Ralph Cabrera

It all started with a job change. I started working at AGCS in 1996 and hooked up with Paul Bramble, who I knew from my former company. He suggested I look into taking the patterns classes that Linda Rising taught at AGCS. I also knew Linda from my former company. I took the classes and wrote some fledgling patterns, for which I received some patterns books from Linda. Further reading of these books caused me to wonder if anyone was writing configuration management books. Like most people who start off in something new to them, I figured I was the only one. I wrote a couple of patterns about CM, for which I received more patterns books from Linda. This was her reward/incentive program for getting her students to write patterns. It worked on me. I now have, thanks to Linda, PLoPD1, 2, and 3 books, the GoF book, the POSA/Siemens book, the Applying UML and Patterns book, and the CORBA Design Patterns book. I'm half tempted to trade some in for Alexander's APL book (just kidding, Linda). Oh, and I bought the Patterns handbook of AGCS' experience with patterns that Linda edited.

Linda was not only supporting my patterns-for-books habit, but she also had me contact Steve Berczuk, who wrote some CM patterns, who in turn introduced me to Brad Appleton, who I found to be the guru of CM patterns and has the web site to prove it. Linda put the seed of being a co-chair of a CM patterns hot topic with Steve in my head around September of 1997. I bounced the idea around with Steve, co-wrote a call-for-participation with him, garnered Brad's attention and Robert Orenstein from Perforce. We passed around what I called the LUMP (Lots of Useful Material for Patterns) which contained about 100-120 pattern ideas, or patlets. When we were done with ChiliPLoP, we had pared the list down to 100 an organizational diagram of where the surviving patlets fit. Our charter going forward was to break down the Categorized LUMP, or CLUMP, into manageable chunks fit for PLoP writers workshops. Brad had the time and energy, so he took the branching/merging/code line patlets, fleshed them out as best he could, and presented them as "Streamed Lines" to PLoP '98. Meanwhile, I was asked to co-chair ChiliPLoP 2000, so I attended ChiliPLoP '99 and PLoP '99. I took a small handful of patlets from the CLUMP and wrote "Software Reconstruction", which was workshopped recently at PLoP '99. Now I'm planning ChiliPLoP 2000, and I quote Linda Rising when I say "It's going to be great!"

There, that's my current, up-to-date history of involvement with patterns.

CategoryHomePage