http://www.dzone.com/links/tag/opinion.html DZone: fresh links for developers en-us Copyright (c) 2006 DZone, Inc. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:40:46 GMT The DZone community 2008-08-22T04:40:46Z en-us Copyright (c) 2006 DZone, Inc. http://www.dzone.com/links/feed/frontpage/opinion/rss.xml http://www.dzone.com/images/std/dzone.com_258x55.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/ http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/javafx_preview_highlights_critical_weaknesses.html Sun Microsystems recently released the JavaFX Preview SDK. I decided to revisit what is Sun's last, best hope to recapture both the desktop and the browser in the face of stiff competition. java opinion other languages ria Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:56:21 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105888.html bloid 2008-08-22T03:56:21Z Sun Microsystems recently released the JavaFX Preview SDK. I decided to revisit what is Sun's last, best hope to recapture both the desktop and the browser in the face of stiff competition.]]> 105888 2008-08-21T17:36:22Z 2008-08-22T03:56:21Z 6 0 30 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105888.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/some_reaons_flex_looks_appealing.html James Ward politely pointed out some links where I could see more Flex in action (not the book). After spending some time doing this I started doing a bit of home brewing of my own with Flex. Here are a few reasons why Flex looks appealing to me (in no particular order). flash-flex gui opinion ria Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:54:22 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105869.html Gregg Bolinger 2008-08-21T20:54:22Z James Ward politely pointed out some links where I could see more Flex in action (not the book). After spending some time doing this I started doing a bit of home brewing of my own with Flex. Here are a few reasons why Flex looks appealing to me (in no particular order).]]> 105869 2008-08-21T16:48:10Z 2008-08-21T20:54:22Z 12 0 161 2 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105869.jpg gdboling http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/152955.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/is_ruby_very_syntax_rich_do_you_like_it_i_dont.html I tried delving into Ruby couple of times in the past. Every time I had this weird feeling of what am I doing here when I am already very well conversant with a simpler language - Java, which gives me everything I need. java opinion ruby Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:22:39 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105638.html Thierry.Lefort 2008-08-21T20:22:39Z I tried delving into Ruby couple of times in the past. Every time I had this weird feeling of what am I doing here when I am already very well conversant with a simpler language - Java, which gives me everything I need.]]> 105638 2008-08-21T08:12:13Z 2008-08-21T20:22:39Z 14 0 306 5 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105638.jpg Thierry.Lefort http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/252611.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/on_being_a_bit_of_an_idiot_code_reviews.html I remember the first time that I, almost accidentally, asked somebody for an opinion on my code, a few years ago. They automatically mailed back with about thirty different suggestions, all correct, and I was mortified. Why had I been such an idiot? And why were they being so cruel and rude? methodology opinion Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:53:00 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105558.html bloid 2008-08-21T18:53:00Z I remember the first time that I, almost accidentally, asked somebody for an opinion on my code, a few years ago. They automatically mailed back with about thirty different suggestions, all correct, and I was mortified. Why had I been such an idiot? And why were they being so cruel and rude?]]> 105558 2008-08-20T23:59:23Z 2008-08-21T18:53:00Z 9 0 282 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105558.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/identifying_senior_software_engineers_six_critica.html For HR and legal purposes, most development companies classify Software Engineers into ranks from I to IV (or V). The higher the rank, the higher the responsibilities, expectations, independence and pay grade. To cut it as an interviewer and manager, you’ll need to classify people accurately with a minimum amount of direct personal exposure: a non-ideal but practical requirement of most hiring processes. Today we’ll focus on six key factors always present in quality engineers, independant of language and platform. agile how-to methodology opinion Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:47:53 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105482.html Preston Lee 2008-08-21T13:47:53Z For HR and legal purposes, most development companies classify Software Engineers into ranks from I to IV (or V). The higher the rank, the higher the responsibilities, expectations, independence and pay grade. To cut it as an interviewer and manager, you’ll need to classify people accurately with a minimum amount of direct personal exposure: a non-ideal but practical requirement of most hiring processes. Today we’ll focus on six key factors always present in quality engineers, independant of language and platform.]]> 105482 2008-08-20T20:41:38Z 2008-08-21T13:47:53Z 24 0 852 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105482.jpg preston.lee http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/200979.