inWaterloo

Learning about Powering your Map Mashup

2010-05-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

As you may already know, many people resonate with mapping features within a Mashup. This pattern is just part of the enterprise mashup value proposition as there are many ways to visualize data and its value. With that being said, the key part of enterprise mashups using a map is the critical data powering the map. For example, what are you mapping? How do you figure out what to map for your users or customers? How can this be done efficiently with the data you have? Mapping context needs to be driven by YOUR information and not just what Google or other vendors provides. I just came across a couple of posting that may trigger your interest if you are doing any mapping mashups and are looking for more intelligent means to power the map. Follow the links below to find out more about the value of location based data and how you can leverage your database to power your Enterprise Mashups.

Location, Location, Location!
Chat with the Lab

Enjoy!

Chris

When have Hands on Labs been REALLY fun? Check out IOD EMEA.

2009-05-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Recall your college/university days when you lived on coffee, lacked sleep and were wondering why you are in a lab room at 11:59 pm. Then you awake for have a colleague tap you on the shoulder. You are greeted with a chuckle and later you find out “QWERTY” is imprinted on your forehead from your keyboard pillow. Ah the good ole days – or were they?

Despite these type of memories, the hands on labs are very popular at Information on Demand so you want to sign up early. In particular, I have been involved with the Hands on Lab at IOD 2008 which premiered the lab currently titled “Enterprise Mashups - Revolutionize How User Access Information and Maximize your SOA Re-Use”. On several occasions while proctoring the lab, I was pulled aside by students / practitioners and specifically told – “This lab is really fun. Thanks for putting it together”. In the lab you will find how you can accelerate the ROI on your Information on Demand and SOA investments.

If you are attending IOD EMEA, take some time to have fun and learn about Enterprise Mashups.

If you want to see the type of thing you will be doing check out the Customer Insight mashup demo. Hope to see you there!

Day 3 at IOD

2008-10-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

Good Day from IOD

IOD is picking up the pace with a great beach party. The fireworks at the show were bigger than most Canadian “Canada Day” fireworks. I was surprised to be so close to the actual fireworks launch area which added interesting dimension to the show.

Yesterday, I was in the “Trusted Business Information and Web2.0 Initiatives” session. I thought I would share a term used in this session: “Situation Awareness”. In this talk Tom Deutsch explained this notion.

“Organizations want to sense changes in the business environment better and respond more quickly. Situation awareness means knowing what is going on so that you can decide what to do.”

The concept is describing the willingness to address individual business challenges with situational applications. The business domain expertise is owned by these individuals who know how they need to consume the information. This challenge can be daunting as the natural thing to do for IT is to “broad brush” the problem which really does not address the real goal. Tom proceeds to suggest the need to provide trusted information in a secure, governable manner with Enterprise Mashups to address these types of applications. This approach leverage resources in line of business while reduce application backlogs. For more information on Enterprise Mashup check out IBM Mashup Center.

I have to now head off to my session on “Maximizing Data Web Services” now. Hope to see you there.

Good News for folks who Missed IOD in Vegas.

2007-11-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Good Morning. I hope you all have managed to survive the Halloween phenomenon and avoided getting “egged” this week. I have some good news for folks that could not get to IBM’s Information On Demand (IOD) in Las Vegas last week to be part of the launch of DB2 Version 9.5 (code name Viper 2). Grant Hutchison and I are planning on taking you through the new features within DB2 Version 9.5 in the “What’s new for Viper 2 for Developers”. In addition to DB2, you will find out about the new direction for Developer Workbench. There are some fresh new features as it relates to ease-of-use for data centric application developers discussed in this webcast. Join Us!

Information On Demand 2007 - Vegas

2007-10-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in my blog. I am back from IOD 2007 and I am all Vegas’ed out! Yes - I think "Vegas" should be a verb as this point (after 9 days of being there). As I had closed the Developer Den, I took a step back to snapshot the moment. “Exhausted!” is the best word for it; over 51 great sessions from the speakers. I did however feel a slight remorse that it had to end. There were many positive comments from the sessions within the Developer Den.

