Columns

We Have Trends of Our Own

• By Michael Alexander
• December 1, 2005

Regular readers of Application Development Trends know we cover more of the application scene than development, despite the name. We regularly run articles on apps management, integration, innovation and more. That's why, starting with next month's issue, we'll be operating under a new moniker: Application Trends. We'll show off our new logo and tell you all about the name change in the January issue.

This month, we've got a mix of feature articles. First out the chute is an article by Stephen Swoyer on COBOL. Just when you think COBOL is out of the running, it comes back into play. Read Swoyer's feature, "Staying Power," to find out why.

Swoyer also weighs in with a piece on apps that borrow from artificial intelligence and expert systems. I have to admit, this is one of those goofy, but interesting, future-think kinds of articles.

Alan Radding turned up with an article on Rational Unified Process. You may have read about a month ago that IBM donated a paltry 15 percent of RUP to Eclipse. What's the big deal? More than you might expect, and Radding will give you the 411.

Paul Korzenowski writes about content management this month. It's a topic that has gotten a lot of attention in the past year, and it's not hard to figure out why. In today's litigious society, it's better to store every scrap of data and to make sure you can find it, if, and when, you need it.

I'm biased, so please forgive me for plugging Wayne Eckerson's new book on performance dashboards. Wayne is one of the go-to guys at The Data Warehouse Institute, which is owned by 101communications, as we are. If business intelligence is at the top of your must-do list, then read the excerpt from his new book. I wouldn't recommend it if it weren't worth putting on your next expense report.