Archive for October, 2007

Getting the online Gen community together

I’m going to try an experiment

I’ve set up a live chat area on this blog (bottom left)

Its an experimental thing that I’m going to leave there until the end of October 2007 (18 days).

If it proves useful, then I’ll leave it there, otherwise I will remove it. I’m conscious of the abuse of the chat window, so I’ll be monitoring it. I’m trying to see if there is a need for an interactive chat session between Gen-people around the world – let’s see how it goes !

Let me know !

EDIT : Removed on 31st October 2007.

Gen’s rich history

Thomas Ochmann from Akra Software Development sent me some fantastic photographs of Gen’s rich history – you can click on them in the gallery below. Gen has been around for more than 20 years, as you can see from some of the dates on the media (anyone remember 5.25 inch discs ?). Particularly amusing is the collection of Gen “merchandise” he has – from Sterling Penguins to JMA mugs…

Many thanks to Thomas for sending them in, and I hope that you all get enjoyment and possibly bringing back memories from the past by looking at them !

EDIT: See the request from Thomas for old installation media: can anyone help ?

EDGE EMEA 2007 Podcast #2

Here it is – EDGE EMEA Podcast #2 – covering the second and final day of the recent EDGE EMEA Conference in London, UK.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Listen and enjoy !!
or
Download it to listen later and share, but dont forget the first in the series, Podcast #1

[EDIT - ooops - got the download link wrong for this podcast - please try again!]

EDGEucate 2007 – 2 Weeks to go!

In two weeks, CA Gen experts and users will come together in Plano, Texas, for three days of solid education and networking. EDGEucate 2007, October 29-31, is your last chance in 2007 to spend time with people who know this product best and to get your toughest questions answered.

If you still haven’t registered, take it from John Swainson, President and CEO of CA, and sign up today! John’s 3-minute informational podcast includes a discussion focusing on why he supports CA Gen and EDGE. Listen to John share his thoughts on the future of CA Gen and how you can make a difference in this plan by attending EDGEucate 2007.

With more than 20 technical sessions, a full day of hands-on labs and exciting product updates from CA, EDGEucate 2007 is the place to be. Register today to join your peers at this one-of-a-kind event.

Flying to the Conference? Book Your Trip With Apollo!

Each plane ticket booked and car rented through Apollo Travel provides great benefits to EDGE and allows you to receive up to 15% off your purchase. Please Note: United is the official airline sponsoring our meeting and Hertz is the official rental car company. To Book Online Click Here Now!

Final facets of EDGE EMEA 2007

… with Facet Consulting, who led us through what refactoring actually is – which is the “Process of Restructing an application from the inside-out without functionally altering the application.

Why should we refactor ?

There are a number of reasons, including:

• Old achitectures restricting new developments

• Inconsistent standards

•  Increasing cost to deliver the same level of change

OK – so why refactor not rewrite ?

There are a number of ways to alleviate the above issues:

• Replace – Moderate risk, High cost

• Rewrite – High risk, VERY High cost

• Refactor – Low – moderate risk, Moderate cost

This should answer the question!

But the only way that refactoring can be justified and monitored and determined a success is if the outcomes are defined at the start.

The next step is to define where the endpoint will be, in terms of architectures (for example, introducing CBD) and business end states (for example, creating an SOA), then what the process for travelling there will be, and start small, with an area of the business that will benefit, and can be measured.

Along the way, take the opportunity to correct bugs and inconsistencies, for example, standardise on a particular error message for a certain error, or a set of function keys which are currently different, make them the same across the application.

This last session really brought together many strands of EDGE EMEA 2007 – refactoring is possible, and encouraged within Gen, and can be used to extend the life and usefulness of existing applications.

After all of the sessions were complete, Eric ten Harkel from CoolProfs brought all the delegates together and wrapped up the conference with an entertaining video montage of us all set to music, and thanked all the attendees, especially the EDGE board, the staff at Ditton Manor, and last of all the sponsors, IET, Canam, Response Systems, CoolProfs, Jumar Solutions and CA, without whom it would not have been possible.