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• Why you need to tag your build servers in TFS

  - by Martin Hinshelwood

  At SSW we use gated check-in for all of our projects. The benefits are based on the number of developers you have working on your project. Lets say you have 30 developers and each developer breaks the build once per month. That could mean that you have a broken build every day! Gated check-ins help, but they have a down side that manifests as queued builds and moaning developers. The way to combat this is to have more build servers, but with that comes complexity. Inevitably you will need to install components that you would expect to be installed on target computers, but how do you keep track of which build servers have which bits? What about a geographically diverse team? If you have a centrally controlled infrastructure you might have build servers in multiple regions and you don’t want teams in Sydney copying files from Beijing and vice a versa on a regular basis. So, what is the answer. Its Tags. You can add a set of Tags to your agents and then set which tags to look for in the build definition. Figure: Open up your Build Controller Manager Select “Build | Manage Build Controllers…” to get a list of all of your controllers and he build agents that are associated with them. Figure: the list of build agents and their controllers Each of these Agents might be subtly different. For example only one of these agents has FTP software installed. This software is required for only one of the many builds we have set up. My ethos for build servers is to keep them as clean as possible and not to install anything that is not absolutely necessary. For me that means anything that does not add a *.target file is suspect, and should really be under version control and called via the command line from there. So, some of the things you may install are: Silverlight 4 SDK Visual Studio 2010 Visual Studio 2008 WIX etc You should not install things that will not end up on the target users computer. For a website that means something different to a client than to a server, but I am sure you get the idea. One thing you can do to make things easier is to create a tag for each of the things that you install. that way developers can find the things they need. We may change to using a more generic tagging structure (Like “Web Application” or “WinForms Application”) if this gets too unwieldy, but for now the list of tags is limited. Figure: Tags associated with one of our build agents Once you have your Build Agents all tagged up ALL your builds will start to fail This is because the default setting for a build is to look for an Agent that exactly matches the tags for the build, and we have not added any yet. The quick way to fix this is to change the “Tag Comparison Operator” from “ExactMatch” to “MatchAtLease” to get your build immediately working. Figure: Tag Comparison Operator changes to MatchAtLeast to get builds to run. The next thing to do is look for specific tags. You just select from the list of available tags and the controller will make sure you get to a build agent that uses them. Figure: I want Silverlight, VS2010 and WIX, but do not care about Location. And there you go, you can now have build agents for different purposes and regions within the same environment. You can also use name filtering, so if you have a good Agent naming convention you can filter by that for regions. For example, your Agents might be “SYDVMAPTFSBP01” and “SYDVMAPTFSBP02” so a name filter of “SYD*” would target all of the Sydney build agents. Figure: Agent names can be used for filtering as well This flexibility will allow you to build better software by reducing the likelihood of not having a certain dependency on the target machines. Figure: Setting the name filter based on server location  Used in combination there is a lot of power here to coordinate tens of build servers for multiple projects across multiple regions so your developers get the most out of your environment. Technorati Tags: ALM,TFBS,TFS 2010,TFS Admin

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• Inappropriate Updates?

  - by Tony Davis

  A recent Simple-talk article by Kathi Kellenberger dissected the fastest SQL solution, submitted by Peter Larsson as part of Phil Factor's SQL Speed Phreak challenge, to the classic "running total" problem. In its analysis of the code, the article re-ignited a heated debate regarding the techniques that should, and should not, be deemed acceptable in your search for fast SQL code. Peter's code for running total calculation uses a variation of a somewhat contentious technique, sometimes referred to as a "quirky update": SET @Subscribers = Subscribers = @Subscribers + PeopleJoined - PeopleLeft This form of the UPDATE statement, @variable = column = expression, is documented and it allows you to set a variable to the value returned by the expression. Microsoft does not guarantee the order in which rows are updated in this technique because, in relational theory, a table doesn’t have a natural order to its rows and the UPDATE statement has no means of specifying the order. Traditionally, in cases where a specific order is requires, such as for running aggregate calculations, programmers who used the technique have relied on the fact that the UPDATE statement, without the WHERE clause, is executed in the order imposed by the clustered index, or in heap order, if there isn’t one. Peter wasn’t satisfied with this, and so used the ingenious device of assuring the order of the UPDATE by the use of an "ordered CTE", based on an underlying temporary staging table (a heap). However, in either case, the ordering is still not guaranteed and, in addition, would be broken under conditions of parallelism, or partitioning. Many argue, with validity, that this reliance on a given order where none can ever be guaranteed is an abuse of basic relational principles, and so is a bad practice; perhaps even irresponsible. More importantly, Microsoft doesn't wish to support the technique and offers no guarantee that it will always work. If you put it into production and it breaks in a later version, you can't file a bug. As such, many believe that the technique should never be tolerated in a production system, under any circumstances. Is this attitude justified? After all, both forms of the technique, using a clustered index to guarantee the order or using an ordered CTE, have been tested rigorously and are proven to be robust; although not guaranteed by Microsoft, the ordering is reliable, provided none of the conditions that are known to break it are violated. In Peter's particular case, the technique is being applied to a temporary table, where the developer has full control of the data ordering, and indexing, and knows that the table will never be subject to parallelism or partitioning. It might be argued that, in such circumstances, the technique is not really "quirky" at all and to ban it from your systems would server no real purpose other than to deprive yourself of a reliable technique that has uses that extend well beyond the running total calculations. Of course, it is doubly important that such a technique, including its unsupported status and the assumptions that underpin its success, is fully and clearly documented, preferably even when posting it online in a competition or forum post. Ultimately, however, this technique has been available to programmers throughout the time Sybase and SQL Server has existed, and so cannot be lightly cast aside, even if one sympathises with Microsoft for the awkwardness of maintaining an archaic way of doing updates. After all, a Table hint could easily be devised that, if specified in the WITH (<Table_Hint_Limited>) clause, could be used to request the database engine to do the update in the conventional order. Then perhaps everyone would be satisfied. Cheers, Tony.

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• Bash completion doesn't work, or is ignoring what I've typed; but works for commands

  - by Neil Traft

  Bash completion seems to be ignoring what I've typed (it tries to complete, but acts as if there's nothing under the cursor). I know I saw it work on this machine earlier today, but I'm not sure what has changed. Some examples: cd shows all directories under my current folder: $ cd co<tab><tab> cmake/ config/ doc/ examples/ include/ programs/ sandbox/ src/ .svn/ tests/ Commands like ls and less show all files and directories under my current folder: $ ls co<tab><tab> cmake/ config/ .cproject Doxyfile.in include/ programs/ README.txt src/ tests/ CMakeLists.txt COPYING.txt doc/ examples/ mainpage.dox .project sandbox/ .svn/ Even when I try to complete things from a different folder, it gives me only the results for my current folder (telling me that it is completely ignoring what I've typed): $ cd ~/D<tab><tab> cmake/ config/ doc/ examples/ include/ programs/ sandbox/ src/ .svn/ tests/ But it seems to be working fine for commands and variables: $ if<tab><tab> if ifconfig ifdown ifnames ifquery ifup $ echo $P<tab><tab> $PATH $PIPESTATUS $PPID $PS1 $PS2 $PS4 $PWD $PYTHONPATH I do have this bit in my .bashrc, and I have confirmed that my .bashrc is indeed getting sourced: if [ -f /etc/bash_completion ] && ! shopt -oq posix; then . /etc/bash_completion fi I've even tried manually executing that file, but it doesn't fix the problem: $ . /etc/bash_completion There was even one point in time where it was working for ls, but was not working for cd ... but I can't replicate that result now. Update: I also just discovered that I have terminals open from earlier that still work. I ran source .bashrc in one of them and afterwards completion was broken. Here is my .bashrc: # ~/.bashrc: executed by bash(1) for non-login shells. # see /usr/share/doc/bash/examples/startup-files (in the package bash-doc) # for examples # # Modified by Neil Traft #source ~/.profile # Allow globs to expand hidden files shopt -s dotglob nullglob # If not running interactively, don't do anything [ -z "$PS1" ] && return # don't put duplicate lines or lines starting with space in the history. # See bash(1) for more options HISTCONTROL=ignoreboth # append to the history file, don't overwrite it shopt -s histappend # for setting history length see HISTSIZE and HISTFILESIZE in bash(1) HISTSIZE=1000 HISTFILESIZE=2000 # check the window size after each command and, if necessary, # update the values of LINES and COLUMNS. shopt -s checkwinsize # If set, the pattern "**" used in a pathname expansion context will # match all files and zero or more directories and subdirectories. #shopt -s globstar # make less more friendly for non-text input files, see lesspipe(1) [ -x /usr/bin/lesspipe ] && eval "$(SHELL=/bin/sh lesspipe)" # set variable identifying the chroot you work in (used in the prompt below) if [ -z "$debian_chroot" ] && [ -r /etc/debian_chroot ]; then debian_chroot=$(cat /etc/debian_chroot) fi # Color the prompt export PS1="\[$(tput setaf 2)\]\u@\h:\[$(tput setaf 5)\]\W\[$(tput setaf 2)\] $\[$(tput sgr0)\] " # enable color support of ls and also add handy aliases if [ -x /usr/bin/dircolors ]; then test -r ~/.dircolors && eval "$(dircolors -b ~/.dircolors)" || eval "$(dircolors -b)" alias ls='ls --color=auto' #alias dir='dir --color=auto' #alias vdir='vdir --color=auto' alias grep='grep --color=auto' alias fgrep='fgrep --color=auto' alias egrep='egrep --color=auto' fi # Add an "alert" alias for long running commands. Use like so: # sleep 10; alert alias alert='notify-send --urgency=low -i "$([ $? = 0 ] && echo terminal || echo error)" "$(history|tail -n1|sed -e '\''s/^\s*[0-9]\+\s*//;s/[;&|]\s*alert$//'\'')"' # Alias definitions. # You may want to put all your additions into a separate file like # ~/.bash_aliases, instead of adding them here directly. # See /usr/share/doc/bash-doc/examples in the bash-doc package. if [ -f ~/.bash_aliases ]; then . ~/.bash_aliases fi # enable programmable completion features (you don't need to enable # this, if it's already enabled in /etc/bash.bashrc and /etc/profile # sources /etc/bash.bashrc). if [ -f /etc/bash_completion ] && ! shopt -oq posix; then . /etc/bash_completion fi

