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 with these great tools at CA's mainframe madness event which is coming to an internet connection near you soon.
If you take a look on the CA Mainframe Madness website www.ca.com/mainframe/may you can see that the presentations will be available in a virtual environment for the whole of May. There certainly looks like a few interesting presentations and I am so so so so eager to see how Rob Layzell and the team are getting on with the features for Plex 6.5.
There are a total of 23 sessions for us Plex and 2E users (fans) and some are even in Spanish. You can click on here and view them - Mainframe Madness Sessions - Scroll down to the Modern Development Tools section and read away.
I am looking forward to seeing these.
So enjoy and,
"REMEMBER TO REGISTER".
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
p.s. There are some PC prerequisites that you will need to adhere too so I suggest you do it ahead of time.
A blog devoted to CA 2e (Synon) or CA Plex.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A GUI option for your CA:2E systems - Quickstep:2e
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 (www.sasit.co.nz) based in Auckland, New Zealand. Also, the latest build of the product (version 3.1) has been compatibility tested with CA:2E 8.5 and it works a treat.
Remembering that not every application in your armoury requires the total modernisation treatment. Quickstep:2e remains a viable alternative for organisations that are happy with their green screens productivity. You are also happy with the CA:2E development environments rapid development capability but want to give a little extra functionality with the least possible expense.
Anyhow, don’t take my word for it. Just visit the site, download and try for yourself.
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
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 (www.sasit.co.nz) based in Auckland, New Zealand. Also, the latest build of the product (version 3.1) has been compatibility tested with CA:2E 8.5 and it works a treat.
Remembering that not every application in your armoury requires the total modernisation treatment. Quickstep:2e remains a viable alternative for organisations that are happy with their green screens productivity. You are also happy with the CA:2E development environments rapid development capability but want to give a little extra functionality with the least possible expense.
Using Quickstep:2e is one of the easiest ways for you to create a GUI for your CA:2E applications.
Anyhow, don’t take my word for it. Just visit the site, download and try for yourself.
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Implementing a 'Generic' Data Driver File + Printing/Displaying Arrays in Subfiles (Part III)
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 normal 2E data driven programming but as indicated is particularly useful for implementing *Arrays for DSPFIL's or a PRTFIL or for merging head/footer details into one DSPFIL/PRTFIL.
http://leedare-plex2e.blogspot.com/2009/11/implementing-generic-data-driver-file.html
In part two, I was merely trying to walk you through the solution I was required to provide for one of my customers. These screenshots have been modified from their original form for confidentiality reasons but are posted with permission from my employer http://www.sasit.co.nz/.
http://leedare-plex2e.blogspot.com/2009/11/implementing-generic-data-driver-file_20.html
Today I am just going to do a quick walk through of what was required to create the solution. With a little bit of effort (and luck) you should be in a position to work this out for yourself. Of course, I am always happy to take questions and assist if neccessary.
Step 1. Implement a Data Driver file.
A very simple file with one key. I just made mine a simple numeric field.
Here are the field details
I just went with the default sizes for a NBR field.
Remember, once you have created this file you will need to populate it. I simply populate this with two records 1 and 2 as the keys. I have seen other implementations where people have put all 99,999 records in the file to make their programming a little easier. I prefer a slightly different method of key jumping. Explained a little later.
Step 2 - Some AD coding for the Super 14 table.
I have already computed my table placings based on the scores that have been entered into the system and the Array is keyed in position order. In the AD below you will see that I set a counter. This was initialised to 0 in the initialise program section. The counter is there so I get the correct record for the correct position in the table as my data driven data only has two records. If I wanted to, I could have populated more and had the counting already available in the DB1 context as I read each record. Personnal preferences here I guess. I'd be interested in your viewpoints.
Next, I simply retrieve the data from the Array and do some populating of the fields in the subfile. Now because I am reading down the data driver file and there are only two records I simply have to reset the cursor by doing a re-read of the first record if I think that there are other records to be displayed. If not, the second record is read, not a lot happens and the subfile loading has done its job.
