develpreneur podcast
Posted on Free and Low Cost Tools

Integrated Development Environment Tools (IDE) – Free and Low Cost

One of the most significant choices a developer makes is the integrated development environment (IDE) they use.  Nevertheless, there are new options that become available each year and niche solutions that may improve productivity.  It never hurts to review what is out there and avoid getting in a rut. Eclipse http://www.eclipse.org/ The odds are that this will look familiar, even if you have not used it.  Eclipse is the basis for a large number of IDE’s due to its flexibility and expandability.  Few (if any) languages are not supported by at least one plugin on Eclipse.  This ability to expand it from the core along with a healthy set of standard tools like version control, syntax highlighting, project-based search, integrated debugging,... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Patterns of Software Design

Software Design – The Decorator Pattern

The Decorator Pattern is not only a common one, but it is also one of the best ways to embrace object-oriented design.  This approach is a form of “helper,” and the idea of a decoration fits it perfectly.  It is an addition to a class without being a part of the class.  Let’s look at this useful pattern. The Decorator Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the “Gang of Four” intent to set the stage for our discussion. “Attach additional responsibilities to an object dynamically. Decorators provide a flexible alternative to subclassing for extending functionality.” As I mentioned, the idea of a decorator as a decoration or accessory for a class is an excellent analogy. The goal of a decorator... Read more

Google App and Compute Engines
Posted on Google Cloud Tour

Google App and Compute Engines: Understand and using the engines

This video is another in our series on the Introduction to Google Cloud. In this video, we cover how to set up and use the Google App and Compute engines to deploy applications and environments. An overview of the Google App and Compute Engines App Engine Compute Engine What are the differences between the 3 engine types: Kubernetes, App, and Compute. Build a Simple Hello World App Engine Deploy a simple to-do app with MongoDB Other videos in Introduction to Google Cloud series: Understanding and using the Google Cloud Platform Google Cloud Counsel: Using the interface and platform to deploy containers Using the Google Cloud SDK to Deploy Your Containers Additional Resources you will need: Google Cloud Account Google Cloud SDK This series... Read more

building skills
Posted on Become a Better Developer

Building Skills and Passive Income Through New Products

We have looked at how entrepreneurial and software development skills are an excellent pairing.  This situation becomes even more useful as you get over the hump of building a broad technical foundation.  When you spend your early years mastering the various areas of software development, it opens up incredible possibilities.  The best of these may be the option to build entire software systems on your own.  Of course, size and effort may limit what you can do by yourself.  However, at least you can design and drive implementation. Late Blooming Entrepreneur The usefulness of a side hustle along the lines of creating a product was noted earlier as related to growing your skills.  As that goal becomes less critical, there... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on A Summary Of Amazon Services

AWS Compliance, Identity and Security Services (Part 2)

This second part of AWS compliance, identity, and security-related services should feel familiar.  These are solutions that nearly everyone needs, and has used, at some point.  Fortunately, these have free tiers and tutorials to help any user get started with them and building them into your environment in the cloud. Cloud Directory This is an all-important LDAP related service.  The power that the Amazon service brings to this universal need is the ability to integrate and go across multiple directories instead of a single one at a time.  There is a free tier along with some excellent examples to help you get started. Guard Duty This is an attack analytics tool that does not require an installation on your servers. ... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Free and Low Cost Tools

MS Office Alternatives – Free and Low Cost

In this episode, we will look at Microsoft Office alternatives.  The suite of applications can run up to over one thousand dollars which are not in the budget of many of us.  However, there is almost no need to ever pay that amount for your office suite needs and here are some excellent alternatives. Office Online https://www.office.com/ The full products can be purchased via a monthly subscription instead of that upfront cost.  This approach is not only less drain on your budget; it includes so many features that this is by far the best approach to using the MS suite.  This subscription contains online versions of the applications.  However, I do not recommend using those other than for reading documents.  The... Read more