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/dont_bring_me_solutions_bring_me_problems.html Why managers/leaders/product owners sometimes treat developers as machines to write the code? Why they don't trust developers and don't believe they really have knowledge and skills to solve many business and technical problems and turn them into working software? Why don't they accept the fact that when development team encounters any problem they will try to solve it and if they fail they will let them know? agile how-to methodology opinion Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:15:12 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105624.html Artem 2008-08-21T13:15:12Z Why managers/leaders/product owners sometimes treat developers as machines to write the code? Why they don't trust developers and don't believe they really have knowledge and skills to solve many business and technical problems and turn them into working software? Why don't they accept the fact that when development team encounters any problem they will try to solve it and if they fail they will let them know?]]> 105624 2008-08-21T06:57:51Z 2008-08-21T13:15:12Z 16 0 241 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105624.jpg Artem http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/250655.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/erlang_mnesia_or_ets.html Recently I've been working on a RESTful web app project in Erlang using Yaws appmods. I decided I needed a memory cache to cache a (MySQL) database table that is read often but updated infrequently. As an Erlang beginner, I decided to use Mnesia to see how it would go. Using Joe Armstrong's book Programming Erlang as a reference, I dove in and found Mnesia to be very intuitive and pretty easy to set up. I had my memory cache working pretty quickly. frameworks opinion other languages Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:36:02 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105337.html bloid 2008-08-21T12:36:02Z Recently I've been working on a RESTful web app project in Erlang using Yaws appmods. I decided I needed a memory cache to cache a (MySQL) database table that is read often but updated infrequently. As an Erlang beginner, I decided to use Mnesia to see how it would go. Using Joe Armstrong's book Programming Erlang as a reference, I dove in and found Mnesia to be very intuitive and pretty easy to set up. I had my memory cache working pretty quickly.]]> 105337 2008-08-20T11:45:00Z 2008-08-21T12:36:02Z 7 0 103 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105337.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/9_myths_about_linux_debunked.html Linux myths debunked... by Ubuntu I think. open source opinion unix-linux Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:25:55 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105447.html greenIridium 2008-08-21T11:25:55Z Linux myths debunked... by Ubuntu I think.]]> 105447 2008-08-20T18:38:40Z 2008-08-21T11:25:55Z 9 0 429 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105447.jpg greenIridium http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/249910.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/netbeans_65_beta_useful_productivity_enhancements.html I spent some more time with Netbeans 6.5 Java EE functionality. First feedback java opinion tools Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:04:33 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105345.html bloid 2008-08-21T09:04:33Z I spent some more time with Netbeans 6.5 Java EE functionality. First feedback]]> 105345 2008-08-20T11:48:30Z 2008-08-21T09:04:33Z 7 0 293 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105345.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/making_remote_working_work_each_day.html After nearly five months, I’m now convinced: remote working is the best working arrangement I’ve ever had. Living in different cities, finding inspiration in a constantly changing environment and always meeting new people sure is sweet. It’s not without challenges though, and my Remote Working Works for Freelancers post lead to some interesting questions. opinion reviews Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:27:23 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105241.html mswatcher 2008-08-21T08:27:23Z After nearly five months, I’m now convinced: remote working is the best working arrangement I’ve ever had. Living in different cities, finding inspiration in a constantly changing environment and always meeting new people sure is sweet. It’s not without challenges though, and my Remote Working Works for Freelancers post lead to some interesting questions.]]> 105241 2008-08-20T06:03:25Z 2008-08-21T08:27:23Z 6 0 305 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105241.jpg mswatcher http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/225256.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/5_reasons_why_we_are_implementing_scrum.html We’re implementing Scrum as a process framework for the development of our projects. We’re iteratively implementing it, sprint for sprint. Therefore, this is not a post on how we do Scrum, rather it is a post on why we’re implementing it. agile methodology opinion Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:43:50 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105334.html bloid 2008-08-21T02:43:50Z We’re implementing Scrum as a process framework for the development of our projects. We’re iteratively implementing it, sprint for sprint. Therefore, this is not a post on how we do Scrum, rather it is a post on why we’re implementing it.]]