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  • Craftsmanship is ALL that Matters

    - by Wayne Molina
    Today, I'm going to talk about a touchy subject: the notion of working in a company that doesn't use the prescribed "best practices" in its software development endeavours.  Over the years I have, using a variety of pseudonyms, asked this question on popular programming forums.  Although I always add in some minor variation of the story to avoid suspicion that it's the same person posting, the crux of the tale remains the same: A Programmer’s Tale A junior software developer has just started a new job at an average company, creating average line-of-business applications for internal use (the most typical scenario programmers find themselves in).  This hypothetical newbie has spent a lot of time reading up on the "theory" of software development, devouring books, blogs and screencasts from well-known and respected software developers in the community in order to broaden his knowledge and "do what the pros do".  He begins his new job, eager to apply what he's learned on a real-world project only to discover that his new teammates doesn't use any of those concepts and techniques.  They hack their way through development, or in a best-case scenario use some homebrew, thrown-together semblance of a framework for their applications that follows not one of the best practices suggested by the “elite” in the software community - things like TDD (TDD as a "best practice" is the only subjective part of this post, but it's included here due to a very large following of respected developers who consider it one), the SOLID principles, well-known and venerable tools, even version control in a worst case and truly nightmarish scenario.  Our protagonist is frustrated that he isn't doing things the "proper" way - a way he's spent personal time digesting and learning about and, more importantly, a way that some of the top developers in the industry advocate - and turns to a forum to ask the advice of his peers. Invariably the answer I, in the guise of the concerned newbie, will receive is that A) I don't know anything and should just shut my mouth and sling code the bad way like everybody else on the team, and B) These "best practices" are fade or a joke, and the only thing that matters is shipping software to your customers. I am here today to say that anyone who says this, or anything like it, is not only full of crap but indicative of exactly the type of “developer” that has helped to give our industry a bad name.  Here is why: One Who Knows Nothing, Understands Nothing On one hand, you have the cognoscenti of the .NET development world.  Guys like James Avery, Jeremy Miller, Ayende Rahien and Rob Conery; all well-respected and noted programmers that are pretty much our version of celebrities.  These guys write blogs, books, and post videos outlining the "correct" way of writing software to make sure it not only works but is maintainable and extensible and a joy to work with.  They tout the virtues of the SOLID principles, or of using TDD/BDD, or using a mature ORM like NHibernate, Subsonic or even Entity Framework. On the other hand, you have Joe Everyman, Lead Software Developer at Initrode Corporation - in our hypothetical story Joe is the junior developer's new boss.  Joe's been with Initrode for 10 years, starting as the company’s very first programmer and over the years building up a little fiefdom of his own until at the present he’s in charge of all Initrode’s software development.  Joe writes code the same way he always has, without bothering to learn much, if anything.  He looked at NHibernate once and found it was "too hard", so he uses a primitive implementation of the TableDataGateway pattern as a wrapper around SqlClient.SqlConnection and SqlClient.SqlCommand instead of an actual ORM (or, in a better case scenario, has created his own ORM); the thought of using LINQ or Entity Framework or really anything other than his own hastily homebrew solution has never occurred to him.  He doesn't understand TDD and considers “testing” to be using the .NET debugger to step through code, or simply loading up an app and entering some values to see if it works.  He doesn't really understand SOLID, and he doesn't care to.  He's worked as a programmer for years, and that's all that counts.  Right?  WRONG. Who would you rather trust?  Someone with years of experience and who writes books, creates well-known software and is akin to a celebrity, or someone with no credibility outside their own minute environment who throws around their clout and company seniority as the "proof" of their ability?  Joe Everyman may have years of experience at Initrode as a programmer, and says to do things "his way" but someone like Jeremy Miller or Ayende Rahien have years of experience at companies just like Initrode, THEY know ten times more than Joe Everyman knows or could ever hope to know, and THEY say to do things "this way". Here's another way of thinking about it: If you wanted to get into politics and needed advice on the best way to do it, would you rather listen to the mayor of Hicktown, USA or Barack Obama?  One is a small-time nobody while the other is very well-known and, as such, would probably have much more accurate and beneficial advice. NOTE: The selection of Barack Obama as an example in no way, shape, or form suggests a political affiliation or political bent to this post or blog, and no political innuendo should be mistakenly read from it; the intent was merely to compare a small-time persona with a well-known persona in a non-software field.  Feel free to replace the name "Barack Obama" with any well-known Congressman, Senator or US President of your choice. DIY Considered Harmful I will say right now that the homebrew development environment is the WORST one for an aspiring programmer, because it relies on nothing outside it's own little box - no useful skill outside of the small pond.  