Day: March 3, 2018

ICYMI: A dentist was not an employee of the practice where he worked but instead was an independent contractor, the California Court of Appeal held. The trial court was therefore correct in ruling against the dentist in his wage and hour suit, the appellate court concluded. https://goo.gl/aYuaBo #GlobalHR #HRTech

HR needs to be ready to investigate if it suspects an employee is the perpetrator of domestic violence. https://goo.gl/12yJj8 #GlobalHR #HRTech

A healthy ecosystem is not a monoculture.

Chevrotain – JavaScript Parser Toolkit

A very fast and feature rich Parser Building Toolkit for JavaScript. It can be used to build parsers/compilers/interpreters for various use cases ranging from simple configuration files, to full-fledged programing languages.

In my last blog post, I pointed out that Open Source projects come in lots of different flavors.  Today let’s take a look at another of our most popular open source projects.  This one, however, is a different size, and therefore takes a different approach, then it’s bigger cousin UI5.

Introducing Chevrotain

Chevrotain, which is French for “little deer” (or “little goat”, according to a different French friend), was a project started by Shahar Soel (bd82) and moved to GitHub in 2015.  It fits in to the “library tool” definition of Open Source projects, because it is a library which you can incorporate in to other code written in JavaScript for NodeJS.

Like a lot of other libraries that can be used in your code, tools like this one are usually one of several possible options to solve problems.  Libraries like this usually fall in to one of two categories:  different codelines that perform the same task (for example, two different libraries that read the same XML standard format to do a specific job), and then libraries that get to the same result using a slightly different tactic (again, as an example, using a custom XML template, which is more efficient in specific cases).

Chevrotain falls in to the second category.  It’s part of the group of Parsing Libraries in JavaScript, but unlike many of its fellow libraries, it does so using a hybrid approach.

I won’t attempt to explain the details.  This article, Parsing in JavaScript, does the job quite well.

A different type of Open Source Project

Chevrotain contrasts with its bigger cousin UI5, and the differences are what make it interesting to us in the big picture of Open Source in the big picture.

The interesting part about Chevrotain is the role it fulfills in our bigger Open Source picture.

Chevrotain is the personal project of one person, Shahar.  He is a huge advocate of Open Source, and he believes strongly in giving back to the community.  Originally, this project coincided with some work that he was doing at SAP.  But, since it was released, he has moved on to other things inside the company.

Committing to Open Source, though, isn’t something you do for a few days or weeks.  Once a project is released, it’s important to continue to maintain and take care of it.  Shahar does this in his spare time, and it’s his sign of commitment to the idea of Open Source.

This makes Chevrotain a different kind of project at SAP.  Unlike its larger cousin, UI5, which has a whole team of people dedicated full-time to development, this project is just a part of Shahar’s job – something he does because it’s important to him, and to the community it serves.

Does that make it less important?  No.  In fact, it’s probably harder to do this kind of work than to be dedicated to a full-time project.

Open Source Ecosystem

The primary reason I presented this project is to show the differences in different types of projects.  This gives me a chance to talk about Ecosystem – the “big picture” of SAP Open Source, and how all of these different things fit together.

“A healthy ecosystem is not a monoculture”.  This is a term borrowed from ecological science, and it’s also true here.  Monocultures are made up of a single type of organism.  In ecology, this is usually a warning sign – monocultures are very fragile.

We have a similar situation in Open Source.  In order to have a healthy mix, we have to encourage different types of projects to thrive in our space.  Each type of project has different demands, different needs, and therefore requires different kinds of resources.  (Just like in nature!  Interesting…)

A project like this one will never grow in to a major framework like UI5.  But it’s not meant to, and so we don’t treat them the same way.  This type of project, however, is a lot more common here at SAP.  And so, we give it different support, and have very different expectations on what it will do.

Opening the door to the big picture

I know, that all sounds a bit vague.  That’s not on purpose – it’s because a discussion of exactly what we do differently, and why, and how they interact is almost another blog series in itself.  I will be returning to ecosystems for much greater detail in the future.

