RE: [U2] What Next?
Going down the linux route ... IBM support RedHat, so look at RHEL or CentOS. My choice would be Slackware or gentoo - not because they're better or worse distros, but because you learn a lot more dealing with their oddities. Slack is very BSD-oriented (or was), but is also very minimalist in its basic configuration. I make sure I've got a copy of Slack in my rescue kit because it's pretty much guaranteed to boot any hardware successfully - live CD distros normally don't like my hardware... Gentoo because, well, it's Gentoo. It compiles everything from source, it's a pain to update on occasion, I left the update running overnight last night because it takes so long... but you've got the source to everything, it's infinitely tweakable etc etc. I'd be inclined to spend some of those education dollars on a good PC. If you can afford it, make it a twin dual-core CPU. On that run RHEL/VMWare and UV/UD PE. Inside VMWare you can then run Windows, other linuxes, whatever. Play! Cheers, Wol -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Garry Smith Sent: 19 August 2008 19:09 To: u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org Subject: RE: [U2] What Next? XML, XSD, XSLT and CSS Then wrap all that into a VB/C# .net application and if your brain doesn't explode from looking at all the MS API's then take on either Redback/U2 WDE or SQL Admin, SQL and SQL reporting. Does anyone know who Joe Celko is? Or counter grain - Linux, PHP, Ruby, and the darkside at insecure.org (nmap - fydor - hacker) Garry L. Smith Dir Info Systems Charles McMurray Company V# 559-292-5782 F# 559-346-6169 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Al DeWitt Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 9:16 AM To: u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org Subject: [U2] What Next? For the last 14 years or so I have been doing programming support and light DBA work; first in Universe (Prime Information) and now in Unidata (Pick). I'm basically a one-trick pony (UniBasic and System Builder) because my goal has always been to move into a business analyst role, but that has never worked out (I'm too IT). Last fall I decided to stop trying to pursue that and stay in what I'm doing. So now I need to decide what I should invest my educational dollars. I want to stay in application development and support because I like better than techie stuff. So what would you suggest I begin learning that would keep me reasonably employable in the future? Thanks. Albert DeWitt Sr. Programmer Analyst Stylmark, Inc. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
Re: [U2] What Next?
Al, Software development is inherently an exercise in climbing steep learning curves - an exercise in problem solving - and the learning curves don't disappear -- Steve McConnell I find that Steve's quote equally applies to professional development; growing as an application developer is a continuous exercise in climbing steep learning curves that don't disappear. So you want to stay in application development and support... reasonably employed. Here's my two cents: Learn to program in C. If you want to stay in the construction side of development, the aptitude to understand C is what separates the men from the boys. Notice that it's an aptitude; some people just don't have the brain cells that understand memory allocation, let alone pointers and recursion. Not everyone who calls themselves a programmer has this aptitude. Many productive Pick programmers fail to develop skills outside of Pick because the other languages don't make sense to them. If you can make sense of C, then a whole other world of programming languages opens up. Java, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, VC++, C# and all of the other so-called curly brace languages. I recommend getting the book Teach Yourself C in 21 Days from your library or bookstore. Remember: the reason for learning C is to provide a stable stepping stone to other similar languages. In this day and age, I'd recommend C# as your next language: Eric Sink referred to it as Java done right. Also on the construction side of development, get Mike Gunderloy's Coder to Developer to familiarize yourself with the different software tools available. Most Pick shops don't do daily builds and regression tests, and you'll want to see how the other half lives. If you don't know them already, you must learn XHTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Almost every modern product has some kind of web display or interaction, so there's no excuse to be ignorant of them. I see the biggest strike against Pick in general is it's perceived lack connectivity to other applications. It's not true, but it seems that way. Why? Because most Pickies are ignorant of how the big SQL apps work, plus unfamiliarity with UniObjects, BCI, and other connection techniques creates doubt -- a doubt that there's a simply easy way to move data back and forth between apps. So Mr. SQL says, convert that Pick database to SQL because it removes that doubt. To counter this perception, we need to be masters of connectivity. Become *fluent* in the technologies to connect U2 with the outside world. Construction and maintenance are maybe the most visible aspect of application development, but probably not the most important. Analysis and design are. To grow in these areas requires study, whether that's taking courses or reading books. Read all the Steve McConnell books you can find. Learn how to create function specs and system architecture designs. Learn about design patterns. Find out what MVC is. Learn accounting and business processes. The Accounting Game is a good book for newbies to get a grasp on both bookkeeping and general accounting concepts. Most other books focus exclusively on the concepts, which are easy enough to understand. The hard part of accounting is learning the specific accounts to debit/credit for a specific transaction; most of the time this is learned on the job. The Accounting Game does a better-than-average job teaching the transaction/account relationship. Last, consider getting a CS degree if you don't have one. I hesitate to recommend this, but I know most job postings list it as a requirement. I think it will pay off in the long run. I realize that this is a long list of stuff to learn. And the steep learning curves won't disappear. You need to ask yourself if this is the path you really, really want to take. rex --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
Re: [U2] What Next?
