When we first started doing unit tests my boss insisted that we really do integration tests, using the unit tests framework. And we had to use our test databases...

With the benefit of hindsight I see the use of the cloud in the same vein as when a company isn't big enough to have its own dedicated capability so...

I have been hunting for a pyramid diagram that represents the pace of change for the different layers of applications.

The fastest layer is at the top representing the user interface. ...

Fully onboard with BULK EXPORT.

I used to use xp_cmdshell with SQL Server Agent jobs where the alternative was the complexity of having to build an SSIS job for something quite...

When Agile is used for rapid feedback with responsive customers it can be an effective way to flush out system requirements.  I've more often seen Agile used as cover...

I find that some customers really know what they want, have an in-depth knowledge of their subject and can communicate their needs in a way that is an education.  Getting...

I work with someone I regard as the best architect/developer/data engineer I have ever met.  I he wasn't also a gifted teacher/mentor then the combination of skills and seemingly inexhaustible...

With the benefit of hindsight, I didn't appreciate the wealth of metrics that SQL Server emits as part of its standard operation.  I'm not sure if it did so in...

Test coverage as a metric is a mine field.  It's like page life expectancy or buffer cache hit ratio.  It's all in the context in which they are used and...

I do a lot of Python development for cloud environments.  When designing and writing software I ask myself "How can this code be tested robustly in a mechanical way"?  Often...

The point made about perception of perfection from the users of our work is important.  People may have to live with the product of our labours for many years.   If...

With a few exceptions, I've found the time, gained by generated code, is lost by the manual process of debugging and refactoring.

Using LLM for Java/C# etc strikes me as trying...

Anyway, he had a horrible habit of ripping into everyone who did any presentation, showing either some esoteric knowledge only he knew about the topic under discussion or if...

I once asked my boss what an expert was. He smiled, and told me to break down the word. "X" is an unknown and "spurt" is a drip of...

Really...