Into the Next Millennium
Welcome to the future. With this issue we move to professional production of Overload and it's sister publication, C Vu. As ACCU Journal Editor I hope to supervise the evolution of Overload from the excellent C++ specialist publication that it has been to a broad-based publication aimed at professionals who take their software development seriously.
John Merrells and his team will continue to edit a solid core of C++ based material for the foreseeable future. However other material aimed at the professional will supplement this. This will include material on other languages, articles on analysis and design issues and reviews of software and books that are aimed at the professional rather than student/enthusiast/hobbyist programmer.
To help you distinguish what the core of Overload from the extras added by other specialists (see the Journal Editor's report in C Vu, yes please do go and read that even if you normally skip C Vu) Overload will be divided into 'Classic Overload' and 'Derived'. For reasons of technical presentation, some Derived items may be inserts into the Classic Overload section (In general these will be short items used to fill out a page.)
As always, the content of Overload will largely be determined by what you, the readership, write. There is little point in sitting back and saying 'someone ought to…' You are someone so try to do something about it. Of course you may believe (possibly correctly) that you lack the expertise but at the very least you can write a specification for what you would like to see in a future issue. One of the commonest questions I get asked by willing newcomers is 'What should I write about?' My stock answer is 'Whatever you know about.' However it would be much easier if you put fingers to keyboard and told us what you would like to read about in sufficient detail so that someone else can respond.
I wish all, readers, contributors and critics a successful and prosperous 3rd millennium.
Francis Glassborow
Journal Editor
Apologies
I have had numerous teething problems in getting this issue to press. Learning a whole new range of skills takes a little time. Together with problems of key production personel getting flu, and EXE's production editor starting maternity leave just after we had given up the unequal struggle to publish before Christmas I have also had the unexpected problems of getting Quark Express to handle footnotes, diagrams etc. Hopefully all these are one-off problems.
If you think something could be done better or more elegantly please drop me a line. While I will be seeking stability over the next couple of issues I will be looking at design and presentation issues after that.
Francis Glassborow
Production Editor
Correction
An article in Overload 34, 'Error Logging and Patterns', was incorrectly attributed to Steve Cornish. This was actually the work of Allan Kelly, HYPERLINK "mailto:allan.kelly@bigfoot.com" allan.kelly@bigfoot.com. My sincerest apologies to both authors, who will shortly be receiving the standard XXX. A pint in my local, if they're willing to travel to San Jose to collect it.
New Reader
I'd like to welcome the addition of Phil Bass as an Overload reader, and he introduces himself thus:
"I did a biochemistry degree, didn't like the subject and defected to the computer industry when I left university in 1975. Since then I've worked for several organisations, including two software houses, and spent a few years as a freelance software engineer. Most of the time I've been designing software for industrial applications (process control, automated warehouses, etc.), but I've also dabbled in systems analysis and database design.
I was introduced to C and Unix around 1980 and instantly fell in love with them. C++ caught my attention around 1991 and the benefit of its object-oriented features were soon clear. Like most of us in ACCU, I am still learning how to make the most of C++.
I'm happy to tackle most things, but I don't have much experience of large projects, commercial applications (as opposed to scientific and industrial) or "analysis". Think of me as a software designer and C++ coder."
John Merrells
