An Open Source Fascicule

I am a Sun Campus Ambassador!

2008-09-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hey!

Now a am the new Sun Campus Ambassador for SRKNEC since August 2008. As a campus ambassador, I evangelize Sun's brilliant Open Source Technologies including:

1. Netbeans (Its always the best!)
2. Opensolaris
3. Sun SPOT
4. OpenOffice
5. MySQL
6. Glassfish
7. Opensparc

And many many more!! It has been a great experience till now! I hope I will be able to do justice to the responsibility thrust on me and also make best use of this opportunity!

I now blog at my Sun blog - Jay's Weblog. See you there!

Cheers!!

- Jay Mahadeokar
Sun Campus Ambassador,
SRKNEC, Nagpur, India.

How to commit suicide in an Interview!!!

2008-07-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Campus recruitment and Interviews!!!! Most important time of a student life! Here I will tell you how you can screw it up!

Well... The US based Informatica - The Data Integration Company, came to our campus yesterday! About 100 students were eligible to appear according to their eligibility criteria.

Stage 1: Technical Aptitude Test + Theory Paper!

Duration: 45 + 30 min.

Topics: Database (Major), Operating Systems, Unix, C language, General Aptitude.

Students Shortlisted: 13. (I was among them)

Stage 2: Technical Interview:

The interview lasted for almost an hour. Database questions were fired like anything. (I have only basic understanding of databases and queries). I could not answer the higher concepts.
Unix commands and architecture was asked - It was ok! I told them I won prizes in Sun MS blogging contests. He was very impressed!

Students Short listed -4. (I was again one of them).

Stage 3: Technical Interview + HR:

Now comes the most interesting part.... (The interview was conducted by John Sir)
In the beginning I was asked about the database I had designed long back (For storing student -teacher academic data). He was very impressed again.

Then he came to my field!!!! Programming....

I answered almost everything... We discussed some of the projects I had undertaken before (I keep on doing small projects and exploring new technologies.) He also asked base Software Engineering concepts and OS! Everything going so smoothly!!!

Next....

John Sir: So, you are good at programming.. not at database...

Me: Sir I know the basics. I am not an expert in it...

John Sir: See... We do not expected you to be an expert. If you are capable of learning new things we can train you as we like. Its every companies responsibility.. right?

Me: Right Sir!

John Sir: So what are you basically most interested in?

Me: (Without thinking anything) Programming!!!!!!!!!!!

.......... Now !! Here I am... In front of the HR from the Most reputed Data Integration and Solutions Company... I have cleared all the hurdles. He asks me what I am interested in...

I say - I am not interested in what the company is doing! I like programming!!!

Thats the end....

He explains me that it is very difficult to get anything related to code in their job! The core team is far away....

The Concluding remarks...

One guy - really good at databases finally got selected. I was handed a T- Shirt and a pen!!
Not just that - There was this concluding remark:

"You are very good at what you do and you will get selected in other companies. Its just that your interest and our interest don't match!!!!"

Question is - Was it a mistake or a boon in disguise?

I don't know the answer as of today. One thing is for sure.... I cant sit for years typing in same old mugged up SQL Queries - So I think I did the right thing!!!

Everybody around me thinks - I am wrong!! 5.6 Lakh per annum (Indian Rupees) is not a small amount right?

But what about job satisfaction? I would love to get less than that for doing what I love to do - To PROGRAM! To think about things - To try and innovate!

I hope I am not proved wrong in the long run..... But am I too inexperienced to keep preferences at this stage of my carrier?

NetBeans Snap It !

2008-06-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

As I had mentioned in my last blog, me and Varun Nischal have started working on the community docs support within netbeans. As a part of the project, we have made a small utility plug-in Snap It.

This will allow you to take screen-shots from within the IDE.

All you have to do is install the plug-in and do the following:

Goto Tools > Capture...
Click on Browse and locate the directory, where you want to store.
Enter filename, don't mention extenstion, its PNG by default
Leave Save Folder checkbox as it is, enter delay time >= 5, its in seconds.
Click Capture, make your IDE look anyway you want as in the image, within stipulated time.

