Contents tagged with General Software Development
-
Even Small Configuration Changes can cause Bigger Problems
I've got a small app in production that's been running without a glitch until the other day. It turned out to be a case where the server didn't have enough disk space and nothing more. That should have been the end of it, but I also decided to add myself to the error emails. The next day someone reported not getting their regular email, and I couldn't figure it out.
Why would something that had been working perfectly and not been changed just fail randomly? I looked everywhere in the code and could find no reason, and nothing was logged about this. That said, there was an exception that was logged, but it was about my email, not the other. My email address was on another domain, and that wasn't allowed, but I just shrugged it off. Then it happened again today and all the sudden I realized what should have been very obvious.
That small configuration change I had made to send myself error emails was the actual problem! My code first sent error emails before sending routine emails, all of which was one try/catch So when I added myself to the error emails, I introduced an exception that skipped the others. This was now easy to fix -- just make each email send be in its own try/catch, instead of one.
And the lesson learned: any change, even a tiny configuration change, can introduce problems. Even bigger lesson: when problem occurs after small change, then your change is likely cause. Those should really have been obvious in retrospect, but I managed to convince myself otherwise. -
Atlanta Cutting Edge .NET User Group on Nov. 6, Part 2
I'll be donating the following books, mostly sent to me by the publishers so they deserve the praise, to be given out at the Atlanta Cutting Edge .NET User Group on Monday night, November 6th:
-
MySpace: My "Space" and My Thoughts
I've recently finally joined MySpace and created my own "space". I've looked a little at them before when they've been in the news, but I never really thought much of it. The funny thing is that even now that I have created my own "space", I still don't think much of it. I suppose its possible that I'm just too old to really "get it", but I don't think that's the case. My problem with MySpace is that its just NOT a very user-friendly community site at all.
-
Announcement: I'm Joining Mimsware
I am excited to announce that I will be joining Mimsware on October 26th. Mimsware is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in the Atlanta area offering services spanning software development, network infrastructure, and products to corporate, government and small- or medium-sized businesses. While my focus will of course be working on real applications for Mimsware, I will hopefully also finally find a little free time for other activities. So if you're in the Atlanta area and looking for a great team of consultants to help you design and implement a software solution using Microsoft stuff, then don't hesitate contacting Mimsware to get proven experience.
-
SQL/.NET Job with my Client in the VA/DC Area
My client has too much work for me to do as they've grown, so we need to bring on someone else to help us out. First and foremost, we need someone very good with MS Sql Server and T-Sql, including procs, dts, jobs, and more. Most of the work can be done remotely, but we also need someone that can help with network/database maintenance. That is not the main responsibility, but it does mean we need someone reasonably close to my client's location, so we need someone that is relatively near the Virginia burbs of Washington DC, or at least willing to relocate. It would also be great if this person was able to work with me on our .NET development, even using my ORMapper. If this describes you, and you're interested, then please send your resume to me at VAJob-at-WilsonDotNet.com. This is a great client to work with, but they're also very busy, so we're only looking for someone very good.
-
FireFox Updates with no Warning in middle of Work
I'm all for really trying to push updates needed for security on people by default, as long as there are options to disable that "feature", but it seems FireFox is a little overzealous. Apparently the FireFox team just released v1.5.0.5, and so browser automatically found that update and installed it, which was the default setting. What's the problem? I had several pages open, and I was doing some real work in one (actively typing in an edit box), when with no warning all of my pages were simply closed and the install just started. I cannot recall any application that doesn't give you a warning if you're currently woring in it before proceeding with an update, even when things are configured to be automatic with no user interaction. Yes, I realize there is an option to ask me what I want to do instead of being automatic, but I think the difference should be that "ask me" does not do it automatically even when I'm not working, giving me complete control, while "automatic" should still give me a warning to save my work and close things if I am in the middle of things. What do you think?