and run the installers to run the Windows service. Create a new project as a “Setup Project” and you need to add project output.

Create Setup Project for Window Service

Go to the Solution Explorer and right-click on the solution, go to Add > New Project.

Open a dialog box, go to left pane under Installed Templates > Other Project Types > Setup and Deployment > Visual Studio Installer and go to the right pane and select the project as a “Setup Project” and click on the OK button.

Custom actions add to setup project

Go to the solution, right-click on the setup project then select View > Custom action.

The “Custom action” editor appears.

Right-click on “Custom action > Add Custom action” and add the "Primary Output” from (Active)" to every custom action

Open a dialog box “Select Item In Project” then double-click on “Application Folder” then click on the “Add Output” button. Open a dialog box, choose your project (Window service) and “Primary Output” from (Active) and click on the OK button.

Build your setup project and install the Windows service.

Install And Start The Service

Go to the Solution Explorer then select Build for both projects (Windows Service and Setup Project) then right-click on the Setup Project and click on the Install option and follow the setup wizard procedure. Finally your service is ready for being started and stopped. If you want to start the Windows server then go to Start > Administrator tools > Service > Find Your Service then right-click on the Service Name then select Start. Otherwise go to Start > Computer (My Computer) > Manage > Click on Service And Application from the left pane > Services.

Log4Net - Wrapper

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1028375/how-do-you-configure-and-enable-log4net-for-a-stand-alone-class-library-assembly

DataGrid - Working with Cells and Rows

void dataGridView_CellValidating(object sender, DataGridViewCellValidatingEventArgs e)
{
    // Ignore cell if it's not dirty
    if (dataGridView.isCurrentCellDirty)
        return;

    // Validate current cell.
}

void dataGridView_RowValidating(object sender, DataGridViewCellCancelEventArgs e)
{
    // Ignore Row if it's not dirty
    if (!dataGridView.IsCurrentRowDirty)  
        return;

    // Validate all cells in the current row.
}

void dataGridView_CellEndEdit(object sender, DataGridViewCellEventArgs e)
{
    // Validate all cells in the current row and return if any are invalid.

    // If they are valid, save changes to the database

    // This is when I would expect dataGridView.IsCurrentRowDirty to be false.
    // When this row loses focus it will trigger RowValidating and validate all 
    // cells in this row, which we already did above.
}

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2043210/datagridview-row-is-still-dirty-after-committing-changes

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/35977042/how-to-filter-data-using-entity-framework-in-a-way-that-datagridview-be-editable/35978408#35978408

Visual Studio - Publish to Linux and Restart Service

To stop and restart a Linux service automatically when publishing from Visual Studio to a local folder, you must modify your Publish Profile (.pubxml) to include post-publish commands. Since Visual Studio runs on Windows, these commands typically trigger a script (like PowerShell or a WinSCP script) to remotely execute the systemctl commands on the Linux server.

NOTE: In the exercise our service is called `api.service`

1. Update the Publish Profile

Visual Studio doesn't have a built-in "Post-publish" box in the UI for folder publishing, so you must edit the .pubxml file manually.

In Solution Explorer, expand Properties > PublishProfiles.
Open your .pubxml file (e.g., FolderProfile.pubxml).
Add a custom Target at the end of the file, before the closing </Project> tag:

<Target Name="CustomActionsAfterPublish" AfterTargets="AfterPublish">
  <Exec Command="powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File &quot;$(ProjectDir)Scripts\RestartLinuxService.ps1&quot;" />
</Target>

2. Generate SSH Key on Your Windows Machine (once)

Open PowerShell as your normal user and run:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "visualstudio-publish-key"
# Press Enter for default location (~/.ssh/id_ed25519)
# Leave passphrase empty (for fully automated) or set one (then use ssh-agent)

3. Copy the Public Key to Your Linux Server (as root or your user)

# Replace with your actual server
type $HOME\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub | ssh root@linux-server "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys && chmod 700 ~/.ssh"

Enter the root password one time during this setup.

4. Create Your `RestartLinuxService.ps1` Script

Since your publish target is a folder, you likely still need to move the files to Linux and then restart the service. You can use PowerShell with SSH to handle this.

