Hot Scripts Blog » Expert Interviews

Interview with GenBook.com

Ahmad Permessur — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:02:00 +0000

1. How does the service work?

Genbook is a web 2.0 online scheduling application for small businesses like spas, beauty salons, consultants and any business that manages appointments. It is meant to be very light: Genbook clients can self-provision and maintain their calendars themselves, as well as spreading their “BookNow” button wherever they can paste a short tag.

Business owners can get a Free Genbook account and post a “BookNow” button to their web site. Once that is done, their clients can interact with their appointment book and schedule appointments in realtime, 24×7.

After an appointment is booked, we send emails to the provider and the client, with a second reminder email 24 hours in advance of the appointment, if the provider wants. After the appointment, we can also send a feedback/review request to the client, again at the provider’s choosing.

Genbook’s Standard Edition has many added features, like text messages for mobile businesses or people who are not regularly at their computer, a client contact data base, credit card capture, etc., but all of the core functionality is in Genbook Free.

2. Tell us more about the underlying technologies of GenBook.com? What programming platform has been used to develop this application?

Over the years we developed a powerful framework using best-in-class technologies for various tasks. On the front-end, we use JavaScript extensively to present a responsive and dynamic UI; we are big fans of Prototype and Script.aculo.us. On the back-end, we use Java in a servlet container and Freemarker as template technology. We also have our own URI processor that interacts nicely with actions written Jruby.

3. Why have you decided to make GenBook a remotely hosted service instead of a downloadable script?

As far as the business is concerned, Genbook is a simple JavaScript tag that opens a pop-up on their website. This is the main integration point.

However, management of online appointments generates a lot of data and it must be stored somewhere. Genbook handles staff availability, business hours, service durations, existing appointments, blocks of time for each day and a number of other business settings that together make up the appointment book for a given business. It requires a lot of data and heavy calculation on the back-end.

4. Scheduling involves dealing with a lot of sensitive information. How do you ensure the security and integrity of data stored on your servers?

Yes, privacy is an on-going concern and we have many layers of defense to prevent unauthorized access to information. Varying from the basics like firewall and SSL to database level encryption for critical fields. We combine infrastructure security, application logic and database encryption to ensure our data is safe and available only to authorized personnel.

Most critical is to ensure appointment details and sessions are secure. Passwords are stored using seeded, one-way encryption and not even our tech staff is able to restore someone’s password. We keep audit records for critical transactions and store sensitive information encrypted with TripleDES.

We also patch our servers regularly with security updates and monitor our environment 24×7 for possible breaches. Hacker Safe certification provides another level of validation and early warning against threats.

5. The integration of GenBook is powered by a ‘Book Now’ button or link. Do you have plans to do other sort of integrations in the future? (e.g. having the booking application run directly within the user’s website or proving API functionalities).

Yes, definitely. We have customers embedding Genbook on their website’s today via IFrames and we have a booking API on our roadmap.

6. Do you provide any synchronizing feature like iCal or any plug-in to sync. the calendar with Outlook or other email client?

Yes we do, via ICal, on the Standard Edition All the “must haves” for setting appointments/booking them/providing feedback are in Free. We felt that kind of synchronization was a “nice to have” so we enabled it in Standard.

We are also investigating additional ways in which we can provide seamless synchronization with Outlook and online calendars like Yahoo and Google. The difficulty is the lack of a established standard for online synchronization today. Most of the past work was done for PDA’s and mobile phones which is not entirely suitable for web applications. Having said that, I see a good momentum behind WebDav and it could become the established standard for calendaring synchronization on the net.

7. GenBook’s team is spread in USA and Australia. What are some of the collaborative tools that you use to ensure that everyone work together towards a common task?

Everyone in Genbook has a Skype account including our CEO and staff in the accounting department. We use Skype all the time for messaging and voice communication.

We also rely heavily on many online applications for support, sales, billing and managing partner programs. I am a big fan of Software As A Service.

As for tracking goals and target dates we use Jira and Confluence.

8. From what I read, GenBook raised a $2.2 funding. Do you believe that funding is what takes a Web 2.0 application to the next level? What would have been different or impossible without this funding?

You won’t get funding until you prove demand for your application. Real usage is what takes a web 2.0 application to the next level.

Funding allows you to hire (and keep) smart people. In the early days the money will go towards establishing your team and finishing off your technology. Once that is done you can then concentrate on other parts of the business like marketing, operations and expansion. All of these are difficult or impossible without cash.