This is a screenshot of the device design for the Super14 table.
And the final table with 2009 results in place is as follows:-
That's it. Simple. If there are other areas in 2e you'd like me to cover. Drop me a line.
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
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 normal 2E data driven programming but as indicated is particularly useful for implementing *Arrays for DSPFIL's or a PRTFIL or for merging head/footer details into one DSPFIL/PRTFIL.
http://leedare-plex2e.blogspot.com/2009/11/implementing-generic-data-driver-file.html
In part two, I was merely trying to walk you through the solution I was required to provide for one of my customers. These screenshots have been modified from their original form for confidentiality reasons but are posted with permission from my employer http://www.sasit.co.nz/.
http://leedare-plex2e.blogspot.com/2009/11/implementing-generic-data-driver-file_20.html
Today I am just going to do a quick walk through of what was required to create the solution. With a little bit of effort (and luck) you should be in a position to work this out for yourself. Of course, I am always happy to take questions and assist if neccessary.
Step 1. Implement a Data Driver file.
A very simple file with one key. I just made mine a simple numeric field.
Here are the field details
I just went with the default sizes for a NBR field.
Remember, once you have created this file you will need to populate it. I simply populate this with two records 1 and 2 as the keys. I have seen other implementations where people have put all 99,999 records in the file to make their programming a little easier. I prefer a slightly different method of key jumping. Explained a little later.
Step 2 - Some AD coding for the Super 14 table.
I have already computed my table placings based on the scores that have been entered into the system and the Array is keyed in position order. In the AD below you will see that I set a counter. This was initialised to 0 in the initialise program section. The counter is there so I get the correct record for the correct position in the table as my data driven data only has two records. If I wanted to, I could have populated more and had the counting already available in the DB1 context as I read each record. Personnal preferences here I guess. I'd be interested in your viewpoints.
Next, I simply retrieve the data from the Array and do some populating of the fields in the subfile. Now because I am reading down the data driver file and there are only two records I simply have to reset the cursor by doing a re-read of the first record if I think that there are other records to be displayed. If not, the second record is read, not a lot happens and the subfile loading has done its job.
This is a screenshot of the device design for the Super14 table.
And the final table with 2009 results in place is as follows:-
That's it. Simple. If there are other areas in 2e you'd like me to cover. Drop me a line.
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Implementing a 'Generic' Data Driver File + Printing/Displaying Arrays in Subfiles (Part II)
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 out and not created a Football (Soccer) or NFL example.
System Overview
The requirement was to build a system that allowed the user to make simple sports results/margins predictions on a group of games on a weekly basis. The fuxtures would be published and the predictions made. Once the results were known they would be entered in to the system and participants points (awarded for correct or near correct predictions) would be calculated.
Requirement
Not everyone had the time to trawl the internet looking for a league table that may assist them with making their predictions (Hopefully they have enough time to read this article though). The requirement was to show a realtime league table as fixtures results were entered. It was decided to record the points the actual teams achieved for each fixture and then simply build the league table on the fly.
Additional information
One could have built a simple file and recreated each and every time the results changed. However, due to the limited number of teams and fixtures in a period it was decided to build on the fly in an array. Also this also meant there was no physical file to maintain and promote and the user could easily view any of the previous years.
Solution
Using a generic data driver file. Build an array that computes and sorts the team table into the correct order and then read from the array the teams and show in that order they are in the table.
Next week I will show you how this was achieved. There will be otherways to receive the same result and all notes are intended as a guide. Your individual circumstances and requirements may vary but feel free to emulate and utilise.
As an appetiser the screen below is a DSPFIL based over an Array.
As an appetiser the screen below is a DSPFIL based over an Array.
If you require any further assistance you can always email me at (leedare at talk21 dot com)
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Implementing a 'Generic' Data Driver File + Printing/Displaying Arrays in Subfiles (Part I)
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 on years ago. It shows a diary note (Header) and the detailed comments (Detail) in one screen and uses a toggle button to determine the entires shown for either the summary mode or detail mode.