If you are forced to use some half-baked, homebrew ORM created by your Director of Software, you are not learning anything valuable you can take with you in the future; now, if you plan to stay at Initrode for 10 years like Joe Everyman, this is fine and dandy.  However if, like most of us, you want to advance your career outside a very narrow space you will do more harm than good by sticking it out in an environment where you, to be frank, know better than everybody else because you are aware of alternative and, in almost most cases, better tools for the job.  A junior developer who understands why the SOLID principles are good to follow, or why TDD is beneficial, or who knows that it's better to use NHibernate/Subsonic/EF/LINQ/well-known ORM versus some in-house one knows better than a senior developer with 20 years experience who doesn't understand any of that, plain and simple.  Anyone who disagrees is either a liar, or someone who, just like Joe Everyman, Lead Developer, relies on seniority and tenure rather than adapting their knowledge as things evolve. In many cases, the Joe Everymans of the world act this way out of fear - they cannot possibly fathom that a “junior” could know more than them; after all, they’ve spent 10 or more years in the same company, doing the same job, cranking out the same shoddy software.  And here comes a newbie who hasn’t spent 10+ years doing the same things, with a fresh and often radical take on the craft, and Joe Everyman is afraid he might have to put some real effort into his career again instead of just pointing to his 10 years of service at Initrode as “proof” that he’s good, or that he might have to learn something new to improve; in most cases the problem is Joe Everyman, and by extension Initrode itself, has a mentality of just being “good enough”, and mediocrity is the rule of the day. A Thorn Bush is No Place for a Phoenix My advice is that if you work on a team where they don't use the best practices that some of the most famous developers in our field say is the "right" way to do things (and have legions of people who agree), and YOU are aware of these practices and can see why they work, then LEAVE the company.  Find a company where they DO care about quality, and craftsmanship, otherwise you will never be happy.  There is no point in "dumbing" yourself down to the level of your co-workers and slinging code without care to craftsmanship.  In 95% of these situations there will be no point in bringing it to the attention of Joe Everyman because he won't listen; he might even get upset that someone is trying to "upstage" him and fire the newbie, and replace someone with loads of untapped potential with a drone that will just nod affirmatively and grind out the tasks assigned without question. Find a company that has people smart enough to listen to the "best and brightest", and be happy.  Do not, I repeat, DO NOT waste away in a job working for ignorant people.  At the end of the day software development IS a craft, and a level of craftsmanship is REQUIRED for any serious professional.  When you have knowledgeable people with the credibility to back it up saying one thing, and small-time people who are, to put it bluntly, nobodies in the field saying and doing something totally different because they can't comprehend it, leave the nobodies to their own devices to fade into obscurity.  Work for a company that uses REAL software engineering techniques and really cares about craftsmanship.  The biggest issue affecting our career, and the reason software development has never been the respected, white-collar career it was meant to be, is because hacks and charlatans can pass themselves off as professional programmers without following a lick of good advice from programmers much better at the craft than they are.  These modern day snake-oil salesmen entrench themselves in companies by hoodwinking non-technical businesspeople and customers with their shoddy wares, end up in senior/lead/executive positions, and push their lack of knowledge on everybody unfortunate enough to work with/for/under them, crushing any dissent or voices of reason and change under their tyrannical heel and leaving behind a trail of dismayed and, often, unemployed junior developers who were made examples of to keep up the facade and avoid the shadow of doubt being cast upon them. To sum this up another way: If you surround yourself with learned people, you will learn.  Surround yourself with ignorant people who can't, as the saying goes, see the forest through the trees, and you'll learn nothing of any real value.  There is more to software development than just writing code, and the end goal should not be just "shipping software", it should be shipping software that is extensible, maintainable, and above all else software whose creation has broadened your knowledge in some capacity, even if a minor one.  An eager newbie who knows theory and thirsts for knowledge can easily be moulded and taught the advanced topics, but the same can't be said of someone who only cares about the finish line.  This industry needs more people espousing the benefits of software craftsmanship and proper software engineering techniques, and less Joe Everymans who are unwilling to adapt or foster new ways of thinking. Conclusion - I Cast “Protection from Fire” I am fairly certain this post will spark some controversy and might even invite the flames.  Please keep in mind these are opinions and nothing more.  A little healthy rant and subsequent flamewar can be good for the soul once in a while.  To paraphrase The Godfather: It helps to get rid of the bad blood.

