Building a web site by Codeigniter 4 (CI4)

    I recently tried to build up a website by Codeigniter4 (known as CI4) and thought it is a pretty good framework.

    There are many tutorials and docs on the internet, so I skipped those things in this article. I'll probably focus on the issues I met during website development. 

Tools list

• XDebug (Local debug)
• VS Code with plugin 'PHP Debug' (Editor)
• XAMPP (Local server)
• Composer (Codeigniter4 and other comonents)
• Bootstrap 5 (UI components)

Issues: 

1. Public tool functions
   I write some tool in the folder 'Helpers' in order to use them accross all the controllers. I'm not sure it is the right way to do that.
2. Modals in Bootstrap 5
   This is very usefull UI and easy to use except for one condition which is switching between modals. In my case, I need to switch modals according to what stage it is now. Unlikely, the POST data will be cleaned after modal switching. For now, I don't have a solution.
   Instead, I use POST method in very modal and check what stage is now and show the related modal by using javascript.
3. Authentication check
   I write some authenticaiton check in the folder 'Filters' in order to check if the user has the permission to use the routing (page). In general, it is very convient. But, in some cases, the logic would be complicated if the page has multiple modes. Perhaps, it is due to two type users in my case. One is authenticated by other web site and the other is authenticated by my own web site.
4. Complex Routing
   I'm still working on organizing the routing strategy. I have amost 50 routing pathes in my route definitions and it is not friendly readable. It is a very minor issue but need to fix it in the future.

Building Android/iOS app from a web site

Recently, I need to build an Android app and an iOS app for a website in a short time, so I choose the Convertify service.  Honestly, it's easy and costs a little money overall. But I still recommend it still needs time and programming skills to do that.

Convertify

Step1: Buy the apps

Step2: Download source code from the link given in the mail

Step3: Set development environment (Android on windows/iOS on Mac OS)

Step4: Open Android/iOS workspace file (DO NOT open project file, building error might occur sometimes)

Step5: Build Bundled AAB file (Use the key store they provided or create it on your own) / Archive generic device (including upload procedure)

Step6: Upload your AAB file to your Google Play Console / Select your version on App Store Connect (It might take a while after you archived it in Step5.)

Step7: Complete the forms and submit them

Notes:

    After you complete the above steps, you can start to customize your Android/iOS apps such as app name, URL, icon, version number and etc. Why? Because everything you do will affect the building/uploading/archiving failure if you were rookies just like me.

P.S. Convertify support is not very strong. If you ran into some problems, they would recommend you to use "publy.app" service to upload the app for you. Of cause, you need to pay for it.

[C#] Enable index in SQLite (Code First)

We should specify which column would be indexed in the function 'OnModelCreating'

        protected override void OnModelCreating( ModelBuilder modelBuilder )
        {
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.Time });
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.CarAppraisalLicense });
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b._CreateTime});
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b._ModifiedTime });

            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.carPlateModify});
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.licenseRfid});
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.carRfid});
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.updateTime });

            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.licenseRfid });
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.licenseNo});
            modelBuilder.Entity().HasIndex(b => new { b.updateTime});
        }

Then do EF migration, downgrade/upgrade codes will be generated autometically.

    public partial class CreateIndex : Migration
    {
        protected override void Up(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
        {
            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs_CarAppraisalLicense",
                table: "VerifyLogs",
                column: "CarAppraisalLicense");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs_Time",
                table: "VerifyLogs",
                column: "Time");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs__CreateTime",
                table: "VerifyLogs",
                column: "_CreateTime");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs__ModifiedTime",
                table: "VerifyLogs",
                column: "_ModifiedTime");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_DriverLicenses_licenseNo",
                table: "DriverLicenses",
                column: "licenseNo");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_DriverLicenses_licenseRfid",
                table: "DriverLicenses",
                column: "licenseRfid");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_DriverLicenses_updateTime",
                table: "DriverLicenses",
                column: "updateTime");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_carPlateModify",
                table: "CarLicenses",
                column: "carPlateModify");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_carRfid",
                table: "CarLicenses",
                column: "carRfid");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_licenseRfid",
                table: "CarLicenses",
                column: "licenseRfid");

            migrationBuilder.CreateIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_updateTime",
                table: "CarLicenses",
                column: "updateTime");
        }

