tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54415803968454588092011-12-16T18:59:00.819+13:00This is a blog aimed at professional software developers and especially those interested in CA 2e (Synon) or CA Plex. These are ARAD code generation tools that derive from the early days of Synon corporation, when they were originally called Synon/2 and Obsydian. I intend to post my rants, raves, opinions, observations about all things in this area. Welcome to my site (Lee Dare - Self confessed CA Synon (2e) and CA Plex Guru, expert, consultant, advisor, mentor, developer, architect....)Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.comBlogger861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-56913502496957429302011-12-16T18:59:00.000+13:002011-12-16T18:59:00.867+13:00

Hi, I have been aware of the 'Varianted Source Code' models that Roger Griffith has made available for the community for quite a while and today with the release of version 1.1 which has C# client code support all ready for the GA Release of CA Plex 7.0.  We now have some additional sources :-).  FYI - I don't know when this is coming out but it can't be far away now :-). See the link

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-78356440541072031452011-12-09T18:30:00.000+13:002011-12-12T15:10:07.245+13:00

Added a few links.  Lucio's site and Desynit's Feed Aggregator for Plex and 2E . That's them.  The community ones..... Tidied a few broken links whilst I was there. If you want yours added. Drop me a comment in the comments section below. Thanks for reading. Lee.

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-73523148604734760342011-12-05T19:10:00.000+13:002011-12-05T19:10:00.402+13:00

Translator required!   Übersetzer erforderlich!  Traductor necesario!   Traducteur obligatoires!   Vertaler Verplicht!   Traduttore obbligatori! 翻译 ! अनुवादक आवश्यक!!  Þýðandi Nauðsynleg! Translator Kinakailangan!! Traduttore obbligatori!   翻訳者は​​必要！ Some of you know that I have been working on a small project with .NET C# and the CA Plex Model API.  The project was for an entity creator and I

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-88336541212109694922011-11-25T20:10:00.000+13:002011-11-26T13:19:37.202+13:00

What started out as a wee (little) test application for me to learn and understand a bit about DotNet C# and the CA Plex ModelAPI has blown out (my obsession) into a full featured Entity Creation Utility.   I am also fully aware of the differences in terminology and approach between us Plexers and DotNetters which has been really useful for my company as we have a whole host of different

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-26342690303801994302011-11-10T19:09:00.000+13:002011-11-10T11:38:33.244+13:00

Rory Hewitt one of the developers for the 2E product that we all love to use recently posted an image which made perfect sense for solving common engineering problems. I couldn't help but consider this problem with my 2E glasses on. :-) Thanks for reading. Lee.

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-65371543069243562432011-10-30T09:14:00.001+13:002011-10-31T16:20:42.576+13:00

Many of you may have had read about the Plex-XML framework from Allabout Gmbh.  There have been mentions online (LinkedIn - Plex group or PlexWiki for example).  The guys were at the conference in 2007 and this caused quite a stir in the Plex community.  Well the technology is still going strong. I decided that I’d take a look.  This is the great thing about having a role which is

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-39065459255166553642011-10-17T23:07:00.001+13:002011-11-23T17:55:14.513+13:00

Firstly thank you to Rob Layzell for inspiring this blog.   If it wasn’t for his lab exercises I would have done this Model API exercise and subsequent blog using CA Plex and component import.  Now, whilst this is probably a cool thing using a code generation tool to interrogate and update the code generation tool repository (I am sure there must be a word in the OO world to describe

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-39230399194718651942011-10-03T19:51:00.012+13:002011-10-03T19:51:00.604+13:00

“RTFM!” (Read the effing manual) - that was the polite version. That’s what I was told when I first started programming.  Not every time (obviously), but on that odd occasion where the question was a repeatedly asked one (by me) or that time the more senior programmer didn't eat his oats in the morning. To this day I still hear this from the more seasoned developers around me.  But I must say

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-16910331479554057982011-07-11T21:12:00.004+12:002011-07-11T21:12:00.423+12:00

We’ve had the ‘Ice Age’, ‘Bronze Age’, ‘Iron Age’ and now we are firmly entrenched in the technology era otherwise known as the ’Information Age’. We’ve had generation X and generation Y and even the ‘Generation Game’ with a plethora of celebrity hosts. I guess I could affectionately refer to ‘now’ as the ‘Data Generation’ This is a subject I have spent quite a bit of time on recently. Everyone

