The Internet Home of Kevin L. Collins
Posts tagged coding
NEI Intranet v3
0So now that I have my laptop setup for development, I’ve duplicated the NEI Intranet. In looking at the existing code, the changes in PHP and the some of the APIs that I used back in 2005, and the requirements put in front of me for the new version, it has become apparent that a complete rewrite is in order.
The first question on my plate is whether or not I should create a new MySQL database and re-organize things there too. There really isn’t a need to keep any historical information, but I could probably copy the data from the old database into a new one without too much trouble.
I need to think about this for a while before I move forward.
Recent Happenings
0For the past few days, I’ve been trying to get setup to do some serious coding again. I’ve been setting up a virtual development server (thanks to VMware), trying things with NFS, implementing a Subversion version control system, setting this laptop up on Ubuntu and getting used to all of this stuff again.
I find it odd, that almost none of this brought me enjoyment though. Two years ago, when I wrote my company’s Intranet site, I was thrilled to be creating something. But it’s different this time. It feels less like hacking and more like drudgery.
But, there is some good that has come out of this. First, I’ve been using the newest Ubuntu – 11.04, the Natty Narwhal – for my laptop and I have to say, I’m impressed. The “Unity” desktop is growing on me. Overall the installation on the laptop was a breeze – drop the CD, boot and go. Bluetooth, WiFi, Webcam, Sound – everything worked without a fuss. Definitely an improvement over my last experience with a laptop and Ubuntu.
Second, I’ve been able to upgrade and consolidate my entire virtual infrastructure from a mix of various VMware softwares and 5 physical server to VMware ESXi 4.1 on three hosts.
Next, I’ve also been using Ubuntu 10.04 LTS for several new servers along the way. The NFS host for my VMware servers and my development server are just two examples. I like its clean, quick install. I’m a bit confused as to why dash has replaced bash and why the developers have chosen not to install a full vi implementation, but those issues are easily worked around.
Finally, I’ve been learning along the way. Most of this learning focused on the changes that have happened between 2009 and now, but still I’ve learned and used a few more tricks.
Learning Programming
1So I’ve been thinking that I want to learn programming. I have for a long time, but I’ve only really dabbled. I know just enough PHP to be dangerous. I have no proper training, and I’m not sure where I should really begin.
I would like for it to be useful at work – so I’m thinking either Visual Basic or C++, so I can create in house apps and extend our Sharepoint server. I’m also thinking that I would like to program for the web – and I do have a bit of PHP experience. But I know that any PHP that I learn will only be use for non-NEI projects.
So to all my developer type friends – where should I start? Are there any places in town where I can take just C++ or VB classes?