To implement these solutions I have used the 'Generic Data Driver' file concept. I have introduced this at the last 3 2E sites I have worked at.
A worked example of how to do this with screen shots and code sample code will be in part III . I have also included some notes to help you set up your own generic data driver file and one example of how to utilise it. This example also has the added bonus of showing you how you can show arrays on a DSPFIL. Whooarah....Yippee....Get on with it..... I can hear you all say........
This might save Rory and Simon some hassle anyway!!!! At least with fending off this often requested enhancement to the base 2E tool.
Until then.....(Next Week).
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Enhancement Requests
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 effort.
Certainly a .NET client for Plex came top last year and this is what we saw at the conference albeit in technology preview mode.
Whilst not everything on the list can get done. CA tend to try and get the balance right between the list items that rank highly and the market direction of the product as they see it too. Which is fair I guess.
My call to you all today is not that the enhancements are starting soon and you should al be reaching for your new 2010 Pirelli calendar. That's for Bill and the team to decide. However, I am saying that the list is made up of requests that we make to the CA support desk. i.e. no requests equates to a smaller list of items or last years ones (some of which may still be very valid).
My challenge to the community is to think through some of your preferred enhancements and ensure that you register these via the support desk online so that they make the list for you to vote on. I am also aware that CA is planning to extend its arm further into the user community with a product advisory type approach involving some of the clients. I am certainly looking forward to contributing to this.
However, in the meantime, start raising those tickets and remember when you are voting you are voting for your top ten in the order you want them. Some people have been confused by this in the past.....
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
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 effort.
Certainly a .NET client for Plex came top last year and this is what we saw at the conference albeit in technology preview mode.
Whilst not everything on the list can get done. CA tend to try and get the balance right between the list items that rank highly and the market direction of the product as they see it too. Which is fair I guess.
My call to you all today is not that the enhancements are starting soon and you should al be reaching for your new 2010 Pirelli calendar. That's for Bill and the team to decide. However, I am saying that the list is made up of requests that we make to the CA support desk. i.e. no requests equates to a smaller list of items or last years ones (some of which may still be very valid).
My challenge to the community is to think through some of your preferred enhancements and ensure that you register these via the support desk online so that they make the list for you to vote on. I am also aware that CA is planning to extend its arm further into the user community with a product advisory type approach involving some of the clients. I am certainly looking forward to contributing to this.
However, in the meantime, start raising those tickets and remember when you are voting you are voting for your top ten in the order you want them. Some people have been confused by this in the past.....
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Conference 2009 - The great 'Texas' roadtrip and more.......
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.
ADC are busy working on an updated version of the migration patterns and the dedication and passion I witnessed from their development team was first class.
A Plex application running in a browser using Dojo controls.
Thanks to the CA team
- The Plex ecosystem with ADC and Websydian et al has a great reach into multiple technologies and platforms. Interesting times are ahead as CA and its partners work towards full coverage of .NET
- Extending Web Services support and other 2E functions to handle Data Sets and some neat stuff with arrays is on the potential enhancement list for 8.5+. This further delights me as I look at ways of providing additional business benefits to my customers.
Thanks Gavin for producing this, but next time.
"MAKE SURE I'M IN IT!!"
Lee.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Conference 2009 - Day 3 - Final Day
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 months. Only time will tell.
At this stage I should though say a great big thank you to Jill Fender from ADC who saved my day today, quite literally. Here's the story.
My session was at 11am and like all speakers I got there 30 minutes early to set up. You know, plug in the laptop, check the projector and open the powerpoint.
Now with 15 minutes to go (long bootstrap on my laptop) I find out that I left my presentation on my work PC desktop. Remember that internet I referred too on the first day and that I couldn't connect to work. Yes..... And guess what? it was early the hours of the morning back home so a phone call and quick email to my online email account wouldn't suffice.
A rushed around to find Bill, but he had left. Fortunately, I then bumped into Jill. She managed to ring Bill who was at the airport. As I understand it he then found some internet access and emailed it to Jill (who could connect properly).