9. What advice do you have for those thinking about starting a web application or web?

Get your ideas and code live as quickly as you can; grow a small & committed user base and communicate with them constantly. Have a big plan but focus on small targets that you can realistic achieve; keep improving it and validating your idea constantly.

10. What’s next for GenBook?

Adding lots more features and simplifying common tasks with good UI and design decisions. Other ideas on the pipeline are integration with social platforms like Facebook and Myspace.

As far as technology is concern, we keep an eye on emerging web technologies and how we can take advantage in our application. The browser is evolving into a great application platform and we are yet to see all it can do. If you haven’t done yet, check out some of the new features in Firefox 3.

Post from: Hot Scripts Blog

Interview with GenBook.com

Interview with Anil Dash of Six Apart

Ahmad Permessur — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:01:59 +0000

Your post ‘Web Development Trends for 2006′ clearly outlines likely portents of the evolution of web development technologies. How will this make end-users’ experience better?

I think the common thread that binds all of the technologies that are gaining ground is a respect for user’s time and the pleasantness of their experience. Even back-end technologies or things that seem very esoteric eventually translate into a better end user experience. The way this is happening is by letting developers shift from features in web apps merely being *possible* to those features being straightforward enough that developers can spend time making them *fun*.

This is just like the shift to GUIs instead of command-line computer interaction. When computers had 4k of RAM, a graphical interface was a wasteful luxury. These days, we can visit sites where the favorites icon for bookmarking a site uses that much storage. And it’s all part of spending development effort on things that make people smile.

I’ve written a bit more about this in my post about Making Something Meaningful: http://www.dashes.com/anil/2006/07/05/making_somethin

Oreilly’s market trend in computer books shows that Ruby is ahead of Perl and the PHP’s book market is suffering from incursions of Ruby. Do you think Ruby is becoming a replacement or threat to PHP and Perl?

I don’t think Ruby is becoming a replacement for PHP or Perl, or even Java, which it often gets pitted against in people’s comparisons. I work at a company that does most of its development in Perl, and we’re hiring and doing more coding than ever. I’m a (pretty shoddy) PHP coder myself, and I think PHP is so common as a part of infrastructure that it’s just taken for granted, which is a great sign.

The rapid upswing in purchase of Ruby books is a measure of the *interest in learning Ruby*, which is a great thing. Knowing more than one language makes you more fluent in the languages that you already know — I’ve seen that as someone who grew up in a bilingual household, and I’ve seen that as someone who’s transitioned from Basic on my Commodore 64 as a kid to throwing together quick-and-dirty Ruby scripts today.

Even if all those book buyers don’t end up coding Ruby applications full-time, the Rails ethos of convention over configuration, or the little language niceties that make Lisp fans such zealots all add up to making us all better coders, in whatever language we choose.

The idea of one language making another obsolete is just ridiculous. If all you care about is getting attention, it might be fun to pit one language against the other as if it’s a zero-sum game. But aside from hype or sensationalism, I don’t know of anybody in the real world who only uses a single programming language all the time.

There’s a simpler point here, too. A lot of geeks use books to learn a new language, but look up reference materials on the web. So, I’ll crack open a Ruby book on a plane when I really want to learn something I’m unfamiliar with, but just go to php.net/$foo when I want to remember the syntax for a particular command. So book sales are a useful measure: For which new languages people want to add to their repertoire, not for which languages are actually in use and deployed today.

With the widespread use of mobile devices, how do you see web development practices changing to enable the reach of the Web to be easily extended onto mobile devices?

I *hope* the change is that mobile is no longer an afterthought. Especially here in the States, developers often see a good mobile experience as a nice-to-have feature addition, for a 1.1 release or at some indefinite point in the future.

As the tools for creating these experiences get better, I hope toolkits are addressing mobile deployment natively. I see this already on platforms like Java and Flash, but it’s still not necessarily built in to the Ajax libraries, and mobile browsers often just plain don’t support contemporary web development techniques. In the long run, the only platforms that will succeed are those that accommodate _all_ users.

How has the use of frameworks, APIs and classes changed the way we develop application? Are we going to see a wider adoption in the coming years?

Again, I think this is part of a continuum of more and more efficient development that stretches back to the beginning of software development. Higher levels of abstraction have continuously been adopted by developers, and I’d guess that the overwhelming majority of developers are already using some kind of framework any time they’re creating an application that’s substantial.

The biggest change for the positive is that things it’s easier to connect heterogeneous systems. I can simply connect almost any two applications across processor architectures, operating systems, database platforms, programming languages, and geographical distances, each of which used to be a big barrier in the past.

