Java
Sign of the times: Sun's Java Web site, which was redesigned recently, no longer uses applets on any of its well-trafficked pages. The last design featured applets that scrolled Java-related news and presented a directory of user groups, but Sun appears to have come to the same realization as most of the Web: The load time required for the Java virtual machine makes applets a poor choice for popular pages. Sites that use applets today are employing them for games, chat, the visual depiction of ... (read more)One of the biggest stumbling blocks for a new Java programmer is configuration problems related to Sun's Software Development Kit, which does not set up the Path and ClassPath environmental variables during Windows installation but requires them for use. I have received at least 1,000 e-mails over the past five years from readers about these problems. To help some of these readers, I have published a free online tutorial, Using the Software Development Kit on a Windows System. I updated it ... (read more)Patrick Logan contributes to the ongoing discussion about the varied representation of data in Java. All this talk about how Sun should have designed the language reminds me of the way dissatisfied C++ programmers talked when Java was launched in 1995-96, and it lends credence to the idea that the next big language is going to represent everything as an object. If so, that language might already be here: Ruby. ... (read more)Sam Ruby: "NAnt, Log4Net, NLucene, NDigester, and of course NUnit. All are .NET ports or reimplementations of Java open source projects. Anybody know of others?" ... (read more)Charles Miller lists some of his Java peeves. I share his dislike for the artificial distinction between primitive data types (int, float, char, and the like) and objects. I have to make this distinction to beginning programmers in my books, and Java would be easier to learn (and use) if everything was an object. As it is, Java has three rules for the basic representations of data: primitive data types work one way, objects work another, and Strings work both ways. ... (read more)As found by Drunk and Retired, TheServerSide.Com is offering a free online PDF version of Bitter Java, Bruce Tate's best-seller on anti-patterns and other Java programming woes. Registration is required before you can download the 4.90-megabyte book. The back cover does a better job of explaining the title than I did earlier: "This book is a systematic account of common Java server-side mistakes, their causes, and solutions. It covers antipatterns for base Java and J2EE concepts such as ... (read more)I was looking for Java classes that support alternative calendar systems when I came across a book that looks like a goldmine for anyone doing this kind of programming: Calendrical Calculations by Edward Reingold and Nachum Dershowitz. The Millenium Edition of the book includes chapters on the following calendars: Ba'hai, Balinese Pakuwon, Chinese, Coptic, Ecclesiastical, Ethiopic, French Revolutionary, Gregorian, Hebrew, Islamic, ISO, Julian, Mayan, Modern Hindu, Old Hindu, and Persian. It ... (read more)According to CNet, no one went to work yesterday at the headquarters of WebGain, the Symantec spin-off that makes the Java integrated development environment Visual Cafe. The product and user base are strong enough for Visual Cafe to be acquired by another company if WebGain craters, but after using recent versions of Visual Cafe, Borland JBuilder and Sun ONE Studio (formerly Forte for Java), I think that Borland's software is easily the best of the three. I haven't had a chance to evaluate ... (read more)Ant, the Apache open-source build tool written in Java, is now the subject of an O'Reilly book, Ant: The Definitive Guide by Jesse Tilly and Eric Burke. The book sounds promising, but I have to lodge a protest about the cover. What's a horny toad doing on the book instead of an anteater? ... (read more)Sun's official Java site has been redesigned for the first time since 1996. The only reason I know the date is because of long-dormant bitterness. I was hired back then to write several "introduction to Java" articles by the Dallas office of Eagle River Interactive (now part of Agency.Com). As the project was underway and most of my work was done, everyone I knew at the company suddenly stopped talking to me, though I did manage later to get paid. It's the only time I can remember being fired ... (read more)
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This blog has been published since Nov. 7, 1999 (a span of 9,373 days).
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