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Opinion
Articles filed under Opinion
Articles
Showing 1–96 of 96
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Eliminating Waste During Designer-to-Developer Handoff
Updated
Improve how teams move from front-end UI/UX experience created for users, to the developers who will write code to make it work. Create clear specs, usability testing, use low-code to design and improve collaboration and communication. If you’ve ever been part of a development team, you’ve experienced the disconnection that designers sometimes seem to have from how things get built. Jason shows how to make it better.
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On Endings
Updated
Ted Neward discusses his closing thoughts in his final back-of-the-issue editorial for CODE Magazine.
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Rodman Visits the World of FX on Hulu’s “Devs”
Updated
Rod writes the editorial of his life after visiting Earling Studios in the UK where they filmed the TV series Devs in 2019. In Jan 2020, interviewed Alex Garland, the creator-writer-director of Devs.
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Talk to an RD: Tim Huckaby and Markus Egger
Updated
Tim Huckaby and Markus Egger discuss privacy and many other issues that significantly change with artificial intelligence.
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Lessons Learned from a Second Trip Around the Block
Rod and his team go back to a client site and uncover useful things from their involvement in the upgrade.
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Managed Coder: On Brand
Ted explains why branding is important, no matter how big or small your company is.
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The Mythical Business Layer
Dino explains the business layer so that even a seven-year-old can understand.
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The Software Comedy: State of the Art
Dino has a somewhat literary take on the things that go wrong in software development. You’ll follow him through the seven rings of Software Hell in a parallel to Dante’s “Divine Comedy.”
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Editorial
CODE Publisher, Markus Egger, hijacks this issue's Editorial and discusses what technologies developers should spend time and resources on.
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Managed Coder: On Negativity
Updated
Ted Neward explains how taking the negative approach just might lead to leaner, cleaner code.
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Manager's Corner: Meetings
Updated
If your calendar has more meetings scheduled into it that time to work, you’ll appreciate Mike Yeager’s suggestions for making meetings more efficient.
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Managed Coder: On Passion
Ted Neward's b-monthly column on development. This issue Ted discusses the concept of developer passion.
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New at CODE Magazine!
A lot of new things are going on at CODE Magazine, both online and offl ine, and both directly associated with the magazine as well as efforts even more directly related to your development efforts. You may have already seen some of the things we do with CODE Consulting (www.codemag.com/consulting) and CODE Training (www.codemag.com/training), but today I would like to draw your attention to other things.
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We Are Customer Service!
Rod Paddock editorial Jan/Feb 2011
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Post Mortem: Desaware’s Licensing System 1.x
Nov/Dec 2010 Post Mortem Article by Dan Appleman
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Managed Coder: On Certainty
Writing software is hard, particularly when the schedules keep programmers “nose to the grindstone”; every so often, it’s important to take a breather and look around the world and discover what we can find-ironically, what we find can often help us write software better.Psychology seems no less strange a partner to the software craftsman than philosophy, but understanding how we engage in that practice called “thought” and “feeling” improves interpersonal skills, like how to deal with annoying co-workers like yourself.
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Getting Back to Basics
Our industry is constantly changing. So much so, that it is difficult to keep up sometimes.
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Managed Coder: Of Software and Philosophy
Writing software is hard, particularly when the schedules keep programmers “nose to the grindstone.” Every so often, it’s important to take a breather and look around the world and discover what we can find-what we find can often help us write software better.Philosophy seems a strange partner to the software craftsman, but ironically a brief dip in the waters of abstract thought will help hone skills later useful to the craft of code, models, and workable software.
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ThoughtWorking: Of Killer Waves and Sea Changes
Updated
Writing software is hard, particularly when the tools you use force you to think at too low a level; it’s time to start thinking about changing the way you write code… by thinking about the industry around us and how that affects your environment.Every so often an event comes along in the industry that represents a potential “sea change” to how the industry operates. Sometimes these are technical changes, either by releasing a new technology or an important ground-breaking change to an existing one. Sometimes they’re economic, driven by market forces outside of our direct control. And sometimes, they’re financial, such as when two industry giants come together.
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Keep Software Simple
Updated
A lot of programmers tend to over engineer their software solutions.In the course of my consulting, I have reviewed many applications from many companies. In many cases I find a lot of areas where the software was just too complex. The reasons for this are varied, but seem to be centered around a few main areas: inappropriate use of design patterns, the “not invented here” syndrome, and building a Cadillac when a Chevy would do the job. You can solve these issues in many ways. All it takes is a little bit of re-thinking on how you build software. This article offers guidance on some things you can do to simplify your software development process
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ThoughtWorking: Why The Next Five Years Will Be About Languages
Updated
Writing software is hard, particularly when the tools you use force you to think at too low a level; it’s time to start thinking about changing the way you write code… by making it easier to write code.Back in the days of our fathers, programming meant focusing on learning one language, one platform, and one environment, and mastering it over a span of years. Those years are long behind us, along with half-decade project development times and bell-bottomed pants. It’s time to take a hard look at the “state of the union”, per se, and see how you can think about how to work better, rather than just putting in more time.
