tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583Wed, 20 Aug 2025 11:01:30 +0000ramblingsAjaxSoftware EngineeringSoftware developmentApplication ArchitectureArchitectureRESTFul Web ServiceSQL ServerSQLServer 2005XMLHttpRequest objectDOMDesign PrinciplesIndiaNoSQLNote to SelfOOPsSQLServer 2008.NET 2.0+.NetAbort requestsC#C++C++ ProjectCTECachingConfiguration filesCouchDBDOM EventsDataExtJSFiddlerHandling TimeoutsHierarchical DataJavaScriptMicrosoft Ajax LibraryNILF 2010NasscomPeopleSave our tigerTalentTurbo C++ 3.0Web Application Stress ToolXMLXSLTcURLcommodity hardwarecopy database diagramdesign patternsenvironmentjQuerysingletonsysdiagramstabtablet PC"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." Abraham Lincolnhttp://nestas.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (santanu)Blogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-5026289118656313769Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:58:00 +00002015-03-18T23:28:03.619+05:30.NetC#CouchDBSoftware developmentI was recently working on a .NET project that uses CouchDB v 1.6.1 as its database. As part of this project, I created this library to abstract away the HTTP requests to a CouchDB. It is a work in progress, but the methods available should be sufficient for CRUD operations on a CouchDB database. The code's written in C# in VS 2013 Community Edition. You can download the source at https://http://nestas.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-c-library-for-couchdb.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-7392274955059429320Thu, 22 Jan 2015 12:12:00 +00002015-01-23T11:53:53.830+05:30cURLNote to SelfSoftware developmentIf you use cURL in a cmd.exe shell on Windows, an attempt to POST or PUT data formatted in JSON results in an error. An example: This is the data: {"Continent":"AS","ContinentName":"Asia","CountryName":"India","Capital":"New Delhi","Iso_Alpha2":"IN","Iso_Numeric":"356","http://nestas.blogspot.com/2015/01/error-using-curl-to-post-or-put-data.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-7171915319552293469Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:05:00 +00002014-12-03T16:09:33.077+05:30Application ArchitectureArchitectureRESTFul Web ServiceSoftware EngineeringThis is the fourth post in this series of posts on RESTful web service. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 In this post we discuss the need for versioning an API and the possible ways to do it. The need for versioning is not restricted to the REST scenario alone - whatever is applicable to the REST scenario is also applicable to HTTP web services. APIs don't exist for themselves - they are meant to be http://nestas.blogspot.com/2014/12/restful-web-service-versioning-api.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-5741514844885967869Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:51:00 +00002014-12-03T16:21:13.403+05:30Application ArchitectureArchitectureRESTFul Web ServiceSoftware EngineeringThis is the third in this series of posts on RESTful web service. Part 1, Part 2, Part 4 In this post we will examine the role of internet media types, especially the 'application' media type in a REST service. The media type, to a large extent, describes the contract between the server and the client in a REST web service. Read the full article here. http://nestas.blogspot.com/2014/11/restful-web-service-media-types-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-1193904989943834621Sat, 18 Oct 2014 20:04:00 +00002014-12-03T16:21:28.148+05:30Application ArchitectureArchitectureRESTFul Web ServiceSoftware EngineeringThis is the second post of the series on RESTful Web Service. Part 1, Part 3, Part 4 In this post we discuss how to design and build a REST API (a collection of REST web service). As with any design we ask ourselves what our end goals are, and then decide how we go about achieving these. I believe the questions below set out what the minimum end goals are when designing a successful REST API.http://nestas.blogspot.com/2014/10/this-is-second-post-of-series-restful.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-4478165597948962451Mon, 29 Sep 2014 19:05:00 +00002014-12-03T16:15:22.019+05:30Application ArchitectureArchitectureRESTFul Web ServiceSoftware EngineeringMany of us have, at some point or the other, created and consumed web services. Many of us have created and consumed RESTful (or REST) web services, because that is the trend nowadays. Or have we actually created a HTTP based web service and not really a REST web service? It's pretty easy to create a HTTP based web service with, for example, Microsoft's ASP.NET Web API 2 framework and provide thehttp://nestas.blogspot.com/2014/09/restful-web-service-what-is-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-7046723527037427831Sat, 03 May 2014 15:02:00 +00002014-05-29T10:12:36.559+05:30DataNoSQLramblingsSoftware Engineering Even a cursory study of the history of the internet, especially after the advent of the World Wide Web, indicates the power of the medium. In terms of users, it has grown 588.4% between Dec 2000 and June 2013, from around 369 million to 2.4 billion, though only 34.3% of the world's population had access to the internet in this period [source]. The penetration is expected to grow to 45% by 2016,http://nestas.blogspot.com/2014/05/even-cursory-study-of-history-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-5203411378174200295Tue, 08 Apr 2014 12:38:00 +00002014-04-08T18:29:03.117+05:30commodity hardwareNoSQLramblings One of the USP of NoSQL databases is their ability to run on 'commodity hardware/ machines/ servers/ clusters'. So what is commodity hardware? My desktop PC is powered by an Intel i5 4th gen processor, has 16 GB (initially 8, upgraded later to 16) of RAM and 1 TB HDD. The hardware is reliable and affordable, even though it was built by an assembler. It is easy to upgrade when required - like http://nestas.blogspot.com/2014/04/one-of-usp-of-nosql-databases-is-their.