Efficiency is one of the overriding considerations when designing almost any kind of application. This requirement affects everything from the algorithms used to the distribution of work within the system.
Using Typed Datasets in Visual Studio
If you’ve worked with Visual Studio or .NET for long, you’re probably familiar with the System.Data.DataSet class which enables you to create a collection of data in memory, often retrieved from an SQL database. Within a dataset object, you can have a series of related DataTables that categorize the data. Moving further down, each table can…
Looking for Square Pegs: Finding a Solution and Turning it Into Code
(Previously published on AndrewComeau.com.) Introduction Programming and software development is a type of engineering. More than just sitting down and typing code, it’s about designing solutions to everyday problems using technical knowledge gained over years of training and experience. Larger projects can include a series of challenges to solve, some of which can’t be foreseen until they’re staring you…
Weekend Links
I’d planned to spend the weekend writing up a new programming article for the site but it got a little hi-jacked by another project I was working on. On Friday, I needed to figure out how to generate ZIP files from a website and just couldn’t put it down for the weekend. The situation is…
Microsoft Access for Beginners / JobSearch 2010
I’ve started to see some sales of the eBook version of “Microsoft Access for Beginners” and was happy to hear from one of the readers today, despite the fact that he was reporting a problem … It seems there was an issue with the Access 2007 / 2010 version of the program that I believe…
Learning PHP
One of the projects I started late last year was learning some non-Microsoft technologies, one being PHP; a scripting language that is used behind websites in order to provide more dynamic features than ordinary HTML is capable of. PHP has been in use since 1995 and is one of the most widely available web technologies. …
Bringing things up to date …
Every so often, I remember that I have a blog attached to the site and I make new promises to myself to keep it up to date but it doesn’t seem to happen that often. 2011 was a busy year for me which was one reason I didn’t update the blog much. It’s easier to…
Speaking of links …
Here’s one I found today in the Wall Street Journal on studies into the nature of happiness … one more of those studies that essentially tell us our grandparents were right after all. Is Happiness Overrated? Study Finds Physical Benefits to Some (Not All) Good Feelings The message I take away from this one is…
March already?
I thought about taking the blog down when I realized how long it had been since I posted here but instead, I decided to say goodbye to Facebook for awhile and devote those misspent energies to something a little more productive. I started a new full-time job in January, which is another reason I’ve been…
Switching between Access 2010 windows
A visitor to the site asked about using ALT-TAB to switch between open Access windows. This refers to the “Windows in Taskbar” feature which was available in Access prior to Access 2007. You could set Access to display a button for every open Access window on the Windows Task Bar and use the standard ALT-TAB…