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  • Geocaching - World wide treasure hunt

    I'm not quite sure how I came across this topic but actually I find it absolutely interesting, challenging and most of all a great fun for the family and friends. The interesting part is for sure that you can follow other peoples treasures and their preferred locations where a cache might be hidden. Of course, it wont be easy to find a cache after all. Sometimes there are even 'mystery caches' which have either riddles, further instructions or little brain games for you in order to find the actual cache - that's the challenge. And last but not least, those caches are hidden outdoor. A great experience to explore nature either on your own, or your family especially with children, or as a treasure hunting pack with a couple of friends. What is geocaching? It's a high-tech outdoor treasure hunting game that's a great way to explore the world with friends, family or on your own. Participants use GPS-enabled devices to locate hidden containers called geocaches. There are over one million geocaches hidden around the world today, waiting for you to find them. Visit Geocaching.com to search for geocaches near you.(Source: Referral Email of geocaching.com) Checkout the Geocaching 101 for further details and information. They also provide a video channel on YouTube. Which equipment do I need? Any GPS-enabled device is sufficient to go onto the hunt. I'm going to start our geocaching experience equipped with my Samsung Galaxy Tab. Additionally, I installed a geocaching.com client called c:geo that hopefully assists me soon. Combined with a map app like Google Maps and a nice Compass app you should be fully equipped and ready to go. I guess, that even a car navigation system is perfect for that task. Later on, with more experience and demand for technology (or precision) it might be interesting to opt-in for a pure GPS device, like a Garmin or any other brand on the market. {loadposition content_adsense} What is a geocache and what does it contain? In its simplest form, a cache always contains a logbook or logsheet for you to log your find. Larger caches may contain a logbook and any number of items. These items turn the adventure into a true treasure hunt. You never know what the cache owner or visitors to the cache may have left for you to enjoy. Remember, if you take something, leave something of equal or greater value in return. It is recommended that items in a cache be individually packaged in a clear, zipped plastic bag to protect them from the elements. Finding your first geocache Well, first you have to have interest to pick up the challenge. Then you have to check out the Geocache directory on geocaching.com. They have recommendations for beginner's caches but you are free to choose any. Actually, we have a Mystery Cache very close to our base, and I guess that we are going for that one on our first trip. Anyway, there is a very informative guide on the website which should answer all your questions about starting your new outdoor adventure. For sure, it's going to be rewarding. Team up with friends and family Especially as a beginner there might be misunderstandings in handling the GPS coordinates, the compass, or the map, and even finding the container at the documented position isn't easy in the first place. Luckily, there are logbook reports online from other hunters, and most of the time there are even 'spoiler' images available. But also bear in mind, that a geocache might have been removed or is lost due to unconscious people or whatever other reasons. Don't be disappointed in case that you can't find anything... There be nothing anymore. A general recommendation in this case would be to replace the missing container with a new one, and give feedback to the original owner about the state of that particular location. After all, it's about fun and active participation in a world-wide community. Geocaches in Mauritius? Yes, there are currently about 45 geocaches spread all over the island, and even a single in Rodriguez - that's gonna be a tough one. Hopefully, we will get increasing numbers as Geocaching.com allows, no better, even encourages you to hide new containers at your locations of choice. I think this is going to be real fun for us during the upcoming weeks and months. Especially, when we are travelling to other countries and transfer so-called trackable items between geocaches. On my first impression, Geocaching.com seems to be very mature, open and community-oriented. There are literally hundreds of thousands geocache 'hunters' all over the world. And usually finding a container remote from your home is very rewarding. I'll keep you updated in these matters during the next months to come...

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  • How to bill a client for frequently-interrupted time

    - by Greg
    I find that when I'm working on hourly-billable projects (in particular, those that are research/design/architecture-oriented as opposed to straight coding) that I'm easily distracted by any number of things (email, grab a drink (loss of focus, but nature happens), link off the webpage I was reading, wandering mind (easy when the job calls for a lot of thinking), etc.) This results in very fragmented time, far too incremental IMO to accurately track with a timeclock, and some time very gray. I frequently end up billing for only some fraction of the elapsed time I spent in order to feel fair, but sometimes it takes a really long time to put in an 8-hour day. By contrast, when I've worked for salary I've not worried about whether I'm actively working at any given minute, I just get the job done, and I've never had anything but stellar reviews/feedback from past salaried employers, so I think I get the job done well. I personally believe in an 80/20 cycle: I get 80% of my work done during an inspired 20% of my time. But I have to screw around the other 80% of the time in order to get that first 20%. So the question: what billing/time-tracking policy can I adopt in order to be fair to my hourly customers without having to write off my own less-productive 80% that a salaried employer is willing to overlook in light of the complete package? Note: This question is not about how to be more productive or focused. It's about how to work around whatever salient limitations that I have in a way that's both fair to me and to my customers. Update: A little clarification (to pre-emptively stop some righteous indignation): I currently have a half dozen different project/client groups. It's not a great situation and I'm working at reducing it down to two, but that's my current reality. It's very easy to get off on a thread related to a different project than the one I'm clocking, and I'm not always conscious of it at the time. [I did not intend the question to mean that I was off playing games or making personal calls, etc., and have adjusted wording above to be clearer. Most of the time. I am only human, and sometimes the mind does force you to take a break! :-)]

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  • SQLUniversity Professional Development Week: Learning To Fly

    - by andyleonard
    Introduction Clem and Jim Bob were out hunting the other day in the woods south of Farmville. As they crossed a ridge, they came upon a big ol' Momma Bear and her cub. The larger bear immediately started towards them. Jim Bob took off running as fast as he could. He stopped when he realized Clem wasn't with him. And when he saw Clem reaching into his pack, Jim Bob was incredulous: "Hurry Clem! That bar's comin' fast! You need to out run 'er!" Clem kicked off his boots and pulled running shoes out...(read more)

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  • Computer / Software Engineering vs Other Engineering Disciplines [closed]

