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• How do I mysql select with aliases from another table?

  - by Rob

  I'm working with a CMS system where I cannot control database column names. And I've got two related tables: Table: content +------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ | content_id | column_1 | column_2 | column_3 | column_4 | +------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ | 1 | stuff | junk | text | info | | 2 | trash | blah | what | bio | +------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+ Table: column_names +------------+-------------+ | column_id | column_name | +------------+-------------+ | 1 | good_text | | 2 | bad_text | | 3 | blue_text | | 4 | red_text | +------------+-------------+ What I'd like to do here is select from the first table, but select the columns AS the column_name from the second table. So my result would look like: +------------+-----------+----------+-----------+----------+ | content_id | good_text | bad_text | blue_text | red_text | +------------+-----------+----------+-----------+----------+ | 1 | stuff | junk | text | info | | 2 | trash | blah | what | bio | +------------+-----------+----------+-----------+----------+

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• How to use Facebook Share FBML button on a page loaded via AJAX?

  - by Rob Volk

  I have a chunk of content that I load via AJAX and on that page I have a FBML share button. I also tried it without the FBML and just use the hyperlink and script tag. When I load the content directly, the share button loads fine, but when I load it via AJAX, the button doesn't show up. Any ideas on how to get the FB Share button working?

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• Creating an array from a MySQL table

  - by Rob

  I'm trying to create an array to use for a curl_multi_exec, but I can't seem to create the array properly. Here is my code: $SQL = mysql_query("SELECT url FROM urls") or die(mysql_error()); //Query the shell table while($resultSet = mysql_fetch_array($SQL)){ $urls[]=$resultSet; } echo $urls; //Test that the array works But when I run this script, all it does is echo "Array" I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, I've checked around google a bit, but can't figure it out. Any insight would be appreciated.

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• 64 bit enum in C++?

  - by Rob

  Is there a way to have a 64 bit enum in C++? Whilst refactoring some code I came across bunch of #defines which would be better as an enum, but being greater than 32 bit causes the compiler to error. For some reason I thought the following might work: enum MY_ENUM : unsigned __int64 { LARGE_VALUE = 0x1000000000000000, };

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• Removing rows from MySQL table where the timestamp is over one day old?

  - by Rob

  I found the exact same question here. But it isn't working for me. I've modified it a bit, manipulated it, and I can't figure it out. I'm trying to remove rows that are over a day old. Here is my code: if (isset($_POST['prune'])) { $sql = "DELETE FROM logs WHERE time < date('now', '-1 days')"; mysql_query($sql); echo 'Logs older than one day removed.'; } Fairly simple question I suppose, but its bugging the hell out of me. I would appreciate any help. In case it makes a difference, the column is a TIMESTAMP type.

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• Converting a macro to an inline function

  - by Rob

  I am using some Qt code that adds a VERIFY macro that looks something like this: #define VERIFY(cond) \ { \ bool ok = cond; \ Q_ASSERT(ok); \ } The code can then use it whilst being certain the condition is actually evaluated, e.g.: Q_ASSERT(callSomeFunction()); // callSomeFunction not evaluated in release builds! VERIFY(callSomeFunction()); // callSomeFunction is always evaluated Disliking macros, I would instead like to turn this into an inline function: inline VERIFY(bool condition) { Q_ASSERT(condition); } However, in release builds I am worried that the compiler would optimise out all calls to this function (as Q_ASSERT wouldn't actually do anything.) I am I worrying unnecessarily or is this likely depending on the optimisation flags/compiler/etc.? I guess I could change it to: inline VERIFY(bool condition) { condition; Q_ASSERT(condition); } But, again, the compiler may be clever enough to ignore the call. Is this inline alternative safe for both debug and release builds?

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• HWID locking a PHP page?

  - by Rob

  Currently I sell a program, that accesses my webpage. The program is HWID (Hard Ware ID) locked, and the only reason I use the program to access the webpage instead of direct access via a webbrowser, is so that I can use HWID authentication. However, I've just been told I can code a script to get computer information, such as hardware ID etc. Is this actually possible completely server-side? If so, can I do it with PHP? If not, what language would this be, and what functions would I have to look into for this?

