Hal Helms On Web Development

Ready to Learn Ruby on Rails?

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:27:00 -0400

I've heard from quite a few programmers who are interested in putting their toe in the RoR waters. It is a big step -- and to make that as non-stressful as possible, I'm going to hold a free two-hour online "Intro to Ruby on Rails for ColdFusion Programmers" training on September 22 from 12.30 to 2.30 Eastern US time. [More]

Adobe v. Apple Misses an Important Point

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:08:00 -0400

Well, the internet is roiling with accusations, conspiracy theories, cross-complaints -- you name it -- regarding Apple's much ballyhooed smackdown on Adobe's Flash. I found this comment to be particularly telling: "The iPad is an anti-technology device targeting consumers who are too lazy/stupid to use or want a keyboard or mouse or stylus. Why should a website focusing on tech-savvy people modify their code to play along with the silly-ass marketing scheme Apple plays making its airhead users _think_ they're some kind of pioneers?" Let's stipulate that Apple is not too fond of Adobe. Why? Who knows. And it was particularly cold-blooded of them to let Adobe develop their Flash-to-iPhone technology, dropping this bombshell only a few days before the release of CS5. Let's stipulate, in fact, that Apple is bristling with its own power -- and is using it with shocking disregard for what other members of the tech community think. But we techies miss an important point that Apple does not: computers are too damned hard for normal people to use. In the tradeoff between power and ease-of-use, techies will always choose power. Apple really does seem intent on making a computer "for the rest of us" -- and that means that power must/will be sacrificed to make the device(s) simple to use. And reliable. And having a decent battery life. Does Apple's decision to cut Flash off at the knees make sense? It depends on whose interests you're thinking of. Is it good for you and me who crave all the power we can get? No. But is it good for the vast numbers of people who just want a computer that works and are frustrated by the unintended side effects of power run amok? Reluctantly, I have to say yes.

Working Off the Clock

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:50:00 -0400

Recently, I read Ben Nadel's post of his thoughts stimulated by a book that we both seem to be reading, Drive by Daniel Pink. Ben is thinking about the best way of compensating workers. It's a great read with lots of comments. It reminded me of how I stumbled into something that I had pretty much forgotten about -- and I wonder if it would work in a different context. [More]

No More Resumes

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:28:00 -0400

We're looking to hire some developers. The first person I thought of was my friend, Ben Edwards. In talking with Ben, he had an unusual -- and I think brilliant -- idea about resumes: kill them all. [More]

Book Review: jQuery UI 1.7

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:29:00 -0400

Packt Publishing seems to be one of the leading publishers of client-side programming books -- and good ones. My first experience with them was the excellent Learning jQuery. Now, I've just finished jQuery UI 1.7: The User Interface Library for jQuery. [More]

What We Can All Learn From Ben Nadel

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:36:00 -0400

Most of you will be familiar with blogger extraordinaire Ben Nadel. Ben recently posted about a fundamental misunderstanding he had about jQuery event objects. There's something very important to be learned about how Ben approaches problems. [More]

The Pre Post-Mortem

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:26:00 -0400

For an upcoming, large job, I did a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats". It's a formalized way of assessing both the business opportunity and one's abilities to leverage the opportunity. (Sorry for the market-speak...) SWOT is helpful in thinking realistically about one's strengths and weaknesses -- and it is a more formal way of doing something that I've undertaken for years with clients: the pre post-mortem. [More]

Why You Should Ignore Google's Interview Questions

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:28:00 -0400

A recent article in "The Business Insider" here reveals some of the questions Google uses to interview applicants. Google's smart, right? So, we should emulate Google? [More]

I'd Rather Feel Right Than Be Right

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:29:00 -0400

Recently, I was reading a post about how Perl blew it (here-- and why it's lost its viability as a web language for new projects. Many of the comments were savage in their response. Yet, ask any non-Perl person and I think they'd agree that Perl no longer has the luster for writing web apps it once did. Given that, why the extreme reaction to what seems a fairly obvious point? [More]

Team Development

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:58:00 -0400

I spoke with a friend recently who told me that his company had just hired another programmer to keep up with the work. Good problem. Bad solution. [More]

Regression to the Mean...Spirited

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:44:00 -0400

Malcolm Gladwell is a fabulously successful journalist. He's written blockbuster books: The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, and What The Dog Saw. I find them both interesting and entertaining. Gladwell delivers a product that provides value and he's reaped the appropriate rewards. A heartwarming tale of success, no? Not so fast, grasshopper... [More]

So...ColdFusion is Dead, Right?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:27:00 -0400

Since I announced that I was going to do future development with Ruby on Rails, I've received some email asking "Is ColdFusion really dead then?" CF developers have been hearing this for years, but I started thinking about the question itself. [More]

Why I'm Moving to Ruby On Rails

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:25:00 -0400

Well, this is a hard post to write. After months of investigating, soul-searching, and examining, I've decided to move future application development to Ruby On Rails. [More]

A Secret: Managing the "Exacting" Client, Refire

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:08:00 -0400

Yesterday, I inadvertently made public a draft of an unfinished post I was working on. You can read the first part of the post here. Today, we finish the story. [More]

A Secret: Managing the "Exacting" Client

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:46:00 -0400

Many years ago, I worked on a construction crew on Cape Cod. The builder, Bill, was an old guy with tons of experience and a great reputation. He built high-end custom homes for people with money. And one day, I learned a lesson from him that has served me well when I became a developer of high-end custom software applications. [More]