Ross Hawkins - February 2007 Entries

February 2007 Entries

Fun with MSMQ

Working with MSMQ is pretty simple. A couple of quick google searches will return a nice array of code snippets and tutorials to help you get started. If you prefer books, there are heaps of them out there too, although I'm not really sure how you write entire book which is based soley on MSMQ, but I assure you they do exist. I understand that if you're developing an enterprise application that you'd probably want to use some more complex features of MSMQ, but the basic concept isn't that hard - put a message on the queue, take a...

posted @ Saturday, February 24, 2007 10:21 AM | Feedback (0) Filed Under [ ASP.NET Web Development C# ]

..and now, a break from all things technology

Sunset at Bethells beach, Waitakere, Auckland, New Zealand. Tags: NZ

posted @ Thursday, February 22, 2007 11:04 AM | Feedback (0) Filed Under [ NZ Miscellaneous Me ]

Snippet Compiler

Snippet Compiler compiles Snippets of code (who'd have guessed it!). A handy tool for when you want to experiment with small pieces of code away from the regular context of whatever application you're developing. Link: Snippet Compiler

posted @ Thursday, February 22, 2007 10:32 AM | Feedback (0)

SQL Server 2005 SP2 now available

SQL Server 2005 SP2 is now available for all versions. Link: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 Link: What's New in SQL Server 2005 SP2 Tags: Microsoft, SQL

posted @ Wednesday, February 21, 2007 6:32 PM | Feedback (0) Filed Under [ ASP.NET Web Development SQL ]

Generate SQL data INSERT statements from a table

If you've ever had to work with reference data across multiple instances of the same application, or have simply needed to script data contained in a table, then you'll know what I'm talking about here. I've needed to do this a few times recently, and finally managed to come across something which does exactly what I needed. Here's the blurb from the description, which sums it up better than I have here: This procedure generates INSERT statements using existing data from the given tables and views. Later, you can use these INSERT statements to generate the data....

posted @ Monday, February 12, 2007 10:28 PM | Feedback (1) Filed Under [ Web Development SQL ]

Domgle v1.2 is out

After writing about Domgle recently, it seems they went and released a new version which fixes all of the minor issues. Check it out here, or of course over at OpenNTF.

posted @ Tuesday, February 06, 2007 11:04 PM | Feedback (1)

Blogo 1.51

Ferdy recently updated Blogo to version 1.51. I've been putting off upgrading this site, mainly because I made a few customisations to the template which meant that the upgrade wasn't going to be quite as quick as a simple design replace/refresh. I finally got around to taking a look at the TinyMCE integration and decided it was worth the upgrade indeed. So it's done. It didn't take long at all - in fact the only reason I wasn't looking forward to it was because I'd forgotten how little or how much I'd modified to throw in the extra features I...

posted @ Saturday, February 03, 2007 1:21 AM | Feedback (0)

The start of the Super 14 Rugby Season is upon us!

Seeing as I started a category for Rugby, so it would be negligent of me not to comment briefly on the first Super 14 matches last night. First, it's exactly as we thought it would be to have teams minus their 'rested' All Blacks. NPC rugby is always a bit weird when you have teams missing touring players, and it's weirder still when they return - some manage to integrate back in well, others don't. Previously it was nice that Super rugby was immune to this. Those players will of course be back playing soon enough, but it...

posted @ Saturday, February 03, 2007 1:03 AM | Feedback (0) Filed Under [ NZ Miscellaneous ]

Domgle

Domgle is a Domino based multi database search application written by Julien Bottemanne which utilises AJAX technology. I talked about Domgle briefly over on merauderweb a while back when it was still in Beta. Since then Domgle has been released up to 1.1 and has now become an OpenNTF project. I think there are going to be a couple of distinctly different groups of people who will be interested in Domgle; People who have a need for context sensitive web searches in their Domino environment Domino developers who want to play with a bit of AJAX Domgle uses google syntax for all...

posted @ Friday, February 02, 2007 2:24 PM | Feedback (3)

How To Become a Better Programmer by Not Programming

How To Become a Better Programmer by Not Programming is a post from Jeff Atwood which has been doing the rounds over the past couple of days. The posting along with some of the comments are worth a quick read - even if you disagree with some of what's been said, it should provide you with some food for thought. My main issue is with the title, which I don't think is quite right. I do however agree with the line of thinking that a Developer's job is about a lot more than simply churning out code. There's little point...

posted @ Friday, February 02, 2007 12:42 PM | Feedback (0)

About me

My name is Ross Hawkins and I'm a Developer, Consultant and Writer based in Auckland, New Zealand (pictured below!). My current work revolves around ASP.NET, C#, jQuery, Ajax, SQL Server, and a mix of other Microsoft development technologies.

I also have about 14 years of experience with IBM Lotus Notes/Domino and associated technologies. While Notes/Domino is no longer my primary focus I still like to dabble and keep my skills up to date.

I own and run 2 businesses - Hawkins Consulting Services, and Ignition Development.

Bethells Beach, located in sunny West Auckland, New Zealand