*Arrays can be quirky in 2e

Hiya,

I have just become aware that *Arrays do not support the correct ordering sequence for negative index values. This has been referred to CA Support (2nd Level) for investigation.

My scenario is an array that is ordered based on a difference between two values. For the purposes of a meaningful example lets pretend that our array is a league table for the English football premier league (Soccer to some). If your game is rugby or another sport then you can draw your own comparisons.

The scenario is that after 2 games of the season I have 5 teams on 4 points. These teams are place 1 to 5 on the table. Let's further embelish this example and assume that my team, Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) are at the top. :-)

Team	Points	GD (Goal Difference)
Tottenham	4pts	+78
Liverpool	4pts	+5
Everton	4pts	0
Wigan	4pts	-4
Chelsea	4pts	-8
......
Arsenal	0pts	-78

Apart from the obvious good start by Wigan and the strange GD for two games. I believe the example table to be a fair reflection of the real world. With Tottenham at the top. COYS. Blue and White army. Stand up if you hate Arsenal.

If I were to create an *array in DESCENDING order with the keys of Points and GD. My array would sort itself as follows:-

Team	Points	GD (Goal Difference)
Tottenham	4pts	+78
Liverpool	4pts	+5
Everton	4pts	0
Chelsea	4pts	-8
Wigan	4pts	-4
......
Arsenal	0pts	-78

The arrays doesn't handle the negative sign and although it preserves the negative sign it is unable to sort it. Note the order of Chelsea and Wigan.

Until this is fixed, a simple workaround I have used is to *ADD an arbitary figure to the GD to ensure it is a positive value. In order not to blow a limit (as over a season a team can be -100) I need to cater for a higher number so I chose 10,000 for the *array as an offset.

At the point of display which happens to be a DSPFIL I simply deduct 10,000. Simple workaround. Hopefully, simple solution that will be fixed some time in the future. Another option which I contribute to my colleague Chris Koloszar is to do the 10,000 offset for the key and leave the original value as an attribute of the array also.

My main concern is for those of you that have negative values but have yet to discover them.

I will post updates as I hear back from CA.

Thanks for reading.
Lee.

UPDATE HISTORY
==============

2:54pm (Same Day). I have had some quick responses from CA (Very impressed - Thanks Lynn). CA claim this to be working as designed. I am countering that it is a bug and was designed incorrectly. I hope that this will be fixed and I will keep you all updated.

What do you think?

Next Day - Referred to development not a trivial fix but I am confident it will be a good look over. Thanks.

Goopression

I thought I'd have a little whinge today about Google. Well not Google themselves. I think that they are a great innovative company who have transformed how we all interact with the internet and for that, I am grateful. I do remember the early days with Compuserve dialup and prior to that premium phone bulletin boards and usenet groups.

But recently I have been exploring business ideas of my own. When I say recently. Like most IT guys I have been pondering the 'garage' project, aka the 'killer app' for years.

We can all use google to research our ideas, get an idea of the validity of the idea i.e. any competitors that may be lurking in the wings etc.

However, today, I am suffering for "Goopression". Google depression!!! This means that your killer idea (no matter how you search for it) has already been taken. The domain has gone, as has your enthusiasm for your idea. This feeling really sucks.

You see, as much as the internet can be an inspiration to us all. One quick google of an idea and all of a sudden you are depressed......Someone else has stolen your idea. Sorry - got there first.

Now for sure. If it is a good idea (which I believe I have) backed up by a great business plan you may well achieve your aim. You will remember the number of search engines that were around pre-google...... Just don't be surprised if your killer idea has already been considered, invented or patented.

That all said, if you are having the ideas in the first place then one day that killer app/idea will happen. Just be prepared for a little disappointment along the way courtesy of our friends from Google.

Thanks for reading.
Lee.

My top ten tips for a software developer

I was updating the blog and getting a few advance posts in place for February 2009. Thanks Blogger.com for the neat features of scheduling blogs that you introduced last year. This saves me a lot of hassle in remembering to post pre-written content and also allows for me to have a blog day every now and then.

Anyhow, I was also reading a few "Top Ten" advice lists that were sent to me over the years by a trusted colleague called Jim. I always take the time to read these and he generally only sends over meaningful content and this time was no different.

This did get me thinking a little so I thought I'd write one and see if he agrees.

I have blogged in the past about what I believe makes a good developer.

Today, I'll issue my Top Ten tips for developers covering both work and life. In no particular order apart from number 10.

1. Always be on the look out for the next big thing (in IT) and see if you can get in early enough to actually ride the wave rather than be left behind frantically trying to swim there.

2. If you find something you like doing and the opportunity is there to continue doing it, then continue to do it! Don't be bullied into career progression if it is not for you. My old boss once said to me that there is a difference between earning and dying. Words of wisdom for everyone.

3. Always test your code no matter how trivial the change. You have no come back if you didn't test a change you have made, fullstop.