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-3174134083829453052010-12-19T16:23:00.006+13:002010-12-20T16:55:20.005+13:00

Wow. What a few months we have had in the Plex and 2E world since I last wrote a proper update. The major piece of news from my perspective is the publication of the candidate features for the 7.0 release of Plex.  Yes, you heard me right!!  After talking up 6.5 in previous posts of mine and at the 2009 conference in Florida, CA have decided to skip to 7.0.  Usually, an x.0 release number (

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-70491714072324490832010-12-12T16:23:00.000+13:002010-12-12T16:23:05.413+13:00

Thanks to John Rhodes for the image of an old Obsydian diskette from the 1.0.3 release.  We are now at 6.1 and we have WCF, EJB, Java and .NET generation all being added since.  I really does show that MDD (Model Driven Development) can stand the test of time.... Personally, I see a marked 'upswell' in the desirability of code generation tools or at the least the concept of not writing all the

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-56822262818851525712010-07-29T18:00:00.000+12:002010-07-29T10:58:30.860+12:00

I was trawling through my companies archives.  You know what I mean.  I was actually rummaging through that pile of old CD-ROMs that had sat in the corner of the office for the last few years and I spotted this little gem.  I couldn't resist scanning it in and putting it up on the web for eternity. If anyone else has some classic images they want loaded up I'd be happy to receive a scanned

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-10898370983052547882010-06-24T19:29:00.000+12:002010-06-24T19:29:24.503+12:00

Plex has always been a valuable tool for ISV’s or systems integrators. With the patterns, multi-platform code generation and dynamic application partitioning good integration and logical separation can be achieved very quickly out of the box. Numerous technologies are supported to allow Plex to integrate/interoperate with other applications and platforms. See the main ones below. COM Connectors

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-89533287720690068242010-06-17T22:19:00.000+12:002010-06-17T22:19:07.490+12:00

Just a quick one today. Many of you who use Plex will have heard of the guys at http://www.websydian.com/. They have products like WebsydianDeveloper Patterns, TransacXML and in partnership with ADC Austin pioneered the WebsydianWebClient.  They also have other tools for 2E too. Now they have done it again with an update to the Websydian patterns. Join Anne-Marie and the team for this much

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-5598192337719663912010-06-04T11:37:00.001+12:002010-06-04T11:39:17.983+12:00

CA Plex & CA 2E roadmaps published. Great news!!! The latest roadmaps for CA 2E and CA Plex (dated May 2010) have been published on the CA website. The links are below:- Note:- You may need to login into CA support to access these and if you haven’t got a support account it is relatively easy to register. CA Plex:- https://support.ca.com/phpdocs/7/258/258_roadmap.pdf CA 2E:- https://

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-47822246612397451042010-05-04T01:30:00.001+12:002010-05-04T01:30:00.976+12:00

We all know by now that CA Plex 6.5 is in the R&D phase and some technical previews have occurred with more planned. If you are short of knowledge in this area then take a look at Rob’s presentation at the CA Mainframe Madness Week. (www.ca.com/mmm). I understand that Rob’s presentation has all anyone would need to convince your management about deploying your applications using .NET

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-88402875448731977402010-04-29T19:47:00.006+12:002010-04-30T10:37:18.443+12:00

I blogged recently about the May Mainframe Madness and in this I referred to the realignment occurring within CA.  I am happy to report that CA's plans for 2E and Plex are not affected and that new roadmaps (as I predicted) are imminent and will be published on CA support online in the coming weeks. Extract from a recent communication for which I was a recipient. "Following the email regarding

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-86139913851250691912010-04-28T18:50:00.002+12:002010-04-30T10:30:38.233+12:00

Hi, Most people are aware that CA have decided to trim their staff and products and I must admit I had my heart in my mouth for a second as the Plex and 2E tools are very dear to my heart. I am pleased to hear that my fears are unfounded.  Although, like most I am eager to hear from my friends at CA regarding product roadmaps for 2010. However, we might get a little insight for what is next

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-69448988249234288142010-02-16T12:15:00.001+13:002010-02-16T12:17:08.533+13:00

Shame on me I hear you all say! How dare he use his personal blog for a product launch for his company. Well, I can assure you I haven’t sold out, not in the slightest and I certainly haven’t been asked to do this. But I did state when I started this blog that I’d post the latest news as I heard it for both CA:2E and CA Plex. Today the revised website for Quickstep:2e was launched by SASIT (

