April, 2009

Data Deduplication in the Database

Data deduplication essentially refers to the elimination of redundant data.  (from Wikipedia)  As the term seems to be commonly used, deduplication really is referring to duplication of data on servers and perhaps shares throughout the domain.  I suspect that nobody who has been around IT very long would not understand that as time goes on it is not uncommon to find multiple versions (…as well as duplicate versions) of files throughout an enterprise (of any size).  This phenomenon adds considerably to time required for backups, can cause slowdowns in the network, as well as user confusion — none of which are desirable of course.

Database Normalization I believe runs a parallel to deduplication in that one goal of normalization can be elimination of redundant data.  Many of the same benefits of deduplication can be realized when a database is normalized - such as faster transmission (less data), and less storage space required etc.  Normalization has become very much a part of my most recent project - upgrading a 20 year old database application to a modern database using relational technology.  The project is no trivial task - but I’m having fun with it! 

Legacy Application to Windows - Challenge of design

I’ve discovered the greatest challenge of my application programming and design career,  (Hopefully I haven’t met my match!).  My latest project involves a rather large legacy character-based system which has evolved over the past 20 years or so.  The source code directory lists some 800+ pieces of source code, with close to 500 being actively used, and others that were basically copies of some “active” source with minor modifications - mostly in the screen layouts for entry programs, and header footer changes on reports.  In all, a lot of code to evaluate. Continued »

Can applications be too Automated?

As a custom application developer working mostly with small businesses, users often look at “Why can’t the program do this?”, or “How about having the program add this, subtract this - when it’s this, then add a percentage…” yada, yada, yada.  Perhaps you recognize the pattern.  There can be arguments for doing much in the way of accommodating the requests, but in my opinion there can become a time when an application is too automated. Continued »

Legacy Applications - What Keeps Them Running?

It can be a huge leap from the highly customized legacy application (which for many have been in use double digit years), to the newer graphical point and click or web based AJAX type application.  So my question today is “What keeps them running?”,  or perhaps a better question is what is it about them that keeps them in place for so long?  My questions arise once again prompted by a vist with a new client now running their legacy character based system well into the double digit year mark. Continued »