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• How can I gzinflate and save the inflated data without running it? (Found what I think is a trojan o

  - by Rob

  Well, not my server. My friend found it and sent it to me, trying to make sense of it. What it appears to be is a PHP IRC bot, but I have no idea how to decode it and make any sense of it. Here is the code: <?eval(gzinflate(base64_decode('some base 64 code here')))?> So I decoded the base64, and it output a ton of strange characters, I'm guessing either encrypted or a different file type, like when you change a .jpg to a .txt and open it. But I have no idea how to decode this and determine its source. Any help?

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• PHP Round Minute to nearest Quarter Hour

  - by Rob

  I need to round times down to the nearest quarter hour in PHP. The times are being pulled from a MySQL database from a datetime column and formatted like 2010-03-18 10:50:00. Example: 10:50 needs to be 10:45 1:12 needs to be 1:00 3:28 needs to be 3:15 etc. I'm assuming floor() is involved but not sure how to go about it. Thanks

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• How To Prevent Processes From Starting?

  - by Rob P.

  I'm toying around with a very simplistic sort of process-monitor. Currently, it gets a list of the running processes and attempts to kill any process that is not white-listed. What I'm looking for is a way to prevent a process from starting that isn't on the white-list. If that's possible. My knowledge level in this area is pretty non-existent and my Google-fu only returns websites discussing Process.Start() :( Can anyone point me in the right direction?

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• fwrite() not writing. Error with my code, or the remote client?

  - by Rob

  Trying to set up a script to send commands to a remote client on a Win32 system. Here is the code: $command = $_POST['command']; $host = $_POST['host']; $port = $_POST['port']; $fp = @fsockopen($host, $port, $e, $s, 15); if (!$fp) { echo 'Error! Here\'s your problem: ' . $e . ': ' . $s; }else{ $fw = fwrite($fp, $command); if (!$fw){ echo 'Failed sending command.'; fclose($fp); }else{ fclose($fp); echo 'Successfully sent: ' . $command; } } My buddy is working on the remote client, and he says that this script is sending '' However, my script is echoing Successfully sent: test Am I doing something wrong, or is it a problem on his end?

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• Indexing on only part of a field in MongoDB

  - by Rob Hoare

  Is there a way to create an index on only part of a field in MongoDB, for example on the first 10 characters? I couldn't find it documented (or asked about on here). The MySQL equivalent would be CREATE INDEX part_of_name ON customer (name(10));. Reason: I have a collection with a single field that varies in length from a few characters up to over 1000 characters, average 50 characters. As there are a hundred million or so documents it's going to be hard to fit the full index in memory (testing with 8% of the data the index is already 400MB, according to stats). Indexing just the first part of the field would reduce the index size by about 75%. In most cases the search term is quite short, it's not a full-text search. A work-around would be to add a second field of 10 (lowercased) characters for each item, index that, then add logic to filter the results if the search term is over ten characters (and that extra field is probably needed anyway for case-insensitive searches, unless anybody has a better way). Seems like an ugly way to do it though. [added later] I tried adding the second field, containing the first 12 characters from the main field, lowercased. It wasn't a big success. Previously, the average object size was 50 bytes, but I forgot that includes the _id and other overheads, so my main field length (there was only one) averaged nearer to 30 bytes than 50. Then, the second field index contains the _id and other overheads. Net result (for my 8% sample) is the index on the main field is 415MB and on the 12 byte field is 330MB - only a 20% saving in space, not worthwhile. I could duplicate the entire field (to work around the case insensitive search problem) but realistically it looks like I should reconsider whether MongoDB is the right tool for the job (or just buy more memory and use twice as much disk space). [added even later] This is a typical document, with the source field, and the short lowercased field: { "_id" : ObjectId("505d0e89f56588f20f000041"), "q" : "Continental Airlines", "f" : "continental " } Indexes: db.test.ensureIndex({q:1}); db.test.ensureIndex({f:1}); The 'f" index, working on a shorter field, is 80% of the size of the "q" index. I didn't mean to imply I included the _id in the index, just that it needs to use that somewhere to show where the index will point to, so it's an overhead that probably helps explain why a shorter key makes so little difference. Access to the index will be essentially random, no part of it is more likely to be accessed than any other. Total index size for the full file will likely be 5GB, so it's not extreme for that one index. Adding some other fields for other search cases, and their associated indexes, and copies of data for lower case, does start to add up, which I why I started looking into a more concise index.

