Scott Tactical

Software

  • Dymo LabelWriter on Mac OSX - JavaScript

    Setup - Dymo LabelWriter 450 on Mac OSX

    The clinic software requires the ability to print labels adhoc and by event. This requires that the client be able to initiate the labels. There are no requirements that the backend server be able to print labels. Thank goodness. That requires something akin to a fulfillment center and probably integration with a 3rd app. Welcome: disparate stand-alone boxes.

    Install App and Drivers

    Good job guys. You get a big thumbs up for having a brew recipe.

  • Django Search: Multiple Fields and Full Text

    Text Search - Django Model Fields

    Django has a pretty flexible ORM, but sometimes clients need a free-form text search to get down to the content that you are looking for. It is beyond the capability of most engineers to build a comprehensive search tool and shoehorn it into an existing application. There are people working on these problems for years.

    This does remind me of a senior boss that asked me to add a fuzzy search field to an application and that it was “super simple”. He said “you just do a LIKE statement against all the fields we care about!” and proceeded to pseudo code it for me. He should read my post about how not to F’k up your engineering staff.

  • Migrate A Private GitHub Repository to Free Bitbucket in Roughly 7 Easy Steps

    Why Not GitHub

    GitHub is Great

    Don’t get me wrong. I would recommend using this service for a number of reasons that are not fiscally motivated. It isn’t whether GitHub.com is good or not. There is a matter of economics at play though.

    As a startup I just don’t have the extra 25/mo to throw into GitHub business account. It looks cool that I have an organization there and there are more badges. But it doesn’t work at 12 X $25 = $300/yr. Bottom account. Bronze I think it is.

  • Try Not 2 Fuck Up Ur Engineering

    Leadership Checklist for Non-Technical Managers

    How do you build software that provides value to both clients, owners and engineers?

    This list has started as a list of notes that I kept over the last few years. Yes, this is the abbreviated version of Management For Quality Software.

    Executive Leadership

    • Bloated and ugly products are born at the top, but a good engineering environment may begin there
    • The three ways business leaders can add value is with numbers, numbers, numbers
    • Put your name on the product

    The Business Requirement

    Write a business requirement that reflects specific details about a problem that the business is solving based on market research numbers. A full description is beyond this terse scope.