Use “LIKE()” Operation for Entity Frame Work (yes it is possible)

Alright so this is a tie in with the previous post but is still separate. I will get to that in the next post. So linq to entities was nice enough not to give us a true like operator like in linq to sql and if you use the linq to sql it throws a error and does not work against entities. So i needed a way and I found one but catch is it only works out of the box with mssql and for now we will stick with that. Sorry if you use oracle and the like suck to be there at the moment.

So here you go I have created a instance of a ObjectQuery and now I am adding on my filters for final execution and in this one I need to return a name with wild cards in place of spaces and special characters

vb .net

            Dim searchname As String = String.Format("%{0}%", replaceSpecialCharactersWith(TextBoxName.Text, "%"))
            entity = From client In entity.AsQueryable Where System.Data.Objects.SqlClient.SqlFunctions.PatIndex(searchname, client.Name) > 0 

C#

            string searchname = string.Format("%{0}%", replaceSpecialCharactersWith(TextBoxName.Text, "%"));
            entity = from client in entity.AsQueryablewhere System.Data.Objects.SqlClient.SqlFunctions.PatIndex(searchname, client.Name) > 0;

as you can see it uses the patindex function method from sql this along with deffered execution will allow you to do likes and then combine with the Or operator and you are good to go. Looking at the trace also it only tacked on a where calling the function so not much of a performance hit eithier. So using the code method below and this = automatic like on full name fields from a single textbox search :).

 

Replace Special And Non-ASCII Characters Without the Performance Hit of Regular Expressions

Alright so if your reading this you should know what Regular Expressions are, Now if you don’t go and use Google then come back :). Alright now that that is out of the way. So I needed to replace any special characters in a string before I passed it to another method to process it this case it was for a search function. Now here is the thing yes you can declare a reg-ex and then do a string.replace with the reg-ex but that caused a sever performance hit as it iterates through the whole expression for each character in the string. Alright now what about the people who use non-ASCII characters(yes some people do for some reason) with the code below it removes them also unlike reg-ex and by using the .net methods below you decrease the performance hit by over 2 fold.

For me this was a big deal because the data-source I was working with was huge. Now here is a basic truth you need to accept AND NOT DO WITH MY CODE before I give it to you, Strings in .net are Immutable if you don’t know what that is read the last part of the first sentence in this writeup. Alright…. if you are going to replace the special characters with quote quote DO NOT use “” as for each replacement it creates a separate string object until it leaves the for loop. Use String.Empty as the input parameter. So here you go in vb.net and C#….
VB.Net

    Public Shared Function replaceSpecialCharactersWith(text As String, replacement As String) As String
        Dim sb As New StringBuilder()
        Dim lastWasInvalid = False
        For Each c As Char In text
            If Char.IsLetterOrDigit(c) Then
                sb.Append(c)
                lastWasInvalid = False
            Else
                If Not lastWasInvalid Then
                    sb.Append(replacement)
                End If
                lastWasInvalid = True
            End If
        Next

        Return sb.ToString().ToLowerInvariant().Trim()

    End Function

C#

public static string replaceSpecialCharactersWith(string text, string replacement)
{
	StringBuilder strb = new StringBuilder();
	object lastWasInvalid = false;
	foreach (char c in text) 
	{
		if (char.IsLetterOrDigit(c)) 
		{
			strb.Append(c);
			lastWasInvalid = false;
		} 
		else 
		{
			if (!lastWasInvalid) 
			{
				strb.Append(replacement);
			}
			lastWasInvalid = true;
		}
	}

So for those who don’t understand it just in case, what it is doing is converting the string to a character array and looping through the character array and inserting the designated value for each if the if condition is met. If the character is valid it adds it to the string builder and moves to the next character. If the character is invalid it replaces it in the string builder with the specified replacement and marks the last character as invalid. The last part is so you don’t put 2 replacements side by side it just replaces once and goes till it finds another valid character :). Have fun and till next time don’t let your code have a meltdown.

