Dot NET FAQ

SQL SERVER

What is @@ERROR?
The @@ERROR automatic variable returns the error code of the last Transact-SQL statement. If there was no error, @@ERROR returns zero. Because @@ERROR is reset after each Transact-SQL statement, it must be saved to a variable if it is needed to process it further after checking it.

What is Raiseerror?
Stored procedures report errors to client applications via the RAISERROR command. RAISERROR doesn’t change the flow of a procedure; it merely displays an error message, sets the @@ERROR automatic variable, and optionally writes the message to the SQL Server error log and the NT application event log.

What is log shipping?
Log shipping is the process of automating the backup of database and transaction log files on a production SQL server, and then restoring them onto a standby server. Enterprise Editions only supports log shipping. In log shipping the transactional log file from one server is automatically updated into the backup database on the other server. If one server fails, the other server will have the same db can be used this as the Disaster Recovery plan. The key feature of log shipping is that is will automatically backup transaction logs throughout the day and automatically restore them on the standby server at defined interval.

What are the authentication modes in SQL Server? How can it be changed?
Windows mode and mixed mode (SQL & Windows).

To change authentication mode in SQL Server click Start, Programs, Microsoft SQL Server and click SQL Enterprise Manager to run SQL Enterprise Manager from the Microsoft SQL Server program group. Select the server then from the Tools menu select SQL Server Configuration Properties, and choose the Security page.

Where are SQL server users names and passwords are stored in sql server?
They get stored in master db in the sysxlogins table.

Which command using Query Analyzer will give you the version of SQL server and operating system?

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY ('productlevel'), SERVERPROPERTY ('edition')

What is Triggers?

Triggers are a type of stored procedure attached to a table or view and are executed only when the contents of a table are changed. They can be used to enforce most any business rule, and are especially important for dealing with situations that are too complex for a check constraint to handle.

The main advantage that triggers have over constraints is the ability to directly access other tables, and to execute multiple rows at once. In a trigger we can run almost every T-SQL commands, except for the following.
ALTER DATABASE, CREATE DATABASE, DROP DATABASE, RESTORE LOG, RECONFIGURE, RESTORE DATABASE.

There are two different models of trigger:
Instead-of – Meaning that the trigger operates instead of the command (INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE) affecting the table or view. In this way, we can do whatever we want with the data, either modifying it as sent, or putting is into another place. We can have only a single INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE trigger of this type per table. You can however combine all three into one and have a single trigger that fires for all three operations.

After – Meaning the trigger fires after the command has affected the table, though not on views. After triggers are used for building enhanced business rule handlers and you would generally put any kind of logging mechanisms into them. You may have an unlimited number of after triggers that fire on INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE or any combination of them. Even if we have an instead-of trigger, we may still have as many after triggers as wanted, since they can all be combined into a single
trigger.

In SQL Server 6.5 you could define only 3 triggers per table, one for INSERT, one for UPDATE and one for DELETE. From SQL Server 7.0 onwards, this restriction is gone, and you could create multiple triggers per each action. But in 7.0 there's no way to control the order in which the triggers fire. In SQL Server 2000 you could specify which trigger fires first or fires last using sp_settriggerorder.
Till SQL Server 7.0, triggers fire only after the data modification operation happens. So in a way, they are called post triggers. But in SQL Server 2000 you could create pre triggers also.

Which are the different IsolationLevels ?
Following are the various IsolationLevels:

* Serialized Data read by a current transaction cannot be changed by another transaction until the current transaction finishes. No new data can be inserted that would affect the current transaction. This is the safest isolation level and is the default.
* Repeatable Read Data read by a current transaction cannot be changed by another transaction until the current transaction finishes. Any type of new data can be inserted during a transaction.
* Read Committed A transaction cannot read data that is being modified by another transaction that has not committed. This is the default isolation level in Microsoft® SQL Server.
* Read Uncommitted A transaction can read any data, even if it is being modified by another transaction. This is the least safe isolation level but allows the highest concurrency.
* Any Any isolation level is supported. This setting is most commonly used by downstream components to avoid conflicts. This setting is useful because any downstream component must be configured with an isolation level that is equal to or less than the isolation level of its immediate upstream component. Therefore, a downstream component that has its isolation level configured as Any always uses the same isolation level that its immediate upstream component uses. If the root object in a transaction has its isolation level configured to Any, its isolation level becomes Serialized.

