task dependency graph

Posted on January 20, 2013

Just to give you an idea of how I think about these things, here’s a picture of my project. This format is called a “task dependency graph”, and I have adapted it myself to show iterations and completion. Dark outlined circle (libspotify example) is completed.  Arrows are dependencies.  "Critical path"... [Read More]
Tags: hackerfair3, software engineering

Migrating Continuous Integration to CloudBees

Posted on March 29, 2012

Over the past day I’ve managed to port our CI system, including Jenkins and Nexus, to CloudBees. I’d not heard of it before, but it was highly recommended when I did a search for Hosted Jenkins. It is also free for projects with limited needs, so what the hell, I... [Read More]
Tags: ci, virtualization

Backing up a Git repo, the right way.

Posted on March 27, 2012

It’s pretty easy: git bundle create /tmp/myproject.bundle —all This will bring all tags, branches, and heads along for the ride in a single file that can be archived without worry. To restore it, you simply clone from it: git clone /tmp/myproject.bundle That’s it! It should be possible to create incremental... [Read More]
Tags: git

Obstacles to getting started with Stage3D + Flex Mobile

Posted on March 20, 2012

I was able to get a cross-platform mobile 3D solution working, and it wasn’t what I expected it to be. In my current task of creating a mobile application, I found AIR+Flex Mobile to be a pleasure to work with, using tools that I already had available to me. The... [Read More]
Tags: flex, air, 3d, mobile

A Cornell experiment in the 1960s polled a group of computer science students and divded them into those who liked to work with music in the background and those who didn’t. They put 1/2 of each group together in a silent room, and the other 1/2 in a different room equipped with headphones and a musical selection. To no one’s surprise, they performed about the same in speed and accuracy of completing a Fortran programming task. The part of the brain required for arithmetic and related logic is unbothered by music which is handled by another brain centre. There was a hidden wildcard. The specification required an output data stream be formed through a series of manipulations on numbers in the input data stream. Although unspecified, the net effect of all the operations was that each output number was equal to its input number. Of those students who figured this out, the overwhelming majority came from the quiet room. Not all work is centred around the same left part of the brain. There are occasional breakthoughs that may save months or years or work involving right-brain function. The creative penalty exacted by the environment is insidious since it is an occasional occurence anyway. The effect of reduced creativity is cumulative over a long period.

Posted on February 21, 2012

A Cornell experiment in the 1960s polled a group of computer science students and divded them into those who liked to work with music in the background and those who didn’t. They put 1/2 of each group together in a silent room, and the other 1/2 in a different room... [Read More]

McCloud and the best of virtualization in 2011

Posted on December 28, 2011

Vagrant, Puppet, VeeWee, Fog, and McCloud. This powerful set of tools allows for some of the most progressive ideas in the way of development and production automation to be realized. In the past month or so I have been studying these tools, and building my own infrastructure-as-code environment at work. Here... [Read More]
Tags: virtualization