4. The ten minute tasks always seem to take a day, or two.

5. Never assume anything when it comes to user requirements or management reporting.

6. Never under estimate the desire of the testing team to see you fall on your developer sword.

7. Never code if you are drunk as you will need to recode the next day. Also never ever ever ever ever ever return to the office if you are inebriated. You will start to talk about 'Pink Screen' technology and how one day you will be everyones boss or worst case scenario, you will set off the fire alarm with a toaster and cause an evacuation of a 21 storey building. Again, certainly no come back here, you are on your own. Believe me, these are true stories......

8. Remember good quality applications and systems have corners. You simply can't cut them.

9. Remember it takes 20% of the time to build 80% of what the user sees and interacts with. The remaining 80% is making sure that they don't break anything.

10. Never compile a top ten list and not have a decent one for point number 10.

Thanks for reading.
Lee.

Its Product Enhancement Time for CA Plex and CA 2e(Synon)

Not many software companies give you the chance to directly influence the strategic direction of a product you use.

The product team at CA are once again asking us to cast our votes for potential enhancements to the CA Plex and CA 2E (Synon) tools.

This recent communication was sent by Bill Hunt to all PLC (Product Line Community) members. If you are not on the list then you are not in the know.

Join.

See details below.

"Hello CA Plex and CA 2E Community,

User feedback, suggestions and ideas are an important element in our development planning efforts. With this in mind, we would like to invite and encourage you to participate in our annual Enhancement Request Priority Voting program. We are launching this program effective now.

As was also the case last year, we ask that you review the attached list of enhancement requests which our team has reviewed and considered worthy of additional research. There is one list for CA Plex, one for CA 2E - choose whichever list(s) are applicable to you.

From these lists, we ask that you submit your “top ten” priority enhancements from this list:
- Voting is done online:
o For CA Plex: https://www.casurveys.com/wsb.dll/156/PLCPLEX-ERJan2009.htm
o For CA 2E: https://www.casurveys.com/wsb.dll/156/PLC2E-ERJan2009.htm
- You must be a registered member of the CA Plex/2E Product Line Community in order to submit a vote. Use your registered e-mail address and password to log into the voting system.
- The online system is the only manner is which votes will be counted.
- CA Employees are not eligible to submit votes.
- Please do not send your votes via e-mail to me, or Daniel Leigh, or any other CA team member – votes submitted this way cannot and will not be counted into the results.
- Each PLC member is allowed one vote each (if you use Plex and 2E you are able to participate in both surveys)
- If you have colleagues using CA Plex or CA 2E, please encourage them to register for the PLC:
o Go to http://causergroups.ca.com
o Click “Join Today”
o Choose “CA Plex/2E Worldwide PLC Global User Community” in the drop down box indicating which user group to join
o Fill in the required contact information
o It only takes a minute and it costs nothing!
- In addition to the actual enhancement request survey, there are some poll questions included online regarding your overall use of the products, your impression of the PLC program and what events you would like to see or would be likely to attend in the future. We ask that you answer these questions as well; this would be helpful to us and very much appreciated.
- The “voting polls” will be opened Monday 9-February and close on Tuesday 31-March. This should give teams ample time to review the lists and make decisions on which items would be more of a priority to help your CA Plex or CA 2E development efforts in the future.

Our participation as a group in this program last year was excellent, and we hope to get at least as much participation as last time. If there are questions please don’t hesitate to contact me, thank you in advance for helping us understand your needs, and for your continued support of CA Plex and CA 2E. "

JUST DO IT!!!!!

Thanks for reading.
Lee.

BLOGGERTUNITY

I have been meaning to write this little post for quite a while. I coined the term many many months ago when I was at my local pub quiz.

Most of you bloggers out there realise that once you start blogging you go one of two ways. You get addicted, it consumes time and you post. Or you have a go for a while and then it peters out as you run out of ideas or opportunities to blog.

This got me thinking about a "bloggertunity". This is an event that leads to the opportunity to blog.

I have checked http://www.dictionary.com/ and the word is not referenced.......Indeed the resultant alternatives leave something to be desired if you ask me.... Look Here.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bloggertunity

I then decided to google the term and it came up with "Results 1 - 10 of about 171,000 for bloggertunity. (0.07 seconds)" Number of hits for the term as of 31st January 2009 17:40 NZ Time). So clearly it is going to take a while for the term to catch on. Try typing in Britney or Obama and look at their results for a comparison.

But who knows, in the future this word might be as much a part of everyday language as "googled". Time will be the judge on this one.

How many now? Click the link below to find out?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=bloggertunity&meta=

I then came across the piece of paper (hence this post) I wrote that night which has a few other interesting blog posts. So with pen and paper in hand you should never pass up on an opportunity to generate content for your blog.

Now, for the regular readers of this blog focused on software development principles and the model driven development tools CA Plex and CA 2E (Synon) you could be forgiven for asking the question "What relevance does this post have to your blog Lee?".

Well you are quite right. The answer is a resounding

"NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING."

But it was a bloggertunity that I couldn't let pass me by.

Thanks for reading.
Lee.