The Latest
Agile SCM January 2007 - Looking Back to Move Forward[article] The previous two January Agile SCM columns made some short-term (and a few longer-term) predictions about the impact of current trends on the practice of Agile development as it pertains to SCM. This January we revisit those predictions to see where we were right, where we were wrong, and recalibrate our ideas of what's in store for Agile SCM in 2007-2008. |
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Osmosis: Get Outside Your Configuration Management Bubble[article] We are on the brink of a massive shift in CM, both philosophically and technologically. Our abilities and our means must undergo a change in how we operate and how we are perceived. The changes are incredibly exciting and offer enormous opportunity for the discipline. We're being backed against the wall in many organizations but we can be climbing on top of the wall like Berliner's at Check Point Charlie when the wall fell, moving our CM nation to a much better place. |
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A Sensible Approach to Access Control in Configuration Management[article] Access control in software development is part of the gate keeping function. Who should and should not have access to the project information and repository? In this article, Rich Bianchi discusses four factors to consider when setting up the access rights and access control rules for a project. |
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Challenges of the Part-Time Programmer[article] Do you spend part of your time writing programs or trying to learn how to program? As you read about the advanced techniques that experienced programmers are using, you may feel as anxious as a do-it-yourselfer making abortive attempts at installing a new plumbing fixture for the first time. In this column, Danny Faught describes how even seasoned programmers can be anxious about their skills, and he encourages you to forge ahead. |
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Record & Playback, You Have My Apologies[magazine] The relationship was wildly exciting and adventurous when it began, but soon Dion Johnson discovered the scandalous truth about his new friend, Record & Playback. Not wanting to endure or support such deceitful behavior, Dion embarked on a campaign against Record & Playback. With the intervening years acting as a buffer, he now wants to give Record & Playback a second chance. In this column, find out how Dion plans to save the relationship from totally dissolving. |
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The Power of Low-Tech Tools[magazine] The level of technology that goes into a tool is only as valuable as the service that you, as a user, get out of that tool. Some low-tech tools--such as the four that Esther Derby lists here--have a place in the technologist's toolbox, too. |
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From Primitive to Prominent: The Past, Present, and Future of Automated Code Analysis[magazine] Automated sourcecode analysis tools are becoming more powerful and more necessary than ever before. Alberto Savoia takes a look at the evolution of static and dynamic code analysis tools, from their humble beginnings to their present status as indispensable technology, and tells us what he predicts for the future. |
Alberto Savoia
January 2, 2007 |
Multiple Views of CMMI Approach: A Case Experience[article] Software development processes should be optimized to compete with the world market, so companies can effectively deliver quality products on time. CMMI provides a model to help optimize development in every stage. |
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The Business of Software Development[article] The software development business, once the domain of a few advanced technology companies, is now pervasive. Why? Because software is less costly and easier to modify than hardware. At first glance this is obvious; building a software telephone switch is a lot less costly than the hardware equivalent. Looking more closely, though, software products have far more features and, therefore, are more complex than hardware products. Software is easier to change, but this just adds to the level of complexity, especially on the management side. Software allows us to build products that are more complex. |
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A Christmas (Configuration) Carol (Abridged)[article] We have endeavored in this ghostly little tale, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put our readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with us. May it haunt their houses pleasingly, and provide inspiration this season! |
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Lightweight Code Reviews: Team Building for the Rest of Us[article] The author explores the people side of peer code reviews. Besides the technical and quality benefits, peer code reviews help build better teams. Believe it! |
Jason Cohen
December 5, 2006 |
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Makefile Optimization: $(eval) and macro caching[article] The $(eval) function was introduced in GNU Make 3.80 but was a little buggy, 3.81 has fixed those bugs in $(eval) is ready for prime time. $(eval)'s argument is expanded and then parsed as if it were part of a Makefile. |
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SCM Design Patterns: Version Control & Multiple States[article] The Version Control design pattern is seen when you only want to capture iterations (versions) of static items such as documents, simple applications, and project baselines. Other features of simple version control are that you want to capture and control items while guarding against the loss of any item, maintain an audit trail of each item, and allow for roll back of items to an earlier version. The next design pattern is Multiple States, where you need to track unique collection of items that represent the application at a certain point in the lifecycle of the development process |
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The Scoop on Employment Trends in 2006[magazine] Hundreds of Better Software magazine readers and StickyMinds.com users logged on and gave us the scoop on the industry's employment outlook. Find out how your software engineering peers responded to our annual salary survey. |
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Happy Are the Software Engineers[magazine] Miska Hiltunen takes a look at his own Tick-the-Code Inspection, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's study of happiness, and how you can cultivate quality through practical methods of empowering your software engineers to improve their own work. |