Nothing reality tests the usability of a proposed API then writing unit tests against it.
For those who develop in Java, may I propose JUnit? If you want to test the GUI of a web server, then try HTTPUnit although the value of writing unit tests to this is less since GUI is usually subject to a lot of changes over time.
Growth happens at the edges. In order to prosper in an environment with an 800 pound gorilla, may I recommend going after what is not worth the gorilla's time? Traditionally for Linux this has ment going after markets who simply cannot afford or who do not wish to pay MSFT's high prices. Companies in cost cutting mode, schools, and non-profits fit into this category.
Unfortunately, resistance to change is a part of the human condition. If you can overcome that inertia with stuffed toys or by exploiting the male ego, I say "right on!"
It is the politics of escalation, is it not? They did something you don't like (i.e. draconian IPL agreement). You are contemplating "push back" but you want to do it in a way that minimizes backlash.
The debate here seems to be whether or not to hire the lawyer but the original poster seems more interested in how to present the lawyer's changes in way that doesn't get him fired. As you have already pointed out, sometimes that's not possible.
If you really think that you will get the axe over it, then walk. If you can't afford to walk, then postpone signing it and start looking for a new job.
If you think that they are flexible enough to handle the changes, then present them with an air of good humor. After all, it is just a formality if you never go to trial.
A good lawyer can help you understand the meaning of the contract, can help you amend the contract, and can even help evaluate your chances of winning were you to get sued.
Remember, the type of lawyer that is best suited to this type of work is a trial lawyer. They make their money mostly by going to trial. It is a conflict of interest to ask a lawyer to help you mitigate the risk of being sued. He or she can help you position yourself to maximize your chances of winning but you still have to incur the expense of a trial in order to win it (unless the judge says otherwise).
I recently cobbled up a simple GUI application for home use. I wrote the prototype twice, one uses Swing and the other SWT. Both GUIs have the same layout and functionality.
My wife chose the Swing version over the SWT version because, frankly, the widgets looked better. Also, on Windows XP, the Swing prototype worked much, much faster than the SWT prototype. On knoppix 3.3, both prototypes responded equally well.
My own findings have been that VS.NET and Eclipse perform about the same. They both are snappy for a while. They they go off on some tangent and the GUI doesn't respond. If you wait long enough, all your keystrokes and mouse clicks will catch up and the GUI is responsive again, for a while.
Doesn't GIMP use GTK? GIMP looks great on that machine.
When I say the UI is dirty, I don't mean that I find the decorations to be unappealing. I mean that I see zigzag lines that are clearly the result of bugs in the software. You type in a text box and it clearly looks like someone is trying to cross the letters out with an etch-a-sketch.
That must have been a long time ago. I started using the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in 1996. At that time, if you exited from the same station that you entered, your ticket got about $1.25 deducted from it.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the debian installer but I am not clear on the problems. I installed on my hard disk knoppix which is based on Debian. Did I encounter the problems?
At first glance, it seems to be noise but there is method to the madness. The books I have read on how to improve your memory say to associate what you want to remember with a crazy image.
They want you to remember the brand. So they do something that will stick out in your mind. Words get intensionally misspelled. Wacky and unusual situations abound. It is a battle over mindshare.
Ah, your post explains why the script that prompted this story was written in the first place. Any system can be very easily converted to Debian/Redhat/Mandrake/whatever. It's the keeping the personal files without doing a backup that is new.
The reason for doing periodic backups is not so that you can migrate your system to a different distro/O.S. The reason for doing periodic backups is that you will not lose your files in the event of a hard disk failure (or accidental deletion, malware, etc).
Since this new software does not remove the need to do periodic backups and since this new software is not neccessary once you have done a backup. What is the point of it?
From the press release (I got to it before it was/.ed)
MySQL stored procedures are based on SQL:2003, a common standard for syntax, data structures, and retrieval processes of SQL databases.
I couldn't find anything concerning Stored Procedures in SQL:2003 via google but from their own site,
it looks like it is what is common to both PL/SQL and T-SQL. No embedded VM here.
Well, data structures and algorithms are related in that the choice of one affects the choice of the other. The classic example here is link lists are better for inserting than arrays but worse for searching.
IMHO, XML handles hierarchy better than relational databases but it is possible to use either. Of course, real human understanding is not strictly hierarchical so I guess that it's a wash. Neither XML nor RDB is all that good at capturing meaning.
You brought up a second point of who does the natural language processing, the human or the search algorithm? In Semantic Web, the publisher is doing the natural language processing and capturing meaning using XML.
Hmmm, perhaps a visit to a dictionary is in order. Once you read the definitions for rectilinear and normalized, I'll think you'll find the sense of the post.
This is a sound strategy any time you run into a message that makes no sense. Simply look up the definitions of the words that you don't know.
searching for words isn't really what you want to do. You'd like to search for ideas, for concepts, for solutions, for answers.
That is why he is going in an XML direction. The relational approach is rectilinear and requires that the information be framed in a highly normalized fashion. Generalized semantic searching is highly non-normalized because, well, humans are highly non-normalized.