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MVP Corner: Challenging IT Promotion
Jan/Feb 09 MVP Corner by Chris Williams
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Roundtables vs. Lunch Counters
Rod Paddocks Jan/Feb 09 Editorial
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A Letter from the Director of Accessibility at Microsoft
Updated
Accessible technology eliminates barriers for people with disabilities and it enables individuals to take full advantage of their capabilities."-Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft CorporationAccessible technology eliminates barriers for people with disabilities and it enables individuals to take full advantage of their capabilities."-Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation
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From the CODE Magazine Mailbag
Ken Getz .Finalize() column for September/October 2008
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Heard on .NET Rocks! Ted Faison on Event-driven Design
In .NET Rocks! episode 355, Richard and I talked to Ted Faison about event-based and event-driven programming. There’s more to it than you think. Ted Faison has more than 30 years of experience in the software industry and has been involved with object-oriented-programming and component-based development since the inception of those technologies. He is currently working on .Net projects for the Motorcycle Industry Council and Amtrak. Ted is the author of the books Event-Based Programming: Taking Events to the Limit, Component-Based Development with Visual C#, and a few others.
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Languages Re-Unleashed
Sept/Oct 08 Editorial by Rod Paddock
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MVP Corner: We Are the Masters of the Twitterverse
How did we ever survive without social networks? I asked myself that today and couldn’t come up with an answer I liked. If I need to find contact information for that DBA I worked with three jobs ago, it’s off to LinkedIn or Plaxo. When I’m wondering about that guy from high school who was going to be a world famous rock star, Facebook is only a couple of clicks away. Out of town for a conference? No worries, I just check Twitter to see where my friends are.
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Individuagility
Jean-Paul S. Boodhoo argues that individuals seeking to adopt agile development must first unlearn entrenched bad habits with humility and embrace just-in-time learning, then incrementally and iteratively blend new techniques into existing practice. He offers a pragmatic, stepwise approach—from reading The Pragmatic Programmer and securing source control to implementing continuous integration, automated testing, refactoring, and design-pattern knowledge—culminating in interface-based programming and test-driven development, supported by lifelong learning. The goal is sustainable skill growth and genuine practitioner mastery, not a rushed, brittle transition.
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It’s an Agile World
Jan/Feb 08 Editorial by Rod Paddock
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Coders Anonymous?
Have you ever spent hours and hours trying to figure out one little bug? Stayed up all night trying to work out a sweet piece of code? Gotten totally lost in trying to see how some new developer technology works?
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Guilty Pleasures and LINQ
Nov/Dec 2007 .Finalize Column() Ken Getz
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LINQ to Entities with Erik Maijer
In show #270 Richard and I talked to Erik Meijer from Microsoft about LINQ. In this excerpt we talk about LINQ to Entities.
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The Age of Specialists and Generalists
Nov/Dec 2007 Editorial Column by Rod Paddock
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The Baker’s Dozen: 13 Comparisons Between Crystal Reports and SQL Server Reporting Services
Recent polls show that nearly fifty percent of applications with reporting functionality use Crystal Reports, and about twenty percent use SQL Server Reporting Services. This article will cover some of the major reporting tasks that developers face, and how the two reporting tools (Crystal and SQL Server Reporting Services) handle the tasks. Finally, I’ll provide a sneak preview at the next scheduled releases of both products (the next version of Crystal Reports and SQL Server Reporting Services 2008).
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Printing Envelopes, and Lambda Expressions
.Finalize() column for Sept/Oct 2007
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Re-Igniting Creativity
Rod Paddock Editorial for Sept/Oct 2007
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MVP Corner: Do You have a Heart Disease?
Updated
Most people who undergo bypass surgery-are back for another one in just a few years-unless they die first of course.
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WPF 4 Unleashed - An excerpt from Chapter 1: Why WPF, and What About Silverlight?
WPF 4 Unleashed: By Adam Nathan, Sample Chapter is provided courtesy of Sams Publishing. Published Jun 4, 2010 by Sams. Part of the Unleashed series, Copyright 2011 ISBN-10: 0-672-33119-5 To purchase this book go to http://www.informit.com/store/wpf-4-unleashed-9780672331190?w_ptgrevartcl=Why%20WPF%2c%20and%20What%20About%20Silverlight%3f_1608130
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.Finalize():There’s a Time and Place for Everything
Updated
Ken Getz's Finalize column for Jan/Feb 07
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.Finalize() - Profiles from Afar
Ken Getz November December 06 finalize column.
