John Olson

Many terms are born out of reality, based on observable evidence. When I hear the term silent majority I think of a large crowd of people, sharing some commonality, moving along peacefully without fanfare or press coverage. Maybe the commonality is a belief, like a religious or moral conviction, or maybe it's immutable, like race or gender. Occasionally, one in the group will speak out, saying something that resonates with the crowd. They nod in agreement, yet remain quiet, silent in support. That one becomes an involuntary spokesperson for thousands just because he or she had the courage to speak up. Studies have shown that for a particular demography each person who speaks out actually represents a large number of people, usually in the thousands, though the estimation varies greatly. Frankly, I don't get a lot of concrete feedback about PBDJ. Sure, at conference... (more)

Advanced WebDW HTML Generation

Okay, so I've been promoting the inclusion of PB client/server articles, yet here I am writing about the Web DataWindow. Don't stop reading! This article applies to all PB developers, whether n-tier or client/server. That said, I now have to prove that this article is important to client/server developers.... Here's my angle: HTML has become a standard beyond Web development. People doing work unrelated to the Web, even nonprogrammers, need to learn the basics of HTML. Here's an example: I'm a consultant and I invoice my customers using QuickBooks. When I generate my invoices I ... (more)

The Value Of Consulting Services

As a consultant, I'm keenly aware of the bitterness some people have toward us. On many occasions I've felt the ire of managers who, in the past, have had bad experiences. The causes vary, but the blame can usually be spread evenly between management and the consultants. Unfortunately, this results in a negative view toward consultants and the valuable services they provide. At the risk of stating the obvious, let me describe some important details about the business of consulting: 1. Consultants provide valuable services. When you decide to build a home do you build it yourself or... (more)

The Software Tool Wars

A goal of major software tool companies (Microsoft, Oracle, Sybase, Sun, etc.) is to provide every design and development tool, connectivity product and server necessary for customers to design, develop, implement and maintain their enterprise systems. That's a tall order but within reach of each of those four companies. The EAStudio product set, which includes PowerBuilder, now contains a wide variety of tools in all those areas. However, until PowerDesigner 7 (PD7) was released, that set didn't contain an object designer. Last month I highlighted the new features in PowerDesign... (more)

Things Are Looking Up

I have been disappointed by the last few Sybase conferences. Overall they were fine, but Sybase didn't successfully use them to alleviate fears that the company was in decline. The stock price was down, analysts and press were negative, Sybase's vision was a mystery and phantom marketing was successfully keeping the Sybase products hidden from the market. Nashville in '97, LA in '98, Orlando in '99...we saw a steady decline in the quantity of vendors as well as the waning interest of industry press and analysts. At its worst, last year's press day was canceled without reason. I ... (more)