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• Multidimensional Thinking–24 Hours of Pass: Celebrating Women in Technology

  - by smisner

  It’s Day 1 of #24HOP and it’s been great to participate in this event with so many women from all over the world in one long training-fest. The SQL community has been abuzz on Twitter with running commentary which is fun to watch while listening to the current speaker. If you missed the fun today because you’re busy with all that work you’ve got to do – don’t despair. All sessions are recorded and will be available soon. Keep an eye on the 24 Hours of Pass page for details. And the fun’s not over today. Rather than run 24 hours consecutively, #24HOP is now broken down into 12-hours over two days, so check out the schedule to see if there’s a session that interests you and fits your schedule. I’m pleased to announce that my business colleague Erika Bakse ( Blog | Twitter) will be presenting on Day 2 – her debut presentation for a PASS event. (And I’m also pleased to say she’s my daughter!) Multidimensional Thinking: The Presentation My contribution to this lineup of terrific speakers was Multidimensional Thinking. Here’s the abstract: “Whether you’re developing Analysis Services cubes or creating PowerPivot workbooks, you need to get into a multidimensional frame of mind to produce a model that best enables users to answer their business questions on their own. Many database professionals struggle initially with multidimensional models because the data modeling process is much different than the one they use to produce traditional, third normal form databases. In this session, I’ll introduce you to the terminology of multidimensional modeling and step through the process of translating business requirements into a viable model.” If you watched the presentation and want a copy of the slides, you can download a copy here. And you’re welcome to download the slides even if you didn’t watch the presentation, but they’ll make more sense if you did! Kimball All the Way There’s only so much I can cover in the time allotted, but I hope that I succeeded in my attempt to build a foundation that prepares you for starting out in business intelligence. One of my favorite resources that will get into much more detail about all kinds of scenarios (well beyond the basics!) is The Data Warehouse Toolkit (Second Edition) by Ralph Kimball. Anything from Kimball or the Kimball Group is worth reading. Kimball material might take reading and re-reading a few times before it makes sense. From my own experience, I found that I actually had to just build my first data warehouse using dimensional modeling on faith that I was going the right direction because it just didn’t click with me initially. I’ve had years of practice since then and I can say it does get easier with practice. The most important thing, in my opinion, is that you simply must prototype a lot and solicit user feedback, because ultimately the model needs to make sense to them. They will definitely make sure you get it right! Schema Generation One question came up after the presentation about whether we use SQL Server Management Studio or Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) to build the tables for the dimensional model. My answer? It really doesn’t matter how you create the tables. Use whatever method that you’re comfortable with. But just so happens that it IS possible to set up your design in BIDS as part of an Analysis Services project and to have BIDS generate the relational schema for you. I did a Webcast last year called Building a Data Mart with Integration Services that demonstrated how to do this. Yes, the subject was Integration Services, but as part of that presentation, I showed how to leverage Analysis Services to build the tables, and then I showed how to use Integration Services to load those tables. I blogged about this presentation in September 2010 and included downloads of the project that I used. In the blog post, I explained that I missed a step in the demonstration. Oops. Just as an FYI, there were two more Webcasts to finish the story begun with the data – Accelerating Answers with Analysis Services and Delivering Information with Reporting Services. If you want to just cut to the chase and learn how to use Analysis Services to build the tables, you can see the Using the Schema Generation Wizard topic in Books Online.

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• SQL SERVER – Performance Tuning Resolution

  - by pinaldave

  This blog post is written in response to T-SQL Tuesday hosted by MidnightDBAs. Taking resolutions is such an interesting subject. I think just like records, these are broken way more often. I find this is the funniest thing as we all take resolutions every year but not every year, we can manage to keep them. Well, does it mean we should not take resolutions? In fact I support resolutions. Every year, I take a resolution that I will strive reduce my body weight and I usually manage to keep eating healthy till the end of January. When February begins, I begin to loose focus from my goal and as March starts, the “As usual” eating habits begin. Looking at the positive side, what would happen if every year I do not eat healthy in January, I think that might cause terrible consequences to my health in the long run. So keeping resolutions is a good practise and following them to the extent one can is commendable. Let us come back to the world of SQL Server. What is my resolution for year 2011 for SQL Server? There are many, I am going to list three of very important resolutions that I have taken this new year over here. To understand SQL Server Performance Tuning at a deeper Level I think I am already half way through. I have been being very much busy during any given month doing hands-on performance tuning for at least 12 days on an average. That means, I am doing this activity for almost doing 2 weeks a month. I believe that I have a good understanding of the subject. Note that the word that I have used is “good,” and not “best.” There are often cases when I am stumped, and I have no clue of what to do next. Then, I usually go for my “trial and error” method - whichever method works, I make sure to keep a note on my blog. My goal is that I should never ever go for the trial and error method again to achieve the same solution. I should know the solution right away when I see the problem. I do understand that Performance Tuning can be a strange animal at times and one cannot guess the right step every time. However, aiming a high goal never hurts and I am going to learn more and more in this focused area. Going further from Basic BI understanding I do fairly decent with BI concepts. I know the nbasics of SSIS, SSRS, SSAS, PowerPivot and SharePoint (and few other things MDS, StreamInsight, etc). However, I still consider myself as a beginner. I do not have hands-on experience like many other BI Gurus around. I think I want to take my learning further in this direction. I do not want to be a BI expert as the first step but the goal is to move ahead from basic level towards an advanced level. I am going to start presenting in User Group Sessions and other places on this subject. When I have to prepare new subject for presentations, I think I force myself to learn more. I am committed to learn a bit more in this direction. Learning new features SQL Server 2011 Denali This is new thing from “Microsoft” for all the SQL Geeks. I am eagerly waiting for final product later this year and I am planning to learn it well. I think if I follow my above two goals, I think this goal will be automatically covered. I am eager and excited for this new offering from Microsoft. I guess, these are my resolutions; may be next year about the same time, I must revisit this post and see how much successful I am in following my goal. On a lighter note, I am particularly fan of following cartoon strip (Courtesy: Calvin and Hobbes). I think when we cannot resolve our resolutions, we tend to act like Calvin. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: About Me, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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• F1 Pit Pragmatics

  - by mikef

  "I hate computers. No, really, I hate them. I love the communications they facilitate, I love the conveniences they provide to my life. but I actually hate the computers themselves." - Scott Merrill, 'I hate computers: confessions of a Sysadmin' If Scott's goal was to polarize opinion and trigger raging arguments over the 'real reasons why computers suck', then he certainly succeeded. Impassioned vitriol sits side-by-side with rational debate. Yet Scott's fundamental point is absolutely on the money - Computers are a means to an end. The IT industry is finally starting to put weight behind the notion that good User Experience is an absolutely crucial goal, a cause championed by the likes of Microsoft's Bill Buxton, and which Apple's increasingly ubiquitous touch screen interface exemplifies. However, that doesn't change the fact that, occasionally, you just have to man up and deal with complex systems. In fact, sometimes you just need to sacrifice everything else in the name of performance. You'll find a perfect example of this Faustian bargain in Trevor Clarke's fascinating look into the (diabolical) IT infrastructure of modern F1 racing - high performance, high availability. high everything. To paraphrase, each car has up to 100 sensors, transmitting around 30Gb of data over the course of a race (70% in real-time). This data is then processed by no less than 3 servers (per car) so that the engineers in the pit have access to telemetry, strategy information, timing feeds, a connection back to the operations room in the team's home base - the list goes on. All of this while the servers are exposed "to carbon dust, oil, vibration, rain, heat, [and] variable power". Now, this is admittedly an extreme context where there's no real choice but to use complex systems where ease-of-use is, at best, a secondary concern. The flip-side is seen in small-scale personal computing such as that seen in Apple's iDevices, which are incredibly intuitive but limited in their scope. In terms of what kinds of systems they prefer to use, I suspect that most SysAdmins find themselves somewhere along this axis of Power vs. Usability, and which end of this axis you resonate with also hints at where you think the IT industry should focus its energy. Do you see yourself in the F1 pit, making split-second decisions, wrestling with information flows and reticent hardware to bend them to your will? If so, I imagine you feel that computers are subtle tools which need to be tuned and honed, using the advanced knowledge possessed only by responsible SysAdmins (If you have an iPhone, I suspect it's jail-broken). If the machines throw enigmatic errors, it's the price of flexibility and raw power. Alternatively, would you prefer to have your role more accessible, with users empowered by knowledge, spreading the load of managing IT environments? In that case, then you want hardware and software to have User Experience as their primary focus, and are of the "means to an end" school of thought (you're probably also fed up with users not listening to you when you try and help). At its heart, the dichotomy is between raw power (which might be difficult to use) and ease-of-use (which might have some limitations, but you can be up and running immediately). Of course, the ultimate goal is a fusion of flexibility, power and usability all in one system. It's achievable in specific software environments, and Red Gate considers it a target worth aiming for, but in other cases it's a goal right up there with cold fusion. I think it'll be a long time before we see it become ubiquitous. In the meantime, are you Power-Hungry or a Champion of Usability? Cheers, Michael Francis Simple Talk SysAdmin Editor

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• How to check if a cdrom is in the tray remotely (via ssh)?

