March « 2008 « Andy Gibson

Even though I am using .NET as my primary platform I do still make use of PHP 5 and since I have come to like using Visual Studio so much, I use an add-in called VS.PHP from JCX Software.

Recently I tried out the newest version (2.4) which support Visual Studio 2008 and after the trial ran out I removed it however for whatever reason it interfered with my Visual Studio 2005 configuration and prevented the add-in from working at all.

The error I was receiving when trying to load a VS.PHP project was:

The application for project '<path to project>' is not installed.
 Make sure the application for the project type (.phpproj) is installed.

After about 40 minutes of head scratching and googling (as well as a re-install of VS.PHP) I encountered the following solution on the JCX Software Forums:

Run devenv /resetskippkgs

I did exactly that, I navigated a command prompt to:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE

And ran the command above.

I should explain that the reason I was receiving the error (well more why it wasn’t even loading VS.PHP) was because 2.4 conflicted with 2.3 and when I launched VS2005 again I got the VS error telling me an add-in failed to load and would I like to prevent it from loading on future launches of Visual Studio. I stupidly replied “Yes, please do”.

The command work, VS went back to normal and now I have VS refusing to store the window positions in upon application close in Vista. The two are unrelated but it doesn’t exactly help me any.

I have moved to XP for the time being until I have the time to fix the VS2005 install on Vista.

Over 2 years ago I purchased a 12 month contract with O2 which contained an o2 XDA Mini S (Also known as the HTC Wizard), details can be found at XDA Developers Wiki. Now this has been a great little phone (ok, it looks like a brick but I don’t hold that against it), quad band, GPRS, Windows Mobile 5 (and currently 6) not to mention a QWERTY keyboard which is one of the features that drew me to it in the first place.

It has been very durable and survived many accidental drops on to hard surfaces, flash ROM upgrades and other such wear and tear and yet it still keeps on ticking. This is what I like in a phone, in fact this is what I like in electronics, something that can survive without fail and in this day and age such things are becoming fewer in number. Products just to not seem to be made to last any more, we have become a very “disposable” society.

Anyway, I spotted on El Reg today that o2 has announced the newest addition to the XDA family, the O2 XDA Atmos (HTC S730) and so I started thinking about my loyal little Mini S. I compared the spec’s of the Atmos to the 2nd most recent XDA, the XDA Stellar (HTC Tytn II). They both sport the Qualcomm MSM7200 400MHz processor however the Stellar has the better memory (256mb ROM and 128mb SDRAM compared to 256mb ROM and 64mb SDRAM), The camera on the Atmos is only 2 megapixels compared to 3 megapixels on the Stellar. The list goes on, the Stellar is almost better than the Atmos is every way, about the only real upside for me that I could see what the fact it has a numeric pad on it with a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

So, comparison aside I have bought my new phone for the next 18 months, the XDA Stellar won out and will arrive some time this week. I got a good deal on the contract as well making the phone free for only Â£10 extra a month and double the minutes I currently recieve plus free unlimited landline calls thrown in. I feel quite proud of my purchase.

As for my wee Mini S here, well I know one of my ex co-workers had his eye on it, if he doesn’t want it then I guess I have a spare PDA to play with.

While cleaning up my flat a little I came across a small A5 sheet of paper that belonged to my father. Before he died he worked for Rank Xerox and was a team leader, the following passage was something he found and printed out to hand to the various teams he worked with.

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think that you dare not, you don’t,
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,
It’s almost certain you wont.

If you think you’ll lose, you’ve lost,
For out in the world you’ll find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will,
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

It has sentimental value but I felt it was a nice thing to have posted on my blog as well.

Well it would appear that the database on the server fell over and reset my password hence why the blog has been offline. All fixed now and provisions have been made to prevent it happening again.

Apologies for the downtime.

Today saw the end of one of the largest pieces of on-going coursework we have done at university thus far. 6 people working together in a group for 6 weeks using a methodology that only 1 of them had any solid knowledge of at the beginning.Â So, how did it go?

Putting aside the differences in experience and ability, pretty well. I find it hard at times to accept that I have an advantage over many of my peers in that I have more experience in development and methodologies. I read the articles and the books, I play with the tools and I learn very quickly.

It took time but the group really began to work closely together and especially in the 2nd sprint were able to work around tasks and keep things moving along. Communication became more free flowing and a bond formed that made working together much easier.

I think everyone has benefited from this project and has taken away something valuable from it. To get hands-on experience of both Agile and Waterfall approaches to software development before entering the industry is not something I would say is common and I think it has been a great opportunity for everyone.

I am not a fan of rigid designs and reports, they have their place but often they stifle productivity and creativity. Agile is growing and I am quite sure that at least once in their professional careers the other students will work in a team that uses an agile approach. By having this experience they will be more prepared for it.

I want to say well done to the team for this amazing effort, you all did well and hopefully you enjoyed it as much as I have.

I would like to say thank you to our Customer (although I doubt he will ever read this, doesn’t hurt to be courteous), Colin from Live and Lets Dive for presenting us with this challenge and for supporting the students.

And finally I would like to thank Janet for the hard work and effort she has put into this module in order to make this as enjoyable and as entertaining as it has been. Thanks Janet.

And so the end, well only of this project. The blog continues, university continues and my never diminishing quest for knowledge continues. If anyone outside of Dundee University has been reading this, I do hope it hasn’t bored you senseless or left you wondering “what on Earth?”.

Oh, and can I haz ur blocks?

Andy Gibson

Code Monkey very simple man

Monthly Archives: March 2008

VS.PHP Add-in problem (and how to resolve)

New phone – o2 XDA Stellar

Recent find

Blog restored

AC32002, Looking back