> 105334 2008-08-20T11:43:00Z 2008-08-21T02:43:50Z 9 0 244 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105334.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/being_a_better_programmer_3_ahab_and_the_white_wh.html As developers, we solve problems for a living. We spend our hours at work fixing things, testing things, troubleshooting things. It gives one a great sense of pride and accomplishment to fix almost all the tech problems that get in the way of productivity. But what happens when this need to solve problems becomes the problem itself? opinion Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:43:25 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105256.html bloid 2008-08-20T22:43:25Z As developers, we solve problems for a living. We spend our hours at work fixing things, testing things, troubleshooting things. It gives one a great sense of pride and accomplishment to fix almost all the tech problems that get in the way of productivity. But what happens when this need to solve problems becomes the problem itself?]]> 105256 2008-08-20T06:29:35Z 2008-08-20T22:43:25Z 10 0 216 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105256.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/being_sued_by_gaiaware.html NEVER SIGN A NON-COMPETE CONTRACT! .net ajax frameworks opinion Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:11:22 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105401.html polterguy 2008-08-20T22:11:22Z NEVER SIGN A NON-COMPETE CONTRACT!]]> 105401 2008-08-20T16:01:09Z 2008-08-20T22:11:22Z 12 0 586 3 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105401.jpg polterguy http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/226998.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/how_to_unittest_code_that_interacts_with_a_databa.html Baron Schwartz, author of High Performance MySQL, got some interesting comments on his previous article about unit testing Maatkit, including echoes of my own conversion to the unit-testing religion. One of the objections he had heard a lot about unit-testing is how it’s impossible to test code that talks to a database. “It’s too hard,” they say. “Oh, it’s easy to test a module that calculates a square root, but a database? Way too much work!” how-to opinion php Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:19:11 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105293.html Raphael Stolt 2008-08-20T21:19:11Z Baron Schwartz, author of High Performance MySQL, got some interesting comments on his previous article about unit testing Maatkit, including echoes of my own conversion to the unit-testing religion. One of the objections he had heard a lot about unit-testing is how it’s impossible to test code that talks to a database. “It’s too hard,” they say. “Oh, it’s easy to test a module that calculates a square root, but a database? Way too much work!”]]> 105293 2008-08-20T09:38:40Z 2008-08-20T21:19:11Z 8 0 407 4 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105293.jpg raphael76 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/228496.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/first_law_for_an_unruly_software_programmer.html a thought on basics of software programming agile methodology opinion Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:58:19 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105246.html harisgx 2008-08-20T20:58:19Z a thought on basics of software programming]]> 105246 2008-08-20T06:14:24Z 2008-08-20T20:58:19Z 5 0 378 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105246.jpg harisgx http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/325182.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/good_design_is_not_subjective.html In case you haven’t guessed by my recent flurry of posts, I’ve been engaged in some debates in the past few days about design philosophies and why some designs are “good” and some are “bad.” I’ve been met with some relativistic arguments that no design is either good or bad, it just succeeds or fails differently, etc (ok, they didn’t really say that, but that was the gist of the argument). Of course arguments of relativism are always wrong in my book (it’s usually just that we haven’t reached a level of understanding and specificity in the subject matter to determine EXACTLY why something is A or B). opinion trends Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:57:48 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/104992.html AlvinAshcraft 2008-08-20T18:57:48Z In case you haven’t guessed by my recent flurry of posts, I’ve been engaged in some debates in the past few days about design philosophies and why some designs are “good” and some are “bad.” I’ve been met with some relativistic arguments that no design is either good or bad, it just succeeds or fails differently, etc (ok, they didn’t really say that, but that was the gist of the argument). Of course arguments of relativism are always wrong in my book (it’s usually just that we haven’t reached a level of understanding and specificity in the subject matter to determine EXACTLY why something is A or B).]]> 104992 2008-08-19T12:04:56Z 2008-08-20T18:57:48Z 14 0 258 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104992.jpg alashcraft http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/285573.