If you know me, and you know me well, you'll know that I'm quite stern in my approach to things.  I come from a "don't take crap from anyone" family.  If someone has blatant disrespect for me I'm likely to tell them directly to their face exactly how I feel about that.  This may seem quite brute, but I've always been the kind of person who doesn't beat around the bush.  What I've learnt from the industry that I both love and hate is that you need this kind of attitude if you're to get anywhere.  I have a good friend who is an exceptional leader amongst his peers – he's the kind of person who everyone loves because of his positivity towards every area of his profession.  When we discussed the area of the professional industry in IT and software development we both came to the agreement that it felt very much as though it was a futile environment where everyone was out for themselves.  Either you slag someone else off and tell them what a terrible job they're doing, or you're promoting yourself as the best person to do the job.  I must share my thoughts on this.  I absolutely despise and am completely disgusted with this.  Unfortunately we also agreed it seemed to be the only way to keep your head above water over here in the little sunny island of Guernsey.

I have two ideas in my mind when it comes to my work, and I hope everyone shares in this.  If I'm good at what I do, then I'm finding ways to be better.  If I'm not good at what I do, then I'm learning from my mistakes and finding ways to become better.  Either way I shouldn't be stepping on the toes of other developers regardless of what company they work for.  So here's a little thing most people don't know about me.  I'm a complete raving-mad, Jesus-loving Christian.  This usually means you've got to take me with a pinch of salt, and that you're most likely investing your time in trying to expose the inner-sinner in me by pointing out my faults (note: you think I'm being cynical, but this is actually what people do).  One of my strong beliefs is something called the Culture of Honour which may seem like I've been playing too many video games or watching too many movies but actually refers to a whole biblically-based belief system designed to empower and release people into a more positive atmosphere through the understanding that Jesus came to forgive you.  For those non-believers, just hold out on me for a moment whilst I explain.

Tell me this; what would be the outcome between disciplining and empowering your employee?  If you stick an animal in a cage what does it do?  If you condemn a colleague for a mistake what are they likely to do?  If you can accept a mistake and understand that an individual has also accepted a mistake what good will it do of condemning that person for their actions?  There's a lot of logic in this that people seem to miss.  I'm not saying that discipline shouldn't be carried out, I'm saying that if discipline is to be carried out it should be done with the goal to empower that person into a future wrought for greater success.  I've been on the butt end of terrible management where a manager's only goal is to ensure that the person feels terribly guilty for they did, even if it is something that is negligible.  You can probably tell how frustrated I am by this.  Understand that the root of bad management comes from a person trying to pass off guilt in order to try and make themselves feel more powerful.  You may think that's crazy, but it occurs a significant amount in the industry.  What was the result?  People wanting to quit their jobs and work for someone more lenient.

So what can be done about it?  Don't learn from me that's for sure.  I reacted badly in such circumstances and tried using my knowledge to prove myself.  It never worked simply because I wasn't in a position of power.  If we are to embrace sustainable environments through honouring people then we must be humble enough to identify our own shortcomings.  It's very difficult because we hate acknowledging our own lack – we are human after all.  The big question for upper management is whether the company is surviving through totalitarianism or some form of democracy.  Unfortunately I find it difficult to see how larger companies operate in a manner which honours everyone and where the opinions of even the temporary staff matter.

Final Thoughts

If I ever had the chance to build a company I'd honour those who were a part of it, and like we say at TheLove, be a part of a big italian family.  What happened to companies that functioned with growth through unity?  Surely the root of success is from the inside out, not from decorating the outside with positive-attitude advertisements? What are your thoughts?

Rails is an MVC framework built using Ruby.  It uses the Active Record pattern for database manipulation (which basically ties relational databases up with object-oriented code allowing an individual object in memory to represent a row of a table in the database).  I'm still dubious as to whether it's a solution for all cases, it seems much of its use is compared to that of simple database designs which have a single field composing the primary key.  Supposedly it's better to use artificial keys anyway, but that's subject to another discussion.