To select date part only
SELECT CONVERT(char(10),GetDate(),101)
--to select time part only
SELECT right(GetDate(),7)

Name the four different cursor types in ADO and describe them briefly of Visual Basic?

The cursor types are listed from least to most resource intensive.
Forward Only - Fastest, can only move forward in recordset
Static - Can move to any record in the recordset. Data is static and never changes.
KeySet - Changes are detectable, records that are deleted by other users are unavailable, and records created by other users are not detected
Dynamic - All changes are visible.

Name the four different locking type in ADO and describe them briefly in Visual Basic.

LockPessimistic - Locks the row once after any edits occur.
LockOptimistic - Locks the row only when Update is called.
LockBatchOptimistic - Allows Batch Updates.
LockReadOnly - Read only. Can not alter the data.

What is data integrity? Explain constraints?

Entity Integrity- Enforces integrity in a entity by enforcing uniqueness (Primary Key , Unique, Indexes)

Domain Integrity- Enforces the validity of a given column (Data Types, Format, CHECK, NULL/NOT NULL, FK

Referential Integrity – Preserves the relationship between the entities (FKs, CHECK)


Data integrity is an important feature in SQL Server. When used properly, it ensures that data is accurate, correct, and valid. It also acts as a trap for otherwise undetectable bugs within applications.
A PRIMARY KEY constraint is a unique identifier for a row within a database table. Every table should have a primary key constraint to uniquely identify each row and only one primary key constraint can be created for each table. The primary key constraints are used to enforce entity integrity.

A UNIQUE constraint enforces the uniqueness of the values in a set of columns, so no duplicate values are entered. The unique key constraints are used to enforce entity integrity as the primary key constraints.

A FOREIGN KEY constraint prevents any actions that would destroy links between tables with the corresponding data values. A foreign key in one table points to a primary key in another table. Foreign keys prevent actions that would leave rows with foreign key values when there are no primary keys with that value. The foreign key constraints are used to enforce referential integrity.

A CHECK constraint is used to limit the values that can be placed in a column. The check constraints are used to enforce domain integrity.

A NOT NULL constraint enforces that the column will not accept null values. The not null constraints are used to enforce domain integrity, as the check constraints.

ed next time.

What is the difference between a local and a global variable?
A local temporary table exists only for the duration of a connection or, if defined inside a compound statement, for the duration of the compound statement.

A global temporary table remains in the database permanently, but the rows exist only within a given connection. When connection are closed, the data in the global temporary table disappears. However, the table definition remains with the database for access when database is open

How do you differentiate Local and Global Temporary table?
You can create local and global temporary tables. Local temporary tables are visible only in the current session; global temporary tables are visible to all sessions. Prefix local temporary table names with single number sign (#table_name), and prefix global temporary table names with a double number sign (##table_name). SQL statements reference the temporary table using the value specified for table_name in the CREATE TABLE statement:
CREATE TABLE #MyTempTable (cola INT PRIMARY KEY)
INSERT INTO #MyTempTable VALUES (1)


What are primary keys and foreign keys?
Primary keys are the unique identifiers for each row. They must contain unique values and cannot be null. Due to their importance in relational databases, Primary keys are the most fundamental of all keys and constraints. A table can have only one Primary key.
Foreign keys are both a method of ensuring data integrity and a manifestation of the relationship between tables.

What’s the difference between a primary key and a unique key?
Both primary key and unique enforce uniqueness of the column on which they are defined. But by default primary key creates a clustered index on the column, where are unique creates a nonclustered index by default. Another major difference is that, primary key doesn’t allow NULLs, but unique key allows one NULL only.

1. What is Stored procedure?
A stored procedure is a set of Structured Query Language (SQL) statements that you assign a name to and store in a database in compiled form so that you can share it between a number of programs.
* They allow modular programming.
* They allow faster execution.
* They can reduce network traffic.
* They can be used as a security mechanism.

List few advantages of Stored Procedure.

* Stored procedure can reduced network traffic and latency, boosting application performance.
* Stored procedure execution plans can be reused, staying cached in SQL Server’s memory, reducing server overhead.
* Stored procedures help promote code reuse.
* Stored procedures can encapsulate logic. You can change stored procedure code without affecting clients.

