Backing up OS X command-line style

I bought an external drive recently.  I bought it partly to back up the files on my main computer - a trusty Mac.  It came bundled with Retrospect Express.  I’ve tried to use Retrospect Express, but we don’t get along too well.  Before I got the drive, I’d read about using rsync to backup OS X.  So, I thought I’d give that a go.  I followed the instructions here.  Works a treat, and simple as you like.  Sometimes the command line is all you need.  For the easily scared among you, keep your eyes averted from the following warning to be found towards the bottom of the article:

Using command line utilities without experience can have unpredictable consequences including loss of data.

Try Ruby

Let’s say you fancy trying a little Ruby.  Maybe you just read about IronRuby.  Then you should try ruby, a web application that lets you try Ruby.

Installing Parallels Tools in Ubuntu

I didn’t realise that version 3.0 of Parallels allows you to install the tools for Linux OSes.  Reading the release notes for the latest build, I discovered this useful feature.  And the instructions here show you how to do it in Ubuntu.  No more Control+Alt to release the mouse for me.

New build of Parallels 3.0

Build 4560 of Parallels Desktop for Mac is out.  I’ve upgraded and all is well.  The new build includes updated Parallels Tools.  I’ve finally got around to installing the release version of Windows Vista (with the image being on an external drive - connected with Firewire.)  There are rumours that version 3.5 will have Aero support.  Right now the Experience Score Thingy (TM) won’t run through - I can live without it I suppose.

ActiveMQ and SQL Server

At first, when I tried to use SQL Server (2000) with ActiveMQ there was an error. The error was:

Failed to acquire lock: com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerException: Line 1: FOR UPDATE clause allowed only for DECLARE CURSOR.

I’m using the jtds jdbc driver. I attached a profiler and the SQL that SQL Server finds offensive is:

SELECT * FROM ACTIVEMQ_LOCK FOR UPDATE

I searched through the Nabble forums for ActiveMQ and found the answer here. My jtds config looks like this:

<bean id="jtds-ds" class="net.sourceforge.jtds.jdbcx.JtdsDataSource">
	<property name="serverName" value="localhost"/>
	<property name="portNumber" value="1433"/>
	<property name="databaseName" value="databaseName"/>
	<property name="user" value="userName"/>
	<property name="password" value="password"/>
</bean>

and my persistence adapter is configured like this:

<persistenceAdapter>
    <journaledJDBC journalLogFiles="5" dataDirectory="../activemq-data" dataSource="#jtds-ds" useDatabaseLock="false"/>
</persistenceAdapter>

The useDatabaseLock=False being the important bit.

All of which seems to work.

Testing changes

As you start to adopt unit testing, you’ll notice that you start to design your code differently.  Being able to test your code thoroughly becomes the imperative.  And, maybe counter-intuitively, that imperative promotes good design.  Some of that good design may not be what you thought was good design before.  This post, by Tim Ottinger, is an excellent description of the changes you’ll observe.

British Computer Society says no

As you can read here, the British Computer Society believes that it already has the definitive architectural qualification, so there’s no need for another certification - in contrast to Matt Deacon’s recent comments.  However, it sounds like there may be moves afoot to map the Microsoft architectural qualification to the BCS equivalent.

Oh! And another thing

In my last post, I talked about Windows Live Writer and how it’s becoming a compelling blogging client.  The great thing is the plug-in community.  There’s a wide variety of plug-ins for Windows Live Writer that extend the out-of-the-(virtual)-box functionality.  For instance, I used Paste From Visual Studio to insert code.  I’d prefer to be able to install the plug-ins from within Live Writer, instead of running an msi.  And there’s a concern about the trustworthiness of the third party plug-ins that could be addressed.  But these issues don’t detract from what is a very good experience.

Windows Live Writer Beta 2

The last 2 articles I’ve posted have been authored in Windows Live Writer Beta 2.  I have to say that this is becoming a very good blogging client.  There’s a ton of features and it integrates very well with WordPress.  So well, in fact, that there’s an article on the site about it here.

Certified

According to this article, Matt Deacon is suggesting that a single unified architect certification be created.  On the face of it, this seems like a good idea.  The challenge that has to be overcome first is a single unified view of what an architect does.  And if we can get to that view - which may include definitions of different types of architect - we’ll have moved architecture as a discipline a good way forward.  Which has to be a good thing.  As it stands now, I hold an ISEB Certificate in Architecture - which is predicated on a particular view of what architects do.  How it stacks up against other certifications - Microsoft’s, Sun’s, TOGAF’s, BEA’s etc. - is a matter of opinion and debate.  Personally, I prefer the TOGAF, Microsoft and ISEB approach which emphasize what I consider to be architectural skills as opposed to platform/vendor specific specialisms.