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-2961204789632067451Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:11:00 +00002014-04-08T14:20:19.853+05:30ramblingsSoftware development In spite of the fact that I haven't posted on this blog for 2-2.5 years, there has been an average of 100 page views a month. I assume from this that the content has been helpful to some. Inspiration enough to start again. Technology has made giant strides in these few years making it possible to create very complex business solutions. Two areas get highlighted: a. how do we maintain large http://nestas.blogspot.com/2014/04/creating-complex-business-solutions.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-7966508133094034503Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:26:00 +00002011-10-15T09:13:51.686+05:30ramblingsSoftware developmentSoftware Engineering “W3C publishes documents that define Web technologies. These documents follow a process designed to promote consensus, fairness, public accountability, and quality. At the end of this process, W3C publishes Recommendations, which are considered Web standards.” from Standards FAQ. The recommendations are not binding, but as the W3C says: “W3C's role in making the Recommendation is to draw http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/10/ies-legacy-browsers-will-they-ever-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-2981104035252376791Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:20:00 +00002011-09-20T12:24:00.172+05:30ramblingstabtablet PC Last Saturday, I walked into an electronic store to purchase a Tablet, a tab. My preference was for the Samsung 10.1; in the store I also came across the iPad 2. And in this section was also on display an array of laptops. Why do I need a tab? My usual practice is to surf the net after dinner, possibly read an e-book, catch up with people on Facebook or LinkedIn. I do it on a laptop http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-i-did-not-buy-samsung-tabor-ipad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-5233235574558758925Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:36:00 +00002011-10-19T10:59:10.901+05:30Application ArchitectureSoftware Engineering Sometime back the technical consultant of a customer accused me of having created a ‘weird architecture’ for her project. And this after we had completed an iteration that met agreed goals, work which was commended by the customer as ‘brilliant’. This was a Web 2.0 application, built on the ASP.NET framework, written in C# and targeted the .NET Framework 3.5, with a SQL Server 2005 database, http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/09/weird-architecture.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-8192667549254557013Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:36:00 +00002011-09-13T00:03:55.586+05:30PeopleTalent Bill Taylor’s post Great People Are Overrated on the HBR Blog Network has generated a lot of heat. His post was triggered by a statement Facebook CEO Mark Zukerburg made in an interview: “Someone who is exceptional in their role is not just a little better than someone who is pretty good,” he said. “They are 100 times better.” It emphasised what Marc Andreessen had told him: “Five great http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/07/great-people-great-teams.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-2464547276041694755Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:01:00 +00002011-09-13T00:26:29.882+05:30Software Engineering Some blunt observations on the state of software development practices today, and a way out. See other Tech-Ed 2011 videos here. Of particular interest to me were those tagged as Development Practices and Architecture. http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/06/software-devlopment-crisis.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-7366853756273428949Sat, 28 May 2011 07:33:00 +00002011-09-13T00:30:39.960+05:30SQL ServerSQLServer 2005SQLServer 2008 When we create a SQL Server database, it is created with a full recovery model. This grows the transaction log (the .ldf file) with every transaction we make on the database. Usually the size of the transaction file is many times more than the .mdf file. If not maintained, the transaction log would eventually fill all the disk space that is available to the physical log files. In a http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/05/shrink-sql-server-database.