Sunday, April 30, 2006

SketchUp - Home

SketchUp - Home: "SketchUp is a simple but powerful tool for quickly and easily creating, viewing and modifying your 3D ideas."

Can be used to create models for Google Earth

Java Technology and Web Services

Java Technology and Web Services: "Web services are Web-based enterprise applications that use open, XML-based standards and transport protocols to exchange data with calling clients. Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) provides the APIs and tools you need to create and deploy interoperable Web services and clients. "

THE place to start when looking at Web Services

The Java Community Process(SM) Program - JSRs: Java Specification Requests - detail JSR# 270

The Java Community Process(SM) Program - JSRs: Java Specification Requests - detail JSR# 270: "JSRs: Java Specification Requests
JSR 270: JavaTM SE 6 ('Mustang') Release Contents"

More on Mustang

Oracle XE: It's Not Your Typical Oracle

Oracle XE: It's Not Your Typical Oracle: "Oracle XE: It's Not Your Typical Oracle
By Dick Wall

Suit vs. Jeans

Try a visualization. Think about Oracle Database. If you are anything like me, you are probably envisioning large, mission-critical applications, darkened server rooms with loud fans and lots of heat, and DBAs sweatily laboring to keep the enterprise running. You might, if you have had the experience, also get a sinking feeling from the installation, configuration, and administration of the beast (in other words, oh no, not all those steps to run through again)."

JINSPIRED Home Page

JINSPIRED Home Page: "JXInsight 4.2 Early Access Program
JInspired is pleased to announce the JXInsight 4.2 Early Access Program. The first build is now available from the Downloads section. JXInsight 4.2 contains many new innovative features"

Not read this yet - just there on the todo list.

Core Java Technology Features in Mustang

Core Java Technology Features in Mustang: "Article
Core Java Technology Features in Mustang

By the JDK Core Engineering Team, June 16, 2005
A few weeks ago, the desktop Java client group published an article detailing the important desktop Java technology features planned for the next release of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE, formerly known as J2SE), code named Mustang.

This article will detail the important core features that are coming in Mustang. We list here all the items that are currently planned. Many are already integrated, and you can try them out yourself by downloading the most recent build from the Mustang snapshot release site. We try to estimate when you can expect to see in a snapshot release those items that are still in development. When a status line reads, for example, 'Delivered in b39,' it means that the feature was integrated in build 39. A new build is posted to the Mustang snapshot release site weekly. We increment the build number each week."

Despite the fact that I have yet to try all the featuresintroduced in Java 5, it is probably about time to look ahead to what is happening in Mustang. This old article seems like a good place to start.

HTTP Streaming - Ajax Patterns

HTTP Streaming - Ajax Patterns: "Stream server data in the response of a long-lived HTTP connection. Most web services do some processing, send back a response, and immediately exit. But in this pattern, they keep the connection open by running a long loop. The server script uses event registration or some other technique to detect any state changes. As soon as a state change occurs, it pushes new data to the outgoing stream and flushes it, but doesn't actually close it. Meanwhile, the browser must ensure the user-interface reflects the new data."

More information on XML-PUSH technology.

Other links:
Pushlets
HTTPLR
Stream 2.0
IRCG
Realtime on Rails
lightstreamer

I remember the first time I heard about this technology was on the Netscape DevEdge site - which used to be an excellent resource - the good news is a mirror is being restored I believe that this was the article.

The Four "Quantum States" of AJAX @ AJAXWORLD MAGAZINE

The Four "Quantum States" of AJAX @ AJAXWORLD MAGAZINE: "The Four 'Quantum States' of AJAX
An Effort to Tease Apart and Classify the Plethora of AJAX Technologies Available Today

By: Kevin Hakman
Apr. 11, 2006 09:15 AM

Uh oh! Here comes yet another technology buzzword. This time it’s “AJAX”. In addition to being a household cleaner, a character from Greek mythology, and the name of a European soccer club, AJAX is Asynchronous communication, JavaScript, and XML. These technologies, which are already present in your browser, make it possible to retrieve information without refreshing a Web page."

Introductory article, explaining different types of AJAX - but omits Comet.