Create or replace the script with this clean version (no password needed):

# RestartLinuxService.ps1
# Run after Visual Studio publish to stop/restart the systemd service

$server = "linux-server"
$user   = "root"   # or a sudo-enabled user

Write-Host "Stopping api.service on $server..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes "${user}@${server}" "sudo systemctl stop api.service"

# Optional: If you also want to sync files here (instead of relying only on VS publish folder profile)
# Write-Host "Syncing files..."
# scp -r -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no "C:\Path\To\Your\Publish\Output\*" "${user}@${server}:/path/to/your/app/"

Write-Host "Restarting api.service on $server..." -ForegroundColor Green
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes "${user}@${server}" "sudo systemctl restart api.service"

# Verify status (optional)
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes "${user}@${server}" "sudo systemctl status api.service --no-pager -l"

Notes:

-o BatchMode=yes fails fast if something is wrong (no interactive prompts).
-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no skips the host key prompt on first run (you can remove it after the first successful connection).

5. Modifying sudoers

Make sure the Linux user (root or a dedicated deploy user) can run sudo systemctl without a password.

Option 1: On the Linux server, edit sudoers:

sudo visudo

Add a line like:

deployuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/systemctl stop api.service, /usr/bin/systemctl restart api.service, /usr/bin/systemctl status api.service

Option 2: Add to the `/etc/sudoers.d` directory

Using /etc/sudoers.d is the recommended and best practice way to add this kind of limited sudo permission. It keeps your changes clean, separate from the main /etc/sudoers file, and easier to manage or remove later.

Create a Proper sudoers.d Entry

On your Linux server linux-server, run these commands as root:

1. Create the file safely using visudo (this checks syntax automatically)

sudo visudo -f /etc/sudoers.d/deploy-api

2. Paste the following content into the editor that opens:

# Allow the deployuser to manage the api.service without entering a password
# This is very limited - only stop, restart, and status for this specific service

deployuser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/systemctl stop api.service, \
                          /usr/bin/systemctl restart api.service, \
                          /usr/bin/systemctl status api.service

Important notes on the rule:

Use the full path /usr/bin/systemctl (most common on modern Ubuntu/Debian/RHEL).
You can add more commands if needed (e.g., start, reload, enable).
The backslashes (\) allow the rule to span multiple lines for readability.
deployuser should be replaced with the actual username you use in your SSH script (e.g., deploy or apiuser — do not use root for this).

Save and exit the editor (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X in nano).

Verify the Rule Works

After saving, test it from the deployuser account (or via SSH):

# Switch to the deploy user if needed
su - deployuser

# Test the allowed commands (should NOT ask for password)
sudo systemctl status api.service
sudo systemctl stop api.service
sudo systemctl restart api.service

You can also check what the user is allowed to run:

sudo -l -U deployuser

Updated PowerShell Script (Using the Non-Root Deploy User)

Now update your RestartLinuxService.ps1 to use the dedicated deploy user instead of root:

# RestartLinuxService.ps1 - Improved version

$server = "linux-server"
$user   = "deployuser"   # <-- Change to your non-root deploy user

Write-Host "Connecting to $server as $user..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

# Stop the service
Write-Host "Stopping api.service..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes "${user}@${server}" "sudo systemctl stop api.service"

# Restart the service
Write-Host "Restarting api.service..." -ForegroundColor Green
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes "${user}@${server}" "sudo systemctl restart api.service"

# Optional: Show brief status
Write-Host "Service status:" -ForegroundColor Cyan
ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o BatchMode=yes "${user}@${server}" "sudo systemctl status api.service --no-pager -l" | Select-Object -First 15

Extra Security Tips

File permissions — The file /etc/sudoers.d/deploy-api must be 0440 (readable only by root):

sudo chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/deploy-api
sudo chown root:root /etc/sudoers.d/deploy-api

Filename convention — Many admins prefix with a number (e.g., 10-deploy-api or 99-deploy-api) to control loading order.
Least privilege — This rule is already quite tight. Avoid adding ALL or wildcard * unless absolutely necessary.
If you want even tighter control, you can define a Cmnd_Alias first in the same file, see below for the link

Finally

In both options, your existing .pubxml target stays exactly the same as in step 1

<Target Name="CustomActionsAfterPublish" AfterTargets="AfterPublish">
  <Exec Command="powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File &quot;$(ProjectDir)Scripts\RestartLinuxService.ps1&quot;" />
</Target>

6. Alternative: If You Must Use Password (Not Recommended)

If key auth is blocked (e.g., company policy), you can use sshpass (install via Chocolatey: choco install sshpass) or a simple PowerShell wrapper.