Stored procedures provide better security to your data

2. What are the different types of Storage Procedure?
0. Temporary Stored Procedures - SQL Server supports two types of temporary procedures: local and global. A local temporary procedure is visible only to the connection that created it. A global temporary procedure is available to all connections. Local temporary procedures are automatically dropped at the end of the current session. Global temporary procedures are dropped at the end of the last session using the procedure. Usually, this is when the session that created the procedure ends. Temporary procedures named with # and ## can be created by any user.
1. System stored procedures are created and stored in the master database and have the sp_ prefix.(or xp_) System stored procedures can be executed from any database without having to qualify the stored procedure name fully using the database name master. (If any user-created stored procedure has the same name as a system stored procedure, the user-created stored procedure will never be executed.)
2. Automatically Executing Stored Procedures - One or more stored procedures can execute automatically when SQL Server starts. The stored procedures must be created by the system administrator and executed under the sysadmin fixed server role as a background process. The procedure(s) cannot have any input parameters.
3. User stored procedure



What is Stored Procedure?
A stored procedure is a named group of SQL statements that have been previously created and stored in the server database. Stored procedures accept input parameters so that a single procedure can be used over the network by several clients using different input data. And when the procedure is modified, all clients automatically get the new version. Stored procedures reduce network traffic and improve performance. Stored procedures can be used to help ensure the integrity of the database.
e.g. sp_helpdb, sp_renamedb, sp_depends etc.

Can a stored procedure call itself or recursive stored procedure? How many level SP nesting possible?
Yes. Because Transact-SQL supports recursion, you can write stored procedures that call themselves. Recursion can be defined as a method of problem solving wherein the solution is arrived at by repetitively applying it to subsets of the problem. A common application of recursive logic is to perform numeric computations that lend themselves to repetitive evaluation by the same processing steps. Stored procedures are nested when one stored procedure calls another or executes managed code by referencing a CLR routine, type, or aggregate. You can nest stored procedures and managed code references up to 32 levels.

3. What are the difference between a function and a stored procedure?

0. Functions can be used in a select statement where as procedures cannot
1. Procedure takes both input and output parameters but Functions takes only input parameters
2. Functions cannot return values of type text, ntext, image & timestamps where as procedures can
3. Functions can be used as user defined datatypes in create table but procedures cannot
***Eg:-create table (name varchar(10),salary getsal(name))
Here getsal is a user defined function which returns a salary type, when table is created no storage is allotted for salary type, and getsal function is also not executed, But when we are fetching some values from this table, getsal function get’s executed and the return
Type is returned as the result set.



What is User Defined Functions?
User-Defined Functions allow to define its own T-SQL functions that can accept 0 or more parameters and return a single scalar data value or a table data type.

What kind of User-Defined Functions can be created?
There are three types of User-Defined functions in SQL Server 2000 and they are Scalar, Inline Table-Valued and Multi-statement Table-valued.

Scalar User-Defined Function
A Scalar user-defined function returns one of the scalar data types. Text, ntext, image and timestamp data types are not supported. These are the type of user-defined functions that most developers are used to in other programming languages. You pass in 0 to many parameters and you get a return value.

Inline Table-Value User-Defined Function
An Inline Table-Value user-defined function returns a table data type and is an exceptional alternative to a view as the user-defined function can pass parameters into a T-SQL select command and in essence provide us with a parameterized, non-updateable view of the underlying tables.

Multi-statement Table-Value User-Defined Function
A Multi-Statement Table-Value user-defined function returns a table and is also an exceptional alternative to a view as the function can support multiple T-SQL statements to build the final result where the view is limited to a single SELECT statement. Also, the ability to pass parameters into a T-SQL select command or a group of them gives us the capability to in essence create a parameterized, non-updateable view of the data in the underlying tables. Within the create function command you must define the table structure that is being returned. After creating this type of user-defined function, It can be used in the FROM clause of a T-SQL command unlike the behavior found when using a stored procedure which can also return record sets.

What is Collation?
Collation refers to a set of rules that determine how data is sorted and compared. Character data is sorted using rules that define the correct character sequence, with options for specifying case-sensitivity, accent marks, kana character types and character width.

What is cursors?
Cursor is a database object used by applications to manipulate data in a set on a row-by-row basis, instead of the typical SQL commands that operate on all the rows in the set at one time.

