August 2005 Entries
MIT (yes that MIT) is now offering their class materials for free online at http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html You can't get a degree from it, but it still pretty in-depth. It even includes video lectures and full course materials
Alot of talk in the blogosphere lately about the userfulness of UML. The general consensus is that - "if it can't generate code, it isn't worth using". Microsoft even says so in their Team Modeling Strategy : Microsoft Modeling Strategy Well, I would partially disagree. True, UML usually doesn't generate code, but that doesn't mean it is not useful! I use UML for use case diagrams to get users on the same page, and class and data diagrams early in the design process so that I can get my mind around...
Enough about Open Source already! I know this is flameworthy, but am I the only one who thinks that Open Source is a complete waste of time? I work in a cheap organization. We got audited by Microsoft back in 2000 (and had to pay alot of money because we didn't have physical licenses for many seats of Windows 98). Ever since then the IT staff is on an anti-Microsoft crusade. I am the only one who uses .Net. Using open source is encouraged. Well, maybe you have had the same experience as I have had,...
I am amazed how much I like MSDN Blogs (MSDN blogs). The enthusiasm is contagious! Beats the hell out of slashdot
I have been working on the Point-to-Subscriber model. This allows multiple subscribers to a queue. I have also been working on propagation. An example of how this works: I have an input queue that represents project work for the design department. We have multiple design departments at different sites. I can setup a subscriber agent that propagates the message from the input queue to a site queue based on a business rule. For example, if the project number starts with 'WKS' it will be transferred...
Well, I have figured out AQ's point-to-point model. I have written a PL/SQL API around the queue functions, and created a DotNet class to access the data layer. I have also spent today creating a Windows Service to read the queued messages and do stuff with it. Very exciting. I hope to post a white paper soon
I am incorporating Oracle Advanced Queueing (AQ) into my distributed apps. Why not use MSMQ? Two reasons - one, my network admin and DBA are extremely anti-Microsoft (they like open source - free as in beer, not free as in freedom), and Oracle AQ is incorporated in the database. So the queues are in the database. Since Oracle is our main DB, it is also a good fit. I am using the woefully inadequate posting on gotdotnet.com How to use Oracle Advanced Queueing from .Net , as well as a post on Oracle...