I’m a huge fan of code generators. I’ve seen them used successfully in many different ways. In the Java world, for example, the Xdoclet parser is commonly used to generate object code and ORM mappings based on database schema — a huge timesaver. I’ve also seen creative uses of XSTL transforms and [...]
The most powerful tool in the knapsack of a software archeologist/maintainer, is the grep search. Unfortunately the signal-to-noise ratio for grep search results can often be quite low. This happens when the project source files are intermingled with other artifacts such as generated files, raw templates, library/framework documentation files and examples.
One trick to filtering out the noise is to define a shell script that uses Rsync to create/update a searchable shadow copy of the working folder, and then to search that copy…
[This review originally appeared in my personal blog on Sept 8, 2005. I'm reposting it by request.]
I’m helping out with a study group for “Head First Design Patterns,” which just finished chapter 6. On the whole, it’s a pretty good introduction to software design patterns – way more accessible than the seminal work by the Gang of Four; however, the examples sometimes make my head hurt. I can’t imagine what they’re doing to the heads of the beginners in the group. Coming up with decent examples is the hardest thing to do in expository writing, and
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