    - by Mohammad Yaseen
    Since this was a rather specific question, I have tried my best to present this question in a format which fits the style of this site. Please comment if it can be improved further. I have to choose the Engineering discipline on 6th Nov. My interest is in Robotics, hardware-level programming, Artificial Intelligence and back-end programming. I am currently working as a freelance developer using mainly PHP and occasionally working with GWT.I am somewhat familiar with C# and Python too. I am not super good at programming but I do like it. I am thinking to choose Computer and Information Systems Engineering as this is what I love but all the eggheads of my city are going to Mechanical Engineering and when I ask one of them Why are you choosing this? They say It's my interest and for job and the money. Basically I am confused between CIS and Mechanical Engineering, specifically the job market for both. Since this is a programmers' site I think following questions will be relevant . I am asking this because I want to take advice from professionals in this field before diving too deep . Are you happy with your job / work and pay. Are you satisfied with the work environment and career growth Do you feel OK (or great?) about the near and/or distant future of your industry. Why should a person choose Computer if he has other choices i.e what this industry has to offer in particular which other fields of work don't This industry is subject to rapid changes and you have to learn continuously throughout your entire career. Does this learning and constant hard work pay off ? In my country there is no hardware manufacturing. So most of CIS graduates (like Software Engineers) work in Software Houses. What is the scenario in your country. Is a degree titled 'Software' necessary or companies will take Computer Engineers too if they have relevant experience. I am asking this because I plan to move abroad for work. This is going to be something which I'll do for the rest of my life so I am a bit confused about the right choice. You can view the course outline for both programmes below. Computer and Information Systems Engineering. Mechanical Engineering

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  • Professional iOS Development as a Backup Career [closed]

    - by New Coder
    I am a research chemist by day and I am a self-taught hobbyist iOS programmer by night. I am in the process of developing a moderately complex iOS app and hope to launch it within a month or two. I love everything about iOS development (and programming in general). I want to know if iOS development could become a backup career for me if I loose my job. My question: Let's say I had a couple of apps in the app store, a solid foundation in objective-C and the apple frameworks and basic knowledge on network integrated apps. Without a formal CS degree, what other experience/knowledge would I need to land a job as a professional iOS developer? Forgive me if this question is out of bounds for this forum. If it is, suggestions on where to post such a question would be appreciated.

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  • Tears of Steel [Short Movie]

    - by Asian Angel
    In the future a young couple reach a parting of the ways because the young man can not handle the fact that she has a robotic arm. The bitterness of the break-up and bad treatment from her fellow humans lead to a dark future 40 years later where robots are relentlessly hunting and killing humans. Can the man who started her down this dark path redeem himself and save her or will it all end in ruin? TEARS OF STEEL – DOWNLOAD & WATCH [Original Blog Post & Download Links] Tears of Steel – Blender Foundation’s fourth short Open Movie [via I Love Ubuntu] HTG Explains: What is the Windows Page File and Should You Disable It? How To Get a Better Wireless Signal and Reduce Wireless Network Interference How To Troubleshoot Internet Connection Problems

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  • StackOverflow Careers now includes user activity from CodePlex

    Stack Overflow Careers is an innovative new job site for programmers.  One thing they have recognized is that participation in open source projects is a great way for potential employers to learn more about a job candidate, and also give developers a new way of differentiating themselves with employers.  So they have now announced the ability to automatically incorporate your work on CodePlex projects into your StackOverflow Careers 2.0 profile. We provide a secure way for StackOverflow to confirm that you are indeed a member of your CodePlex projects, and then display those projects on your profile. Additionally, since StackOverflow Careers is invitation only, they have provided a mechanism where you can prequalify to join if you are an active developer on CodePlex. You can check to see if you prequalify here.

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  • Too Few Women in IT!

    - by Yolande
    Last year, only 1% of attendees at Devoxx were women . This year, Devoxx addressed the issue in a panel entitled "Why We Should Target Women." On the panel were Kim Ross, Régina ten Bruggencate, Trisha Gee, Antonio Goncalves and Claude Falguiére. The moderator was Martijn Verburg. The discussion focused on how to attract women to programming and how to get current women programmers to be more active in the community. The panelists agreed that the IT field should not just attract more women but also men of different ethnic backgrounds. The lack of women in programming is in part a cultural issue that differs from region to region. In developed countries, very few women work as programmers whereas in Brazil and India a lot of women pursue careers in IT.  Women in developed countries perceive the field as isolating and very few young women graduate in computer science.  This perception of isolation was based in reality decades ago, but that is no longer the case today. Main ideas discussed by the panel: - Parents should encourage their daughters to play with Lego and learn programming - More organizations should target girls in high schools and young women in university to expose them to programming.  Duchess organization is planning on being more involved with young girl events and mentoring. - Women tend to be more self-critical about their skills and are intimidated by high skill requirements in job advertisements. Companies should change job advertisements to get more women to interviews. - Panelists don't recommend affirmative action because women feel favored and lose credibility. They want to be judged for their skills. - Panelists recommend acting the same way when dealing with either female or male co-workers and managers - Women need mentors (men or women) to learn to become speakers at conferences and to promote themselves better - Men should be sensitive to the fact that women are alone at work to respond to men teasing. The balance of power at work is different from a social setting. - Men also experience discrimination on the job. It is more difficult for men to take time off when their children are sick, for example. Equal valuing of parental obligations could result in equal pay for women. See also: Trisha Gee Blog - http://mechanitis.blogspot.com/ Duchess Organization - http://www.jduchess.org/

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  • Getting started as a programmer -- school or self-study?