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-88355788015495730102010-01-20T16:40:00.051+13:002010-01-23T16:31:25.814+13:00

Firstly.  Sorry for the delay in finishing off this series.  I have been away on holiday for 6 weeks and when I returned I have been in hospital having my knee operation.  I am now in recovery (bed rest) and finally have a little spare time to finish off the blog. So let's do a little recap.  In part one, I discussed the merits of a generic data driver file.  This is a different approach to

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-75093034400525594452009-11-20T20:48:00.004+13:002010-01-20T16:40:23.125+13:00

The greatest rugby competition on the planet. Alright, I live in the Southern Hemisphere now and as a direct result have begun to believe the hype. That said the Super 14 (Super 15 from 2011) competition is recognised as one of the strongest leagues in Rugby Union and has team from Australia, South Africa and my current place of residence, New Zealand. Sorry to all those that think I have sold

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-61235062334349590792009-11-17T20:22:00.004+13:002009-11-18T13:59:54.529+13:00

This is a three part story. I can think of quite a few occassions in 2E where I have needed to display or print information from a non 2e standard file i.e. A non 2E defined file, an array or even a Data Queue. I have also had the need to build PRTFIL's and DSPFIL's which needed to aggregate data in a master/detail arrangement. The example below is from a change management application I worked

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-61263588468276254842009-11-10T06:26:00.001+13:002009-11-10T15:36:38.446+13:00

Well it is almost that time of year again.  You know.  Christmas!!!!   We all sit back and relax, eat turkey (far too much) and discover that port is okay to drink by the bottle after all. But putting that aside it is also nearly the new year and that will mean the annual CA enhancements voting survey.  So many of you know this annual event and the results are collated and influence the R&D

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-85907899401028124272009-10-07T20:27:00.040+13:002009-10-07T20:27:00.371+13:00

After the conference I was lucky enough to spend a great week with ADC Austin taking a look (Deep Dive) into their products and services in particular the '2E to Plex' migration process and patterns plus the WebsydianWebClient for Plex.  What can I say!   I was suitably impressed.  ADC are busy working on an updated version of the migration patterns and the dedication and passion I witnessed

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-87834667089714445542009-09-27T12:14:00.005+13:002010-02-06T14:04:20.631+13:00

06/0202010.  Just revisited these posts.  Tidied up a few typo's and added addition links of images. Well, where do I start. I guess I can start at the end. Its all finished. Developer roundtable and closing credits done, final night out for those remaining done, business cards exchanged and now looking forward to 2011 conference. Early favourite (amongst us gossiping) is Chicago in around 18

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-79099281621417800932009-09-25T09:46:00.005+12:002010-02-06T13:58:05.912+13:00

Wow. What a day. Attended quite a few motivational sessions today. When I say motivational. I don't mean some corny bible basher preaching good values and encouraging us all to give up tobacco, beer and girls (I could never give up 2 and 3), but the emergence of self-motivation by seeing what others are doing out there in the plex/2e world. The first session I attended was the Plex update by

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-49904765293234870902009-09-24T13:11:00.005+12:002010-02-06T13:54:48.972+13:00

Day one kicked off today for the 2009 Plex/2e Developers conference and what a day it was. I say day one. I have been here for a few days trying to acclimatise and attending a business partner seminar for the Websydian product range. All in all a great couple of days so far. I have meet up with a few old friends and made new ones. I have even managed to find time to share a few stories and pints

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-65605762936545518872009-08-29T12:01:00.002+12:002009-08-29T12:40:43.882+12:00

This week I discovered a few new TLA’s (Three Letter Acronyms). These are ACL, PCL and MCL. Unfortunately I also discovered that when used with terms like ‘ruptured’ and ‘torn’ it is not a good prognosis for a knee. Still I’ll get over it, get fixed up, get fit and once again start to play my beloved football (soccer to some of you).You might recall that I wrote a blog some time ago about

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-43400523908770403992009-08-14T22:46:00.005+12:002009-08-14T22:55:49.908+12:00

Only about 5 more weeks to go!!!!I am really looking forward to this event and meeting up with friends new and old in the community. For more details visit:- http://www.plex2e.com/I will be presenting a session on your 2E modernisation options.The brief is below. I look forward to meeting you in sunny Florida.Thanks for reading.Lee.This session will provide ideas about legacy modernisation paths

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-88841971323040238092009-07-23T22:08:00.000+12:002009-07-23T22:07:30.598+12:00