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• Using ftp_put(), how could I determine the public html directory?

  - by Rob

  If I don't know the public web directory, is there a way my script could determine the web directory, so that the script would know which directory to upload the file to?

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• Is it worth setting pointers to NULL in a destructor?

  - by Rob

  Imagine I have a class that allocates memory (forget about smart pointers for now): class Foo { public: Foo() : bar(new Bar) { } ~Foo() { delete bar; } void doSomething() { bar->doSomething(); } private: Bar* bar; }; As well as deleting the objects in the destructor is it also worth setting them to NULL? I'm assuming that setting the pointer to NULL in the destructor of the example above is a waste of time.

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• Should I include locally or remotely?

  - by Rob

  Just something I wonder about when including files: Say I want to include a file, or link to it. Should I just for example: include("../localfile.php"); or should I instead use include("http://sameserver.com/but/adirect/linkto/localfile.php"); Is one better than the other? Or more secure? Or is it just personal preference? Clearly it would be a necessity if you had a file that you would include into files in multiple directories, and THAT file includes a different file, or is there some other way of doing that?

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• Submitting GET data with no input field?

  - by Rob

  I've never really thought about this, but it helps with some security of something I'm currently working on. Is it possible to submit GET data without an actual input field, and instead just getting it from the URL? If so, how would I go about doing this? It kind of makes sense that it should be possible, but at the same time it makes no sense at all. Perhaps I've been awake too long and need some rest. But I'd like to finish this project a bit more first, so any help you can offer would be appreciated. Thanks

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• How can I determine if a specified string is in a specific MySQL column? (and also perhaps a tutoria

  - by Rob

  This is a fairly simple question. Basically, I'm having a program send HardWare ID's to my PHP script as GET data. I need the PHP script check to make sure that HardWare ID is in a specific MySQL column, and if it is, { continue the script, } else { exit(); } Problem is I'm not too good with MySQL and have no idea how to do this. However, I feel that I should know this by now, so if someone could also link me to a good tutorial site for MySQL, that kind of keeps it "humanized" if you know what I mean. One that "dumbs it down." I'm not dumb or anything, I just get sidetracked easily, and if all its doing is showing me code and not explaining it, I won't pick it up. If you don't have any tutorial sites off the top of your head, I'll settle for help with the first question, and try to hunt down a tutorial later.

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• Send mass emails php (probably a shell question?)

  - by Rob

  I've got 80,000 users on my site and i've recently turned away from the forum script i've been using and built something very simple myself that works just as well (the forum script was too bloated and resource intensive for my simple site) The only thing i've lost is the ability to mass email all my members. So i'm looking to come up with a script to do it myself. After looking around (including questions on here) I decided using Swift Mailer would be a good idea. However i've been through all the documentation and can't see how to send say "100 at a time" and i'm not sure how to go about it. To put it simply. I have an admin panel with a form with two inputs "subject" and "message". When I click submit what is the safest way for me to send 80,000 emails without crashing my server or being marked as spam? I'm on quite a beefy dedicated server so don't have the problems associated with shared servers. Thanks in advance for any advice!

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• Call to undefined function apache_request_headers()

  - by Rob

  I've just switched my scripts to a different server. On the previous server this worked flawlessly, and now that I've switched them to a different server, I can't understand the problem. I'm not sure it would help, but here's the relevant code. $headers = apache_request_headers(); PHP Version is: PHP 5.3.2 Any help would be appreciated.