    - by Cyberherbalist
    My son who has is married with two small children has decided that he needs a change of career, and is considering getting into programming. He would do well in the field, I am certain, but I am uncertain how to advise him with regards to a lengthy course of schooling, or just try to learn 'on the job", so to speak. I suspect that if he doesn't ultimately get at least an associate degree in program (like his old man), that his job possibilities are going to be very constrained. This isn't the Dot-Com Bubble, after all, when they'd hire you if you could spell c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r because they needed bodies and the ability to fog a mirror wasn't quite enough. Should he go for a full program at the university, a two-year program (he already has a 2-year degree in video production, so he's got the general ed requirements whipped), or does anyone think self-study alone might be enough? To get started, anyway. I started back in 1987 with COBOL and a 2-year degree, which seemed the minimum at the time, but perhaps things are different now?

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  • SQLBeat Podcast – Episode 8 – Interviewing Patrick LeBlanc On Interviewing

    - by SQLBeat
    In this episode of the SQLBeat Podcast (@SQLBeat on twitter) I had a chance to speak with Patrick LeBlanc, currently with Microsoft and former SQL Server MVP. We spend a good amount of time talking about his current gig and his apparent fascination with almost never being dressed. Fortunately he had on some jeans and a shirt for this interview, though he did look at bit dozy because he had not slept the night before. With his help we came up with what is going to be a recurring section on the podcast and that is failed or embarrassing job interviews. Patrick has quite a humiliating one for the launch of “Tell Me About Your Worst Job Interview”. Ok, I can come up with a better title for that section surely. Anyway, have a listen and if you can think of something better, let me know in the comments section. <source src="http://www.simple-talk.com/blogbits/rodneylandrum/Patrick_LeBlanc.ogg" type="audio/ogg; codecs="vorbis"

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  • How much should I charge an hour for freelance iOS development?

    - by Tyler Bell
    I am a fairly competent developer who already holds a job developing iOS applications. This job is through the university which I attend. The producer of the apps that I develop is always trying to set me up with some freelance opportunities to get my work out there and to get me some more work/experience. What is a reasonable price to charge (either hourly or per app)? I'd be working by myself, on my own equipment, from start to finish in the design process. Just wondering what a reasonable price was...I've heard up to $30? Thanks

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  • Battling Emacs Pinky?

    - by haziz
    My problem is not so much emacs pinky as much as having to work with multiple machines, across 3 operating systems, both desktop and laptop, with differing keyboard layouts and different locations for Ctrl and Alt\Meta keys so I often have to pause and think about where is the Ctrl key on this machine. How do you deal with varying keyboard layouts, between Mac keyboards (mostly the laptops) and PC keyboards (mostly 101 keys in my case, yes the original PC keyboard)? I have turned the Caps lock Key into a Ctrl key (losing the Caps lock function completely rather than swapping with Ctrl) on most of them but still find myself hunting for the original Ctrl labeled key most of the time. How do you deal with this keyboard confusion? Suggestions, ideas and feedback welcome.

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  • MOSS 2010 Deploy Farm Solution using STSADM

    - by H(at)Ni
    Today, I've been working on deploying farm solutions to another farm and I was surprised that it can only be done using STSADM.exe. Below are the steps that I've done to get it to work : 1. Use the command addsolution  and give it the path of the wsp file which was something like that : stsadm -o addsolution -filename C:\MySolution.wsp 2. Use the command deploysolution and give the solution name as a parameter like that : stsadm -o deploysolution -name MySolution.wsp -immediate -allowgacdeployment If then you encountered an error saying : The timer job for this operation has been created, but it will fail because the administrative service for this server is not enabled. If the timer job is sched uled to run at a later time, you can run the jobs all at once using stsadm.exe - o execadmsvcjobs. To avoid this problem in the future, enable the Microsoft Shar ePoint Foundation administrative service, or run your operation through the STSA DM.exe command line utility. then use the following command to enforce the execution of your deployment: Start-SPAdminJob And that's it, you'll have it working as expected :)

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  • Do you play Sudoku ?