When I was a lad. Alright. 30 years ago I used to stay up late on a Saturday night so I could watch 'Match of the Day' As I remember it was on after 'Hammer House of Horror' I used to watch it in the TV room.It was my footy/tv combo highlight of the week.Some years later as my interest in football began to align itself (like most brits) to fanatical religious levels. I remember cycling over two

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-8227220485211526732009-07-06T23:02:00.005+12:002009-07-23T21:35:28.269+12:00

During my time working in the software development industry I have met a large group of interesting professionals with varying personalities. I have blogged before that some of these relationships have been challenges. However, I guess that is just part of life’s rich tapestry otherwise known as human-kind……We are only talking about 6 or 7 out of hundreds and hundreds……Another occasion I have

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-73385749850322536632009-06-16T12:01:00.001+12:002009-06-16T12:01:00.934+12:00

Just a quick blog today.CA, actually Daniel Leigh in particular, is looking for Beta testers for the new 8.5 version of 2e. This time for the french language version.So all my colleagues in 'Les Bleus' country. You can contact daniel. Just let me know you are interested via the comments feature and I will pass on your details or you can contact him directly at:-daniel.leigh at ca dot com.Good

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-56593441321180821752009-06-07T11:43:00.004+12:002009-06-07T12:13:55.135+12:00

Today we shall take a quick look at the Display File function (DSPFIL). This is a very commonly used function type in 2e and if my notes are correct there may be a thing or two of interest in this post. However, I guess that this depends on whether you are an ageing old developer like myself or one of the new kids on the block in Bangalore.But back to the action. Like many other function types

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-19680657398544879702009-06-01T20:52:00.003+12:002009-06-01T21:09:33.331+12:00

Hi all,I'd like to start this off by writing that I have been on a desert island for the last two months on a meditation course for mid life crisis for balding IT men. But that wouldn't be true...or perhaps that I have been on a second honeymoon with my wife and was far too tired to blog :-). But that wouldn't be true........either.I have however, been very busy at work and the soccer season has

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-4673840648473436022009-04-05T09:07:00.003+12:002009-04-05T09:49:59.491+12:00

Wow! What a week.I, like many of you spent 3 hours on the recent CA Plex/2E webcast marketed as 'Blitz'. For me it was a little more inconvenient as it was from 2am until gone 5am in the morning. To top it off it was a school night as well. Suffice to say, Friday night after a hard days work, I was exhausted.The result though was worth every last minute of sleep deprivation. I felt

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-63664491785080908082009-03-15T20:28:00.001+13:002009-03-16T17:21:35.080+13:00

Hmmmm,As I suspected a couple of weeks ago once you open your eyes to a subject and commence blogging about it you have it constantly in the back of your mind. My post on bad systems design and planning has had this affect on me.I am minding my own business at my local quiz night when a question was read out by the quiz master or perhaps mistress as she is a lady. "What day of the week was

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-85019736613738672352009-03-08T20:44:00.001+13:002009-06-07T11:42:48.716+12:00

Part 2 in the series around screen function types will concentrate on the Select Record (SELRCD) function type.This is often overlooked as a valuable function as it always appears to be generated on your behalf by 2e when you create a file. However, it has a few useful quirks that require a little thinking and I have often seen everly complicated logic added to them due to a lack of understanding

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-63664565744624773142009-03-01T19:40:00.000+13:002009-03-01T19:40:00.259+13:00

There are many areas of computing that have been let down by poor design.Actually that may be a little harsh.However, poor assumptions have definitely led to numerous designs that in hindsight could be considered questionable at best. These decisions have in turn led to systems that have suffered due to higher than anticipated volumes or longer than expected life spans.A few examples that come to

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-26651158087004996602009-02-24T07:36:00.003+13:002009-02-25T21:37:08.632+13:00

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

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-68225727144456822242009-02-20T18:25:00.000+13:002009-02-20T18:25:00.475+13:00

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.