I think that he should look at some work by a different Tim, the Semantic Web.
I don't think that a lot of business application developers that use Microsoft technology have Computer Engineering degrees. They don't know the theory so they just "copy and paste" the architecture and the design from an existing application to their own. That's why they do everything the mother ship tells them to do. They never had the formal education that lays the groundwork for making these types of decisions.
To serve this need, Microsoft periodically releases "sample applications" that programmers study in order to learn how to architect and design their own applications. I've heard one of their evangelists refer to these sample applications as "3-2-1 apps" because 3 developers can take 2 months to develop this app.
All well and good if the complexity of the proposed application's requirements warrants this resource scenario. If the intended application needs a bigger project, then the design of these samples apps do not scale to the needed functionality and/or load.
Microsoft doesn't want to release more complex sample applications because these samples serve a marketing purpose to show how easy it is to use Microsoft technology.
Remember the sub-notebook? It was a little bigger than a handheld but with the software of a laptop. I really thought that was going to take off but it never did.
IMHO, the merit of personal websites is not in the content (although I have personally benefitted from reading many a personal website) as much as it is in the act of creative self expression in what is perceived to be a public forum and the realization that you are not alone in a world made sterile and cold by a sanitized and commercialized mass media.
Will RedHat Enterprise Linux be available for a free download? If not, then doesn't that mean all enterprise developers will have to pay for their target O.S.?
Hmmm, technophobes won't use the command line no matter what. Many novices do not have geek friends to show them how to use the command line. So apt-get and emerge are out of the question for mainstream acceptance.
kpackage
works fine most of the time but if you get into trouble, then you will definitely need to go to the command line.
I attempted to use kpackage to install the stable version of mono on debian. It failed and mozilla was thoroughly hosed after that. I had to use dpkg to fix it. It was easier than hacking the registry but harder than shopping on Amazon.
I switched the family computer over from Windows XP to knoppix. Both the 18 year old and the 9 year old seem to be using it fine. The wife is stumbling around a bit and doesn't like it.
I am around to answer questions and to fix things when they don't work. If they had to do it all on their own, then it would be a no go.
Slashdot Mirror
Nothing reality tests the usability of a proposed API then writing unit tests against it.
For those who develop in Java, may I propose JUnit? If you want to test the GUI of a web server, then try HTTPUnit although the value of writing unit tests to this is less since GUI is usually subject to a lot of changes over time.
Growth happens at the edges. In order to prosper in an environment with an 800 pound gorilla, may I recommend going after what is not worth the gorilla's time? Traditionally for Linux this has ment going after markets who simply cannot afford or who do not wish to pay MSFT's high prices. Companies in cost cutting mode, schools, and non-profits fit into this category.
Unfortunately, resistance to change is a part of the human condition. If you can overcome that inertia with stuffed toys or by exploiting the male ego, I say "right on!"
It is the politics of escalation, is it not? They did something you don't like (i.e. draconian IPL agreement). You are contemplating "push back" but you want to do it in a way that minimizes backlash.
The debate here seems to be whether or not to hire the lawyer but the original poster seems more interested in how to present the lawyer's changes in way that doesn't get him fired. As you have already pointed out, sometimes that's not possible.
If you really think that you will get the axe over it, then walk. If you can't afford to walk, then postpone signing it and start looking for a new job.
If you think that they are flexible enough to handle the changes, then present them with an air of good humor. After all, it is just a formality if you never go to trial.
A good lawyer can help you understand the meaning of the contract, can help you amend the contract, and can even help evaluate your chances of winning were you to get sued.
Remember, the type of lawyer that is best suited to this type of work is a trial lawyer. They make their money mostly by going to trial. It is a conflict of interest to ask a lawyer to help you mitigate the risk of being sued. He or she can help you position yourself to maximize your chances of winning but you still have to incur the expense of a trial in order to win it (unless the judge says otherwise).
I recently cobbled up a simple GUI application for home use. I wrote the prototype twice, one uses Swing and the other SWT. Both GUIs have the same layout and functionality.
My wife chose the Swing version over the SWT version because, frankly, the widgets looked better. Also, on Windows XP, the Swing prototype worked much, much faster than the SWT prototype. On knoppix 3.3, both prototypes responded equally well.
My own findings have been that VS.NET and Eclipse perform about the same. They both are snappy for a while. They they go off on some tangent and the GUI doesn't respond. If you wait long enough, all your keystrokes and mouse clicks will catch up and the GUI is responsive again, for a while.
Hmmm, that is interesting. I downloaded and installed wxGTK-2.4.2.tar.gz but KPackage says that libgtk1.2 is what is installed.
Doesn't GIMP use GTK? GIMP looks great on that machine.
When I say the UI is dirty, I don't mean that I find the decorations to be unappealing. I mean that I see zigzag lines that are clearly the result of bugs in the software. You type in a text box and it clearly looks like someone is trying to cross the letters out with an etch-a-sketch.
