Software Reality

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Matt Stephens

ICONIX/Sparx Public Classes to Come to London

ICONIX is planning a series of open- enrollment public classes entitled Hands-On Enterprise Architect for Power Users in collaboration with Sparx Systems.

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Forums

This site is positively littered with message forums.

See them all listed in one place...

Message Forums

Software Reality is positively littered with message forums. An increasing number of articles now have their own forum at the end.

To make things a little easier, here's a complete list of all our forums (with the most recent post at the top):

Forum	Description	Latest Post
Extreme Programming Lifecycle/XP	A forum for general comments about XP and the Software Reality XP articles.	Jan 25, 2010 at 08:51:14
Types of Bad Manager Soapbox	There is a seemingly infinite number of species of Bad Manager out there. With your help we can capture and classify them all.	Jan 18, 2010 at 13:29:06
Ruby: A Wave of Surfer-Dude Hype Soapbox	The hype around Ruby and RoR is hiding the fact that they're hardly ever used on real projects.	Jan 6, 2010 at 03:38:51
Ubuntu: Getting in with the Grunge Set Soapbox	What happened when I switched from Windows to Linux. Fun with Crossover Office, display drivers, xorg.conf, and... getting the job done. Sometimes, grunge is good!	Dec 24, 2009 at 02:37:22
Scary Comments Programming	Are comments in code a sign that a project is in trouble? Here are some particularly scary comments...	Dec 14, 2009 at 00:38:51
Annotations: Don't Mess with Java Programming	Annotations leave Java wide open to abuse, when there are better options for achieving their original goal.	Dec 9, 2009 at 16:35:13
Geek Fiction Episode 8 Geek Fiction	Doctor Uncle Denny administers some back-street surgery to the semiconscious Clingdog.	Nov 19, 2009 at 18:30:05
Cthulhu: Interview Advice Cthulhu's Corner	New to the interview game? Read some valuable advice that you're not likely to find anywhere else! Cthulhu tells it like it really is.	Oct 27, 2009 at 22:02:55
True Stories True Stories	True stories of tech inadequacy and futile development.	Oct 23, 2009 at 11:50:10
Exception Handling: The REPAIR Model Programming	How to design different levels of Exception Handling.	Oct 23, 2009 at 06:52:45
GP2X Review Reviews	A review of a Linux-based handheld games/movie/MP3 console.	Oct 22, 2009 at 21:19:20
NetBeans Soapbox	The 10 essential things the NetBeans project must do to stay on the top of the heap.	Oct 22, 2009 at 20:48:54
The Oyster Gotcha Design	The Oyster Card's many usability 'gotchas' can teach us about our own software designs.	Oct 17, 2009 at 16:52:24
Java Swing Survival Guide Soapbox	An 11-point plan to restore Swing to greatness.	Oct 15, 2009 at 14:50:18
How to Make a Software Project Work Lifecycle	Success not guaranteed, but these tips should help...	Sep 17, 2009 at 09:01:05
Mozilla Firefox 0.8 Review Reviews	What Internet Explorer gets wrong, Firefox gets right.	Aug 19, 2009 at 04:17:20
JavaServer Faces EAD Programming	JavaServer Faces is a step in the right direction for web-based application development, but has more than its fair share of problems.	Jul 23, 2009 at 05:15:54
Cthulhu: Advice For The Unemployed Cthulhu's Corner	You just quit your job (or got laid off). So what do you do with all your free time?	Jun 18, 2009 at 22:24:53
How to Write a Functional Specification Lifecycle	A useful checklist for items to include in a functional specification.	May 20, 2009 at 09:54:44
Lookout Software Bought by Microsoft Soapbox	Microsoft has bought the world's best email search tool. Will the search tool survive?	May 14, 2009 at 13:39:37
Automated Code Generation Programming	Could this be the fastest, safest, most agile way to write software?	May 13, 2009 at 19:06:26
Lookout (Intelligent Email Search Tool) Review Reviews	Solves many problems with Outlook's crappy search function.	May 13, 2009 at 11:45:41
Cthulhu: Know Your Boss' Every Move Cthulhu's Corner	Your boss may be an intimidating figure with hiring, firing and shouting power. Here's what to do about it.	May 11, 2009 at 07:40:58
Interview with Sun/NetBeans' Tim Boudreau Soapbox	An interview with NetBeans' head of marketing (previously the NetBeans development lead) Tim Boudreau.	May 3, 2009 at 14:03:25
Interface Design Design	Improve the way you design code interfaces, by first thinking about the orientation of the class that you are designing...	Mar 28, 2009 at 14:16:18
