DEV Community: jimerman

How to Catch Runtime Exceptions and Incorporate ICEM

jimerman — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 14:38:58 +0000

In our latest blog post, we cover some introductory details on how to write code that uses CodaEA to close the loop that Software Engineering has long ignored.

It is absolutely crucial to provide a mechanism to allow your software community (users, operators, support staff, and developers) to understand the errors your software emits, easily obtain solutions, and easily research those errors. We predict that if you don't do it, you will be outpaced by your competitors who do - and within the next few years.

Remember the big disruptions - Apple disrupting the music industry, the cell phone industry, the mobile device industry? Remember the automotive paid features that were introduced, but became standard and nobody would buy a vehicle without them (power locks, power windows, antilock brakes, cruise control, and so on)? ICEM is one of those disruptions - software will soon have to have it, or it will not be able to compete.

Who wants to use software A if software B does the same thing, and provides help fixing its problems?

Streamlining the Software Development Process with CodaEA

jimerman — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 15:16:56 +0000

In our latest blog post, we take a look at how CodaEA makes it easier to resolve errors in the software development process. Are you integrating the best way to resolve errors and save you time? Find out how CodaEA can give you a single click to find already-known solutions to the errors you get, or let you post and leverage solutions you already found but can't remember the next time you come across it.

What IDE do you (primarily) use?

jimerman — Sun, 09 Jul 2023 12:37:18 +0000

This is the age old question.

Take the poll

Enhancing Software Development: The Power of Effective Error Handling

jimerman — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 19:43:42 +0000

We recently posted on our blog this article, where we urge developers to take a stand with us. You've probably heard it from managers who say "don't bring me a problem unless you also have some suggestions for a solution." We are saying, don't present the user (or write to a log) with an error message - unless you also present a list of known solutions. This is the beginning of Integrated Centralized Error Management (ICEM). With ICEM, you can finally put the power of fixing problems into the hands of the people - the end users, administrators, and support staff who have to deal with the software every day. And, leverage known solutions every time someone gets that error.

In fact, there is nothing that says you only have to use it for errors - it is perfectly appropriate for any message, to add explanation, translation, or nuance to the message so people can better understand what to do. The world is complex enough - let's make our software simpler!

Please respond with your thoughts.

Improving Software Quality and Usability

jimerman — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:30:45 +0000

In Software Engineering, we have made HUGE strides over the past 60 years. Indeed, since I started in the mid 1970's, it is a completely different world now - the ability to express your ideas as code in a way that is robust, scalable and tuned for performance is truly amazing. However, we realized that there is a gap, an area of software engineering that has not had much attention paid to it - and I believe this is the next step to truly achieving a completeness of robust design & development. This is something we call Integrated Centralized Error Management - or ICEM.

Check out our latest blog post that talks about how CodaEA, the world's first ICEM project, can enable a smoother software development process, improve your user experience, reduce total cost of ownership of your product or service, and help your QA efforts focus on issues whether or not the user reports them.

AI Alarm Bells?

jimerman — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 13:18:56 +0000

As an AI layman, I am looking for an insider perspective from people who work in the field. Working in industry, I am acutely aware that there is a massive push towards AI development. As a sci-fi fan all my life, I am also a big Dune fan - where thousands of years before the first book takes place, mankind was almost wiped out by AI and barely escaped extinction, to evolve a series of religious and legal frameworks where "thou shalt not make a thinking machine" was meant to avoid that extinction-level event. Also, the voice of Arnold Schwarzenegger keeps ringing in my head: "I'll be back." Followed by a truck smashing through the police station.

So, it seems to me that we are well on our way towards Skynet - AI development where the AI pushes a social or political agenda, and AI becomes more and more capable, more and more connected - those 2 ingredients alone are a recipe for disaster. Imagine AI watching your social media, determining you are posting posts in violation of the leading party's political agenda, and cutting you off from your bank account, locking you out of your house, and reporting your whereabouts to the police. Farfetched? Absolutely not.

Background aside, my questions stem from that - what controls are being put in place to ensure those realities don't come about? I think Elon Musk, who knows a LOT about the matter, warned they are missing. And, if controls are being put in place - what controls? It isn't enough just to look at one aspect, say the chance for AI to start running away with generating code updates for itself. We need to look at every aspect - from sociopolitical, to psychological, to governmental and so on.

What preventions are there from a rogue nation-state (think DPRK) from using a cadre of programmers to generate code for the AI that subverts the "free" world? And, if you say "oh, it's Open Source, that makes it impossible" then I say, "Why? You are saying that there are enough knowledgeable people who have the time and expertise to review all that code prior to submission, and that we know there are no sleeper routines?" If so, I don't believe it. For example, a group proved that Apple's App Store review process was prone to a flaw where malicious code could be broken apart and hidden by the app, and then reassembled at runtime by the app under certain conditions not met during App Store review. (Kind of like the VolksWagon emissions scandal.)

Join the error revolution now!

jimerman — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 19:47:02 +0000

Attention all programmers

We are taking a stand - no more software errors without also giving us the solutions. But how to make this happen?

We have introduced a new tool to help you quickly resolve errors. All kinds of errors. Errors developing, operating, and supporting software. Find out more with our short intro video - and give us some feedback at marketing@codaea.io. How can we help make it easier to resolve coding errors? How can we help you make your software easier to use and support?

Get up to speed on Integrated Centralized Error Management.