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• Challenge 19 – An Explanation of a Query

  - by Dave Ballantyne

  I have received a number of requests for an explanation of my winning query of TSQL Challenge 19. This involved traversing a hierarchy of employees and rolling a count of orders from subordinates up to superiors. The first concept I shall address is the hierarchyId , which is constructed within the CTE called cteTree.   cteTree is a recursive cte that will expand the parent-child hierarchy of the personnel in the table @emp.  One useful feature with a recursive cte is that data can be ‘passed’ from the parent to the child data.  The hierarchyId column is similar to the hierarchyId data type that was introduced in SQL Server 2008 and represents the position of the person within the organisation. Let us start with a simplistic example Albert manages Bob and Eddie.  Bob manages Carl and Dave. The hierarchyId will represent each person’s position in this relationship in a single field.  In this simple example we could append the userID together into a varchar field as detailed below. This will enable us to select a branch of the tree by filtering using Where hierarchyId  ‘1,2%’ to select Bob and all his subordinates.  Naturally, this is not comprehensive enough to provide a full solution, but as opposed to concatenating the Id’s together into a varchar datatyped column, we can apply the same theory to a varbinary.  By CASTing the ID’s into a datatype of varbinary(4) ,4 is used as 4 bytes of data are used to store an integer and building a hierarchyId  from those.  For example: The important point to bear in mind for later in the query is that the binary data generated is 'byte order comparable'. ie We can ORDER a dataset with it and the resulting data, will be in the order required. Now, would probably be a good time to download the example file and, after the cte ‘cteTree’, uncomment the line ‘select * from cteTree’.  Mark this and all prior code and execute.  This will show you how this theory directly relates to the actual challenge data.  The only deviation from the above, is that instead of using the ID of an employee, I have used the row_number() ranking function to order each level by LastName,Firstname.  This enables me to order by the HierarchyId in the final result set so that the result set is in the required order. Your output should be something like the below.  Notice also the ‘Level’ Column that contains the depth that the employee is within the tree.  I would encourage you to ‘play’ with the query, change the order in the row_number() or the length of the cast in the hierarchyId to see how that effects the outcome.  The next cte, ‘cteTreeWithOrderCount’, is a join between cteTree and the @ord table, and COUNT’s the number of orders per employee.  A LEFT JOIN is employed here to account for the occasion where an employee has made no sales.   Executing a ‘Select * from cteTreeWithOrderCount’ will return the result set as below.  The order here is unimportant as this is only a staging point of the data and only the final result set in a cte chain needs an Order by clause, unless TOP is utilised. cteExplode joins the above result set to the tally table (Nums) for Level Occurances.  So, if level is 2 then 2 rows are required.  This is done to expand the dataset, to create a new column (PathInc), which is the (n+1) integers contained within the heirarchyid.  For example, with the data for Robert King as given above, the below 3 rows will be returned. From this you can see that the pathinc column now contains the values for Andrew Fuller and Steven Buchanan who are Robert King’s superiors within the tree.    Finally cteSumUp, sums the orders for each person and their subordinates using the PathInc generated above, and the final select does the final simple mathematics and filters to restrict the result set to only the ‘original’ row per employee.

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• Podcast Show Notes: Collaborate 10 Wrap-Up - Part 1