        protected override void Down(MigrationBuilder migrationBuilder)
        {
            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs_CarAppraisalLicense",
                table: "VerifyLogs");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs_Time",
                table: "VerifyLogs");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs__CreateTime",
                table: "VerifyLogs");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_VerifyLogs__ModifiedTime",
                table: "VerifyLogs");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_DriverLicenses_licenseNo",
                table: "DriverLicenses");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_DriverLicenses_licenseRfid",
                table: "DriverLicenses");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_DriverLicenses_updateTime",
                table: "DriverLicenses");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_carPlateModify",
                table: "CarLicenses");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_carRfid",
                table: "CarLicenses");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_licenseRfid",
                table: "CarLicenses");

            migrationBuilder.DropIndex(
                name: "IX_CarLicenses_updateTime",
                table: "CarLicenses");
        }
    }

After creating the index, we can reduce 1/10 DB query time on average.

[C#] Force app run as administrator

In order to force an app to run as administrator, we should add an Application Manifest file 'app.manifest' in the main project.

Below code is the default content of file 'app.manifest'.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<assembly manifestVersion="1.0" xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
  <assemblyIdentity version="1.0.0.0" name="MyApplication.app" />
  <trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v2">
    <security>
      <requestedPrivileges xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
        <!-- UAC Manifest Options
             If you want to change the Windows User Account Control level replace the 
             requestedExecutionLevel node with one of the following.

        <requestedExecutionLevel  level="asInvoker" uiAccess="false" />
        <requestedExecutionLevel  level="requireAdministrator" uiAccess="false" />
        <requestedExecutionLevel  level="highestAvailable" uiAccess="false" />

            Specifying requestedExecutionLevel element will disable file and registry virtualization. 
            Remove this element if your application requires this virtualization for backwards
            compatibility.
        <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker" uiAccess="false" />
        -->
        <requestedExecutionLevel level="asInvoker" uiAccess="false" />
      </requestedPrivileges>
      <applicationRequestMinimum>
        <defaultAssemblyRequest permissionSetReference="Custom" />
        <PermissionSet class="System.Security.PermissionSet" version="1" ID="Custom" SameSite="site" Unrestricted="true" />
      </applicationRequestMinimum>
    </security>
  </trustInfo>
  <compatibility xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:compatibility.v1">
    <application>
      <!-- A list of the Windows versions that this application has been tested on
           and is designed to work with. Uncomment the appropriate elements
           and Windows will automatically select the most compatible environment. -->
      <!-- Windows Vista -->
      <!--<supportedOS Id="{e2011457-1546-43c5-a5fe-008deee3d3f0}" />-->
      <!-- Windows 7 -->
      <!--<supportedOS Id="{35138b9a-5d96-4fbd-8e2d-a2440225f93a}" />-->
      <!-- Windows 8 -->
      <!--<supportedOS Id="{4a2f28e3-53b9-4441-ba9c-d69d4a4a6e38}" />-->
      <!-- Windows 8.1 -->
      <!--<supportedOS Id="{1f676c76-80e1-4239-95bb-83d0f6d0da78}" />-->
      <!-- Windows 10 -->
      <!--<supportedOS Id="{8e0f7a12-bfb3-4fe8-b9a5-48fd50a15a9a}" />-->
    </application>
  </compatibility>
  <!-- Indicates that the application is DPI-aware and will not be automatically scaled by Windows at higher
       DPIs. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications are automatically DPI-aware and do not need 
       to opt in. Windows Forms applications targeting .NET Framework 4.6 that opt into this setting, should 
       also set the 'EnableWindowsFormsHighDpiAutoResizing' setting to 'true' in their app.config. -->
  <!--
  <application xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <windowsSettings>
      <dpiAware xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2005/WindowsSettings">true</dpiAware>
    </windowsSettings>
  </application>
  -->
  <!-- Enable themes for Windows common controls and dialogs (Windows XP and later) -->
  <!--
  <dependency>
    <dependentAssembly>
      <assemblyIdentity
          type="win32"
          name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
          version="6.0.0.0"
          processorArchitecture="*"
          publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
          language="*"
        />
    </dependentAssembly>
  </dependency>
  -->
</assembly>

Replace "asInvoker" with "requireAdministrator" as following

        <requestedExecutionLevel level="requireAdministrator" uiAccess="false" />

After doing the above steps, you will be asked to restart Visual Studio under different credentials.

[Linux Shell Script] A script for parsing file, writing logs, archiving logs and taking args

We need a shell script to execute HTTP request on demand. This script shall read/parse text file and write/archive logs.