In order to work with a cursor we need to perform some steps in the following order:

Declare cursor
Open cursor
Fetch row from the cursor
Process fetched row
Close cursor
Deallocate cursor

What is the use of DBCC commands?
DBCC stands for database consistency checker. We use these commands to check the consistency of the databases, i.e., maintenance, validation task and status checks.
E.g. DBCC CHECKDB - Ensures that tables in the db and the indexes are correctly linked.
DBCC CHECKALLOC - To check that all pages in a db are correctly allocated.
DBCC CHECKFILEGROUP - Checks all tables file group for any damage

What is Index?
An index is a physical structure containing pointers to the data. Indices are created in an existing table to locate rows more quickly and efficiently. It is possible to create an index on one or more columns of a table, and each index is given a name. The users cannot see the indexes, they are just used to speed up queries. Effective indexes are one of the best ways to improve performance in a database application. A table scan happens when there is no index available to help a query. In a table scan SQL Server examines every row in the table to satisfy the query results. Table scans are sometimes unavoidable, but on large tables, scans have a terrific impact on performance.

What is the difference between clustered and a non-clustered index?
A clustered index is a special type of index that reorders the way records in the table are physically stored. Therefore table can have only one clustered index. The leaf nodes of a clustered index contain the data pages.

A nonclustered index is a special type of index in which the logical order of the index does not match the physical stored order of the rows on disk. The leaf node of a nonclustered index does not consist of the data pages. Instead, the leaf nodes contain index rows.

What is Trigger?
A trigger is a SQL procedure that initiates an action when an event (INSERT, DELETE or UPDATE) occurs. Triggers are stored in and managed by the DBMS.Triggers are used to maintain the referential integrity of data by changing the data in a systematic fashion. A trigger cannot be called or executed; the DBMS automatically fires the trigger as a result of a data modification to the associated table. Triggers can be viewed as similar to stored procedures in that both consist of procedural logic that is stored at the database level. Stored procedures, however, are not event-drive and are not attached to a specific table as triggers are. Stored procedures are explicitly executed by invoking a CALL to the procedure while triggers are implicitly executed. In addition, triggers can also execute stored procedures.
Nested Trigger: A trigger can also contain INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE logic within itself, so when the trigger is fired because of data modification it can also cause another data modification, thereby firing another trigger. A trigger that contains data modification logic within itself is called a nested trigger.

There are two different models of trigger:
Instead-of – Meaning that the trigger operates instead of the command (INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE) affecting the table or view. In this way, we can do whatever we want with the data, either modifying it as sent, or putting is into another place. We can have only a single INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE trigger of this type per table. You can however combine all three into one and have a single trigger that fires for all three operations.

After – Meaning the trigger fires after the command has affected the table, though not on views. After triggers are used for building enhanced business rule handlers and you would generally put any kind of logging mechanisms into them. You may have an unlimited number of after triggers that fire on INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE or any combination of them. Even if we have an instead-of trigger, we may still have as many after triggers as wanted, since they can all be combined into a single
trigger.

What is View?
A simple view can be thought of as a subset of a table. It can be used for retrieving data, as well as updating or deleting rows. Rows updated or deleted in the view are updated or deleted in the table the view was created with. It should also be noted that as data in the original table changes, so does data in the view, as views are the way to look at part of the original table. The results of using a view are not permanently stored in the database. The data accessed through a view is actually constructed using standard T-SQL select command and can come from one to many different base tables or even other views.

1. What is View? Use? Syntax of View?
A view is a virtual table made up of data from base tables and other views, but not stored separately.
* Views simplify users perception of the database (can be used to present only the necessary information while hiding details in underlying relations)
* Views improve data security preventing undesired accesses

What is RDBMS?
Relational Data Base Management Systems (RDBMS) are database management systems that maintain data records and indices in tables. Relationships may be created and maintained across and among the data and tables. In a relational database, relationships between data items are expressed by means of tables. Interdependencies among these tables are expressed by data values rather than by pointers. This allows a high degree of data independence. An RDBMS has the capability to recombine the data items from different files, providing powerful tools for data usage.

What is normalization?
Database normalization is a data design and organization process applied to data structures based on rules that help build relational databases. In relational database design, the process of organizing data to minimize redundancy. Normalization usually involves dividing a database into two or more tables and defining relationships between the tables. The objective is to isolate data so that additions, deletions, and modifications of a field can be made in just one table and then propagated through the rest of the database via the defined relationships.

What are different normalization forms?

