How to redefine or mock a class method in Ruby

http://pastie.caboo.se/127608

link: Introduction to Abject-Oriented Programming

Funny blog: http://typicalprogrammer.com/programming/abject-oriented/

My SQL Server 2005 is Slow

Testing code that queries SQL Server 2005, I kept observing long delays. Sometimes my tests would execute in less than one second, which was expected. Frequently, they would take 30 to 120 seconds!

A little digging into the SQL Server, I found the two top waits were SQLTRACE_BUFFER_FLUSH and RESOURCE_SEMAPHORE, both of which would grow in correlation to delays I observed when running my unit tests.

A little reading found: this forum topic and this kb article. The former being the most useful. It turns out SQL 2005 will run a trace by default; to assist in fixing problems later. (read "default trace enabled" in SQL Books Online) Unfortunately on my development box, it appears the trace is the source of my delays. So my solution is to turn off the default trace using:

exec sp_configure 'show advanced options',1
reconfigure
exec sp_configure 'default trace enabled',0
reconfigure

After this, my tests always ran in less than one second!

fun with ruby meta-programming

see http://pastie.caboo.se/86055

IronRuby alpha

John Lam has posted a nice article about the current work on IronRuby. My development team has already started using Ruby to write unit tests. We are currently using CRuby but plan to port to IronRuby once it is released. Our product is written on .Net so IronRuby will fit our project very well.

Diff tools

SourceGear just released an update to their free DiffMerge program. This product caught my eye because it has a 3-way merge. My current favorit Diff tool is Beyond Compare 2 from Scooter Software ($30). It has more features than DiffMerge, but doesn't include the 3-way merge which I sometimes need. The best merge tool I've ever used is Araxis Merge, but it costs $269 for the pro edition, I can't justify the extra cost vs the $30 Beyond Compare 2. Araxis Merge's price tag was worth it when I was working with an offshore team. I had to 3-way merge code from the US and India across many files and directories. It would have been too expensive in time if I didn't use Araxis Merge for that task.

IIS Authentication and Access Diagnostics Tool

I just got through configuring SQL Server 2005 for a Scale-Out Deployment. One problem I ran into was the NTML "Dual Hop" issue. Fortunately I found the IIS Authentication and Access Diagnostics Tool which helped quickly identify the issue. This tool hasn't been mentioned much, so I am recommending it.

Now I've got a happy system with Report Server running separately from Reporting Services Database. Everything is working great: Reports and Report Builder. I've seen other sites which said this configuration would not work. I managed to get it working using Integrated Authentication and Kerberos.

Enjoy!