  - by adempewolff

  I have a server running Ubuntu 10.04 (it's on the other side of the world and I haven't built up the wherewithal to upgrade it remotely yet) and I have been told that there is a CD in one of it's two CD drives. I want to rip an image of the cd and then download it to my local computer (I don't need help with either of these steps). However, I cannot seem to confirm whether or not there actually is a CD in the drive as I was told. It did not automatically mount anywhere (which I'm thinking might just be a result of it being a headless server not running X, nautilus, or any of the other nice user friendly things). There are two CD drives connected via SCSI: austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ cat /proc/scsi/scsi Attached devices: Host: scsi0 Channel: 00 Id: 00 Lun: 00 Vendor: ATA Model: WDC WD400EB-75CP Rev: 06.0 Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 05 Host: scsi1 Channel: 00 Id: 00 Lun: 00 Vendor: Lite-On Model: LTN486S 48x Max Rev: YDS6 Type: CD-ROM ANSI SCSI revision: 05 Host: scsi1 Channel: 00 Id: 01 Lun: 00 Vendor: SAMSUNG Model: CD-R/RW SW-248F Rev: R602 Type: CD-ROM ANSI SCSI revision: 05 However when I try mounting either of these devices (and every other device that could possibly be the cd-drive), it says no medium found: austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ sudo mount -t iso9660 /dev/scd1 /cdrom mount: no medium found on /dev/sr1 austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ sudo mount -t iso9660 /dev/scd0 /cdrom mount: no medium found on /dev/sr0 austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ sudo mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /cdrom mount: no medium found on /dev/sr1 austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ sudo mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom1 /cdrom mount: no medium found on /dev/sr0 austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ sudo mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrw /cdrom mount: no medium found on /dev/sr1 Here are the contents of my /dev folder: austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ ls /dev agpgart loop6 ram6 tty10 tty38 tty8 austinvpn loop7 ram7 tty11 tty39 tty9 block lp0 ram8 tty12 tty4 ttyS0 bsg mapper ram9 tty13 tty40 ttyS1 btrfs-control mcelog random tty14 tty41 ttyS2 bus mem rfkill tty15 tty42 ttyS3 cdrom net root tty16 tty43 urandom cdrom1 network_latency rtc tty17 tty44 usbmon0 cdrw network_throughput rtc0 tty18 tty45 usbmon1 char null scd0 tty19 tty46 usbmon2 console oldmem scd1 tty2 tty47 usbmon3 core parport0 sda tty20 tty48 usbmon4 cpu_dma_latency pktcdvd sda1 tty21 tty49 vcs disk port sda2 tty22 tty5 vcs1 dri ppp sda5 tty23 tty50 vcs2 ecryptfs psaux sg0 tty24 tty51 vcs3 fb0 ptmx sg1 tty25 tty52 vcs4 fd pts sg2 tty26 tty53 vcs5 full ram0 shm tty27 tty54 vcs6 fuse ram1 snapshot tty28 tty55 vcs7 hpet ram10 snd tty29 tty56 vcsa input ram11 sndstat tty3 tty57 vcsa1 kmsg ram12 sr0 tty30 tty58 vcsa2 log ram13 sr1 tty31 tty59 vcsa3 loop0 ram14 stderr tty32 tty6 vcsa4 loop1 ram15 stdin tty33 tty60 vcsa5 loop2 ram2 stdout tty34 tty61 vcsa6 loop3 ram3 tty tty35 tty62 vcsa7 loop4 ram4 tty0 tty36 tty63 vga_arbiter loop5 ram5 tty1 tty37 tty7 zero And here is my fstab file: austin@austinvpn:/proc/scsi$ cat /etc/fstab # /etc/fstab: static file system information. # # Use 'blkid -o value -s UUID' to print the universally unique identifier # for a device; this may be used with UUID= as a more robust way to name # devices that works even if disks are added and removed. See fstab(5). # # <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass> proc /proc proc nodev,noexec,nosuid 0 0 /dev/mapper/austinvpn-root / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1 # /boot was on /dev/sda1 during installation UUID=ed5520ae-c690-4ce6-881e-3598f299be06 /boot ext2 defaults 0 2 /dev/mapper/austinvpn-swap_1 none swap sw 0 0 Am I missing something/doing something wrong, or is there just no CD in the drive or is the drive possibly broken? Is there any nice command to list devices with mountable media? Thanks in advance for any help!

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• Upgrades in 5 Easy Pieces

  - by Anne R.

  Even though there are a few select tasks that I have to do once or twice a year, I can’t remember how to do them! Or where to find the bits and pieces to complete the task. So I love it when someone consolidates everything under one spot. That’s what the CRM On Demand team has done with the upgrade information. Specifically, they have: Provided a “one-stop” area for managing upgrades at your company. Broken down the upgrade process into 5 (yes, 5) steps. Explained when and how to perform each step with dates specific to your pod. Included details about each step, visible by expanding the step. Translated the steps into 11 languages. Added a list of release-specific resources with links from the page. Now, just head for the Training and Support portal, click the Release Info tab, and walk through the “5 Essential Steps to a Successful Upgrade.” Before you continue, though, select your language from the drop-down list on the Release Info page. CRM On Demand now has the upgrade steps translated into 11 languages. On the Step page, you can expand each section in sequence and follow the more detailed instructions that appear. This will ensure that you’ve covered all your bases for each upgrade. Here’s a shortened version of the information that you’ll find: 1. Verify your Primary Contact Information. Have you checked your primary contact information to make sure you’re being notified of all upgrade information? Or do you want more users to receive upgrade announcements? This section provides you with the navigation path to do that in CRM On Demand. 2. Review your Key Upgrade Dates. If you expand this step, a nice table appears with your critical dates for the various milestones. IMPORTANT: When your CRM On Demand pod has been officially added to the upgrade schedule, closer to the release date itself, this table will display your specific timetable. 3. Migrate your Customizations from the Staging Environment before the Snapshot Date. Oracle refreshes the Staging data with a copy of your Production data made on the Production Snapshot Date. So this section lists considerations relevant to this step. It also reminds you of the 2-week period when you should not be making any changes in your Staging environment.   4. Conduct your Upgrade Validation on the Staging Environment. When the Customer Validation Testing period begins, you need to log in to your Staging Environment to validate that your key business processes and customizations continue to behave as expected. If your company utilizes Web Services, Web Links, Web Applets or Workflow, focus on testing these first. You generally have about two weeks for testing. If you run into problems during this time, follow the instructions shown in this section for logging a service request. It describes exactly how to fill out the fields in the SR for the fastest resolution. 5. Conduct "White Glove" Testing in your Upgraded Production Environment. Before users start using the upgrade, you should access a few tabs and reports. Doing this actually warms up the cache so that frequently used pages and reports will come up at normal speed on Monday morning, when users log in to the upgraded system. Resources listed under this step help you in further preparing for the upgrade. Now there’s also a new Documentation section on the right with links to these release-specific resources.   Very nice, I commented, when discussing these improvements with the “responsible party.” She confirmed that, yes, they tried to consolidate the upgrade information, translate it for better communication, simplify it into 5 easy pieces, and drive admins responsible for handling upgrades to this one site instead of sending out elaborate emails. Yes, I just love it when someone practically reaches out and holds my hand through a process. Next best thing to a wizard!

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• C#: A "Dumbed-Down" C++?

