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Codito, Ergo Sum (
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This is a nice short concise article on some of the common mistakes developers make when working with databases. My favourite quote: Too often database code isn't subject to the same standards of design, test, and code review that we demand for the rest of our applications. When you're tempted to put code in the database, take a moment to ask yourself whether it really belongs there. Ten of the Biggest Mistakes Developers Make With Databases Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! |...
First off, in case you, like me, didn’t know this: in 2.0 the SOAP formatter (the default formatter if you’re using an HTTP channel) does not support serializing generic objects. Luckily, once you figure that out, it’s trivial to switch to the binary formatter. Also, if you’re planning on using SoapSuds, it apparently also doesn’t like generics. I didn’t look to deep into this, so I may have been doing something wrong. Second, transparent proxies are the evil doppelgangers of the remoting world,...
So; it's been quiet around here. You might have noticed. Then again, perhaps not. I've been busy you see, with work. Or something masquerading quite cleverly as work anyway. I must report that I have a new-found respect for analysts, married to a bitter hatred of the activity itself. You see, for the last few weeks that’s what I've been doing: analysing . It has occurred to me though that it's not the analysis itself that is so distasteful, but the apparent futility of this particular exercise; the...
And that's the reason for this column: to lend a contrarian perspective to a world besotted with technology and all its bright, glittery appeal. This is not , as some of my colleagues have characterized it, an "anti-technology" column. I'm not, strictly speaking, anti-technology. I just don't treat it like a freaking religion. So this is a "perspective" column. Link Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!
I was really impressed with the new user interface paradigm that I've seen in demo's of Microsoft's Office 12 1 recently, and I happened upon a short article 2 by Jakob Nielsen, the “ usability guru“ . Basically his argument is that the Mac-style WYSIWYG user interface paradigm has reached it's limits, and that with software like Office 12 a shift has begun to what is being called results-oriented user interface ; so it's no longer What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get , but rather What-You-Get...
Just in case I'm not the only complete git who wasn't quite sure what the deal was with Windows Workflow Foundation , here's a pretty good developer walkthrough which did a good job of filling me in. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!
I'm busy watching the Channel9 video introducing Sparkle . Holy crap, I can't wait to get my hands on Avalon. Sorry, Windows Presentation Foundation... who came up with that name anyway? Microsoft should dunk all their marketing people in seal innards and feed them to polar bears. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!
So I've just come across the LINQ project, which for out-of-the-loop losers like me is .NET Language Integrated Query , seems to be getting mentioned on blogs all over the place, and has just been previewed for the first time at the PDC. So not wanting to look like the only wildebeest at the waterhole who hasn't seen the lion, I decided to go and take a look around, see what I could find out. In short, I like it. Very basically, it's about integrating query expressions into the .NET framework as...
Wow, it’s been ages since I posted anything here. I figured it might be worth typing out a brief update before I hit the sack, so here’re a few things that have happened since my last post. Surprisingly, they’re all good. 1. I went to my first two SA Developer meetings. The first one was pretty boring, pointless talk mostly, although there was beer. The second one, which happened tonight, had both beer and an informative introduction to Continuous Integration given by Ernst (with...
I haven’t done much more on the IsoEngine this week, but I thought I’d post two small screenshots as promised. I’ve been having some thoughts on the way I’m handling and managing objects in the engine, and it’s likely that I’ll be substantially reworking the way I do things before I continue any further; funny how sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees. I’ve been thinking lately about what my goal is with regards to the game since I think I need some sort of end-point to work towards. Quite...
After an abortive attempt at my own method of path-finding, I began to understand why these things are worked out by cleverer people than me, so I took a step back and implemented A-star properly. And for the most part it seems to work, although it does seem to get confused sometimes and goes into an endless loop, which is regrettable; I'm busy trying to work out exactly why this happens. I think it has something to do with not being able to find a valid path, but in this case it shouldn't happen...
It occurred to me that perhaps my interest in my RPG engine had waned because nothing fun was coming of working on it. It seemed that all I was doing was working on the underpinnings, the nuts and bolts, and there was very little visible change happening. With my interest renewed I decided to add some goodies that would at least make in interesting to work on again. First off I added a player character to the game engine; I've now got it to the point where you can trundle him around the game world...
A little while ago I decided to assuage my ADD by converting my IsoEngine of yore to C# 2.0 since I've been looking for ways to play with the beta of VS2005. It didn't seem like a mammoth task, but I discovered that in my enthusiasm at the time, I had broken just about every written or unwritten rule regarding cross-thread operations that I possibly could have, and the new framework takes a far dimmer view of this than it's predecessor did. Turns out I couldn't even run my code without getting an...
Welcome to the first installment in an ongoing series of articles on a subject very dear to my heart - making life difficult for the programmers that come after you. It's a time-honoured tradition in the programming game, much like initiation in schools, and in much the same way I find that it is truly important to the development of junior programmers. It builds character, determination and integrity, lest they all grow up to be pussies. Since this is the first in a series of articles, we'll start...
The only reason I'm not applying for this gig is that I'm no longer in the 18-25 year old bracket. Also, I'm not actually a game designer, but that I could lie about. I repeat - the only reason. Just so we're clear. Anyway, I'll throw it out there for anyone else that is interested. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!
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