January, 2008

Development Humor as Thought Provoking Material

While reading through one of the Visual Dataflex newsgroup posts last week I stumbled upon an exchange where some developers were talking about their preference to keep their machines “clean”, as in not installing programs which are not going to be used, but for one reason or another get “added” — something like the various shortcuts that appear after loading just about any commercial program these days –  tax software for instance:>)

Anyway, the following excerpt was just too good to not pass along. Continued »

Software Development Using Multiple Environments

I have used the Basic, ASP, Java, Progress 4GL and DataFlex languages to some degree within the past week.  (…as well as operating system specific programs which are another form of programming).  Each of these were used with different tools for different applications.  For Each (…there I go looping again) there are syntaxes which are very similar to identical, and at least for this brain, easily confused.  Thankfully, many of the tools provided for development today shield the programmer from the intricacies of the language. Continued »

Web 2.0 Applications - Ending Desktop Clients?

There is much in the tech press today about Web 2.0 applications, and although the term is used very loosely, and seems to be loosely defined, there are those who seem to think that the days of the desktop client are numbered!  My question is — what number?  My answer to the question would have to be roughly equivalent to the number of days that it has taken Cobol to die (remember Cobol, the language of business years ago?  and still around today?).

Well, Web applications have in fact come a long way from their start, and certainly they have made significant advances in their ability to handle the tasks of ordering on-line and related tasks.  However, while I read about all the wonderful Web 2.0 applications being created I find myself wondering at what point will these web applications be ready for the moment-to-moment database data entry tasks of a well-developed desktop application — or will they ever be — or if so, what about cost effectiveness?  Is there really a desire to have an ERP system for example with only a browser interface? Continued »

Business Goals and Application Development

I am continually shocked by the constant writings I read that express (…as if it were a “New” requirement) the need for IT departments and developers to “…consider the needs of the business” — Duh!

To my way of thinking this is as basic as getting up in the morning.  There will always be something new (and improved) that the marketing gurus will be touting - and it probably won’t be inexpensive.  Determining the ”savings” of the latest and greatest is tricky at best, and what about the “learning curve” before the “savings” can be realized?  How can one know until the time is spent?

In most companies one needs not look very far before coming upon areas of inefficiency. Continued »

A Developers New Year Resolutions

I’ve never really been big on New Years Resolutions as it seems that I, like most people, have found that making such resolutions hasn’t made a difference for me.  However as I find myself plowing full-speed ahead into 2008 I thought it might be appropriate for me to at least identify a handful of areas within which (perhaps) I could look at “improving”.  Upon further thought, I realized that I am certainly not alone when it comes to failed resolutions, or areas where I might be able to do better.  Hence I share with others my thoughts on some areas of development which I believe could provide a positive impact on my performance as a developer — and probably others around me.

A Developers New Year Resolutions

• I will embrace learning
  • There are many times that the rapidly-changing development environment seems to be a burden.  There is always something new to learn.
  • I vow to remember that learning is powerful and I truly love learning.
• I will document
  •  Nobody is standing over me to see if I document areas about which questions can arise
  • documenting will save time - minimize mistakes - “Why Not do it?”
• I will communicate
  • with other developers
  • with my clients
  • with those around me who say “Get a Life!”
• I will PLAN
  • testing to be done on code I produce
  • my work - and “work” my plan!

Happy New Year to All!