India (Part II)

Just back from my second trip to India (India - Trip 1). Again I didn't find any time to do other things than working/sleeping/eating, but I still found it a very interesting week. In total I have now trained almost 40 .NET developers how to work with Compuware DevPartner. I tried to convince them of the fact that DevPartner must be seen as a tool that can help them to deliver quality software applications. One of the misunderstandings is that DevPartner is solely a troubleshooting tool that can be used to troubleshoot issues in a production environment. Well, it's not! Actually it's a tool that should be used pro-actively in a development environment. DevPartner looks over the shoulder of the developer how things are implemented and can be seen as the virtual expert that increases code quality. Also the consultancy job went pretty well and all that was promised to the customer was also delivered in time and with the appropriate documentation. The in time factor was really important and that's why I've chosen for a solution with LINQ to XML and especially the Entity Framework. Why should we still keep writing our own Data Access Layer? The O/RM tools out there have evolved quite a bit these days and do we really think we can do a better job than the NHibernate team or Microsoft? The main benefit I get from using an O/RM tool is productivity! NHibernate may be the best free OR/M solution on the market for now, but I'm more familiar with using the Entity Framework and it was the perfect match for the requirements I was faced with.

On the other hand I finally learned why India has a GMT +5:30 timezone. Until I travelled to India I actually did not know that certain countries/areas have timezones that only differ 30 minutes from an adjacent timezone. India is quite a large country : the country's east–west distance of more than 2000 km covers over 28 degrees of longitude, resulting in the sun rising and setting almost two hours earlier on India's eastern border than in the far west. So, India spans almost exactly two time zones, but their government decided that they wanted one time for the entire country. Their solution was to split the difference between what the time would be if they used two zones. Instead of the time being 10:00 in Bombay and 11:00 in Calcutta, the time is 10:30 in both places and also for all other areas in India.

Just as a side not : this download may be handy if you travel a lot between timezones or if you schedule a lot of meetings with people in different timezones : Microsoft Time Zone. It installs a small tray icon that allows you to specify a number of cities to watch the different times at those places.

Into Software Factories?

Some of my colleagues at Compuware have started a focus group on Software Factories a while ago. Their blog is now live for a few weeks and I must say I'm impressed with the work they've done so far. You certainly need to check out their IntoFactories blog if you're curious about Software Factories! The content there is divided into four tracks : a domain-driven design column, guidance automation walkthroughs, software factory concepts and of course their journey to their final goal : a DDD software factory implementation. Very interesting stuff! Keep up the good work guys!

IDesign Architect's Master Class with Juval Lowy

I've spent quite some time with arranging this IDesign Architect's Master Class for Compuware Belgium, but I can now finally expose all the details! It's official and you can start to register ...

In the week of March 31, 2008, Compuware Belgium will organize the IDesign Architect's Master Class with Juval Lowy. IDesign focuses solely on the design and architecture phases of development. As such they are unique in the industry and have attained a unique position of industry leadership and reputation. They offer advanced training classes and mentoring on the technology at hand. Don't miss this unique training opportunity and register now your place in the IDesign Architect's Master Class with Juval Lowy. Places are limited.

Juval Lowy is a software architect and the principal of IDesign, specializing in .NET 3.0 architecture consulting and advanced .NET 3.0 training. Juval is Microsoft’s Regional Director for the Silicon Valley, working with Microsoft on helping the industry adopt .NET 3.0. His latest book is Programming WCF Services (O'Reilly 2007). Juval participates in the Microsoft internal design reviews for future versions of .NET and related technologies. Juval published numerous articles, regarding almost every aspect of .NET development, and is a frequent presenter at development conferences. Microsoft recognized Juval as a Software Legend as one of the world's top .NET experts and industry leaders.

Any .NET architect, project lead or senior developer would benefit greatly from the class. The class relies on WCF as a reference model. Prior knowledge of WCF is recommended.

Date : March 31, 2008 - April 4, 2008 (5 days)
Location : Compuware Belgium
download full course details and registration form

There's also some extra interesting community news to tell. Because Juval Lowy will be in Belgium that week (March 31, 2008), I've made an early agreement with him to deliver an evening session for the Visual Studio User Group (VISUG) in Belgium. After Scott Guthrie (February 2007), we will be able to add another great name to our list of speakers in 2008! More details will follow soon on my blog!