Rex said. Learn to program in C. If you want to stay in the construction side of development, the aptitude to understand C is what separates the men from the boys. Notice that it's an aptitude; some people just don't have the brain cells that understand memory allocation, let alone pointers and recursion. Not everyone who calls themselves a programmer has this aptitude. Many productive Pick programmers fail to develop skills outside of Pick because the other languages don't make sense to them. This is a really good point, with a qualification. My first professional job was C and assemble in RD. Very heavy traffic. Then I went into PICK for several years. I avoided going into web development, because I was afraid it would be a big change. However, when I took the plunge everything looked very familiar. Java, PHP, Perl, JavaScript are all C-derived languages. They are examples of what C is good at. Developing libraries to do specific repetitive tasks (the original C only had 11 reserverd words it was mostly libraries from the start). All the little things like where to put semicolons, where to put braces, the difference between passing by reference and passing by value, when to use breaks in swtiches (or not). PICK assumes you want to break after every CASE. Not C, C assumes you want complete control. There were lots of little gotchas that I just sailed past. C is the basis of pretty much all UNIX based development and the web comes out of UNIX from WAY back. On the other hand, IT has diversified to a tremendous degree. A graphic artist with dreamweaver can be enormously productive with very little understanding of the things I mentioned above. I say, take stock of your interests and talents and try to identify the area you will be happiest in. If it's the low level C stuff. Great. If it's something else, great too. Being happy with what you are doing is the biggest factor to success. Charles Shaffer Senior Analyst NTN-Bower Corporation --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
RE: [U2] What Next?
Java or .Net, the red pill or the blue pill :-) You can use uniobjects to connect to your existing data and actually deliver some business value as you learn things. Write some web based query screens that you can roll out to the existing userbase. They won't care how rough it is, it will blow their minds. You will be much more marketable with either one on your resume, as opposed to pick alone. Once you have some success with java (you will choose wisely, I hope), learning a relational database will be a big uplift. Oracle or SQL Server (again with the red or blue pill). Or you can go open source with mysql or postgres. The latter doesn't get the press it deserves. Pull out some of the really important data from unidata every month and stick it in a relational database. Don't worry too much about star schemas and what not, just grab the data on a regular basis. It's amazing how useful this turns out to be at answering really hard questions. Ian -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Al DeWitt Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 9:16 AM To: u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org Subject: [U2] What Next? For the last 14 years or so I have been doing programming support and light DBA work; first in Universe (Prime Information) and now in Unidata (Pick). I'm basically a one-trick pony (UniBasic and System Builder) because my goal has always been to move into a business analyst role, but that has never worked out (I'm too IT). Last fall I decided to stop trying to pursue that and stay in what I'm doing. So now I need to decide what I should invest my educational dollars. I want to stay in application development and support because I like better than techie stuff. So what would you suggest I begin learning that would keep me reasonably employable in the future? Thanks. Albert DeWitt Sr. Programmer Analyst Stylmark, Inc. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ - IMPORTANT NOTICE: This message is intended only for the addressee and may contain confidential, privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you may not use, copy or disclose any information contained in the message. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete the message. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
[U2] What Next?
