Am I late or what? New contest!

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Its been a long time since I've updated this blog. Just a warp 5 re-cap, I've moved my domain to a new provider, set up a new shopping cart (since I'm selling products now), new newsgroups, and many other things to support these actions. I could do quite a lengthy blog (or series of them) but I've moved on. Let me just say if you wish to move a domain somewhere else and add new features, get a guide, someone to hold your hand!

I've been working (in-between billable projects) on a product known as VariView. This is in essence an on-demand, in-context "debugger". It does not replace Clarion's debugger, or the open source debuger class. It does augment those tools. Like the debuger class, it has a replacement for the always dangerous STOP and MESSAGE statements (they are not debugging commands and you are debugging code that will never ship, so its a 100% waste of your time using them).

What VariView does is open a toolbox (won't steal events this way) populated with variables (and their contents) as seen by the procedure when the toolbox opens. In real time. So if you need to figure out why this procedure is not behaving correctly, VariView will show you the contents of all variables as seen by that procedure. You can add your own custom messages, watch variables, and many other features. A simple hot key is all you need to activate it (configurable by the developer).

Unfortunately, it was loaded with bugs. I've fixed many of them including a near show-stopper. It even got a face lift so it appears modern instead of something from the 80s. Many of the bugs were handled by simply tossing out the code and re-writing (it was that bad!).

Which brings me to the point of this blog. I hate the name of the product. I'm at a loss for a new name. Right now, I will take any and all submissions for suggestions for a new name. To encourage new names, the selected submission will win a free copy of this tool when its ready (including all betas); this is a $499 value. Don't care if they own the product already or not. In case the winning entry comes from multiple people, the earliest submission wins.

Just send me an email with subject line of "VariView name" to reggen #AT radfusion #DOT com (don't need to explain that address do I? <g>). The contest will run until I decide its over. The decision of the judge (me) is final. The winner will need a valid email (how else will I notify the winner how to get their prize?). In case of a bounce, the next earliest submission is the winner.

I'll have more information about this product (including some nice screen shots, perhaps a movie) as it matures.

Good luck to all!

RADBlog: VariView

Am I late or what? New contest!