Got an email with links about NoSQL. Links like "Going NoSQL with MongoDB". This -- like many such articles -- includes the phrase "the NoSQL movement" as if there's something new going on. Thank goodness Ted Neward includes quotes around "new". This isn't new. And doubly good, Neward doesn't use words like …

Lots of folks like to wring their hands over the Big Vague Concept (BVC™) labeled "security".

There's a lot of quibbling. Let's move beyond BVC to the interesting stuff.

I've wasted hours listening to people identify risks and costs of something that's not very complex. I've been plagued by folks …

For years, I've been using Apache POI in Java and XLRD in Python to read spreadsheets. Finally, now that .XLSX and .XLSM files are in more widespread use, we can move away from those packages and their reliance on successful reverse engineering of undocumented features.

Spreadsheets are -- BTW -- the universal …

Here's a typical problem that results from "SQL Hegemony" -- all data must be in a database, and all access must be via SQL. This can also be called the "SQL Fetish" school of programming.

War Story. On a Data Warehousing project, we had to load and process the organizational hierarchy …

Sometimes I think we need professional certification in this industry. I supported the ICCP for a long time.

In addition to certification, which requires ongoing educational credits to maintain, there ought to be a process for revoking one's certification, requiring them to pass their exams again.

Here's three strikes against …

Imagine that you're a beer distributor who provides "just-in-time" beer by type. You don't take orders for a specific brand, you take orders a type: stout, lager, India pale ale, etc. You resolve the bill based on what you actually delivered.

This can be kind of complex. However, there's no …

See "Commenting the Code".

This posting tickled my fancy because it addressed the central issue of "what requires comments outside Python docstrings". All functions, classes, modules and packages require docstrings. That's clear. But which lines of code require additional documentation?

We use Sphinx, so we make extensive use of docstrings …

A DBA suggested that I read up on "Practical API Design: Confessions of a Java Framework Architect".

Apparently the DBA had read the phrase "direct compiler support of versioning of APIs" in a review of the book and -- immediately -- become terribly confused.

I can see why a DBA would be …

Check out "End User 2.0: When Employees Have All The Answers" in InformationWeek. This is about adoption of non-approved technology. Think iPad.

This shows what innovation looks like when it happens.

1. There's no process for innovation.
2. There's no "permission to fail". Folks just fail or succeed without anyone's support …

Computerworld, July 26, 2010 cover story was "Sustaining Innovation". The magazine was chock-full of thoughts on innovation.

Much of it was good, but some of it is just appeasement to management types who are focused on cost and schedule.

"Establish processes and ownership. Organizations should have a process for taking …