Many jobs in technology, especially those that involve writing code, take concentration and focus. It’s often called being “in the zone.” For me, it feels like I’m inside a bubble where time goes at a different pace than the rest of the world. In fact, the rest of the world seems to disappear when I’m … Read more
Every DBA should have basic PowerShell skills. In this article, Greg Moore explains how to write a PowerShell script that can create a window for a countdown timer.… Read more
Robert Sheldon discusses ten guidelines for implementing DevOps, helping organizations get started improving their application delivery processes.… Read more
The first week of November was a big week for Microsoft. They made many announcements at the Ignite conference about what’s new and what will be available in the near future. It was also the week of PASS Summit, the largest Microsoft Data Platform conference in the world. PASS Summit was a fantastic conference as … Read more
The visual elements of games are very important, and there is a lot to learn before you create the next best seller. In this article, Lance Talbert shows you how to create a shader, one tool in the game programmer’s toolbox.… Read more
We participate in auctions all the time even when we don’t realize it. In this article, Joe Celko discusses the many different types of auctions and how they work… Read more
I can’t remember a time when I was not involved in side-projects, usually as a volunteer but also writing books or creating courses. New projects are like bright, shiny objects, and it’s easy to get involved in too many of them. Earlier this year, I found myself working on three books at the same time. … Read more
Understanding scoping rules is a basic skill for developers. In this article, Joe Celko gives a bit of the history of scoping in early programming languages and shows how scoping applies to SQL queries as well. … Read more
I never allowed my children play with modelling clay in my home when they were young, but changed my mind when grandchildren arrived. I have the perfect table, a discarded fast food restaurant booth, so that the mess stays in one spot. There is one sturdy box to hold all the cans of dough and … Read more
Video games often contain animation of the objects and characters, but how is that accomplished? In this article, Lance Talbert explains how a Unity plugin called iTween can make creating animation easy. … Read more
The year is 1999, somewhere in Cambridge, UK. Kathi, a member of the Data-Philes team, is reading a memo sent from her manager. The memo talks about someone who disrupted a project management meeting in London. He claims he is from 20 years in the future. Chris walks in. Chris: Kathi, have you seen the … Read more
With SQL Server 2019 on the way, it’s time to begin learning about all the new features. In this article, Dennes Torres demonstrates how to use the new SHORTEST_PATH function that is part of the Graph Database feature. … Read more
I’ve worked with Microsoft technologies for over 20 years and, during that time, earned a good income to support my family and have a comfortable life. Despite that, Microsoft manages to break my heart again and again. Take the sad saga of the Windows Phone. I was working for Microsoft when the first Windows Phones … Read more
One of the hallmark features of video games is the ability to choose or even customize your character. In this article, Lance Talbert shows how easy it is to let the player create custom characters for your game, especially when you can take advantage of premade image assets available online. … Read more
Back when I was working on a master’s degree, one of our professors told us a story about a colleague who learned how to navigate the Unix system. She was so thrilled about learning this new skill that, in her exuberance, she stumbled upon some hidden human resource files containing confidential information. Eventually, an administrator … Read more
I was talking recently with a friend about features of SQL Server 2019 (still in CTP at the time of this writing). I thought that while Microsoft provides features that will benefit any size shop, the exciting new feature they are promoting is Big Data Clusters. This feature allows you to query data from many … Read more
Attributes in Unity allow you to add features like strings and menu items to objects. In this article, Lance Talbert shows you how to add attributes that can then be tested while in editing mode. … Read more
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