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Describing Dependency Inversion: Icing on the cake

Stacy Vicknair — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:59:25 GMT

Authors deserve more credit than they get. Coming up with a simple example to illustrate a principle is harder than it looks. Good authors have to do this all the time. They provide the examples that become anecdotal when describing the concept to a friend or colleague, and most of us, myself included, never take the time to think about the process.

That was until today when I needed an example of Dependency Inversion to help explain the concept to a classmate. I must have thought up 10 or so bad examples before I finally came up with one that I felt was sufficient for doing the concept justice: Piping on a cake.

Here’s my explanation:

Say you are going to ice a cake and you want a very specific design for the piping as well as your favorite flavor. If you go to the store and buy a premade disposable piping kit that already has the design attached and the icing in the tube chances are you'll have to compromise and choose a kit that doesn't quite fit your needs.

If you decide to get your own piping kit that comes with interchangeable nozzles and no icing, then you can pick up your favorite icing as well and get exactly what you want. This is how dependency inversion works.

In a VB.NET program, the first scenario would be like this:

Dim piper As New PremadeStarShapedBlueRaspberryIcingPiper()
piper.pipe()

This is simple and straightforward, but not reusable. If you wanted strawberry or some other icing, you need an entirely new class! This means code duplication to accomplish the same tasks, which leads to bugs.

For DI, we would do this:

Dim piper As New Piper(starShapedNozzle, BlueRaspberryIcing)
piper.pipe()

This is a little more work up front, but if you think about it this work is happening in the background in the first example. In the first example the piper knows more than it needs to know about the nozzle and the contents, which makes it less reusable. This time, if I wanted Strawberry Icing I could just pass it to the piper and the piper knows that the ingredient is pipeable and that's all it cares about.

What do you guys think? Is there a better example you’ve used? Does my example suck? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Technorati Tags: DI,Dependency Inversion,Tasty icing

List of influential VB’ers on Twitter

Stacy Vicknair — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:04:45 GMT

Antonio Chagoury, VB MVP, has constructed a list of Twitter accounts for VB MVPs, VB Team members, and others who are influential in the VB.NET community on his personal blog, CTO v2.0. This list has many great people who are not only talented in VB, but also who have great talents in many aspects of the .NET framework.

I’m listed as a VB MVP, but if you don’t want the full list you can still check me out at http://twitter.com/svickn. However, I’d recommend checking out the rest of these guys too, you might find someone you would never have thought to follow that you mesh with. Besides, it’s never a bad thing when .NET help is just a tweet away ;)

http://www.cto20.com/post/Tweeps-List-Microsoft-Visual-Basic-MVPe28099s-and-Influencers.aspx

Technorati Tags: VB.NET,Twitter,.NET

Balsamiq Mockups – Quickly Make Informal, Approachable Designs

Stacy Vicknair — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:27:19 GMT

After reading Michael Neel’s article on Devlicio.us about Balsamiq Mockups, I thought that the article must be insincere. Go ahead and check the article, itself even titled “You should be using Mockups”. Back yet? Well I’ll continue anyways…

As I was saying, the article was too good to be true, and this Adobe Air application seemed to be too much of a dream. Well, needless to say, I decided to check the tool out, and I also flaunted my blog and MVP status to get a chance to test out Mockups for myself. The condensed version of this article? Now I understand why I have to have this product.

Design with appropriate tools

As Michael noted, making a prototype with the tools you use for design is inefficient. Sure you think you’re saving time by handling some of the work up front, but what if there are drastic changes, and you’ve got to rethink how you’re feeding mock data to the app you built just for prototyping? You’re basically shooting in the dark with a airsoft gun.

Michael’s experience is actually a bit different from mine. When I started producing my own functional specs, I took the advice of a good friend and used inkscape to make the designs. The time it takes to create a design in inkscape is probably quicker than it would take to make a design in Visual Studio, but I don’t have the controls like I would in VS. I could make my own set of controls in inkscape and use them each time I prototype, but that’s an amount of work that I shouldn’t have to do if I used a tool meant specifically for mocking. My method is like shooting in a dimly lit room with blanks.