Software Fashion Soapbox	Software fashions may come and go, but they always leave a swathe of confused and gullible victims in their wake.	Jan 21, 2009 at 20:29:38
Code Folding Programming	Is code folding a solution looking for a problem?	Jan 10, 2009 at 04:54:39
Cheap Programmers Soapbox	The downturn in the software industry brought with it an influx of cheap, inexperienced programmers. Are we just now paying the price?	Jan 3, 2009 at 13:37:29
Cthulhu: Looking Busy Cthulhu's Corner	How to look incredibly busy - without even breaking into a light sweat.	Oct 21, 2008 at 21:55:05
GZIP Web Compression Programming	We recently reconfigured SoftwareReality.com to use GZIP compression, with speedy results.	Oct 21, 2008 at 21:21:17
Soapbox: A Programmer Returns to China Soapbox	A programmer's returns to China. This article's a bit like Rough Guide, only rougher.	Sep 7, 2008 at 02:18:34
Slippage and Research Projects Lifecycle	Are you working on a Research Project right now? If you have to figure out how to do something, it's research.	Apr 29, 2008 at 16:11:12
The Cult of the NDA Soapbox	The Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and why its relevance to IT is hugely overrated.	Apr 29, 2008 at 16:11:07
Role Fragmentation Lifecycle	Spawn of SysAdmin: IT Administrators have multiplied and become all-powerful Demi-Gods.	Apr 29, 2008 at 16:11:06
Cthulhu: Inspiring Fear in Your Co-Workers Cthulhu's Corner	It's easy if you are seventeen stories tall like Cthulhu. But how do us mear mortals turn our co-workers into quivering wrecks?	Apr 29, 2008 at 16:11:04
Java Studio Creator first look Reviews	A new hope for Java and VB developers alike?	Apr 29, 2008 at 16:10:59
Geek Fiction Episode 1 Geek Fiction	Tech humour wrapped in edgy sci-fi, dripping with geeky cultural references and 'asides'.	Apr 29, 2008 at 16:10:58
Software Companies Love to Spend Money Soapbox	Even in this hostile economy, many software companies are still corporate spendthrifts.	Apr 29, 2008 at 16:10:58
Will the Internet Eat Itself? Soapbox	Most programmers who have lost their jobs to outsourcing have done so as a direct result of the Internet. It's sort of ironic, really...	Jul 24, 2007 at 07:26:36
Why Projects Succeed Programming	True stories of project successes.	Jun 21, 2007 at 22:02:56
Silver Bullets and the McManager Soapbox	If a product is claimed to make software development faster, cheaper and better then it's probably a silver bullet (i.e. too good to be true).	Jun 12, 2007 at 13:04:24
Eclipse, Yaaay!! Rumour Mill	Hype and hysteria for the open-source Eclipse are reaching silly proportions.	Jun 12, 2007 at 13:03:38
UI Leaps of Faith Design	Programmers typically find phones too complex to use for things like transferring calls, unlike receptionists who can make the phones sing to their tune. A paradox, or the natural order of things?	Jun 12, 2007 at 13:02:46
Slots - A very simple web framework Design	A very simple web 'framework' in 2 classes, created to demonstrate that frameworks don't have to be big and complicated.	Jun 12, 2007 at 13:02:07
Emergent design vs. Early Prototyping Design	Two almost diametrically opposed ways of developing software, albeit with some common ground. But which is the better approach?	Jun 12, 2007 at 12:59:52
NetBeans 3.6 UI Review Reviews	NetBeans 3.6 includes a totally revamped user interface. Here's what we think of it.	Jun 12, 2007 at 12:58:31
Stop the Press: Software Delivered to Schedule! Lifecycle	What if software delivery were like publishing a newspaper? Testers would have a much higher profile for a start...	Jun 12, 2007 at 12:55:35
Windows for Crippled Pirates Rumour Mill	Is new Microsoft plan the height of bad taste?	Jun 12, 2007 at 12:49:45
EJB's 101 Damnations Programming/EJB	There is so much that is wrong with EJB, it's difficult to know where to start. So here are 101 starting points!	Jun 12, 2007 at 12:42:11
The State of Web Services Programming	SOAP-based Web Services are the next big thing. Here's a timely look at the current reality of developing a "real-life" Web Service.	Jun 12, 2007 at 12:33:21
Perils of the Singleton Design	Singletons have their place but can be much more trouble than they're worth, as this article explores.	Apr 15, 2007 at 22:42:35
Geek Fiction Episode 7 Geek Fiction	An ugly (i.e. evil) bloke holds up a brightly lit NY pharmacy; but Analie's reality-warping Ruby script saves everyone (except the ugly i.e. evil bloke). Then she buys some bath gloop.	April 1, 2007
Geek Fiction Episode 6 Geek Fiction	The team meets the mysterious Hagblood, who gives Analie the plot device that she used in Episode 1. And the two robots battle like it's audition day for an episode of Robot Wars.	March 18, 2007