1NF: Eliminate Repeating Groups
Make a separate table for each set of related attributes, and give each table a primary key. Each field contains at most one value from its attribute domain.
2NF: Eliminate Redundant Data
If an attribute depends on only part of a multi-valued key, remove it to a separate table.
3NF: Eliminate Columns Not Dependent On Key
If attributes do not contribute to a description of the key, remove them to a separate table. All attributes must be directly dependent on the primary key
BCNF: Boyce-Codd Normal Form
If there are non-trivial dependencies between candidate key attributes, separate them out into distinct tables.
4NF: Isolate Independent Multiple Relationships
No table may contain two or more 1:n or n:m relationships that are not directly related.
5NF: Isolate Semantically Related Multiple Relationships
There may be practical constrains on information that justify separating logically related many-to-many relationships.
ONF: Optimal Normal Form
A model limited to only simple (elemental) facts, as expressed in Object Role Model notation.
DKNF: Domain-Key Normal Form
A model free from all modification anomalies.

Remember, these normalization guidelines are cumulative. For a database to be in 3NF, it must first fulfill all the criteria of a 2NF and 1NF database.

What is difference between DELETE & TRUNCATE commands?
Delete command removes the rows from a table based on the condition that we provide with a WHERE clause. Truncate will actually remove all the rows from a table and there will be no data in the table after we run the truncate command.

TRUNCATE
TRUNCATE is faster and uses fewer system and transaction log resources than DELETE.
TRUNCATE removes the data by deallocating the data pages used to store the table’s data, and only the page deallocations are recorded in the transaction log.
TRUNCATE removes all rows from a table, but the table structure and its columns, constraints, indexes and so on remain. The counter used by an identity for new rows is reset to the seed for the column.
You cannot use TRUNCATE TABLE on a table referenced by a FOREIGN KEY constraint.
Because TRUNCATE TABLE is not logged, it cannot activate a trigger.
TRUNCATE can not be Rolled back using logs.
TRUNCATE is DDL Command.
TRUNCATE Resets identity of the table.

DELETE
DELETE removes rows one at a time and records an entry in the transaction log for each deleted row.
If you want to retain the identity counter, use DELETE instead. If you want to remove table definition and its data, use the DROP TABLE statement.
DELETE Can be used with or without a WHERE clause
DELETE Activates Triggers.
DELETE Can be Rolled back using logs.
DELETE is DML Command.
DELETE does not reset identity of the table.

Difference between Function and Stored Procedure?
UDF can be used in the SQL statements anywhere in the WHERE/HAVING/SELECT section where as Stored procedures cannot be.
UDFs that return tables can be treated as another rowset. This can be used in JOINs with other tables.
Inline UDF’s can be though of as views that take parameters and can be used in JOINs and other Rowset operations.

What is the difference between a HAVING CLAUSE and a WHERE CLAUSE?
Specifies a search condition for a group or an aggregate. HAVING can be used only with the SELECT statement. HAVING is typically used in a GROUP BY clause. When GROUP BY is not used, HAVING behaves like a WHERE clause. Having Clause is basically used only with the GROUP BY function in a query. WHERE Clause is applied to each row before they are part of the GROUP BY function in a query. HAVING criteria is applied after the the grouping of rows has occurred.

WHERE Clause filter rows the results from FROM Clause

WHERE filters rows before Grouping

HAVING clause filter rows after the Grouping

HAVE clause can have Aggregate Functions

First WHERE then HAVING


What is sub-query? Explain properties of sub-query.
Sub-queries are often referred to as sub-selects, as they allow a SELECT statement to be executed arbitrarily within the body of another SQL statement. A sub-query is executed by enclosing it in a set of parentheses. Sub-queries are generally used to return a single row as an atomic value, though they may be used to compare values against multiple rows with the IN keyword.

A subquery is a SELECT statement that is nested within another T-SQL statement. A subquery SELECT statement if executed independently of the T-SQL statement, in which it is nested, will return a result set. Meaning a subquery SELECT statement can standalone and is not depended on the statement in which it is nested. A subquery SELECT statement can return any number of values, and can be found in, the column list of a SELECT statement, a FROM, GROUP BY, HAVING, and/or ORDER BY clauses of a T-SQL statement. A Subquery can also be used as a parameter to a function call. Basically a subquery can be used anywhere an expression can be used.

Properties of Sub-Query
A subquery must be enclosed in the parenthesis.
A subquery must be put in the right hand of the comparison operator, and
A subquery cannot contain a ORDER-BY clause.
A query can contain more than one sub-queries.