Reporting Made Easy with JasperReports and Hibernate @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Reporting Made Easy with JasperReports and Hibernate @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Reporting Made Easy with JasperReports and Hibernate
JasperReports and Hibernate in Web applications

By: Peter Sellars
Jan. 25, 2006 08:30 PM

JasperReports is a valuable and viable reporting solution for Java Web applications. It simplifies report generation through the use of XML report templates that are then compiled using the JasperReports engine for use in reporting modules. These compiled report templates can be filled by data received from a variety of sources including relational databases. JasperReports can be integrated into Web applications and create reports in several file formats including PDF and XLS."

The section on using Hibernate with JasperReports should come in useful.

Five Earth-Shattering Things You Should Know About AJAX and You Don't @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Five Earth-Shattering Things You Should Know About AJAX and You Don't @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Five Earth-Shattering Things You Should Know About AJAX and You Don't
Of course, you already know everything about AJAX, don't you?

By: Dion Hinchcliffe
Apr. 20, 2006 06:45 PM

5 Earth-Shattering Things You Should Know About Ajax And Probably Don't"

Nice distinction between AJAX and Web 2.0.

Java Feature — Concurrent Programming and Locking in J2SE 5.0 @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Java Feature — Concurrent Programming and Locking in J2SE 5.0 @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Java Feature — Concurrent Programming and Locking in J2SE 5.0
The mechanics of using the Lock interface implementations

By: Craig Caulfield
Apr. 21, 2006 02:00 PM

In concurrent programming, exclusion refers to any technique that dynamically locks certain blocks of code so multiple threads can't corrupt their shared resources in ways that can cause integrity problems. In Java, exclusion has meant using the synchronized keyword against a method or block of code to control access to an object's lock."

SYS-CON Announces Readers' Choice Awards for SOA, Java, Linux, .NET, MX, ColdFusion, and XML Technologies @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

SYS-CON Announces Readers' Choice Awards for SOA, Java, Linux, .NET, MX, ColdFusion, and XML Technologies @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "SYS-CON Announces Readers' Choice Awards for SOA, Java, Linux, .NET, MX, ColdFusion, and XML Technologies
Also known as the 'Oscars of the Software Industry' the winners were chosen by more than 17,000 SYS-CON readers

By: Java News Desk
Feb. 6, 2006 01:30 PM

SYS-CON Media (www.sys-con.com) announced today the results of its 10th annual “Readers’ Choice Awards” for best products and tools for the SOA, Web Services, Java and XML technologies. Winners and three finalists were announced today in 21 categories by SOA Web Services Journal. Java Developer’s Journal also announced winners and finalists in 26 distinct product and tool categories."

Old news but thought I'd blog this for reference.

Comprehensive AJAX Platform Released As Open Source @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Comprehensive AJAX Platform Released As Open Source @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Comprehensive AJAX Platform Released As Open Source
The First Visual Dev Environment for Building Internet Apps With AJAX Now Includes Open Source Runtime

By: Java News Desk
Jan. 10, 2006 11:15 PM

Page 1 of 2

Developers now have a fast, efficient and cost-effective way to create AJAX-enabled rich Internet applications with the release of ClearNova's, ThinkCAP JX -- the first rapid application development (RAD) platform to be offered as open source, and the first visual development environment for building rich Internet applications. ThinkCAP JX combines the power of AJAX, J2EE and open source to enable organizations and their developers to build the web-based applications that run their businesses. "

Java Feature — Business Intelligence and Reporting with BIRT @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Java Feature — Business Intelligence and Reporting with BIRT @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Java Feature — Business Intelligence and Reporting with BIRT
A first experience account

By: Chris Beels
Apr. 17, 2006 11:00 AM

Open Source Business Intelligence software is finally coming into its own, with three major players coming to the fore: JasperReports, Pentaho, and BIRT (Business Intelligence and reporting tools)."

Struts Validations Framework Using AJAX @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Struts Validations Framework Using AJAX @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Struts Validations Framework Using AJAX
Real-time data validation is one of the advantages of AJAX technology

By: Sonny Hastomo
Jan. 27, 2006 01:00 PM


Real-time data validation is one of the advantages of AJAX technology. By applying this technology, the struts validation framework will enrich the struts MVC and move the Web application closer to the desktop application."