  - by James Michael Hare

  I was spending a lovely day this last weekend watching my sons play outside in one of the better weekends we've had here in Saint Louis for quite some time, and whilst watching them and making sure no limbs were broken or eyes poked out with sticks and other various potential injuries, I was perusing (in the correct sense of the word) this month's MSDN magazine to get a sense of the latest VS2010 features in both IDE and in languages. When I got to the back pages, I saw a wonderful article by David S. Platt entitled, "In Praise of Dumbing Down"  (msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ee336129.aspx).  The title captivated me and I read it and found myself agreeing with it completely especially as it related to my first post on divorcing C++ as my favorite language. Unfortunately, as Mr. Platt mentions, the term dumbing-down has negative connotations, but is really and truly a good thing.  You are, in essence, taking something that is extremely complex and reducing it to something that is much easier to use and far less error prone.  Adding safeties to power tools and anti-kick mechanisms to chainsaws are in some sense "dumbing them down" to the common user -- but that also makes them safer and more accessible for the common user.  This was exactly my point with C++ and C#.  I did not mean to infer that C++ was not a useful or good language, but that in a very high percentage of cases, is too complex and error prone for the job at hand. Choosing the correct programming language for a job is a lot like choosing any other tool for a task.  For example: if I want to dig a French drain in my lawn, I can attempt to use a huge tractor-like backhoe and the job would be done far quicker than if I would dig it by hand.  I can't deny that the backhoe has the raw power and speed to perform.  But you also cannot deny that my chances of injury or chances of severing utility lines or other resources climb at an exponential rate inverse to the amount of training I may have on that machinery. Is C++ a powerful tool?  Oh yes, and it's great for those tasks where speed and performance are paramount.  But for most of us, it's the wrong tool.  And keep in mind, I say this even though I have 17 years of experience in using it and feel myself highly adept in utilizing its features both in the standard libraries, the STL, and in supplemental libraries such as BOOST.  Which, although greatly help with adding powerful features quickly, do very little to curb the relative dangers of the language. So, you may say, the fault is in the developer, that if the developer had some higher skills or if we only hired C++ experts this would not be an issue.  Now, I will concede there is some truth to this.  Obviously, the higher skilled C++ developers you hire the better the chance they will produce highly performant and error-free code.  However, what good is that to the average developer who cannot afford a full stable of C++ experts? That's my point with C#:  It's like a kinder, gentler C++.  It gives you nearly the same speed, and in many ways even more power than C++, and it gives you a much softer cushion for novices to fall against if they code less-than-optimally.  A bug is a bug, of course, in any language, but C# does a good job of hiding and taking on the task of handling almost all of the resource issues that make C++ so tricky.  For my money, C# is much more maintainable, more feature-rich, second only slightly in performance, faster to market, and -- last but not least -- safer and easier to use.  That's why, where I work, I much prefer to see the developers moving to C#.  The quantity of bugs is much lower, and we don't need to hire "experts" to achieve the same results since the language itself handles those resource pitfalls so prevalent in poorly written C++ code.  C++ will still have its place in the world, and I'm sure I'll still use it now and again where it is truly the correct tool for the job, but for nearly every other project C# is a wonderfully "dumbed-down" version of C++ -- in the very best sense -- and to me, that's the smart choice.

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• Ubuntu + Wacom Intuos 4 + MyPaint HELP!

  - by Sativa

  Please keep in mind I'm not that computer savvy, but I will try any suggestion so please help me out! My tablet will stop working if the USB connection is ever broken, or the Ubuntu software is being updated. Sometimes it will stop working for no reason that I can see. The lights will still be on, but it won't be responsive. It doesn't work again until I restart the laptop with the tablet plugged in, which is grating if you have to do it every 25 min. or so... I'm not sure if the issue is with the port, the tablet/cable or the driver but any suggestions would be very welcome! Also, MyPaint is frequently having hiccups. It seems to save fine but at times it will randomly close down and when I open files they're often empty. They turn into 0Kb files and only contain a single empty layer. Also very grating, considering I lose days of work for no clear reason and without any heads up. Again, I'm not sure if the issue is with the port, the tablet/cable or the driver but any suggestions would be very welcome! The error message reads; Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/share/mypaint/gui/application.py", line 177, at_application_start(*junk=()) else: self.filehandler.open_file(fn) variables: {'fn': ('local', u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora'), 'self.filehandler.open_file': ('local', <bound method FileHandler.wrapper of <gui.filehandling.FileHandler object at 0x7fdb89063a10>>)} File "/usr/share/mypaint/gui/drawwindow.py", line 60, wrapper(self=<gui.filehandling.FileHandler object>, *args=(u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora',), **kwargs={}) try: func(self, *args, **kwargs) # gtk main loop may be called in here... variables: {'self': ('local', <gui.filehandling.FileHandler object at 0x7fdb89063a10>), 'args': ('local', (u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora',)), 'func': ('local', <function open_file at 0x7fdb8b397b90>), 'kwargs': ('local', {})} File "/usr/share/mypaint/gui/filehandling.py", line 231, open_file(self=<gui.filehandling.FileHandler object>, filename=u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora') try: self.doc.model.load(filename, feedback_cb=self.gtk_main_tick) except document.SaveLoadError, e: variables: {'self.doc.model.load': ('local', <bound method Document.load of <lib.document.Document instance at 0x7fdb8ab4f8c0>>), 'feedback_cb': (None, []), 'self.gtk_main_tick': ('local', <function gtk_main_tick at 0x7fdb8b397b18>), 'filename': ('local', u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora')} File "/usr/share/mypaint/lib/document.py", line 544, load(self=<lib.document.Document instance>, filename=u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora', **kwargs={'feedback_cb': <function gtk_main_tick>}) try: load(filename, **kwargs) except gobject.GError, e: variables: {'load': ('local', <bound method Document.load_ora of <lib.document.Document instance at 0x7fdb8ab4f8c0>>), 'kwargs': ('local', {'feedback_cb': <function gtk_main_tick at 0x7fdb8b397b18>}), 'filename': ('local', u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora')} File "/usr/share/mypaint/lib/document.py", line 772, load_ora(self=<lib.document.Document instance>, filename=u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora', feedback_cb=<function gtk_main_tick>) tempdir = tempdir.decode(sys.getfilesystemencoding()) z = zipfile.ZipFile(filename) print 'mimetype:', z.read('mimetype').strip() variables: {'zipfile.ZipFile': ('global', <class 'zipfile.ZipFile'>), 'z': (None, []), 'filename': ('local', u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora')} File "/usr/lib/python2.7/zipfile.py", line 770, __init__(self=<zipfile.ZipFile object>, file=u'/home/maria/Desktop/Drawings/WIPs/Sativa Chibi.ora', mode='r', compression=0, allowZip64=False) if key == 'r': self._RealGetContents() elif key == 'w': variables: {'self._RealGetContents': ('local', <bound method ZipFile._RealGetContents of <zipfile.ZipFile object at 0x7fdb9b952790>>)} File "/usr/lib/python2.7/zipfile.py", line 811, _RealGetContents(self=<zipfile.ZipFile object>) if not endrec: raise BadZipfile, "File is not a zip file" if self.debug > 1: variables: {'BadZipfile': ('global', <class 'zipfile.BadZipfile'>)} BadZipfile: File is not a zip file

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• ffmpeg unmet dependencies

  - by Nikki

  I faced an issue recently when tried to install ffmpeg on my Ubuntu computer. I am running Ubuntu 11.10 64 bit, all latest updates are installed and system runs perfectly, however i feel need in recording my desktop and have read many articles that ffmpeg is one of the best recording tools for it (besides providing packages for video) So I tried to run sudo apt-get install ffmpeg However i wasn't able to do this because packages have unmet dependencies. Here is a full text I receive after trying to install package above. Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable distribution that some required packages have not yet been created or been moved out of Incoming. The following information may help to resolve the situation: The following packages have unmet dependencies: ffmpeg : Depends: libavcodec53 (< 4:0.7.3-99) but it is not going to be installed or libavcodec-extra-53 (< 4:0.7.3.99) but 4:0.8.0.1~ppa2 is to be installed Depends: libavdevice53 (>= 4:0.7.3-0ubuntu0.11.10.1) but it is not going to be installed or libavdevice-extra-53 (>= 4:0.7.3) but it is not going to be installed Depends: libavdevice53 (< 4:0.7.3-99) but it is not going to be installed or libavdevice-extra-53 (< 4:0.7.3.99) but it is not going to be installed Depends: libavfilter2 (>= 4:0.7.3-0ubuntu0.11.10.1) but it is not going to be installed or libavfilter-extra-2 (>= 4:0.7.3) but it is not going to be installed Depends: libavfilter2 (< 4:0.7.3-99) but it is not going to be installed or libavfilter-extra-2 (< 4:0.7.3.99) but it is not going to be installed Depends: libavformat53 (< 4:0.7.3-99) but 4:0.8-1u1~ppa2 is to be installed or libavformat-extra-53 (< 4:0.7.3.99) but it is not going to be installed Depends: libavutil51 (< 4:0.7.3-99) but it is not going to be installed or libavutil-extra-51 (< 4:0.7.3.99) but 4:0.8.0.1~ppa2 is to be installed Depends: libpostproc52 (< 4:0.7.3-99) but 4:0.8-1u1~ppa2 is to be installed or libpostproc-extra-52 (< 4:0.7.3.99) but it is not going to be installed Depends: libswscale2 (< 4:0.7.3-99) but 4:0.8-1u1~ppa2 is to be installed or libswscale-extra-2 (< 4:0.7.3.99) but it is not going to be installed E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages. This problem hasn't existed on my previous laptop which runs the same Ubuntu 11.10 64 bit as my new one. Can anyone please help me find a solution without "messing and braking" the whole system? Thank you for helping in advance.