 

Convert ExcelML (Excel 2007/2010 xml file) to DataSet

Alright so I love Telerik and you guys who have worked with me know it but there is a issue with Telerik that is a deep dark secret I hide… lol its not that serious. So as we all know you can import regular xls files using the ace and jet OleDB libraries. Problem is that even with the new BIFF(Excel Binary) RadGrid export format Telerik put out this recent release it is still somewhat limited in its function. So the easiest way to keep formatting and make exports look pretty is to use the export type ExcelML which is a standardized xml format from excel. But there a catch. Guess what? There is no standardized way from Microsoft or anyone for that matter to process this file type back into your system!!!!!! Now you could always call the inter-op and COM libraries open the file and save it out as a binary xls but it requires you to have Excel installed on the computer that the program runs on. In my case that is going to be a web server and that is a BIG NO NO! So I wrote a way to custom parse the info back into the system as a DataSet dynamically (WITH NO REFLECTION!!!!!) and here follows the code in vb.net and c#. Make sure to include System.Data and System.XML.

    Public Shared Function ImportExcelXML(inputFileStream As Stream, hasHeaders As Boolean, autoDetectColumnType As Boolean) As DataSet
        Dim doc As New XmlDocument()
        doc.Load(New XmlTextReader(inputFileStream))
        Dim nsmgr As New XmlNamespaceManager(doc.NameTable)

        nsmgr.AddNamespace("o", "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office")
        nsmgr.AddNamespace("x", "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel")
        nsmgr.AddNamespace("ss", "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:spreadsheet")

        Dim ds As New DataSet()

        For Each node As XmlNode In doc.DocumentElement.SelectNodes("//ss:Worksheet", nsmgr)
            Dim dt As New DataTable(node.Attributes("ss:Name").Value)
            ds.Tables.Add(dt)
            Dim rows As XmlNodeList = node.SelectNodes("ss:Table/ss:Row", nsmgr)
            If rows.Count > 0 Then
                Dim columns As New List(Of ColumnType)()
                Dim startIndex As Integer = 0

                If hasHeaders Then
                    For Each data As XmlNode In rows(0).SelectNodes("ss:Cell/ss:Data", nsmgr)
                        columns.Add(New ColumnType(GetType(String)))
                        'default to text
                        dt.Columns.Add(data.InnerText, GetType(String))
                    Next
                    startIndex += 1
                End If

                If autoDetectColumnType AndAlso rows.Count > 0 Then
                    Dim cells As XmlNodeList = rows(startIndex).SelectNodes("ss:Cell", nsmgr)
                    Dim actualCellIndex As Integer = 0
                    For cellIndex As Integer = 0 To cells.Count - 1
                        Dim cell As XmlNode = cells(cellIndex)
                        If cell.Attributes("ss:Index") IsNot Nothing Then
                            actualCellIndex = Integer.Parse(cell.Attributes("ss:Index").Value) - 1
                        End If

                        Dim autoDetectType As ColumnType = [getType](cell.SelectSingleNode("ss:Data", nsmgr))

                        If actualCellIndex >= dt.Columns.Count Then
                            dt.Columns.Add("Column" + actualCellIndex.ToString(), autoDetectType.type)
                            columns.Add(autoDetectType)
                        Else
                            dt.Columns(actualCellIndex).DataType = autoDetectType.type
                            columns(actualCellIndex) = autoDetectType
                        End If

                        actualCellIndex += 1
                    Next
                End If

                For i As Integer = startIndex To rows.Count - 1
                    Dim row As DataRow = dt.NewRow()
                    Dim cells As XmlNodeList = rows(i).SelectNodes("ss:Cell", nsmgr)
                    Dim actualCellIndex As Integer = 0
                    For cellIndex As Integer = 0 To cells.Count - 1
                        Dim cell As XmlNode = cells(cellIndex)
                        If cell.Attributes("ss:Index") IsNot Nothing Then
                            actualCellIndex = Integer.Parse(cell.Attributes("ss:Index").Value) - 1
                        End If

                        Dim data As XmlNode = cell.SelectSingleNode("ss:Data", nsmgr)

                        If actualCellIndex >= dt.Columns.Count Then
                            For a As Integer = dt.Columns.Count To actualCellIndex - 1
                                dt.Columns.Add("Column" + actualCellIndex.ToString(), GetType(String))
                                columns.Add(getDefaultType())
                            Next
                            Dim autoDetectType As ColumnType = [getType](cell.SelectSingleNode("ss:Data", nsmgr))
                            dt.Columns.Add("Column" + actualCellIndex.ToString(), GetType(String))
                            columns.Add(autoDetectType)
                        End If