Annual Performance Ratings Soapbox	The annual performance rating is that single-digit number which sums up an entire year of your life. There has to be a better way...	Mar 7, 2007 at 21:09:16
Obsolete Documents Lifecycle	Change is a fact of project life. Here are some practical tips on how to prevent it becoming a problem.	Feb 23, 2007 at 15:35:55
Lifecycle: Processes and the Bad Manager Lifecycle	What is the big deal with processes? Let's look at how Big Bad Manager handles his shop without them...	Feb 13, 2007 at 14:28:25
15 Commandments to Curb Bad Programmer Habits Soapbox	Programmers often fall back on the "same old" bad habits, which can put a serious strain on the project.	Feb 13, 2007 at 14:27:41
NetBeans 3.6 Usability Review Reviews	Should Sun/NetBeans just bite the bullet and hire a professional UI designer?	Feb 13, 2007 at 14:25:55
Labour Mole Rumour Mill	Labour Mole to Demand Nightly Print-Outs of the Entire Internet?	Feb 13, 2007 at 14:25:08
Refactoring (Book Review) Reviews	This book isn't perfect, but it will almost certainly will make you a better programmer.	Feb 13, 2007 at 14:23:22
Programming Language Lifecycles Programming	Programming languages follow a natural and predictable lifecycle. Understanding this can give your company a competitive edge.	Feb 13, 2007 at 14:22:34
Geek Fiction Episode 5 Geek Fiction	Notorious serial killer and all-round meanie Jack the Ripper is reanimated in a robot body.	February 4, 2007
Geek Fiction Episode 4 Geek Fiction	Chester infiltrates the team on a sun-kissed island with a Thunderbirds-style caldera and some hairy hobbit servants; and he springs a Lawnmower Man-style cybertrap.	January 21, 2007
Geek Fiction Episode 3 Geek Fiction	Trapped inside Analie's Zaurus palmtop, she and KarmaWhore2.0 set up an explosive honeypot, and meet a near-mythical Internet god snuffling around Port 80.	January 7, 2007
How Do You Deal With Bad Managers? Soapbox	Everybody's Got One (a bad manager, that is - replete with fragile ego).	Jan 3, 2007 at 18:30:39
Geek Fiction Episode 2 Geek Fiction	The Virus Hunters hide out in an abandoned subway station; but the virus writers catch up with them, and a brutal hi-tech game of cat & mouse ensues.	December 24, 2006
Component Oriented Software Programming	In order to survive, Java may need to reinvent itself as a Component Oriented language.	Dec 21, 2006 at 12:48:53
Annual Performance Reviews Soapbox	Annual performance reviews are by their nature demoralising and icky (even when they go well).	Jun 23, 2006 at 20:19:58
Cthulhu: Knowing When to Quit Cthulhu's Corner	Looks like it's time to quit your job. So now what?	Jun 18, 2006 at 09:11:56
Soapbox: Never Go Back Soapbox	Would you go back to an old job? Forwards is always better - this article explains why.	Feb 8, 2006 at 11:43:01
Guestbook Guestbook	The Software Reality guestbook. Be sure to leave a message.	Jan 12, 2006 at 23:25:21
Dopamine and the Uber-Nerd Soapbox	Good software engineers are well-oiled emotionally and appreciate a beautiful sunset. See, it's all about the dopamine.	January 8, 2006
How to Choose a Cool Process Name Lifecycle	It's all about the name, you know...	November 26, 2005
A Programmer's Guide to ROI Lifecycle	Six valuable rules that every programmer should know.	Jun 20, 2005 at 22:31:47
'Reverse-Engineering' the Euro Soapbox	Will we start to see countries leaving the Euro - and what impact will this have on Trading Systems?	June 5, 2005
Executive Dog Whistle Soapbox	IBM's SOA marketing pitch appears to send a message heard only by a select few.	May 15, 2005
Development By Demo Lifecycle	So many projects start out from re-used demo and prototype code. Dangerous!	May 8, 2005 at 16:14:51
Ten Golden Rules Lifecycle	Ten Golden Rules for preventing your project from crashing and burning in a heap of mangled wreckage	May 8, 2005 at 16:13:57
XSLT is Way Faster Using Java 5 Programming	BEA's release of JRockit 5 led to a discovery: XSLT using Java 5 is much, much faster than in earlier versions. Here's why...	February 6, 2005
Planning to be Agile? Lifecycle	If you want your project to be agile, here are some things to think about.	September 12, 2003
Domain Oriented Architecture Design	The next evolutionary step in language and architecture? Domain Oriented software separates the business domain interface from the technical implementation.	June 23, 2002
Fear of Non-Progress Lifecycle	Managers and customers get the jitters if they don't see real progress. Trouble is, their idea of progress may not be the same as yours.	December 17, 2001

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