SQL and Matrix math

Have you ever needed to do matrix multiplication in SQL, or multiply a matrix by a scalar? Here's an excellent article by Robyn Page and Phil Factor over at Simple-Talk about doing matrix math in SQL. It's surprisingly simple (relatively speaking, of course).

SQL Server Matrix Workbench

The keys to good software

There are four primary reasons good software is good software, claims Mike Elgan of Computerworld.

Consistency, simplicity, performance, and stability.

I agree. these are extremely well categorized. His point about simplicity nails it completely. Software has to be simple from it's design up through it's use by end-users. You cannot graft simplicity on after the fact.