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Ruby, Rails, and the mainstream | mentalized

Ruby, Rails, and the mainstream | mentalized: " Ruby, Rails, and the mainstream
Journal entry
April 7, 2006

It seems I have stirred quite a pot around the office with my recent ravings about Rails. Today the tech-head on the board sent me this article about why Rails won’t make it into the mainstream and asked for my comments. The following is basically a translation of my reply to him (Gee, this is the closest I’ve ever come to being paid for blogging)."

This links to an excellent article about why rails will not become mainstream. I'd like to add - it's because a Java based framework will be created that does the same - but with a syntax more familiar to Java programmers - so little need to switch.

Domain Logic and SQL

Domain Logic and SQL: "Over the last couple of decades we've seen a growing gap between database-oriented software developers and in-memory application software developers. This leads to many disputes about how to use database features such as SQL and stored procedures. In this article I look at the question of whether to place business logic in SQL queries or in-memory code, considering primarily performance and maintainability based on an example of a simple, but rich SQL query."

An old article (Feb 2003), that is still highly significant today... but then it was written by Martin Fowler.

Java Cover Story — Debugging JDBC with a Logging Driver @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Java Cover Story — Debugging JDBC with a Logging Driver @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Java Cover Story — Debugging JDBC with a Logging Driver
A new way to debug and solve DB problems

By: Ryan Bloom
Apr. 28, 2006 12:30 PM

A couple of years ago I began developing in Java, and my first Java project required that I also learn SQL. Our project team was using mostly EJBs for database access, although for some performance-critical sections of the application we wrote the JDBC logic directly. A problem that we faced regularly was tracking the bind parameters to our PreparedStatements. Over the course of the project, all of the team members tried different techniques to determine what our JDBC statements were actually doing."

Includes logging of Hibernate HQL, via logging in the JDBC driver. I do not necessarily agree with this approach as the author points out - this is an aspect that cuts across the system so I'd prefer a solution using AOP to log the statements.

In fact the more I think about it the more I like AOP used for logging. Although log4j is very efficient, and adding if(debug) conditionals can improve the performance further - it seems to me that either including or not inclduing an aspect to log would be the preferred approach as it does not pollute the code and can be switched on and off - when off there is absolutely no impact on performance. It is a clean and elegent approach.

Read the comments in this article and you will see it has been debunked, and there are existing resources out there that do the same thing already - see Tuning JDBC: Measuring JDBC performance by Jack Shirazi, author of Java Performance Tuning
12/05/2001
and this tool

Connecting the Java World to Grid-Enabled Databases @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL

Connecting the Java World to Grid-Enabled Databases @ JAVA DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL: "Connecting the Java World to Grid-Enabled Databases
Consolidate IT resources and optimize usage

By: Kuassi Mensah

Grid computing is not necessarily a new concept; however, its adoption within the enterprise has given birth to a new concept called enterprise grid computing, which is being embraced by the entire IT industry. Enterprise grid computing aims to consolidate IT resources - including both infrastructure software and applications - and optimize their usage, cutting costs substantially along the way. Since Java and J2EE are widely used as enterprise software platforms, how do they align with this vision?"

Virtualize Your Oracle Database with Web Services

Virtualize Your Oracle Database with Web Services: "Developer: J2EE

Virtualize Your Oracle Database with Web Services
by Kuassi Mensah

Explore the Database Web Services capabilities of Oracle Database 10g, as well as their role in a service-oriented architecture."

JBoss drools over Java business rules | The Register

JBoss drools over Java business rules | The Register: "JBoss drools over Java business rules
Updates to get ahead
By Gavin Clarke in San Francisco
Published Monday 3rd April 2006 04:21 GMT

JBoss is today expected to unveil middleware that continues its strategy of challenging closed-source vendors in business processes and distributed systems."

Including First implementation of Drools as JBoss Business Rules 3.0.

WS-* vs the REST | The Register

WS-* vs the REST | The Register: "WS-* vs the REST
O’Reilly, Amazon talk web service standards
By Tim Anderson
Published Saturday 29th April 2006 05:02 GMT

At Microsoft's Mix06 conference last month, we took the opportunity to speak (separately) to Web 2.0 guru Tim O'Reilly and Amazon's web services evangelist Jeff Barr on how they see the REST vs WS debate."

