11. DuckDuckGo FTW

    On a trial basis I've been using DuckDuckGo instead of Google for searches. You can even set Chrome up to use DuckDuckGo for queries typed into its "omnibar." Today DuckDuckGo earned this blog post from me.

    I wanted to know how to get the list of parameters for a stored …

    read more

    There are comments.

12. Don't use BR for vertical spacing

    

    Use CSS instead. When <br> is used for vertical spacing it drives me crazy. Among my coworkers it is widely known that I don't approve of <br> abuse. One recently wrote in a source control commit comment, "Removed some nasty <br> tags to keep Jason from going postal on someone …

    read more

    There are comments.

13. More Semantics

    Focusing on semantics instead of the technical has application beyond CSS.

    Amazingly, a few hours after posting my last bit on Semantic HTML, a coworker noted the following in a code review:

    Small lie:

    .indent16px{ margin-left: 15px; }

    I don't like indent__px for classes like this – it seems too specific and …

    read more

    There are comments.

14. Semantic HTML

    There's a lot of literature about "semantic HTML" on the web (here's one person who writes about it a lot). The best short advice I know of to get jump-started on this topic is from a page on W3C. I've pasted the content below - enjoy and be enlightened!  :)

    Use class …

    read more

    There are comments.

15. Paradigm Shift: from Request/Response to Publish/Subscribe

    Since attending Udi's ADSD class about a year and a half ago, the publish/subscribe pattern in general has been fascinating for me to consider at many levels. In some ways it's a fundamental shift in the way we program. When we're kids we learn how to ride bikes, and …

    read more

    There are comments.

16. How to Teach Data Types

    I received this email from Terry Palmer, an instructor of CIS at Mayville State University. As a software development professional, the preparation of new graduates in this field for real world work provided by mainstream universities has often been very disappointing. I'm excited about things things Terry has been doing …

    read more

    There are comments.

17. CodeRush FTW: Reorder Attributes

    Check out this code block within an ASP.NET forms application:

    

    It's quite wide, and the repetitive attributes that I mostly don't care about are left-most. It'd be nice to move the "runat" and "EmbedInDiv" attributes to the end of these tags. Having "LabelText" first seems nice, right?

    CodeRush has …

    read more

    There are comments.

18. Looking back at life

    My boss at Nexus Innovations, Bob Pope, passed along this material written by Adam Doynes of Branson, Missouri. He did personal research with men that he highly respected about looking back on life. It is an impressive list.

    The question I asked these fifteen men was this, "What are three …

    read more

    There are comments.

19. Hello, Cloud! Azure Queues

    Note: I'm just getting started with Azure, and this post is mostly a tool to help me figure things out. If anything below is wrong and/or stupid, just let me know and I'll fix it. :)

    Step 0: Getting to the point where you can actually write some code.

    A …

    read more

    There are comments.

20. Update a SQL table's XML value to insert a node

    Sometimes a snippet of example code is all that's needed:

    update MyTable
       set XmlColumn.modify('
          insert <Description>This is a description</Description>
          as last
          into (/xpath/to/parent)[1]
       ')
       where SomeValue = 'whatever'
    

    read more

    There are comments.

21. SQL Injection Joke (with a lesson)

    At a recent team stand up meeting I passed along a joke I caught on twitter:

    A SQL Injection walks into a bar, starts to quote something but stops, drops a table, then dashes out.

    The joke is a good occasion to refresh our memories on SQL injection attacks. Vulnerable …

    read more

    There are comments.

22. What Makes a Team Smarter? More Women.

    Though-provoking article at http://hbr.org/2011/06/defend-your-research-what-makes-a-team-smarter-more-women/ar/1

    My two cents:

    • I think the results are less about gender differences and more about the value of soft skills.
    • • But the gender difference makes a catchy title. I saw the title on my twitter feed and thought, "This …

    read more

    There are comments.

⇇ « Page 4 / 6 » ⇉