As a developer using source control and git is bread and butter of what we do. Github is probably the most popular and widely known hosting service for source control but I have also used Bitbucket and Visual Studio Team Services. Lets have a look at each one and what they offer. Note while I have included prices I...

Today I spent some time learning the R language. The problem I was trying to solve was to convert local prices of some items into Euros. I had been using a fixed exchange rate for all data, but as exchange rates fluctuate so much this is incorrect. My first though was to find a free API that I could query to get the...

Hello? You have probably like me almost forgotten about this blog. Life has got in the way over the last few months, but lets see if I can restart my blogging habit. In 2017 I want to start a side project for a few reasons. I want to improve my coding skills and look at things I wouldn’t normally during my day job. I...

I am currently working on source code that is over 5Gb in size. This is mostly due to a poorly thought out folder structure, there are code files, images and Excel files all jumbled together. I think a clear distinction should be made between source code and data. Source Code I will define source code as anything that...

So recently I started working on a new codebase. I will be honest when I first saw it, it was a mess. Here are a few of the things I did to try and regain control. I was given access to the source code on Visual Studio Team Services. However this consisted of a single commit 3 months ago. When I looked at what was...

What is LINQ? LINQ is an acronym for Language Integrated Query, which describes where it’s used and what it does. The Language Integrated part means that LINQ is part of programming language syntax. In particular, both C# and VB are languages that ship with .NET and have LINQ capabilities. How do I use LINQ in my C#...

Next month I will celebrate ten years working at my current job, two weeks after that I will start a new chapter of my life at a new company. Lets take this opportunity to look back ten years at some of the great stuff I have achieved. 2006 In 2006 I had no IT experience. If you were to ask me where Event Logs could...

So after five and a bit years of being an IT Manager here is some advice I have learned along the way in no particular order. On the whole I have enjoyed myself but it has been a real challenge at times. 1. Figure out what plates are still spinning Being an IT Manager is all about keeping everything running all of the...

This week I handed in my notice at a job I have had for almost ten years. In a few weeks time I will start a brand new job as a web applications developer. This is a great achievement for me and a great chance to learn and expand my development skills. However moments after I handed my notice in, a huge wave of...

For a while now I have been sharing some of my blog posts on the Dzone website. The Dzone website allows users to submit links to content and I have been submitting the content I have created on this website. This is how Dzone describes themselves: With over 1 Million members, DZone.com is one of the web’s largest...