Project X Discussions

A Microsoft Experience

I have to share an experience that has happened over the last day with me. I have been working on evolving my knowledge of Microsoft  dot net in support of learning AJAX and having a platform to try some SOA work.  So I agreed to do some work for an automotive company to work in this environment and try these things out.

So I have built an application leveraging Visual Wed Developer 2005 Express Edition. 

When I first built it I leveraged SQL Server and it was great.  Then due to hosting constraints we moved the database over to Access.  It still works great. 

Then I moved on to making the user interface look better, changed some functionality and once again the tool was great.

My next step was to add search capability to the site and I was planning on just using google's search or as the client suggested Pico Search.  I went to go and implement them on Thursday and realized they wouldn't work on my application as the information I wanted to search was split across a normalized database.  Ut oh.  So after telling the client that I would miss our deadline due to this miscalculation (which he understood - Thanks Dave) I started going across the net.  A while ago when I first started mucking with .NET I ran across a post by Scoble referencing some great video instruction out of the dot net team.

Software Metaphor

I was doing some of my research reading and saw that Dan Foody over at Actional had written in the SOA Zone again.

I love reading this guy he is so practical.  So what does he do.  He comes up for a great metaphor for Software Development - IT and Armani: A match made in heaven?.  This is a great read.  He postulates that as with clothing that needs to be altered when purchased software needs to be integrated when purchased.

Like in the fashion shows, the designers talk and show many things that will not make it to the racks, but get the ideas flowing in the minds of the customers, much like emerging technology ideas do. 

The other idea I thought of was bespoke tailoring which is completely custom made.  Most people want the bespoke and couture (maybe not us men as much), but the designs that we see help drive our decisions.  My only add or change is his decision that no-one wants couture or even more pertinent bespoke. 

There are consumers in the clothing and IT industry that choose custom as their mode of operation.  This does not mean the metaphor is wrong, I think he nails it.