The biggest negative change is that there’s more developers than ever who don’t necessarily understand the assumptions and inner workings of their frameworks or abstraction layers. Whether they’re using code-building tools in Visual Studio or Eclipse, or designing Rails applications, some problems will arise whenever you can’t (or don’t want to) see “under the hood”. As long as developers keep a fundamental understanding of CS theory and good solid programming habits as part of their culture, this problem won’t be insurmountable.

How has the developer’s toolbox changed throughout the years? Should we still rely only on a text-editor?

I think this varies greatly depending on the kind of work you want to do. I think people in the HotScripts community mostly come from the LAMP world, where everyone’s in vi or emacs, or on their desktop in UltraEdit, TextPad, or TextMate. Most hackers I know have customized these environments to the degree where they’ve effectively snapped together their own IDE anyway.

But there’s just as many developers living in Visual Studio or Eclipse, and their experience of development is completely different from the LAMP text editor world. That seems like an evolutionary step, at least for some kinds of developers.

For most people who are considered “developers” today, one of these options is fine. Interestingly, I think the biggest audience of people who could be considered developers are actually working in much more visually rich environments, with very little actual text editing as part of their workflow. Whether it’s recording macros in Excel or even something as simple as setting up complicated rules in an email client or configuring a programmable remote, the line between “real”programming and what end users do every day at home is a lot fuzzier than people think.

I’ve talked to people who give their Tivos and Roombas extensive, detailed sets of instructions, but think of themselves as completely non-technical. Fifty years ago, they would have been recognized as robot programmers.

With the rise of code generators and powerful application developer tools, it seems we are all developers now. What do you think of that approach?

I think the democratization of tools is almost always a good thing.

The best, least predictable innovations often come from people outside a discipline. And people who have a really unique contribution to make will never be threatened by the masses of amateurs who are just trying to scratch an itch.

If you take a look at the scripts on HotScripts, you’ll notice that every developer has his own way of developing applications. Don’t you think its time to adopt a application-to-application communication standards?

I think it’s a great ideal, but aside from very broad standards like XML, or a few specialized but broadly applicable formats like RSS/Atom, I think it’s not particularly likely. One, a lot of developers are guys with decent-sized egos, who always think they can make something “better” than what’s out there. We’ve all been guilty of it, but every time something is better, even if it’s justifiable, you’re abandoning whatever standards came before.

In addition, there’s a lot of necessary customization of formats because each application is unique. Tim O’Reilly has said that in the current generation of web applications, open formats and protocols are just as important as open source, and I think he’s right.

Which web development technologies currently promise the biggest opportunities for a career?

I think the most valuable skill isn’t any particular languages/platforms, but more of a focus on solving user problems or business problems instead of obsesssing over technical details. I think all of us who are geeks love finding debates to have, like PHP vs. Perl or Ruby vs. Java or Windows vs. Linux, when the thing that really makes someone a valuable coder is knowing how to hear a request and translate it into code.

For specifics I’d pick these areas:

Scaling new technologies (call them Web 2.0 or Ajax or whatever) to true internet scale, for tens or even hundreds of millions of users.Right now, many of the applications deploying this technology are limited to only a few thousand users, or maybe a million users on the high end. It takes a change in discipline and architecture to support the more popular uses, and that’s going to be important and valuable.
Making sure mobile users have a first-class experience. Again, this is often an afterthought, especially in the U.S. Anything that can be done to make development for mobile devices simpler or even automatic for web developers is going to be in tremendous demand.
Integrating new applications with social media like blogs or wikis. I work for Six Apart, the blogging company, so I get a first-hand look at a lot of these things. What I see is that companies want to get their existing business applications to be able to publish information or output reports to blogs. At the same time, people want to share their information using blogs in their private lives, as well. So connecting those technologies together using feeds and blogging APIs is only going to increase in popularity.

Finally, looking back on your blog post ‘Web Development Trends for 2006′ now, what do you think you would have said differently if you were to predict web development trends for the next 5 years?

That’s a tough question! I revisited some of the predictions I made last year recently:

http://www.dashes.com/anil/2006/09/13/revisiting_web_

There were some wrong calls, like my enthusiasm for E4X, but the things I think I’d change if I were writing for a five-year time frame have to do with that idea of focusing on understanding business/end-user needs, instead of merely being competent with new technologies.