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• Project Euler 17: (Iron)Python

  - by Ben Griswold

  In my attempt to learn (Iron)Python out in the open, here’s my solution for Project Euler Problem 17.  As always, any feedback is welcome. # Euler 17 # http://projecteuler.net/index.php?section=problems&id=17 # If the numbers 1 to 5 are written out in words: # one, two, three, four, five, then there are # 3 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 4 = 19 letters used in total. # If all the numbers from 1 to 1000 (one thousand) # inclusive were written out in words, how many letters # would be used? # # NOTE: Do not count spaces or hyphens. For example, 342 # (three hundred and forty-two) contains 23 letters and # 115 (one hundred and fifteen) contains 20 letters. The # use of "and" when writing out numbers is in compliance # with British usage. import time start = time.time() def to_word(n): h = { 1 : "one", 2 : "two", 3 : "three", 4 : "four", 5 : "five", 6 : "six", 7 : "seven", 8 : "eight", 9 : "nine", 10 : "ten", 11 : "eleven", 12 : "twelve", 13 : "thirteen", 14 : "fourteen", 15 : "fifteen", 16 : "sixteen", 17 : "seventeen", 18 : "eighteen", 19 : "nineteen", 20 : "twenty", 30 : "thirty", 40 : "forty", 50 : "fifty", 60 : "sixty", 70 : "seventy", 80 : "eighty", 90 : "ninety", 100 : "hundred", 1000 : "thousand" } word = "" # Reverse the numbers so position (ones, tens, # hundreds,...) can be easily determined a = [int(x) for x in str(n)[::-1]] # Thousands position if (len(a) == 4 and a[3] != 0): # This can only be one thousand based # on the problem/method constraints word = h[a[3]] + " thousand " # Hundreds position if (len(a) >= 3 and a[2] != 0): word += h[a[2]] + " hundred" # Add "and" string if the tens or ones # position is occupied with a non-zero value. # Note: routine is broken up this way for [my] clarity. if (len(a) >= 2 and a[1] != 0): # catch 10 - 99 word += " and" elif len(a) >= 1 and a[0] != 0: # catch 1 - 9 word += " and" # Tens and ones position tens_position_value = 99 if (len(a) >= 2 and a[1] != 0): # Calculate the tens position value per the # first and second element in array # e.g. (8 * 10) + 1 = 81 tens_position_value = int(a[1]) * 10 + a[0] if tens_position_value <= 20: # If the tens position value is 20 or less # there's an entry in the hash. Use it and there's # no need to consider the ones position word += " " + h[tens_position_value] else: # Determine the tens position word by # dividing by 10 first. E.g. 8 * 10 = h[80] # We will pick up the ones position word later in # the next part of the routine word += " " + h[(a[1] * 10)] if (len(a) >= 1 and a[0] != 0 and tens_position_value > 20): # Deal with ones position where tens position is # greater than 20 or we have a single digit number word += " " + h[a[0]] # Trim the empty spaces off both ends of the string return word.replace(" ","") def to_word_length(n): return len(to_word(n)) print sum([to_word_length(i) for i in xrange(1,1001)]) print "Elapsed Time:", (time.time() - start) * 1000, "millisecs" a=raw_input('Press return to continue')

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• Item cannot be installed or removed until the package catalogue is repaired

  - by Alex Thorne

  After installing Microsoft Windows Compatibility Layer (meta-package) i receive an error Item cannot be installed or removed until the package catalogue is repaired. Do you want to repair it Ok, I thought... I'll just click repair and be done with it. After doing so I receive another error. The full text reads: installArchives() failed: (Reading database ... (Reading database ... 5% (Reading database ... 10% (Reading database ... 15% (Reading database ... 20% (Reading database ... 25% (Reading database ... 30% (Reading database ... 35% (Reading database ... 40% (Reading database ... 45% (Reading database ... 50% (Reading database ... 55% (Reading database ... 60% (Reading database ... 65% (Reading database ... 70% (Reading database ... 75% (Reading database ... 80% (Reading database ... 85% (Reading database ... 90% (Reading database ... 95% (Reading database ... 100% (Reading database ... 212945 files and directories currently installed.) Unpacking libasound2:i386 (from .../libasound2_1.0.25-1ubuntu10_i386.deb) ... dpkg: error processing /var/cache/apt/archives/libasound2_1.0.25-1ubuntu10_i386.deb (--unpack): './usr/share/alsa/cards/ICE1712.conf' is different from the same file on the system dpkg-deb: error: subprocess paste was killed by signal (Broken pipe) Errors were encountered while processing: /var/cache/apt/archives/libasound2_1.0.25-1ubuntu10_i386.deb Error in function: SystemError: E:Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of wine1.4-i386:i386: wine1.4-i386:i386 depends on libasound2 (>= 1.0.23); however: Package libasound2:i386 is not installed. dpkg: error processing wine1.4-i386:i386 (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of wine1.4: wine1.4 depends on wine1.4-i386 (= 1.4-0ubuntu4); however: Package wine1.4-i386 is not installed. Package wine1.4-i386:i386 is not configured yet. dpkg: error processing wine1.4 (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of wine: wine depends on wine1.4; however: Package wine1.4 is not configured yet. dpkg: error processing wine (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of wine1.4-common: wine1.4-common depends on wine1.4 (= 1.4-0ubuntu4); however: Package wine1.4 is not configured yet. dpkg: error processing wine1.4-common (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of wine1.4-amd64: wine1.4-amd64 depends on wine1.4-common (= 1.4-0ubuntu4); however: Package wine1.4-common is not configured yet. dpkg: error processing wine1.4-amd64 (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured So I click OK and now I'm back to previous screen ("Item cannot be installed ...") I click on cancel and go to the red circle on the top right on my screen and try to update from there and receive this error After that I just get thrown these errors So now I can't add or remove any programs on my system. Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?

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• Ubuntu 12.04 LTS initramfs-tools dependency issue

  - by Mike

  I know this has been asked several times, but each issue and resolution seems different. I've tried almost everything I could think of, but I can't fix this. I have a VM (VMware I think) running 12.04.03 LTS which has stuck dependencies. The VM is on a rented host, running a live system so I don't want to break it (further). uname -a Linux support 3.5.0-36-generic #57~precise1-Ubuntu SMP Thu Jun 20 18:21:09 UTC 2013 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux Some more: sudo apt-get update [sudo] password for tracker: Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done You might want to run ‘apt-get -f install’ to correct these. The following packages have unmet dependencies. initramfs-tools : Depends: initramfs-tools-bin (< 0.99ubuntu13.1.1~) but 0.99ubuntu13.3 is installed E: Unmet dependencies. Try using -f. sudo apt-get install -f Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Correcting dependencies... Done The following extra packages will be installed: initramfs-tools The following packages will be upgraded: initramfs-tools 1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 2 not upgraded. 2 not fully installed or removed. Need to get 0 B/50.3 kB of archives. After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue [Y/n]? Y dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of initramfs-tools: initramfs-tools depends on initramfs-tools-bin (<< 0.99ubuntu13.1.1~); however: Version of initramfs-tools-bin on system is 0.99ubuntu13.3. dpkg: error processing initramfs-tools (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured No apport report written because the error message indicates it's a follow-up error from a previous failure. dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of apparmor: apparmor depends on initramfs-tools; however: Package initramfs-tools is not configured yet. dpkg: error processing apparmor (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured No apport report written because the error message indicates it's a follow-up error from a previous failure. Errors were encountered while processing: initramfs-tools apparmor E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) If I look at the policy behind initramfs-tools / bin I get: apt-cache policy initramfs-tools initramfs-tools: Installed: 0.99ubuntu13.1 Candidate: 0.99ubuntu13.3 Version table: 0.99ubuntu13.3 0 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main amd64 Packages *** 0.99ubuntu13.1 0 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status 0.99ubuntu13 0 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main amd64 Packages apt-cache policy initramfs-tools-bin initramfs-tools-bin: Installed: 0.99ubuntu13.3 Candidate: 0.99ubuntu13.3 Version table: *** 0.99ubuntu13.3 0 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status 0.99ubuntu13 0 500 http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main amd64 Packages So the issue seems to be I have 0.99ubuntu13.3 for initramfs-tools-bin yet 0.99ubuntu13.1 for initramfs-tools, and can't upgrade to 0.99ubuntu13.3. I've performed apt-get clean/autoclean/install -f/upgrade -f many times but they won't resolve. I can think of only 2 other 'solutions': Edit the dpkg dependency list to trick it into doing the installation with a broken dependency. This seems very dodgy and it would be a last resort Downgrade both initramfs-tools and initramfs-tools-bin to 0.99ubuntu13 from the precise/main sources and hope that would get them in step. However I'm not sure if this will be possible, or whether it would introduce more issues. I'm not sure how this situation arise in the first place. /boot was 96% full; it's now 56% full (it's tiny - 64MB ... this is what I got from the hosting company). Can anyone offer advice please?