• 3 sub functions

1. get_script_dir : Get current folder path of this script
2. echos : Write message to STDOut and log file
3. archive_logs : Archive old logs to .tar

#!/bin/bash

# Functions
get_script_dir () 
{
 SOURCE="${BASH_SOURCE[0]}"
# While $SOURCE is a symlink, resolve it
 while [ -h "$SOURCE" ]; do
  DIR="$( cd -P "$( dirname "$SOURCE" )" && pwd )"
  SOURCE="$( readlink "$SOURCE" )"
# If $SOURCE was a relative symlink (so no "/" as prefix, need to resolve it relative to the symlink base directory
  [[ $SOURCE != /* ]] && SOURCE="$DIR/$SOURCE"
 done
 DIR="$( cd -P "$( dirname "$SOURCE" )" && pwd )"
 echo "$DIR/"
}

# DateFormat in log file : "[YYYY/MM/DD H:M:S]"
logDate=`date "+%Y%m%d"`
logFolder="$(get_script_dir)Logs/"

if [ ! -d $logFolder ]; then
 mkdir $logFolder
fi
logFile="${logFolder}CGI_Controller_${logDate}.log"

# Append STD out to file additionaly
echos ()
{
 logTime=`date "+%H:%M:%S"`
 builtin echo "[$logTime] $@" | tee -a "$logFile"
}

archive_logs()
{
 currentDate=`date "+%Y%m%d"`
 array=( $( ls ${logFolder} ) )
# Explicitly report array content.
 let i=0
 while (( ${#array[@]} > i )); do
 # echos "${i} ${array[i++]}"
 if [[ ${array[i]} == CGI_Controller_$currentDate* ]] || [[ ${array[i]} == zips ]]; then
  echos "The log is in the Current month, skipped it!"
 else
# Get target year and month for sufix of archived file name
  targetDate=`cut -d"_" -f 3 <<< "${array[i]}"`;
  targetDate=`cut -d"." -f 1 <<< $targetDate`;
  targetMonth="${targetDate:0:6}";
  zipFolder="$(get_script_dir)Logs/zips/"
  archivedFile="${zipFolder}Archived_${targetMonth}.tar.gz"
  if [ ! -d $zipFolder ]; then
   mkdir $zipFolder
  fi
  if [ -f "$archivedFile" ];then
   tar -rf $archivedFile --directory="${logFolder}" "${array[i]}" 
  else
   tar -cf $archivedFile --directory="${logFolder}" "${array[i]}" 
  fi
  echos "Archive file ${array[i]} to ${archivedFile}";
  rm "${logFolder}${array[i]}"
 fi
 ((i++))
 done
}

Main function

Check if necessary files exist
Check if parameter is valid
Load setting file into an array
Parsing settings and assemble CGI link
Check server IP is UP
Execute commands

# Main
# Check parameter number
if [ $# -ne 0 ]; then
 cmdI=$1
else
 echos "Parameter not found";
 exit 3
fi
# CMD array for each NVR
declare -a cmdArray

# Check if setting file existed
file="$(get_script_dir)config.txt"
if [ -f "$file" ];then
 echos "$file found";
else
 echos "$file not found, please create one";
 exit 4
fi

# Load file into array.
let i=0
while IFS=$'\n' read -r line_data; do
 cmdArray[i]="${line_data}"
((++i))
done < $file

# Roll back to item number
((--i))

if [ $i -le 0 ];then
 echos "No settings found in $file, please add CGI settings in this file. ([IP],[Path for Open],[Path for Close])";
 exit 5
fi

# Explicitly report array content.
#let i=0
#while (( ${#cmdArray[@]} > i )); do
# printf "${i} ${cmdArray[i++]}\n"
#done

# Make sure command number is less than settings number
if [ $cmdI -lt $i ]; then
 ip="$(cut -d';' -f1 <<<"${cmdArray[cmdI]}")"
 openPath="$(cut -d';' -f2 <<<"${cmdArray[cmdI]}")"
 closePath="$(cut -d';' -f3 <<<"${cmdArray[cmdI]}")"

 printf "${cmdI} ${cmdArray[cmdI]}\n"

 # Ping IP before executing it
 ping -c 1 -W 1 ${ip} &> /dev/null && result=0 || result=1

 if [ "${result}" == 0 ]; then
  echos "Server ${ip} is UP.";
 else
  echos "Server ${ip} is DOWN.";
  exit 6
 fi

 res="${logFolder}res"
 echos "http://${ip}${openPath}";
 wget -O $res "http://${ip}${openPath}";
 echos `cat $res`;
 # Delay 1 sec and then execute 2nd CGI command
 sleep 1
 echos "http://${ip}${closePath}";
 wget -O $res "http://${ip}${closePath}";
 echos `cat $res`;
 rm $res;
else
 echos "Parameter value is bigger than settings";
 exit 7
fi
archive_logs

[C#] HTTP host service in windows desktop app

We need to create HTTP host service in a windows desktop app to receive HTTP POST request. (Only one request will be handled at the same time.)