This is just a preliminary test version and we hope to add more functionality to it like viewing, cropping, resizing ect from within the IDE.

I hope you would like the plug-in. Eagerly awaiting your suggestions and ideas to improve it.

Cheers!

Offline Wiki Creation - Ideas Welcome!

2008-06-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I have blogged about the role of NetBeans Wiki in popularizing and contributing to the spread of NetBeans IDE before. Please check out How about Community Docs within the IDE? for more details.

Now Me and Varun Nischal have decided to give the idea a real shot. Amit Kumar Saha and James Branam are also giving valuable guidance. Varun has also given a brief idea about the plan in his recent interview on the official netbeans website.

You can find further details and implementation plans here. We encourage all NetBeans enthusiasts who may want to contribute to come forward with the ideas.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Blog Index - NetBeans 6.1 Thru a Novice Perspective

2008-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is an index to all the posts that I have made till date regarding my experiences with NetBeans 6.1. I hope these blog entries are considered in the Sun Student Reviews Contest.

NetBeans 6.1 tutorials:

1. Brilliance of JSF Crud Generator in NetBeans 6.1 - Explores the new JSF Crud generator in NetBeans 6.1.

2. Adding existing project to Platform App Suite in 6.1 - Guides us to use the new Platform app development feature to create a suite project that will help us build on top of the IDE using existing project.

3. Exploring java beans in 6.1 Beta - This tutorials helps you to make a reusable Image Bean using the new Beans support in NetBeans 6.1.

4. Opening Images within NetBeans - Tutorial - This will guide you to make a plugin that will open images within NetBeans using the Java Advanced Imaging API.

5. Using RMS to create Expenses utility for Mobiles in NetBeans 6.1 - This will guide you to creating a utility expenses application using the NetBeans mobility pack and exploring the RMS support.

My NetBeans 6.1 insights:

1. NetBeans 6.1 - My suggestions to make the best, better - Here I present things that I would love to be included in future releases of NetBeans.

2. Embedded development Support in NetBeans? - This post was highlighted in the Sun Student Reviews official website.

3. How about Community Docs within the IDE? - This post is a reflects the importance of Community Docs and suggests steps to enhance its support within the IDE.

I will be updating this page as I continue to explore NetBeans. Stay tuned!

This blog mentioned on Sun Student Reviews!!

2008-05-07T03:04:00.001-07:00

Sun has started a new student reviews contest as I mentioned in my last post. And this blog has been highlighted along with various other student blogs on the official Sun Website!!

Special thanks to Mr Chhandomay Mandal, Global Communications Manager, Sun Microsystems, Inc. who took his time out to review my work.

This is a great motivation for me to carry forward and explore more of NetBeans IDE and Open Solaris!!

Sun Student reviews Contest!!

2008-05-07T02:48:00.000-07:00

Sun Micro Systems has always encouraged active participation of student developers and tried to encourage them as much as possible. And here they come with yet another opportunity for all the young wiz kids, to try and explore th amazing Sun technologies!!
Student Reviews Contest!

All you have to do is try out the latest Sun products (Open Solaris OS or NetBeans IDE 6.1) and blog about your experiences , likes and dislikes!

And you have:

a chance to win a grand prize of $250 in Visa Debit Card, and
5 chances to win a prize of $100 in Visa Debit Card

So? what are you waiting for? Get started! The contest runs from 5th May 2008 to 6th June 2008!!

Good luck!

Community Docs Coordinator - Change in personal, same passion!

2008-05-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

The big news this week has to be the change in the NetBeans Community Docs Coordinator post - the job that was done flawlessly for the past year by the first Coordinator Amit Kumar Saha . To fill in his boots and take over the huge responsibility, we have Mr Varun Nischal as announced by James Branam.