    - by Gilles Haro
    Did you know that 11gR2 database could solve a Sudoku puzzle with a single query and, most of the time, and this in less than a second ? The following query shows you how ! Simply pass a flattened Sudoku grid to it a get the result instantaneously ! col "Solution" format a9 col "Problem" format a9 with Iteration( initialSudoku, Step, EmptyPosition ) as ( select initialSudoku, InitialSudoku, instr( InitialSudoku, '-' )        from ( select '--64----2--7-35--1--58-----27---3--4---------4--2---96-----27--7--58-6--3----18--' InitialSudoku from dual )    union all    select initialSudoku        , substr( Step, 1, EmptyPosition - 1 ) || OneDigit || substr( Step, EmptyPosition + 1 )         , instr( Step, '-', EmptyPosition + 1 )      from Iteration         , ( select to_char( rownum ) OneDigit from dual connect by rownum <= 9 ) OneDigit     where EmptyPosition > 0       and not exists          ( select null              from ( select rownum IsPossible from dual connect by rownum <= 9 )             where OneDigit = substr( Step, trunc( ( EmptyPosition - 1 ) / 9 ) * 9 + IsPossible, 1 )   -- One line must contain the 1-9 digits                or OneDigit = substr( Step, mod( EmptyPosition - 1, 9 ) - 8 + IsPossible * 9, 1 )      -- One row must contain the 1-9 digits                or OneDigit = substr( Step, mod( trunc( ( EmptyPosition - 1 ) / 3 ), 3 ) * 3           -- One square must contain the 1-9 digits                            + trunc( ( EmptyPosition - 1 ) / 27 ) * 27 + IsPossible                            + trunc( ( IsPossible - 1 ) / 3 ) * 6 , 1 )          ) ) select initialSudoku "Problem", Step "Solution"    from Iteration  where EmptyPosition = 0 ;   The Magic thing behind this is called Recursive Subquery Factoring. The Oracle documentation gives the following definition: If a subquery_factoring_clause refers to its own query_name in the subquery that defines it, then the subquery_factoring_clause is said to be recursive. A recursive subquery_factoring_clause must contain two query blocks: the first is the anchor member and the second is the recursive member. The anchor member must appear before the recursive member, and it cannot reference query_name. The anchor member can be composed of one or more query blocks combined by the set operators: UNION ALL, UNION, INTERSECT or MINUS. The recursive member must follow the anchor member and must reference query_name exactly once. You must combine the recursive member with the anchor member using the UNION ALL set operator. This new feature is a replacement of this old Hierarchical Query feature that exists in Oracle since the days of Aladdin (well, at least, release 2 of the database in 1977). Everyone remembers the old syntax : select empno, ename, job, mgr, level      from   emp      start with mgr is null      connect by prior empno = mgr; that could/should be rewritten (but not as often as it should) as withT_Emp (empno, name, level) as        ( select empno, ename, job, mgr, level             from   emp             start with mgr is null             connect by prior empno = mgr        ) select * from   T_Emp; which uses the "with" syntax, whose main advantage is to clarify the readability of the query. Although very efficient, this syntax had the disadvantage of being a Non-Ansi Sql Syntax. Ansi-Sql version of Hierarchical Query is called Recursive Subquery Factoring. As of 11gR2, Oracle got compliant with Ansi Sql and introduced Recursive Subquery Factoring. It is basically an extension of the "With" clause that enables recursion. Now, the new syntax for the query would be with T_Emp (empno, name, job, mgr, hierlevel) as       ( select E.empno, E.ename, E.job, E.mgr, 1 from emp E where E.mgr is null         union all         select E.empno, E.ename, E.job, E.mgr, T.hierlevel + 1from emp E                                                                                                            join T_Emp T on ( E.mgr = T.empno ) ) select * from   T_Emp; The anchor member is a replacement for the "start with" The recursive member is processed through iterations. It joins the Source table (EMP) with the result from the Recursive Query itself (T_Emp) Each iteration works with the results of all its preceding iterations.     Iteration 1 works on the results of the first query     Iteration 2 works on the results of Iteration 1 and first query     Iteration 3 works on the results of Iteration 1, Iteration 2 and first query. So, knowing that, the Sudoku query it self-explaining; The anchor member contains the "Problem" : The Initial Sudoku and the Position of the first "hole" in the grid. The recursive member tries to replace the considered hole with any of the 9 digit that would satisfy the 3 rules of sudoku Recursion progress through the grid until it is complete.   Another example :  Fibonaccy Numbers :  un = (un-1) + (un-2) with Fib (u1, u2, depth) as   (select 1, 1, 1 from dual    union all    select u1+u2, u1, depth+1 from Fib where depth<10) select u1 from Fib; Conclusion Oracle brings here a new feature (which, to be honest, already existed on other concurrent systems) and extends the power of the database to new boundaries. It’s now up to developers to try and test it and find more useful application than solving puzzles… But still, solving a Sudoku in less time it takes to say it remains impressive… Interesting links: You might be interested by the following links which cover different aspects of this feature Oracle Documentation Lucas Jellema 's Blog Fibonaci Numbers

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  • What can I do with the twitter API?

    - by aditya menon
    I've tried googling for this but could not find concrete developer examples. When building mundane daily web applications like Classified websites, Job boards or Intranet targeted Document Management Systems, how can the twitter API help me do more things. May I please have some examples on how developers have used twitter to make their apps better? Other than the obvious use for promotional and search engine optimization purpose (yay there's a new job post on our site), what can I do with it? Also, am I late to the party? I hear a lot of upset on the internet about how twitter is apparently slowly betraying developers (I don't understand the specifics), so should I even look at the system or consider alternatives?

