Another software complexity law

I have a (somewhat pessimistic) addition to this list, also inspired by physics:

Some software complexity cannot be destroyed, it can only be moved from one place to another.

Recognizing this type of complexity is a key skill in SW engineering in my opinion. Those who cannot spot it are themselves easily spotted. They are the ones swimming in layer upon layer of interface/class/factory/aspect as they struggle to get the ab initio complexity to disappear in a puff of refactoring logic.

Adam Bosworth has a blog

Adam Bosworth has a blog. You know what to do.

The end of eclectic

Leigh Dodds announced the end of eclectic.

Identity in the real world

Identity in the real world is an ITWorld article I wrote about the fallacious concept of knowing that someone is who they say they are with 100% certainty. An idea that is doing the rounds in the e world but does not exist in the real world. Why are we so hung up on it?

Manuals, conversations and RSS

I cannot debug software these days without RSS. What am I talking about? Read Manuals, conversations and RSS - an ITWorld article I wrote on the subject of debuging, technical documentation and the enormous impact that the Web and RSS have had on both.

An interesting interview with Bruce Eckel over on Borland Community

Bruce interview. Interesting stuff. The photo is probably a bit bigger than strictly necessary. I have a soft spot for Borland ever since I bought Turbo Pascal for my 2.33 Mhz PC with its enormous 10MB (thats ten whole megabytes folks!) Winchester drive.

hyper-subtext

It occurs to me that hyperlinking can be used as a way of writing stuff between the lines as it were. A sort of visible subtext if you like. Hmmmm. Does this idea have a name. Suggestions?

Electronic voting

"We conclude that, as a society, we must carefully consider the risks inherent in electronic voting, as it places our very democracy at risk"

Analysis of an Electronic Voting System[24 page PDF]

Fascinating and deeply troubling in a "Nobody will listen until there is a major incident" type way.

Better Messaging

Sam Ruby picked up on my post about messaging. I couldn't agree more about the need for clean, thorough specification of XML messages.

Senior architect required in Propylon

[A short commercial posting]. Propylon are looking for a senior architect to add to current team. Must have strong knowledge of XML, MOM, J2EE,EAI worlds. Must be capable of architecting, overseeing development and delivering real solutions to real customers within real deadlines.
Attractive package for the right person. Dublin (Ireland) based. Mail me if interested.

Multiple canonical models, messaging

"One of the interesting consequences of a messaging based approach to integration is that there is no longer a need for a single conceptual model to underpin the integration effort."

Martin Fowler

Amen to that. The real beauty of messaging is the tremendous scope it provides for intervention in message flows. Where you can intervene, you can transform and
Transformation is the only truth.
Canonical models are Dukha. Don't go there. Instead of "same" think "isomorphic".

This is terribly, terribly depressing

I don't know where to start on this one: SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism. I'll just link to it and let the title of this post do the talking for me:-)

And its the Irish word for 'God'. A good omen right?

Dia.

Bruce Eckel and a tipping point

http://www.artima.com/intv/tipping.html.