For me, Amit Kumar Saha was a source of inspiration, and someone who had so much to offer for the community as well as for all the NetBeans enthusiasts and contributers. He is a thorough professional and would always be there for any help or advice regarding NetBeans Community Docs. He guided me through creating my first Doc right from where to start, how to create the wiki pages and everything. Now I have contributed four Docs to the community, and he supervised all of them brilliantly. Not only would he try out the tutorials and suggest proper improvements, but he would take time out from his busy schedule and edit the docs to make them perfect!

Hats off to Amit!! For the dedicated and superb work! He has surely taken the NetBeans Wiki to a new level, one which we all can be proud of!

And.. to shoulder the huge responsibility, who else could we ask for than Varun Nischal. Varun has been an active contributer and NetBeans enthusiast since a long time. We hope you carry forward the wiki revolution with the same zeal and enthusiasm and take the Community Docs program to greater heights.

Me and varun are also planning on building a new module project, that will have support for Community Docs creation and other facilities within the IDE. For more information, see my earlier post How about Community Docs within the IDE? as well as Varuns proposal . We welcome all NetBeaners to come up with their ideas and suggestions to turn this idea into reality!

Again GoodBye Amit.K.Saha and wish you all success for the future! I am sure you will still have a lot more to offer to the community! And... Welcome Varun Nischal!!

NetBeans IDE 6.1 Available!!

2008-04-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

NetBeans has released its latest version - 6.1! Here is a quick overview of the latest features as described on official NetBeans website.

" NetBeans IDE 6.1 supports a wide range of open source scripting technologies and offers improved performance. This release extends language support beyond Java technology by providing a rich set of features for C/C++, Java Script and the Ruby language, including Ruby on Rails.

NetBeans IDE 6.1 also contains all of the improvements made in 6.0 including: the new smarter editor, next generation of the ground-breaking GUI builder (formerly known as Project Matisse), visual mobile designer, integrated profiler, and Java EE 5 support.

One of the downloads available is an Early Access preview of support for PHP. Advance versions of new modules, such as a JavaScript debugger, support of ClearCase, AXIS, and Hibernate are available as separate plugins. "

Download the NetBeans IDE 6.1 here.

See the details of the release here.

Finally we can get our hands on the new version! So, keep NetBeaning!

NetBeans 6.1 Beta - Blogging fever recap!

2008-04-24T04:14:00.000-07:00

The NetBeans 6.1 Beta blogging contest which kicked of 14th March 2008 had the whole community riding an a new blogger wave that saw many new and old developers turn into technical writers as the expressed their likes and dislikes about the NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta.

The contest ended on 18th April 2008 and in the process we witnessed some of the most brilliant articles and thoughts that gave a deep insight into the NetBeans world and also showed the awareness and enthusiasm of the community for NetBeans. The netbeaners around the world not only presented useful tutorials and tricks but also brought out certain ideas which would help to make our IDE better.

Here are links to some of the insightful and delicious blogs posted by the participants:

1. Tushar Joshi was probably had the most happening and active blog where he explored many aspects of NetBeans from mercurial to Eclipse. He also gave some insightful reviews including things that netbeans must do to survive as well as reasons why he uses NetBeans. Hats off to you for the brilliant blogging!!

2. John' O Connor gave an interesting insight into the UTF-8 encoding scheme in NetBeans 6.1 Beta and brought up a good point that could be thought upon.

3. Lucio Benfante provided at this screencast, in which he creates a new project with Parancoe and NetBeans 6.1.

4. Adam Myatt explored the new sharable libraries feature and documented what he found in a nice fashion.

5. Bruno Ghisi presented a cool tutorial on making a Hello world SunSpot Application using NetBeans 6.1 Beta.

6. Dustin explored the JavaScript support in NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta beautifully.

7. Harshad Oak compares NetBeans VS Eclipse VS JDeveloper in an interesting manner.

8. Xykon found a possible bug in NetBeans 6.1 RC1.

9. Charles Ditzel speaks about Ruby and javascript.

10. And Oh!! Roman Strobl presents the future plans of NetBeans which will become an online IDE.

There were many more fascinating entries which might not be covered in this post. Feel free to give the links in the comments.