For the last 14 years or so I have been doing programming support and light DBA work; first in Universe (Prime Information) and now in Unidata (Pick). I'm basically a one-trick pony (UniBasic and System Builder) because my goal has always been to move into a business analyst role, but that has never worked out (I'm too IT). Last fall I decided to stop trying to pursue that and stay in what I'm doing. So now I need to decide what I should invest my educational dollars. I want to stay in application development and support because I like better than techie stuff. So what would you suggest I begin learning that would keep me reasonably employable in the future? Thanks. Albert DeWitt Sr. Programmer Analyst Stylmark, Inc. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
Re: [U2] What Next?
several suggestions: 1. datastage 2. .net (in particular asp.net/c#) 3. jBASE (in my opinion despite the fact its not as well used as U2, its got a good future (in my opinion)) 4. maybe some system admin stuff (in particular I love aix) dougc Al DeWitt wrote: For the last 14 years or so I have been doing programming support and light DBA work; first in Universe (Prime Information) and now in Unidata (Pick). I'm basically a one-trick pony (UniBasic and System Builder) because my goal has always been to move into a business analyst role, but that has never worked out (I'm too IT). Last fall I decided to stop trying to pursue that and stay in what I'm doing. So now I need to decide what I should invest my educational dollars. I want to stay in application development and support because I like better than techie stuff. So what would you suggest I begin learning that would keep me reasonably employable in the future? Thanks. Albert DeWitt Sr. Programmer Analyst Stylmark, Inc. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
RE: [U2] What Next?
Consider becoming an assassin... 1. The pay is good. 2. The hours are flexible. 3. The target audience is very subdued. --Bill -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Al DeWitt Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 12:16 PM To: u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org Subject: [U2] What Next? For the last 14 years or so I have been doing programming support and light DBA work; first in Universe (Prime Information) and now in Unidata (Pick). I'm basically a one-trick pony (UniBasic and System Builder) because my goal has always been to move into a business analyst role, but that has never worked out (I'm too IT). Last fall I decided to stop trying to pursue that and stay in what I'm doing. So now I need to decide what I should invest my educational dollars. I want to stay in application development and support because I like better than techie stuff. So what would you suggest I begin learning that would keep me reasonably employable in the future? Thanks. Albert DeWitt Sr. Programmer Analyst Stylmark, Inc. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
RE: [U2] What Next?
XML, XSD, XSLT and CSS Then wrap all that into a VB/C# .net application and if your brain doesn't explode from looking at all the MS API's then take on either Redback/U2 WDE or SQL Admin, SQL and SQL reporting. Does anyone know who Joe Celko is? Or counter grain - Linux, PHP, Ruby, and the darkside at insecure.org (nmap - fydor - hacker) Garry L. Smith Dir Info Systems Charles McMurray Company V# 559-292-5782 F# 559-346-6169 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Al DeWitt Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 9:16 AM To: u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org Subject: [U2] What Next? For the last 14 years or so I have been doing programming support and light DBA work; first in Universe (Prime Information) and now in Unidata (Pick). I'm basically a one-trick pony (UniBasic and System Builder) because my goal has always been to move into a business analyst role, but that has never worked out (I'm too IT). Last fall I decided to stop trying to pursue that and stay in what I'm doing. So now I need to decide what I should invest my educational dollars. I want to stay in application development and support because I like better than techie stuff. So what would you suggest I begin learning that would keep me reasonably employable in the future? Thanks. Albert DeWitt Sr. Programmer Analyst Stylmark, Inc. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
RE: [U2] What Next?
From what I have seen and have read, Java or C#, if you want to stay in programming. Learn the .NET framework but I wouldn't bet on Microsoft supporting it for long. Seems they change what they will support every time they change their operating system. With Java you can program in everything from cell phones to games to web applications. C#, of course, is the latest resurrection of C which never seems to be a bad bet. With both you can program in both *nix and Windows. Jerry Banker -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Al DeWitt Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:16 AM To: u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org Subject: [U2] What Next? For the last 14 years or so I have been doing programming support and light DBA work; first in Universe (Prime Information) and now in Unidata (Pick). I'm basically a one-trick pony (UniBasic and System Builder) because my goal has always been to move into a business analyst role, but that has never worked out (I'm too IT). Last fall I decided to stop trying to pursue that and stay in what I'm doing. So now I need to decide what I should invest my educational dollars. I want to stay in application development and support because I like better than techie stuff. So what would you suggest I begin learning that would keep me reasonably employable in the future? Thanks. Albert DeWitt Sr. Programmer Analyst Stylmark, Inc. --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/ --- u2-users mailing list u2-users@listserver.u2ug.org To unsubscribe please visit http://listserver.u2ug.org/