I must say "thank you" for the contributions from the speakers – great job. The speakers challenged the audience with new ideas ranging from Mash-ups, Web Services, cool XML and SQL content, and a new Java persistence technology in pureQuery to name a few. The Developer Den had it all which made the pace quicker than last year. We managed to find a way to give away IBM Data Studio, DB2 Viper 2 (DB2 Version 9.5) preview and the IDS Developer Edition all of which were hot off the presses.

I won’t go into new features of Viper 2 (DB2 version 9.5) for Developers as you will find more about that on November 7th Webcast titled “What is new for Viper 2 for Developers”

The Developer Den had a few of sessions on Mash-ups which were well attended. The Info 2.0 (a new Mash-up technology vision) was included in discussion in the Developer Den which complimented Business track at IOD and demos in the Exhibit Hall. From what I can tell customers’ are interested in the value proposition of the Info 2.0 vision which really makes me excited. Mash-ups are definitely on the radar for many companies as they are trying to figure out the landscape of Mash-ups for their environment. The latest edition of DB2 Magazine provides an insightful article on the Info 2.0 vision featuring comments from Anant Jhingran and Arvind Krishna. Additionally, this article provides tips on how to “brush up” on these technologies. The Info 2.0 momentum continues to grow from previous announcements on the IBM Mash-up Starter Toolkit on alphaWorks.

The IBM Data Studio also had a fair bit of content within the Developer Den which is very complimentary to the Info 2.0 vision. IBM Data Studio makes it easier for Application DBAs to produce data-centric Web Services which would be more easily consumable for Info 2.0 and in effect broadens the reach of Information on Demand. Check out the press release on IBM Data Studio. Many were interested in learning how to get started with IBM Data Studio as this session had standing room only. Additionally, IBM Data Studio ties nicely in with Rational products and Rational Data Architect.

Looking forward to next year.

Geeking Around

2007-10-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

I have been on the road a fair bit and hence lacking real data. But recently have had a chance to run into to some very cool technology in September. I have been to:

· Web 2.0 Goes to Work from IBM developerWorks in Raleigh
· VSLive (New York)
· Web 2.0 Goes to Work from IBM developerWorks in Austin
· AjaxWorld (Santa Clara)

In my travels recently I have seen some very cool Ajax technology. The two notables demos/topics:

· Work going on with openAjax Alliance with AjaxHub and being able to search for an Ajax widget and pull it into your mashup via drag and drop. While AjaxWorld was relatively quiet – this was cool. You may also see this technology at ZendCon next week and IBM Information on Demand the following week.
· I was involved with a demo that published a Web Service from the Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM DB2 and then consumed it into what is called DAMIA on IBM alphaWorks (within minutes). The DAMIA technology will soon have a revision check out the news next week. I hope to have a write up on it very soon. I will post a url when the update occurs.

I will report to soon on my next couple of weeks at ZendCon and IBM Information On Demand.

Again, if you are a IBM Data Server technology person, check out the developer Den at IOD particularly TDN 2630 Developing with pureXML: A panel discussion. Get real life experience developing with best in breed XML data management.

Check it out.

Information on Demand 2007

2007-08-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

This year I am excited to say that the Developer Den at Information on Demand 2007 in Las Vegas is going to be pretty cool for Information Developers, Architects, Application DBAs alike. We are adding IQ to the Mandalay Bay. The den is aggresive with content ranging from cobol, Java, C#, Ruby, Python, XML, PHP, Web 2.0, AJAX, SOA, Web Services, data modelling, Developer Tools and hmmm of course SQL.

The cool thing in the Den is the attendees have an opportunity to drive into the content they really want. We are making this interactive, collaborative which means a real exchange of information.

While the presenters have to prepare for their topic like any other talk which takes a fair bit of time, there is an upside to the presenters. They will be learning from others. Most talks will include a few subject matter experts. We will all be sharing, learning and geeking out!

