Is UML Death?

I found this article just by accident. I don’t think that UML is Death because there is some concepts and things that almost everyone use from time to time like a sketch of some classes design or an interaction, but I agree on some of the very good topics denoted by

I’ll extract some:

• Software design is not manufacturing no matter how much management likes to think about it this way.
• Software creation is a creative activity so a more accurate description would be craft, art or something along this line.

Personally I think the big issue is the complexity. When UML was trying just to be a communication mechanism between the different stakeholders it was really good and simple but when got to many academic attention and revisions then become more and more complex and less useful. I think that UML is great when you use it as a simple communication mechanism and when you don’t try to express detailed technical details. If you need to express complex ideas there is a very common standard for that it is called written language and you can’t replace that with an impressive and big collection of symbols.

References:

http://littletutorials.com/2008/05/15/13-reasons-for-umls-descent-into-darkness/

Screencasts Camtasia CamStudio

If you need open source alternatives to Camtasia you can check the Camstudio it’s a very light light implemetation but its free!

References:

http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp

http://download.cnet.com/Camtasia-Studio/3000-13633_4-10665109.html

http://camstudio.org/

SQL Server mscorlib.tbl not found CLRVERSION

After installing some application that needs the .Net Framework 1.1 (I had 2.0 already installed) my SQL Server Management Studio (2005) begins to complain about not finding mscorlib.tbl the message was:

The file C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\[version_number]\mscorlib.tlb could not be loaded.

It seems that an environment variable was deleted or lost.

To correct that there is a workaround from Microsoft (KB918685), but I think it’s better to add the removed variable.

Right clicking my computer, properties, advanced, environment variables and then (for 2005) add the variable with name and value:

Name: CLRVERSION
Value: v2.0.50727

Check with your terminal (console/command prompt)
echo %CLRVERSION%

References:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918685
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/conversation.aspx?messageid=32515194&threadid=32515194

Change MS SQL Server 2005 Windows Server Name

Yesterday I change my development computer name at work when adding to the corporate domain, then I had to update the new SQL Server 2005 default instance to SP3 and it does not work, complaining that can’t find ‘oldname’ server name.

I found a solution here thanks to Nick Berardi.

These was his steps (I just add one verification select statement)

— you’ll see your old name here
sp_helpserver
select @@servername
select * from sysservers

— I add the , ‘droplogins’ with the hope that fix te OLDNAME\ASP and so on
— accounts and schemas (doesn’t work, sorry)
sp_dropserver ‘oldname’, ‘droplogins’
sp_addserver ‘newname’,’local’

— then restart services (from console or services.msc
net stop mssqlserver
net start mssqlserver

— finaly check your changes
sp_helpserver
select @@servername
select * from sysservers

Then you have to change the Login accounts (and of course you have to rename some windows local groups)

to change the name of logins in SQL Server: (check here for reference)
ALTER LOGIN [OLDNAME\ASPNET] WITH NAME = [NEWNAME\ASPNET] and so on.

And then I found that I had to change the DEFAULT SCHEMAS also, so if you want to finish that way you can try that and find the registry keys, and so.

I my case I drop that solution and uninstall / install a fresh new database (’cause I had the advantage that my SQL Server was new anyway)

References
http://www.coderjournal.com/2008/02/how-to-change-instance-name-of-sql-server/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ms143799.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/ms143799.aspx

Intel 915GM Graphics Driver on Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty

I’ve got an old Compaq nc6220 Laptop and recently I had installed Ubuntu Jaunty. First all was working OK including Graphics, I don’t had any problem with advanced effects. But then automatic updates and no more advanced Graphics.

It seems that something screw up the xorg.conf and set all to Defaults, if this happens to you then you have to check if you have the correct drivers already installed:

aptitude show xserver-xorg-video-intel

if not install it…

then you have to add/change Driver to “intel”

/etc/X11/xorg.conf

References:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=207794
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=504759