SOA special day

Today is a really special day for me. I’ve passed (with honors) in the first soa exam S90.01. Also I was surprised with a perl over the internet: the book SOA with .NET and Windows Azure: Realizing Service-Orientation with the Microsoft Platform.

I really feel sorry for those who learned WCF wihtout any take time to understand service-orientation fundamentals and principles. But, still have time to try to recover from such mistake. And these books shows a brifly introduction to some service-orientation concepts while demonstrating how to implement in Microsoft Plataform – WCF, Azure, SQL Server and BizTalk.

Safari Books publishers offer a service which you can interact with book’s authors as they write their book, you can try it. As Soabooks.com always postpone their book’s release to another Q(something of year something too) and never deliver new books, you may want to delight yourself by using Safari service’s “Rough Cuts“. What incredible!

I have not seen best WCF book. Actually, books with tecnology documentation only is waste of time, if want to be ahead in IT Industry. SOA with .NET and Windows Azure is the best WCF source of information. It really does a good job. Authors, congratulation for such nice work. I waiting for it.

2009 Balance

Since January 1st, I was trying to write a balance about what was 2009 for me. I’m in middle of my holidays and I stood in silence whilst enjoying a bucolical moment up in mountains in Rio and I can say 2009 became one of the most important year for my career.

Long ago, I was missing people to talk about advanced issue while seeing that most of us don’t have time to really be up to date in some subjects I like. But, I was lucky to be on my team and have all friends who had patience while listing when I wanted to say and while deaf when was busy on my job and dreams. Of course, special thanks to my wife which became smarter in TI industry as I was saying lot things she couldn’t ever dream of before – sometimes boring her.

I was involved in project of one the greatest press company in Brazil – working within the heart of money in there; My Company (commercial, managers and Team) did very well upside down, my boses also contributed to my advancements on commercial behavior (thanks Mr. Allak) and Continuous Integration practical assets (thanks Mr. Tensfeld). Also, my friends Robson Waterkemper and Werther Azevedo which are brazilian perls in Usability and Design.

I have met important industry leaders personally which are changing the way software developments happen in Brazil (thanks to Juan Bernabó an argentine geezer doing well in São Paulo and Rodrigo Toledo from Rio de Janeiro (PUC).

Besides all that, I also have listened to many writes by reading their works and making Amazon.com richer:

• Mme Mary Poppendieck
• Paul C. Clements
• Thomas Erl
• John Goodson
• Joe Duffy
• Sir Robert C. Martin
• Michael T. Nygard
• Sir Andrew S. Tanenbaum
• Jared Richardson
• William Gwaltney
• Paul Dyson
• Andrew Longshaw
• Sir Ted Faison
• Scott W. Ambler
• Pramodkumar J. Sadalage
• Alan Cooper
• William Gwaltney
• Andrew Hunt
• Daniel Pink
• along many others American, European and few Brazilian ones.

Note when I say “Sir” or “Mme” is because I’ve read more than one title they wrote or same book twice. Those authors really did good work and really contributed in way it changed me. The most special was Mary Poppendieck and Ted Faison which I must translate their names in following sentence:

“doing well for the business while avoid complexity by understand what that means”.

Last time I counted my readings it was 25. Some books I tried and stopped because the book cover was saying more than the content. Anyway, next are the subject which was feelingly involved in 2009:

• Product Development
• Lean
• Scrum
• Model Agile Techniques
• Advanced Object oriented programming
• Event-based system
• SOA
• Testing techniques (BBD and TDD)
• Continuous integration environments for applications and databases
• Concurrent techniques for application in multicore computers

In this February I’m pretty sure I’m really different from last one.

What’s an Architect?

A stranger is traveling down a road on a hot summer day. As he progresses, he comes upon a man working by the side of the road breaking rocks.

“What are you doing?” he asks the man.

The man looks up at him. “I’m breaking rocks. What does it look like I’m doing? Now get out of my way and let me get back to it.”

The stranger continues down the road and soon comes upon a second man breaking rocks in the hot sun. The man is working hard and sweating freely.

“What are you doing?” asks the stranger.

The man looks up and smiles.

“I’m working for a living,” he says. “But it’s hard work. Maybe you have a better job for me?”

The stranger shakes his head and moves on. Pretty soon he comes on a third man breaking rocks. The sun is at its zenith now, the man is straining, and sweat is pouring off him.

“What are you doing?” asks the stranger. The man pauses, takes a drink of water, smiles, and raises his arms to the sky.

“I’m building a cathedral,” he breathes.

The stranger looks at him for a moment and says, “We’re starting a new company. How would you like to be our chief architect?”

If you’re looking to advanced your architecture thinking style and learn how noble you should be, try this book out but remember, what makes you Architecture the beautiful One is what the other says and how it is easier and faster to learn. Not just what you believe!