Articles by Bob Hendry

Ida, Sally, and Harry

Mon, 01 Nov 2004 00:00:00 EST

We've all run across different types of users who can make our work a little more difficult. Once you understand them, maybe, just maybe, they'll be easier to deal with.

Software Development for Slackers

Fri, 01 Oct 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Mark Twain once said he only has to do as much work as he has to. This quote has often been misinterpreted as one of an underachiever, a mantra for the lazy, bored, and burnt out. I disagree. In my opinion Mark Twain is a genius and can run all of my software development projects.

Mobile FM by MAXIMUS

Fri, 01 Oct 2004 00:00:00 EDT

With all the talk about the great PowerBuilder exodus, this new monthly column will focus on how PowerBuilder has remained at the forefront of client/server and mobile computing. Although no longer the flavor of the month, the downfall of PowerBuilder has been seriously exaggerated, and rumors of its imminent death are outright wrong.

Euphemisms

Wed, 01 Sep 2004 00:00:00 EDT

I live in the midwest where we have a seasonal insect known locally as a 'June Bug.' These flying bugs are the size of small Buicks and have absolutely no aerial navigation skills. On warm summer evenings, these bugs can be observed in choreographed crazy straw flight patterns that usually end in spectacular crashes into windshields, window screens, or the drink on your lap. June Bugs are not pleasant visitors.

The Computer Club

Tue, 01 Jun 2004 00:00:00 EDT

I do something every month that is very dear to my heart - once a month I visit my local elementary school where I am a volunteer teacher for the computer club. This is one of the most cherished things I do. The club meets once a week with a regular teacher along with the volunteer for the week. We affectionately call ourselves 'geeks of the week.'

Welcome to WIPS

Thu, 20 May 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Imagine having all of your data on you, whenever and wherever you go. Most of us use some sort of wireless technology to keep us looped into the wired world. The problem is that even with all the advances in wireless systems and devices, some fatal flaws remain.

RIP - The Business Analyst

Sat, 01 May 2004 00:00:00 EDT

We all have worked with her; most every project has one. She's not technical, most likely not a manager, and usually we all try to avoid her. Most technical team members scratch their heads when it comes to her. What does she really do?

Wireless's Next Step

Thu, 01 Apr 2004 00:00:00 EST

One thing we love to do in high tech is invent new terms, especially acronyms, but new terms of any form really appeal to us. I must confess I find the terminology of technology to be one of its paramount appeals.

Wal-Mart Software

Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 EST

Sam Walton, the late CEO of Wal-Mart, believed that if someone's efforts were not directly helping Wal-Mart to service its customers, those efforts should be stopped. He had a public relations staff and a human resources staff that he cut severely because they weren't helping with the end goal of serving Wal-Mart's customers.

The Telecommuter

Sun, 01 Feb 2004 00:00:00 EST

I finally got it! The holy grail of consulting - a telecommuting project. Gone are the days of office distractions and annoying co-workers. Traffic? Traffic is for suckers. I'll commute 20 feet to my job. While others will be stuck in cubiclized corporate hell, I'll be in my pajamas being more productive than ever.

Is Information Technology Off Life Support?

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 12:25:00 EST

We may have seen the bottom. After three years of IT dark ages, there's some real evidence that after years of budget cuts, 2004 promises more jobs and projects for all of us.

Grid Computing

Fri, 09 Jan 2004 12:00:00 EST

Over the past 10 years, corporations have experienced a dramatic change in the way they store and process information. In the early 1990s corporate information systems tended to be isolated from one another.

Data Interchange by Cape Clear

Mon, 29 Dec 2003 10:23:58 EST

To my knowledge, Interchange is the world's first Web services-based product for integrating diverse enterprise data. This is the latest addition to the popular Cape Clear Business Integration Suite and has already been chosen by companies such as Vodafone and JPMorgan to simplify the integration of diverse data files from Excel spreadsheets to text files.

The Next Killer App

Wed, 03 Dec 2003 14:00:00 EST

I can't believe it's almost 2004. Sounds so futuristic right? By now I'm sure all of you work 35-hour weeks and take two-month vacations. Your office is a relic of the past. With advances in teleconferencing and telecommunications, you all work comfortably in your home.

Crossfire by AppForge

Tue, 25 Nov 2003 13:13:18 EST

Crossfire is a mobile-application development platform that enables Microsoft Visual Studio .NET developers to create mobile and wireless applications for the leading mobile devices, including those powered by Palm OS, Windows Mobile/Pocket PC, and Symbian OS.

Surviving Layoffs

Wed, 12 Nov 2003 10:00:00 EST

Over the past three years I have witnessed many rounds of layoffs. I consider myself lucky. Since 1996 I have worked exclusively on a consulting basis. So in theory, I have no job to lose. This, of course, means I always have to look for a job, since no project lasts forever.

Aileron 5.0

Tue, 28 Oct 2003 13:56:28 EST

Aileron is a business-quality mobile messaging solution for Palm-powered handheld devices. Its intuitive design helps mobile professionals to completely manage corporate and personal communications from anywhere.

Is IT Outsourcing Worth It?

Fri, 03 Oct 2003 14:00:00 EDT

Over the past 20 years the economy has lost over four million jobs. Although some of these jobs have disappeared because of increased productivity, most of them have been exported overseas to countries with low-cost labor such as China and Pakistan.

WinWAP 3.0 Professional

Tue, 23 Sep 2003 16:08:35 EDT

As far as I know, WinWAP is the first WAP browser that is installable on a PC and a PDA. While wireless hardware and software vendors provide a myriad of PC WAP emulators, they lack a common interface, are often somewhat ugly, and require cumbersome navigation.