Use HttpListener and add necessary prefixes and start it

HttpListener server = new HttpListener();
string url = $"http://localhost:{port}/";
server.Prefixes.Add(url);

url = $"http://127.0.0.1:{port}/";
server.Prefixes.Add(url);

IPHostEntry ipHostInfo = Dns.Resolve(Dns.GetHostName());
url = $"http://{ipHostInfo.AddressList[0].ToString()}:{port}/";
server.Prefixes.Add(url);

server.Start();
logger.Info($"Listening to [{url}]...");

Use loop process each HTTP request

while( true )
{
  if( isStopping )
     break;
  HttpListenerContext context = server.GetContext();
  HttpListenerResponse response = context.Response;
  ...
}

Retrieve API path to determine which command is called

StringBuilder builder;
switch( context.Request.Url.LocalPath )
{
    case "/api/command1":
        builder = new StringBuilder("OK");
        break;
    default:
        builder = new StringBuilder("Unrecognized API");
        failureFlag = true;
        break;
}

Retrieve Body and convert it into JSON Object

try
{
    using( var reader = new StreamReader(context.Request.InputStream,
                                         context.Request.ContentEncoding) )
    {
        bodyText = reader.ReadToEnd();
        logger.Info($"HTTP POST body\n{bodyText}");

        var boardMsg = jsonSerializationUtil.DeserializeFromString(bodyText);
        if( boardMsg == null )
            builder = new StringBuilder("JSON format deserialization failure.");
        else
        {
           // Process boardMsg...
        }
    }
}
catch( Exception ex )
{
    logger.Warn(ex);
    builder = new StringBuilder("Body loading failure.");
}

Convert response string into bytes and send it back

string something = builder.ToString();
byte[] buffer = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(something);
response.ContentLength64 = buffer.Length;
System.IO.Stream st = response.OutputStream;
st.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);

context.Response.Close();

[C#] DB data model for MySQL (Code First from database)

Create DB data model from MySQL (code first)

1. Install NuGet packages 'MySql.Data' v.8.0.16 and 'MySql.Data.Entity' v. 6.10.8
2. Install MySQL connector Net 6.10.8
3. INstall MySQL for Visual Studio 1.2.8
4. Add Entity Data Model (Code First from database)
5. New Connection (MySQL Data Provider)
6. Modify the file 'App.config' for DB connection string

<connectionStrings>
<add name="MySqlModel" connectionString="server=redmine2.gorilla-technology.com;user id=root;password=linuxyes;persistsecurityinfo=True;database=redmine" providerName="MySql.Data.MySqlClient" />
<add name="Default" connectionString="host=192.168.60.162;port=5432;database=redminedb;user id=redmine;password=MYSQL-TEL#53519427" providerName="Npgsql" />
</connectionStrings>

All needed works are done and then DB operations are ready to go.

using( var context = new MySqlModel() )
using( var transaction = context.Database.BeginTransaction() )
{
...
}

Syntax highlight for blogger

Syntax highlight in blogger

使用Prism幫程式碼上色

Follow steps in the above link will make your blogger support syntax highlight function

[Powershell] Auto packaging files by Powershell scripts

This is a script for packaging files and calculating MD5Sum as following steps.

