Links to Share and Enjoy

Another list of links:

• XML 2005: Tipping Sacred Cows "Which brings us to one of our sacred cows: for decades we've had SQL for relational databases, and soon we'll have XQuery for general XML, and SPARQL for RDF...what if it was possible to construct a generalized query language, loosely coupled enough to work with any underlying data model? The mathematical basis for this was monoids. The presentation didn't actually define this fairly abstract term, only skipping from trivial examples like or to a fully worked representation of a generalized query. Erik's dynamic presentation style is such that I was not able to copy down the full example before he had moved on to the next slide. Whatever the details, it's a valuable topic in that it gets listeners to question their assumptions and see in new ways."


• Dabble combines the best of group spreadsheets, custom databases, and intranet web applications into a new way to manage and share your information online. A lot of the same conversations in Agile databases seem to occuring - has related to functionality, data integrity, migration (string to first name, last name, for example), data types and the like. Includes a blog and demo (movie). Merging is coming in version 2.0 and it's RAM based. It just cries out for an RDF data model. Via, Dabble is Bloody Brilliant.


• Problems with the $100 laptop "The time will certainly come when the appropriate tool to promote economic development will be a laptop produced very inexpensively in large volume. Before that point it will be necessary to implement systems that provide infrastructure which the laptop will need, in addition to producing tangible economic benefits for their users. OLPC is to be commended for raising issues and focusing attention, and for posing some technological challenges in a highly visible way...large sums of money are to be committed to the project in advance to fund manufacturing in deals where the customers are government ministries and not the end users." Also, $100 laptop.


• Two interesting articles: Breaking The Quality–Speed Compromise "The most important thing we can do to break the compromises we impose on customers is to move testing forward and put it in-line with (or prior to) coding. Build suites of automated unit and acceptance tests, integrate code frequently, run the tests as often as possible. In other words, find and fix the defects before they even count as defects." and Is Agile Software Development Sustainable? "So if agile practices are a “disruptive technology” compared to traditional software development processes, then it would be quite in character for them to start by addressing small systems."


• Exploratory Testing on Agile Projects Can Be a Good Fit "Why should agile teams do exploratory testing?: "Because an agile development project can accept new and unanticipated functionality so fast, it is impossible to reason out the consequences of every decision ahead of time. In other words, agile programs are more subject to unintended consequences of choices simply because choices happen so much faster. This is where exploratory testing saves the day. Because the program always runs, it is always ready to be explored.""


• Matthew De George on Cranky Middle Manager. Explaining how to apply market economies to management and more. Forgive Matthew for his hierachical view, it's all about graphs of course. I'm a bit slow in finding this.


• A different way to vommit in another yearly milestone: Tiger Moth Joy Flights.