  - by Bob Rhubart

  OK, I know last week I promised you a program featuring Oracle ACE Directors Mike van Alst (IT-Eye) and Jordan Braunstein (TUSC) and The Definitive Guide to SOA: Oracle Service Bus author Jeff Davies. But things happen. In this case, what happened was Collaborate 10 in Las Vegas. Prior to the event I asked Oracle ACE Director and OAUG board member Floyd Teter to see if he could round up a couple of people at the event for an impromtu interview over Skype (I was here in Cleveland) to get their impressions of the event. Listen to Part 1 Floyd, armed with his brand new iPad, went above and beyond the call of duty. At the appointed hour, which turned out to be about hour after the close of Collaborate 10,  Floyd had gathered nine other people to join him in a meeting room somewhere in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Here’s the entire roster: Floyd Teter - Project Manager at Jet Propulsion Lab, OAUG Board Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix | Oracle ACE Profile Mark Rittman - EMEA Technical Director and Co-Founder, Rittman Mead,  ODTUG Board Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix | Oracle ACE Profile Chet Justice - OBI Consultant at BI Wizards Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix | Oracle ACE Profile Elke Phelps - Oracle Applications DBA at Humana, OAUG SIG Chair Blog | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix | Book | Oracle ACE Profile Paul Jackson - Oracle Applications DBA at Humana Blog | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix | Book Srini Chavali - Enterprise Database & Tools Leader at Cummins, Inc Blog | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix Dave Ferguson – President, Oracle Applications Users Group LinkedIn | OAUG Profile John King - Owner, King Training Resources Website | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix Gavyn Whyte - Project Portfolio Manager at iFactory Consulting Blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Oracle Mix John Nicholson - Channels & Alliances at Greenlight Technologies Website | LinkedIn Big thanks to Floyd for assembling the panelists and handling the on-scene MC/hosting duties.  Listen to Part 1 On a technical note, this discussion was conducted over Skype, using Floyd’s iPad, placed in the middle of the table.  During the call the audio was fantastic – the iPad did a remarkable job. Sadly, the Technology Gods were not smiling on me that day. The audio set-up that I tested successfully before the call failed to deliver when we first connected – I could hear the folks in Vegas, but they couldn’t hear me. A frantic, last-minute adjustment appeared to have fixed that problem, and the audio in my headphones from both sides of the conversation was loud and clear.  It wasn’t until I listened to the playback that I realized that something was wrong. So the audio for Vegas side of the discussion has about the same fidelity as a cell phone. It’s listenable, but disappointing when compared to what it sounded like during the discussion. Still, this was a one shot deal, and the roster of panelists and the resulting conversation was too good and too much fun to scrap just because of an unfortunate technical glitch.   Part 2 of this Collaborate 10 Wrap-Up will run next week. After that, it’s back on track with the previously scheduled program. So stay tuned: RSS del.icio.us Tags: oracle,otn,collborate 10,c10,oracle ace program,archbeat,arch2arch,oaug,odtug,las vegas Technorati Tags: oracle,otn,collborate 10,c10,oracle ace program,archbeat,arch2arch,oaug,odtug,las vegas

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• Partner outreach on the Oracle Fusion Applications user experience begins

  - by mvaughan

  by Misha Vaughan, Architect, Applications User Experience I have been asked the question repeatedly since about December of last year: “What is the Applications User Experience group doing about partner outreach?”  My answer, at the time, was: “We are thinking about it.”  My colleagues and I were really thinking about the content or tools that the Applications UX group should be developing. What would be valuable to our partners? What will actually help grow their applications business, and fits within the applications user experience charter?In the video above, you’ll hear Jeremy Ashley, vice president of the Applications User Experience team, talk about two fundamental initiatives that our group is working on now that speaks straight to partners.  Special thanks to Joel Borellis, Kelley Greenly, and Steve Hoodmaker for helping to make this video happen so flawlessly. Steve was responsible for pulling together a day of Oracle Fusion Applications-oriented content, including David Bowin, Director, Fusion Applications Strategy, on some of the basic benefits of Oracle Fusion Applications.  Joel Borellis, Group Vice President, Partner Enablement, and David Bowin in the Oracle Studios.Nigel King, Vice President Applications Functional Architecture, was also on the list, talking about co-existence opportunities with Oracle Fusion Applications.Me and Nigel King, just before his interview with Joel. Fusion Applications User Experience 101: Basic education  Oracle has invested an enormous amount of intellectual and developmental effort in the Oracle Fusion Applications user experience. Find out more about that at the Oracle Partner Network Fusion Learning Center (Oracle ID required). What you’ll learn will help you uncover how, exactly, Oracle made Fusion General Ledger “sexy,” and that’s a direct quote from Oracle Ace Director Debra Lilley, of Fujitsu. In addition, select Applications User Experience staff members, as well as our own Fusion User Experience Advocates,  can provide a briefing to our partners on Oracle’s investment in the Oracle Fusion Applications user experience. Looking forward: Taking the best of the Fusion Applications UX to your customersBeyond a basic orientation to one of the key differentiators for Oracle Fusion Applications, we are also working on partner-oriented training.A question we are often getting right now is: “How do I help customers build applications that look like Fusion?” We also hear: “How do I help customers build applications that take advantage of the next-generation design work done in Fusion?”Our answer to this is training and a tool – our user experience design patterns – these are a set of user experience best-practices. Design patterns are re-usable, usability-tested, user experience components that make creating Fusion Applications-like experiences straightforward.  It means partners can leverage Oracle’s investment, but also gain an advantage by not wasting time solving a problem we’ve already solved. Their developers can focus on helping customers tackle the harder development challenges. Ultan O’Broin, an Apps UX team member,  and I are working with Kevin Li and Chris Venezia of the Oracle Platform Technology Services team, as well as Grant Ronald in Oracle ADF, to bring you some of the best “how-to” UX training, customized for your local area. Our first workshop will be in EMEA. Stay tuned for an assessment and feedback from the event.