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-35314430286118962009-02-13T19:32:00.000+13:002009-02-13T19:32:01.079+13:00

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

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-73415900891360236442009-02-11T17:50:00.002+13:002009-02-11T17:54:45.556+13:00

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

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-70215657085200211602009-02-06T17:27:00.019+13:002009-02-06T17:27:01.152+13:00

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

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-71306319002569518772009-01-31T15:49:00.015+13:002009-02-28T14:00:33.176+13:00

I guess the last couple of months have been a bit quite on the site. This was due to some holidays on my part and the visit of relative from overseas for 5 weeks. As you may know I live in New Zealand and the Christmas and New Year period is a time of relaxation and recouperation as well as a period of mass and I mean mass national holiday. Many businesses shut down for a compulsory two weeks.I

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-41766454235987160722009-01-05T22:50:00.006+13:002009-01-05T22:50:00.216+13:00

I would suggest that other that Britney Spears in recent months "Credit Crunch" has been the most widely used search term on the google servers. No doubt someone will correct me on this subjective comment.What does this mean for us in IT over the coming months/years. For sure many companies are going to tighten their belts during 2009. Capital expenditure will probably have processes, procedures

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-46363476506939406872008-12-30T12:45:00.004+13:002008-12-30T13:30:45.273+13:00

Well it is that time of year again when we all take a well deserved break (this is subjective I know), send those work clothes to the dry cleaners for a much need overhaul, eat too much, drink even more and come back to work refreshed in the new year with at least one broken new years resolution by the 5th of January.Christmas is often a busy time of year for many of us and we sometimes also

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-7014963453753203822008-11-30T21:19:00.012+13:002009-06-12T11:24:42.394+12:00

Updated - 12/06/2009 I recently received a communication via the blog feedback feature. It was from one of our colleagues in France who was a little concerned about the support he receives from CA and also the usage of the tools in general.There are quite a lot of interweaving discussions to answer his question below."In France,we have CA/2E 8.1SP1fr RPG.Here,we have no news from this product,it

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-58345325440463869722008-11-18T21:57:00.009+13:002008-11-18T21:57:00.434+13:00

My regular followers for which there are many. I am pleased to say that I have over 100 unique visitors per month visiting the blog and the number is increasing. If have dabbled with a mixture of real life stories and content, technical 2e content, management styles, observations about software development and a couple of other stories related to me and my experiences as long as there is a loose

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-21876119570054602742008-11-12T21:30:00.003+13:002008-11-12T21:30:00.378+13:00

Todays topic is composite functions.I have said before that there are many ways to skin a cat and with development regardless of tools and languages used, it is no different.To date I have concentrated on the generic principles of development and also on the CA 2E tool from Computer Associates. I have put quite a few posts in place around 2E with many many more to go. To be honest I am less than

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-9198177410492377652008-11-06T21:17:00.001+13:002008-11-06T21:17:00.638+13:00

The humble DLTOBJ is the topic of this weeks post. This finishes of the series on the main 2e internal function types. I have covered the RTVOBJ, CRTOBJ and CHGOBJ so far. Next weeks post will be about the mertis of using a CRT/CHG or CHG/CRT combination function. Following that I will be blogging about standards for EXCUSRSRC, EXCUSRPGM and the EXCINTFUN/EXCEXTFUN function types before

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-59759213015432692852008-10-31T21:05:00.002+13:002009-11-12T13:30:32.647+13:00

Another post about some of the finer points for the internals functions available in the 2e tool. I have covered off the RTVOBJ and CRTOBJ in some detail. I have left the obvious stuff for the user manuals and am really covering off best practices and gotchas in these sections. Any observations and comments are gratefully received and a big shout out to Ray Weekes who passed on many of these in

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-76910265357465230842008-10-25T20:51:00.001+13:002009-06-12T11:03:08.171+12:00

Here we go again. Another in the series around 2e development standards. Today I thought I'd cover the CRTOBJ function type and share what I have gathered on the road over the years.Cutting straight to the point.Keep numbers to a minimum. In general there should only be one CRTOBJ, i.e. The default (*CRT), per file. This will have all or most parameters open and will not contain any complex

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-24471028596002825592008-10-20T20:13:00.012+13:002008-10-22T20:41:42.033+13:00

I thought I'd have a break from the 2e naming conventions thread that has occupied most of the last month and launch into a series of smaller posts that talk about some of the hints and tips associated with the 2e function types.Today's topic is the RTVOBJ. One of the most useful function types in 2e. One which is often misused or understood.The following are some hints and tips I have learnt,

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-36177937578965190272008-10-05T19:16:00.009+13:002008-10-05T20:11:44.478+13:00

So here we go. Another part in the CA 2E development standards series. Here I discuss/publish some naming conventions I have found useful with common functions in a 2E model.I have worked at a few sites over the years that have varying levels of standards applied to the model and different approaches aiming to solve the same problem.I have worked at sites that like to use an incremental prefix