We will also be providing an developing with pureXML panel where we can learn from experience. Yet to be finalized.

The den will have an option to just sit and relax and maybe fit in tutorial.

You can enroll as well. Not that we are all that formal :) See ya there.

Creating ATOM Feeds via the Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM DB2 too easy?

2007-08-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

Does the Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM DB2 on alphaWorks make publishing ATOM feeds too easy to publish pureXML in the database? You may say XML documents are very complicated compared to the demo. I expect that this question may arise. Well that may be true. However, it does provide a means to get you on-ramped. With a little understanding of XQuery you still can achieve a fair bit of complexity. Feel free to look at the industry standard formats that are published on alphaWorks and leverage these concepts for ATOM feed publishing. Then apply this complexity to the Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM DB2. Shoot me…. we used the KISS principle!

Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM DB2 is now available

2007-07-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

The Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM has just been released. This toolkit provides a convenient means to get up and running with popular Web 2.0 concepts and IBM DB2. It is a PHP based solution that can be easily extended to aid your efforts with PHP and IBM DB2. This toolkit presents a data centric perspective on building Web Services and ATOM feeds via point and click. You will find demos to help get you started with building these feeds and services with this toolkit.

Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM DB2 also leverages DB29 pureXML to build very efficient Web 2.0 solutions. If you peek under the covers you will see small code fragments without unnecessary loops that you find in many Web solutions. Benefits include reduced code and processing cycles which are conducive to better performance and lower maintenance respectively.

The sample does work with Zend Core for IBM with subtly different installation. If you have Zend Core for IBM, you will need only to install the demos and PEAR in the Web 2.0 Starter Toolkit for IBM DB2.

For the advanced PHP and Web 2.0 developer, you too can leverage this kits as it provides a means to save you from redundant coding of Services and Feeds. You can then focus on your real interesting parts of your application.

Enjoy.

PS I really like the Ajax HTML HTML example.

JavaOne ’07 – A Subtle Agile Architecture Statement

2007-05-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

JavaOne is an event of persistence. JavaOne’s staying power is exhibited by this conference including a variety technologies from mobility, robotics to the enterprise while staying the course for over 10 years.

Agility in Data and Architecture

As I entered the Moscone center, you could not help notice the massive “” sign. This sign is an interesting remark on XML technology and proves to be key to the minds of Sun and their partners. Many customers asked me about the XML support within DB2 and found the pureXML story impressive.

Interesting to note JavaOne, includes topics in Web 2.0(next generation web) such as:

- Ruby on Rails
- Python
- JavaScript programming language

Noting that these technologies are something Microsoft has been talking about. These languages are considered to foster Agile development. Staying Agile in your architecture/technology and skills are concepts presented by Sun and Microsoft and of course IBM. I think that more possibilities for architecture are opening up to with these announcements. "Staying agile in data and application architecture" is a definitely message that resonated with this event.

DB2 is Open for business!

2007-05-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

The news of the yearly subscription opens new business models for DB2. DB2 Express-C is a free database without any limits in database size. I could go on and on about how many free database offerings limit your deployments, but I won’t. Let’s focus on the opportunities that are now presented with this news in DB2:

1) Emulate Open Source business model without actually being open source
2) Enabling solutions in the form of software as a service with enterprise technology without enterprise price.
3) Reach smaller businesses in an affordable fashion

For years, many open source companies circulate technology for free in the hopes that someone finds it useful. People use open source software for what it does rather than whether they can see source. In fact, most people with an open source database do not touch the source or even look at it. The more complex the software; the less likely someone wants to actually see the source. Does it matter to be an “Open Source Database” technology? Not really. Does it matter that it is free: absolutely! Open Source business model describes the need for people to be able to trial/circulate the software. Once the solution is considered useful and viable, the next step is acquiring a supported environment. This step is paramount to the open source business model. The DB2 Express-C 12 Months License and Subscription enables this business model for DB2 customers! Enterprise feature set with open source business model is very compelling.