Enter Mockups. Mockups has the convenience of Visual Studio’s drag and drop controls without the hassle of mocking data (we’ll get to that soon). Mockups also has the convenience of using a tool like illustrator or inkscape by allowing for easy export of the mockups. It’s the best of both worlds, it’s a tool meant for the job. To continue with my horrible analogies, Mockups is like rigging a room with the nail bombs from Saw V. Quick and effective; meant to get the job done.

Quick and reusable

So to test out Mockups, I decided to throw together a design that I’m familiar with: the WTFNext.com design (a basic SubText template). The results are below. This mock took me about 10 minutes, which for me is probably good. This includes learning curve and my minutes of tweaking to create the perfect design. To me, this is quick.

The other good news is that I can reuse that work I did in 10 minutes. I can group the elements that make up my page and then copy them to a new mockup and build a different page. I could even construct a template for complex controls and use that!

Informal and approachable

The informal look of the wireframe designs are a blessing that you might not recognize. The design effectively conveys that the prototype is just… a prototype! It is meant for criticism, and the pseudo-drawn comic sans feel allows those involved in decisions to realize that the design isn’t set in stone. In fact, it’s still wide open. It’s begging to be changed, and thanks to using a tool meant for mocking applications, it’s easily done.

Tiny criticisms

I do mean tiny. There are very few problems that I have with Mockups, and many of them are being actively addressed, and the Balsamiq crew is more than happy to work with customers to improve the application. Here’s my small list:

No true way to make your own controls. You can sort of create a control by grouping other controls and setting their functionality, but they still act as separate items. Balsamiq knows about this, and they will work with you if you’ve got a great control suggestion.
Things snap in place, but you’re still dealing with “sketchy” shapes. If you try to put a rectangle in a browser object, you’ll get it to snap in place, but not necessarily a clean cut snap because of the sketchy nature to objects.
Containers aren’t really containers. This is something I’d love to see Mockups take on. Containers allow for snapping in smart locations, but the containers don’t truly act as containers. Why is it important? I think it could solve my previous problem, where snapping a rectangle into a browser or app window would have a clean line on the snapped edges.

However, these are all minor minor minor issues. Almost non-existent considering the time I save with Mockups to begin with. At $79 a license, this application is a steal.

Technorati Tags: Balsamiq,Mockups,Prototyping

Safari Books Online – A First Look

Stacy Vicknair — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:20:05 GMT

Buying books can get expensive. If you’re like me, you’ve got a collection surmounting that takes up more room than you should probably afford. So what are your options?

You could use the library, but then you’re fairly limited in readings. Many of the classic timeless books will be around, but the latest and greatest will be a long time from hitting the shelf, if at all. You could do book trading, if you live in the heart of a thriving technical community. But, we don’t all have that sort of availability, and we also don’t all have that passion for social interaction either.

So what about eBooks? I’m not talking about those ones that you got off torrents of FTPs that your mother’s been telling you you’ll go to jail for, I’m talking legal eBooks that you pay for and have the right to use. Well, even eBooks can get expensive, costly a small amount less than buying the hard copy, which if you’re like me you’d rather the hard copy to begin with, if it weren’t threatening to evict you from your home forcefully as your collection grows.

Well, nowadays there are newer options. eBook subscription services! Notably, we’re talking about Safari Books Online this time around. As a member of GeekWithBlogs I was grateful to receive an extended trial and want to give my impressions on the service.

First impressions are lasting ones

Altogether, I have to say I’m genuinely impressed with Safari Books Online. The service is easy to use and provides instant access to so many books, you’ll be busy for years. When I logged on I was welcomed by a well designed home page. Everything was in an understandable location, and I wasn’t overwhelmed by a cluttered nightmare. I immediately had my bearings and went straight for a book to test the whole thing out.

My worst complaint about reading books online is that I hate html based books. I think you lose readability in the generic formatting that applies to every book, instead of the intended formatting the print version has. That’s a nonissue with Safari Books because of the ability to view at “Print Fidelity”, which is the same as viewing the PDF version of a book. At work I was experiencing a slight delay in the loading of pages (which load in square segments, and important squares were taking their sweet time) but this was quashed when I looked from home.