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-5776022039050110044Tue, 03 May 2011 17:55:00 +00002011-09-13T00:32:56.390+05:30India A wonderful article by a friend that sums up the soul of India. Read it here.http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-i-am-bullish-about-india.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-290268485279599231Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:17:00 +00002011-10-15T11:32:29.168+05:30Software development From Three Questions About Each Bug You Find "..Do you sometimes fix a bug, and then find another bug related to the first or to the way you fixed it? When I fix a bug, I ask myself three questions to make sure I've thought carefully about its significance. You can use these questions to improve productivity and quality every time you think you've found and fixed a bug..." Figure 1 Figure 1http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/04/bugs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-6398071820771044268Sat, 12 Mar 2011 07:28:00 +00002011-09-13T00:39:48.915+05:30C++C++ ProjectTurbo C++ 3.0 My son graduates high school this year. One of the subjects he has opted for is Computer Science. The major focus of this course is to provide an understanding of object oriented programming (OOP) through C++. As a requirement of this course he needs to submit a project that covers OOP, Data File Handling, and Data Structures. His school mandates that they use Turbo C++ 3.0. The last few http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/03/project-in-c.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-5969654518498304443Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:07:00 +00002011-10-15T11:34:25.697+05:30Indiaramblings Today India completes 61 years as a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state. We have been an independent nation for 64 years. In this short span of time India has perfected the art of being corrupt. The CWG scam, the 2G scam, the Adarsh scam, $500 billion dollars of the country’s money stashed away in secret accounts abroad, bureaucrats discovered with Rs.300 crore stashed in suitcases at http://nestas.blogspot.com/2011/01/india-my-pride-my-shame.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-6975500844899531406Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:12:00 +00002010-10-08T23:44:55.613+05:30Software developmentSoftware Engineering From Grady Booch: ".. It is a privilege because -- in spite of some inevitable dark days -- we collectively are given the opportunity to create things that matter: to individuals, to teams, to organizations, to countries, to our civilization. We have the honor of delivering the stuff of pure intellectual effort that can heal, serve, entertain, connect, and liberate, freeing the human spirit to http://nestas.blogspot.com/2010/10/privilege-and-responsibility-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-2005622962026151921Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:37:00 +00002011-10-15T11:35:20.328+05:30environmentramblingsSave our tiger http://www.saveourtigers.comhttp://nestas.blogspot.com/2010/10/help.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-9055766878960567148Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:52:00 +00002015-08-10T12:17:43.985+05:30ramblings"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forwardhttp://nestas.blogspot.com/2010/07/where-mind-is-without-fear.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-2560333579643853668Sat, 03 Jul 2010 05:57:00 +00002011-09-26T00:54:14.892+05:30Design PrinciplesOOPs"DRY says that every piece of system knowledge should have one authoritative, unambiguous representation. Every piece of knowledge in the development of something should have a single representation. A system's knowledge is far broader than just its code. It refers to database schemas, test plans, the build system, even documentation. Given all this knowledge, why should you find one way to http://nestas.blogspot.com/2010/07/dont-repeat-yourself.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0Anand, Gujarat, India22.560869 72.95477322.521238 72.896408000000008 22.6005 73.013138tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-5021824218885444143Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:18:00 +00002011-10-15T11:38:32.904+05:30Design PrinciplesOOPsOne of the recommended principle of OO design/programming is to ‘program to interfaces, not implementations’. Consider a password policy defined like this in XML:  <policy> <password> <min-length> <administrator>18</administrator> <end-user>8</end-user> </min-length> <expires duration="days"> <administrator>60</http://nestas.blogspot.com/2010/06/program-to-interfaces-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107801460369920583.post-4811390374112614607Thu, 25 Mar 2010 19:46:00 +00002010-03-26T01:19:14.507+05:30AjaxXMLHttpRequest objectIn this post we modify the XHR Library. This is now capabale of: •  working with GET and POST requests •  handling JSON formatted text and XML documents returned by the server •  handling timeouts, and aborting requests You can read the full article here.http://nestas.blogspot.com/2010/03/for-ajax-part-8-xmlhttprequest-object.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (santanu)0