SE News

Legale kaders in cyberspace

eelco — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:48:15 +0000

IT-projecten zijn weerbarstig en dat geldt ook voor contracten die rond een IT-project worden afgesloten. Goed bij de les blijven is daarom belangrijk. Temeer omdat regelgeving onvermijdelijk achterloopt bij de praktijk van de IT.

http://www.informatie.nl/

201008 license

Why software patents are a joke, literally

eelco — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:46:27 +0000

It’s a well known fact that most individual software developers detest software patents. Maybe detest isn’t a strong enough word; how about loathe, dread, hate, despise, resent, and abhor? You get the picture. We dislike them almost as much as weekly status reports, deadlines, and conference calls.

So left on our own, most programmers won’t write patents. This was the situation in Sun’s early history, according to one of its most famous former employees, James Gosling. Sun engineers were asked to write as many patents as they could.

Ed Burnette

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/burnette/why-software-patents-are-a-joke-literally/2039

Six Behaviors to Consider for an Agile Team

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:40:47 +0000

Are agile team members different from people on other teams? Yes and no. Successful agile team members exhibit certain behaviors more often than non-agile project team members, because agile requires these behaviors to create a successful team and product. If you’ve been tasked with creating an agile team, what qualities should you look for? Below are six key behaviors people on successful agile teams exhibit.

Johanna Rothman

http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?Function=edetail&ObjectType=COL&ObjectId=16277&tth=DYN&tt=siteemail&iDyn=2

201008 agile people

DIY developer tools to boost apps market

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:38:08 +0000

Building mobile apps is typically perceived to be difficult and tedious, and a skill that requires programming knowledge. Market players, however, are introducing new tools to enable anyone to exercise their creativity toward improving smartphone usability.

Google’s App Inventor for Android, for instance, aims to ease the barrier of entry into app development. Currently in beta, the developer tool is designed for people with little or no computer programming experience and knowledge.

Tyler Thia

http://www.zdnetasia.com/diy-developer-tools-to-boost-apps-market-62201816.htm

The Impact of Test Automation on Development

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:34:42 +0000

It seems obvious that automation will affect the test organization. Less obvious—but no less real—is that it will also affect the development organization. In fact, when you choose to automate the testing for an application, your relationship with development changes completely.

Automated test tools have to interact with the software at a deeper level, thus exposing the inner workings of the code and perhaps uncovering problems that prevent or complicate automation. If you’re not careful, developers might think you have suddenly transformed into an interfering busybody who is sticking your nose into their business.

Linda Hayes

http://www.stickyminds.com/sitewide.asp?Function=edetail&ObjectType=COL&ObjectId=16296&tth=DYN&tt=siteemail&iDyn=2

201008 testing

Ten rules for the design of successful software

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:55:36 +0000

Some software designers treat their users like they are all Homer Simpson. But if that is how you see your customers, you have a big problem. Do not treat them like Homer Simpson, treat them like intelligent people. Design for who your customers are, not who you want them to be.

In this talk, the author of ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ addresses ten rules for the design of succesful software products. (And, on the side, he explains why some people think the ‘up’ button should mean ‘next slide’ and others are equally convinced that it should be the ‘down’ button and why both opinions are correct.)

Don Norman

http://blip.tv/file/3346703

201008 psychology user interface

CMMI Representations: Past and Future

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:09:34 +0000

CMMI Version 1.3 models will be released in November 2010. This latest release of CMMI models includes changes to the high maturity material and other improvements that will better meet the needs of organizations that use CMMI models.

The decision to improve the coverage of high maturity was central to the Version 1.3 update. The decision to eliminate the high capability goal structure adds value for process improvement more than simply maintaining the legacy approach. Some will find these changes challenging; however, most will see that the advantages of a multi-constellation environment outweigh the risks that come with any change.

Mike Phillips

http://www.sei.cmu.edu/newsitems/CMMI_focus_073010.cfm

201008 cmmi

Five Second Test

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:06:06 +0000

Landing page optimization for your mocks and wireframes.