I was two minutes into my presentation by this time. I had a old copy of a similiar presentation at Cincinatti. I had performed some tweaks (in that 15 minutes I had spare) and had apologised to my audience. (Thanks for all those that attended by the way. I was very pleased with the numbers and I hope that you got something out of it.). Anyhow. Two minutes and the door opens and it was Jill with the primed laptop. I connected it to the projector and then I was able to talk through my 2009 (updated with loads of new content) slides. I understand that these will all be made available online at some stage. However, I have also decided to type up the notes for each slide and will post on this blog.
06/02/2010 - I will do this in the coming weeks.
So, session delivery complete it was time for me to enjoy some additional sessions and attend a couple of demo's. Gavin (my mate from SA) regarding his security and validation pattern and with Soren and Anders discussing in some detail the TransacXML product. Very very very useful. Check them out on http://www.websydian.com/ and Gavin http://www.arad.co.za/
A final note on the conference. The sessions were great, the food was great, the company and friendship was great. Also that iPhone stuff I mentioned can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2eplex2009. If you want to just see the application in a normal phone or online then you can go to http://conf.desynit.com/
Once all was concluded a few of us went to Hooters (you can google this, but I would suggest you google for Hooters Restaurant) for a meal and quite a few beers. After all, it was Friday night.
That's just about wrapped up the 2009 conference. Hope to see you in 2011.
UPDATE - 28/09/2009 - Just found the presentation. It was on the laptop all the time. I had downloaded it using the download manager and I have just spotted it in there. I won't be making that mistake again!!!!!!
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
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 months. Only time will tell.
At this stage I should though say a great big thank you to Jill Fender from ADC who saved my day today, quite literally. Here's the story.
My session was at 11am and like all speakers I got there 30 minutes early to set up. You know, plug in the laptop, check the projector and open the powerpoint.
OPEN THE POWERPOINT!!!!!.
HEART RATE INCREASES.
Now with 15 minutes to go (long bootstrap on my laptop) I find out that I left my presentation on my work PC desktop. Remember that internet I referred too on the first day and that I couldn't connect to work. Yes..... And guess what? it was early the hours of the morning back home so a phone call and quick email to my online email account wouldn't suffice.
A rushed around to find Bill, but he had left. Fortunately, I then bumped into Jill. She managed to ring Bill who was at the airport. As I understand it he then found some internet access and emailed it to Jill (who could connect properly).
I was two minutes into my presentation by this time. I had a old copy of a similiar presentation at Cincinatti. I had performed some tweaks (in that 15 minutes I had spare) and had apologised to my audience. (Thanks for all those that attended by the way. I was very pleased with the numbers and I hope that you got something out of it.). Anyhow. Two minutes and the door opens and it was Jill with the primed laptop. I connected it to the projector and then I was able to talk through my 2009 (updated with loads of new content) slides. I understand that these will all be made available online at some stage. However, I have also decided to type up the notes for each slide and will post on this blog.
06/02/2010 - I will do this in the coming weeks.
So, session delivery complete it was time for me to enjoy some additional sessions and attend a couple of demo's. Gavin (my mate from SA) regarding his security and validation pattern and with Soren and Anders discussing in some detail the TransacXML product. Very very very useful. Check them out on http://www.websydian.com/ and Gavin http://www.arad.co.za/
A final note on the conference. The sessions were great, the food was great, the company and friendship was great. Also that iPhone stuff I mentioned can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2eplex2009. If you want to just see the application in a normal phone or online then you can go to http://conf.desynit.com/
Once all was concluded a few of us went to Hooters (you can google this, but I would suggest you google for Hooters Restaurant) for a meal and quite a few beers. After all, it was Friday night.
That's just about wrapped up the 2009 conference. Hope to see you in 2011.
UPDATE - 28/09/2009 - Just found the presentation. It was on the laptop all the time. I had downloaded it using the download manager and I have just spotted it in there. I won't be making that mistake again!!!!!!
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Conference 2009 - Day 2
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 Daniel Leigh. Although terms like "no commitment can be made on delivery or a date", one certainly left the room with a feeling that the .NET client in 6.5 is happening. Tomorrow we will be seeing this in action (I hope). I saw the icon on a laptop at one of the presentations.