The contest successfully brought out the passion for NetBeans throughout the community and reconfirmed the outstanding popularity for the NetBeans IDE.

The winners are to be announced on 12th May. Best luck to all the hopefuls!! And Keep Blogging!!

NetBeans 6.1 - My suggestions to make the best, better!

2008-04-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Not many people would argue when I say that NetBeans is right amongst the best IDE available. I have certainly realized that as I keep exploring it day in and out. I am a real newcomer to this field, so me commenting on improving the IDE might not be so appropriate. Still, here I will present my thoughts on what students like me would love to have in our IDE.

I will not comment on any technicalities which would require an in-depth knowledge and experience and I am a complete no-no in that regard. So if I got some things wrong, please correct me. I hope I speak for several other students all around who might have felt the same things.

Stability

Stability is a relative term and if I say that the NetBeans IDE is “instable”, that would be the biggest blunder that I would ever make. Having said that, there are certain times when I have seen NetBeans 6.1 Beta giving me start-up problems as I have already mentioned before. I have had no such issues till now while working with NetBeans 6.1 RC1.

Embedded Development Support

I have already voiced my opinion before that it would be really nice if NetBeans could provide support for embedded development, which will not only attract more audience but also increase the popularity of the IDE. I am not sure about the feasibility for this but I think its worth givng it a thought.

Improved C/C++ support

Currently to start working with C/C++ in NetBeans we have to externally install WinGW or cygwin. Is it possible for NetBeans to provide built-in support for these components?

One more thing: The C/C++ module requires working with make file, which is used only for relatively big projects. For complete newcomers who start learning programming, C language is the base on which they are told to build on. Can’t NetBeans provide a basic C/C++ compiler support? (Take for example DevC++ or TurboC, also Microsoft VC++ provides support for console application through C). Such a facility would enable young programmers start learning the basis of programming on the IDE itself and thereby get used to the look and feel of the environment.

People might argue that this violates the basic concept of an integrated development environment, which is supposed to be meant to make easier development of large scale projects, and the students must first master the basic programming skills to come and work within the IDE. That’s absolutely fine. But then there would be no harm if young students can straight away get accustomed with their future while they build their basics. Who would not love to write his first hello world C program in a brilliant visual environment rather than on notepad or blue screen of TurboC?

New releases and its integration with old ones

I have wondered about this before. When a new version of NetBeans is released (which happens atleast once every 6 – 12 months) then we have to download the whole pack again. Why cant an update facility be provided which will just provide updates and changes for the new version? I have currently got three NetBeans IDEs installed – 6.0, 6.1Beta and 6.1RC1. Wouldn’t it be better if the older version was just updated with new features of the next version? This facility is not there as far as I think. I don’t know regarding the feasibility of this idea, but I would love if it is provided.

Support for community Docs in IDE

It would be great if we can support development of community docs within the IDE. I have blogged about this before.

Android Development support

Google Android is probably the next big thing that’s going to make news in the time to come. The Android SDK is freely available and the programming is done in our own java. Although there is a plug-in (Undroid) for android development in NetBeans, there is no official NetBeans plug-in yet. I would love to see progress in this area.

Start-up speed

Well this had to be there isn’t it? Although NetBeans 6.1 has 40% faster start-up than earlier version, there must still be scope for improvement. (I hate mentioning this - Look at start speed of Microsoft Visual Studio for example.)

The NetBeans Innovator Grants have been announced and I love what I see there. The prospects of PL/SQLEditor, PDFViewer, NbPython, NetBeans spot, Visual Java FX among others seem mouth watering for me!

All said and done I am completely fascinated with our IDE and am proud about it! So I thought why not try to make THE BEST, BETTER!!

NetBeans Addiction Syndrome – An afterthought

2008-04-18T03:09:00.000-07:00

This article is an afterthought on one of my earlier posts – NetBeans addiction syndrome and its side effects, where I have told how addictive and irresistible NetBeaning can be.

