Wanna merge files recursively from the DOS command line? SQL Files All Over The Place – Problem! I do a lot of grunt work in DOS. Also, I have dozens of SQL scripts in multiple folders that need to be run sequentially in order to recreate the database, create the database objects, and seed the initial data in the system. I can run them one at a time, eating up half an hour or...
Ran into a unique problem with one of my clients. They use Subversion (SVN) for source control.Their site is mainly flat HTML files (once compiled) and media files.Because of IT governance restrictions, I can deploy ONLY the files that have been add/changed since the last deployment. This seems pretty simple, right? Wrong. SVN doesn’t give you an easy way to export ONLY the files that...
There’s a lot of tips and tricks on how to bear writer’s block. Ultimately, as we all know, the only way to beat writer’s block is to simply write. Still, there’s something to be said for kickstarting your creative thought process. Ideas come from the strangest places. Most of us nowadays write on our computers, but all of the suggestions foe beating writer’s block usually...
Throughout my career I have worked with some extremely talented and intelligent developers. I have also, unfortunately, worked with some boneheaded developers who were barely able to create “Hello World” applications. I have worked with all kinds of developers. There are pure developers who have no skills at analysis. There are analysts who tinker enough to...
I have a client that recently asked me to add password validation on a web application. Their existing application had no password validation and users could enter any password into the system with no regards to how secure it was. I was asked to implement the following password constraints: Passwords must be at least 8 characters in length Passwords must not have the login username in the...
I was home alone every day with a deadly disease ravaging my body and trying to take my life from me. My children were in school, my disabled parents were unable to visit me, my wife was at work – providing me the insurance that was saving my life, my brother was working every day, and my sister was living in Europe. Every day I would wake up, drive myself to my radiation treatments, then...
I love using StumbleUpon. You’ve seen the cartoons on the Internet where StumbleUpon kills productivity and is the anathema of sleep. I agree with it 100% – it’s addicting. You select your interests, press Stumble, and viola! A page relevant to you pops up. I wanted to drive Stumblers to this blog, so I tried an experiment. I paid Stumble $50.00 to promote my blog in...
Before Windows 7, I had to muck with the registry to get right-click context in Windows Explorer to open a DOS prompt in the folder I was viewing. Windows 7 does it for free.
Simple hold SHIFT and RIGHT CLICK within Windows Explorer to view the option to open a command prompt in that folder.
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You may remember that last year I blogged about how I ditched my cable company. I got rid of all cable services and watch 100% of my television streamed to my tv via the Internet and a little program called “PlayOn.” It’s been well over a year and I am EXTREMELY pleased with it. I get pretty much everything I ever want to watch, with a few exceptions, through PlayOn. I...
As I type this, Atlantis is travelling over 15,000 miles an hour at the 8-minute mark of the historic last flight of the Space Shuttle program. The space shuttle engine just cut off – and will never fire again. I view this launch with mixed feelings, as I am sure most of America and the world does as well. I grew up with the space shuttle program and it was the NASA I knew and understood. I...
Ron Sparks is a technology professional, science fiction and fantasy author and poet living in Zurich, Switzerland. His latest book "ONI: Satellite Earth Series Book 1" is available on Amazon.com.