I have recently been upgrading my Jazz/Team Concert environment to version 2.0 from 1.0. I'm using the Express-C version which is based on Apache Tomcat and Derby. These versions come in a zip file format and can easily be extracted out on a Linux server and started with minimal configuration. Upgrading from one to the other, however has had a hiccup or two. I highly recommend the Linux version. I run it on OpenSUSE 11.1 with zero issues on the OS. Its really flawless.... and cheap.
First, the two versions can work entirely independent of one another since they are just zipped up. Just don't run them at the same time as they run on the same port. When I extracted the 2.0 version, I put it under /opt/IBM/RTC, whereas my 1.0 version was under /opt/IBM/jazz. However, when I extracted it, I actually replaced the "jazz" folder with "RTC". As I had blogged earlier, there MUST be a jazz directory in the absolute file path. Once I put it extract under /opt/IBM/RTC/jazz, I was able to startup the virgin server fine.
Then came the migration. The documentation on the Jazz.net site for upgrading is accurate. There are several files that you must copy over and you MUST migrate the database using the repotools.sh script. Once I followed it exactly I got my site up and running, but only when I used the IP address. Somehow, it would not connect using the host name. Being that I connect to my server from behind a firewall (such as when I am at a customer site), I need to use the host name, as the IP address is just an internal address. Outside the firewall, it gets NAT'd, and I subsequently would timeout when trying to connect. The problem was that it would initially connect, and then give me the self-signed SSL cert error, which is fine. But then it would just sit and eventually time out. There was nothing in the log files that would ever indicate the source of the problem. That is one Friday night will never get back! I must have deleted and rebuilt the 2.0 version a dozen times before I figured out the cause problem. And it is a simple one.
Simply be sure you can ping your host from your host. Once I added a static entry into my /etc/hosts file, all was right with the world. I could connect to my server with no problem at all from outside my office as well as inside.
The last lesson learned, is that if you have installed the Team Concert client from any of the various Rational 7.5 products, you will have to uninstall it, and then install the 2.0 version using the IBM Installation Manager option from the Jazz.net site. You must completely uninstall all 1.0 clients. In my case I had Rational Developer for System i as well as Rational Software Architect installed. Both have an RTC client (one of which being for RTC for i), and both had to be removed in order to install the 2.0 client.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
The power of social networking: a charity case
Today, a friend and business colleague of mine sent out this notice via LinkedIn
Now what is special about this is that Mike is able to quickly reach out to over 150 direct connections and thousands of secondary and tertiary connections in seconds. Introducing people using a trusted intermediary is the most effective way of establishing a new positive relationship. Mike knows this person directly and subsequently he has validated their need and worthiness to all his direct connections. If he were to do this the old fashioned way it would require hours of phone calls and writing to achieve a similar effect. Subsequently this couple is likely to receive more charitable aid faster. This is powerful.
There can be a whole social commentary on how this is far more beneficial than some socialist heath care system that our currently elected officials are attempting to reign down on us. I'll leave that diatribe to the political blogs.
I'd rather discuss how powerful this is for a charity, or even a corporate environment. Social networking was once thought of as a complete time waster. It was the realm of PC gamers and bored teenagers. Now, it can be seen as a powerful form of communications. In the case above, it shows how one person can influence the financial decisions of others. It also shows the speed at which it can occur. Hell, I'm blogging on it less than an hour after he sent it!
Now imagine this applied in a large corporate organization where a person has a idea or complaint that can affect the quality or performance of a product. By posting through the corporate social site (either a wiki or blog like interface), that person elevates their visibility beyond the gatekeepers of middle management. In fact such an idea can get to the designers/creators/engineers before upper level management even knows the idea exists (we are talking minutes or seconds here). This can accelerate the adoption of new ideas and processes much faster than the traditional wooden suggestion box. You know, that dusty old thing nailed up in the break room that has the leaky pen hanging from it, which everyone has long forgotten.
