Category Archives: Technologies
Why I don’t use enum columns in MySQL database design
I used to be a fan of ENUM columns in MySQL databases. They’re lighter-weight than explicit lookup tables and, I presumed, led to less expensive operations than foreign key checks on a lookup table. But I’ve changed my mind: Changes … Continue reading
Why the iPad sucks: a flame-war invitation
The iPad is a beautiful piece of kit, following in the Apple tradition of making beautifully designed hardware that also brings with it compelling unique selling points. But with the iPad, has the company got the balance wrong and does … Continue reading
Bugzilla API: an example using PHP and Zend Framework
Bugzilla has a rudimentary API for driving it from code. To do this from PHP is reasonably trivial, but using Zend Framework (for the cookie jar primarily) makes the task very simple. Here is some example code: 1 2 3 … Continue reading
Windows 7 for an Ubuntu devotee
There are three reasons I know of for spending money on an operating system at a time when free Ubuntu is now such a viable option. Those reasons are not Internet Explorer, the Microsoft Office paperclip and the excitement gained … Continue reading
Picasa on Ubuntu
I’ve recently taken a shine to Picasa as an alternative to F-Spot on Linux. Installing Picasa 3 Beta for Linux is straightforward on Ubuntu: download the .deb from Google’s site and then install it (sudo dpkg -i picasa_3.0-current_i386.deb). Having done … Continue reading
Stored Procedures: Good or Bad?
A project team rewriting one of our web products has made the decision to jump ship from SQL Server to the open-source MySQL database and, at the same time, to place a greater emphasis on the use of stored procedures. … Continue reading