Searching for the right book

When I searched for the book I wanted in Safari Books, I found it. In particular, my searches were for the Head First series from O’Reilly and also Don’t Make Me Think from Steve Krug. Had I looked for the Gang of Four instead, that’d be another story, but understandably the Safari Books archive is huge but can’t have everything.

The search has optional suggestions for searches. As you can see here, I get the book I want easily by searching. There are quirks however, if I put an apostrophe in don’t then I won’t get any suggestions. The suggestions can really help steer a general search as well. Putting in “web” will list suggestions of web design, web services, web 2.0, and even websphere. I could see it being helpful in a time when I know a genre I’m interested in, but not sure exactly what about it I currently want to read through.

And what about when you find that perfect book? You then can easily make notes in it, save it as a favorite (depending on membership), or even save out chapters or the entire book (by a paid token system). By far, virtual notes is my favorite of these features. It makes reviewing a book a snap, and helps you remember where you were and what you liked without a torrential amount of post-its.

Let’s make a deal

So what about pricing? This is where I’m iffy about the service.

I’m a poor and cheap man. I can justify purchasing a book every once and a while, but I’m not 100% sure I’m willing to pay for an eBook service for a collection that is easily fleeting depending on my income. And these days income can be fleeting. Starting at just $10, you can have limited access to the book collection, where you are forced to shelve books you want, in which those books must remain shelved for 30 days. Five books per month is what you get. For an arm more, you get 10 books at a time. Then, for over $400 a year, you get unlimited read access, and some free tokens per month for download.

Conclusion

My first impressions of Safari Books online are very positive, the service is great, and caters to how you want to read your content (unless of course you want to read it in a real book, but you can still make purchases through the service). The site is intuitive, and helps you easily get to the information you want. However, since I’m cheap and would rather buy certain books and have them forever over buying a subscription that I can’t ever truly call my own, I’m not certain if I’ll bite the bullet and pay for the service after my trial is up.

Some good news!

For a limited time, Safari Books Online is offering GeekswithBlogs readers a 15 day free trial, plus a 15% discount on a monthly subscription for a full year. Learn more and start your free trial at: http://www.safaribooksonline.com/geeks/mobile/?cid=200904-my-geeks-blog

Technorati Tags: eBooks,Safari Books Online

Anyone for a virtual dojo?

Stacy Vicknair — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:14:26 GMT

I was thinking today and had a crazy idea about a virtual / completely online coding dojo. So follow me here for my “virtual tour” of what I’m thinking:

Friday rolls around, and you’re excited. Tonight marks the release of the latest project in the Virtual F# Dojo. You check the VF#D blog and find out the latest project is KataBowling. A simple enough program to write, and you’ve been looking for a reason to explore the power of F#, so you dive in.

Once you’ve got your example working, you check it into the forums by starting your solution thread and you explain what and why of your code. Maybe you decided to parse a specific way or otherwise did something you think is unique.

Saturday, you’ve got a decent working example going, so you decide to visit the Second Life event on Microsoft Island to see how others are taking the challenge. You sign in and meet up in time for the optional VF#D meeting and chat with some other smart people about how the program works, how it would compare to XYZ language, and how others did it. There are a couple people who came around to get some code help, you check back on the forums to find their help thread and see what the issue is and help them out.

At the end of the day, you’re feeling great because you’ve accomplished something. Nothing major, but you made a nice little application, you’ve learned something from those around you, and you’ve helped a fellow developer. On top of it all, you did it right from your home, and you’ve still got plenty of time to find out more about that “soccer” thing where people run aimlessly trying to kick round objects called “balls” into nets (credit to Joel on that one…)

So here’s my question. Does this sound like a decent idea to anyone? It would be a free form endeavor that you participate in as little or as much as you’d like, and in the virtual way of your choice, even though the majority would be forum driven.

Please shoot me a message or comment if you think this sounds cool or if you think this sounds dumb, or if it doesn’t agree with your definition of a dojo. I’d like to see about getting this started if others seem to like the idea and we can bolster a community for it.

Technorati Tags: Coding dojo,F#,Virtual World Evangelism

Head First Design Patterns – VB.NET code examples on CodePlex

Stacy Vicknair — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:24:09 GMT

For those of you looking to get started with design patterns but reluctant because of language barriers, I started a project on CodePlex for the Head First Design Patterns book. The original code examples are in Java, and they have been made available in C# and C++ as well, which are all available on the book’s online page, http://www.headfirstlabs.com/books/hfdp/.