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• Type checking and recursive types (Writing the Y combinator in Haskell/Ocaml)

  - by beta

  When explaining the Y combinator in the context of Haskell, it's usually noted that the straight-forward implementation won't type-check in Haskell because of its recursive type. For example, from Rosettacode [1]: The obvious definition of the Y combinator in Haskell canot be used because it contains an infinite recursive type (a = a -> b). Defining a data type (Mu) allows this recursion to be broken. newtype Mu a = Roll { unroll :: Mu a -> a } fix :: (a -> a) -> a fix = \f -> (\x -> f (unroll x x)) $ Roll (\x -> f (unroll x x)) And indeed, the “obvious” definition does not type check: ?> let fix f g = (\x -> \a -> f (x x) a) (\x -> \a -> f (x x) a) g <interactive>:10:33: Occurs check: cannot construct the infinite type: t2 = t2 -> t0 -> t1 Expected type: t2 -> t0 -> t1 Actual type: (t2 -> t0 -> t1) -> t0 -> t1 In the first argument of `x', namely `x' In the first argument of `f', namely `(x x)' In the expression: f (x x) a <interactive>:10:57: Occurs check: cannot construct the infinite type: t2 = t2 -> t0 -> t1 In the first argument of `x', namely `x' In the first argument of `f', namely `(x x)' In the expression: f (x x) a (0.01 secs, 1033328 bytes) The same limitation exists in Ocaml: utop # let fix f g = (fun x a -> f (x x) a) (fun x a -> f (x x) a) g;; Error: This expression has type 'a -> 'b but an expression was expected of type 'a The type variable 'a occurs inside 'a -> 'b However, in Ocaml, one can allow recursive types by passing in the -rectypes switch: -rectypes Allow arbitrary recursive types during type-checking. By default, only recursive types where the recursion goes through an object type are supported. By using -rectypes, everything works: utop # let fix f g = (fun x a -> f (x x) a) (fun x a -> f (x x) a) g;; val fix : (('a -> 'b) -> 'a -> 'b) -> 'a -> 'b = <fun> utop # let fact_improver partial n = if n = 0 then 1 else n*partial (n-1);; val fact_improver : (int -> int) -> int -> int = <fun> utop # (fix fact_improver) 5;; - : int = 120 Being curious about type systems and type inference, this raises some questions I'm still not able to answer. First, how does the type checker come up with the type t2 = t2 -> t0 -> t1? Having come up with that type, I guess the problem is that the type (t2) refers to itself on the right side? Second, and perhaps most interesting, what is the reason for the Haskell/Ocaml type systems to disallow this? I guess there is a good reason since Ocaml also will not allow it by default even if it can deal with recursive types if given the -rectypes switch. If these are really big topics, I'd appreciate pointers to relevant literature. [1] http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Y_combinator#Haskell

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• Help finding missing mumble-server dependencies

  - by Otoris

  I'm trying to install the mumble-server package using apt-get install mumble-server on Ubuntu 11.10 Server Edition on Rackspace Cloud. Problem is it can't find dependencies it should have found because they exist on launchpad.net? Dependencies message: Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable distribution that some required packages have not yet been created or been moved out of Incoming. The following information may help to resolve the situation: The following packages have unmet dependencies: mumble-server : Depends: libavahi-compat-libdnssd1 (>= 0.6.16) but it is not installable Depends: libprotobuf7 but it is not installable Depends: libqt4-dbus (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not installable Depends: libqt4-network (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not installable Depends: libqt4-sql (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not installable Depends: libqt4-xml (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not installable Depends: libqtcore4 (>= 4:4.7.0~beta1) but it is not installable Depends: libqt4-sql-sqlite but it is not installable E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages. Any ideas on if I might be missing sources? I've been googling around and haven't found anyone else in this situation or anyone else not able to install the aforementioned packages. Thanks for your time! sources.list: deb http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric restricted deb-src http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric restricted ## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the ## distribution. deb http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates restricted deb-src http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates restricted ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any ## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team. deb http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric universe deb-src http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric universe deb http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates universe deb-src http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates universe ## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu ## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to ## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in ## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu ## security team. deb http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric multiverse deb-src http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric multiverse deb http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates multiverse deb-src http://mirror.rackspace.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates multiverse ## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from the 'backports' ## repository. ## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as ## extensively as that contained in the release, although it includes ## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features. ## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review ## or updates from the Ubuntu security team. # deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-backports restricted universe multiverse # deb-src http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-backports restricted universe multiverse ## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's ## 'partner' repository. This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is ## offered by Canonical and the respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu ## users. # deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu oneiric partner # deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu oneiric partner deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu oneiric-security restricted deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu oneiric-security restricted deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu oneiric-security universe deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu oneiric-security universe deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu oneiric-security multiverse deb-src http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu oneiric-security multiverse # Cool Kid Webmin/Usermin Here Brah deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib deb http://webmin.mirror.somersettechsolutions.co.uk/repository sarge contrib

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• vmware player xorg driver broke after ubuntu 12.04 LTS automatic system update on 06/07/2014

  - by user291828

  I am running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS as a virtual machine on a Windows 7 host using vmware player 6.0.2. On Sat. 06/07/2014, Ubuntu performed an automatic system update as it does regularly, however after reboot, the display driver seems to be broken which causes the screen to split into many identical panels. This pretty much rendered the VM unusable. Below is the log entry for that update from /var/log/apt/history.log It appears that at least one of these updates have caused this problem. The exact same problem has been reported on the vmware forum as well, see https://communities.vmware.com/message/2388776#2388776 So far I have not been able so find a solution. Content in /var/log/apt/history.log Start-Date: 2014-06-07 15:04:46 Commandline: aptdaemon role='role-commit-packages' sender=':1.65' Install: linux-headers-3.2.0-64:amd64 (3.2.0-64.97), linux-image-3.2.0-64-generic:amd64 (3.2.0-64.97), linux-headers-3.2.0-64-generic:amd64 (3.2.0-64.97) Upgrade: iproute:amd64 (20111117-1ubuntu2.1, 20111117-1ubuntu2.3), libknewstuff3-4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkdeclarative5:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libnepomukquery4a:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libgnutls-openssl27:amd64 (2.12.14-5ubuntu3.7, 2.12.14-5ubuntu3.8), libthreadweaver4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkdecore5:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libnepomukutils4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libktexteditor4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), linux-generic:amd64 (3.2.0.63.75, 3.2.0.64.76), libkmediaplayer4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkrosscore4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libgnutls26:amd64 (2.12.14-5ubuntu3.7, 2.12.14-5ubuntu3.8), libgnutls26:i386 (2.12.14-5ubuntu3.7, 2.12.14-5ubuntu3.8), libsolid4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libnepomuk4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkdnssd4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkparts4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), kdoctools:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libssl-dev:amd64 (1.0.1-4ubuntu5.13, 1.0.1-4ubuntu5.14), libssl-doc:amd64 (1.0.1-4ubuntu5.13, 1.0.1-4ubuntu5.14), libkidletime4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), linux-headers-generic:amd64 (3.2.0.63.75, 3.2.0.64.76), linux-image-generic:amd64 (3.2.0.63.75, 3.2.0.64.76), libkcmutils4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkfile4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkpty4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkntlm4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libplasma3:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkemoticons4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), kdelibs-bin:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkdewebkit5:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkjsembed4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkio5:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkjsapi4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), openssl:amd64 (1.0.1-4ubuntu5.13, 1.0.1-4ubuntu5.14), kdelibs5-data:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), linux-libc-dev:amd64 (3.2.0-63.95, 3.2.0-64.97), libkde3support4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libknotifyconfig4:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), kdelibs5-plugins:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkhtml5:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkdeui5:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libkdesu5:amd64 (4.8.5-0ubuntu0.2, 4.8.5-0ubuntu0.3), libssl1.0.0:amd64 (1.0.1-4ubuntu5.13, 1.0.1-4ubuntu5.14), libssl1.0.0:i386 (1.0.1-4ubuntu5.13, 1.0.1-4ubuntu5.14) End-Date: 2014-06-07 15:09:08

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• Projet Doneness and Einstein's Razor

  - by Malcolm Anderson

  Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} I’ve started working on a series of articles about the value of having testers involved in requirements gathering.  Today I was reminded of a useful tool that has provided value to me for at least 20 years.  To those of you who already use this tool, I’m interested in your stories where it has made a difference for you, and to those of you who have never heard of it, I hope sharing it will make a difference in your careers.   I was reminded of it because I just finished a 3 month set of personal projects and was reviewing the success of those projects while putting together my next set of 3 month projects.  During this review, I noticed that a good number of my projects did not have the level of success that I wanted.  The results were good, but they could have been better.  Then it hit me, I didn’t have clear enough doneness criteria.  As a Scrum Practitioner, I wouldn’t think of running a sprint without reviewing the backlog with Einstein's Razor, so why wouldn’t I do the same for my own projects?    I can hear a few of you asking "What's Einstein's Razor?"   I'm glad you asked.  I was once told that Einstein told an audience, "If you can't explain what you do to a relatively bright six year old, you probably don't understand it yourself."    This quote had an impact on me, especially early in my career as a solo developer.  At the time, I was mostly doing end to end software development.  I found that I saved myself a lot of pain and trouble by turning that quote around to “If you can't explain your project's doneness criteria in such a way that a relatively bright six year old can't competently determine your projects success or failure, then you have not broken it down to a fine enough level.”  There are more negatives in that quote than I’m happy with, but it still gives me tons of value to this day.     In your opinion, in your current projects, could a 6 year old competently pass or fail your next sprint?  What risks are you running if your answer is “No” ?