One of my teachers happened to read the post and was not very pleased with what he saw. According to him, at this stage of my student life, I should be keen on learning the underlying concepts that hold the key to programming and build a strong base that is important if you want to survive in software field rather than jumping on the application side and using all the built in functionality offered by IDE that is so tempting for anyone to use.

I have pondered over the thought for quite some time now. Is it right for me at this stage of my career to dive into the NetBeans world and explore the captivating functionality and ease it has to offer, use all the facilities which make our job so easy or should I be devoting my time towards grasping the basics?

Yes. NetBeans is one of the best (if not THE BEST) when it comes to developing projects that would require large amount of time if done without the IDE. So its perfectly natural for young students like me to get fascinated by the built in features and support it has to offer and use them more and more.

But then when will I learn how exactly the control flows through the java desktop application which is created within seconds by the IDE? Instead of using the JSF Crud generator directly shouldn’t I learn to write database queries, establish connection strings and then do the business logic for creating the web application? The answer as far as I think is yes!!

Another way of looking at things is – I am going to go out into the software industry two years from now. What do I expect there? There is a very high possibility that I will be working on an IDE when I finally land up there. So what is going to help me out there? The basic programming know-how or the expertise in working with the IDE!

I think a student must somehow achieve a correct balance to succeed. Not only he should work on grooming the basic concepts in programming, but he should also be well rehearsed with upcoming features and trends that modern integrated development environments have to offer. It’s a fine balance, but that’s the beauty of programming for me!!

I would love to hear what opinions experienced software professionals and industry people have in this delicate topic. Also the thoughts of my fellow students are welcome.

Brilliance of JSF Crud Generator in NetBeans 6.1

2008-04-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Introduction:

NetBeans 6.1 comes up with new JSF Crud generator. Lets try and explore..

I must confess I have no prior knowledge of JSF and learned it through the tutorial, “Using Java Persistence API within a Visual Web JSF Application”. So if any of concepts are wrongly presented here please excuse me.

In the above tutorial we learn first to create a table in Database and then use NetBeans 6.0 JSF functionality to create a page that will simply display table contents. The tutorial thus guides us in making Hello World example for Web Application through NetBeans.

If you go through the tutorial you will realize the steps and coding that is required to simply display the data from one table.

Here we will explore the new JSF crud generator feature in NetBeans 6.1 and see for ourselves how easily we can create a database application using its features.

Three steps in creating the Application:

Setting up the web project:

1. We will use the sample derby database that comes up with NetBeans for our application. (jdbc:derby://localhost:1527/sample)

To connect to database: Goto services tab >> right click on [app on App] >> connect.

2. If you expand the tables node, following tables will bhe seen:

Note: The users table was added by me when I followed the tutorial mentioned at start.

Create a new Web application. In the frameworks window click on Visual Web Server faces.

Now the project has been set up.

2. Creating the Entity classes from database:

1. Right click project >> New >> Entity Classes from database.

2. In Data Source select the JDBC / sample

3. The data tables will be shown. Say add all to create classes for all tables.

4. Click on Create Persistance Unit option.

5. Following dialog will be shown. Click create.

6. Click finish. You will see following classes created in Source Package > App node

3. Creating JSF pages from entity classes:

1. Now goto WebPages > Resources and right clict >> New >> JSF pages from entity classes.

2. All entity classes will be shown. Say Add all.

3. Click next. The Wizard will ask you to specify the JSF Pages folder. Browse and specify it properly. Thats where your page will get generated. In my case it was WebApplication1\WebPages\Resources\

4. A new file WelcomeJSF.jsp will be added to the directory. Open it and try to understand what is actually happening. Also explore the new files created in the Sources folder. You will realize the amount of coding the generator does for us.

5. Now just Right Click WelcomeJSF.jsp and say Run File. That’s it!!

Output:

A new web page will appear as follows:

Click on any of the links, say Product code items. You will see following page:

Thus options for selection, Editing, Deleting, Adding new data all are provided for us. Easily navigation links are also provided.

Conclusion:

Thanks to the new JSF crud generator in NetBeans IDE 6.1 we are just clicks away from representing our whole database through robust and well designed web pages. So if you have a database ready and want to create a web application representing it, think of NetBeans 6,1 and JSF Generator will be at your service.

