Tricks of the Trade

SQL:   The World Beyond The Surface

In the early 1970's, Donald Chamberlin and Raymond Boyce (both of IBM) dropped a very small stone into a very deep pond. Their “SQL” language has rippled outward ever since to touch every aspect of computing ... from the smallest office to the largest corporations.   To this day, everything depends on how well you use its true capabilities.   (Read more...)

“Too Much Data, Too Little Time”

Computers are often called-upon to process vast amounts of information, for example to post millions of daily transactions to databases that are even bigger. In such situations, you can quite-literally “run out of milliseconds,” and find that you simply cannot get the work done in the amount of time you have in which to do it.   You also notice that the equipment is overheating (driving up your power bill), and the disk-drive arrays are wearing out much too soon. Perhaps you are using the wrong algorithms...   (Read more...)

The Five Best Ideas in Practical Programming

Every language uses them... in fact, “programming languages” can almost be described as the strings which tie-together repeated applications of these vital tricks. Here's how the digital computer can be the singularly-unique power tool that it really is.   (Read more...)