                        If data IsNot Nothing Then
                            row(actualCellIndex) = data.InnerText.Trim()
                        End If
                        actualCellIndex += 1
                    Next

                    dt.Rows.Add(row)
                Next
            End If
        Next
        Return ds

        '<?xml version="1.0"?>
        '<?mso-application progid="Excel.Sheet"?>
        '<Workbook>
        ' <Worksheet ss:Name="Sheet1">
        '  <Table>
        '   <Row>
        '    <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Item Number</Data></Cell>
        '    <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Description</Data></Cell>
        '    <Cell ss:StyleID="s21"><Data ss:Type="String">Item Barcode</Data></Cell>
        '   </Row>
        ' </Worksheet>
        '</Workbook>
    End Function

    Structure ColumnType
        Public type As Type
        Private name As String
        Public Sub New(type As Type)
            Me.type = type
            Me.name = type.ToString().ToLower()
        End Sub
        Public Function ParseString(input As String) As Object
            If [String].IsNullOrEmpty(input) Then
                Return DBNull.Value
            End If
            Select Case type.ToString().ToLower()
                Case "system.datetime"
                    Return DateTime.Parse(input)
                Case "system.decimal"
                    Return Decimal.Parse(input)
                Case "system.boolean"
                    Return Boolean.Parse(input)
                Case Else
                    Return input
            End Select
        End Function
    End Structure

    Private Shared Function getDefaultType() As ColumnType
        Return New ColumnType(GetType([String]))
    End Function

    Private Shared Function [getType](data As XmlNode) As ColumnType
        Dim type As String = Nothing
        If data.Attributes("ss:Type") Is Nothing OrElse data.Attributes("ss:Type").Value Is Nothing Then
            type = ""
        Else
            type = data.Attributes("ss:Type").Value
        End If

        Select Case type
            Case "DateTime"
                Return New ColumnType(GetType(DateTime))
            Case "Boolean"
                Return New ColumnType(GetType([Boolean]))
            Case "Number"
                Return New ColumnType(GetType([Decimal]))
            Case ""
                Dim test2 As Decimal
                If data Is Nothing OrElse [String].IsNullOrEmpty(data.InnerText) OrElse Decimal.TryParse(data.InnerText, test2) Then
                    Return New ColumnType(GetType([Decimal]))
                Else
                    Return New ColumnType(GetType([String]))
                End If
            Case Else
                '"String"
                Return New ColumnType(GetType([String]))
        End Select
    End Function  

public static DataSet ImportExcelXML(Stream inputFileStream, bool hasHeaders, bool autoDetectColumnType)
{
	XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
	doc.Load(new XmlTextReader(inputFileStream));
	XmlNamespaceManager nsmgr = new XmlNamespaceManager(doc.NameTable);

	nsmgr.AddNamespace("o", "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office");
	nsmgr.AddNamespace("x", "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel");
	nsmgr.AddNamespace("ss", "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:spreadsheet");

	DataSet ds = new DataSet();

	foreach (XmlNode node in doc.DocumentElement.SelectNodes("//ss:Worksheet", nsmgr)) {
		DataTable dt = new DataTable(node.Attributes("ss:Name").Value);
		ds.Tables.Add(dt);
		XmlNodeList rows = node.SelectNodes("ss:Table/ss:Row", nsmgr);
		if (rows.Count > 0) {
			List<ColumnType> columns = new List<ColumnType>();
			int startIndex = 0;

			if (hasHeaders) {
				foreach (XmlNode data in rows(0).SelectNodes("ss:Cell/ss:Data", nsmgr)) {
					columns.Add(new ColumnType(typeof(string)));
					//default to text
					dt.Columns.Add(data.InnerText, typeof(string));
				}
				startIndex += 1;
			}

			if (autoDetectColumnType && rows.Count > 0) {
				XmlNodeList cells = rows(startIndex).SelectNodes("ss:Cell", nsmgr);
				int actualCellIndex = 0;
				for (int cellIndex = 0; cellIndex <= cells.Count - 1; cellIndex++) {
					XmlNode cell = cells(cellIndex);
					if (cell.Attributes("ss:Index") != null) {
						actualCellIndex = int.Parse(cell.Attributes("ss:Index").Value) - 1;
					}