Again.. Hats off to NetBeans!!

Important Note:

I realized later that a similar thing was also tried by David Heffelfinger-2 as presented here.
Though he tried doing it in NetBeans 6.1 Beta and got some bugs.

NetBeans Addiction Syndrome and its Side Effects..

2008-04-15T10:01:00.001-07:00

Why is it that drug addicts and computer aficionados are both called users?

Well.. If you ask my mom to describe my behavior in the recent past she will just replace the word computer in the above quote with “NetBeans 6.1 Beta” (And I am not lying when I say that).

While we find a strict contrast between drug users and addicted NetBeaners like me, both do have a certain striking similarities in their behavioral manners and general tendencies towards life. So I have coined a new term for those crazy bunch of idiots and their addiction.

We can call it Netbeans Addiction Syndrome!! (NAS)

I am certainly suffering from this weirdo disease and I am proud of it. But in the process me and my surroundings have faced certain side effects which I would like to mention here.

I don’t like mentioning it… But I have my VI Semester University Exam starting 17^th April!!! So I should be ratto-ing the boring System Programming and the stupid flow-charts and the yawning mass of theory right now. But when I open the text-book, a voice comes from within me which yells at me. “What a waste of time you are doing!!” And I close the book, open the PC and start NetBeans 6.1 and then… That’s it! 4- 5 hours of NetBeaning! That until my mom comes and gives me a reality check…

I mean how can one concentrate on reading how compile and go loaders worked, or remember flowchart for conversion of two–pass macro processor into one-pass macro processor, when he has more that half his mind on the coolest and trendiest features that NetBeans has to offer? Ok even if you somehow try to focus on the job at hand, how can you not want to get back to the simplicity, modularity, ease and speed offered by NetBeans for making any application you may dream?

And the biggest problem with this NAS is that you don’t yet have any antidote!! You can just surrender yourself as an NASer and hope that it will release you out of its hold so that you can pay attention to your surroundings.

So I will strongly recommend young students or developers who aspire to become a NetBeaner – Think twice before you enter this world!! It may cost you your exam, it may drastically distort your daily routine, and looking further you may be at a risk of loosing your girlfriend! (You don’t think of anything else once you are a NASer)

Having said that I am really proud of being a NetBeaner and love every minute of it!!

(Note: I had topped my University Exams last Semester. My poor parents and teachers think I will repeat the same again!!)

Zipping the suite in NetBeans 6.1 RC1.

2008-04-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

In my last blog we saw how we can build on top of NetBeans Platform development application suite using an existing module. Now lets explore the feature further. Lets see how easily we can create a zip distribution of our project..

Actually there is not much to see as such. But I found it so cool that I thought it would be worth sharing. Hope you like it…

Just Right Click the suite application >> click Build Zip Distribution.

After about 1- 2 minutes a “projectname.zip” file will get created in project\dist\ path.

After unzipping the file I found following folders:

Platform8 – This must have come because my module depends on platform8. Please correct me if I am wrong.
ProjectName – This folder contains many sub folders consisting of project tracking information and also core jar file of the project as well as the module jar files.
etc – It contains .cluster and .conf files related to the project.
Bin – It contains the executable file for the project as well as .exe file for windows. (And the icon also looks cool!)

That’s it!! You have got a perfect zip distribution that is ready to be exported wherever you want.

I think a developers life cannot be simplifies any further… Do you agree??

Adding existing project to Platform App Suite in 6.1

2008-04-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

In my last post- New Platform Application development support in 6.1 RC1 we saw how we can use the new Platform app development feature to create a suite project that will help us build on top of the IDE.

Here well try to explore it further.. We will see how we can add an existing module project to the PAD (Platform Application development) suite and use the existing brilliance of IDE to create our own stand alone application.

1. Create a new PAD suite. (Refer to my earlier post)
If you try to run the project as it is now you will see the following in output window:

2. Click on Important Files >> project properties as shown:

A new properties file will open up which will contain information like app.name, app.title, branding.token, and modules..