I’d also place a lot more emphasis on the need for geeks to market themselves well. We all tend to have this belief that just being very talented or doing good work is enough to get your name out there, or to make people understand the value of your code. And that’s just plain not true — think of all the situations where an inferior technology wins. Usually when that happens, it’s because it gets promoted more effectively or distributed more broadly, or because people are enthusiastic about recommending it.

In all of those cases, what you’re seeing is the impact of understanding marketing. If you’re a true geek and the idea of “marketing” makes you itch, just think of it as “communicating better”. Most of the time, the words that programmers uses are interpreted by non-technical people like they’d received a proprietary binary format. Marketing your expertise or technology effectively means communicating about your code in a way that’s open, standardized, well-documented, and easily discoverable. It’s just like working with data that’s clean and normalized — it lets you focus on the more interesting stuff, the actual applications.

Post from: Hot Scripts Blog

Interview with Anil Dash of Six Apart

Exclusive Interview with Karl Moore

Ahmad Permessur — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:01:57 +0000

Introduction

To many, the words “Karl Moore” and “.NET” are one and the same. In this exclusive interview, Ahmad Permessur gets to put Moore in the hot seat and quiz him on everything: from whether .NET is really worth the hassle, to how you can become an author yourself, to why he’s obsessed with “Murder, She Wrote”. Read on!

Karl is one of the world’s most-respected .NET gurus. His easy-to-understand tutorials have generated a cult-like following. His first book was a sell-out success and he’s just released a second.

Joining me for an exclusive online interview, ladies and gentleman… it’s Karl Moore.

Karl: It’s a true pleasure to be joining you, Ahmad. And oh, what an overstated introduction! You sound like Michael Parkinson.

Ahmad: Except better looking.

Karl: I fear that’s highly debatable.

Ahmad: Let me start by talking about you. I mean, I’ve browsed your www.karlmoore.com site and already learned a good deal about how you spend your time. I know you’ve written for dozens of leading magazines and previously had a weekly feature on BBC radio. You write your syndicated Dot Column too, plus somehow find time to run White Cliff Computing Ltd. Are you tired?

Karl: I have two great blessings that keep me going. An amazing team supporting my every move. And a huge cupboard of Nescafé Gold Blend

Your Coding Days

Ahmad: Tell me, Karl. You’re well-known for all your work in the industry, in many different programming languages. What was the first programming language you ever used?

Karl: It was BASIC, the Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. I had an Amstrad CPC 464, one of those machines that worked with cassette tapes. I used to hack into games and customize them to suit my needs – or allow me to get onto the next level, quicker.

Ahmad: You were a hacker?

Karl: Well, in the sense that I explored my computer, yes. You know, in a nice white-hat sort of way. Uhm. I’m feeling nervous. Let’s move on.

Ahmad: Sure. I want to know about the absolute coolest code you’ve ever written… what and where!

Karl: Ouch, that’s good. I’d probably say that WebZinc, the Internet manipulation component retailed by my company, is one of the best products I’ve ever been involved with – and I wrote a lot of the original versions, adding some really intelligent functions to the program. That’s what I like doing best: writing code that makes computers smarter.

.NET Question Time

Ahmad: For many, the term “.NET” sends chills down the spine. How would you answer the question: “What is this .NET thing?”

Karl: I suppose it all depends on who’s asking. If my Aunt Mable were to pose the question, for example, I’d have to first explain that someone invented a typewriter, and we’ve since evolved onto something called a computer, which has something to do with this thing called “.NET”.

But for the knowledgeable people at DEVpapers.com, I’d say that it’s one of those broad Microsoft visions based on “distributed computing”. To developers, it really means two core products – the free .NET Framework, which is like one big, intelligent runtime, and Visual Studio .NET, which allows you to write code that runs on top of the .NET Framework.

I agree that it’s a little scary at first. I found that out, alrighty. But it’s easy to overcome with just a little patience!

Ahmad: I understand .NET it works with many different languages. Which is the best to learn?

Karl: The latest version of Visual Studio .NET supports four different languages by default: Visual Basic .NET, C#, J# and Visual C++. In general, if you’re a Visual Basic developer, go for VB .NET; if you’re a C++ developer, opt for C#; if you’re a Java developer, check out J#.

The core functionality of the .NET Framework (the “runtime”) is accessible by any language and the differences between each are so minute, it makes sense to go with the one whose syntax you know best.

Ahmad: You teach a lot of people how to move to .NET, but how did you do it? And do you really recommend it?

Karl: Oh, it wasn’t an easy ride. I just dived in when they released the early beta versions and felt the cold, cold water. I spent months playing around and then wrote about what I discovered. And I’m still learning: to this day, I’m still picking up tips and tricks to make my development work better.