					ColumnType autoDetectType = getType(cell.SelectSingleNode("ss:Data", nsmgr));

					if (actualCellIndex >= dt.Columns.Count) {
						dt.Columns.Add("Column" + actualCellIndex.ToString(), autoDetectType.type);
						columns.Add(autoDetectType);
					} else {
						dt.Columns(actualCellIndex).DataType = autoDetectType.type;
						columns(actualCellIndex) = autoDetectType;
					}

					actualCellIndex += 1;
				}
			}

			for (int i = startIndex; i <= rows.Count - 1; i++) {
				DataRow row = dt.NewRow();
				XmlNodeList cells = rows(i).SelectNodes("ss:Cell", nsmgr);
				int actualCellIndex = 0;
				for (int cellIndex = 0; cellIndex <= cells.Count - 1; cellIndex++) {
					XmlNode cell = cells(cellIndex);
					if (cell.Attributes("ss:Index") != null) {
						actualCellIndex = int.Parse(cell.Attributes("ss:Index").Value) - 1;
					}

					XmlNode data = cell.SelectSingleNode("ss:Data", nsmgr);

					if (actualCellIndex >= dt.Columns.Count) {
						for (int a = dt.Columns.Count; a <= actualCellIndex - 1; a++) {
							dt.Columns.Add("Column" + actualCellIndex.ToString(), typeof(string));
							columns.Add(getDefaultType());
						}
						ColumnType autoDetectType = getType(cell.SelectSingleNode("ss:Data", nsmgr));
						dt.Columns.Add("Column" + actualCellIndex.ToString(), typeof(string));
						columns.Add(autoDetectType);
					}

					if (data != null) {
						row(actualCellIndex) = data.InnerText.Trim();
					}
					actualCellIndex += 1;
				}

				dt.Rows.Add(row);
			}
		}
	}
	return ds;

	//<?xml version="1.0"?>
	//<?mso-application progid="Excel.Sheet"?>
	//<Workbook>
	// <Worksheet ss:Name="Sheet1">
	//  <Table>
	//   <Row>
	//    <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Item Number</Data></Cell>
	//    <Cell><Data ss:Type="String">Description</Data></Cell>
	//    <Cell ss:StyleID="s21"><Data ss:Type="String">Item Barcode</Data></Cell>
	//   </Row>
	// </Worksheet>
	//</Workbook>
}

struct ColumnType
{
	public Type type;
	private string name;
	public ColumnType(Type type)
	{
		this.type = type;
		this.name = type.ToString().ToLower();
	}
	public object ParseString(string input)
	{
		if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(input)) {
			return DBNull.Value;
		}
		switch (type.ToString().ToLower()) {
			case "system.datetime":
				return DateTime.Parse(input);
			case "system.decimal":
				return decimal.Parse(input);
			case "system.boolean":
				return bool.Parse(input);
			default:
				return input;
		}
	}
}

private static ColumnType getDefaultType()
{
	return new ColumnType(typeof(String));
}

private static ColumnType getType(XmlNode data)
{
	string type = null;
	if (data.Attributes("ss:Type") == null || data.Attributes("ss:Type").Value == null) {
		type = "";
	} else {
		type = data.Attributes("ss:Type").Value;
	}

	switch (type) {
		case "DateTime":
			return new ColumnType(typeof(DateTime));
		case "Boolean":
			return new ColumnType(typeof(Boolean));
		case "Number":
			return new ColumnType(typeof(Decimal));
		case "":
			decimal test2 = default(decimal);
			if (data == null || String.IsNullOrEmpty(data.InnerText) || decimal.TryParse(data.InnerText, test2)) {
				return new ColumnType(typeof(Decimal));
			} else {
				return new ColumnType(typeof(String));
			}
			break;
		default:
			//"String"
			return new ColumnType(typeof(String));
	}
}

 

Convert LINQ to Entity ObjectQuery to DataTable

It has been a while, I know and I have been meaning to blog but have been uber busy so here is a new one for you.
So for anyone who has used LINQ to DataSet you know there is a method for CopyToDataTable(). For LINQ to Entity there is no such thing and though I will not go into why there are reasons and they make partial sense but I needed to do this to get better control of my data binding. So I went out and used reflection and came back with a simple way to convert the returned IEnumerable object list to a DataTable this treats each object in the returned entity as a DataRow and dynamically gets the properties and the column names. Below are the C# and VB.Net versions. Also make sure to include the System.Reflection Library in your class where you use this.