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• Type of computer for a developer on the road

  - by nabucosound

  Hi developers: I am planning to be traveling through eurasia and asia (russia, china, korea, japan, south east asia...) for a while and, although there are plenty of marvelous things to see and to do, I must keep on working :(. I am a python developer, dedicated mainly to web projects. I use django, sqlite3, browsers, and ocassionaly (only if I have no choice) I install postgres, mysql, apache or any other servers commonly used in the internets. I do my coding on vim, use ssh to connect, lftp to transfer files, IRC, grep/ack... So I spend most of my time in the terminal shells. But I also use IM or Skype to communicate with my clients and peers, as well as some other software (that after all is not mandatory for my day-to-day work). I currently work with a Macbook Pro (3 years old now) and so far I am very happy with the performance. But I don't want to carry it if I am going to be "on transit" for long time, it is simply huge and heavy for what I am planning to load in my rather small backpack (while traveling, less is more, you know). So here I am reading all kind of opinions about netbooks, because at first sight this is the kind of computer I thought I had to choose. I am going to use Linux for it, Microsoft is not my cup of tea and Mac is not available for them, unless I were to buy a Macbook air, something that I won't do because if I am robbed or rain/dust/truck loaders break it I would burst in tears. I am concerned about wifi performance and connectivity, I am going to use one of those linux distros/tools to hack/test on "open" networks (if you know what I mean) in case I am not in a place with real free wifi access and I find myself in an emergency. CPU speed should be acceptable, but since I don't plan to run Photoshop or expensive IDEs, I guess most of the time I won't be overloading the machine. Apart from this, maybe (surely) I am missing other features to consider. With that said (sorry about the length) here it comes my question, raised from a deep ignorance regarding the wars betweeb betbooks vs notebooks (I assume tablet PCs are not for programming yet): If I buy a netbook will I have to throw it away after 1 month on the road and buy a notebook? Or will I be OK? Thanks! Hector Update I have received great feedback so far! I would like to insist on the fact that I will be traveling through many different countries and scenarios. I am sure that while in Japan I will be more than fine with anything related to technology, connectivity, etc. But consider that I will be, for example, on a train through Russia (transsiberian) and will cross Mongolia as well. I will stay in friends' places sometimes, but most of the time I will have to work from hostel rooms, trains, buses, beaches (hey this last one doesn't sound too bad hehe!). I think some of your answers guys seem to focus on the geek part but loose the point of this "on the road" fact. I am very aware and agree that netbooks suck compared to notebooks, but what I am trying to do here is to find a balance and discover your experiences with netbooks to see first hand if a netbook will be a fail in the mid-long term of the trip for my purposes. So I have resumed the main concepts expressed here on this small list, in no particular order: keyboard/touchpad feel: I use vim so no need of moving mouse pointers that much, unless I am browsing the web, but intensive use of keyboard screen real state: again, terminal work for most of the time battery life: I think something very important weight/size: also very important looks not worth stealing it, don't give a shit if it is lost/stolen/broken: this may depend on kind of person, your economy, etc. Also to prevent losing work, I will upload EVERYTHING to the cloud whenever I'll have a chance. wifi: don't want to discover my wifi is one of those that cannot deal with half the routers on this planet or has poor connectivity. Thanks again for your answers and comments!

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• What is a good design pattern / lib for iOS 5 to synchronize with a web service?

  - by Junto

  We are developing an iOS application that needs to synchronize with a remote server using web services. The existing web services have an "operations" style rather than REST (implemented in WCF but exposing JSON HTTP endpoints). We are unsure of how to structure the web services to best fit with iOS and would love some advice. We are also interested in how to manage the synchronization process within iOS. Without going into detailed specifics, the application allows the user to estimate repair costs at a remote site. These costs are broken down by room and item. If the user has an internet connection this data can be sent back to the server. Multiple photographs can be taken of each item, but they will be held in a separate queue, which sends when the connection is optimal (ideally wifi). Our backend application controls the unique ids for each room and item. Thus, each time we send these costs to the server, the server echoes the central database ids back, thus, that they can be synchronized in the mobile app. I have simplified this a little, since the operations contract is actually much larger, but I just want to illustrate the basic requirements without complicating matters. Firstly, the web service architecture: We currently have two operations: GetCosts and UpdateCosts. My assumption is that if we used a strict REST architecture we would need to break our single web service operations into multiple smaller services. This would make the services much more chatty and we would also have to guarantee a delivery order from the app. For example, we need to make sure that containing rooms are added before the item. Although this seems much more RESTful, our perception is that these extra calls are expensive connections (security checks, database calls, etc). Does the type of web api (operation over service focus) determine chunky vs chatty? Since this is mobile (3G), are we better handling lots of smaller messages, or a few large ones? Secondly, the iOS side. What is the current advice on how to manage data synchronization within the iOS (5) app itself. We need multiple queues and we need to guarantee delivery order in each queue (and technically, ordering between queues). The server needs to control unique ids and other properties and echo them back to the application. The application then needs to update an internal database and when re-updating, make sure the correct ids are available in the update message (essentially multiple inserts and updates in one call). Our backend has a ton of business logic operating on these cost estimates. We don't want any of this in the app itself. Currently the iOS app sends the cost data, and then the server echoes that data back with populated ids (and other data). The existing cost data is deleted and the echoed response data is added to the client database on the device. This is causing us problems, because any photos might not have been sent, but the original entity tree has been removed and replaced. Obviously updating the costs tree rather than replacing it would remove this problem, but I'm not sure if there are any nice xcode libraries out there to do such things. I welcome any advice you might have.

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• Documentation and Test Assertions in Databases

  - by Phil Factor

  When I first worked with Sybase/SQL Server, we thought our databases were impressively large but they were, by today’s standards, pathetically small. We had one script to build the whole database. Every script I ever read was richly annotated; it was more like reading a document. Every table had a comment block, and every line would be commented too. At the end of each routine (e.g. procedure) was a quick integration test, or series of test assertions, to check that nothing in the build was broken. We simply ran the build script, stored in the Version Control System, and it pulled everything together in a logical sequence that not only created the database objects but pulled in the static data. This worked fine at the scale we had. The advantage was that one could, by reading the source code, reach a rapid understanding of how the database worked and how one could interface with it. The problem was that it was a system that meant that only one developer at the time could work on the database. It was very easy for a developer to execute accidentally the entire build script rather than the selected section on which he or she was working, thereby cleansing the database of everyone else’s work-in-progress and data. It soon became the fashion to work at the object level, so that programmers could check out individual views, tables, functions, constraints and rules and work on them independently. It was then that I noticed the trend to generate the source for the VCS retrospectively from the development server. Tables were worst affected. You can, of course, add or delete a table’s columns and constraints retrospectively, which means that the existing source no longer represents the current object. If, after your development work, you generate the source from the live table, then you get no block or line comments, and the source script is sprinkled with silly square-brackets and other confetti, thereby rendering it visually indigestible. Routines, too, were affected. In our system, every routine had a directly attached string of unit-tests. A retro-generated routine has no unit-tests or test assertions. Yes, one can still commit our test code to the VCS but it’s a separate module and teams end up running the whole suite of tests for every individual change, rather than just the tests for that routine, which doesn’t scale for database testing. With Extended properties, one can get the best of both worlds, and even use them to put blame, praise or annotations into your VCS. It requires a lot of work, though, particularly the script to generate the table. The problem is that there are no conventional names beyond ‘MS_Description’ for the special use of extended properties. This makes it difficult to do splendid things such ensuring the integrity of the build by running a suite of tests that are actually stored in extended properties within the database and therefore the VCS. We have lost the readability of database source code over the years, and largely jettisoned the use of test assertions as part of the database build. This is not unexpected in view of the increasing complexity of the structure of databases and number of programmers working on them. There must, surely, be a way of getting them back, but I sometimes wonder if I’m one of very few who miss them.

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• Building an ASP.Net 4.5 Web forms application - part 4

  - by nikolaosk

  ?his is the fourth post in a series of posts on how to design and implement an ASP.Net 4.5 Web Forms store that sells posters on line.There are 3 more posts in this series of posts.Please make sure you read them first.You can find the first post here. You can find the second post here. You can find the third post here.  In this new post we will build on the previous posts and we will demonstrate how to display the posters per category.We will add a ListView control on the PosterList.aspx and will bind data from the database. We will use the various templates.Then we will write code in the PosterList.aspx.cs to fetch data from the database.1) Launch Visual Studio and open your solution where your project lives2) Open the PosterList.aspx page. We will add some markup in this page. Have a look at the code below  <section class="posters-featured">                    <ul>                         <asp:ListView ID="posterList" runat="server"                            DataKeyNames="PosterID"                            GroupItemCount="3" ItemType="PostersOnLine.DAL.Poster" SelectMethod="GetPosters">                            <EmptyDataTemplate>                                      <table id="Table1" runat="server">                                            <tr>                                                  <td>We have no data.</td>                                            </tr>                                     </table>                              </EmptyDataTemplate>                              <EmptyItemTemplate>                                     <td id="Td1" runat="server" />                              </EmptyItemTemplate>                              <GroupTemplate>                                    <tr ID="itemPlaceholderContainer" runat="server">                                          <td ID="itemPlaceholder" runat="server"></td>                                    </tr>                              </GroupTemplate>                              <ItemTemplate>                                    <td id="Td2" runat="server">                                          <table>                                                <tr>                                                      <td>&nbsp;</td>                                                      <td>                                                <a href="PosterDetails.aspx?posterID=<%#:Item.PosterID%>">                                                    <img src="<%#:Item.PosterImgpath%>"                                                        width="100" height="75" border="1"/></a>                                             </td>                                            <td>                                                <a href="PosterDetails.aspx?posterID=<%#:Item.PosterID%>">                                                    <span class="PosterName">                                                        <%#:Item.PosterName%>                                                    </span>                                                </a>                                                            <br />                                                <span class="PosterPrice">                                                               <b>Price: </b><%#:String.Format("{0:c}", Item.PosterPrice)%>                                                </span>                                                <br />                                                        </td>                                                </tr>                                          </table>                                    </td>                              </ItemTemplate>                              <LayoutTemplate>                                    <table id="Table2" runat="server">                                          <tr id="Tr1" runat="server">                                                <td id="Td3" runat="server">                                                      <table ID="groupPlaceholderContainer" runat="server">                                                            <tr ID="groupPlaceholder" runat="server"></tr>                                                      </table>                                                </td>                                          </tr>                                          <tr id="Tr2" runat="server"><td id="Td4" runat="server"></td></tr>                                    </table>                              </LayoutTemplate>                        </asp:ListView>                    </ul>               </section>  3) We have a ListView control on the page called PosterList. I set the ItemType property to the Poster class and then the SelectMethod to the GetPosters method.  I will create this method later on.   (ItemType="PostersOnLine.DAL.Poster" SelectMethod="GetPosters")Then in the code below  I have the data-binding expression Item  available and the control becomes strongly typed.So when the user clicks on the link of the poster's category the relevant information will be displayed (photo,name and price)                                            <td>                                                <a href="PosterDetails.aspx?posterID=<%#:Item.PosterID%>">                                                    <img src="<%#:Item.PosterImgpath%>"                                                        width="100" height="75" border="1"/></a>                                             </td>4)  Now we need to write the simple method to populate the ListView control.It is called GetPosters method.The code follows   public IQueryable<Poster> GetPosters([QueryString("id")] int? PosterCatID)        {            PosterContext ctx = new PosterContext();            IQueryable<Poster> query = ctx.Posters;            if (PosterCatID.HasValue && PosterCatID > 0)            {                query = query.Where(p=>p.PosterCategoryID==PosterCatID);            }            return query;                    } This is a very simple method that returns information about posters related to the PosterCatID passed to it.I bind the value from the query string to the PosterCatID parameter at run time.This is all possible due to the QueryStringAttribute class that lives inside the System.Web.ModelBinding and gets the value of the query string variable id.5) I run my application and then click on the "Midfilders" link. Have a look at the picture below to see the results.  In the Site.css file I added some new CSS rules to make everything more presentable. .posters-featured {    width:840px;    background-color:#efefef;}.posters-featured   a:link, a:visited,    a:active, a:hover {        color: #000033;    }.posters-featured    a:hover {        background-color: #85c465;    }  6) I run the application again and this time I do not choose any category, I simply navigate to the PosterList.aspx page. I see all the posters since no query string was passed as a parameter.Have a look at the picture below   ?ake sure you place breakpoints in the code so you can see what is really going on.In the next post I will show you how to display poster details.Hope it helps!!!