Is Computer Science Losing Its Class?

Thu, 11 Sep 2003 16:00:00 EDT

It's not sexy to be a computer geek anymore. A former student of mine, a 31-year-old Web designer, recalls a time in the late 1990s when she was lured by sugar-coated dot-com dreams.

The Wireless Future

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 13:29:15 EDT

Recently I had the opportunity to ask Brian Jaquet, corporate communications manager at Handspring, a few questions about the present and future state of wireless technology. This month, in place of a product review, I'll print his responses. Enjoy!

Open Letter to Karen Frederiksen

Fri, 08 Aug 2003 09:00:00 EDT

Happy TechWave everyone! The other day John Olson and I had a conversation with Karen Frederiksen, the new director for PowerBuilder. After brief introductions she asked us our opinion on PowerBuilder and its future; I think we scared her off.

Treo 600 by Handspring

Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:38:00 EDT

I have to admit I'm a bit biased toward Handspring products. But it's hard to be mean to a company that sends really cool things to me. This month I'll be reviewing the long awaited Treo 600.

Hug a COBOL Programmer Today!

Mon, 21 Jul 2003 11:00:00 EDT

I have a secret for you: most IT workers are concerned with the current state of events in our industry. I am as well. In these tumultuous times, most of us would like to find a bit of stability. I think I've found the job for us. Let's all become COBOL programmers. Before you think I'm nuts, go to an online job site and do a search on Java and count the hits. Then, search on the keyword .NET. Finally, pass in the word COBOL. The results will astound you.

New Client/Server DataWindow Features

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Who says DataWindows can't get any better. Since the inception of PowerBuilder, the DataWindow has been a cornerstone of client/server software development.

Visual Basic Is Evil

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Over the past six months I have been working with programmers with Visual Basic backgrounds. Usually this is a recipe for disaster - like getting dog people and cat people in the same room. With the .NET languages in full swing, and PowerBuilder transformed into a language we would not have recognized only three years ago, this whole thing about PowerBuilder versus Visual Basic has become outmoded and irrelevant. Now I would like to take one parting shot at the worst client/server language ever invented - Visual Basic.

Distributed Applications for Dummies

Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 EDT

It's taken a while, but over the past six months a client of mine has finally gotten around to building distributed applications in PowerBuilder. In another life I've been building distributed applications for over three years; it's refreshing to do this in PowerBuilder. Perhaps it's a harbinger of things to come. With the pending release of PowerBuilder 9, there will be more opportunities to develop distributed PowerBuilder applications. This month I'll share a few useful design guidelines - actually provided by my two-year-old daughter Cassie.

Dynamic SQL

Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 EDT

From the beginning, the DataWindow has been a powerful client/server control. What has set it apart from competing products is its ability to create SQL. In reality, the DataWindow is a SQL-generating machine. By keeping track of row and column statuses, the DataWindow is able to generate the correct SQL statement to UPDATE, DELETE, or INSERT rows into a database.

Education: A Process or a Pill

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 EST

Being an inquisitive teacher I'm always searching the Web looking for educational offerings. For the past 10 years I've made my living teaching at a university. When class is not in session, I take my show on the road and visit training rooms throughout corporate America.

Dynamically Creating DataWindow Objects

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 EST

Objects can be added to your DataWindow programmatically via a Modify statement. In my opinion, the dynamic creation of objects within a DataWindow has been a highly underused feature.

Hire the Dinosaur

Sat, 01 Mar 2003 00:00:00 EST

He sits across the desk from you and you feel like you're talking to your father. According to his résumé, he started out on IBM mainframes and speaks fluent COBOL. You've never actually seen COBOL. He took a PowerBuilder class recently, but he's never used it on the job. He has more actual experience than the rest of your development team combined, but you're pretty sure he has no idea what HTML stands for. Do you hire him?

Project Best Practices

Sat, 01 Mar 2003 00:00:00 EST

You're all ready to go. The project has been approved and you're in charge of setting up the development environment. This article discusses some of the recent changes in the PowerBuilder project development process, and how your team can leverage both old and new techniques to make your application a success.

Soft Skills

Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST

Tech workers, stunned by rounds of layoffs in the aftermath of the dot-com crash and the downturn in the economy, continue to hit a wall in a labor market that has fewer jobs, lower salaries, pickier bosses, and a new job requirement: soft skills.

DataWindow Reporting

Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST

In my early PowerBuilder days, I was very impressed with how easy it was to create and format DataWindows for either online or printed reports. At its easiest, a simple print method is required to send a 'What you see is what you get' version of the DataWindow to the printer. Even when the printed version of a DataWindow is different from the visual one, a simple ShareData() function would be all that is required.

Is Information Technology Off Life Support?

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

We may have seen the bottom. After three years of IT dark ages, there's some real evidence that after years of budget cuts, 2004 promises more jobs and projects for all of us.

Grid Computing - The new frontier for the corporate enterprise?

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

It's About the DataWindow!

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

Something about the DataWindow gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, like a sleeping child with a security blanket. The DataWindow has been like a good luck charm hanging on my rearview mirror.

Using DataWindow Expressions

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

The DataWindow has been around since the first version of PowerBuilder and is indeed the reason many shops have chosen PB. Around for over 10 years, it has remained the most powerful data control in any language.

The Next Killer App

Sun, 01 Dec 2002 00:00:00 EST

Wireless PowerBuilder

Sun, 01 Dec 2002 00:00:00 EST

The first wave of wireless applications flopped badly. Does anyone remember the commercial that shows a young man lying on the beach with his PalmPilot? It goes something like this: a stressed businessman doesn't want to leave the office to go on vacation.