And no, I don’t recommend it for everyone. Just because I use .NET and it works for me, doesn’t mean it’s going to “do it” for everyone. But it’s certainly an option worth investigating. With a little time and effort, it can bring some interesting rewards.

Ahmad: So then, what are your favorite .NET features?

Karl: Undoubtedly, ASP.NET. This is like the next version of ASP, and it allows developers to build interactive Web applications almost as though they were simple Windows programs. The deeper you get, the more you realize how you can extend it too – and really add power where you want it.

But don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those 100% .NET evangelists. My books regularly highlight Microsoft mistakes and clearly point out bugs and pitfalls. There are some things I really dislike about .NET – the inability to edit code during runtime, for example, a great VB 5/6 attribute.

Ahmad: If I understand, ASP.NET isn’t a language, right?

Karl: That’s correct. ASP.NET is a part of that .NET Framework “runtime” I mentioned. You can write code for ASP.NET using VB .NET, C#, whatever.

Ahmad: I see. And what about those coming from VB 5/6 to VB .NET? Is it worth upgrading? What are the differences?

Karl: There are hundreds of differences, some good, some bad.

On the plus side, you’ll have access to dozens of fresh controls. You’ll be able to plug into the many functions of the .NET Framework to help you get your work done. You’ll be able to create some of the newest types of applications, such as ASP.NET Web sites, Web services, and applications that run on anything from mobile phones to PDAs. Your code and its resources are also “managed” by the Framework, meaning no memory leaks or other such errors will occur – all the plumbing is handled for you.

But there’s a downside too. Your clients need the .NET Framework installed in order to run your program (about 20MB, yet is now being distributed with all versions of Windows). You also need to get your head around a few syntax changes, plus figure out the main classes within the .NET Framework. It just takes time – and a good book or two.

Also, as a general rule, don’t upgrade existing VB applications using the built-in upgrade wizard. It’s not efficient and is suited only to smaller applications. My advice: don’t take the upgrade route, use .NET for new projects only.

Ahmad: Have you tried Everett yet? That’s VS .NET 2003, right?

Karl: Yup, “Everett” was the codename for pre-release Visual Studio .NET 2003. I spent ages working with it (the final version was released in April).

Ahmad: So, is it any good? A major advance over VS .NET 2003?

Karl: There’s a lot of hype surrounding VS .NET 2003, but the truth is that it’s not all that different from VS .NET 2002.

I have the final version on my machine and the only real additions are the J# language, built-in support for mobile and ‘smart device’ (PDA) projects, plus an obfuscator to protect your code (which is freely downloadable anyway). There are a few bug fixes, user interface changes and small syntax additions too, but nothing major.

I’m guessing that’s why the upgrade price for VS .NET 2002 users is only around $30.

Ahmad: Does .NET mean the end for PHP?

Karl: Oh yes.

Just teasing – of course not! From my experience, PHP is serving a different sort of market. Yes, it overlaps with ASP.NET – and yes, in future, new developers may opt for the easier “drag and drop” method of ASP.NET development over scripted PHP.

But I don’t think there’s any imminent threat. You are a drama queen, Ahmad.

Ahmad: I know. You should see my stockings.

Your Books

Ahmad: You’ve got a couple of .NET books on the market now. Tell me a little more about them.

Karl: Well, when I first started using .NET, I had ideas for two really great programming books. The first was a witty computer programming book that taught everything you need to know in the easiest possible manner. I did that in “Karl Moore’s Visual Basic .NET: The Tutorials” (ISBN 159059021X).

My second idea was for a cutting-edge, real-world code library, a collection of programming secrets all those jealous developers try to keep hidden away. I’ve spent three years creating and testing some amazing ready-to-run routines that developers can put straight into their applications. And they’re all in my new booKarl: “The Ultimate VB .NET and ASP.NET Code Book” (ISBN 1590591062).

Ahmad: Ahh, I see. And are they both suited to anyone at any level of experience? I mean, could a beginner get started with your books?

Karl: Oh, absolutely. That’s precisely what I wrote the Tutorials book for: to allow those new to programming to get started, fast.

My latest book is more advanced, however can still be picked up by a developer at any level. In addition, each chapter includes an “Essentials” portion, which briefly covers all the main points you should know – useful for those new to the language, or serving as an excellent .NET “refresher” for hardcore developers.

Incidentally, none of my books nor tutorials include excess “filler” garbage typically found in computer titles. I do not show you how to double-click or open the help file. I do share real information that will help in the real world, stuff that’ll ensure you create better solutions, quicker.

