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Details: Written by: Richard_McKie; Parent Category: Information Technology; Category: Software; Published: 23 December 2010; Hits: 7211

Over the years I have written many small applications and utilities.

In order of sophistication these include:

Simple HTML web pages
Command line scripted utilities and batch (BAT) files
Embedded Java code in web pages
Word and Excel macros typically written in Visual Basic for Applications VBA
Simple databases with VBA or Visual Basic (VB) VB frontends
Database related SQL queries batch data manipulators, templates and structures
Simple stand-alone utilities in in VB
Windows utilities written in plain C++ or using the Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC)
Fully featured relational databases using SQL Server and VB
Complex applications written in C++

Some examples include:

Automatic footers and metadata updater code for Word and Excel; optionally to bring up a dialog to ensure file naming conforms to a standard.
A utility to process business financial data to reveal a variety of comparable ratios indicative of business health.
An applications to change registry settings and to install and run files on desktops and servers across a network.
A library (DLL) of simple encryption routines that add no overhead (don't change the file size) that can be used on any file; or encrypt in URL friendly characters to secure URL strings sent to web pages.
Several applications based around this library that can easily be called by applications written in languages other than C (VB, VBA, Java, C# etc).
File manipulation software for archiving, file moving and general file management; providing scripted batch processing archiving and reporting.

I'm happy to provide more information on any of these on applications or tools. Use the contact facility on this website.

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Travel

Berlin

I'm a bit daunted writing about Berlin.

Somehow I'm happy to put down a couple of paragraphs about many other cities and towns I've visited but there are some that seem too complicated for a quick 'off the cuff' summary. Sydney of course, my present home town, and past home towns like New York and London. I know just too much about them for a glib first impression.

Although I've never lived there I've visited Berlin on several occasions for periods of up to a couple of weeks. I also have family there and have been introduced to their circle of friends.

So I decided that I can't really sum Berlin up, any more that I can sum up London or New York, so instead I should pick some aspects of uniqueness to highlight.

Fiction, Recollections & News

We hired a Jeep

In Sicily we hired a Jeep to get from Palermo around the island.

I had my doubts about this steed. Our two big bags wouldn't fit in the boot. One had to be strapped in on the back seat - a bit disappointing.

At above 130, the speed limit, there's something odd about the steering – so much so that I stopped quite soon to check the tyre pressures. I was regretting my choice.

Reassured about the tyres we set off again.

On the plus side the fuel consumption seemed OK and the zoned climate control worked well.

Opinions and Philosophy

The reputation of nuclear power

One night of at the end of March in 1979 we went to a party in Queens. Brenda, my first wife, is an artist and was painting and studying in New York. Our friends included many of the younger artists working in New York at the time. That day it had just been announced that there was a possible meltdown at a nuclear reactor at a place called a Three Mile Island , near Harrisburg Pennsylvania.

I was amazed that some people at the party were excitedly imagining that the scenario in the just released film ‘The China Syndrome’ was about to be realised; and thousands of people would be killed.

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