Friday, April 28, 2006

BrainBlog

BrainBlog: "7 Dayz left...
April 24, 2006 |
marko
0 comments

Only 7 Dayz left until 14Dayz launches!"

Encytemedia: It's OK To Break Standards

Encytemedia: It's OK To Break Standards: "It's OK To Break Standards

April 02, 2006

I tend to be more of a Realist than Purist when it comes to debating semantics, web standards, progressive enhancement, and all the other topics web developers are talking about in order to educate and inform their audience. I’m an advocate for all of these things, but that doesn’t change the fact that you shouldn’t bend them or break them if the situation calls for it."

A few more opinions on innerHTML.

Open Workbench - Open Source Project Management and Project Scheduling for Windows - What is Open Workbench?

Open Workbench - Open Source Project Management and Project Scheduling for Windows - What is Open Workbench?: "Open Workbench is an open source Windows-based desktop application that provides robust project scheduling and management functionality and is free to distribute throughout the enterprise. When users need to move beyond desktop scheduling to a workgroup, division or enterprise-wide solution, they can upgrade to CA's Clarity™ system, a project and portfolio management system that offers bidirectional integration with Open Workbench."

aka Microsoft Project (but it works slightly diffferently)

Open Source Freeware : 400+ free applications and utilities : eConsultant

Open Source Freeware : 400+ free applications and utilities : eConsultant: "Open Source Freeware : 400+ free applications and utilities
Extremely useful open source applications and utilities available free under various licenses."

I want a Freeware Utility to ... 450+ common problems solved : eConsultant

I want a Freeware Utility to ... 450+ common problems solved : eConsultant: "I want a Freeware Utility to ... 450+ common problems solved.
Extremely useful free utilities that do specific jobs really well and save time and money."

Thursday, April 27, 2006

MoonEdit

MoonEdit: "MoonEdit
Tom Dobrowolski's multi-platform collaborative text editor."

This looks very interesting!

JSEclipse :: Edit JavaScript with ease.

JSEclipse :: Edit JavaScript with ease.: "JSEclipse is the the best and most popular Javascript plugin for the Eclipse environment. Its benefits are visible from the simplest tasks like editing small sections of code for your site to the more complex ones like working with the next big AJAX library or developing plugins for a product that embeds JavaScript like Dreamweaver or Photoshop."

I really need to try an IDE with proper javascript support.

Ajaxian » Comet: A New Approach to Ajax Applications

Ajaxian » Comet: A New Approach to Ajax Applications: "Saturday, March 4th, 2006
Comet: A New Approach to Ajax Applications

Category: DojoView the technorati tag: Dojo, ProgrammingView the technorati tag: Programming, RemotingView the technorati tag: Remoting, CometView the technorati tag: Comet

Alex Russell has coined a term for a flavour of Ajax that’s been getting more attention of late. Comet describes applications where the server keeps pushing - or streaming - data to the client, instead of having the browser keep polling the server for fresh content."


This has possibly been one of the best kept secrets out there. Like 'normal' AJAX - this has been around for years - but has lacked momentum to push it forward.

The only disadvantage is keeping the http connections open - and the fact that the number of simultaneously open connections is limited.

This technique is perfect for the broadcasting of sports related event information - like scores. These can be puse out to the listening client as they happen - without the need for polling to the server when thee are no events. Instead the data is pushed out - much like the blackberry emailing system.

Ajaxian » Adobe Announces a Flex / Ajax Bridge

Ajaxian » Adobe Announces a Flex / Ajax Bridge: "We talked before about Adobe’s Flash / JavaScript bridge. They’ve taken it to the next level with a new Flex / JavaScript bridge. Whereas the original integration kit allowed for invocation of ActionScript functions and passing simple primitive values, this new bridge enables seamless integration of Flex applications with the browser’s JavaScript environment. The Flex DOM and ActionScript environment can be completely manipulated from the JavaScript environment and vice versa, and complex types can be marshalled across seamlessly."