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-69643420443194021822008-09-24T18:35:00.007+12:002008-10-05T18:42:54.714+13:00

Continuing with the series on 2E development standards.A model-naming standard is very important, particularly for large models, to aid understanding and navigation. There are several types of naming standards to consider.Model NamesA CA:2E data model has a 25-character object text names associated with files, access paths, fields, field conditions, functions and messages etc. The guidelines for

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-12285479702650032092008-09-18T21:43:00.002+12:002008-09-18T21:43:00.287+12:00

Yet another post debating some of the finer points of application development using CA 2E (Synon).Over the years apart from justifying my use of 4GL's and model based development tools for rapid development of applications (CA 2E and CA Plex) to the non believers. Oh the arguements that this has caused have been blogged before. See my series on the 3GL v 4GL debate.The biggest single point of

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-91453907889002672182008-09-12T21:10:00.002+12:002008-09-12T21:10:01.338+12:00

As I write this, some time before it is published, I am less-than-fondly recalling my day in the office. It has been another of those days where head has been in hands, where walks were taken away from the desk to avoid sending later-embarrassing emails and where close colleagues were asked the question "Where does the queue start for strangling ?"I work in a large multi-national company and

zkarjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436894637762923923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-82143962000632475562008-09-08T21:23:00.005+12:002008-09-15T20:24:02.591+12:00

One of my new colleagues has been reading these posts whilst he is learning to program in 2E.This part is a collection of some general tips in 2E around Format Relations, Function Options, Function Wrapping and Sharing Subroutines.As always, any comments good and bad are welcomed as are requests for subject matter.Format Relations ConsiderationsFor certain function types relations can be dropped

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-53522361747928961802008-08-31T21:01:00.005+12:002008-08-31T21:01:01.119+12:00

Continuing the series of development standards for 2E (Synon). Today's topic is Action diagramming and contexts. Once again in no particular order.Beware of a negative list. Do not use a 'negative' LST on a STS field. E.g. If STS field has Val's A,B,C,D then do not create a LST 'Not B' which contains A,C,D. If a new VAL is added to the STS field then the negative LST immediately becomes out of

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-49397721693790935262008-08-28T20:04:00.005+12:002008-08-28T20:04:00.947+12:00

This is Part 4 in a series of articles.Once again I have decided to focus on development standards and best practices for 2E (Synon) development. You can search this blog for the other posts around performance, defensive programming and general coding considerations.Today's topic is parameters and how they are used and defined in 2E.In no particular order my tips and techniques in this are as

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-53981059904402553792008-08-25T19:09:00.015+12:002008-08-28T13:19:46.705+12:00

My regular readers will be aware that I have begun adding articles related to 2E (Synon) development. See links on Defensive programming and Programming for performance.Future chapters planned for the coming weeks include:-ParametersAction Diagramming & Action Diagram ContextsMessages and Message HandlingSubroutinesWrapping, Relations and Function OptionsDBA Best PracticesFunction Type Best

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-29140232550903714932008-08-17T19:10:00.005+12:002009-01-03T22:49:41.025+13:00

I thought that today I would blog a little about the concept of version 1.0.There is a saying in IT that you never buy version 1.0 of a product. Obviously this can't be true as no new products would sell or make market penetration. Also, there must be those out there who enjoy the concept of working with an early version of a new tool or perhaps even a alpha or beta.I guess these people can be

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-29879796244879587802008-08-07T21:00:00.001+12:002008-08-07T21:28:16.554+12:00

At various times in my life I have had this dilemma and I am sure many of you reading this have too.I have always believed that honesty is the best policy.Why?This was drummed into me as a child. You would all remember being younger and hearing one of your parents or elders in your family/whanau say, “Just tell the truth, you won’t get into trouble as long as you tell me what happened.”, “Nobody

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-90360401970391773142008-07-28T18:54:00.000+12:002008-07-28T18:54:01.022+12:00

Recent events in my place of work have lead me to ponder the concept of programming context once again. I suspect it is a pervasive concept as I seem to come across it on a regular basis in quite different circumstances. Let me explain.If I am asked to write a program that accepts two numbers and returns a third number, being the product of the two, then there is not a lot more I need to know.

zkarjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436894637762923923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-37698738844220394602008-07-21T22:00:00.008+12:002008-07-27T19:03:03.277+12:00

