Dave Donaldson

I just posted this on the CodeKeep main feed, but thought I would cross-post it here as well...

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October 21, 2005. That's the last time I wrote a blog post for the main CodeKeep feed. Not good. Especially when you're trying to increase usage of the service. Not good at all. Please accept my apologies. I will definitely try to do better.

A lot of things have happened since that last post, most of it related to a consulting gig and the 1.5 hour drive (each way) I have. Time management has been a major issue for me these last few months because of that, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy with CodeKeep. In fact, it's very much the opposite.

At the time of my last post I had just started upgrading CodeKeep to .NET 2.0 (because RTM was only 2 weeks away at the time). My original plan was to have the upgrade done in time for the RTM launch on Nov. 7, but obviously that didn't happen. And then I thought I'd get it done the week after that. And then a week after that. And then another week after that. But low and behold I wasn't able to deliver on any of my self-imposed deadlines, mainly because I just didn't make it priority #1. I kept telling myself, "You can set aside some time this weekend to finish it and get it out there". It was all a lie. The funny thing about being in a technology field is that life has a way of taking precedence (i.e. family time and taking care of long-putoff To-Dos around the house).

At any rate, a simple upgrade to .NET 2.0 turned into a complete rewrite of the site. It's for the better, trust me, but what was disappointing is that I didn't write the current version of the site in such a way that allowed me to release updates in a quicker, more iterative fashion. I *thought* I implemented it pretty well, but in taking the step back I realized it could have been better, to put it simply. I've refactored most of the code and an much happier with it now.

Which brings me to what you need to know: a major update to CodeKeep is just on the horizon. No seriously, I mean it. The rewrite of the site itself is done. The only thing left to do is to update the add-in for VS.NET 2003 so that it calls the new web service, which I'm working on as we speak.

Actually, while we're on the subject of the add-in, if you're using the add-in for VS.NET 2003 you are going to break when I release the upgrade of the web site; meaning, you'll need to download and install the new version that I release. I am very sorry about this, but it is a necessary evil. Too many things changed and I decided to not be backwards compatible. I know some people will be upset about it, but it's the call I made. Feel free to yell. I'll take all the punishment.

I'll save the list of features and goodies for when I *do* release the update, so stay tuned.