Other than that Plex is BAU with planning being tidied up for the 6.5 release.
It was also nice to see what others had been doing. Chris Smith (albeit nervous) and please dont worry about that mate as what you have done in the plex java world with the 'plug in' looked fantastic. I salute your efforts and would like to get involved. Even if it is only from a ideas and scope perspective.
A few others around the performance products from CA which could have a place at my work and a excellent implementation and demonstration of a codejock toolbar control being integrated into the Plex patterns. Thanks Asgeri and Gunnar (http://www.vigor.is/) for sharing that. Nice to meet you guys.
I skipped the IBM session as I was lucky to have Alison Butterill visit Auckland where I live a few weeks ago. So I actually caught up on some of that sleep deprivation that had been occurring recently.
Lastly, I looked at the TransacXML product. Soren and Anne-marie did a great job explaining the concepts of SOA. The products new import feature in the latest release (August 2009) looks like it can save a huge amount of time for the Plex developers at the modelling stage as well as increase accuracy. It's just another piece in the puzzle that keeps this tool viable and a serious option for any 2e shops wanting to target other platforms.
Time for dinner and then Plex in the City. Which is basically dinner and then a visit to a few bars. Starts in two minutes so better go.
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
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 Daniel Leigh. Although terms like "no commitment can be made on delivery or a date", one certainly left the room with a feeling that the .NET client in 6.5 is happening. Tomorrow we will be seeing this in action (I hope). I saw the icon on a laptop at one of the presentations.
Other than that Plex is BAU with planning being tidied up for the 6.5 release.
It was also nice to see what others had been doing. Chris Smith (albeit nervous) and please dont worry about that mate as what you have done in the plex java world with the 'plug in' looked fantastic. I salute your efforts and would like to get involved. Even if it is only from a ideas and scope perspective.
A few others around the performance products from CA which could have a place at my work and a excellent implementation and demonstration of a codejock toolbar control being integrated into the Plex patterns. Thanks Asgeri and Gunnar (http://www.vigor.is/) for sharing that. Nice to meet you guys.
I skipped the IBM session as I was lucky to have Alison Butterill visit Auckland where I live a few weeks ago. So I actually caught up on some of that sleep deprivation that had been occurring recently.
Lastly, I looked at the TransacXML product. Soren and Anne-marie did a great job explaining the concepts of SOA. The products new import feature in the latest release (August 2009) looks like it can save a huge amount of time for the Plex developers at the modelling stage as well as increase accuracy. It's just another piece in the puzzle that keeps this tool viable and a serious option for any 2e shops wanting to target other platforms.
Time for dinner and then Plex in the City. Which is basically dinner and then a visit to a few bars. Starts in two minutes so better go.
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Conference 2009 - Day 1
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 whilst scouting out a laundromat with a very tall South African fellow named Gavin (Arad software http://www.arad.co.za/). My mate Martin from NZ also came along for the journey. I used to work with one of Gavin's old school mates from SA and we have now become friends. Talk about 6 degrees of seperation etc.
There are a few words or sentences that helps describe these early days so far.
A big thank you to the Websydian team for putting on a great dinner tonight. As usual Bill kicked off the conference in his casual style. He's done so many now I guess he can do this with his eyes shut. There was a big shout out to the participants. 19 different countries were represented and well over 100 delegates to boot.
The usual thank yous to the event co-sponsors. See http://www.plex2e.com/ for more information about them and the event time table.
Anyhow, back to the action.
Then came a couple of keynotes from John Leadbetter (Websydian) and Simon Williams, the later being the founder of the tools we all love to use. He presented an accurate history of the tools and some of the early drivers and it all made sense. Of course, there was a plug for the AMD (Associative Model of Data) at the end but I guess he's earn't that. Considering I have made a career out of the tools he invented. I guess thats okay.
