CODEX

Oracle Database Release 7 — end of 1993 — introduced PL/SQL as language for Stored Procedures, Functions and Triggers. This was just before I joined Oracle Corporation, in May 1994. I have made extensive use of PL/SQL. With Oracle 8i we saw the advent of the Embedded JVM that made it possible to run Java code (from) within the database. I have never been a big fan of stored Java procedures. The somewhat clunky integration was a large part of that. It seemed that apart for some very specific use cases, Stored Java had not much to offer. …

Here is a short story about a simple and incredibly common challenge: I am working on a SQL query. Not a trivial query. I am trying various approaches. I believe I may have found a solution that works. That produces the correct solution. How can I be sure? How can I try to further refine and optimize (aka refactor) the query while maintaining its integrity? I am still in a development phase where I make quick changes and want to get quick feedback. The SQL is not yet embedded in an application — that may happen later. …

A nice SQL challenge was presented to me by a colleague. The challenges basically consisted of this table. A table contains records that describe login events. Each record has a login timestamp and the identifier of the person logging in. The challenge is to count “unique” login events. These have been defined as unique, non-overlapping two hour periods in which a person has logged in. Such as period starts with a login that is at least two hours after the start of a previous period for that same person.

Visually this can be shown like this:

TL;DR Prototyping is an essential way to determine the technical feasibility and functional desirability of features of a software system. There is a clear and present danger that the prototype is considered to be professional code, peer reviewed and production ready. This risk must be mitigated and anyone involved needs to be very aware of what a prototype is and even more of what it is not.

A prototype of a car is typically easily recognized for what it is. It has no engine or lacks all kinds of details. Or it is clear at least that it was largely…

My objective: create a mechanism for recording streaming video on my Windows laptop on a preprogrammed timestamp and channel.

My motivation: show that I can do this (using AutoIt, OBS, Windows Task Scheduler an Windows Sandbox) and create a way around the limitation of my current TV provider (Ziggo in The Netherlands) that does not support recording programs any longer and offers on demand viewing for only a limited number of channels. I have a personal need for an easy way to make a recording of interesting programs and watch them at my convenience.

My code: https://github.com/lucasjellema/autoit-scenarios

Some challenges:

• streaming…

I would like to have my Spotify playlist played to me every morning at 8AM sharp. Using the Windows Task Scheduler and an AutoIt script I can have the Spotify App started and subsequently automate the steps to run my preferred Spotify playlist. I can even wake my computer up in order to start executing the task. In this article I show you how to do this.

In my previous article I introduced AutoIt — what it is, how to install it and how to get going on Windows 10.

Write the AutoIt script for Running the Spotify App

AutoIt can perform desktop actions. Such as run a program…

I recently spent quite some time on getting to know Playwright — a great tool for automating virtually any operation performed in a browser. Playwright is great for automating testing web applications as well as for screen scraping (for data), tactical integration, RPA, prototyping and even customizing third party applications for my personal use. I am now looking to extend my NodeJS/Playwright programs — that execute in the context of browser based applications — with a complementary tool for automating tasks on Windows.

One thing I would like to be able to do is schedule my NodeJS/Playwright applications to be…