InfoQ Homepage News
-
What does Quality Mean?
Is quality supposed to mean a lack of defects that are holding us back? Mike Bria, Lisa Crispin, James Bach and JB Rainsberger debate the meaning of quality and the limitations our current definition is placing on us.
-
RubyGems Gets Plugins
RubyGems 1.3.2 introduced a new feature: plugins that can hook into the install process and provide new commands. An example is Ryan Davis' graph that visualizes dependencies between installed Gems. We talked to RubyGems maintainer Eric Hodel to learn more.
-
The Future of ParseTree
The current Ruby 1.9.1 doesn't have the required features to allow ParseTree's runtime features to work - which means some libraries that depend on those features won't work. Examples are Merb's action arguments or heckle. We take a look at the state of ParseTree - and how ruby_parser is a possible way out.
-
Historical Debugging in Visual Studio 2010
Have you ever wanted to know what you program was doing 5 minutes ago? Ever wondered exactly what files it was opening instead of the one you wanted it to? Well Visual Studio 2010 has got you covered.
-
Do Stand-ups Stand Up for Larger Teams?
The daily stand-up meeting helps the team members make a commitment to each other about what they aim to achieve in the day and identify obstacles to progress, if any. However, many Agilists believe that the conventional stand-ups break down quickly as the team size increases.
-
Presentation: Mark Nottingham's HTTP Status Report
HTTP is one of the most successful protocols in the world, and more and more developers are using it to do more than drive HTML UIs. In this presentation, recorded at QCon San Francisco 2008, HTTPbis WG chair Mark Nottingham gives an update on the current status of the HTTP protocol in the wild, and the ongoing work to clarify the HTTP specification.
-
Is Parallel Programming Hard? Prof. Guy Blelloch Argues That It Isn’t
In an essay on Cilk Arts, Professor Guy Blelloch argues that parallel programming is not intrinsically hard, but rather a question of abstraction. The three problems identified by Blelloch are a lack of training in parallel thinking, separating parallel implementation from algorithms, and determinism. After detailing each, he explains why he thinks they can be overcome.
-
GitHub Announces Issue Tracker and New API
GitHub now also offers an issue tracker, integrated with their Git repository hosting. The issue tracker is also accessible through their new API 2.
-
JRuby on Google App Engine Roundup: DataMapper Adapter for DataStore, Reggae
While JRuby on Rails doesn't have ActiveRecord, DataMapper, an ORM often used with Merb, has gained a new adapter for Google App Engine's DataStore. Also: work on Reggae, automatic tooling for deploying Rack apps on GAE is under way.
-
Virtual Panel: Is the Backlog a Vital Artifact and Practice or Waste?
Mary Poppendieck, Ron Jeffries, Jeff Patton, David West, Steve Freeman, and Jason Yip give us their take on backlogs and their importance to successful Agile teams.
-
Interview: Miko Matsumura on AlignSpace
In this interview, Miki Matsumura, Deputy CTO of Software AG, introduces a new collaborative platform for business process practitioners: AlignSpace. He explains that middleware is just one part of the equation when it comes to integration projects, he sees a lot of value coming from enabling people to collaborate more efficiently.
-
SABLE, a Smalltalk-Inspired Language for .NET
Keith Robertson, the founder of Kuler Software Tools, has written a Smalltalk-inspired language for the .NET platform called SABLE, a language meant to draw upon the qualities of Smalltalk’s syntax and the benefits of running on CLR.
-
SQL Server 2008 Major Updates
Microsoft has released significant updates for SQL Server 2008, including 2008 Service Pack 1, Express Edition Service Pack 1, large Feature Pack, Upgrade Advisor, SRS Report Builder 2.0, SharePoint integration, and data mining Office add-ins.
-
Oracle to Buy Sun Microsystems
Following the collapse of talks with IBM earlier this month Oracle has stepped in to acquire Sun Microsystems for $7.4bn or $9.50 a share in an all cash transaction.
-
Lean 'Standard Work' Applied to Software Development
One component of the Toyota Production System is the concept of standard (or standardized) work. A recent post on the Kanban Development list asked if this concept carries over when TPS and lean are applied to software projects. Despite the fact that software development is not manufacturing, respondents did find value in applying the 'standard work' concept to development.