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/the_legacy_of_inheritance.html Is inheritance really useful or is it a feature that causes more problems than it solves? Certainly I can't think of a case where I've been really grateful that I've been able to inherit from a superclass but I can think of several instances where it has caused friction and where the extension mechanism of inheritance tended to lead the programmer the wrong way. java opinion Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:08:29 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105271.html jsugrue 2008-08-20T18:08:29Z Is inheritance really useful or is it a feature that causes more problems than it solves? Certainly I can't think of a case where I've been really grateful that I've been able to inherit from a superclass but I can think of several instances where it has caused friction and where the extension mechanism of inheritance tended to lead the programmer the wrong way.]]> 105271 2008-08-20T07:41:46Z 2008-08-20T18:08:29Z 7 0 164 2 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105271.jpg jsugrue http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/185351.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/eclipse_tip_templates.html A quick tip for the Eclipse IDE on how to make Eclipse code for you rather than you code in Eclipse! The mechanism is called templates. While this tip focuses on making constants easy to create, templates are a general concept. Constants were chosen as they are easy to make templates for and are particularly useful when writing test helpers. eclipse how-to java opinion Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:00:54 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105247.html kbilsted 2008-08-20T16:00:54Z A quick tip for the Eclipse IDE on how to make Eclipse code for you rather than you code in Eclipse! The mechanism is called templates. While this tip focuses on making constants easy to create, templates are a general concept. Constants were chosen as they are easy to make templates for and are particularly useful when writing test helpers.]]> 105247 2008-08-20T06:16:20Z 2008-08-20T16:00:54Z 16 0 329 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105247.jpg kbilsted http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/246188.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/has_django_made_me_a_lazy_php_developer.html After working in Django I keep getting a shock when I need to re-write features and basic functionality. I know Django is a framework and PHP is a language (although, not according to some people). However, I’ve not yet found a PHP framework that I’ve liked, one that has empowered me while not feeling like it is getting in my way. They usually feel verbose and awkward, but my favourite is the Zend framework (I just hope they can make it easier to use with namespaces soon!). opinion php python Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:29:28 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105101.html bloid 2008-08-20T15:29:28Z After working in Django I keep getting a shock when I need to re-write features and basic functionality. I know Django is a framework and PHP is a language (although, not according to some people). However, I’ve not yet found a PHP framework that I’ve liked, one that has empowered me while not feeling like it is getting in my way. They usually feel verbose and awkward, but my favourite is the Zend framework (I just hope they can make it easier to use with namespaces soon!).]]> 105101 2008-08-19T19:03:13Z 2008-08-20T15:29:28Z 8 0 405 4 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105101.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/mits_introduction_to_algorithms_lectures.html Understanding and designing effective algorithms is a very important skill for a top-notch programmer. You can still do good without knowing much about algorithms, but knowing them makes you superior. There are two kinds of people, those who can design effective algorithms and those who don’t opinion Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:20:36 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105227.html Binny V A 2008-08-20T15:20:36Z Understanding and designing effective algorithms is a very important skill for a top-notch programmer. You can still do good without knowing much about algorithms, but knowing them makes you superior. There are two kinds of people, those who can design effective algorithms and those who don’t]]> 105227 2008-08-20T05:19:17Z 2008-08-20T15:20:36Z 18 0 497 1 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105227.jpg binnyva http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/212072.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/5_steps_for_the_perfect_tabbed_navigation_menu.html I've just been browsing a site of a service that I'm trying out, and while I like the site and a lot of the interface, I came across a little design hiccup. One of the sections had a tabbed navigation menu that didn't quite work. opinion web design Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:20:38 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105173.html bloid 2008-08-20T13:20:38Z I've just been browsing a site of a service that I'm trying out, and while I like the site and a lot of the interface, I came across a little design hiccup. One of the sections had a tabbed navigation menu that didn't quite work.]]> 105173 2008-08-19T23:25:48Z 2008-08-20T13:20:38Z 20 0 458 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105173.jpg bloid http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/111696.