Anticlue

Getting the Camel to Drink

One thing you have to realize as a manager is that the key to success is not your ability to see through people, it is your ability to help people through that matters. As I have previous mentioned one of the challenges at work is to update the technology skill set of several mainframers. We haven't standardized yet, but we will. However in the meantime, I thought it would be good to just start with the basics from each arena: Crystal Reports, MS SQL Server, and CF.

I have also decided to start with the key indirect leader of the mainframers group. She is a rebel rouser with a heart of gold. She is also has an uncanny ability to see how to simplify the manner in which technology and the business process relates. I think she is an architect in the rough. A person, who is intuitively an architect, but still needs some training in the art. A one-on-one attempt would be best for coaching and would give me a good lesson in the best way to go about this transition.

Of the lessons learned from our session yesterday, I learned how powerful a new opportunity can be for a person. After years and years in the field with the same technology, an attitude of resignation to a maintenance programmer has occurred. The simple possibility of being able to be innovative again, brings back the child like gleeful glimmer. It was a cool thing to experience.

The other lesson learned is to create analogies to the current platform and programming language in order to give a level of familiarity. It seems to go smoother when beginning to explain a relational db by starting with the hierarchical file storage of the mainframe. It also is really bad practice to use any jargon without explaining the term thoroughly a couple of times.

Another item is that using a tool and gaining experience within that tool is quickly picked up. We started with MS SQL Server. The unfamiliarity came with system type items. For example, creating a mapped drive or ODBC connection was all written down. Using the DB Diagram within SQL Server was viewed and then a table and a couple of field where quickly added. It was absorbed not written.

Finally the most import lesson for me is to never touch the keyboard. It is amazing how similar, I can be to the SNL Computer Geek skit. However, the only way to learn for some is through doing and that means at the keyboard for the other person.

Lessons Learned: Technology Choices

Picking a course and sticking to it within technology is a hard road for me to haul. I started my computer career as a weird mix. Half of my job was COBOL programming. The other half was installing and configuring a network at new clients. It was an interesting mix to say the least.

I’ve been with my current organization for several years, and I’ve endeavored to learn a large mix of technologies. I started out with the Microsoft side of life VB5 and then VB6. An adjunct professorship had me learning and teaching Java. Afterwards a change of organizational fate had me learning CF 4.5. This was converted to CF 6 over time and a long conversion of code. Now I am learning about PHP 4.1 and 5. For database engines, I’ve been lucky enough to experience SQL Server all versions, Oracle 8i, Sybase SQL Anywhere, MySQL, and DB2. So if you cross compare the language with the actual engine, its definitely a mix. We have lucky skimmed reporting platforms down to Crystal Reports / Crystal Enterprise and Cognos.

Where is all of this going? Well, I can see a time coming when we will be discussing standardization on a platform once again. We have way too many technologies employed and too few individuals who understand all of them. We also have a ratio of 4 COBOL programmers to every 1 new technology programmer. The new technology programmers also don’t know all the same stuff. One is an expert in CF, Flash, and Java. Another one dreams of PHP. A couple can take VB.Net to interesting heights. One just loves the DB side of the house and will do everything that is possible within a DB before even touching a coding language. I’ve been tasked with transitioning several COBOL programmers to a new technology.

It’s a dilemma to say the least. The other problem is there are nuances with each technology that really suites it well to one solution versus another technology. The techie geek in me loves this and it makes it incredibly difficult to choose just one or two. The manager in me realizes that we need to standardize because its impossible to support this mix with our staffing. If one or two key techies find other opportunities, we will be in a canoe with no paddles.

So what is the lesson learned? Organizationally make an educated choice early and stick with it. That way I wouldn’t have to find a good place on this one. Any advice for choosing which kool-aid to drink?

Its all good! User Groups, ColdSpring and AOP

It’s been a while since I’ve attended my last Cold Fusion User Group. With topics like last night’s presentation on ColdSpring and AOP, that behavior might be changing.

