maxeydevbox.org

Throughout this week I have been upgrading some of our currently site projects from the CMF module to the CASAA module. Although it was ahead of my scheduled release date, I decided that this would be a great opportunity to one, test the upgrade path that I built which takes the data model build by the CMF module and alter it to the data model for the CASAA module; and two, take advantage of being able to place the new software where it can be pummeled in a production environment wherein many usage and system bugs can be exposed.

The other element that prompted me to begin the upgrades and migration was that we, at MDW, are in the process of rolling out multiple sites that will be launched throughout the year and I figured it best to have the system in place ahead of time to avoid the tedious process of having to upgrading over 13 sites as opposed to the 3 sites that we currently have on the boxes (servers).

The best part about this series of upgrades that I have performed is that now, I can proceed into what I consider the utmost important phase of development... testing. Having this software being used in a production environment allows me to be able find the bugs and issues that I wouldn't have found because as the developer, I can't see the things the other users will see. These issues and bugs can range from usability issues to core output issues that occur in full production. As a developer, I have a golden rule that pretty much lays out that multiple "eyes" can see more things that a single set of "eyes" can't see. Having multiple sets of "eyes" helps in making software much more solid.

I honestly can't wait until July 31st because it will be an achievement that I have been striving for in that it will symbolize the completion of one of my goals in open-source software development wherein I was able to create a tool that could be used and was flexible enough to adapt to the needs of site admins on a global scale.

Here's to it! (raises glass and takes a swig).