Expensive support costs and expensive licenses are prohibitive for the Software as a Service business model. The SaaS model is a derivative of the open source business model in that you are paying for a service rather than software and reduces cost of ownership. So it makes sense that with DB2 Express-C 12 Months License and Subscription enables the SaaS business format as well. Many companies of course care where you put your data in this type of service. What would be safer then DB2. Additionally, the DB2 Express-C 12 Months License and Subscription includes high-availability and replication which is also key to Software as a Service offerings as up-time is a crucial factor for this business model! Additionally, IBM offers companies a means to get started with SaaS hosting. Now you can on-ramp your killer App to the SaaS business model with DB2 Express-C.

Together with these models, software companies can reach new users with the safety net of IBM and feature set of DB2. This announcement opens many doors to new business models and markets for IBM DB2 partners.

EclipseCon 07 Opportunity Knocks!

2007-04-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well back again. I have been a little busy, hence the delay.

I (not so) recently attended EclipseCon 07 in Santa Clara representing IBM Data Servers. It was an interesting show. IBM had a great presence at the show: IBM's activities such as Sudoku and SUMO wrestling which were well received. EclipseCon has a focus and purpose and is definitely on a roll. Developers are obviously core to this purpose. Many vendors are looking at this as a solution for their own products. This was later re-emphasized in Ajaxworld as I found many vendors using Eclipse. I will BLOG about AjaxWorld later. Over 1300 in attendance which is a very good attendance level and the attendees started from 8:00 am and went to 8:00 pm. While I did not attend the sessions and note attendance levels, I did note the comprehensiveness of the content. While this is a great conference for Eclipse developers; EclipseCon would benefit with a business segment that would foster building fruitful partnerships as many vendors have synergies that should be leveraged. Technology and business partnership in this venue makes a lot of sense.

Opportunity Knocks….

2007-04-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

Acknowledgment of Innovation

DB2 9 (formerly known as Viper) won the 2007 Codie "Best Database Management Solution" award. This is an acknowledge of great innovation. A techie's view of technology often points to innovative software as the Codie is the only "peer-recognition" award (which includes competitors).

A little bit about Codie from Wikipedia.

"The CODiE awards is a yearly award issued by the Software and Information Industry Association for excellence in software development primarily among its members.

Since its inauguration, the Codie Awards program has attempted to showcase the software and information industry's products and services and to honor excellence for corporate achievement and philanthropic efforts. It is the only peer-recognition awards program of the software industry, providing the opportunity for companies to earn the praise of their competitors.

The name "Codie" is derived from the word "code", the instructions making up a computer program."

Find out for yourself on what makes DB2 9 innovative (pureXML, Compression, LBAC), you decide.

Watch for my next Rich Internet Application Webcast

2007-02-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

I am working with Zend's Andi Gutmans on a webcast for Feb 28th. We will be speaking on PHP powering Rich Internet Applications on the Windows platform with DB2. Here is the abstract.

After much anticipation, Microsoft Vista was announced in November last year. Windows Vista and Office 2007 moves the XML format to user with desktop tools. An opportunity is presented to enterprises by leveraging this new desktop data format. Many companies have islands of information untapped on the desktop. With new developments with DB2 pureXML - these islands can be managed and integrated into the fabric of Rich Internet Applications. During the Software Delivery Platform webcast, you'll hear how new developments in DB2 and Zend Core provide an exceptional environment to produce powerful rich internet applications with Microsoft Vista.

I really like working with Andi and hopefully some of his smart's will rub off on me. Here's hoping :) Sign up for the webcast!

XQuery and SQL – A Teaming Agreement

2007-01-31T10:46:00.000-08:00

G’Day. For developers/DBAs alike, we are seeing a new marriage in data management. I am currently, by definition, a SQL guy. For a long time XML was below the radar. I am humbled to say this.

However, ….. The more I see XML used, whether for internal purposes or external purposes (standards), I can see that this format growing from the data interchange (its original intention) and has become a “data type”. This graduation recognizes that this popular data interchange format the XML documents become artifacts that need to be reported upon.