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• Violation of the DRY Principle

  - by Onorio Catenacci

  I am sure there's a name for this anti-pattern somewhere; however I am not familiar enough with the anti-pattern literature to know it. Consider the following scenario: or0 is a member function in a class. For better or worse, it's heavily dependent on class member variables. Programmer A comes along and needs functionality like or0 but rather than calling or0, Programmer A copies and renames the entire class. I'm guessing that she doesn't call or0 because, as I say, it's heavily dependent on member variables for its functionality. Or maybe she's a junior programmer and doesn't know how to call it from other code. So now we've got or0 and c0 (c for copy). I can't completely fault Programmer A for this approach--we all get under tight deadlines and we hack code to get work done. Several programmers maintain or0 so it's now version orN. c0 is now version cN. Unfortunately most of the programmers that maintained the class containing or0 seemed to be completely unaware of c0--which is one of the strongest arguments I can think of for the wisdom of the DRY principle. And there may also have been independent maintainance of the code in c. Either way it appears that or0 and c0 were maintained independent of each other. And, joy and happiness, an error is occurring in cN that does not occur in orN. So I have a few questions: 1.) Is there a name for this anti-pattern? I've seen this happen so often I'd find it hard to believe this is not a named anti-pattern. 2.) I can see a few alternatives: a.) Fix orN to take a parameter that specifies the values of all the member variables it needs. Then modify cN to call orN with all of the needed parameters passed in. b.) Try to manually port fixes from orN to cN. (Mind you I don't want to do this but it is a realistic possibility.) c.) Recopy orN to cN--again, yuck but I list it for sake of completeness. d.) Try to figure out where cN is broken and then repair it independently of orN. Alternative a seems like the best fix in the long term but I doubt the customer will let me implement it. Never time or money to fix things right but always time and money to repair the same problem 40 or 50 times, right? Can anyone suggest other approaches I may not have considered? If you were in my place, which approach would you take? If there are other questions and answers here along these lines, please post links to them. I don't mind removing this question if it's a dupe but my searching hasn't turned up anything that addresses this question yet. EDIT: Thanks everyone for all the thoughtful responses. I asked about a name for the anti-pattern so I could research it further on my own. I'm surprised this particular bad coding practice doesn't seem to have a "canonical" name for it.

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• Confused about modifying the sprint backlog during a sprint

  - by Maltiriel

  I've been reading a lot about scrum lately, and I've found what seem to me to be conflicting information about whether or not it's ok to change the sprint backlog during a sprint. The Wikipedia article on scrum says it's not ok, and various other articles say this as well. Also my Software Development professor taught the same thing during an overview of scrum. However, I read Scrum and XP from the Trenches and that describes a section for unplanned items on the taskboard. So then I looked up the Scrum Guide and it says that during the sprint "No changes are made that would affect the Sprint Goal" and in the discussion of the Sprint Goal "If the work turns out to be different than the Development Team expected, then they collaborate with the Product Owner to negotiate the scope of Sprint Backlog within the Sprint." It goes on to say in the discussion of the Sprint Backlog: The Sprint Backlog is a plan with enough detail that changes in progress can be understood in the Daily Scrum. The Development Team modifies Sprint Backlog throughout the Sprint, and the Sprint Backlog emerges during the Sprint. This emergence occurs as the Development Team works through the plan and learns more about the work needed to achieve the Sprint Goal. As new work is required, the Development Team adds it to the Sprint Backlog. As work is performed or completed, the estimated remaining work is updated. When elements of the plan are deemed unnecessary, they are removed. Only the Development Team can change its Sprint Backlog during a Sprint. The Sprint Backlog is a highly visible, real-time picture of the work that the Development Team plans to accomplish during the Sprint, and it belongs solely to the Development Team. So at this point I'm altogether confused. Thinking about it, it makes more sense to me to take the second approach. The individual, specific items in the backlog don't seem to me to be the most important thing, but rather the sprint goal, so not changing the sprint goal but being able to change the backlog makes sense. For instance if both the product owner and the team thought they were on the same page about a story, but as the sprint progressed they figured out there was a misunderstanding, it seems like it makes sense to change the tasks that make up that story accordingly. Or if there was some story or task that was forgotten about, but is required to reach the sprint goal, I would think it would be best to add the story or task to the backlog during the sprint. However, there are a lot of people who seem quite adamant that any change to the sprint backlog is not ok. Am I misunderstanding that position somehow? Are those folks defining the sprint backlog differently somehow? My understanding of the sprint backlog is that it consists of both the stories and the tasks they're broken down into. Anyway I would really appreciate input on this issue. I'm trying to figure out both what the idealistic scrum approach is to changing the sprint backlog during a sprint, and whether people who use scrum successfully for development allow changing the sprint backlog during a sprint.

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• Use a custom value object or a Guid as an entity identifier in a distributed system?

  - by Kazark

  tl;dr I've been told that in domain-driven design, an identifier for an entity could be a custom value object, i.e. something other than Guid, string, int, etc. Can this really be advisable in a distributed system? Long version I will invent an situation analogous to the one I am currently facing. Say I have a distributed system in which a central concept is an egg. The system allows you to order eggs and see spending reports and inventory-centric data such as quantity on hand, usage, valuation and what have you. There area variety of services backing these behaviors. And say there is also another app which allows you to compose recipes that link to a particular egg type. Now egg type is broken down by the species—ostrich, goose, duck, chicken, quail. This is fine and dandy because it means that users don't end up with ostrich eggs when they wanted quail eggs and whatnot. However, we've been getting complaints because jumbo chicken eggs are not even close to equivalent to small ones. The price is different, and they really aren't substitutable in recipes. And here we thought we were doing users a favor by not overwhelming them with too many options. Currently each of the services (say, OrderSubmitter, EggTypeDefiner, SpendingReportsGenerator, InventoryTracker, RecipeCreator, RecipeTracker, or whatever) are identifying egg types with an industry-standard integer representation the species (let's call it speciesCode). We realize we've goofed up because this change could effect every service. There are two basic proposed solutions: Use a predefined identifier type like Guid as the eggTypeID throughout all the services, but make EggTypeDefiner the only service that knows that this maps to a speciesCode and eggSizeCode (and potentially to an isOrganic flag in the future, or whatever). Use an EggTypeID value object which is a combination of speciesCode and eggSizeCode in every service. I've proposed the first solution because I'm hoping it better encapsulates the definition of what an egg type is in the EggTypeDefiner and will be more resilient to changes, say if some people now want to differentiate eggs by whether or not they are "organic". The second solution is being suggested by some people who understand DDD better than I do in the hopes that less enrichment and lookup will be necessary that way, with the justification that in DDD using a value object as an ID is fine. Also, they are saying that EggTypeDefiner is not a domain and EggType is not an entity and as such should not have a Guid for an ID. However, I'm not sure the second solution is viable. This "value object" is going to have to be serialized into JSON and URLs for GET requests and used with a variety of technologies (C#, JavaScript...) which breaks encapsulation and thus removes any behavior of the identifier value object (is either of the fields optional? etc.) Is this a case where we want to avoid something that would normally be fine in DDD because we are trying to do DDD in a distributed fashion? Summary Can it be a good idea to use a custom value object as an identifier in a distributed system (solution #2)?

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