Hey

It rains all the way from home to work and then some. With a wind that is picking up and driving the clouds on like mad. When the sun does shine (intermittently) the frenziedly flapping leaves and branches of the ornamental trees in front of the windows produce highly distracting moving shadows. All the while the temperature shifts from shuddering cold 8C in the morning to a sweltering 9C at noon.
I love this weather, but it doesn't promote my productivity now.

Any one care to help looking? I lost Monday somehow and I can't find it anymore.

Oh, I got the FTP programs running (out of hand, but running). And, together with Ronny I worked out a way to improve the VAT calculation that suddenly was causing trouble in TOS.
I know that because that is where I picked up this morning.

The FTP programs are fixed now and running like before but with the extended fields in them. Running like before so while testing I hit and old bug that, obviously was never noticed before. The problem is that each and every FTP request is executed twice. You send a file somewhere and that file is sent twice, the second time overwriting the result from the first time so there is no trace of this. I only noticed because while debugging a program another, deeper step this was called twice.

And we started working on a solution for the validations. The problem is that the order is entered with some tests being done instantly. After everything is entered the order is saved and another set of validation (customisable by the opco) is executed. When an error is encountered the tests are stopped, the order is saved in status Hold and the user id informed about the error but only in relative general terms. If all is well the order is passed by another set of (customisable) tests. Again this stops the order on the first error. Because this second stage runs in the background, maybe minutes or hours after entering the order, the user isn't informed but the order remains in Hold with a special reason code and must be handled later.
This method is not entirely satisfactory (ahum). For example if there is an error on the 16th line the user only know there is a line with an error but not which line is wrong, he has to go hunting for that himself.
The reason we got this issue on our plate now is that new validations must be added now. A quite disputed set of validations at that. While it should have been a brainstorming session it didn't turn into more than a normal storm. For a brainstorming session you need to get a couple of fast and flexible brains together. Theo is fast and flexible (turning everything into knots) and Ronny is fast but not flexible (he goes into the defensive when his ideas aren't taken). Of course I am perfect (ahum) <cG> (Crazy Grin)

 

And by the way, check out the latest daynoter Jonathan Sturm. From somwhere under Down-Under.

The day starts out stormy with very strong winds whipping the rain and hail in all directions. In the afternoon the wind slackens off a bit and we get a lot of sun.

One problem with trench warfare is mud. I was fighting a trench war with the AS/400 and got stuck in the mud. I was battling it out with a read-equal instruction that didn't behave. Normally this will read the next record in a file and compare the key. If the key is equal to your search argument the record if read into the internal buffer. Normally it reads the next record but this one did read the same record twice.
After exchanging some fire I set up an advanced artillery barrage, climbed out of my mud hole and stormed the line. Victory at six o'clock.

Trench warfare is typified by lots of quite moments. During these we worked out a new method to handle the validations. Yep that concluded yesterdays campaign preparation so now we are setting the stage for the next battle.

 

At home I got a complete communications breakdown. Probably too much noise on the line because phoning out succeeded but was accompanied with a lot of stray noise.

A nice windy and cloudy start. Nice because there are huge gaps between the clouds and later, when that lazy sun finally get up, there is a lot of blue.

I worked on consolidating yesterdays victory. That is I finished the v7.8 FTP programs and folded them together. I did some quick changes (and equally quick corrections to these changes <g>) to the wrapping program (which first makes sure the XML is build and then sends it out using the FTP interface).
And I did a bunch of tests on the whole lot. Nothing broke so now (night-job) things are being transferred to the System test environment and out of my hands. I can start on the v7.9 version.

And we had another discussion on future solutions for TeleSales. Basically more work is dropping off onto my plate.

 

I didn't have time to read daynotes during the day so I picked up some this evening. And I notice that Marcia classes me along with the Dutch. Oh dear, oh dear.
And then she goes on assuming all Belgians talk French. Oh dear oh dear.
No, no, no. I am Belgian, not Dutch. I just happen to work over the border. I am providing "development aid" to the Dutch <G> .
And about two thirds of Belgium talks Flemish not French. Flemish is to Dutch like English is to American. If you know one you understand the other. The French speaking part (Walloon) has only become prominent in the nineteenth century. Most of the older history of Belgium was made in Flanders with the cities of Bruges and Gent and (later) Antwerp as prominent poles. Only during the industrial revolution did the Walloons get rich ( they had coal and iron ore ) and started to dominate the whole country. Something they still try and think they can do but times have changed a bit.

After a promising morning at 10C, with just a few bands of black clouds on a black sky, we end up with a fair day. The wind slackening down and the blowing out photons like there is no tomorrow.

This could have been predicted.
I finished the XML and FTP programs as they were specified, with some additional code included for known future requirements. I send it over to the system test environment and before I even finish the demonstration to Theo he comes up with some extra stuff that must be built in.

Most of the day is spent discussing things with Ronny and helping Wilbert with a problem in Norway.

All this has kept me so busy that I didn't even have time to get more than a glimpse at some of the daynotes gang-sters.

Small change in temperature, down to 2C but, once the sun 's up the mercury follows suit.

Shopping. Strange everybody has taken out thick coats and pullovers. And they are all casting glances at me (without pullover and coat). By the time I go home though most people are carrying coats over their arms <g>

After lunch I move over to my brothers place to help fitting the glass in his greenhouse. Things go better then we hoped so we finish up all the sides and the doors. Well things go well until the second door, the last glass planned. The glass simply won't fit at the bottom. Either the glass or the door frame isn't square but trapezoidal. We have to take the door out, disassemble it file out the screw holes and reassemble it with the glass in place. Which makes it a bit difficult to put the door back.
Without the door we would have been ready by six, now its well past eight and full dark.

Typical roller-coaster autumn weather. Yesterday was bright an sunny after a cold night, now we have a cold and wet day after a warm night (10C). And no, there was no rain only mist with visible droplets. All day.

Not the best running weather. Not the worst either but I do take almost 10 minutes longer to finish the same course as last week. Of course having a hard week under my belt has nothing to do with it. Or, ..

I take it easy in the morning, doing my accounts.

In the afternoon I go help my brother again, finishing the glazing of his greenhouse. We did the sides yesterday so today we fit the glass in the roof and some smaller panes at the front and back. This glass is single (yesterday everything was double thermal glass) so it weighs much less. On the other hand the roof is far less accessible for fitting the rubber seals.
Things go so well that we actually get things about finished. Only a few details remain and most of these can be done single-handed.