Volker Wegert

The Linux-Magazin 02/2011 - that is available as of today - contains an article in which I describe how to use Xtext and the ex-oAW technologies Xtend, Xpand and Check to create a custom configuration DSL and a configuration file generator.

Addendum: In the meantime, the article has been made publicly available.

This is the first result of my work with Ableton Live - or rather, the first result I feel comfortable sharing...

I run Gentoo Linux on a variety of laptops, and while I'm generally happy with it, there are some places where the default system just doesn't fit my needs. Sometimes you can just feel how parts of the software were designed for 24/7 servers and not for mobile devices. For example, there are some processes that need to be run frequently, but that you really don't want to kick in when you're out in the field and running on battery power - updatedb, makewhatis or Leafnode's texpire for example. And there are some other maintenance actions that should be performed on a regular basis, too - emerge --sync and backup for example. And most of the time, I just don't feel inclined to manually perform all these tasks when retuning home after a working day. This is why I added a "maintenance mode" to my laptop installations. Usage of this maintenance mode is very straight forward - plug the laptop into the local network, power it on, select "maintenance mode" in the boot loader menu and go away. The system will automatically perform all actions and then power down.

In the first article, I already mentioned some of the aspects that make ABAP one of my favorite development environments: the central data dictionary and its connections with the language and runtime system, database access and the change and transport system. In this article, I'll tell you a bit about what you may or may not have to consider when developing ABAP programs.