What are types of sub-queries?
Single-row subquery, where the subquery returns only one row.
Multiple-row subquery, where the subquery returns multiple rows,.and
Multiple column subquery, where the subquery returns multiple columns.

What is bit datatype and what’s the information that can be stored inside a bit column?

Bit datatype is used to store boolean information like 1 or 0 (true or false). Untill SQL Server 6.5 bit datatype could hold either a 1 or 0 and there was no support for NULL. But from SQL Server 7.0 onwards, bit datatype can represent a third state, which is NULL.

What are defaults? Is there a column to which a default can’t be bound?

A default is a value that will be used by a column, if no value is supplied to that column while inserting data. IDENTITY columns and timestamp columns can’t have defaults bound to them. See CREATE DEFAULT in books online

What is Identity?
Identity (or AutoNumber) is a column that automatically generates numeric values. A start and increment value can be set, but most DBA leave these at 1. A GUID column also generates numbers, the value of this cannot be controled. Identity/GUID columns do not need to be indexed.

1. What are locks?
Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 uses locking to ensure transactional integrity and database consistency. Locking prevents users from reading data being changed by other users, and prevents multiple users from changing the same data at the same time. If locking is not used, data within the database may become logically incorrect, and queries executed against that data may produce unexpected results.
2. What are the different types of locks?
SQL Server uses these resource lock modes.

Lock mode Description
Shared (S) Used for operations that do not change or update data (read-only operations), such as a SELECT statement.
Update (U) Used on resources that can be updated. Prevents a common form of deadlock that occurs when multiple sessions are reading, locking, and potentially updating resources later.
Exclusive (X) Used for data-modification operations, such as INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE. Ensures that multiple updates cannot be made to the same resource at the same time.
Intent Used to establish a lock hierarchy. The types of intent locks are: intent shared (IS), intent exclusive (IX), and shared with intent exclusive (SIX).
Schema Used when an operation dependent on the schema of a table is executing. The types of schema locks are: schema modification (Sch-M) and schema stability (Sch-S).
Bulk Update (BU) Used when bulk-copying data into a table and the TABLOCK hint is specified.

What are the different types of locks?
SQL Server uses these resource lock modes.
Lock mode Description
Shared (S) Used for operations that do not change or update data
(read-only operations), such as a SELECT statement.
Update (U) Used on resources that can be updated. Prevents a common
form of deadlock that occurs when multiple sessions are reading,
locking, and potentially updating resources later.
Exclusive (X) Used for data-modification operations, such as INSERT,
UPDATE, or DELETE. Ensures that multiple updates cannot be made to the
same resource at the same time.
Intent Used to establish a lock hierarchy. The types of intent locks
are: intent shared (IS), intent exclusive (IX), and shared with intent
exclusive (SIX).
Schema Used when an operation dependent on the schema of a table is
executing. The types of schema locks are: schema modification (Sch-M)
and schema stability (Sch-S).
Bulk Update (BU) Used when bulk-copying data into a table and the
TABLOCK hint is specified.

DOT NET

1. What is serialization in .NET? What are the ways to control serialization?
Serialization is the process of converting an object into a stream of bytes. Deserialization is the opposite process of creating an object from a stream of bytes. Serialization/Deserialization is mostly used to transport objects (e.g. during remoting), or to persist objects (e.g. to a file or database).Serialization can be defined as the process of storing the state of an object to a storage medium. During this process, the public and private fields of the object and the name of the class, including the assembly containing the class, are converted to a stream of bytes, which is then written to a data stream. When the object is subsequently deserialized, an exact clone of the original object is created.
* Binary serialization preserves type fidelity, which is useful for preserving the state of an object between different invocations of an application. For example, you can share an object between different applications by serializing it to the clipboard. You can serialize an object to a stream, disk, memory, over the network, and so forth. Remoting uses serialization to pass objects "by value" from one computer or application domain to another.
* XML serialization serializes only public properties and fields and does not preserve type fidelity. This is useful when you want to provide or consume data without restricting the application that uses the data. Because XML is an open standard, it is an attractive choice for sharing data across the Web. SOAP is an open standard, which makes it an attractive choice.

There are two separate mechanisms provided by the .NET class library - XmlSerializer and SoapFormatter/BinaryFormatter. Microsoft uses XmlSerializer for Web Services, and uses SoapFormatter/BinaryFormatter for remoting. Both are available for use in your own code.

