Strictly Business

Antithesis

Ilan — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:54:02 +0000

I haven’t tried it yet, but assuming that I can make easy use of pg8000, a PostgreSQL that throws out c-based bindings and speaking postgresql-ish in native python, then it’s an example of the anti-thesis of “dragon tea”. It doesn’t appear to require hunting down obscure dependencies, it doesn’t require that you build ten other equally obscure things before you can use it, and if it delivers what it promises it will make developer’s lives much easier.I speak out of self-interest. I’m writing a PostgreSQL “utility belt” module that can serve as the data model layer for unique PostgreSQL systems administration/development applications. I’ve been fretting for a little while about requiring people to go through the hoops of installing psycopg2, which is a pain in the butt to install and also has some documentation/finding-on-the-internet issues.A completely self-contained python interface to PostgreSQL that completely bypasses libpq shennanigans would make the lives of developers who’d want to use my stuff that much easier. And making developer’s lives easier and bringing in the newbie programmers is a winning strategy. Much more of a winning strategy than catering to the few elites and their diatribes about performance hits taken by natively doing stuff in an interpreted language.Scripting languages are supposed to be slow; it’s called an engineering tradeoff. If you didn’t want it slower, you’d bypass the scripting language and do it in C and accept the tradeoff of performance for slower development time.Just my two. When the PostgreSQL utility belt is ready, I’ll probably post it here, or something.

Dragon Tea

Ilan — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:43:29 +0000

Dragon Tea — A separate software dependency required for a piece of software one wants to build and/or run that is:

Excessively difficult to find and hidden in some dark corner of the Internet.
Excessively difficult to build.
Excessively difficult to integrate into build process for the software one wants to build/run.
Any combination of the first three.

Dragon Tea often takes the form of an obscure shared library or Yet-Another-Build-Environment, and usually tends to cause as much or more grief than conveniance it was intended to provide.

Etymology: Dragon Tea was named after the imagery of a mystical ancient Chinese cure to any ailment that one can only be found in the darkest, scariest, most out-of-the-way section of Chinatown on a full moon when all the planets line up, and having as much potential to kill the patient as it has to cure them.

Vocabulary

Ilan — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:36:59 +0000

Today I start adding an “Ilan Lexicon” section to Strictly Business. I have my own way of describing the situations I encounter in my work; most often, my invention of a word is for the purpose of accurately putting a finger on a truism that many have encountered but few have ever named. I find that when I can name a problem, I’m better able to deal with it.

It is my hope in the future that my invented words will migrate to their own section, but right now, they’ll sit aside all the other content.

One more blog, one more time.

Ilan — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 21:28:51 +0000

So I am starting yet another blog, yet another time. This blog has to do with computer stuff and job-related stuff.

Short and sweet intro, baby.

Hello world!

Ilan — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!