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Heard on .NET Rocks!: Microsoft Pundits
November/December 06 .NET Rocks Carl Franklin
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MVP Corner: A Baker’s Dozen of Reflections
November/December 06 MVP Corner
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.Finalize() - Wasting Energy, and Rotating Things
.Finalize() - Wasting Energy, and Rotating Things
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Heard on .NET Rocks!: Kimberly Tripp on SQL Server 2005 SP1 and More
Heard on .NET Rocks!: Kimberly Tripp on SQL Server 2005 SP1 and More
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Visual Studio 2005... That Legacy Software!
Admittedly, I’m excited about the many new technologies coming out of Microsoft. So excited that I can’t even decide what to play with first! I wrote about this in a previous MVP Corner piece for CoDe Magazine.
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Heard on .NET Rocks!: Talking .NET with Tim Huckaby
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July august Carl Franklin .NET Rocks column
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MVP Corner: You Can Make Money, but You Can’t Make Time
Updated
Time is money.And money is the root of all evil.So waste time. Right?
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Bloated Designs, Over-Architecting, and Refactoring
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Bloated Designs, Over-Architecting, and Refactoring
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The Baker’s Dozen: 13 Reasons for Upgrading to Visual Studio 2005
This installment of “The Baker’s Dozen” covers some of the major features in Visual Studio 2005. Visual Studio 2005 offers language, data handling, and development environment enhancements that are sure to please many developers. Programmers who are currently using Visual Studio .NET 2003 will find many ways to write more efficient code and increase their overall productivity. In addition, programmers who are new to .NET will find the migration to Visual Studio 2005 a bit easier than the migration to the first version of .NET. While it’s not possible to talk about every new feature in Visual Studio 2005, this article will cover many of the primary changes and enhancements.
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Heard on .NET Rocks!: Virtual PC and Virtual Server
.NET Rocks Carl Franklin Column Sep/Oct 05
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.Finalize() - The Living Language-Visual Basic 2005
Updated
Ken Getz - Finalize Column - July/August 2005
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dotNetTemplar vs. angryCoder: To Go Live, or Not to Go Live
Angry Coder - Jonathan Goodyear and J. Ambrose Little - July/August 2005
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Heard on .NET Rocks: Jay Roxe
Carl Franklin - Jan/Feb 05 .NET Rocks Column
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It's a Blog World
Rod Paddock January February 2005 Editorial Article
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.Finalize() - Climbing Hills and Making Rules
Ken Getz' .Finalize() column.
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Die VSS Die!
Jonathan D. Goodyear critiques Microsoft's continued support for Visual Source Safe (VSS), a widely recognized subpar version control system, despite the availability of more robust alternatives like the newly introduced Visual Studio 2005 Team System. He argues that VSS is outdated, inadequately scalable, and poorly suited to modern development needs, urging Microsoft to phase it out and prioritize universal access to their SQL Server-based version control and work item tracking tools. Goodyear advocates for fostering better development practices by providing high-quality tools to all developers, emphasizing that this approach could benefit Microsoft’s reputation and encourage adoption of premium offerings.
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What Makes an Effective Software Manager?
Rod Paddock Editorial September October 2004 Issue
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.Finalize() - Keeping Secrets
Updated
Ken Getz explores the fundamentals and applications of hashing in .NET, illustrating how hash functions and data structures like HashTable enable efficient data storage, retrieval, and secure password comparison. Drawing from personal anecdotes and technical explanations, he emphasizes the importance of hashing's deterministic nature and its role in managing data secrecy and integrity. The article serves as both an educational overview and a segue into more advanced topics, notably hinting at hashing's potential for safeguarding sensitive information.
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Heard on .NET Rocks!
Updated
I am the host of .NET Rocks!, an Internet audio talk show for .NET developers online at www.franklins.net/dotnetrocks and msdn.microsoft.com/dotnetrocks. My co-host, Rory Blyth (www.neopoleon.com), and I interview the movers and shakers in the .NET community. We now have over 60 shows archived online, and we broadcast a new show every Thursday night from 10PM to Midnight, Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5). For more history of the show check out the May/June 2004 issue of CoDe Magazine, in which this column first appeared.
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Life Is A Loop
Jonathan Goodyear (the Angry Coder) July/August 2004
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Make, Buy, or Lease: the Software Acquisition Dilemma
Malcolm Rubel contends that the current software acquisition landscape for mission-critical systems favors custom development over off-the-shelf or leased solutions, due to advances in modeling tools, IDEs, and modular architectures. The article argues that custom software best matches a company’s processes (suitability), scales with growth (scalability), remains adaptable (flexibility), interoperates with other systems, and ultimately yields more favorable total ownership costs, despite higher upfront investments. Rubel emphasizes evaluating qualitative factors—rather than ROI alone—to decide among make, buy, or lease, and highlights the strategic value of ownership and control in customization.
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How Microsoft Builds Community
In his article, Markus Egger explores how Microsoft strategically fosters developer communities by dedicating significant resources and creating a collaborative ecosystem. Through discussions with key Microsoft personnel, Egger highlights the company’s approach of empowering developers with freedom, information, and support while integrating community feedback into product development. The initiative spans multiple language-specific groups and global efforts, supported by dedicated roles and partnerships like INETA. Egger conveys Microsoft’s shift toward customer-centric engagement, emphasizing the importance of viral knowledge sharing and sustained investment to cultivate vibrant, self-sustaining developer ecosystems.
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The Importance of Friends
Rodman (Rod Paddock) reflects on the September 11, 2001 crisis to argue that, beyond professional achievement, the true value in life lies in friends, family, and freedom. He uses the tragedy to illustrate how quickly life and global connections become fragile, and how meaningful exchanges with loved ones sustain us. The piece then broadens to celebrate international collaboration in his field, before urging developers to prioritize human relationships and personal time over constant work, reminding readers to nurture what truly matters.
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A developer's life...
In "A developer's life," David Stevenson explores the non-technical dimensions of developers' lives, highlighting the balance between personal experiences and professional roles. Through travel stories, including his family’s scenic trips in the Pacific Northwest and Barbara Peisch’s musical tour of Europe, Stevenson emphasizes the importance of life beyond coding. The article invites developers to reflect on their diverse backgrounds and interests, fostering a holistic view of their identities beyond software development.
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The diminishing importance of HTML
Updated
HTML-based Web development has dominated application development for the last six years or so and there are no signs of that changing.However, things are changing as the .NET initiative takes hold. Although Microsoft has put a lot of effort into its Web-based interfaces, which include the powerful new ASP.NET Web Forms framework, I am guessing that there will actually be a push back to desktop-driven, forms-based applications once .NET takes hold.
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The Silver Bullet is Found
Updated
Rod Paddock argues that despite recurring claims about miracle tools and methodologies—CASE, Java, the Unified Process/UML, Extreme Programming—none are a true "silver bullet" for software development; instead, he contends that practical common sense, a problem-solving mindset, and judicious use of tools (and even a simple notebook and pen) are what consistently produce successful software.
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User Groups - The Next Generation
Generating Abstract... please wait...
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All for a Box of Onions
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Rod Paddock uses a lighthearted box-of-onions anecdote to argue a serious point about consulting: the value of choosing the best tool for the job, not what’s most familiar or easiest for the consultant. When a client faced Mac incompatibility with Visual FoxPro, Paddock suggested Citrix, and the client’s success validated that recommendation. The story illustrates that good advisers think outside the box and prioritize the client’s outcomes over personal gain, even if that means passing up an opportunity to build a flashy solution.
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Crawl, walk, run. Could be fun.
David Stevenson analyzes Microsoft’s PDC reveal of .NET My Services pricing and rollout, arguing that Microsoft intends to monetize hosting-based services through a staged “crawl, walk, run” approach that favors larger organizations and imposes significant licensing fees on small developers, potentially deterring early participation even as some core services (Passport, Presence, Alerts) may be free. He emphasizes the tension between cutting-edge opportunity and cost, and considers how developers must decide whether to join or observe as Microsoft builds out the hosting infrastructure and business model.
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Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!
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David Stevenson reflects on three pleasant surprises: his unexpected return to publishing as CODE Magazine’s editor, the persistent shift toward “stateless” business communication (email-driven negotiations) and its tradeoffs, and the exciting independence and advances of Visual FoxPro 7—arguing that the magazine will deepen developer coverage, that distributed communication is here to stay despite its challenges, and that VFP7’s standalone direction and Web Services support bode well for its users.
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Keeping Up
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In "Keeping Up," David Stevenson highlights the significant technological shift brought by Microsoft's .NET framework and Visual Studio.NET, emphasizing that these changes represent a true paradigm shift for developers, far beyond incremental improvements. He underscores the need for developers to actively engage with new tools, languages like C#, and frameworks such as ADO.NET, and advocates using resources like Component Developer Magazine and specialized Tech Conferences to stay current. Stevenson also points to upcoming events and educational materials as essential for mastering these innovations, urging the developer community to embrace this transformative period with proactive learning and adaptation.
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Converting Your Beta Testers into Brand Evangelists
Brand evangelists can be a powerful force for your product. A brand evangelist is a customer who’s not only a big fan of you and the products you sell, but often makes it their mission to refer or recommend your products to everyone around them.