Say What?

ODBC

(pronounced as separate letters) Short for Open DataBase Connectivity, a standard database access method developed by the SQL Access group in 1992. The goal of ODBC is to make it possible to access any data from any application, regardless of which database management system (DBMS) is handling the data. ODBC manages this by inserting a middle layer, called a database driver , between an application and the DBMS. The purpose of this layer is to translate the application's data queries into commands that the DBMS understands. For this to work, both the application and the DBMS must be ODBC-compliant -- that is, the application must be capable of issuing ODBC commands and the DBMS must be capable of responding to them. Since version 2.0, the standard supports SAG SQL.

I was reading the Training Material for Crystal report. There was a definition of term section but still I don’t really understand it so I have to seek the help of the web.

I first try Mr. Wiki. I can’t quite understand the definition. Then, I found the above. I was pretty satisfied.

Source

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Branching Out

I’ve been branching out on the task in the office.

Since our tester was fired early this year, I’ve taken over most of the major tasks of that role. I’ve been doing regression testing on new releases of the system as well as the fixes made. Although, this is a big task and a very crucial one – one of the reasons why I don’t really own it – it does ends. It’s just during releases that I am extremely busy.

Of course, I’m still on the consulting side. I have spearheaded a project with a customer and I am assisting my colleagues especially on the financial side in their projects.

To top it up, I am also doing support on the financials.

See, I don’t get empty handed for long.

Now, I am groomed to soon be able write reports. Complex reports. I’ve been writing reports for my own use when I am investigating issues but not those complicated ones that require scripting.

I’ve been assigned a report that requires several parameters. I thought, I can do it without much programming. Thanks to our report writer, I finished it today. I’m learning. Getting there.

If I have time tomorrow I would hit the shop to look for a crystal programming book. Hopefully, there’s one available in the nearest shop.

Typing

I had a 360 degrees turn-around when it comes to typing, spreadsheet and basically the use of computer.
In my second year in college, I almost miss being in the honour roll because my grade in Typing 01 is below the minimum required. You see, I enrolled late for financial reasons so I ended up in the class of another program. I was late to get in the first class so I was assigned to a lousy type writer. Take note, type writer. That was around 1995 if my memory serves me right. I went to college in a small school in the next town of where my parents live.

That’s by the by.

I had two computer subjects in my entire college years. We were using MSDOS and Lotus 123 then. I now can’t remember what we used those programs for. Maybe for booting and re-booting. :)

My first job was accounting clerk and I wasn’t even allowed to face the computer hence I left the job two months later. Then, in the next company, there were two computers which we shared the four of us. It was manual as we didn’t have a mouse. Imagine that? Since then, I’ve faced the machine everyday that I was in the office.

Then, I almost flanked my typing class. Now, I can type without looking at the keyboard. It doesn’t take me long to memorise the keyboard. I was hesitant to say I can touch type because I don’t really know what the meaning of those words. So I asked wiki and it says:

Touch typing is typing without using the sense of sight to find the keys. Specifically, a touch typist will know their location through muscle memory. Touch typing involves placing the eight fingers in a horizontal row along the middle of the keyboard (the home row) and having them reach for other keys.

After reading this, I can now proclaim that I am a touch typist – not that fast though.

Keyboard

Qwerty. Heard of this term? I did once from my co-worker. I wasn’t concerned then. But when I was in wiki, I saw the word and it intrigued me.

QWERTY (pronounced /ˈkwɜrti/) is the most used modern-day keyboard layout on English-language computer and typewriter keyboards. It takes its name from the first six characters seen in the far left of the keyboard's top row of letters. The QWERTY design was patented[1] by Christopher Sholes in 1874 and sold to Remington in the same year, when it first appeared in typewriters.

So, this is the keyboard that I’ve been using ever since.

Workflows

That word used to be so foreign to me. I heard it from our IT people before but that was it – I have no idea what is it. From what I heard, it seems to be so complex.

Now, I still can’t explain it in technically or lay man’s language but I don understand it. I was taught how to create a simple one – I’m not sure if I can remember how to. But I’ve been testing series of workflows since I was employed here. Most of the time, it is used to cater a customisation that our client wants especially those functions and features that are not covered by our standard functionalities.

According to wiki:

The term workflow is used in computer programming to capture and develop human-to-machine interaction. Workflow (management) software aims to provide end users with an easier way to orchestrate or describe complex processing of data in a visual form, much like flow charts but without the need to understand computers or programming.

Many software systems exist to support workflows in particular domains. Such systems manage tasks such as automatic routing, partially automated processing and integration between different functional software applications and hardware systems that contribute to the value-addition process underlying the workflow.

Economic order quantity

... is the level of inventory that minimizes the total inventory holding costs and ordering costs. The framework used to determine this order quantity is also known as Wilson EOQ Model. The model was developed by F. W. Harris in 1913. But still R. H. Wilson is given credit for his early in-depth analysis of the model.

Underlying assumptions:
• The ordering cost is constant.
• The rate of demand is constant
• The lead time is fixed
• The purchase price of the item is constant i.e no discount is available
EOQ is the level of the inventory where ordering cost and carrying cost remains equal.

Something to do with the inventory costing in our system.

Vertical Market

What is that? I heard that several times, I don’t understand what it is but I have an assumption. Assumption which is very far from what it is really meant.

Helpful wiki said:

A vertical market is a group of similar businesses and customers which engage in trade based on specific and specialized needs. Often, participants in a vertical market are very limited to a subset of a larger industry (a niche market). An example of this sort of market is the market for point-of-sale terminals, which are often designed specifically for similar customers and are not available for purchase to the general public.

The activities of participants within any given vertical market are typically similar in that they aim at solving the same or similar problems. These markets are typically competitive, due to the overlapping focuses of the products and services that are provided to the customers.

The single defining characteristic of the participants in a vertical market is competition within a well-defined segment.

A vertical market is a market which meets the needs of a particular industry: for example, a piece of equipment used only by semiconductor manufacturers. It is also known as a niche market. [1]

A horizontal market is a market which meets a given need of a wide variety of industries, rather than a specific one: for example, word processing software.

I worked for a company that is in vertical marketing - meat industry, carpet, retail (hardware), etc.

My Machine

As a consultant, I was issued a laptop machine. That’s given – I will visit the client’s site, so I need my machine with me. It will also allow me to work from home sometimes – which I did when the air conditioning here in the office was not working and it was summer.

The downside though is, it is stone heavy. I have fair meters to walk up to the station and the road is very steep (I’ll take a photo sometime). Its slope is almost 90 degrees. I slipped twice on my way down – first on New Year’s eve, I hurt my knee and torn my pants, second was yesterday - I only fell on my hands, I use them for support. I had a bit of pain on my wrist though.

I’m planning of wearing rubber or running shoes on my way to and fro the office and just put on my work shoes here. Or I really have to look for shoes that will support me or I just need to be more careful. It’s either one or the other. Lolz.

Still, my machine is heavy and it’s giving me pains – on the back.