Andre’s Blog » Blog Archive » Some AJAX Pattern Screencasts

Andre’s Blog » Blog Archive » Some AJAX Pattern Screencasts: "Some AJAX Pattern Screencasts

These are a couple AJAX patterns that Alexei and I put together for a an AJAX business case webinar we did with Jupiter Media a couple weeks ago."

An excellent look at some really cool features .. that should be useful in real-world apps.

Ajaxian » OpenLaszlo and Dojo Partnership

Ajaxian » OpenLaszlo and Dojo Partnership: "Thursday, April 27th, 2006
OpenLaszlo and Dojo Partnership

The OpenLaszlo and Dojo teams have announced a partnership. The end result is a win-win for both groups, and thus for us. application developers. Dojo is going to get improvements and widgets from OpenLaszlo for us all to use."

9rules Featured » Blog Archive » Prototype.js dissected

9rules Featured » Blog Archive » Prototype.js dissected: "9ruler Jonathan Snook has done a great job at totally dissecting Prototype.js, the javascript class library us Web 2.0 buffs can’t live without anymore."

Excellent charts of all the functions

9rules Featured » Blog Archive » Justin Palmer’s CSS event:Selectors

9rules Featured » Blog Archive » Justin Palmer’s CSS event:Selectors: "Justin Palmer over at Encytemedia posted a great mashup of Prototype and Behaviour called CSS event:Selectors that allow you apply Javascript event handlers Behaviour-style, while benefiting from the beauty of Prototype’s syntax."

Technology Review: Emerging Technologies and their Impact

Technology Review: Emerging Technologies and their Impact: "October 2005
Killer Maps

Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo are racing to transform online maps into full-blown browsers, organizing information -- and, of course, ads -- according to geography. The likely winner? You.

By Wade Roush"

A lengthy and a little wordy article but a good read.

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Memos from Web 2.0 World

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Memos from Web 2.0 World: "Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Memos from Web 2.0 World

Posted at 12:00 AM"

Interesting comments from Wade Roush regarding social annotation tool - diigo

Hauppauge WinTV Nova-t Stick USB TV Tuner - Gizmodo

Hauppauge WinTV Nova-t Stick USB TV Tuner - Gizmodo: "Hauppauge WinTV Nova-t Stick USB TV Tuner

If Americans are really as addicted to TV watching as the latest market statistics say we are, then this gadget sell like gangbusters. The WinTV Nova-t stick is small enough to fit in your pocket, but big enough to support SDTV, HDTV, and digital radio. "

Yahoo! Go PVR software

Yahoo! Go PVR software: "Yahoo!'s Go software transforms a PC into a TV-centric, connected appliance. Being completely free, it is a good place to start for the maiden experience of dealing with PVR software. Yahoo! Go is actually a rebranded version of the vaunted Meedio PVR software after the latter's acquisition by Yahoo!"

Well I've never been a big fan of Yahoo, but I might have to take a closer look at this. Yahoo maps was good - and it can be argued that technially it is superior to google maps, but the content is nowhere near as good, and in the land of mapping content is king.

PC Case

PC Case: "Forget the Laz-E-Boy. This is THE definitive home furniture that cannot be dispensed! Homer Simpson would gladly be the spokesman for free. We’re talking about a PC case that comes with a beer tap"

I guess the CD tray is no longer a coffee cup holder, but now a pint glass holder (glorified beer mat).

PSP System Update 2.70 Released Today - Gizmodo

PSP System Update 2.70 Released Today - Gizmodo: "PSP System Update 2.70 Released Today
READ MORE: Gadgets, Home Entertainment, LocationFree, PSP, Portable Media, Sony

Sony released the 2.70 System Update for the PSP today, so if you’re still using yours—all of our friends who own one put theirs away again after finishing Me & My Katamari—consider downloading it through the PSP Browser over WiFi or from yourpsp.com. "

Article may be slightly inaccurate as noted in the comments.

I have to say, my PSP does not get too much use (mainly because I am not commuting via train at the moment), but when I feel like a quick game of something, it sure does come in handy.

I'll be interested to see what happens with the LocationFree feature - though I doubt I'll be buying into it.