Using sshpass (install once):

# In RestartLinuxService.ps1
$password = "YourSuperSecretPassword"   # <-- WARNING: Plain text! Very insecure

$server = "linux-server"
$user   = "root"

sshpass -p $password ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no "${user}@${server}" "sudo systemctl restart api.service"

Even worse for security: store the password encrypted with ConvertFrom-SecureString and load it at runtime, but it's still risky for automated builds.

7. Bonus Tips

Run as non-root — Create a dedicated deploy user on Linux with limited sudo rights.
File sync — The publish profile in Visual Studio can already target a network share or use Web Deploy / Folder publish with rsync/scp in the profile. Then your script only needs to handle stop → restart.
Error handling — Add try/catch and check $LASTEXITCODE after each ssh call.
Test first — Run the .ps1 manually from PowerShell before relying on the publish step.

8. `Cmnd_Alias` setup for ease of multi-commands

Click Here

Visual Studio - Git Create new repo in on-prem Azure Devops

Create a new repo in the web portal and push code

This is the standard approach for managing new code in Azure DevOps.

Navigate to your project: Open the web portal for your Azure DevOps Server and select your project.
Go to Repos: In the left-hand navigation menu, select Repos > Files.
Create a new repository: From the current repository drop-down menu at the top, select New repository.
Configure the new repo:
- Verify that Git is the repository type.
- Enter a name for your new repository.
- Optionally, add a README file or a .gitignore file.
Create: Select Create. An empty Git repo is now ready in your project.
Clone the repo locally: Once the repo is created, an overview page will appear with a Clone button. Copy the provided clone URL.
Open a command prompt on your local machine and navigate to the folder containing your local code (if you have existing code).
Connect your local repo to the remote:
```
git init
git add .
git commit -m 'initial commit'
git branch -M main
git remote add origin <clone URL>
	git push -u origin main #May fail
git pull --rebase origin main
git push -u origin main
```
- Run git remote add origin <clone URL> means that you can use the clone URL from within Azure DevOps
- Run git push -u origin [master] (or the name of your default branch) to push your local code to the newly created Azure DevOps repo.

Visual Studio Code - Git Create new repo in on-prem Azure Devops

Create a new repo in the web portal and push code

This is the standard approach for managing new code in Azure DevOps.

Navigate to your project: Open the web portal for your Azure DevOps Server and select your project.
Go to Repos: In the left-hand navigation menu, select Repos > Files.
Create a new repository: From the current repository drop-down menu at the top, select New repository.
Configure the new repo:
- Verify that Git is the repository type.
- Enter a name for your new repository.
- Optionally, add a README file or a .gitignore file.
Create: Select Create. An empty Git repo is now ready in your project.
Clone the repo locally: Once the repo is created, an overview page will appear with a Clone button. Copy the provided clone URL.
Open a command prompt on your local machine and navigate to the folder containing your local code (if you have existing code).
Connect your local repo to the remote:
```
git init
git add .
git commit -m 'initial commit'
git branch -M main
git remote add origin <clone URL>
git push -u origin main
```
- Run git remote add origin <clone URL> means that you can use the clone URL from within Azure DevOps
- Run git push -u origin [main] (or the name of your default branch) to push your local code to the newly created Azure DevOps repo.

Visual Studio

Visual Studio - Deploy to Linux

Visual Studio - Entity Framework Tips

Visual Studio - Bag of Tricks

Service - Add Installer and Setup

Log4Net - Wrapper

DataGrid - Working with Cells and Rows

Visual Studio - Publish to Linux and Restart Service

NOTE: In the exercise our service is called api.service

1. Update the Publish Profile

2. Generate SSH Key on Your Windows Machine (once)

3. Copy the Public Key to Your Linux Server (as root or your user)

4. Create Your RestartLinuxService.ps1 Script

5. Modifying sudoers

Option 1: On the Linux server, edit sudoers:

Option 2: Add to the /etc/sudoers.d directory

Finally

6. Alternative: If You Must Use Password (Not Recommended)

7. Bonus Tips

8. Cmnd_Alias setup for ease of multi-commands

Visual Studio - Git Create new repo in on-prem Azure Devops

Create a new repo in the web portal and push code

This is the standard approach for managing new code in Azure DevOps.

Visual Studio Code - Git Create new repo in on-prem Azure Devops

Create a new repo in the web portal and push code

This is the standard approach for managing new code in Azure DevOps.

NOTE: In the exercise our service is called `api.service`

4. Create Your `RestartLinuxService.ps1` Script

Option 2: Add to the `/etc/sudoers.d` directory

8. `Cmnd_Alias` setup for ease of multi-commands