1. Get 3 parameters working folder, zip file name, and target file name
2. Check if archive tool(7zip/WinRAR) existed in the working folder
3. Get 7zip command from my FTP server
4. Check if file/folder existed
5. Archive target file into a zip file
6. Calculate MD5Sum of the zip file

#Installer package

$DebugPreference = "Continue" # Default is SilentlyContinue

if($args.Count -ne 3){
  Write-Error "args.count=$($args.Count). It should be 3"
  return
}

$zip7FilePath="$PSScriptRoot\7zip\7za.exe"
$winrarFilePath="C:\Program Files\WinRAR\WinRAR.exe"
$solutionDir=$args[0] -replace "`n","" 
$archivedFilePath=$args[1] -replace "`n",""
$installerFilePath=$args[2] -replace "`n",""

# Return true if all required data exist
function checkRequiredData ($solutionDir) {
  Write-Debug "winrarFilePath=`"$winrarFilePath`""
  Write-Debug "7zipFilePath=`"$zip7FilePath`""
  if (!(Test-Path $winrarFilePath)){
    # WinRAR does not exist
    Write-Debug "`"$winrarFilePath`" doesn't exist, try to detect 7zip"
    if (!(Test-Path $zip7FilePath)){
      # 7za.exe does not exist
      Write-Debug "`"$zip7FilePath`" doesn't exist, try to extract it from zip"
      $url = "ftp://hanping-lab-pc/7zip.zip"
      $output = "$PSScriptRoot\7zip.zip"
      $start_time = Get-Date

      if( !(Test-Path $output)){
        # WinRAR does not exist
        Write-Debug "`"$output`" doesn't exist, try to download it from hanping-lab-pc ftp"
        Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $output
        Write-Debug "Time taken: $((Get-Date).Subtract($start_time).Seconds) second(s)"
      }
      Expand-Archive -Path "$PSScriptRoot\7zip.zip" -DestinationPath "$PSScriptRoot"
      
      if (!(Test-Path $zip7FilePath)){
        Write-Error "`"$zip7FilePath`" doesn't exist"
        return $false
      }
    }
  }

  Write-Debug "solutionDir=`"$solutionDir`""
  # Check solution dir
  if(!(Test-Path $solutionDir)){
    Write-Error "solutionDir `"$solutionDir`" doesn't exist"
    return $false
  }

  # Check Installer
  Write-Debug "installerFilePath=`"$global:installerFilePath`""
  if(!(Test-Path $global:installerFilePath)){
    Write-Error "installerFilePath `"$global:installerFilePath`" doesn't exist"
    return $false
  }
  return $true
}

function getMD5Hash($fileName) {
  if([System.IO.File]::Exists($fileName)){
    $fileStream = New-Object System.IO.FileStream($fileName,[System.IO.FileMode]::Open,[System.IO.FileAccess]::Read,[System.IO.FileShare]::ReadWrite)
    $md5Hash = New-Object System.Security.Cryptography.MD5CryptoServiceProvider
    [byte[]]$fileByteChecksum = $md5Hash.ComputeHash($fileStream)
    $fileChecksum = ([System.Bitconverter]::ToString($fileByteChecksum)).Replace("-","")
    $fileStream.Close()
  } else {
    $fileChecksum = "ERROR: $fileName Not Found"
  }
  return $fileChecksum
}

function archive () {
  # Compress by WinRAR
  $version = [System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo]::GetVersionInfo($global:installerFilePath).FileVersion
  $archivedFilePath = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($archivedFilePath) + "\\" + [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($archivedFilePath) + "_$($version).zip"
    # Remove existing archivedFile
  Write-Debug "archivedFilePath=`"$archivedFilePath`""
  if(Test-Path $archivedFilePath){
    Remove-Item $archivedFilePath -Recurse
  }
    if ((Test-Path $winrarFilePath)){
    # WinRAR does exist
      $process = [System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start("$winrarFilePath", "a -m5 -afzip -ep1` `"$archivedFilePath`" `"$global:installerFilePath`"") 
      $process.WaitForExit()
    }
    elseif ((Test-Path $zip7FilePath)){
    # 7-zip does exist
      $process = [System.Diagnostics.Process]::Start("$zip7FilePath", "a -tzip `"$archivedFilePath`" `"$global:installerFilePath`"") 
      $process.WaitForExit()
    }

  # Save MD5 of archivedFilePath as text file
  $md5Hash = (getMD5Hash($archivedFilePath)).toLower()
  Write-Debug "MD5=`"$md5Hash`""
  $dirName = [System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($archivedFilePath)
  $fileNameWithoutExt = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($archivedFilePath)
  $md5FilePath = Join-Path -Path $dirName -ChildPath ("$($fileNameWithoutExt)_MD5.txt")
  Write-Debug "md5FilePath=`"$md5FilePath`""
  $md5Hash | Set-Content $md5FilePath
}

#main region

Write-Debug "solutionDir=`"$solutionDir`""

if(checkRequiredData($solutionDir) == $true){
  archive
}