Microservices, SOA and Service Broker

If you want to implement a service-oriented architecture on Windows, Service Broker is still your best choice, argues Phil Factor.

Fifty Words for Databases

Phil wonders whether it is our poor vocabulary about databases that has lead to the failure of developers and Operations people to understand each other on the topic of deployment.

Programming Rules and 'Best Practices' Can't Replace Professional Judgement

In which Phil Factor casts doubts on 'programming policies'. For certain, any IT team development requires plenty of methods of working that maximise productivity, but coding standards and ‘best practices’ have to be treated with caution. Programming rules can’t replace professional judgement

Software Projects: the important boring bits

Phil Factor on the sort of boring expertise that will help you thrive as a consultant.

Facebooking Up to Your Social Responsibilities

Phil Factor argues that as terrorists and criminals exploit the new opportunities that open up as technology develops, technologists must work with Governments to ensure thoughtful custodianship of data, and sensitivity towards legitimate privacy.

In Praise of Service Broker

Phil Factor on one of SQL Server's unsung and underused workhorses.

Is a foreign key constraint an index? If not, is an index automatically created in order to enforce it?

Static Code Analysis: a necessary irritation.

There is little doubt that static code analysis can contribute to code quality and deliverability. As an aid to a developer, it seems increasingly essential, but can it ever deliver reliable metrics of code-quality? One shudders at the potential misuse of quality metrics in the wrong hands. My hope is that it remains just an aid to human judgement; and creativity.

A IT Consultant for our Times

Phil Factor explains that being a consultant in the latest IT hot topic is a worthy role. Someone has to do it, and Phil explains why.

The first thing to do with a damaged off-line database