David Leston's Software Development Blog » Other

Prototyping, fighting layout bugs, and model-based testing

David — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:04:08 +0000

Recently, I’ve ran into a few interesting talks related to testing. In this first talk, Steven Dow talks about some early studies on how prototyping has an effect on the performance of the end result. As you’ll see in the Q&A, people are hungry to know more about how we can structure tests for our ideas.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Next, Michael Tamm presents “Fighting Layout Bugs”, a library to detect layout bugs. This is something that will save a lot of time and prevent many layout bugs by bringing an unprecedented level of automation to testing page rendering. This is something to keep an eye on.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Let’s talk about model-based testing. Mark Utting gives an introduction.

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Then, Atif Memon discusses applying model-based testing to web applications.

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Finally, Darko Marinov talks about test selection when conducting model-based testing.

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Using instant messaging for distributed application communication

David — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:11:51 +0000

During the first session of the Lightweight Languages 3 workshop (includes video of the talks), Dana Moore and Bill Wright presented ACME: Toward a LL Testing Framework for Large Distributed Systems (abstract), in which they described a distributed application which used the XMPP (aka Jabber) instant messaging protocol to communicate between nodes.

XMPP addresses many complexities of inter-node communication in a distributed application, such as presence, heartbeat, queuing messages for offline nodes (offline messages), group broadcast (chat rooms), and status.

Here some other resources promoting instant messaging as a communication bus for distributed applications:

Mickaël Rémond’s blog talks about using XMPP (Jabber) inside distributed Erlang applications. Here are slides from Mickaël Rémond’s presentation entitled Messaging with Erlang and Jabber.
A proposed standard for game sessions using XMPP (Jabber) by by Michal Vaner
A proposed universal Go server using XMPP (Jabber) by Mike Albon
Peer-to-Peer: Building Secure, Scalable, and Manageable Networks by Dana Moore and John Hebeler – book on Amazon
Jabber Developer’s Handbook by William Wright and Dana Moore – book on Amazon

Related links:

Network theory – detecting cascades

David — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:12:16 +0000

In his talk, Dynamics of real-world networks, Jure Leskovec discusses where to place sensors in a network to detect cascades such virus outbreaks or rising memes. I particularly enjoyed Jure’s explanation of how the cost-effective lazy forward-selection algorithm, which his team developed, helps to balance the cost of the sensors versus the reward of early detection.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related links:

Debugging on Software Engineering Radio

David — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:28:33 +0000

Another podcast I listen to is Software Engineering Radio. The Debugging episode talks about how testing does not prevent the need to debug, that debugging is a search problem, and tools for estimating where source for bugs are located.

Related links:

Why Programs Fail: A Guide to Systematic Debugging by Andreas Zeller – book on Amazon

Time and attention: THE soft skill of every knowledge worker

David — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:52:28 +0000

In his talk, Time and Attention, Merlin Mann talks about being conscious of what grabs your attention, negotiating requests for attention, and communicating organization culture around communication.

I enjoyed the part about defaults. Simple tips for improving concentration:

Configure your email client to not notify you when an email arrives.
Configure your instant messenger to not notify you when anyone changes status.
Change your browser’s home page to be something simple, something that does not display recent news, quizzes, weather, traffic, recent emails in a personal email account, recent blog posts. I prefer the fastest-loading option: about:blank, and I use Firefox’s built-in search.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I recently saw Merlin Mann speak at a OmniFocus meeting hosted by The Omni Group.

Related links:

Getting Things Done: The Art Of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen – audiobook on Amazon

TV Ontario’s Big Ideas

David — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:32:24 +0000

I’ve received some requests to share some of my favorite podcasts. The first I’d like to share is a non-technical podcast called Big Ideas. It’s the only regularly scheduled program dedicated to the art of the lecture and the importance of ideas in public life. One of my favorite Big Ideas lectures is by Oxford University’s Harvey R. Brown. This lecture is a fun ride on the logic train, discussing motion and time. Enjoy.

Signals, Truth, & Design

David — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:51:49 +0000

In her talk, Signals, Truth, & Design, Judith Donath discusses intentional and unintentional signals as well as truth in signals.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related links:

The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet by Daniel J. Solove – book on Amazon

Pharming

David — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:32:05 +0000

In his talk, Drive-By Pharming and Other WebApp Bummers, Sid Stamm discusses creative exploits.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Managing Email

David — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:30:04 +0000

In his talk, Inbox Zero, Merlin Mann discusses one of the most important soft skills of a knowledge worker.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related links:

Copyright regime vs. civil liberties

David — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 07:27:52 +0000

In his talk, Copyright Regime vs. Civil Liberties, Rick Falkvinge, founder of the Swedish Pirate Party, makes an interesting argument.

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Related links: