Talk about Technologies, Software Architecture and Management

Delphi for AS/400 is comming back home

Delphi for AS/400 is coming back. Some of you might remember this product from long time ago. Well… it is back. Let put onto our history book. CodeGear just announced a return of long missing child and it is available to try and to purchase. And it is not just Delphi but Delphi for PHP version. As it appears Delphi/400 was “out of the house” for quite some time where it was still undergoing development. In 1997, we signed an agreement with Borland, licensing our AS/400 middleware technology, ClientObjects/400 to create a world-class suite of Object-Oriented Development tools. These innovative development applications, Delphi/400, JBuilder for iSeries and C++Builder/400, were designed specifically for the AS/400 developer community. Since the introduction of Delphi/400 and Read more

By Serguei Dosyukov, ago

Load text file data into SQL Server table

Last time we have seen how to manipulate text files from SQL Server code using Scripting object. This time we would look at “Read File As Table” operation from a different angle – using BULK INSERT operation. There are pros and cons in this approach. Lets look at them. Advantages: Getting data in table format, with properly associated columns BULK INSERT is quicker operation if you know what you are importing IDENTITY INSERT and other Batch optimizers Transaction support Is easiest way to copy data between servers Disadvantages: it is supported for variation of CSV formatted files only structure of the file is strict and small error in formatting or a hidden character can cause problems with import only members of the Read more

By Serguei Dosyukov, ago

Become a Product Manager

What does it take to become a good product manager? If you do not see or do not know a difference between product and project management, then you probably have a big problem. To manage something efficiently one need to have clear understanding of what exactly is managed and how far area of interest/influence should go. If you are not sure, then it is probably a good idea to think about it. Knowing who you are is a first step in becoming a good product or project manager. Seeing and understanding other side interest is the second important step. Carrying only about features while disregarding budget limits and delivery schedule does not make you a good product manager. Delivering your projects on Read more

By Serguei Dosyukov, ago

Product or Project Manager. Decide who you are

Over past years I have been asked on several occasions to explain why would someone called himself a Product but not Project Manager. In Software Industry is question causes a great deal of confusion: What is the difference between two? When you are writing a software program is it a product or project? When Project became Product? Am I a Product Manager or Project Manager or simply a programmer? Lets start from the beginning – Product versus Project. When a CEO of your company comes to you with his vision, it is usually translates into number of Projects which will cover several requirements presented. Project will represent “what we need to do” to achieve some goal for the company. It by itself Read more

By Serguei Dosyukov, ago

Borland Q4 2007 Earning Conference Call

http://biz.yahoo.com/cc/2/90362.html I always amazed how those calls are presented. So much hype which is expected… By the way revenues announced are: Borland: 61.5M ALM: 36M DPG: 9M CG: 17M Lost (non-GAP): 2.7M 2007 total: Borland: 270M ALM: 166M DPG: 46M CG: 57M Lost (non-GAP): 9M “Consulting and education business decreased by 25% from 2006, but it was a strategic decision” “Our break even point is now 68M in revenue (for Q) from 93M from 6 Qs ago” In general interesting content to listen to understand management standings…

By Serguei Dosyukov, ago

Why product/project management?

Why am I writing about management of products/projects? There is something uncertain about the whole thing when it comes to defining it for Software. And this is probably why many classic MBAs do fail applying their knowledge in IT industry. Providing help with many projects in past years, I seen many ways of how they are managed, delivered and nourished. And in some cases it might be very frustrating… Even though there is a whole MBA/PMI model present and scientifically studied, there is no “handbook” out there which will set it once and for all. It just might be because we do not really know what it is… and just at the moment we think we know something then something new Read more

By Serguei Dosyukov, ago

.Net Source is now Open – part 3

This seems to be a week of announcements: HD-DVD and now Microsoft is in the news again. As it was announced Feb 21, 2008 Microsoft announced a set of broad-reaching changes to its technology and business practices to increase the openness of its products and drive greater interoperability, opportunity and choice. These changes are codified into four new interoperability principles and corresponding actions: 1) ensuring open connections; 2) promoting data portability; 3) enhancing support for industry standards; and 4) fostering more open engagement with customers and the industry, including open source communities. Along with everything else over 30,000 pages of documentation on API has been made public. As I said earlier, Microsoft seems to make a rough U-turn on their Read more

By Serguei Dosyukov, ago