I finally finished my write-up to provide some tips on writing conversion code using Pace-Trace. As usual, I ended up spending more time on it than I expected, but hopefully with a valuable byproduct. It is hard to cover this topic without getting into the debate regarding which development platform is best-suited for conversion modules. In short, I believe Component Interface is the best approach if you are not sure you can perform the necessary validations outside of PeopleSoft. That said, I believe someone with a careful eye to ensure required fields and prompt values are populated correctly via SQL by using a staging table will still find the entire conversion process (from design, development, and testing) much faster, easier, and successful by building an SQR from a trace file. Again, read the whole entry to get the full story.

As an aside, I found an awesome free tool today that handles that nasty problem of not being able to delete files because Windows thinks (incorrectly) that it is in use by another application. This will be definitely added to my “bag of tricks.” The tool is called Unlocker, and you can download the tiny (192K) application for free here:
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

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So I made my first contribution to the Usage Guide today (specifically this part on helpful tips for business analysts to get the most out of tracing). Hopefully people will find it helpful. Toward the end I started questioning if I missed something, and then I remembered every project that I have worked has involved this “living document” concept which can be loosely translated to “I know I haven’t finished it, but I’m going to put it out there anyway.” In this case, I think I am much further along than that, especially considering no one is paying me to do this in the first place. Even still, I’d like to hear if I left something out you think would be useful or you actually find something that needs correcting.

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I wrote my original guide to turning on tracing to match what I think makes sense for most users turning on tracing; using the method I described, you can easily focus on a particular statement using Pace-Trace to assist throughout the process. However, after chatting with Ryan earlier, I realize that I should also include the process for turning on tracing interactively within a session. In most clients that I have worked, developers are granted direct access to the online trace file; however, sometimes you may find yourself less fortunate, and required to have the file manually transferred for you each time you want to review its contents. If you find yourself in this position, you will certainly want to minimize the size of the trace file as much as you can. The new addition to the guide to tracing can be found here. Also, I felt that my guide to turning on tracing was somewhat “buried,” so I added it in the “Quick Links” section on the home page. (And good luck on getting access to that trace file.)

I am currently in the process of adding my first real contributions to the Usage Guide, which should hopefully take more shape over the next week. I have been struggling on exactly how I want to lay that all out. In addition, I’ve decided to add another section with useful SQL for PeopleSoft implementations. Overall, I just want to put everything out there that people keep asking of me from various projects. Hopefully after a while, I can just answer questions with a URL from my website.

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I truly hate SPAM. Who doesn’t? But when the spammers decide that they want use your domain (pace-soft.com) to send out emails to the rest of the world, that takes my frustration to a new level. Every day I am getting emails from people asking for me to stop sending out SPAM. I wish it were that simple - just contact the “sender” of them SPAM and have it stop. Certainly paypal.com, wellsfargo.com, mail.yahoo.com, etc. are all sick of this same type of libel, and I am personally amazed that after this many years, we have so few methods of attacking this problem. I consider myself quite computer-savvy, being a programmer and all, but I admit I do not know all the ends and outs of not only the technical hurdles of guaranteeing email addresses as well as privacy issues intertwined. I would just hope organizations paid to help keep a safe and fair environment (like our government) could help work with capable parties to secure this problem once and for all.

And to anyone who has received email with {anything}@pace-soft.com as the “sender,” my sincere apologies and promise that these emails do not originate from me, my servers, or anything that is affiliated with me in any form.

Of course, me writing about this very frustration will likely unleash a mountain of new problems for me and my site. Life goes on.

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Welcome to the new pace-soft.com! After a few months of completing an upgrade to the software as well as a complete re-organization of my website, I am finally ready to go “live” with my own implementation of sorts. My new website solves several problems I had with my previous website, and adds in all kinds of features I never really expected. I am truly a fan of WordPress now, and have to say I am truly impressed with what that package has done. My entire site is built using it, and allows me to incorporate all of the latest website features, from supporting Comments to RSS feeds, as well as many other additions. (Thank you Alan for hosting, help, and implementation.)

Although far from finished, I believe my site is in a state that will be useful to the PeopleSoft development community, and for that reason, I am “turning it on.”

Coming soon:

• Full User Manual: While I did create a brief overview page and a few other supporting bits of information, the full user guide will provide instructions for all features of the product.
• Usage Guides: Not only will I be creating full documentation for the product, but also a “usage guide” which provides detailed techniques of using the tool during implementations. Tracing is a way of life for me, so I might as well share how I use it and why I think it’s so great.

Although seemingly unrelated, Tesla Motors, a relatively recent addition to our collective technology community, has been somewhat of an inspiration for me on several fronts. In short: I think they will change the world. I love how their appreciation of technology, the market, and energy work together to create one of the first real solutions to our energy crises.

While there still remains significant depth to cover, let me know if you have thoughts of areas to improve or anything else that comes to mind.

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