Naturally, the resistance for a SQL person is to “relationalize”. The relational model is great value and I do not want to undermine this value. If I did, well then I would likely be taking a XQuery course! Walking away from over 20 years of innovation in relational technology is not a wise choice. I do find it interesting to see some debates which is better relational versus XML or XQuery versus SQL. In a way, this argument is like comparing your wrench to your hammer. As a Developer, I feel we can be more equipped with both in my tool belt. XQuery helps me avoid XSLT. Two key things that vendors should/do recognize going forward:

1) XQuery must inter-operate with SQL and SQL must inter-operate with XQuery to be complete.
2) Relational is a native store and so XML storage formats be native to really provide the performance.

When considering a database, you should look at what plans the server has for the above requirements. Developers would benefit in getting a handle on the XQuery language and make sure the tool belt is well equipped. XQuery constructs remind me a lot of learning SQL. The language is not complex. Relational models have result sets and XQuery sequences. Not that big of a transition. There are tools to help you get you on-ramped to XQuery some of which are free. DB2 Developer Workbench for example.

Fact: Relational is not going away nor is XML. Review your tool belt of skills and make sure you are prepare for hybrid data management. I am doing it! It is kind of obvious from my first blog entry on Windows Vista which by the way has recently announced the plan to increase its footprint. Gee I wonder what XQuery/XML database options exist for the these users :)

New Blog - New prod!

2006-12-20T07:05:00.000-08:00

Finally find time to blog.... Lets gets started.

Recently, IBM released the DB2 Express-C for Vista

Press Release : http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=41469

This event is gives developers a great opportunity to review pureXML™ on Windows Vista. I do think there will be growing pains getting to Windows. The new security model that Microsoft has added, while mimicking the Unix command via point and click will be an adjustment for me and many other “hackers”. Also a pet peeve for me on Windows Vista is that Microsoft removed “Run” from the Start menu. If anyone knows where it is please let me know! I tend to the command line which gives me some relief.

This new security model is a subtle reinforcement for IBM DB2’s Security Innovation. The need for more granular security is presented to this industry at large with many standards pushing into large companies. Having a granular security model may seem like a “nice to have” today, external forces likely will “Elevate” the granular security priority from “nice to have” to “A must have!” Check our DB2 LBAC on the new security if you are interested. At least LBAC is optional and not in your face like Vista’s model. :)

XML in Windows Vista with DB2!

XML is Everywhere! This phrase or something similar has been floating around often referring to the pureXML™ support in DB2 9. Microsoft again has reinforced IBM’s XML strategies with Windows Vista. Microsoft is moving toward XML file formats for Windows Vista and Office 2007 with XPS. Rest assured companies will evaluate how databases perform with XML storage. For document re-purposing which Microsoft alludes to, there will be a need for native XML support in data management.

What about Web 2.0?

Often when I discuss technology with colleagues, Web 2.0/RIA arise in the conversation. I am not going to apologize. Microsoft is also talking about new XML formats with context of Web 2.0 and how content can be re-purposed. Despite XPS is compressed, the Web 2.0 paradigm requires the granular and relevant information to be successful. By granular I mean – do not send the whole document to the browser - just the relevant sub-documents. Having storage technology that can quickly navigate to sub-documents is key. XQuery can arguably repurpose much of the needs for Web 2.0 unless serious transformation is required – enter XSLT. With the System.IO.Packaging in .NET 3.0, you can retrieve the XML meat from new Office document formats within a few lines of code. This evolution in technology offers opportunity to re-purpose this information from within the database server. Hmmm….

Bottom Line on Innovation

This event provides developers a leg up for early adoption for Windows Vista. Foster Innovation matters for Developers. Early adopters struggle with getting stable technology to get proof of concepts and prototypes ready for evaluation. This release for Windows Vista enables the community to innovate for the future of Vista. When Vista becomes available to the masses, the DB2 community will be equipped for forward looking implementation.

IBM is aggressive and I think it will pay off for DB2 community. Having strong platform support is important for many. I have a few O/S’es at home myself.