Solaris pkgutil is not idempotent

Life would be easier if command line tools would never use exit code different than zero unless as a 'real' error pops up. The fact that I am trying to install again an existing package should not result in an 'error' but Solaris returns status 4 when running 'pkg install' with description "No updates necessary for this image.". You have no other option than handling this in a per package basis like I show below using a Plain Old Bash (POB) recipe:

Devops need no words but code: How to forward all Solaris user emails to an external email account

Devops need no words but code.

Talend tFileExcelInput uses jexcelapi which is deprecated instead of favoring Apache POI

Talend tFileExcelInput uses jexcelapi which is deprecated instead of favoring Apache POI Talend. The alternative seems to be using one of the tFileExcel* components from Talend Exchange or converting Excel to CSV from command line and then processing that file format later on.

The most efficient way to send emails from Ubuntu shell script or cron

What is the most efficient way to send an email from Ubuntu shell script or cron? I have found sendEmail wins the battle:

sudo apt-get install sendemail
echo $CONTENT_BODY | \
sendEmail -f $FROM -t $TO1 $TO2 \
-s $MAIL_SERVER_HOSTNAME -u $SUBJECT > /dev/null 

Here is an example of its usage from cron BTW.

How difficult is to report JIRA Worklog?

How difficult is to report JIRA Worklog? There are several plugins and a couple of API call for free but none of them so far can report on a basic metric: How many hours each member of the team worked per ticket in a particular date or date range.

I do not like to go to the database directly but rather I prefer API endpoints, however while I wait for a free solution to this problem I guess the most effective way to pull such information is unfortunately to query the jira database directly.

Below is an example to get the hours per team member and ticket for yesterday. You could tweak this example to get all kind of information about worklog. If you want to include custom fields like 'Team' see below:

Change username login in Ubuntu Linux

On Productivity: What versus How defines Effectiveness versus Efficiency, Strategy versus Tactics and Leader versus Manager

What versus How defines Effectiveness versus Efficiency, Strategy versus Tactics, Leader versus Manager. They are not to be confused. The first is the "crawl", the second is the "walk" and without them both you will never "run". Following baby steps works for business as well as for nature.

What do you produce? Is it what the customers need or what you think they should need? Being effective means to do *what* is required, no more, no less. You have to Have a solid strategy to be effective. Being effective will ultimately make you a leader because you will influence and inspire.

How do you produce it? Are you focused on predictable delivery with high quality or on resource utilization? Being efficient means to focus on "how" to do the whole job on time and on budget. Being efficient means to create tactics that align completely with the strategy. Being efficient will ultimately make you a manager because you will be able to direct and control.

Mastering these concepts is crucial to be able to become the head of any personal or professional effort but arguably desired to be a member of an all stars team. Defining "what" to do (the goal, the mission, the end), is step number one. Determining "how" it will get done (the effort, the actions, the means) is the second step.

Productivity is the ratio between the production of "what" we do versus the cost associated to "how" we do it. It is a result of how effective and efficient we are. It is the ultimately head's and arguably, again, every team member performance review. You need no review performed by a supervisor to know where you stand as a contributor. Have a strategy and constantly monitor that your tactics align with it. Let us strive to *effectively lead what is agreed and efficiently manage how it is delivered*.