Well I am up and running pretty quick with the basics..

– Install the JDK (Java Development Kit) 7.45
– install the google ADT (Android Development Tools) bundle (Eclipse and ADT)
– In Eclipse, I added some plugins (ie. the Google App Engine SDK, Google Plugin for Eclipse 4.2…) just cause I forsee my app will be using those
– In the SDK manager, I added the Google API, and a few other things (so I could use the Google API as a target for my AVD (Android Virtual Device) when running the emulator..and it also adds some other things like the Wizard for setting up a Google App Engine Android project..
– I registered the google api account project, and turned on the Google Cloud Messaging and Google Cloud Datastore API (again, just guessing my app will be using these)
– generated a server api key to use
-created a new Google App Engine android project in eclipse, using the above info
– started the local app engine web application
-set the android app to use the local version
– created an AVD for the google api target
– ran the android app (base one that the wizard creates)

I’m now able to use the web application to send messages to my android application…

Pretty basic really, but it’s the starting point.. now with the setup mostly out of the way (for now).. I can begin coding. (scary.. we’ll see how long before I seriously consider throwing in the towel 😉 )

All the above was done on my new Windows 8 laptop.. Having fun learning the windows 8 tweaks as well (not). (pleasantly surprised that after they say delivery in 4 weeks, it arrives 2 days later 😉 )
p.s: I’m skipping over many headaches already
-had a few issues with downloading above pieces due to proxies.
– first tried the Android Studio IDE rather then the ADT bundle.. but it failed on a girdle error my first little app I tried.. Looking back it’s likely due to the proxy thing… but sticking with eclise (the bundle) now anyway.
– took a bit to figure out the bit about setting the app to use the local version of the app engine
– took a bit of tweaking the AVD settings to get it to actually run
etc etc

If my current plans pan out, there may be a few more techie posts coming soon.. My current contract at the client is ending (due to their budget / project paperwork).. And there may be a gap before the next one starts up (i have a couple opptys I’m following up on, and the current client really wants me back once they do have their stuff rolling again… so not too worried).. So, I’m hoping to catch up on a couple things I’ve wanted to do:
1. finish my little application for stock trading
2. create a mobile app and publish it

I’ve just ordered a laptop (i’ve always just had PCs and work laptops) to do my coding on.. scary I’ll be coding.. but it’s worth catching up with some of the technologies out there.

Kinda anxious to start up now!

I have often wanted to get the actual detail columns in a group by, that weren’t being grouped.. this is how

Here’s a quick summary of OVER and PARTITION BY (new in SQL 2005), for the uninitiated or forgetful…

OVER
OVER allows you to get aggregate information without using a GROUP BY. In other words, you can retrieve detail rows, and get aggregate data alongside it. For example, this query:

SELECT SUM(Cost) OVER () AS Cost
, OrderNum
FROM Orders

Will return something like this:

Cost OrderNum
10.00 345
10.00 346
10.00 347
10.00 348

Quick translation:

•SUM(cost) – get me the sum of the COST column
•OVER – for the set of rows….
•() – …that encompasses the entire result set.
OVER(PARTITION BY)
OVER, as used in our previous example, exposes the entire resultset to the aggregation…”Cost” was the sum of all [Cost] in the resultset. We can break up that resultset into partitions with the use of PARTITION BY:

SELECT SUM(Cost) OVER (PARTITION BY CustomerNo) AS Cost
, OrderNum
, CustomerNo
FROM Orders

My partition is by CustomerNo – each “window” of a single customer’s orders will be treated separately from each other “window”….I’ll get the sum of cost for Customer 1, and then the sum for Customer 2:

Cost OrderNum CustomerNo
8.00 345 1
8.00 346 1
8.00 347 1
2.00 348 2

The translation here is:

•SUM(cost) – get me the sum of the COST column
•OVER – for the set of rows….
•(PARTITION BY CustomerNo) – …that have the same CustomerNo.

—
Now I also wanted to perform what would be a ‘HAVING’ clause on the group by.. couldn’t find anything yet, so just put a wrapper select statement with the added where clause

Just a place to track tricks and tips I’ve used.

Just used 2 handy ones(Excel 2003):

To identify a unique list of values from a column Choose Data->Filter->Advanced Filter
In the list range, choose the cells to check.
Click the “unique records only” box.
If you want to copy the unique list somewhere, choose “copy to another location” and select that location.

To look for intersection between two columns:
=IF(ISNA(MATCH(D2,E:E,0)),””,”X”)
D2 is the first cell to check. E:E means we are looking for dups in column E.
an X will show up if D2 is found in column E.
Copy the formula down as far as you want to check column D.

Needed to replace a certain character with a newline in Microsoft word..found out ^11 can be used as a newline.
Noting it down here since I’ve actually needed this a couple times when dealing with XML files…
R

Another new thing for me at the current client is DB2. I’ve always been working with Oracle.

So here I will list out the things I find useful for DB2. (I’m not going to be too low level on this project, but some tidbits may pop up)

First one:
Querying for a column name:
SELECT TBNAME, NAME FROM SYSIBM.SYSCOLUMNS WHERE NAME LIKE ‘%IDENT%’ and TBNAME LIKE ‘S_%’

So my latest client uses Lotus Notes for email / calendar rather than MS Outlook.

I had a client once that was on Notes, but they migrated to Outlook shortly after I started, so I didn’t need to get too into it.

Now, I’ve got no choice..so I’ve already found some annoying things / quick fixes which I wanted to track here, in case I have a future client using Notes..

1. File->Preferences is where a TON of settings are.  The defaults are usually not ones I like… I have already changed the following:

Mail-> Mail->”When I delete a Calendar document…” changed to Remove without asking.

Mail->Calendar & To Do->Display->Notices-> (yes, there are that many submenus) Check “Remove meeting notices from my inbox…”

UnCheck “Don’t display meeting invitations in the Sent ..”

Mail->Calendar & To Do->Scheduling->Scheduling-> Check “Check for conflicts..”

Mail->Calendar & To Do->Alarms->Check “Display Alarm notifications”, and set the times

2. a real pain is that if a calendar item is deleted, it is not sent to the trash. It is gone. No recovery possible.

My auto transfer from you tube doesn’t seem to be happening so..these last few vids are being posted directly here…till I try and debug the problem

So after my phone decided to have a taste of my beer while golfing on the weekend..i had to decide on a new one..

Having loved the S1, it would be easy to grab the S2.. the S3 just seems to have too big of a screen..the iPhone doesn’t attract me, likely due to always preferring to have a more open OS…
But..I wanted to try something different, so I went with the Samsung Google nexus..
Loving it so far…