Sunday 28 June 2009

Hibernate-ification

I decided to take the plunge today. Thanks to the magic of version control it's not an irreversable plunge but still a big one to take. I've decided to refactor the database code for AllDay DJ 3.

A few hours in and I'm most of the way there. That may be down to a bit of forward planning though - I designed the database code around the idea of "repositories". I.e. if you want to store or retrive something, you do it in the repository. Thankfully that all fits into the Hibernate approach.

Yup, I've gone for the complete ORM (Object Relational Modelling) approach. It has the upshot for users of allowing you to choose what database engine you want to use (providing it's supported by Hibernate) and as a developer, I see reduced development time and a better tie into the object model.

As with all things in life - there's a down side. Joins are a mix of being easier and more complex (depending on the object relationships). One specific example that comes to mind is the design I've got for the schedule. I won't give too much away, so let's just say the database schema in v3 is far more normalised.

Sunday 21 June 2009

3G Access... Fun & Games

It's a well publicised option for getting internet on the move or if you've no landline. That's why I've had to take up such access. I may as well give you the highs and lows.

Well, I practically live under the tower, so reception is excellent. The service when accessable is nippy enough though it can be painful to use SSH over. The joys of the round trip time.

However, I have run into a slight issue. Look at the line above again - "when accessable". Yup - I've had a few connection issues. Though, that's down to the dongle. I tried the same SIM card on a mobile phone connected to the laptop via. bluetooth - no issues. Just excessively slow...

So, it's the best I've got and I can't complain too much about the service. It does seem a little better than travelling on the X24 makes it out to be.

Friday 5 June 2009

The Great Move South

To say the last couple of weeks were chaos would be an understatement. I've made the move south of the border. For only a few months mind you, but it's still a big move anyway.

South of the border is a big place. So it's probably appropriate to give you more information. It's Bath I'm in. Working for a small but well known company over the next three months.

Now, I've only been here less than a week but it is possible to give my first impressions of Bath. It's a historic place (but then where isn't?) with architechture if you're into it. The place is only a few miles from Bristol but seems to be fairly seperated.

I'm currently staying in university halls. Floor 8 at that! So I'll probably be a bit fitter by the end of the summer. Talking of which, I plan to make a few weekend trips out of the place during the summer break. I've been to Bristol before, however, last time I was in the place, the bus I was on crashed. So it's probably not a good move to return too quickly. But there are other options, I can explore the "west" or even venture east towards London.