Before I do get there, however, this is only the second type of project.  There are still several more to talk about, before we have a good representative sample of the different kinds of projects here at SAP.  So, look for several more projects over the coming weeks.

Then, once we have that sample in place, we can start to talk about how they all interact, and how they all fit together.

Enjoy Chevrotain.

And thanks for stopping by Open Source Monday.  Looking forward to more soon! http://bit.ly/2F6XKnY #SAP #SAPCloud #AI

Cupid gets a lot of credit for helping people fall in love. But after his arrow flies, the tiny winged cherub is out of the picture. From that point forward, it’s up to the couple to stay smitten with each other.

Year after year, Valentine’s Day gives people the perfect opportunity to show how much they care about their partners. Of course, buying a token of your love isn’t the only way to prove your devotion, but the gesture is certainly meaningful. And that’s why 62% of adults celebrate Valentine’s Day annually.

For your business to deliver for consumers on this important holiday, you need to make sure your products fly through the supply chain as swiftly as Cupid’s arrow.

Today, there’s no better way to ensure a happy Valentine’s Day than with a digital supply chain.

Nothing says “I love you” like a personalized product

Imagine you’ve got a customer, Frank, who has the perfect gift idea for his wife, Lisa: a heart-shaped pendant with her birthstone on the front and her name on the back.

Unfortunately, this brilliant idea doesn’t strike Frank until February 11 – a mere 72 hours before Valentine’s Day.

Yikes.

By investing in innovative technologies and embracing key concepts aligned with digital supply chain, your organization would be well equipped to fulfill Frank’s order in time for the big day.

Mass customization enables your business to personalize goods at high-volume/mass-produced prices by relying on a combination of traditional assembly line processes and groundbreaking digital technologies, including 3D printing.

With 3D printing, you can transform the way you manufacture goods. Your business can skip right over the planning and sourcing phases of your supply chain framework and jump straight to production. You can even personalize your products until the very last moment they ship.

Love connection: Why everybody’s gaga over connectivity

Frank is antsy to receive his wife’s pendant from the moment he orders it. After all, Valentine’s Day is dangerously close, and he needs the necklace to arrive by February 13 at the latest so he has time to wrap it.

With a digitalized supply chain, you can ease Frank’s mind by giving him real-time updates on when the necklace has been manufactured, when the logistics provider picks it up from your facility, and when it heads out for delivery.

This constant connectivity isn’t only useful in providing buyers like Frank with a superior customer service experience; it’s imperative for your business, too.

Companies connected through a digital supply chain can easily share data that helps synchronize partner planning and streamline operations across the entire network.

By gaining greater visibility into what’s happening throughout the supply chain at all times, you can resolve problems the moment they arise and prevent similar scenarios from occurring in the future.

Customers fall head over heels for agility

Uh-oh. Frank just realized something. That sapphire birthstone he bought for Lisa’s necklace? It was supposed to be opal.

Fortunately, the defining characteristic of a digital supply chain is agility.

Digital supply chain companies rely on the latest technology to ensure responsiveness. By outfitting your employees with mobile devices, you can react to order changes in real time.

As long as Frank lets your company know about his mistake before the gift is delivered, you or your partners can quickly and easily modify his order.

Whether a manufacturing specialist gets an alert before he makes the product, a warehouse employee gets a notification before he packs Lisa’s necklace, or a delivery driver gets an update on his way to Frank’s house, the order can be adjusted to ensure the pendant that eventually hangs from Lisa’s neck is perfect.

Digital supply chain: The Valentine’s Day gift that keeps on giving

In 2017, customers spent more than $18 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts – all to show how much they love the people in their lives.

If your supply chain company wants to prove it cares about consumers, don’t go out and buy them a greeting card, a box of chocolates, or a bouquet of flowers. Instead, put them at the center of your business operations by digitalizing your supply chain.

Want to learn more about transforming the supply chain so you can compete in any market? Download this free IDC white paper, “The Strategic Imperative for an Agile Supply Chain.” http://bit.ly/2CXcyj2 #SAP #SAPCloud #AI