Ahmad: Yes, quicker. I read on the Apress site about your Tutorials booKarl: “Moore promises to turn even newbie programmers into VB.NET wizards, quicker than anyone else”. Do you think you’ve achieved that?

Karl: I hope so. I spent ages working on the format of the tutorials to ensure the material could be absorbed in the quickest amount of time. I hope I’ve helped flatten the learning curve.

People have told me since that when reading the tutorials, it’s almost as though I’m “in the room talking” to them. I guess that makes sense: my writing style is friendly and informal, and I often write as I’m discovering something for the first time. So, I learn with the reader – rather than simply telling them what they need to know.

I sprinkle my work with humor (debatable!) where possible too, plus constantly ask questions to help stimulate the mind. And I don’t always give the answers… just enough information for the reader to be able to figure it out themselves with a little thinking.

I’ve heard that some people apparently treat the tutorials book a little like they’d treat a novel. You don’t even need a computer to learn, just a few hours and a comfy chair!

Ahmad: Watch out Stephen King?

Karl: With some .NET books, maybe. Not with mine. They aren’t scary enough. I think I should’ve used longer words.

Ahmad: So tell me more about this new booKarl: “The Ultimate VB .NET and ASP.NET Code Book”.

Karl: Well, I don’t know what programming language you use, Ahmad. But I’m sure you know hundreds of little secrets, those neat tricks and techniques that took you years to figure out. Perhaps you’ve even built up your own solid code library that you can use to instantly drop functionality straight into your applications.

What if your programming language was suddenly upgraded – and all that knowledge lost? That’s what has happened to VB5/6 developers with the .NET revolution. This book rectifies the situation, presenting hundreds of ready-to-run code chunks and real “secrets” that other developers simply wont’ tell you. It’s the book I wish I had when I first started out.

It also presents the cheat’s guide to C#, plus unveils the hidden .NET language! But you’ve got to read it to find out more!

Ahmad: Well, you said you had a “dream” of two programming books like this. And with the release of this book, you’ve done it. Do you plan to write any more?

Karl: Writing is a true passion of mine. I enjoy it terribly and am sure I’ll never stop.

But I’ve reached my goal on the .NET book scene right now, so I think I’ll probably apply the brakes at this point. Until I have another one of those “dreams”…

Ahmad: Oh!!

Life as an Author

Ahmad: You know, aside from all the programming and technical stuffs, I’m sure many people want to know: how did you become a published author?

Karl: A lot of people had suggested I turn my online tutorials into a book. It seemed like a good idea, so I simply followed it through – and eventually published through Apress.

I also met the Apress directors – Dan Appleman, when we were both speaking at a conference in London, and Gary Cornell, whom I shared ice-cream with at Tech-Ed in Barcelona – which injected a little personality into the typically solitary process of writing a book.

Ahmad: Many of your readers love your humor in your tutorials and books. Who inspires you? It’s me, isn’t it?

Karl: Yes. And my big toe, Colin.

Actually, I probably base my humor on classic Brit wit. Black Adder has to be my favorite comedy series, with the subtlety of “The Office” series following shortly behind.

The fact that I write however is probably down to watching all those “Murder, She Wrote” re-runs. The way Angela Lansbury is constantly involved in the community and tapping out best sellers every-other-episode was enough to psychologically scar me into becoming an author myself.

That’s the truth, by the way. Ask any of my friends. BBC1. 2.35pm weekdays.

Ahmad: I’m curious: can you tell me what happens when you write a book? Briefly take me from starting to publication. I just know so many budding writers out there will find this really interesting. I know I will!

Karl: A great question, Ahmad – and hopefully, an interesting answer.

Firstly, remember that all of my technical books have been published through Apress – however from my good friends in the industry, I know that most technical publishers work in this same way. Also, the processes I’ll be describing only apply to the technical genre: if you’re writing fiction, it’s obviously all very different.

So then, how does it all start? Well, it begins with me, the author: I think of an idea and work on a few general details until I get it right. Then I bounce a speculative e-mail off the Apress directors. We’ll throw a few thoughts around and finally settle on a theme. If all sounds good, we move forward and the author produces an official proposal, which describes the book, the reader level, any competition and so on. This is later used to “sell” the book to the bookstores and sites such as Amazon.

In my experience, it’s best to have written a fair chunk of the book by this point. Unless you’re a really bad writer, or the idea is a flop, you should be able to get it published somewhere (online, as magazine articles, as a book, whatever) – so I’d say take the risk and invest time to: (a) ensure you have smoothed out any “sticky” details about your idea; (b) ensure you can actually do it!