Fivesecondtest helps you fine tune your landing pages and calls to action by analyzing the most prominent elements of your design. It presents your mock up to a group of randomly chosen visitors who give feedback on what they see, recognise or remember.

http://fivesecondtest.com/

201008 test user interface

What is HTML 5

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:04:36 +0000

HTML5 is being developed as the next major revision of HTML. This code can now be used for new functions that can benefit developers and internet users.

This infographic gives an overview of HTML 5 on a single page.

http://www.focus.com/images/view/11905/

201008 html5

Contributing to Open Source Projects

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:02:02 +0000

Prior to joining Google I always joked that Google was the black hole that swallowed up open source programmers. I’d see awesome, productive hackers join Google and then hear little to nothing from them afterwards. When I joined I decided I’d solve this mystery and post about it but it’s been over 2.5 years and I’ve been busy and somewhat forgot. Fortunately a discussion at work last week reminded me of this again, and a bunch of us got to talking about the phenomenon. Here are the main reasons for open source programmers sometimes disappearing.

Brad Fitzpatrick

http://brad.livejournal.com/2409049.html

201008 development process open source

A DSL in 5 Languages

eelco — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:48:24 +0000

We provide client libraries in 5 programming languages: Ruby, Python, PHP, C# and Java. Maintaining 5 libraries means writing essentially the same functionality in 5 languages. In many cases this just means differences in syntax. However, some features are complicated enough to warrant a slightly different approach in each library.

One example is transaction searching. Because searching can be a bit complex, we decided to create a Domain Specific Language (DSL) in each of the five libraries. This article explains all five of them.

Bryan Johnson, Dan Manges

http://www.braintreepaymentsolutions.com/devblog/a-dsl-in-5-languages

201008 c# java php python ruby

Ars Magna: the revolution is overdue

Jochem — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:17:27 +0000

The past sixty years have seen numerous “revolutions” in the realm of software development: ‘structured,’ ‘CAD,’ ‘objects,’ ‘SOA,’ and most recently, ‘Agile.” Despite these advances, our ability to successfully complete software projects has improved only marginally. The time for a real revolution is overdue, and this essay introduces and outlines a direction that such a revolution might take - the establishment of a Great Art (Ars Magna).

Dave West

http://www.infoq.com/articles/arsMagna-agile-essay

201008 software development

Stashboard: The open source status dashboard

Jochem — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:06:58 +0000

Stashboard is a status dashboard for APIs and software services. It’s similar to the Amazon AWS Status Page or the Google Apps Status Page. Stashboard is designed to provide a generic status dashboard for any hosted service or API. The code can be downloaded, customized, and run on any Google App Engine account.

http://www.stashboard.org/

201008 dashboard status

Metadata

Matthijs — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:44:47 +0000

Bedrijven die zichzelf respecteren, hebben hun metadata op orde. Metadata vormen immers het hart van de onderneming. Het zijn de kernentiteiten van een onderneming, het DNA zo u wilt. Wie daar onzorgvuldig mee omgaat, komt in de problemen. In dit themanummer een aanzet tot het op orde brengen van uw datamodel plus een aantal voorbeelden vanuit de praktijk.

http://www.informatie.nl/

201007 metadata

Have you met Apache Pivot?

Matthijs — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:32:39 +0000

The all-volunteer Apache Software Foundation (ASF) develops, stewards, and incubates nearly 150 Open Source projects and initiatives, many of which power mission-critical applications in financial services, aerospace, publishing, government, healthcare, research, infrastructure, and more. Did you know that 50% of the Top 10 downloaded Open Source products are Apache projects? Did you know that most Enterprise Java solutions are built using Apache? We are pleased to showcase Apache Pivot, the full-featured, professional-grade Java development platform for Rich Internet Applications (RIAs).

https://blogs.apache.org/foundation/entry/the_asf_asks_have_you

201007 development rich internet applications web application web applications