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  • Learning curve regarding the transition from Windows to Linux from a Java developer perspective [closed]

    - by Geek
    I am a Java developer who has worked on windows platform all through . Now I have shifted job and my new job requires me to do the development work in Red Hat Linux environment . The IDE they use is JDeveloper . I do not have any prior experience in Linux and JDeveloper . So what suggestion would you guys give me so that I can have a smooth and incremental transition from Windows to Linux ? I do not want to short circuit my learning curve . I want to learn it the correct way . Any suggestions regrading any good books,links etc that will help to get started is welcome .

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  • Inside Red Gate - Be Reasonable!

    - by Simon Cooper
    As I discussed in my previous posts, divisions and project teams within Red Gate are allowed a lot of autonomy to manage themselves. It's not just the teams though, there's an awful lot of freedom given to individual employees within the company as well. Reasonableness How Red Gate treats it's employees is embodied in the phrase 'You will be reasonable with us, and we will be reasonable with you'. As an employee, you are trusted to do your job to the best of you ability. There's no one looking over your shoulder, no one clocking you in and out each day. Everyone is working at the company because they want to, and one of the core ideas of Red Gate is that the company exists to 'let people do the best work of their lives'. Everything is geared towards that. To help you do your job, office services and the IT department are there. If you need something to help you work better (a third or fourth monitor, footrests, or a new keyboard) then ask people in Information Systems (IS) or Office Services and you will be given it, no questions asked. Everyone has administrator access to their own machines, and you can install whatever you want on it. If there's a particular bit of software you need, then ask IS and they will buy it. As an example, last year I wanted to replace my main hard drive with an SSD; I had a summer job at school working in a computer repair shop, so knew what to do. I went to IS and asked for 'an SSD, a SATA cable, and a screwdriver'. And I got it there and then, even the screwdriver. Awesome. I screwed it in myself, copied all my main drive files across, and I was good to go. Of course, if you're not happy doing that yourself, then IS will sort it all out for you, no problems. If you need something that the company doesn't have (say, a book off Amazon, or you need some specifications printing off & bound), then everyone has a expense limit of £100 that you can use without any sign-off needed from your managers. If you need a company credit card for whatever reason, then you can get it. This freedom extends to working hours and holiday; you're expected to be in the office 11am-3pm each day, but outside those times you can work whenever you want. If you need a half-day holiday on a days notice, or even the same day, then you'll get it, unless there's a good reason you're needed that day. If you need to work from home for a day or so for whatever reason, then you can. If it's reasonable, then it's allowed. Trust issues? A lot of trust, and a lot of leeway, is given to all the people in Red Gate. Everyone is expected to work hard, do their jobs to the best of their ability, and there will be a minimum of bureaucratic obstacles that stop you doing your work. What happens if you abuse this trust? Well, an example is company trip expenses. You're free to expense what you like; food, drink, transport, etc, but if you expenses are not reasonable, then you will never travel with the company again. Simple as that. Everyone knows when they're abusing the system, so simply don't do it. Along with reasonableness, another phrase used is 'Don't be a ***'. If you act like a ***, and abuse any of the trust placed in you, even if you're the best tester, salesperson, dev, or manager in the company, then you won't be a part of the company any more. From what I know about other companies, employee trust is highly variable between companies, all the way up to CCTV trained on employee's monitors. As a dev, I want to produce well-written & useful code that solves people's problems. Being able to get whatever I need - install whatever tools I need, get time off when I need to, obtain reference books within a day - all let me do my job, and so let Red Gate help other people do their own jobs through the tools we produce. Plus, I don't think I would like working for a company that doesn't allow admin access to your own machine and blocks Facebook!

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  • Google Webmaster Tools is showing duplicate URLs based on page title differences

    - by Praveen Reddy
    I have 700+ title tag duplicates showing in WMT. Every first link in that picture is as duplicate link of second one. I don't know from where the first link got indexed by Google when that link doesn't exist in the site. It's showing the title of every page as link. Original link: http://www.sitename.com/job/407/Swedish-plus-Any-other-Nordic-Language-Customer-Service-Representative-Dublin-Ireland. Duplicate link: http://www.sitename.com/job/407/Swedish-plus-Any-other-Nordic-Language-Customer-Service-Representative-Dublin-Ireland-Ireland. How can this happen? I have checked entire site I didn't find where the second version is linked. I have no images linked to with duplicated version of URL.

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  • Canon Mx772 printer recognized, drivers loaded...but all print jobs "Held"

    - by user212169
    BRAND NEW to Ubuntu but loving it so far. I have a Canon MX772 wireless printing running on my network and am able to print fine from a PC and Mac. Using the printers IP, Ubuntu was able to find it and I accepted all of the "recommended" items (it found a Canon MX770 driver). Everything seems to load fine...but the test page does not print, nor does any print commands make it to the printer. If I open the print dialogue jobs are shown as "held" and when I look at the jobs attributes, I see "Job printer state message=cannot specify model number" and then a few lines down "job state reasons=aborted by system". If I try to "resume" it immediately goes back to "held". I can successfully ping the IP of the printer. Would be very appreciative of other ideas...printing is the last check in the box before I am all set up. Thanks!