Then, you sign a contract and inform your new project manager of the expected deadline for you providing final copy (“copy” is a term referring to your text). You don’t have to make this deadline (most don’t!), but you should certainly try.

Next, get writing like crazy! You need to use the writing templates your publisher supplies, plus make sure you check and double-check your work. When you’ve sent off your final manuscript, breathe a sigh of relief and go out celebrating – you may have also received an “advance” on your royalties by this point, so at least you’ll have something in your back pocket.

Next up we find the technical review process, where one or more qualified individuals slowly work through your entire book and highlight the bugs. Their comments are sent back to you (through the reviewing feature in Microsoft Word), and it’s up to you to sort them out. It may sound like a drag, but this is actually pretty exciting – especially if you get a good reviewer. That extra brain can help stop you making a fool of yourself.

When you’ve passed the technical reviewer, you’re then onto the gruesome editor. This guy is basically the technical reviewer for your English. He may reword a few sentences, make text flow suggestions, standardize the way in which you use phrases – and basically ensure your document is in a good, more-than-readable condition. You make comments on his alterations (perhaps rejecting a few, if you’re unhappy), then send them back for a final editorial check.

Next, your book prepares to enter production. A production manager and graphic designer put together sample pages for you to approve. You agree on a format, then wait for the final chapters to be created.

In the meantime, you’re talking with the marketing manager, who usually assists in preparing the book front and back covers. This usually involves reviewing the title, creating “bullet points” for the front cover, writing the “blurb” (text on the back cover), alongside a small biography. Once you’re happy, you pass off the final design and it enters the printing house for production.

Also, behind the scenes, some poor soul is given the task of indexing your book. Literally, going through it page-by-page and finding the “hidden structure”. It’s all done manually and must take days.

This is then added to your final production chapters, which you get to review en masse for the last time. Make any small changes, then wave goodbye: they’re passed straight to the printing house, where I believe they make metal-plate reproductions of each of your pages. Then they print and bind a “run” of your books: my first book had a run of around 8,000 copies. The book is automatically reprinted every time it goes out-of-stock

After that? You sit bacKarl: your own personal copies will arrive shortly, and the books will begin shipping throughout the world within a month. If published in America, they’re put in transit to places around the U.S. and literally shipped out to Europe.

It isn’t over yet. There’s marketing to consider: you may need to get in touch with the U.S. and European marketing teams to help you publicize your book. You may wish to put it forward for online review, or attend signing or press events at technical conferences. You may wish to make yourself available for interview, after the official press release goes out.

The hope is that, a few months down the line, your book will have sold well… you’ll have earned more in royalties than your “advance” covered and should be looking forward to your next check. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Ahmad: Wow. That’s amazing! I feel like writing my own book after that, Karl. Tell me, how long did it take you to write your first book? And when do you usually write?

Karl: The first one took me months and months, because I’m one of those annoying perfectionists that like to get everything just right. But you can do it quicker.

And I always write at night, typically between eleven and three in the morning. It may sound unsociable, but there’s absolutely no disturbance. And it gives you a great excuse for getting up late the next morning!

Ahmad: Do you work on paper first, then type? And what software do you use for Word processing, graphics and so on?

Karl: I always draft out “high level” thoughts on paper first. All of my work (and not just my writing!) begins life as a scribble in my diary. But then it’s straight on the computer for the rest of the journey.

I use Microsoft Word for writing (sometimes Notepad if I don’t need formatting), and Paint Shop Pro to take screenshots.

Ahmad: And, most importantly, what do you do when you are stuck for ideas?

Karl: I get away from the computer!

Don’t get me wrong: computers are great, but they have a way of “hypnotizing” you. And that isn’t awfully creative. When I get a problem, I usually go and lie down on my bed and let my mind wander. The silence usually brings its solution, or at least, an enjoyable rest.

Just a Little Moore

Ahmad: Well, Karl, this has been a real pleasure. Tell me, do you have any new projects on the horizon?

Karl: There are a few interesting business projects I’m getting involved in, but nothing too official yet.

Hey, maybe I’ll pen that murder mystery I have in my mind sometime soon. Just need to find a publisher. I’m unsure it’s up the Apress avenue…

Ahmad: And, before we depart, tell me: what do you do when you’re not programming or writing?