Part two in the series and takes a look at defensive programming techniques and how these help you to create reliable programs. The following a guidelines for creating robust code.Always check for a divide by zero (runtime) error by checking the divisor field for zero value prior to performing the *DIV operation.Never move numeric fields into a field with a smaller domain. With RPG this can cause

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-20045453056344078512008-07-14T21:40:00.000+12:002008-07-14T21:40:00.150+12:00

In Part 2 I looked at how to capture expert knowledge. In this final instalment, I will offer suggestions on where to store that knowledge, some differing uses of these concepts and offer some final insights into why I wrote the original version of this article.Once again, I lead off with a small overlap to set the scene.Electronic storage for fast accessFollowing the structuring process above

zkarjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436894637762923923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-74744421043496055592008-07-06T18:59:00.012+12:002008-07-06T18:59:01.026+12:00

This is the first part in a complete series of articles I intend to post regarding development best practices and standards for the CA 2e (Synon) development tool. The aim of publishing the guides is to educate, collaborate and enhance the standards by receiving community feedback. After all, no one person can know everything but the wider community can contribute.Many of these tips I have learnt

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-35741213302417780592008-06-30T21:24:00.000+12:002008-06-30T21:24:00.318+12:00

In Part 1 I discussed the problems facing the technical support team with overworked experts and a need to transfer their knowledge as efficiently as possible.In Part 2 I will discuss how to successfully capture and store this knowledge in an efficient and, above all, useful way. I'll lead off with a brief overlap from last time as a reminder of where we got to.The 'Virtual Expert'From what has

zkarjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436894637762923923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-15373589038596967532008-06-22T18:36:00.005+12:002009-08-29T23:04:29.917+12:00

This is another one of my general life blogs and follows up from my recent article about what makes a good programmer where I refer to a ‘Rocky Balboa’ moment that encompasses everything about being a great computer programmer.I would like to clarify that this post has nothing to do with the incessant number of reality talent shows and is not in anyway linked or endorsed by those in the

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-40560178178728084412008-06-14T18:10:00.002+12:002008-06-15T00:17:55.086+12:00

The other day I had to visit the immigration department to renew my daughters’ residency visas.This is a process that you have to repeat every time you renew your main passport because if you want to re-enter the country you will definitely find it useful to have this little slip indicating that you are a legal alien tucked up nicely in there somewhere.The process is quite simple. You bring your

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-82269150616153761202008-06-10T21:11:00.006+12:002008-06-12T18:07:59.540+12:00

This three-part article is adapted from one I wrote almost 5 years ago when much of what you will read about was fresh in my mind. This adaptation addresses only the passage of time and some points of style and meaning for a wide audience.Whilst software development is the subject of this blog, let us not forget those who (typically in large organisations) support the developers and others.The

zkarjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436894637762923923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-10729906601567729272008-06-09T22:12:00.005+12:002008-06-09T22:49:52.684+12:00

Greetings fellow software developers, this is not Lee speaking! My name is Allister Jenks and I am sure some of you who know Lee will know me as well. Those who don't know me may yet have read my comments on Lee's posts - under the identity of "zkarj".Lee has graciously allowed me to contribute to his blog and I hope I can bring you the same levels of insight and analysis that Lee has led off

zkarjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11436894637762923923noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-37536269575593809392008-06-08T23:02:00.000+12:002008-06-09T22:48:14.553+12:00

It gives me great pleasure to introduce an ex-colleague of mine called 'Zkarj'. He has worked with IBM Power Systems (System i, i5, AS400 etc) for many many years and is a true advocate of the platform in general.He has written several articles/rants over the years and is published onlineZkarj has asked if I would like to accept posts from him on this blog. My first offer of co-authorship since

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-7764435221635295192008-06-07T16:19:00.003+12:002008-06-12T14:32:12.284+12:00

I have decided to move on from my current role after over four years working at my present company. My reasons are varied and plentiful but as always the lure of a fresh new challenge often commands the majority of my thoughts.I have started once more on the interview merry go round, first with agents and then in the coming weeks with potential employers. This is an interesting time in my career

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-56102895743432113182008-05-31T23:55:00.005+12:002008-06-01T23:57:32.615+12:00

This is part III of a trilogy of articles regarding the usage and evolution of software development languages. Part I can be found here and part II here.All of these technologies have issues to address. 20 years ago we were all happy with green screens for business applications with centralised platforms, then came client server with Windows and the distributed computing model became mainstream.

