3 ms·

Years ago, before browsers could parse arbitrary XML, I wrote a tiny little XML parser in JavaScript. A naive, non-recursive parser that was quite fast (and had

Years ago, before browsers could parse arbitrary XML, I wrote a tiny little XML parser in JavaScript. A naive, non-recursive parser that was quite fast (and had a weird renaissance in the era of Web Workers, ending up in WebEx and a couple of other packages for some reason). I started a Sourceforge and Freshmeat project and called it "XML for <SCRIPT>", out of amusement. And that is when I learned how many open source listings/aggregator projects did not escape their output. It was difficult even to get the name changed.

samstave 5y ago
OH man! I have a cringe-worthy XML story from ~1998. I was IT manager for a software fulfillment and manufacturing company in redwood city, ca. Our biggest client was SUN Microsystems. We manufactured the actual physical product for SUN OS Solaris, checkpoint FW, among things like games such as Everquest, TurboTax etc... If you bought any of these, we made the CDs, Boxes, Manuals, etc and handled drop-ship for orders done online via an EDI file that was FTP'd to our Linux FTP servers we built in house with the crew who would later found LinuxCare. So, SUN wanted to have a big meeting on changing the EDI process from the FTP PUT of a flat text-file that we then needed to parse (which was a pain as our devs were constantly fiddling bits in order to make the EDI flatfile import into our manifest system on AS/400 went cleanly. SUN wanted us to adopt this new EDI process based on their newly adopted plan for XML... I think this may have actually been the first meeting SUN had with any vendor to start XML adoption. We didnt have any experience, clearly with XML, and SUN was doing a poor job in this meeting explaining why they wanted to use it. I was ~22 years old or so, and I said the following cringe-worthy comment to the head of the relationship with SUN in front of the entire exec staff at my company: SUN: So we want to eliminate the flat-file EDI format we have because of all our data issues (many late night hours each week fixing batch jobs on the AS/400 by many people on my team) ME: "So, just so I understand, we are going to drop the crappy way your sending us data, and you want us to adopt this new thing, XML, which we haven't used yet - and you think this will resolve the data issues we have with the EDI process?" ENTIRE C-SUITE AT MY COMPANY: *WAVING ARMS WILDLY* trying to get me to STFU mid sentence for calling SUN's EDI processes "CRAPPY" I'll never forget that meeting. I Still cringe over that meeting to this day, however in a cmical way - as I realize I was 22 years old and that meeting was the first (many) had ever heard of XML. --- Fun Fact; the folks that setup our FTP EDI process with linux, cronjobs for import and supporting our Linux boxes were Dave Sifry, Chris DiBonna and the others that founded LinuxCare. Fun other fact ; After having these consultants for some time, I went to Dave Sifry, and I said to him "If I were you, I would start a company that specifically offers linux support contracts. A ~month later Dave Sifry sat me down and said "Guess what I am doing!? We created a company called LinuxCare!" We spoke briefly about me joining them, but I wasn't a good fit for helping them at this point... just a good catalyst that solidified what they were already thinking about.

samstave 5y ago

OH man! I have a cringe-worthy XML story from ~1998. I was IT manager for a software fulfillment and manufacturing company in redwood city, ca. Our biggest client was SUN Microsystems. We manufactured the actual physical product for SUN OS Solaris, checkpoint FW, among things like games such as Everquest, TurboTax etc... If you bought any of these, we made the CDs, Boxes, Manuals, etc and handled drop-ship for orders done online via an EDI file that was FTP'd to our Linux FTP servers we built in house with the crew who would later found LinuxCare. So, SUN wanted to have a big meeting on changing the EDI process from the FTP PUT of a flat text-file that we then needed to parse (which was a pain as our devs were constantly fiddling bits in order to make the EDI flatfile import into our manifest system on AS/400 went cleanly. SUN wanted us to adopt this new EDI process based on their newly adopted plan for XML... I think this may have actually been the first meeting SUN had with any vendor to start XML adoption. We didnt have any experience, clearly with XML, and SUN was doing a poor job in this meeting explaining why they wanted to use it. I was ~22 years old or so, and I said the following cringe-worthy comment to the head of the relationship with SUN in front of the entire exec staff at my company: SUN: So we want to eliminate the flat-file EDI format we have because of all our data issues (many late night hours each week fixing batch jobs on the AS/400 by many people on my team) ME: "So, just so I understand, we are going to drop the crappy way your sending us data, and you want us to adopt this new thing, XML, which we haven't used yet - and you think this will resolve the data issues we have with the EDI process?" ENTIRE C-SUITE AT MY COMPANY: *WAVING ARMS WILDLY* trying to get me to STFU mid sentence for calling SUN's EDI processes "CRAPPY" I'll never forget that meeting. I Still cringe over that meeting to this day, however in a cmical way - as I realize I was 22 years old and that meeting was the first (many) had ever heard of XML. --- Fun Fact; the folks that setup our FTP EDI process with linux, cronjobs for import and supporting our Linux boxes were Dave Sifry, Chris DiBonna and the others that founded LinuxCare. Fun other fact ; After having these consultants for some time, I went to Dave Sifry, and I said to him "If I were you, I would start a company that specifically offers linux support contracts. A ~month later Dave Sifry sat me down and said "Guess what I am doing!? We created a company called LinuxCare!" We spoke briefly about me joining them, but I wasn't a good fit for helping them at this point... just a good catalyst that solidified what they were already thinking about.