We have a lot of different options for data storage and retrieval available today. These options include the traditional relational database, document databases, key value stores, and even flat files. Every option has its benefits over the others, making some options better for some things and other options better for other things. Once the data storage and retrieval option is selected, we then typically have to select a product. Within a solution space, most products offer some distinction from their competitors. Such distinctions make certain products popular choices for a particular technology stack. For example, MySQL is a common choice for the LAMP stack, as is Microsoft SQL Server for the .NET stack.

Why is this so? There are several reasons for this, and their importance varies between administrators, developers, managers, and even executives.

From a developer’s point of view, it comes down to whether or not the product in the solution space makes the work more enjoyable. Read the rest of this entry »

I started my development career working for a very small company that developed accessibility software for the blind. I was fresh out of school and working on a screen reader for Windows 3.1. It was quite a challenge, in more ways than one.

One of the things I had to learn was how blind people used the computer at all. My boss (the owner of the company) was blind and taught me a lot – but he could only work in DOS, as there just weren’t any screen readers for Windows yet. So I had to figure out a lot of things on my own. Read the rest of this entry »