Personally though, I am gutted that Gunter and the team from All About Gmbh didn't make the event. I hope to pop over and see you guys in December 2009 if you would put up with me for a day? Still there are lots of very interesting sessions planned and I hope to come back to NZ with a much greater knowledge about the direction of the tools that I love.
There is lots of talk about an announcement around a .NET WPF client generator for version 6.5. This would certainly give the tools a great advantage over their rivals with the ability to hit both the Java and Microsoft technology stacks from a signle design model.
And I must mention the Desynit guys who have developed an iPhone 'conference' application that allows delegates to rate the sessions that people attend. Anyone can take a look online or via their iPhone, Blackberry, Web phone etc and track these. I'll post more on this in the future. Who would have thought that this would have been achieved using Plex and WCF web services. More on this and other interesting news as I hear more.
For now a couple of beers in the bar and hopefully some sleep tonight. After 3 hours last night and that was a good night (jetlag) I'd be greatful for that alarm clock to go off and it actually do it's job rather than interupting me watching Lissette Gonzales. A rather hot weather girl on one of the news channels here.
Tomorrow there is a string of sessions planned and a couple of meetings with product owners. I am particularly keen on the Websydian TransacXML patterns and see some excellent business benefit using these. Not to mention that Soren (the guy who knows all about the product) enjoys a pint two. Looks like we might pop out to Waxy O'Connors for lunch. :-)
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
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 whilst scouting out a laundromat with a very tall South African fellow named Gavin (Arad software http://www.arad.co.za/). My mate Martin from NZ also came along for the journey. I used to work with one of Gavin's old school mates from SA and we have now become friends. Talk about 6 degrees of seperation etc.
There are a few words or sentences that helps describe these early days so far.
- Extreme jetlag.
- Excellent training session today on web service connectors for multiple languages and platforms using the CA Plex tool.
- Keynote presentations.
- Crap internet. The internet is so slow I am using a connection (not my wifi) which is making it impossible for me to check my business emails at work. Will try other options tomorrow.
A big thank you to the Websydian team for putting on a great dinner tonight. As usual Bill kicked off the conference in his casual style. He's done so many now I guess he can do this with his eyes shut. There was a big shout out to the participants. 19 different countries were represented and well over 100 delegates to boot.
The usual thank yous to the event co-sponsors. See http://www.plex2e.com/ for more information about them and the event time table.
Anyhow, back to the action.
Then came a couple of keynotes from John Leadbetter (Websydian) and Simon Williams, the later being the founder of the tools we all love to use. He presented an accurate history of the tools and some of the early drivers and it all made sense. Of course, there was a plug for the AMD (Associative Model of Data) at the end but I guess he's earn't that. Considering I have made a career out of the tools he invented. I guess thats okay.
Personally though, I am gutted that Gunter and the team from All About Gmbh didn't make the event. I hope to pop over and see you guys in December 2009 if you would put up with me for a day? Still there are lots of very interesting sessions planned and I hope to come back to NZ with a much greater knowledge about the direction of the tools that I love.
There is lots of talk about an announcement around a .NET WPF client generator for version 6.5. This would certainly give the tools a great advantage over their rivals with the ability to hit both the Java and Microsoft technology stacks from a signle design model.
And I must mention the Desynit guys who have developed an iPhone 'conference' application that allows delegates to rate the sessions that people attend. Anyone can take a look online or via their iPhone, Blackberry, Web phone etc and track these. I'll post more on this in the future. Who would have thought that this would have been achieved using Plex and WCF web services. More on this and other interesting news as I hear more.
For now a couple of beers in the bar and hopefully some sleep tonight. After 3 hours last night and that was a good night (jetlag) I'd be greatful for that alarm clock to go off and it actually do it's job rather than interupting me watching Lissette Gonzales. A rather hot weather girl on one of the news channels here.
See what I mean!
Tomorrow there is a string of sessions planned and a couple of meetings with product owners. I am particularly keen on the Websydian TransacXML patterns and see some excellent business benefit using these. Not to mention that Soren (the guy who knows all about the product) enjoys a pint two. Looks like we might pop out to Waxy O'Connors for lunch. :-)
Thanks for reading.
Lee.
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