Technology Review: Emerging Technologies and their Impact

Technology Review: Emerging Technologies and their Impact: "Thursday, April 27, 2006
Sun Microsystems' New Star Needs to Shine

CEO Jonathan Schwartz must give the long-faltering company a clear focus -- and an identity.

By Wade Roush

What does Sun Microsystems want to be when it grows up? That's the question the company's board of directors is probably asking newly appointed CEO Jonathan Schwartz, who this week replaced cofounder Scott McNealy. The former CEO's mantra of 'the network is the computer' fit nicely into the pages of business magazines -- but never quite gave an identity to the company.

While most tech-savvy businesspeople and consumers have heard of the Santa Clara, CA-based firm, few could say what it actually does. Schwartz -- who's held seven positions within Sun since joining the company in 1996, most recently as president and chief operating office -- hopes to rectify that."

What's wrong with innerHTML? - snook.ca

What's wrong with innerHTML? - snook.ca: "What's wrong with innerHTML?
April 13, 2006 | JavaScript

I know Jeremy Keith's position on this but I still don't understand why him and others are so against innerHTML. Sure it's not part of a standard (yet) but neither is the XMLHttpRequest object (yet)."

More on the innerHTML issue.

I had to assist somone with some javascript for the first time in a while today, and I had to use several DOM methods to get to the correct element on the page. (HTML source did not contain any id's and we could not edit it), after using DOM methods to get to the correct element - it made sense to use them to set the data too - it is particularly useful as they are more powerful - you can use them to get access to data that already exists and then append to it.

Robert’s talk » We all love innerHTML

Robert’s talk » We all love innerHTML: "We all love innerHTML
Published on Thursday, April 20th, 2006

This article is co-written with Anne van Kesteren, W3C Member and contributor to the WHATWG and Opera specifications, R&D and QA person.

When developing a web page, DOM methods are generally the way to go when dynamically altering elements’ attributes and performing other operations. But what about adding content to a web page in the most efficient manner, both code- and performance wise? We claim that innerHTML is unmatched by any DOM methods available and that it is in most, if not all, situations the best option."

I have to say that innerHTML is easy to use - just a quick little one-liner, but I usually use DOM methods, as I think nthey are cleaner. I just with the DOM methods were faster!

The fact that innerHTML is quicker becomes important the more frequently it is used, in AJAX applications that may become more important.

Robert’s talk » Get the rendered style of an element

Robert’s talk » Get the rendered style of an element: "Get the rendered style of an element
Published on Monday, April 24th, 2006

I guess most of you, one time or another, has had the need to find out what style was actually rendered on an element. The easiest way to do this is through the style property followed by the specific value you’re looking for"

Couple of useful functions in here, although the number of Firefox extensions (Such as Firebug) that let you look at source the fewer custom functions you need for debugging.

Ma.gnolia Social Bookmarking: Search and Find Web Sites & Build Community Online.

Ma.gnolia Social Bookmarking: Search and Find Web Sites & Build Community Online.: "Welcome to Ma.gnolia!

Find and save your favorite website bookmarks with Ma.gnolia.com so you can get them from any computer, any time. And that’s only the start.

In Ma.gnolia you’ll join a welcoming community of people and interest groups, all of them showing you what they’ve found on the web. If you’ve never tried social bookmarking before, you’re at the the right place to start."


Sadly the email address I regestered my Ma.gnolia account to expired prior to the Go Live date and I missed the launch. I very rarely read email from my spammable accounts now-a-days anyway - due to RSS feeds being such a far better medium. Anyway Ma.gnolia is up there and I might just be temped to become a user.

Web 2.0 Workgroup - A network of Web 2.0 resources

Web 2.0 Workgroup - A network of Web 2.0 resources: "The Web 2.0 Workgroup is a network of premium weblogs that write content about the new generation of the Web. Combined, these sites reach a large readership of influential technology and media professionals."

Some sites to keep an eye on - but the number of RSS feeds I'm now reading is getting out of control already. I think it's time to cut back on feeds - not add more.