What I Like About It

You can literally get websites up and running in 20 minutes with fully-fledged feature-rich sites because of RoR's scripts.  Using script/generate you can do all kinds of things.  If it's for simple CRUD pages you can just use script/generate scaffold to get the model, the schema, and the views up and running.  It makes quite a lot of sense that common tasks can be generated from a script, what's the point in doing the same thing over and over again if you know what fields a model consists of and you want basic create, read, update, and delete operations?  Of course this isn't a one-for-all solution, sometimes you have to manually create your views, but the CRUD operations can be done for you as well.

Another annoyance I've in the past is validation, and the complexities and monstrosities that creep up on developers from their over-eager attitude towards the validation of data.  RoR provides a whole set of helpers that you can define in your model to ensure data is validated correctly.  Validation in the model eh? There's a whole number of solutions to validation, for example service layers, and keeping everything in the controller.  This is fine as well, and if you're extremely strict in what belongs to your model then you might want to move it out to your controller.  Rails has the concept of "thick" models, which allows for validation in the model.  I think this is okay, because it means validation doesn't have to be checked in multiple places.  Everything gets validated.

It's also good to know that some major sites are now investing in RoR, for example, Amazon are supposedly now using it, which is brilliant.  I'm guessing their team would've thought very carefully on whether to use it or not, so there's some level of satisfaction in that.

What I Don't Like About It

I'm a stern believer in relations being enforced at the database level.  There's a few reasons for this, and the best would be that if other applications are manipulating the database, not just the web interface, then relational integrity needs to be maintained.  Now whilst I do say this, there are plugins available which keep the constraint definition and enforcement somewhere else in the application and apply them dependent on the database implementation, although I think this should be something that's default and aware of whether it's available to do so or not.

Because of the high level of database abstraction newer developers literally won't need to know a statement of SQL in order to develop the entire application.  This concerns me because I think relational database theory knowledge is fundamental as well as the ability to write a number of queries.

Conclusion

All in all I actually think developers should be working in RoR more-so nowadays.  Yes it's a trend, but it's a trend for a reason, because it promotes high quality development for the web.  Development is quicker, more understandable, and hopefully more stable than building something from scratch.  As long as you know what's going on behind the scenes then I don't think there's a problem with it.  Always worth giving it a try anyway, the RoR documentation is fantastic.

Today was something of a day to remember where I have overcome some conflicts within myself that I believe have hindered me in recent times.  The hindrance was the thought of seeking alternative avenues in my career but without the gonads to hand in my notice at work.  Well, today I handed in my notice.  So what happened? What changed from now and before?  The answer is, I really don't know, but everyone whom I'm closest too has been pointing out my new found confidence recently.

So, why did I resign from my current post?  Well, there's already speculation to this of course, but here's the reality of it:

• I actually took this job as I was increasingly aware that I needed funds and quick, but I also wanted a job in my area, so I didn't "test the water" as so to speak
• I have a higher interest in MVC architectures with the web using either Ruby on Rails or ASP.NET MVC – the new job actually uses MonoRails which is an (indirect) port of RoR
• Whilst it's impossible to ignore the finance industry, it's never been my "bag" as to speak.  The problem is that over 50% of my work involves understanding finance concepts.  I blame this on my own high expectations, but I can't break from the thought of wanting to learn more technically.
• I feel I've reached my potential from a technical perspective in my current role
• Change isn't a bad thing, I think it helps cultivate character

My current job has caused tremendous improvements for me personally though, especially in regards to turning user requirements into something tangible.  The experience has been quite interesting, especially when a user says "I want this to be able to do that…." without specifying the rules.  Basically you need to engage in a mind-meld with the user in order to extract any kind of understandable information.  A developer has to be a user, and a developer must understand how every user works.  Never in a million years would I have expected this simply because my entire education has taught me that user requirements aren't gathered by the programmer, there's usually a man-in-the-middle doing all that boring stuff.  I actually don't find it boring, because understanding the business makes sure you're good at your job.  My current boss is probably the most knowledgeable person I know in the entire company.  I don't think he has ever been unable to answer a question or get around a business-related problem.

