My first computer was an 8-bit Netronics ELF II with 256 Bytes (yes, BYTES), that ran an RCA 1802 CPU at 1.76 MHz (yes, MegaHertz). It didn’t have any external storage and provided a hex keypad for input of Machine Language (yes, Machine Language – not even assembly language) programs. Suffice it to say, I […]
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An Interview with Stan Lee
Back at the turn of the century I found myself as the Editor of a Vancouver Technology Magazine called, Computer|Sense. It was just something I decided to do on the side for fun… and, as it turned out, it was incredibly fun. The highlight of my stint there was interviewing Stan “The Man” Lee, creator […]
Smallworld GIS DevReqs (How to Write Bug-Free Magik Code)
DevOps, the melding of Software Development with IT Operations, has revolutionized how software is built today. But creating excellent software doesn’t just start at the development phase. The real work is done in the requirements phase because code simply represents the details of the requirements. Gathering solid, accurate requirements leads to better software and significantly […]
Smallworld GIS Automated Property Based Testing with Magik
Most Magik developers have heard about MUnit testing, although there are far too many that still don’t write proper MUnit tests – or even any at all. However I’d hazard a guess that just about all Magik developers have not heard about Property Based Testing (PBT). Which is too bad, really, because PBT combined with […]
Smallworld GIS System Integration Using GSS
One of the major issues with integrating systems is the amount of code required to make things work. Conceptually integration is simple, yet actual implementations usually end up being quite complicated. There are a number of reasons for this, including the fact many integrations tightly couple business logic with data transformation and transportation code, but […]
Smallworld GIS Version 5 Performance Tuning
One of the most frequently asked questions I’ve heard regarding Smallworld 5 (SW5) is, “why does starting a session take so long compared to version 4?” It’s a fair question and one that has some complex answers. So I’m going to explain some of the reasons and provide basic tips on how to improve start […]
How to Generate Random Numbers in Smallworld GIS
I have some good news and some bad news. What was that? You want the bad news first? Okay… There is no way to generate truly random numbers outside of quantum physics. But what about rolling dice? Nope. Rolling dice only appears random because we can’t measure all the various physical factors that produce one […]