Yea, I got excited about wxWindows until I ran some of the samples on my knoppix box. Wow, the widgets UI was really dirty and buggy.
wxWindows looks great on the MS-Windows side but really rough on the Linux side. Too bad.
That must have been a long time ago. I started using the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in 1996. At that time, if you exited from the same station that you entered, your ticket got about $1.25 deducted from it.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the debian installer but I am not clear on the problems. I installed on my hard disk knoppix which is based on Debian. Did I encounter the problems?
At first glance, it seems to be noise but there is method to the madness. The books I have read on how to improve your memory say to associate what you want to remember with a crazy image.
They want you to remember the brand. So they do something that will stick out in your mind. Words get intensionally misspelled. Wacky and unusual situations abound. It is a battle over mindshare.
Ah, your post explains why the script that prompted this story was written in the first place. Any system can be very easily converted to Debian/Redhat/Mandrake/whatever. It's the keeping the personal files without doing a backup that is new.
The reason for doing periodic backups is not so that you can migrate your system to a different distro/O.S. The reason for doing periodic backups is that you will not lose your files in the event of a hard disk failure (or accidental deletion, malware, etc).
Since this new software does not remove the need to do periodic backups and since this new software is not neccessary once you have done a backup. What is the point of it?
From the press release (I got to it before it was /.ed)
MySQL stored procedures are based on SQL:2003, a common standard for syntax, data structures, and retrieval processes of SQL databases.I couldn't find anything concerning Stored Procedures in SQL:2003 via google but from their own site, it looks like it is what is common to both PL/SQL and T-SQL. No embedded VM here.
Well, data structures and algorithms are related in that the choice of one affects the choice of the other. The classic example here is link lists are better for inserting than arrays but worse for searching.
IMHO, XML handles hierarchy better than relational databases but it is possible to use either. Of course, real human understanding is not strictly hierarchical so I guess that it's a wash. Neither XML nor RDB is all that good at capturing meaning.
You brought up a second point of who does the natural language processing, the human or the search algorithm? In Semantic Web, the publisher is doing the natural language processing and capturing meaning using XML.
Hmmm, perhaps a visit to a dictionary is in order. Once you read the definitions for rectilinear and normalized, I'll think you'll find the sense of the post.
This is a sound strategy any time you run into a message that makes no sense. Simply look up the definitions of the words that you don't know.
From the google cache...
searching for words isn't really what you want to do. You'd like to search for ideas, for concepts, for solutions, for answers.That is why he is going in an XML direction. The relational approach is rectilinear and requires that the information be framed in a highly normalized fashion. Generalized semantic searching is highly non-normalized because, well, humans are highly non-normalized.
I think that he should look at some work by a different Tim, the Semantic Web.
I don't think that a lot of business application developers that use Microsoft technology have Computer Engineering degrees. They don't know the theory so they just "copy and paste" the architecture and the design from an existing application to their own. That's why they do everything the mother ship tells them to do. They never had the formal education that lays the groundwork for making these types of decisions.
To serve this need, Microsoft periodically releases "sample applications" that programmers study in order to learn how to architect and design their own applications. I've heard one of their evangelists refer to these sample applications as "3-2-1 apps" because 3 developers can take 2 months to develop this app.
All well and good if the complexity of the proposed application's requirements warrants this resource scenario. If the intended application needs a bigger project, then the design of these samples apps do not scale to the needed functionality and/or load.
Microsoft doesn't want to release more complex sample applications because these samples serve a marketing purpose to show how easy it is to use Microsoft technology.
MFC is a framework. If you don't play within the framework nicely, then you won't get good results. The same thing could be said for Qt or wxWindows.
Remember the sub-notebook? It was a little bigger than a handheld but with the software of a laptop. I really thought that was going to take off but it never did.
According to here Fedora will neither be tested, maintained, nor distributed from Redhat.
IMHO, the merit of personal websites is not in the content (although I have personally benefitted from reading many a personal website) as much as it is in the act of creative self expression in what is perceived to be a public forum and the realization that you are not alone in a world made sterile and cold by a sanitized and commercialized mass media.
Will RedHat Enterprise Linux be available for a free download? If not, then doesn't that mean all enterprise developers will have to pay for their target O.S.?
Hmmm, technophobes won't use the command line no matter what. Many novices do not have geek friends to show them how to use the command line. So apt-get and emerge are out of the question for mainstream acceptance.
kpackage works fine most of the time but if you get into trouble, then you will definitely need to go to the command line.
I attempted to use kpackage to install the stable version of mono on debian. It failed and mozilla was thoroughly hosed after that. I had to use dpkg to fix it. It was easier than hacking the registry but harder than shopping on Amazon.
I switched the family computer over from Windows XP to knoppix. Both the 18 year old and the 9 year old seem to be using it fine. The wife is stumbling around a bit and doesn't like it.
I am around to answer questions and to fix things when they don't work. If they had to do it all on their own, then it would be a no go.