What is Code Access Security (CAS)?
CAS is the part of the .NET security model that determines whether or not a piece of code is allowed to run, and what resources it can use when it is running. For example, it is CAS that will prevent a .NET web applet from formatting your hard disk.

What is the difference between User Control and Custom Control?

Custom Controls are compiled code (Dlls), easier to use, difficult to create, and can be placed in toolbox. Drag and Drop controls. Attributes can be set visually at design time. Can be used by Multiple Applications (If Shared Dlls), Even if Private can copy to bin directory of web application add reference and use. Normally designed to provide common functionality independent of consuming Application. User Controls are similar to those of ASP include files, easy to create, can not be placed in the toolbox and dragged - dropped from it. A User Control is shared among the single application files.

OOPS

1. Difference between type constructor and instance constructor? What is static constructor, when it will be fired? And what is its use?
(Class constructor method is also known as type constructor or type initializer)
Instance constructor is executed when a new instance of type is created and the class constructor is executed after the type is loaded and before any one of the type members is accessed. (It will get executed only 1st time, when we call any static methods/fields in the same class.) Class constructors are used for static field initialization. Only one class constructor per type is permitted, and it cannot use the vararg (variable argument) calling convention.
A static constructor is used to initialize a class. It is called automatically to initialize the class before the first instance is created or any static members are referenced.
2. What is Private Constructor? and it’s use? Can you create instance of a class which has Private Constructor?
A: When a class declares only private instance constructors, it is not possible for classes outside the program to derive from the class or to directly create instances of it. (Except Nested classes)
Make a constructor private if:
- You want it to be available only to the class itself. For example, you might have a special constructor used only in the implementation of your class' Clone method.
- You do not want instances of your component to be created. For example, you may have a class containing nothing but Shared utility functions, and no instance data. Creating instances of the class would waste memory.
3. Destructor and finalize
Generally in C++ the destructor is called when objects gets destroyed. And one can explicitly call the destructors in C++. And also the objects are destroyed in reverse order that they are created in. So in C++ you have control over the destructors.
In C# you can never call them, the reason is one cannot destroy an object. So who has the control over the destructor (in C#)? it's the .Net frameworks Garbage Collector (GC). GC destroys the objects only when necessary. Some situations of necessity are memory is exhausted or user explicitly calls System.GC.Collect() method.
Points to remember:
1. Destructors are invoked automatically, and cannot be invoked explicitly.
2. Destructors cannot be overloaded. Thus, a class can have, at most, one destructor.
3. Destructors are not inherited. Thus, a class has no destructors other than the one, which may be declared in it.
4. Destructors cannot be used with structs. They are only used with classes.
5. An instance becomes eligible for destruction when it is no longer possible for any code to use the instance.
6. Execution of the destructor for the instance may occur at any time after the instance becomes eligible for destruction.
7. When an instance is destructed, the destructors in its inheritance chain are called, in order, from most derived to least derived.
4. What is the difference between Finalize and Dispose (Garbage collection)
Class instances often encapsulate control over resources that are not managed by the runtime, such as window handles (HWND), database connections, and so on. Therefore, you should provide both an explicit and an implicit way to free those resources. Provide implicit control by implementing the protected Finalize Method on an object (destructor syntax in C# and the Managed Extensions for C++). The garbage collector calls this method at some point after there are no longer any valid references to the object.
In some cases, you might want to provide programmers using an object with the ability to explicitly release these external resources before the garbage collector frees the object. If an external resource is scarce or expensive, better performance can be achieved if the programmer explicitly releases resources when they are no longer being used. To provide explicit control, implement the Dispose method provided by the IDisposable Interface. The consumer of the object should call this method when it is done using the object. Dispose can be called even if other references to the object are alive.
Note that even when you provide explicit control by way of Dispose, you should provide implicit cleanup using the Finalize method. Finalize provides a backup to prevent resources from permanently leaking if the programmer fails to call Dispose.
5.
Asp.net and asp – differences?