    Public Function ObjectQueryToDataTable(Of T)(objlist As IEnumerable(Of T)) As DataTable
        Dim dtReturn As New DataTable()

        Dim objProps As PropertyInfo() = Nothing

        If objlist Is Nothing Then
            Return dtReturn
        End If

        For Each objRec As T In objlist
            If objProps Is Nothing Then
                objProps = DirectCast(objRec.[GetType](), Type).GetProperties()
                For Each objpi As PropertyInfo In objProps
                    Dim colType As Type = objpi.PropertyType

                    If (colType.IsGenericType) AndAlso (colType.GetGenericTypeDefinition() = GetType(Nullable(Of ))) Then
                        colType = colType.GetGenericArguments()(0)
                    End If

                    dtReturn.Columns.Add(New DataColumn(objpi.Name, colType))
                Next
            End If

            Dim dr As DataRow = dtReturn.NewRow()

            For Each pi As PropertyInfo In objProps
                dr(pi.Name) = If(pi.GetValue(objRec, Nothing) Is Nothing, DBNull.Value, pi.GetValue(objRec, Nothing))
            Next

            dtReturn.Rows.Add(dr)
        Next
        Return dtReturn
    End Function

public DataTable ObjectQueryToDataTable<T>(IEnumerable<T> objlist)
{
	DataTable dtReturn = new DataTable();

	PropertyInfo[] objProps = null;

	if (objlist == null) {
		return dtReturn;
	}

	foreach (T objRec in objlist) {
		if (objProps == null) {
			objProps = ((Type)objRec.GetType()).GetProperties();
			foreach (PropertyInfo objpi in objProps) {
				Type colType = objpi.PropertyType;

				if ((colType.IsGenericType) && (colType.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == typeof(Nullable<>))) {
					colType = colType.GetGenericArguments()(0);
				}

				dtReturn.Columns.Add(new DataColumn(objpi.Name, colType));
			}
		}

		DataRow dr = dtReturn.NewRow();

		foreach (PropertyInfo pi in objProps) {
			dr(pi.Name) = pi.GetValue(objRec, null) == null ? DBNull.Value : pi.GetValue(objRec, null);
		}

		dtReturn.Rows.Add(dr);
	}
	return dtReturn;
}

Hope this helps you out as always if you have a better way let me know :).

 

When You Should Initialize Variables Conditionally

Here is an example of a variable you can initalize conditionally.

<pre>        public virtual T QueryString<T>(string name)
        {
            string queryParam = null;
            if (HttpContext.Current != null && HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString[name] != null)
                queryParam = HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString[name];

            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(queryParam))
                return CommonHelper.To<T>(queryParam);

            return default(T);
        }

now the reason you would want to intialize this conditonally is that no matter what the string is null unless
the if statements are met therefore assigning a value in the begining instead of in the else adds a step to the method that doesn’t have to be there. So do something more like this…

        public virtual T QueryString<T>(string name)
        {
            string queryParam;

            if (HttpContext.Current != null && HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString[name] != null)
                queryParam = HttpContext.Current.Request.QueryString[name];
            else
                queryParam = null;

            if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(queryParam))
                return CommonHelper.To<T>(queryParam);

            return default(T);
        }

 

Don’t Fear Lambda Expressions

example of a lambda expression

        /// <summary>
        ///     perform a check on the item being added before adding it.
        ///     Return true if it should be added, false if it should not be
        ///     added.
        /// </summary>
        public Func<ICollection<T>, T, bool> BeforeAdd
        {
            get { return _beforeAdd ?? (_beforeAdd = (l, x) => true); }
            set { _beforeAdd = value; }
        }

 

Example of Why You Shouldn’t Use Hungarian Notation

So today had to go into a project and make a small change from a regular textbox to a Masked Numeric TextBox the control was for Phone Numbers to be used for a contacts object that is gotten and updated throughout the session and used in multiple other places in the web site. problem was is that the hungarian annotation had to be changed through out. Anywhere the object or session object was referenced. Also it was being placed into a local object in other places, so find and replace did not work for all those who were about to shout it. example:

TextBox alter_tbxPhoneNumber = (TextBox)Session["tbxPhoneNumber"];

This broke because the object was no longer a TextBox and therefore you can’t cast it to a TextBox nor can you place it into a TextBox object. If you’re a developer and you can’t mouse over a variable name to see what type it is or simply use getType then object orientation isn’t for you in the first place. Just my opinion though. Till next time don’t let your code have a meltdown.

