More CodeMash Stuff

There is just way too much stuff to know. In my view of things, SOA (service based architecture) is just a natural extension of n-Tier based architecture. I still start looking at apps in terms of defining layers. Sometimes, I just need one of those layers to go get something over the internet/intranet. No big deal. Then, as I am checking the links from my previous post, I click on CodeMash and find a post entitled, "Tier-Based Architecture is Dead! " which is talking about Grid Architecture. Naturally, now I'm dying to know what Grid Architecture is. Just a bit more reading that I have to do before I get to CodeMash.

Btw, I'm reading Thinking in Java (the free versions are found here). I know what you are thinking. Why in the world would .NET programmer cross the dmz? One word - perspective. On the rare occasion that I am around Java programmers all I hear about is how great Java is . Since I've never written an app in Java, I really don't feel comfortable taking part in these discussions. I want to talk about it, but intellectually, I know I'm better off listening, asking questions, and deflecting .NET myths. So, what do I know about Java? First off, there is some really good software written using Java. Secondly, it appears Microsoft carefully studied Java when designing .NET. Lastly, there are a lot of Java developers out there (if you're looking for a particularly good one, check out Dianne Marsh, one of the organizers of CodeMash). That seems to be the extent of my Java knowledge.

Where is this going? Very simply, how can you expect to be a truly professional developer if you have no perspective? I don't feel I have that. Therefore, my remedy is to read a Java classic. Will I install Java compiler on my machine? I will once I get around to getting a new hard drive.