Currently the project is only Chapters 1-8, but pending the big game on Sunday I will be finished up sometime next week. This is one of my first CodePlex contributions, so any helpful hints or suggestions would be much appreciated. Otherwise, go ahead and get the source and start looking into design patterns. I definitely recommend getting the book and definitely check out the entire Head First series!

Get the VB.NET code examples here:
http://www.codeplex.com/HFDPinVB/

Get more info on all the Head First books:
http://www.headfirstlabs.com/

Technorati Tags: VB.NET,Head First Design Patterns,Code Examples

Passing the 070-536 Revisited

Stacy Vicknair — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:27:39 GMT

So, yesterday I passed the 070-536, and I wanted to revisit my list of helpful insights. I wanted to add a couple new insights to the mix in particular. Here are the additional insights, and these will probably remain steadfast for all .NET exams:

Go in with a deep understanding of core operations. If something is often used or is referenced in the training kit, get a really good grip on it.
Isolate the differences in each answer. Look at what could be wrong, and use your best judgment.
Finally, remember that .NET is meant to help tasks be easy to code! Sometimes the easiest solution really is the right solution.

I hope that these vague tips can help you, because they touch on the core knowledge when it comes to testing. Be good at .NET and know the subject, but also don’t panic and be a good tester.

The old blog was posted at this link:

Click To View Entry

Technorati Tags: 070-536,Microsoft Certification

Typemock has a new VB friendly unit testing API!

Stacy Vicknair — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:28:31 GMT

Programming Visual Basic applications?

Typemock have released a new version of their unit testing tool, Typemock Isolator 5.2.
This version includes a new friendly VB.NET API which makes Isolator the best Isolation tool for unit testing A Visual Basic (VB) .NET application.

Isolator now allows unit testing in VB or C# for many ‘hard to test’ technologies such as SharePoint, ASP.NET MVC, partial support for Silverlight, WPF, LINQ, WF, Entity Framework, WCF unit testing and more.

Note that the first 25 bloggers who blog this text in their blog and tell us about it, will get a Free Full Isolator license (C#, VB, and Sharepoint included - worth $139 !!!). If you post this in a VB.NET dedicated blog, you'll get a license automatically (even if more than 25 submit) during the first week of this announcement.

Go ahead, click the following link for more information on how to get your free license.

Technorati Tags: typemock,unit testing

SQL Server 2000 Tip - Protocol error in TDS stream

Stacy Vicknair — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:40:58 GMT

This tip might not fix everyone's issue, but for the problem I was facing today this worked out just fine.

We have a scheduled weekly DTS package that is failing for the reason specified in this title: "Protocol error in TDS stream". For weeks we've just been running the thing manually, but that's not a solution, just a delay of the problem. I decided to investigate.

I found an article on the SQLTeam.com forums that helped get this working finally. For us, all that was necessary was to switch the database connection to ODBC over OLE DB. For some reason the OLE DB driver wasn't enjoying the network traffic from the stored procedure the package was calling, or that would be my best guess.

Anyways, score one for having one less thing to waste time on.

http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=95829

Technorati Tags: SQL Server 2000,Protocol error in TDS stream

Stuff that rocks: g-speak, the Minority Report-like operating environment

Stacy Vicknair — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:12:45 GMT

On the Community Credit forums there was mention of this really cool spatial operating environment likened to the ones in Minority Report. Visit http://www.oblong.com for a video demonstration, which is way awesome. From their site:

Oblong Industries is the developer of the g-speak spatial operating environment.

The SOE's combination of gestural i/o, recombinant networking, and real-world pixels brings the first major step in computer interface since 1984; starting today, g-speak will fundamentally change the way people use machines at work, in the living room, in conference rooms, in vehicles. The g-speak platform is a complete application development and execution environment that redresses the dire constriction of human intent imposed by traditional GUIs. Its idiom of spatial immediacy and information responsive to real-world geometry enables a necessary new kind of work: data-intensive, embodied, real-time, predicated on universal human expertise.

Definitely worth a quick peak :)

Technorati Tags: minority report,g-speak,stuff that rocks