@kirkk.com

I've been using Nucleus as my blogging software. While it's met my basic needs, I haven't been totally satisfied with it. It has a few features I simply don't need, while leaving me wanting for different features. So I've decided that it's time to move on, and have chosen WordPress as my tool du jour. As such, this will be my last entry on this blog before moving on. The blog URL will be changing. I decided to change the URL so anyone who currently subscribes to this feed will see this entry and can update their bookmarks and feeds accordingly. Additionally, since I don't plan to move any of these blog entries to my new blog, maintaining the existence of this original blog allows you to access any of the entries anytime you desire.

The new blog URL is http://techdistrict.kirkk.com, and the feed URL is http://techdistrict.kirkk.com/feed. Be sure to update your bookmarks and rss feeds. See you at my new blogging home.

Of course, all updates to my home page, old blog, new blog, and other writings found on the 'net are aggregated into a single convenient feed on My Planet.

We really make software development much harder than necessary. In fact, if we listen carefully to industry visionaries, we'll learn the right way to develop software.

Booch says that "...All architecture is design, but not all design is architecture."

Now, Reeves says that "design is the source code listings."

So I conclude that if architecture is design, and design is the source, then it makes sense that architecture is the source.

But then Fowler really ties it all together by saying that we must "...remove architecture."

So if I'm to interpret this all correctly, it sounds like the best way to develop software is to avoid writing code. No wonder we're all so confused.

Gosh. It's been a while since I've had time to post, and I've got quite a backlog of entries. I'm hoping to get them out here within the next month. In the meantime, I'll be at SD Expo late next week presenting Benefits of the Build - A Case Study in Continuous Integration, and From Code to Architecture. If you're at the conference, stop in to say "hi".

It really is all about the source. Ken Schwaber, co-creator of Scrum, agrees, providing further proof that Agile processes and agile practices are only effective if the infrastructure and source code are adaptable, as well.

Recently, I was looking for a way to combine all of my rss feeds into a single, aggregated feed. With blinders on, I started evaluating blogging software that would allow me to host my own blog, while also pulling in feeds from other sites to which I contribute. Turns out the solution was much simpler. Planet is an rss news feed aggregator that combines feeds from a variety of different sites, and displays them as a single feed. Planet, built using Python, has a very nice templating engine which makes it easy to modify the layout and presentation of the site. The amazing simplicity is that I simply setup a Cron job to run every so often to update the planet, and generate a single page from the template defintions. So if you're interested in receiving a combined feed of all my individual feeds from Artima, @kirkk.com, Agile Junction, and my home page, you can do so easily. For convenience, here's My Planet where you can subscribe to the feed.

My second blog entry over at Agile Junction is All About the Source. There's also an rss feed available. Subscribe to it, and get involved with the discussion. This is important stuff. If you aren't sure why, I'll explain why soon.

I've been writing a column for Agile Journal titled The Agile Developer. I'll also be blogging over that way at The Agile Junction.

I recently released an "upgrade" to JarAnalyzer. I say "upgrade" with italics because the new release actually removes a feature of the tool. I found that when calculating the Level for a set of .jar files, I ran into a StackOverflowError when cycles exist between any set of more than two .jar files. I don't want this feature to remain absent for long, so I'm calling on people smarter than I to help find an efficient algorithm for calculating Level. Here's the problem.

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I have just arrived at SD Best Practices in Boston where I'll be speaking about Benefits of the Build. Unfortunately, it'll be a short stay as I must leave on Tuesday, but I'll have fun roaming the halls on Monday and attending a few tutorials.

If you happen to see me, stop and say "hi"...

This week, I had the opportunity to speak at Architecture and Design World in Chicago. I always appreciate the opportunity to speak with others about technology - new and old. Due to scheduling issues, I was only able to attend the conference for a few hours. But while I was there...

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