Wikis are extremely common, but oddly shunned in the corporate environment. Yet, they are a much better repository to share data than your highly paid key player. Wikis can be backed up with software, and they keep your corporate documentation, ideas, and business knowledge on the company premises. What happens if your key player goes through a mid-life crisis, buys a new Harley and goes out on the open road... without his (or her) helmet. Frightened yet? How about a less morose example. Your most senior COBOL programmer who knows more about your system than anyone... is retiring... to the Bahamas. Where are your intellectual assets going at night? Shouldn't you try to keep some of it on the premises?
Food for thought.
Mike Ostrowski has sent you a message. Date: 7/13/2009 Subject: Help for my friend Hello All, LinkedIn
I normally would not use linkedin for this...but...I have a dear friend who is battling cancer and has had to travel to Houston for treatment. I am trying to raise some money to help with travel and living expenses. It adds up going back and forth from Atlanta to Houston (They have 3 children). They really need some help.
If you can, please go to this site and make a small donation:
http://www.donortownsquare.
Thanks,
Mike Ostrowski
Now what is special about this is that Mike is able to quickly reach out to over 150 direct connections and thousands of secondary and tertiary connections in seconds. Introducing people using a trusted intermediary is the most effective way of establishing a new positive relationship. Mike knows this person directly and subsequently he has validated their need and worthiness to all his direct connections. If he were to do this the old fashioned way it would require hours of phone calls and writing to achieve a similar effect. Subsequently this couple is likely to receive more charitable aid faster. This is powerful.
There can be a whole social commentary on how this is far more beneficial than some socialist heath care system that our currently elected officials are attempting to reign down on us. I'll leave that diatribe to the political blogs.
I'd rather discuss how powerful this is for a charity, or even a corporate environment. Social networking was once thought of as a complete time waster. It was the realm of PC gamers and bored teenagers. Now, it can be seen as a powerful form of communications. In the case above, it shows how one person can influence the financial decisions of others. It also shows the speed at which it can occur. Hell, I'm blogging on it less than an hour after he sent it!
Now imagine this applied in a large corporate organization where a person has a idea or complaint that can affect the quality or performance of a product. By posting through the corporate social site (either a wiki or blog like interface), that person elevates their visibility beyond the gatekeepers of middle management. In fact such an idea can get to the designers/creators/engineers before upper level management even knows the idea exists (we are talking minutes or seconds here). This can accelerate the adoption of new ideas and processes much faster than the traditional wooden suggestion box. You know, that dusty old thing nailed up in the break room that has the leaky pen hanging from it, which everyone has long forgotten.
Wikis are extremely common, but oddly shunned in the corporate environment. Yet, they are a much better repository to share data than your highly paid key player. Wikis can be backed up with software, and they keep your corporate documentation, ideas, and business knowledge on the company premises. What happens if your key player goes through a mid-life crisis, buys a new Harley and goes out on the open road... without his (or her) helmet. Frightened yet? How about a less morose example. Your most senior COBOL programmer who knows more about your system than anyone... is retiring... to the Bahamas. Where are your intellectual assets going at night? Shouldn't you try to keep some of it on the premises?
Food for thought.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Transforming HATS inhibited input screens
This is one I've been meaning to post for sometime, but always forget. Let's say you have a HATS screen transformation that you've worked for hours to get pixel perfect. It looks gorgeous. You deploy it and then your users come back to you and say they that when they get into an error condition, they no longer see the UI that you so tirelessly worked for.
The problem here is that there is an error condition in the Operator Input Area (OIA), and subsequently, the screen recognition criteria on the screen customization no longer matches. By default, when you create a screen customization it creates a criteria to recognize the screen only when it is not inhibited. There is no area on the wizard to change this, but you can change it on the source tab.
Open that tab and look towards the bottom for the "<description>" element, and under that you will find the <oia> element.
Simply change the "NOTINHIBITED" attribute to "DONTCARE". Your transformation will now render under both conditions. Voila!
The problem here is that there is an error condition in the Operator Input Area (OIA), and subsequently, the screen recognition criteria on the screen customization no longer matches. By default, when you create a screen customization it creates a criteria to recognize the screen only when it is not inhibited. There is no area on the wizard to change this, but you can change it on the source tab.
Open that tab and look towards the bottom for the "<description>" element, and under that you will find the <oia> element.
Simply change the "NOTINHIBITED" attribute to "DONTCARE". Your transformation will now render under both conditions. Voila!