Fifty Ways to Take Notes » Solution Watch

Fifty Ways to Take Notes » Solution Watch: "Fifty Ways to Take Notes

Monday April 17th 2006, 7:54 pm

I am constantly writing notes. Whether it be for my blog, work, meeting, new ideas, or just basic notes, I am always jotting something down. So I started thinking about all the services I’ve used for taking notes and thought it would be a good idea to share them with you and while I’m at it, to make a list of any others that I find. "

Google Cheat Sheets (Version 1.05)

Google Cheat Sheets (Version 1.05): "This two page Google Cheat Sheet lists all Google services and tools as well as background information. The Cheat Sheet offers a great reference to grasp of basic to advance Google query building concepts and ideas."

This will probably go out of date quite quickly, but still

Linux.com | How to configure a low-cost load-balanced LAMP cluster

Linux.com | How to configure a low-cost load-balanced LAMP cluster: "How to configure a low-cost load-balanced LAMP cluster

Monday April 24, 2006 (02:01 PM GMT)

By: Keith Winston

The ubiquitous Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Perl/Python (LAMP) combination powers many interactive Web sites and projects. It's not at all unusual for demand to exceed the capacity of a single LAMP-powered server over time. You can take load off by moving your database to a second server, but when demand exceeds a two-server solution, it's time to think cluster.

A LAMP cluster is not the Beowulf kind of cluster that uses specialized message-passing software to tackle a computation-intensive task. It does not cover high availability features, such as automatic failover. Rather, it is a load-sharing cluster that distributes Web requests among multiple Web and database servers while appearing to be a single server"

AJAX Magazine: Howto integrate Google Calendar in your website using AJAX

AJAX Magazine: Howto integrate Google Calendar in your website using AJAX: "Howto integrate Google Calendar in your website using AJAX

One of the features I find it interesting in Google calendar is the possibility to create shared calendars, but also the availability of your calendar as XML or ICAL whatever it's a private or public one. As soon as we have XML of our calendar available I was wondering why not integrating Google calendar directly in website. For example a community that use the service to manage their events, or to display your future trips in your blog ?"

Sunday, April 23, 2006

More Google Products

More Google Products: "Calendar
Organize your schedule and share events with friends"

Guess I missed the release of the Google Calendar.

Speculation had been rife of an impending April 1st release (to coincide with Gmails birthday), but we got nothing more than the obligatory (April Fool).

It is out now along with an API, but has to compete with the already excellent 30boxes and the likes of kiko and the Microsoft Windows Live Calendar Gadget Solution, and possibly a forthcoming Windows Live service.

b3ta.com challenges

b3ta.com challenges: "If Google Owned Everything"

Amusing takes on Google

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Home - Confluence

Home - Confluence: "Geotools is an open source Java GIS toolkit for developing standards compliant solutions. It provides an implementation of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) specifications as they are developed."

Subversion - Confluence

Subversion - Confluence: "Tips for working with Subversion
Excessive load on your file system

Since a Subversion working copy contains base revisions of a file as well as the file itself, it tends to put increased strain on file systems since often they modify the last access time of a file on read access. Needless to say this can lead to hundreds of thousands of disk writes just because you have updated a single file in your working copy!

For Windows, the solution is outlined at http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/50/. The setting does not do any harm and can be reverted at any time; it's obviously useful outside of Subversion too."

Haus News - XFire 1.1 Beta Released! WS-Security, MTOM support, and more...

Haus News - XFire 1.1 Beta Released! WS-Security, MTOM support, and more...: "XFire 1.1 Beta Released! WS-Security, MTOM support, and more...
[ dandiep ] 20:24, Friday, 31 March 2006

The Codehaus XFire team is proud to announce their 1.0 release! XFire is an open source Java SOAP framework built on a high performance, streaming XML model. XFire includes support for web service standards, an easy to use API, Spring integration, JBI support, and plugable bindings for POJOs, JAXB, and XMLBeans."

RIFE : About

RIFE : About: "RIFE is a full-stack web application framework with tools and APIs to implement most common web features. Each of its toolkits is usable by itself and together they offer powerful integrated features that boost your productivity. RIFE ensures that every declaration and definition is handled in one place in the code. This simplifies the developer's task by reducing code replication, enforcing consistency, and easing maintenance."

java.net: RAD That Ain't Bad: Domain-Driven Development with Trails

java.net: RAD That Ain't Bad: Domain-Driven Development with Trails: "As a Java developer my first reaction to Rails was sheer, unabashed envy. Developing a web application in Java, even with best-of-breed technologies such as Spring, Hibernate, and Tapestry, is still much more difficult than cranking out a Rails application. My next reaction was to think about how we can bring some of the brilliant ideas of Rails to Java. I'm here to say with certainty that we can, and I've spent the last several months working to make it possible for any Java developer to do it.

