Encoding Kockerbeck

I love new technology -- .NET 4.0 and the DLR are a dream come true. I cannot wait to convince other developers of the awesomeness of having IronPython for middleware supported by compiled C# on the backend. But before I go upgrading existing client sites to 4.0, I need to be sure it will work. I just want to see it be successful from start to finish. I am skeptical by nature and want results before jumping in bed with any new tech. Not that I don't think Microsoft did an amazing job with the latest framework -- its just that I'm not as familiar with the "workarounds" that I need to learn for things. And yes, there will be workarounds -- I have yet to see perfection in software ( only a few things come close). From my experience it seems that developers fall into two general categories when faced with new technology decisions. Hopefully they change from one category to another. If you're like me, you change on a project by project basis. New & Fu...

Building computers early on in life was an invaluable experience. Fighting with mobos & hunting for drivers taught me more about software development (& customer support) than hardware. I've been trying to summarize those lessons into an easy framework for debugging, troubleshooting and fighting most problems. Below is just what I have so far. Hopefully it's useful in some way. 1) Don't Panic - if this sounds familiar, congrats, you're a geek. You have to be calm & stop freaking out to be of any use. Someone going ape shit in your face is the fastest way to stop your brain from working. So take a moment, read Zen Habits and just chill for a second. 2) Identify the Problem - before doing anything, ANYTHING, you must figure out what's going wrong. Is the page not displaying? Is an error appearing? What's in the stack trace? What is happening that shouldn't be? 3/10 times you will stop here because nothing is wrong at all. Someone wa...