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  • How Do I interpret HDD S.M.A.R.T Results?

    - by Marty
    My laptop has recently started to become a bit unreliable, and for some reason I started to suspect that my HDD was starting to fail. After a bit of hunting on the internet, I found Ubuntu's Disk Utility in the System menu and ran the long SMART diagnostics from this. However, since the documentation for Disk Utility is very poor (palimpsest?), I'm not sure how to interpret the results: For example, the Read Error Rate is over 50 million (!), yet the Assessment is rated "Good". So would someone mind explaining to me how to interpret the results of these tests (especially the Normalized, Worst, Threshold and Value numbers)? And maybe tell me what they think of the results I got for my HDD? (Thanks)

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  • Apache - .httaccess RewriteRule from domainA to domainB

    - by milo5b
    Problem: I have a website (mywebsite.com) that was, and partly is, indexed in google. Somebody pointed their own domain (theirsite.com) name to my server and DNS, so it resolves with my IP. Now, probably being an older domain, it outranks me in google, and the pages at my domain are starting to getting de-indexed (probably duplicate content or something). So, for example, my homepage got de-indexed, and their homepage (theirsite.com/) is indexed with my content/code/etc. The same is for other pages (theirsite.com/other/page.html is showing mysite.com/other/page.html) Quick-fix: To quickly fix it, I have added few lines to my PHP code, checking for $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'], and if different than my domain, redirects to my domain. It does the job, but to me it looks like a dirty solution. Question: I could not find a way to have apache to do this job. I would prefer to find an apache/.htaccess solution to this problem (redirecting all traffic from domainA.com/(.*) to domainB.com/$1), is it possible in any way? Thanks

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  • How to start up rsyslog automatically?

    - by Enrique Videni
    Check current status of rsyslog $ chkconfig --list rsyslog rsyslog 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:off 4:off 5:off 6:off Start up rsyslog at some levels $ sudo chkconfig --level 35 rsyslog on It outputs these information: insserv: warning: script 'plymouth-stop' missing LSB tags and overrides insserv: Default-Start undefined, assuming empty start runlevel(s) for script `plymouth-stop' insserv: Default-Stop undefined, assuming empty stop runlevel(s) for script `plymouth-stop' The script you are attempting to invoke has been converted to an Upstart job, but lsb-header is not supported for Upstart jobs. insserv: warning: script 'failsafe-x' missing LSB tags and overrides insserv: Default-Start undefined, assuming empty start runlevel(s) for script `failsafe-x' insserv: Default-Stop undefined, assuming empty stop runlevel(s) for script `failsafe-x' The script you are attempting to invoke has been converted to an Upstart job, but lsb-header is not supported for Upstart jobs. insserv: warning: script 'udevtrigger' missing LSB tags and overrides insserv: Default-Start undefined, assuming empty start runlevel(s) for script `udevtrigger' Check current status of rsyslog again $ chkconfig --list rsyslog rsyslog 0:off 1:off 2:off 3:off 4:off 5:off 6:off I am a novice. Please show me how to use rsyslog from beginning.

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  • Installing pygame with pip

    - by David Y. Stephenson
    I'm trying to install pygame using pip in a virtualenv. I'm following this tutorial on using Kivy. However, running pip install pygame returns Downloading/unpacking pygame Downloading pygame-1.9.1release.tar.gz (2.1MB): 2.1MB downloaded Running setup.py egg_info for package pygame WARNING, No "Setup" File Exists, Running "config.py" Using UNIX configuration... /bin/sh: 1: sdl-config: not found /bin/sh: 1: smpeg-config: not found Hunting dependencies... WARNING: "sdl-config" failed! WARNING: "smpeg-config" failed! Unable to run "sdl-config". Please make sure a development version of SDL is installed. No files/directories in /tmp/pip-build-root/pygame/pip-egg-info (from PKG-INFO) Storing complete log in /home/david/.pip/pip.log The content of /home/david/.pip/pip.log can be found at http://paste.ubuntu.com/5800296/ What am I doing wrong? I'm trying to keep to the standard methodology for installing pygame as much as possible in order to avoid deviating from the tutorial. Suggestions?

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  • Some Insight on the Field of Knowledge Representations and Reasoning

    - by picmate
    I started following an MS in computer sciences after about two years of work for a software company. I worked primarily in data warehousing and business intelligence related software development during my previous occupation. There is a high chance for me to select a research in knowledge representations, ontologies and reasoning, as there are no other research available in any other interesting fields, such as pattern recognition and navigation. I developed an interest towards knowledge representation with what I learnt from the courses I am taking currently. But I do not have a deep understanding of it in terms of which areas such a field would have an impact in a real life scenario, and how it will help me when I am hunting for a job in the near future. Some thought about this would be greatly appreciated.

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