The fruit of this effort is a framework named, unoriginally enough, Trails. Despite the name, Trails is in no way a port of Rails. Rather, it is a framework designed to bring a similarly radical productivity increase to J2EE web application development."

Groovy on Rails (Grails) 0.1 Released

Groovy on Rails (Grails) 0.1 Released: "Groovy on Rails (Grails) 0.1 Released
Posted by: Floyd Marinescu on March 30, 2006 @ 11:58 AM

Grails, which could be the Java community's answer to Ruby on Rails has had its first public release with Grails 0.1. Grails is built on open source technology such as Spring, Hibernate and SiteMesh and offers a Rails-like environment that integrates seamlessly with the Java platform allowing developers to utilise their existing investment in Java and the JDK."

Also links to RIFE and Trails projects

Grails - Home

Grails - Home: "What is Grails

Grails aims to bring the 'coding by convention' paradigm to Groovy. It's an open-source web application framework that leverages the Groovy language and complements Java Web development. You can use Grails as a standalone development environment that hides all configuration details or integrate your Java business logic."

Aka Groovy on Rails

Realtime Form Validation Using AJAX

Realtime Form Validation Using AJAX: "Article
Realtime Form Validation Using AJAX

By Greg Murray, April 2006

Articles Index

Editor's Note: This article is taken from the The Java BluePrints Solutions Catalog, a new project from the Java BluePrints program. The Java BluePrints program consists of a set of guidelines and best practices, as well as small applications to illustrate these guidelines on both the J2EE 1.4 and 1.5 platforms.

If you've ever entered form data on the Internet, you've likely encountered cases where server-side processing is used to validate that the data meets a specified set of criteria. JavaScript may be used on the client-side to validate the format of simple data such as email addresses, phone numbers, dates, or credit card numbers. However, client-side processing is limited in that it cannot apply business rules or access server-side data sources to perform that validation."

Enterprise Java Community: Building on Struts for Java 5 Users

Enterprise Java Community: Building on Struts for Java 5 Users: "April 2006

Struts is undoubtedly the most successful Java web development framework. It is the first widely adopted Model View Controller (MVC) framework, and has proven itself in thousands of projects. Struts was ground-breaking when it was introduced, but the web development landscape has changed a lot in the last few years. It is also fair to say that Struts is not universally popular, and has in many ways been overtaken by other frameworks.

Developers not satisfied with Struts have tended to embrace other frameworks, or even create their own. This is even the case within the Struts community. The two major initiatives - the integration with WebWork and the JSF-based Shale - are producing frameworks quite different from the Struts to which most users are accustomed.

A less well known fact is that the increasing adoption of Java 5 has brought in a third way forward for Struts. In this article I introduce Strecks, a set of Java 5 based extensions which offer a greatly streamlined programming model for Struts applications, without introducing any new compatibility issues. If you're confused about the name, think of it as a shortened, misspelled version of 'Struts Extensions for Java 5'.

Strecks is built on the existing Struts 1.2 code base, adding a range of productivity enhancing features"

Mentawai Web Framework - Mentawai Overview

Mentawai Web Framework - Mentawai Overview: "Mentawai's programmatic approach to configuration, gives you total freedom, flexibility and power inside your configuration files. You can refactor, create new methods, static variables, loops, use inheritance to extends ApplicationManager, etc. From that freedom, two configuration styles have emerged from Mentawai, and are now fully supported in version 1.2."


This framework has some interesting ideas - such as programmatic configuration instead of using XML files, because although it can be beneficial to be able to quickly change a property file or xml file, often a full deploy is used to ensure that live application is in a known state, so as long as your build scripts compile all your code, you can gain the benefits of using purely Java in your IDE, and maybe someday I will learn to use a full stop