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/why_learning_f_is_so_difficult.html My third installment in the Learning F# Series is coming out in the next day or two. While I was writing it, I had some time to reflect on why learning F# is so hard for an object-oriented programmer like me. So I decided to write some of those thoughts into the third installment. After reading it in context, though, I decided that my observations would be better stated as a separate article, outside of the tutorial altogether. If you are tracking my multi-part F# series, you don't have to read this to stay on track. But if you want to understand why F# and functional programming in general seems so hard to you, you may find this piece interesting. .net opinion other languages trends Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:42:34 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/104988.html AlvinAshcraft 2008-08-20T12:42:34Z My third installment in the Learning F# Series is coming out in the next day or two. While I was writing it, I had some time to reflect on why learning F# is so hard for an object-oriented programmer like me. So I decided to write some of those thoughts into the third installment. After reading it in context, though, I decided that my observations would be better stated as a separate article, outside of the tutorial altogether. If you are tracking my multi-part F# series, you don't have to read this to stay on track. But if you want to understand why F# and functional programming in general seems so hard to you, you may find this piece interesting.]]> 104988 2008-08-19T11:59:19Z 2008-08-20T12:42:34Z 6 0 272 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104988.jpg alashcraft http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/285573.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/does_your_team_culture_encourage_learning.html In the ever-growing field of software engineering, continually learning is essential. While a lot of developers internally have the drive, they're stuck in a team that externally makes it difficult to learn. Here is a checklist of simple questions to gage how much a team encourages learning. opinion reviews Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:14:33 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/104850.html mswatcher 2008-08-20T11:14:33Z In the ever-growing field of software engineering, continually learning is essential. While a lot of developers internally have the drive, they're stuck in a team that externally makes it difficult to learn. Here is a checklist of simple questions to gage how much a team encourages learning.]]> 104850 2008-08-19T04:29:18Z 2008-08-20T11:14:33Z 10 0 248 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/104850.jpg mswatcher http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/225256.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/why_programming_is_less_rewarding_than_designing.html Why does programming feel so much less rewarding than designing? Why can't people see the hard work we have to do, and look beyond the shiny colorful design? opinion trends web design web services Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:31:00 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105153.html Mojah 2008-08-20T08:31:00Z Why does programming feel so much less rewarding than designing? Why can't people see the hard work we have to do, and look beyond the shiny colorful design?]]> 105153 2008-08-19T22:09:23Z 2008-08-20T08:31:00Z 9 0 531 3 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105153.jpg Mojah http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/299814.gif http://www.dzone.com/links/rss/cloudoriented_architecture_coa.html With all the hype this year about cloud computing and things like Amazon EC2/S3 as well as Google App Engine and Bigtable, you can feel it coming. Soon vendors will be peddling COA (Cloud-Oriented Architecture) solutions, probably combining them with their SOA solution and somehow probably getting their ESB solution into the mix as well. This past weekend at the Enterprise Architecture BOF at the Southern Ohio Software Symposium, we had a discussion about cloud computing among other things. Ted Neward even coined the term "Enterprise Service Cloud" and I came up with "Cloud Service Bus," surely the next Big Thing. Any vulture (I mean, venture) capitalists out there want to invest in my new Cloud Service Bus company? I have a pretty brochure ready to go! opinion server trends Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:24:41 GMT http://www.dzone.com/links/105088.html aslamkhn 2008-08-20T06:24:41Z With all the hype this year about cloud computing and things like Amazon EC2/S3 as well as Google App Engine and Bigtable, you can feel it coming. Soon vendors will be peddling COA (Cloud-Oriented Architecture) solutions, probably combining them with their SOA solution and somehow probably getting their ESB solution into the mix as well. This past weekend at the Enterprise Architecture BOF at the Southern Ohio Software Symposium, we had a discussion about cloud computing among other things. Ted Neward even coined the term "Enterprise Service Cloud" and I came up with "Cloud Service Bus," surely the next Big Thing. Any vulture (I mean, venture) capitalists out there want to invest in my new Cloud Service Bus company? I have a pretty brochure ready to go!]]> 105088 2008-08-19T18:16:45Z 2008-08-20T06:24:41Z 16 0 306 0 http://www.dzone.com/links/images/thumbs/120x90/105088.jpg aslamkhn http://www.dzone.com/links/images/avatars/276360.gif