3. Right click Important Files >> NetBeans Platform Config to see the platform file that will carry the information regarding enabled / disabled modules and clusters in our project.

4. Right click on Modules and say Add Existing.. To add an existing module to project.

I have used the Image module which will help us load images within IDE. See my earlier post Opening Images within NetBeans - Tutorial for more..

Now if you again open the properties file you can see the module information automatically added to the file.

5. Now build and run the project.. Thats it. We have successfully created our first stand alone application on top of NetBeans.. wasn't that quick??
Well the slow part was the time taken by the new project to launch.. I had to wait for best part of 4 - 5 minutes before the new instance of IDE opened up. It was strange because the new instance was a toned - down version of the existing one- only consisting of the module that we added, nothing else..

The output was something like this..

To find our image window click on window >> imageFrame.

Well am certainly fascinated by this new platform application development suite feature. Hope you like it too...

New Platform Application development support in 6.1 RC1

2008-04-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

I started exploring the NetBeans 6.1 RC1 pack and it was just a matter of time before I stumbled upon the most striking feature as far as I am concerned...

A seperate module support for NetBeans Platform Application development..

You can visit Platform and Rich Client Application Development page for more comprehensive information.

Although the IDE has always offered comprehensive GUI support for building IDE modules and rich client applications on top of NetBeans Platform, 6.1 RC1 comes up with a seperate module suite for the specific purpose.
The NetBeans Platform Application creates a new empty NetBeans Platform Application. This is an application skeleton, without any modules. It is the starting point for your own rich-client applications.

Just say File > New Project > NetBeans Modules > NetBeans Platform Application

The following project base is created by default:

Its upto us now to explore and use the new feature as per our needs...
Hats off NetBeans for simplifying and providing mouth-watering support for rich client applications. It ought be an appplication developers dream!!

Complete Newbies to NetBeans IDE?? Start here..

2008-04-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Are you are a complete newbie to NetBeans IDE? Do you wish to get familier with the features and facilities provided by the IDE? Dont know where to start?
Well.. you have the solution here..

Sun Student Cources might just prove to be the kick start you need!

It offers an online cource for learning Real World Technologies -- NetBeans GUI Builder, JRuby, JavaFX, and JavaME in an easy assignment based approach. This course is designed to give university students exposure to exciting and leading-edge technologies that are being used in real-life software development environments.

It covers 4 topics:
1. NetBeans GUI Builder
2. JRuby
3. JavaFX
4. JavaME.

This course will allow students to get going as quickly as possible with these technologies. Students are expected to do the lab exercises and then submit homework assignments

You can complete the cource in three steps:
1. Register for the course.
2. Read material/Tutorial provided. (as web pages or pdfs)
3. Submit the small assignments.

The course provides just what a newbie would like to learn in an easily digestable manner. It consist of five modules which will brief you with the related concepts. Each module is followed by a brilliant tutorial will guide you through your first small project using the IDE.

There is also a discussion forum where all doubts can be discussed and solved.
And what more??
After completion of the course you will get a cool certificate:
(This is certificate which I got when I completed the Solaris course that is also provided for students)

So what are you waiting for? Get registered and start NetBeaning!! Believe me its worth your time...

Up close with NetBeans IDE 6.1 Release Candidate

2008-04-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Netbeans 6.1 Release Candidate is now available..
It has the following new features..

1. JavaScript Support
2. Performance Enhancements
3. Spring Framework Support
4. New MySQL Support in Database Explorer
5. Java Beans Support
6. JSF CRUD Generator
7. Ruby/JRuby Support
8. Javadoc Code Completion
9. Support for Popular Web APIs
10. RESTful Web Service Support
11. Sharing Projects (AKA Sharable Libraries)
12. New Update Center Modules

More information available here..

You can download NetBeans IDE 6.1 here.