 

Using Telerik RadAjaxPanel and RadAjaxLoading Panel

So as some of you know I am all about Telerik asp.net Ajax controls when you understand them they save you a great deal of time and can give you some cool features with just a little drag and drop. Add about  60 seconds of typing to set up the controls and bam. As we all know users are sometimes impatient we have gotten them used to instant everything these days on the web and sometimes that’s just not possible.
A few things are going to take a second or 2. This is definitely an issue when using ajax and server request event validation and you get an impatient user who just wants to keep working and not wait on the post back.

Enter RadAjaxPanel and RadLoadingPanel check out the following code snippet

<telerik:RadAjaxLoadingPanel ID="RadAjaxLoadingPanel1" runat="server">
	<div class="loading" style=" margin-top:50%; margin-bottom:50%; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">

		<asp:Image ID="Image1" runat="server" ImageUrl="Img/loading44.gif" AlternateText="loading..."/>

	</div>
<telerik:RadAjaxLoadingPanel>
<telerik:RadAjaxPanel ID="RadAjaxPanel1" runat="server" LoadingPanelID="RadAjaxLoadingPanel1"
						EnableHistory="True" HorizontalAlign="NotSet">
<!-- Put your content here -->
<telerik:RadAjaxPanel>

in the code snippet above I achieve 3 main things instantly with the above code snippet
1. user cannot click on the controls after a post back begins until the post back ends. During that time the loading panel covers the entire RadAjaxPanel until its finished

2. I can display a custom (read Branded) loading gif and if it fails it just says loading.

3 it allows my user to know what is going on, stops them from messing with anything else in the panel, and also allows them to see when to proceed if i just disabled or overlayed the controls the user would become confused or think their browser/website was broken and in come the support tickets.

This takes all of 2 minutes and did i mention it provides instant ajax history without you having to create all the tedium that comes along with that all in 2 simple controls I will post an example site once I get home. Till then don’t let your code have a melt down.

 

How Setting Up Web Config Transformation Files can Save you Time and Avoid Deployment Mistakes.

So let’s be honest, even if no one ever noticed because we caught it before the damage was done, We have all deployed a site with the developement connection string still in place. This and things like it happen when you manually set up your web config. Well heres the answer to things like that —

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd465318.aspx

So what is Web Configuration Transformation, for those who don’t want to click yet I will explain. Transformation is a addon item to your web config file that allows you to declare items to be replaced based on the compilation type you set in your build type drop box at the top of your VS(Visusal Studio) IDE. So if I build in Release mode then the Web.Release.Config transformation file kicks in and replaces the values I told it to, in most cases for me this deals with connection strings to databases and names/addresses for web services. This is handy because you can include it in the svn check out and everyone has it so no more pesky ooops I forgot to change my connections just do it once, maintain it, and bam you sir are good to go.

 

find the diffrence between 2 DateTimes in C# (DateDiff for you T-SQL Buffs)

SO many times you need to get the amount of time between 2 dates or you need to validate that the range between DateTimes is not within or beyond a certain amount of seconds,minutes,hours,days,months, and/or years. In T-SQL you get this info with the DateDiff function in c# we don’t have a function persay but the datetime type does have a method you can use to get it here is an example of the subtraction version.

//these are date time controls that we cast the values as date time
                et = (DateTime)EarliestCallDate.SelectedDate;
                lt = (DateTime)LatestCallDate.DbSelectedDate;
// now lets get the diffrence in days
            if (et > lt)
            {
                error.Text = "Earliest Call Date Cannot Be Less Than Latest Call Date.";
                return;
            }
            else if (lt.Subtract(et).Days > 1) // right here it is
            {
                error.Text = "Earliest Date and Latest Date must be in the same day";
            }

As you can see it is pretty simple the Return Type of lt.Subtract(et).Days is TimeSpan.Days. Well hopefully this helps someone until next time I post don’t let your code have a meltdown.