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• Apps UX Launches Blueprints for Mobile User Experiences

  - by mvaughan

  By Misha Vaughan, Oracle Applications User ExperienceAt Oracle OpenWorld 2012 this year, the Oracle Applications User Experience (Apps UX) team announced the release of Mobile User Experience Functional Design Patterns. These patterns are designed to work directly with Oracle’s Fusion Middleware, specifically, ADF Mobile.  The Oracle Application Development Framework for mobile users enables developers to build one application that can be deployed to multiple mobile device platforms. These same mobile design patterns provide the guidance for Oracle teams to develop Fusion Mobile expenses. Application developers can use Oracle’s mobile design patterns to design iPhone, Android, or browser-based smartphone applications. We are sharing our mobile design patterns and their baked-in, scientifically proven usability to enable Oracle customers and partners to build mobile applications quickly.A different way of thinking and designing. Lynn Rampoldi-Hnilo, Senior Manager of Mobile User Experiences for Apps UX, says mobile design has to be compelling. “It needs to be optimized for the device, and be visually rich and simple,” she said. “What is really key is that you are designing for a user’s most personal device, the device that they will have with them at all times of the day.”Katy Massucco, director of the overall design patterns site, said: “You need to start with a simplified task flow. Everything should be a natural interaction. The action should be relevant and leveraging the device. It should be seamless.”She suggests that developers identify the essential tasks that a user would want to do while mobile. “They need to understand the user and the context,” she added. ?A sample inline action design patternWhat people are sayingReactions to the release of the design patterns have been positive. Debra Lilley, Oracle ACE Director and Fusion User Experience Advocate (FXA), has already demo’ed Fusion Mobile Expenses widely.  Fellow Oracle Ace Director Ronald van Luttikhuizen, called it a “cool demo by @debralilley of the new mobile expenses app.” FXA member Floyd Teter says he is already cooking up some plans for using mobile design patterns.  We hope to see those ideas at Collaborate or ODTUG in 2013. For another perspective on why user experience is such an important focus for mobile applications, check out this video by John King, Director, and Monty Latiolais, President, both from ODTUG, or the Oracle Development Tools User Group.In a separate interview by e-mail, Latiolais wrote: “I enjoy the fact we can take something that, in the past, has been largely subjective, and now apply to it a scientifically proven look and feel. Trusting Oracle’s UX Design Patterns, the presentation really can become one less thing to worry about. As someone with limited ADF experience, that is extremely beneficial.”?King, who was also interviewed by e-mail, wrote: “User Experience is about making the task at hand as easy and error-free as possible. Oracle's UX labs worked hard to make the User Experience in the new Fusion Applications as good as possible; ADF makes adding tested, consistent, user experiences a declarative exercise by leveraging that work. As we move applications onto mobile platforms, user experience is the driving factor. Customers are "spoiled" by a bevy of fantastic applications, and ours cannot disappoint them. Creating applications that enable users to quickly and effectively accomplish whatever task is at hand takes thought and practice. Developers must become ’power users’ and then create applications that they and their users will love.”

