Volker Wegert

Julia ist da.

When sending mails from my systems, I usually want to use different smarthosts according to the sender address. If I use the sender address vwegert@web.de, I want the mail to be delivered via smtp.web.de, if I use one of my @volker-wegert.de addresses, I want to use the smarthost at Manitu and so on. With exim, this is possible with a few configuration adaptions.

I run Gentoo Linux on a variety of laptops, and while I'm generally happy with it, there are some places where the default system just doesn't fit my needs. Sometimes you can just feel how parts of the software were designed for 24/7 servers and not for mobile devices. For example, there are some processes that need to be run frequently, but that you really don't want to kick in when you're out in the field and running on battery power - updatedb, makewhatis or Leafnode's texpire for example. And there are some other maintenance actions that should be performed on a regular basis, too - emerge --sync and backup for example. And most of the time, I just don't feel inclined to manually perform all these tasks when retuning home after a working day. This is why I added a "maintenance mode" to my laptop installations. Usage of this maintenance mode is very straight forward - plug the laptop into the local network, power it on, select "maintenance mode" in the boot loader menu and go away. The system will automatically perform all actions and then power down.

MDD is a hot topic for some time now. With the arrival of powerful tools like EMF an oAW, it's become possible to actually use the benefits of model-driven development without spending too much time and money on the tools. MDD has long reached it's break-even point between intellectual investment and development speed-up for certain types of projects. It's not the solution to all problems, but it's a really powerful technique with a set of stable and proven tools available.

SAP R/3 systems are well established - mostly recognized as ERP or CRM systems, but actually capable to do much more. Unknown to many outside the R/3 world, every R/3 system comes with a full-fledged development environment. There's an almost traditional rift between "old-school" R/3-developers and "modern" non-R/3-developers, and this might heavily contribute to the fact that up to now, there seems to be no real contact between the world of MDD and R/3 - at least not in the sense of "toolkits for pushing developer productivity". SAP itself relies heavily on modeling and generation techniques, but little of this effort is available as a tool for the average developer. Why is it so difficult to get the "best of both worlds" - is it only a matter of missing interest and information, or are there more serious problems to be solved? Come with me and see if and how model-driven development practices can be applied to SAP R/3 development and what issues have to be solved on the way.

This article is based on the contents of my talk at the Special Interest Group Model Driven Software Engineering (SIG-MDSE) in May 2008.

In the first article, I already mentioned some of the aspects that make ABAP one of my favorite development environments: the central data dictionary and its connections with the language and runtime system, database access and the change and transport system. In this article, I'll tell you a bit about what you may or may not have to consider when developing ABAP programs.

Good: We're finally getting near a schedule for the replacement of our datacenter UPS.
Good, too: Our ERP upgrade project is progressing as estimated.
Not that good: Both deadlines combined will prevent me from visiting this year's ESE...

It was another one of these déja-vu experiences. At the Eclipse Modeling Stammtisch yesterday, I mentioned that Eclipse is more or less a hobby of mine. I did (and still do, if I can spare the time) SAP R/3 development for a living. Yep, that's right: ABAP. And I actually enjoy it. Now you can imagine the expressions of the average IT guy - varying from astonishment to disbelief or even disgust. ABAP - how could you come to like that?

This is the handout for an introductory workshop on the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP). For now, the document is available in German only.

A small Irish (?) tune, found somewhere in my files and edited for acoustic guitar (including notation and tabs).

"If you call someone who knows two languages "bilingual" and someone who knows three languages "trilingual," what do you call someone who knows only one language? ---- An American."

When reinstalling my site, I've decided to try something new. This is my first, honest, real multi-lingual drupal installation. I'd like to provide some of the tutorials and articles both in German and in English - let's see how long I'll keep this up...