Beyond Code : Distinguish Yourself

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

- Alvin Toffler

I am a little late in posting this on my Blog ( very late, in these times of Twitter & Plurk ! ), but here's the good news :-

Rajesh Setty ( of the LifeBeyondCode Blog fame ) has decided to give away the PDF version one of his famous books - Beyond Code - FREE as a ThanksGiving gift to all his readers !

The news will definitely be stale by now, but I want to post this note on my blog for those who haven't caught the wave yet.

Well, beyond this, I have nothing more to tell - just download the PDF & happy reading !

BGInfo : Caputre your Winows server's configuration

" BGInfo automatically displays relevant information about a Windows computer on the desktop's background, such as the computer name, IP address, service pack version, and more. "

BGInfo

BGInfo is a damn cool utility for Windows ! It quickly captures your system's current configuration & sets the information as your Desktop background. The Tool is very easy to install & use.

I found this tool to be very useful when you work with Server systems on Windows. I have worked on a few Projects where the Server is usually a Desktop innocently lying unused in a corner. The system is then cannibalized & converted into a "Server" & the required software installed in it. Hence, its very important to capture certain important system parameters & verify that the software you are about to install is certified for the existing hardware / network / OS configuration. BGInfo comes to your rescue in such situations.

You can also use BGInfo as a command line utility - it ever accepts a few command line options. I found the command line option /RTF very useful. According to the BGInfo Help Information,

/rtf Causes BGInfo to write its output text to an RTF file. All formatting information and colors are included.

You can use it in this manner :-

bginfo /rtf:D:\myConfiguration.rtf

You can then navigate to the D:\ drive on your system to find a neat RTF file with all the required information.

Boot Time: 7/1/2008 10:01 AM

CPU: Dual 2.00 GHz Intel Core2 Duo

Default Gateway: 101.178.223.184

DHCP Server: 101.178.223.180

DNS Server: 101.178.223.181

Free Space: C:\ 40.12 GB NTFS, D:\ 33.89 GB NTFS

Host Name: MYCOMP-LAP

IP Address: 101.178.223.189

Logon Domain: mycomp-lap

Logon Server: mycomp -lap

User Name: mycomp

I found BGInfo to be very useful & use it on every Windows-based "Server" that I get my hands on !

Oracle TopLink or EclipseLink ?

" Oracle TopLink will be Oracle's distribution of EclipseLink included with support with all editions of our Application Server as well as for standalone usage for customers who want commercial support and maintenance."

- Doug Clarke

I just read this interesting thread on the OTN TopLink Forum. Oracle TopLink &will henceforth become EclipseLink.

I have been having this question every since I read about the EclipseLink Project. However, I got the answer today after reading the thread on the forum.

The interesting part about this is that the EclipseLink project now has contributions from people with different backgrounds. The product will be developed by people from different compaines & affiliations.

I am sure this "open sourcing" of TopLink ( EclipseLink ) will take it to new levels.

I wish the best for the TopLink team & the community !

Problems in Configuration and Logging

" ...........
...........
Lock-Nah: The Book Of The Dead gives life.
Meela: And The Book Of The Living takes life away.
...........
...........
"

The Mummy Returns

The dialogue between Lock-Nah and Meelah, from the movie The Mummy Returns sums up the state of the configuration files used in a software system. Often, I have observed that the most well-intentioned configuration files either end up as a "Book of the Dead" or as a "Book of the Living".

Configuration & Logging have always been the bone of contention & the heart of any discussion on software architecture. The questions always come up & hang in the air :-

- How will I configure that ?
- Where is the metadata for this ?
- How do I log this ?
- Can we use a universal format for the all the logging ?
- Where do I log the Exception Stack Traces ?
- .....
- .....
- .....

I just chanced upon this Blog entry by Dan Pritchett . The article talks about Metadata & the various decisions that need to be made while using Metadata. The article is nicely organized & well written.

Dan talks about two aspects of Metadata - Configuration & Telemetry ( Logging, actually ).

Configuration

Dan has clearly articulated the problem associated with distributed configurations, synchronizing between the configurations, etc. I have faced these issues many times in the past, especially with systems that contain lots of configuration files.

The key to get the system operational is to "turn the knobs" in the correct combination. Often, this kind of configuration mechanism falls into the realm of black magic : often, only a seasoned veteran master-architect can cast the correct arcane spell to tame the beast. The multitude of configuration files simply lay all the precise documentation to waste. The problem becomes even more complex when the system is replicated accross multiple servers : the arguments now move into a new space - how to maintain a "common" configuration & extend it to a specific "granular" configuration required by a single server.

Telemetry

Dan also touches upon the topic of Telemetry ( a term I haven't heard since my college days ! ). How do you measure / monitor the health of a system remotely ? Well, the only source of this information is the log files. The problem is simple - consider a System X that has parts A, B and C, & these parts emit log information in specific formats. How do you aggregate the information from these three different formats into a single format that can show up in a remote dashboard ?

I think these questions must be addressed very early in a Project. The questions raised by this article are extremely important & could save countless hours of effort involved during maintanence & debugging.

Overall, a very good article from Dan Pritchett. It's a must read for people who earn their pay by designing software systems.

Thinking Of Mathematics

"The world is too full of factors to discourage students who cannot see from pursuing a career in science and math; hopefully this article can serve to at least minimally offset that imbalance."

- T. V. Raman

I was reading "Thinking Of Mathematics — An Essay On Eyes-free Computing" [ PDF version ] & found it inspiring. T. V. Raman's analysis of "Eyes-free mathematics" & his application of Herman Helmholtz's theories to attempt & understand his own creative thinking are excellent.

T.V Raman was unable to see since the age of 14. He narrates his thought process on problem solving, modeled on Herman Helmholtz's three stages of creativity: saturation, incubation and illumination. He shares his experiences on solving interesting problems like a Mental Calendar, Solving The Rubik’s Cube, etc.

The essay is truly a wonderful & inspiring read.

Asking questions on Forums

“The important thing is never to stop questioning.”

Albert Einstein

I was reading Shay Shmeltzer's and Hector Rivera Madrid's post on the generals rules on posting on User Forums. I don't want to summarize a list of my own as these gentlemen have already prepared a wonderful list of do's and don'ts.

I still have a bookmark to an old article - How to ask questions the smart way. The article is still being revised and maintained.

To summarize Shay's intentions :-

" I think there are some things that posters to the forums can do to make the whole experience of using the forums a lot better. "

Holi - 2008

It's Holi ! The festival of colors ! It's time to get drenched in a variety of colors !

Originally, Holi started out as a festival to celebrate good harvests. Now, it's more of a festival to have a good time :).

The day also marks Good Friday.

I am sitting at office trying to complete a pending task & suddenly, my colleagues smeared colors on my face. I am totally covered in colors & my laptop is sharing the same fate.

Well, I am looking forward to more fun & frolic during the weekend !