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October 17, 2018October 13, 2018 Patterns of Software Design

Software Design – The Adapter Pattern

The Adapter Pattern is one of the easiest to understand and relate to the real world. We see adapters used every day and they have become a critical factor in our daily success. Almost every device we have utilizes an adapter in some way. The Adapter Pattern Defined As always, we will start with the “Gang of Four” definition to set the stage for our discussion. “Ensure a class only has one instance, and provide a global point of access to it.” There are many names for an adapter pattern. However, they all imply the same thing. The implementation boils down to a translator between two parties. A commonly experienced real-world example is a power or recharging adapter. These accessories translate the power... Read more

October 16, 2018October 15, 2018 Testing

Why Bother With Automated Testing?

I recently saw an article that questioned whether automated testing was a good investment. They essentially laid out an argument that automated testing tools are too expensive, too fragile, and never give a worthwhile ROI. I am not a tester or QA specialist. Nevertheless, this seemed a gross assumption to make. I have worked with testing automation projects of various sorts and found a huge benefit from them at times. There are some excellent points made in the article. However, I think we need to look at how to achieve value from automated testing rather than throw it in the trash bin. Regression Testing The first thing that comes to mind when discussing automated testing is meeting regression needs. This not... Read more

October 15, 2018October 12, 2018 A Summary Of Amazon Services

AWS Business and Productivity Tools

This episode tackles the AWS business and productivity tools group of services. It includes Chime, Alexa for business, WorkMail, WorkDocs, and we add a quick look at WorkSpaces. These combine to provide a set of solutions for small to large companies that are not focused on tech workers. These services are aimed at handling everyday business needs like document storage and sharing, communication, and your workspace/desktop. WorkDocs This service is Amazon’s answer to products like DropBox and Microsoft’s OneDrive. It does not have the same level of automated synchronization with a client application as the other solutions. However, it is highly secure and a solution you can use even when you require compliance with PCI, HIPPA, or similar highly-secure standards. WorkSpaces The... Read more

October 12, 2018October 7, 2018 Free and Low Cost Tools

Customer Relationship Management Tools – Free and Low-Cost CRM

Customer Relationship Management Tools are big business. You can see examples in vast and expensive solutions like SalesForce.com. However, not every answer is world-class and focused on the enterprise customers. There are also plenty of options all the way down to the free and low-cost arena. We will look at some of these contenders that not only can serve your needs. They also can be easier to implement than SalesForce. CRM Tools Are Broad in Features One of the most significant challenges in selecting a CRM is matching the requirements. There are a lot of directions a CRM can go and still be focused on customer management. There is the sales pipeline approach that focuses on analytics about your customers. On the... Read more

October 10, 2018October 7, 2018 Patterns of Software Design

Software Design – The Singleton Pattern

The last of the creation patterns we will cover is the Singleton. This is a pattern that has a little controversy around it and may even be an anti-pattern. It is easy to implement, but the reason for needing one can trip you up. The Singleton Pattern Defined It helps to start with the “Gang of Four” definition and then we will dig into that. “Ensure a class only has one instance, and provide a global point of access to it.” This is what we use when we need one and only one instance. An example might be the application settings or an instance that represents a real-world device (keyboard, mouse, maybe even a printer or hard drive). When we access values... Read more

October 8, 2018October 8, 2018 Become a Better Developer

Detecting and Avoiding Burnout

Every developer is different in their ability to sustain a high level of productivity for any amount of time. The higher you push productivity and the longer you try to maintain it, the more difficult this becomes. Therefore, everyone has their limits. The suggestions I am making have worked for me but will need to be adjusted for your drive and endurance. I also feel the need to re-iterate that this all comes from decades of experience and adjustments. Your best approach may require years of tweaks and trials to achieve it. The Warning Signs One of the best ways to avoid burnout is to make adjustments before you go over the edge. It is harder to recover from being... Read more