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• Book Review (Book 12) - 20 Master Plots

  - by BuckWoody

  This is a continuation of the books I challenged myself to read to help my career - one a month, for a year. You can read my first book review here, and the entire list is here. The book I chose for May 2012 was:20 Master Plots by Ronald B. Tobias. This is my final book review - at least for this year. I'll explain what I've learned in this book in particular, and in the last twelve months in general. Why I chose this book: Stories and themes are part of software, presenting, and working in teams. This book claims there are only 20 plots, ever. I wanted to find out. What I learned: Probably my most favorite read of the year. Deceptively small, amazingly insightful. The premise is that there are only a few "base" themes, and that once you learn them you can put together an interesting set of stories on most any topic. Yes, the author admits that this number has been different throughout history - some have said 50, others 14, and still others claim only one or two basic plots. This doesn't change the fact that you can build very complex stories from a simple set of circumstances and characters. Be warned - if you read this book it takes away much of the wonder from almost every movie or book you'll read from here on! I loved it. My favorite part is that the author gives you exercises to build stories, right from the start. I've actually used these as the start of a meeting to foster creativity. Amazing stuff. One of my favorite sections of the book deals with plot and story. Plot: The king died, and the queen died. Story: The king died, and the queen died of heartbreak. Add one or two words, and you have the essence of storytelling. A highly recommended read, for all folks of all ages. You'll like it, your spouse will like it, and your kids will like it. I learned to be a better storyteller, and it helped me understand that plots and stories are not just things in books - they are a direct reflection of human nature. That makes me a better manager of myself and others.   And this is the last of the reviews - at least for this year. I probably won't post many more book reviews here, but I will keep up the practice. As a reminder, the goal was to select 12 books that will help you reach your career goals. They don't have to be technical, or even apply directly to your job - but they do need to be books that you mindfully select as getting you closer to what you want to be. Each month, jot down what you learned from the work. And see if it doesn't in fact get you closer to your goals. These readings helped me - I got a promotion this year, and I attribute at least some of that to the things I learned.

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• Book Review (Book 12) - 20 Master Plots

  - by BuckWoody

  This is a continuation of the books I challenged myself to read to help my career - one a month, for a year. You can read my first book review here, and the entire list is here. The book I chose for May 2012 was:20 Master Plots by Ronald B. Tobias. This is my final book review - at least for this year. I'll explain what I've learned in this book in particular, and in the last twelve months in general. Why I chose this book: Stories and themes are part of software, presenting, and working in teams. This book claims there are only 20 plots, ever. I wanted to find out. What I learned: Probably my most favorite read of the year. Deceptively small, amazingly insightful. The premise is that there are only a few "base" themes, and that once you learn them you can put together an interesting set of stories on most any topic. Yes, the author admits that this number has been different throughout history - some have said 50, others 14, and still others claim only one or two basic plots. This doesn't change the fact that you can build very complex stories from a simple set of circumstances and characters. Be warned - if you read this book it takes away much of the wonder from almost every movie or book you'll read from here on! I loved it. My favorite part is that the author gives you exercises to build stories, right from the start. I've actually used these as the start of a meeting to foster creativity. Amazing stuff. One of my favorite sections of the book deals with plot and story. Plot: The king died, and the queen died. Story: The king died, and the queen died of heartbreak. Add one or two words, and you have the essence of storytelling. A highly recommended read, for all folks of all ages. You'll like it, your spouse will like it, and your kids will like it. I learned to be a better storyteller, and it helped me understand that plots and stories are not just things in books - they are a direct reflection of human nature. That makes me a better manager of myself and others.   And this is the last of the reviews - at least for this year. I probably won't post many more book reviews here, but I will keep up the practice. As a reminder, the goal was to select 12 books that will help you reach your career goals. They don't have to be technical, or even apply directly to your job - but they do need to be books that you mindfully select as getting you closer to what you want to be. Each month, jot down what you learned from the work. And see if it doesn't in fact get you closer to your goals. These readings helped me - I got a promotion this year, and I attribute at least some of that to the things I learned.

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