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Beta no more
The ruler of the known universe, Google, has announced that they are taking the Beta label off of Gmail after many years of being in this program. Gmail is probably the most famous beta software of all! While most of us had expected the beta program to go on forever, there are some good lessons to be learned from Google.
First, they set a precedent on rolling updates. By that I mean they rolled out regular updates and improvements, some offered as "labs'" for those items it deemed relatively risky or of minimal value to the end user. This is classic agile planning. However, by being used by as many millions of people as it is, it has helped to set the user expectation that it is O.K. to gradually roll out smaller improvements as the requirement priority dictates, with each release acquiring newer but sometimes obscure features. This is a much better approach that massive, radically changed software over longer stretches. Such change disrupts the user community and can often introduce other risks in the deployment, or in overall usability that would have been mitigated if the newer features were implemented in smaller increments.
Second, it set an example to the business community that they can be successful by keeping the application consumer involved in the design process. The Gmail team blog has always been top notch at letting the community know what they are working on. They showed how you can mitigate many risks by introducing new features as optional ones, by letting the consumer choose the rich UI, or the plain HTML interface, and by giving the consumer lots of outlets to voice concerns or complaints. IBM's Jazz project has also been an excellent example of this. You know everything the development teams are doing at any given time, and you have the ability to review milestones of the Jazz build cycle yourself.
Lastly, by institutionalizing iterative development, they are showing how successful such an agile project can be. Can you imagine what Gmail would be if they had just released it fresh, unused this week after years of closed door development? Imagine how much consumer feedback they would have missed out on? Imagine how much advertising revenue they would have lost?
First, they set a precedent on rolling updates. By that I mean they rolled out regular updates and improvements, some offered as "labs'" for those items it deemed relatively risky or of minimal value to the end user. This is classic agile planning. However, by being used by as many millions of people as it is, it has helped to set the user expectation that it is O.K. to gradually roll out smaller improvements as the requirement priority dictates, with each release acquiring newer but sometimes obscure features. This is a much better approach that massive, radically changed software over longer stretches. Such change disrupts the user community and can often introduce other risks in the deployment, or in overall usability that would have been mitigated if the newer features were implemented in smaller increments.
Second, it set an example to the business community that they can be successful by keeping the application consumer involved in the design process. The Gmail team blog has always been top notch at letting the community know what they are working on. They showed how you can mitigate many risks by introducing new features as optional ones, by letting the consumer choose the rich UI, or the plain HTML interface, and by giving the consumer lots of outlets to voice concerns or complaints. IBM's Jazz project has also been an excellent example of this. You know everything the development teams are doing at any given time, and you have the ability to review milestones of the Jazz build cycle yourself.
Lastly, by institutionalizing iterative development, they are showing how successful such an agile project can be. Can you imagine what Gmail would be if they had just released it fresh, unused this week after years of closed door development? Imagine how much consumer feedback they would have missed out on? Imagine how much advertising revenue they would have lost?
Rational Team Concert 2.0 Released
The Jazz team has released RTC 2.0. I've just updated my server and migrated the database repository.
Here is an overview of what's new in RTC 2.0:
For those that are not familiar with Team Concert, this is the coolest thing since sliced bread. It is THE tool for software development project planning, management, source code management and more. Here is a general overview of the features. In our organization we use the RTC ExpressC version for our clients. This is a small team version that is free and includes 3 free client access licenses - perfect for our small team.
If you do not currently use version control (a.k.a. source code management- SCM), this is an idea product to start with. Yes, there is Subversion, which is a good open source product, but it does NOT do all the features that Team Concert does. SCM is only a part of Team Concert's features.
Here is an overview of what's new in RTC 2.0:
For those that are not familiar with Team Concert, this is the coolest thing since sliced bread. It is THE tool for software development project planning, management, source code management and more. Here is a general overview of the features. In our organization we use the RTC ExpressC version for our clients. This is a small team version that is free and includes 3 free client access licenses - perfect for our small team.
If you do not currently use version control (a.k.a. source code management- SCM), this is an idea product to start with. Yes, there is Subversion, which is a good open source product, but it does NOT do all the features that Team Concert does. SCM is only a part of Team Concert's features.
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