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-58577314575963528142008-05-22T23:51:00.004+12:002008-05-23T00:16:50.172+12:00

Bugs!!!! Love them or loathe them, realistic developers understand that bugs are part of our everyday life. We have technical bugs, environment bugs, business logic bugs, integration bugs, somebody elses bugs and god forbid, stomach bugs.Now apart from the stomach bugs. Who is responsible for clearing up this mess?There are numerous approaches depending on the product(s) you have developed, your

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-70855690766712560772008-05-12T20:59:00.009+12:002008-05-14T14:55:03.352+12:00

This is part II of a trilogy of articles regarding the usage and evolution of software development languages. Part I can be found here.So what are the benefits or otherwise of using a 3GL over a 4GL and visa versa. For me it certainly depends on all the usual factors that drive any technology decision. Cost of product, support, flexibility, the human factor, tool lifecycle, vendor direction and

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-29565675609709486602008-04-30T21:08:00.009+12:002008-05-14T14:46:19.183+12:00

Ever since development languages were invented we have sought ways of making the development of software easier. We have attempted to do this by abstracting the level at which the developer is employed to create code and created languages and tools which are more 'natural English' in terms of human interaction. However, on the other hand we have also added to this extra levels of complexity with

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-51794816610253577002008-04-17T02:11:00.037+12:002008-05-28T23:40:58.629+12:00

“What comes around goes around” is a phrase commonly used when preaching to others about ethical behaviour or by those that believe that there is a levelling force out there that cares enough to ensure that things work out evenly in the end. Other phrases like “You are what you eat”, “You will reap what you sow” or “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” are also symbolic of phrases

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-24554054925365613792008-04-10T23:59:00.009+12:002008-06-12T14:50:49.198+12:00

This is a phrase that was immortalised many years ago into the educated soccer commentators punditry. To this day it is associated with the footballing legend Jimmy Greaves. He however denies that he has ever muttered these hallowed words, but I clearly recollect him talking to Ian St John on the Saint and Greavsie Show on numerous occasions. But if the man himself denies it then I guess I must

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-83434799902818995792008-04-03T14:00:00.011+13:002008-08-17T18:43:01.717+12:00

So IBM has announced another change to the name for one of my favourite computing platforms.The new name ‘IBM Power System’ replaces the name of ‘System i’. I must admit I hadn’t really come to terms with the last rename and more often than not used the term ‘iSeries’ or ‘AS/400’. If I am being totally honest, I actually interchange all of these terms so frequently in both written and oral

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-1934818562257837112008-03-27T03:10:00.003+13:002008-03-27T12:29:22.919+13:00

.............. THIS PAGE HAS BEEN INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.............

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-16391987699099519362008-03-20T18:41:00.018+13:002008-04-01T13:43:10.049+13:00

Whilst most people I know are off on holidays this weekend (Easter), I have the unenviable pleasure of decorating my house. Like most people I have been doing this for what appears like eternity. I wouldn't say I am a DIY addict, but I have completed my fair share of decorating rooms over the years.So this weekend over the 4 days I have to decorate our hall, landing and stairs covering the

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-27264873000621619852008-03-18T03:03:00.014+13:002008-04-04T18:58:42.448+13:00

There are only 17576 combinations that can be considered when allocating a TLA (Three Letter Acronym) for airport codes. Part of the challenge is that the code should also be meaningful and identifiable, for instance, everyone knows that London Heathrow is LHR and that Berlin in Germany is BER.If you don't believe me take a look at this site http://www.world-airport-codes.com/.After a while some

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-25655697555147624032008-03-17T23:00:00.023+13:002008-05-24T00:45:55.065+12:00

This has to be one of the most common questions asked of anyone in life. Apart from, How are you?, Can I buy you a drink? or cringingly, Do you come here often?. Well, this isn't an article about chat up lines or dating gotchas. I am long past all of that.However, many people can simply reply “I am a plumber” or “Nah, I’m a sparky geezer!” (Electrician), or perhaps they might say "I have my own

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5441580396845458809.post-32816182970830345002008-03-17T11:42:00.010+13:002008-03-23T11:47:24.914+13:00

Development Standards are an important aspect of software development. Whether you are a one man band developing a small product for sale over the internet or part of a multi-national multi-disciplined software development team, getting them right for your environment has a significant impact on your ability to grow and maintain your application.Development Standards are all about best practices.

Lee Darehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430103088787567059noreply@blogger.com0