So what's that taught me? That business knowledge is invaluable to a software developer because user requirements are never the full picture.  But this has given me leverage for the future.

The best part of my new job is that I get to work under a very clever chap whom holds a degree in CompSci from Cambridge which means hopefully that fountain of knowledge and experience will be rubbed off in me and help propel my own experience and knowledge to driving a business.

So the new rule of thumb for me is this: step out of your comfort zone every once in a while!

It's quite surprising at how fast a year can go, especially seeing as though I'm now fully immersed in the working world.  This year has probably been a year where I've learnt the most, specifically in relation to the "programming" industry (if it should even be deemed such a name).

The few things I've learnt so far are as follows:

• The correct way isn't necessarily the right way.  Speed of development is, in many cases, a requirement of the system.  The overall turnaround time from the project initiation to its actual implementation is what's most sought after.  This means that doing things "properly" isn't a possibility.  Sure, this is a real shame, but it keeps the punters happy and makes sure things get "shipped" on time.
• Break out of university mode. The problem I've mainly faced is that I've spent the majority of my life studying as opposed to practising that development.  I've always considered the text book way to be the correct way, and it definitely is, however as I mentioned in the previous point, it's not always possible.  It's best to break out of the concrete way of doing things and realise that things can often be done ad-hoc in an environment where things aren't being released to the public.
• Don't be afraid to be confrontational.  I've been quite surprised at speaking to employees whom are completely unhappy in their jobs, and they're issues which could be fixed if they were raised, but instead the individual makes the decision to quit their job because they become unhappy in them.  Really, the best way to deal with things is to raise them as issues.

Life

Me and my wife are taking the steps closer towards getting a mortgage.  The current industry has an average house price of about £300,000 with 10% deposit required, let alone legal fees and bond costs.  It's a long process, and I advise anyone wanting to own a house in the future to start saving right now, regardless of your age.  One couple we knew had been saving money since they were 16.  The second they were married that were able to buy a house, and already they have upgraded to a large 3-bedroom house, and they're the same age as us.  We are aware, however, that I was at university during this time so we would've been strapped for cash regardless.

Study

As you may know, I've been working towards my postgraduate degree in Software Development and I'm currently working with databases (MySQL for study, although I work in MS-SQL full-time).  I've learnt a considerable amount in a short space of time concerning the structure and makeup of databases from both the theoretical (relational theory) to the practical (actual implementation).  I'm also taking into close consideration the next steps I'll be taking towards study and am pretty set on studying user interface design as that's quite a major part of what I do both in and out of my full-time job.  I was also considering doubling up my study so I will instead be taking on two courses at once, however this depends on time available, and what funds I can magically procure.

Christmas

The best time of year of course, especially when greeted with many presents.  One major thing I love doing in my spare time is playing guitar, and I somehow got myself into the singing routine also due to my involvement in churches.  This year I was given a Shure SM58 microphone and a wireless headset so I can start recording some acoustic stuff.  I've been meaning to do this for quite a while, I've just never had the time or money to do so.

I also received some other great gifts, such as a flying lesson, and a load of books such as Dale Carnegie's set and some books on Ruby and Ruby on Rails.

Next Year

I do have aims and goals, not necessarily resolutions but simply improvements.  I'm really wanting to run a marathon next year if I can overcome a problem in my right calf, and I'm also wanting to do better with my study as time has been really limited recently.  I'm also wanting dedicate more time to reformsoft as we go about some changes and hopefully get some releases in next year.  Otherwise it's just carry on as normal.

The course I am studying is the M876 in databases which focuses on a vast array of key areas to do with databases in general as opposed to more specific areas to do with tools and management studios.  This I think is far more beneficial in the long run as it adapts me to use any database system as opposed to having specific knowledge in one DBMS.  What's also great about this is that I work in the industry and use databases about 50% of my time at work, so I can apply what I'm learning to my work.

The database system I will be working with is actually MySQL, which is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things apart from syntax of SQL statements.

That's a short update of what's going on my end anyway.

(Also, get the latest Dean's FCK Editor for WP, it's pretty good).