It was a great presentation on ColdSpring that highlighted the common everyday programming problems that ColdSpring can solve. Dave did a great job of explaining the benefits of using ColdSpring within your application. As an added benefit, he gave an intro to AOP and explained ColdSpring AOP. It was definitely thought provoking as a use for security and logging controls. To top off the evening, Jon Briccetti gave a down and dirty highlight of the new features in Flash 8. Tom McKeon ended the evening hinting that the next presentation is FARCRY. The year is off to a great start!

JBoss & Drools

JBoss announced that the members of the Drools project had voted to join forces with the commercial open source powerhouse. Drools will be merged into the JBoss Enterprise Middleware System (JEMS), and Marc Proctor will join JBoss as a software architect. Describing his support for joining JBoss, Proctor said: “Simply put, there is no other organization in open source as willing to take risks as JBoss when it comes to driving middleware innovation…”

This is just the latest in a string of significant announcements from JBoss, including an alliance with Microsoft, a beefed up JBoss Portal, a new framework called Seams, and more. It’s a lot of activity in a short period of time. One has to wonder what’s next?

How does JBoss fit into the big picture? Do you use JBoss software in business and/or personal projects? Is the company assembling a core suite broad enough that it could actually “dominate” open source Java on the server side, whatever that might mean?

http://www.jboss.com/pdf/press/Drools_100305.pdf

JCE Version 1.30

The Legion of the Bouncy Castle has released version 1.30 of the Bouncy Castle Java Cryptography API, an open source, clean-room implementation of the Java Cryptography Extension (JCE). It supports X.509 certificates, PKCS12, S/MIME, CMS, PKCS7, and lots of other juicy acronyms. It also includes its own light-weight crypto API that works in Java 1.0 and later, and does not depend on the JCE. Version 1.30 adds support for the Canmellia cryptography algorithm and fixes various bugs.

The Unsecure and the Team

Team building is challenging. There are many different types of individuals with several characteristics.

An interesting mix is the unsecure teammate. Over time, people either become more secure or less secure depending on circumstances. When an idividual is emotional insecure, it is difficult to get that person to join the team.

When someone is on unstable ground, they see almost everything as a challenge or a threat. Every little change is examined with a circumspect eye. So changes that have a true benefit and is just good is met differently.

Imagine the scenario of adding a talented co-worker to the team. The unsecure individual views this as a negative change in their position. The secure individual welcomes the extra resource and thought bouncing board. How about a change in the way things are done? Changing the fabric of one's working existence is a nerve racking experience for the unsecure.

Insecurity comes and goes, it is rarely permanent. But because of its transisent nature, when handling change remember there are three main phases.

First there is where we are currently. Next, there is where we all want to be. Finally there is the transition from where we are to where we want to be.

The transition is important, becuase not everyone will want to transition. However for those who dare to take the first step in crossing the change river, I also think mentoring and coaching is to be given when needed. The transition maybe like crossing rapids, but the Elysian Fields might be on the other side.

WebSphere and ESB

There is good positive news out on the horizon, IBM's new enterprise service bus. WebSphere ESB is also seen as a step toward its WebSphere Process Server.

ESB allows developers to resolve the first name/last name vs. last name/first name requests once, instead of individually for every requesting service.

For more info check out SDTimes' 'IBM Finally Gets on Board Service Bus

ColdSpring in Albany

I'm betting its going to be a packed house...

Dave Ross will be presenting coldspring at the cf usergroup.

Where: Academy of Electronic Media at RPI - CII Building, Room 4050 --- Directions

Agenda: 6:00 - 7:00 pm - ColdSpring framework for CFCs (ColdFusion Components)
Dave Ross
7:00 - 7:15 pm - Food & Refreshments / Prizes & Giveaways
7:15 - 8:15 pm - What's New in Flash 8
Jon Briccetti
8:15 - 8:30 pm - Questions & Answers