Code Render Block Code Declaration Block
Compiled
Request/Response Event Driven
Object Oriented - Constructors/Destructors, Inheritance, overloading..
Exception Handling - Try, Catch, Finally
Down-level Support
Cultures
User Controls
In-built client side validation
Session - weren't transferable across servers It can span across servers, It can survive server crashes, can work with browsers that don't support cookies
built on top of the window & IIS, it was always a separate entity & its functionality was limited. its an integral part of OS under the .net framework. It shares many of the same objects that traditional applications would use, and all .net objects are available for asp.net's consumption.
Garbage Collection
Declare variable with datatype
In built graphics support
Cultures



Difference between old ASP and ASP.Net?
- ASP is Interpreted language based on scripting languages like Jscript or VBScript.
- ASP has Mixed HTML and code.
- Limited development and debugging tools available(difficult to debug).
- Limited OOPS support.
- Limited session and application state management.
- Poor Error handling system.
- No in-built support for XML.
- No fully distributed data source support.
while
- ASP.Net is supported by compiler and has compiled language support.
- Separate code and design logic possible.
- Variety of compilers and tools available including the Visual studio.Net.
- Completely Object Oriented.
- Complete session and application state management.
- Full proof error handling possible.
- Full XML Support for easy data exchange.
- Fully distributed data source support.

What's is the difference between web service and remoting?


ASP.NET Web Services

.NET Remoting

Protocol

Can be accessed only over HTTP

Can be accessed over any protocol (including TCP, HTTP, SMTP and so on)

State Management

Web services work in a stateless environment

Provide support for both stateful and stateless environments through Singleton and SingleCall objects

Type System

Web services support only the datatypes defined in the XSD type system, limiting the number of objects that can be serialized.

Using binary communication, .NET Remoting can provide support for rich type system

Interoperability

Web services support interoperability across platforms, and are ideal for heterogeneous environments.

.NET remoting requires the client be built using .NET, enforcing homogenous environment.

Reliability

Highly reliable due to the fact that Web services are always hosted in IIS

Can also take advantage of IIS for fault isolation. If IIS is not used, application needs to provide plumbing for ensuring the reliability of the application.

Extensibility


Provides extensibility by allowing us to intercept the SOAP messages during the serialization and deserialization stages.


Very extensible by allowing us to customize the different components of the .NET remoting framework.

Ease-of-Programming

Easy-to-create and deploy.

Complex to program.


Question: What is WSDL ?


Answer: WSDL is an XML format for describing network services as a set of endpoints operating on messages containing either document-oriented or procedure-oriented information. The operations and messages are described abstractly, and then bound to a concrete network protocol and message format to define an endpoint. Related concrete endpoints are combined into abstract endpoints (services). (Source: www.w3.org).

Question: What is the standard you use to wrap up a call to a Web service ?
Answer: HTTP with SOAP.

Question: What is Asp Net Web Services ?


Answer: Web services are programmable business logic components that provide access to functionality through the Internet. Standard protocols like HTTP can be used to access them. Web services are based on the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), which is an application of XML. Web services are given the .asmx extension..

Question: What are VSDISCO files ?


Answer: VSDISCO files are DISCO files that enable dynamic discovery of Web Services. ASP.NET links the VSDISCO to a HTTP handler that scans the host directory and subdirectories for ASMX and DISCO files and returns a dynamically generated DISCO document. A client who requests a VSDISCO file gets back what appears to be a static DISCO document.

Question: What is UDDI ?


Answer: UDDI stands for Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration. It is like an "Yellow Pages" for Web Services. It is maintained by Microsoft, IBM, and Ariba, and is designed to provide detailed information regarding registered Web Services for all vendors. The UDDI can be queried for specific Web Services.

What is Web Service?

o Web Service is an application that is designed to interact directly with other applications over the internet. In simple sense, Web Services are means for interacting with objects over the Internet.
o Web Service is

o Language Independent

o Protocol Independent
o Platform Independent
o It assumes a stateless service architecture.

20 Tips to Improve ASP.net Application Performance

o Disable Session State
o Output Buffering
o Avoid Server-Side Validation
o Repeater Control Good, DataList, DataGrid, and DataView controls Bad
o Take advantage of HttpResponse.IsClientConnected before performing a large operation
o Use HTTPServerUtility.Transfer instead of Response.Redirect
o Always check Page.IsValid when using Validator Controls
o Deploy with Release Build
o Turn off Tracing
o Page.IsPostBack is your friend
o Avoid Exceptions
o Caching is Possibly the number one tip!
o Create Per-Request Cache
o Use of StringBuilder for String Manipulation
o Turn Off ViewState
o Use Paging
o Use the AppOffline.htm when updating binaries
o Use ControlState and not ViewState for Controls
o Use the Finally Method
o Option Strict and Option Explicit