We’ve been told countless times how the first year of marriage is the most difficult, especially in a Christian marriage as the likelihood is that the couple never cohabited before, which was true in our case.  My naivety definitely outmatched my humble ear, I must say that the majority of the advice, and general observations of marriage were true.  Here’s a few of the ones we’ve experienced from the first year:

• Personal space: it’s gone!  Once you get married you’re inviting someone to invade your personal space.  It’s rare that you get any once you’re married.  Amanda sometimes just appreciates sitting in the bedroom by herself for a couple of hours sometimes, in the same respect sometime I just enjoy the silence of a good book every now and then.  It doesn’t mean you’re sick of your spouse, it means you’re a human being and need your own space just as much as you need each others space.
• Personal time.  Time is precious, and we like to use it in our own way.  Priorities change when you’re married, and you’ll find that time you wanted to use for reading a book, or playing on your guitar are instead precious moments you should be sparing for your significant other.  It’s a good idea if you share interests.  Me and Amanda particularly love playing a game of squash together, it’s fun, we learn from each other, and we have to communicate with one another.  It’s also good dedicated one-to-one time.  Find a shared interest to help give your time.
• Responsibility.  I’ve met many-a-person who can be completely irresponsible in the household.  Being a man isn’t about showing off your rock hard abs and protecting your wife from the evils of the universe, it’s also from taking responsibility in simple day-to-day things.  Taking out the rubbish, doing the dishes, paying the bills, managing your time well.  I’ve found I’m now not only responsible for myself, but I’m responsible for Amanda also, not in a parent-child kind of way, but in the kind of way where we’re totally reliant on each other and therefore need to share responsibility.
• Read.  Marriage doesn’t come naturally.  I’ve come across countless people who think because their relationship isn’t “working”, or they can’t stand something about one another, then it can’t be “right”.  This is far from the truth, there’s no such thing as a perfect marriage, because we’re imperfect beings.  There’s some great books on marriage, particularly “The Five Love Languages” just to whet your appetite.

Another great thing to do is ask someone who has a great marriage a few tips here and there, get advice, or just a general perspective on things.  I ask couples constantly on how they deal with big decisions, how they manage their finances, how they share roles and responsibilities in the home.  99% of our problems come from a lack of communication, so the prime thing I’ve admired Amanda for is her enthusiasm to sit down and talk about things with me.

I’m sure I could go on for much longer on this subject, but I’ll leave it to everyone else to find out.  All in all though, it’s been a good year.

The requirements were actually to have a Windows-style navigation, one without the navigation tree but instead a folder-like structure. I can’t deviate from this, regardless of how inefficient it is from a user-perspective simply because the users are so tied into this navigation model that any other approach would lead to frustration and complaints from the end-user. When developing applications you don’t meet the developers needs, you work to the user, which in many-an-environment, is a unique individual with unique requirements. Whilst we can abstract the user process and make recommendations we must also ensure a happy-to-use environment based on familiarity (that being the folder-like structure of navigation).

So why won’t MvcSiteMap work? Well, I’m using Areas Lib, and MvcSiteMap doesn’t work with Areas Lib, so this is a complete no-go. MvcSiteMap is simply an MVC implementation of Microsoft’s original SiteMap control for ASP.NET. The library is highly rated by many developers, and seems very good. Areas Lib is something I have to use, it’s absolutely fundamental to the workings of the application, so I’m very thankful for that.

So, what I’ve come up with in the mean time? Well I’m using partial views and wrote a HTML helper to figure out what menu it should render. The good thing about it is that currently no logic is required, it just picks up the file and reads it into memory without having to worry about the content whatsoever. It does mean that a basic folder structure is needed to place the menu.ascx files about the place. It also still conforms to the general MVC architecture as it’s simply picking a view based on the controller action. Unfortunately I can’t give you the code, but it’s not hard to write a HTML helper to pick up a *.ascx file and read it into memory. The next step is achieving a security model in the partial view without breaking the MVC structure, but at least I got it to work, and that’s the important thing in this case.

This does show though that Microsoft’s MVC implementation for ASP.NET isn’t quite up to par with competing architectures such as Ruby on Rails.