Karl: Eat and sleep. Don my stick-on chest hair and try to get jiggy on the 70s dance floor. Watch those “Murder, She Wrote” re-runs I mentioned. Get interviewed. Oh, the possibilities are endless.

Ahmad: He he he… Karl, it’s been an honor to have you with us here at DEVpapers.com. I’ve learnt a lot and thank you for your time. We look forward to reading your next book. Thank you and goodbye!

K: It’s been a huge pleasure. A big hello and warm goodbye to everyone at Hot Scripts!

Post from: Hot Scripts Blog

Exclusive Interview with Karl Moore

Interview with WordPress Rockstar, Adriaan Pienaar

Ahmad Permessur — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:07:13 +0000

It has already been six years since the first version of WordPress appeared. WordPress is an open source blogging platform written in PHP and MySQL. Its underlying code is based on b2evolution and throughout the years it has grown into the most powerful blog system used by thousands of blogs and sites. WordPress has many built-in features and it is extremely customizable through the different themes and plug-ins available.

WordPress is now evolving into a Content Management Systems (CMS) of choice for many sites. Given that it is highly configurable, designers and developers are continuously tweaking WordPress themes and plugins in order to replace traditional CMS. One such talented designer is Adriaan Pienaar, (aka Adii or WordPress Rockstar) who has a lot of experience in customizing WordPress and is the creator of the Premium News Theme, a WordPress magazine theme. Sometimes last year, we interviewed Adii for our monthly newsletter issue, and below is a transcript of the inteview.

Adii, tell us more about yourself and your self proclaimed ‘WordPress Rockstar’ title?

Well, you might find this strange, but I’ve actually got an Honors degree in Business Strategy, which means I’m much more of an entrepreneur, than a WordPress Rockstar!

I’ve always loved the internet and this fascination eventually got me interested in new media / Web 2.0 technologies. Whilst exploring the different technologies available, I decided to get into WordPress. My title as a “WordPress Rockstar” is really just a marketing strategy…

What according to you has accounted for the success and popularity of WordPress?

I think it’s due to the open-source nature of the platform, which makes it super-customizable and very flexible at the same time. Also, the fact that WP was essentially built from the ground up, means that Matt Mullenwag & Co are super-involved in the future success and growth of the platform.

I quote from your blog “I don’t believe that any site should be without some WP love!” Why do you think that all web sites should be WordPress powered?

Well, I believe that every site should be built on a dynamic CMS of some kind, and WordPress is simply my platform of choice! Considering the amount of free plugins that are available, you definitely can’t go wrong when you run a site on WordPress.

I also believe that using WordPress is a long-term (sustainable) solution, since the developers are upgrading it all the time. I also believe that WordPress will eventually evolve into being a fully-fledged CMS capable of the same functions as ExpressionEngine.

WordPress is evolving from a blog platform to a CMS platform. Your Premium News theme is an excellent example of how WordPress can be skinned and tweaked into a magazine CMS. What makes it better than other CMS platforms?

I don’t think it’s necessarily better than say ExpressionEngine, but I think it does have a lot more potential than most of the other CMS’s currently available. WordPress will only continue to grow and evolve, which means that ultimately it will be THE best CMS out there. I also think that the open-source nature and passionate community behind the platform makes it so easy to find the help you need in customizing for WordPress.

As you mentioned – my Premium News theme is a prime example of what can be achieved with WordPress. And if proof is in the pudding, I guess it comes down to WordPress being so flexible and easy to code for… Choosing WP over other CMS’s is perhaps a personal preference for most, but in the future it’ll become the automatic first choice to many.

Does the WordPress development team handle updates, bug fixes and feature requests properly?

Oh yes! Evidence of this is the regular releases of updated versions of WordPress, which generally includes bug fixes and new features.

Where do you see WordPress going in the future?

I’ve probably mentioned my vision of where WP is going a few times already in this interview… But I definitely believe that WP will become a fully-fledged CMS that will rival the big, commercial offerings like ExpressionEngine.

Finally, do you have any advice or tips to share with our readers that just got started with WordPress?

Read and explore… Ultimately you need to play around with WordPress to master it, and, by reading and following top bloggers and designers, you will get the inspiration you need to push your WP-related skills to the limit.

Post from: Hot Scripts Blog

Interview with WordPress Rockstar, Adriaan Pienaar

Interview with GenBook.com

Ahmad Permessur — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:54:01 +0000

We talk to Frank Thibodeau and Fabio Bastian of GenBook.com. Genbook is a remotely hosted online appointment calendar for your service-based business through ‘Book Now’ buttons that can be easily implemented in any websites.