Exploring java beans in 6.1 Beta

2008-04-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

Java Beans functionality that had been dropped in NetBeans IDE 6.0 has again been provided in IDE 6.1 Beta with some new features. I tried to explore the new features in my own way. Frankly speaking, I had to start from the scratch. I didn’t even know what a java bean is five days before!! So please excuse me if I have misunderstood any concept.

For the starters..
NetBeans 6.1 Beta has included the following new bean functionality (as mentioned in the NetBeans IDE 6.1 Release Candidate Information)
1. Bean Patterns in Navigator
2. Generate Bean Property
3. BeanInfo Editor
I tried to find it first hand…

Creating a new Image Bean
I tried to create a simple bean that will have a function to display any image. The bean created will reside in the palette so that we can drag and drop it just like any other control in the palette. Here’s how we can go about creating the bean..
Starting the project..
For loading and displaying the image, we will make use of JAI API.
Create a sample java project and name it as ImageBean.
Now right click on source package >> select New >> Other >>Java Bean object.

NetBeans 6.1 Beta provides following options for bean development:
1. Java Beans Component : Creates a new JavaBeans component. The created skeleton code contains a sample property and property change support.
2. Bean Info: Creates a new BeanInfo class. The BeanInfo is used as a description of how its associated JavaBeans component should behave and appear.
3. Bean Info w/o icon: It is BeanInfo class without icon.
4. Customizer: Creates a Customizer panel for a JavaBeans component. The customizer can then be used during design time in the IDE to configure the bean.
5. Property Editor: Creates a PropertyEditor class. Property editors are used at design time in IDEs to support editing of the properties of JavaBeans components.

Adding the essential code:
1. For simplicity, we will go with the Customizer panel. So, add a new Costomizer panel to our project and name it as ImageBean.

2. Now add a new jInternalFrame to the panel, rename it as imageFrame.

3. Add the following packages at the top in source tab.

import java.io.File;
import javax.swing.JFileChooser;
import javax.media.jai.PlanarImage;
import com.sun.media.jai.widget.DisplayJAI;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Container;
import javax.media.jai.JAI;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;

4. Add the following private variables to class. These will be required to load and display the image.

//To load the image file
PlanarImage srcImage = null;
//To display the image file
DisplayJAI srcdj = null;
JScrollPane srcScrollPaneImage = null;
//To choose file by browsing
private JFileChooser FileChooser = new JFileChooser();
//This flag will be set once image is loaded for the first time
public boolean flag;

5. Also add the following method to the class. This method will load the image into the bean according to the specified path.

public void displayimage(File path ) {
// Load the image which file name was passed as the first argument to the application.
srcImage = JAI.create("fileload", path.getPath());
//When image is loaded for first time...
if(flag == false ) {
// Get the JFrame's ContentPane.
Container contentPane = imageFrame.getContentPane();
contentPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
// Create an instance of DisplayJAI.
srcdj = new DisplayJAI(srcImage);
// Add to the JFrame's ContentPane an instance of JScrollPane containing the
// DisplayJAI instance.
srcScrollPaneImage = new JScrollPane(srcdj);
//srcScrollPaneImage
contentPane.add(srcScrollPaneImage,BorderLayout.CENTER);
this.setVisible(true); // show the frame.
flag = true;
}
//If any image was already loaded before
else {
srcdj.set(srcImage);
}
}

The real fun starts now.
The support provided by NetBeans 6.1 Beta for bean development comes into play now.
Right click on the ImageBean class and you will see following options:

Click on the BeanInfoEditor option and following dialog will appear:

Click ok. A ImageBeanInfoEditor will be automatically created for you.
Now a new designer view is provided along with source view for the InfoEditor.
Switch to designed view and you will see the following:

You can see that the designer shows:
1. The bean whose info is being shown
2. The properties of the bean.
3. Event Sources corresponding to the events that will be handled by our bean.
4. Methods that our bean has.

Note that the displayimage method has a red cross corresponding to it which specifies that it has not been included in the bean info. You can right click, and say “toggle include” to include it in bean info.

Alternately you can just check the box for including in bean info as shown:

The changes that you make to your bean will be automatically reflected in the bean info editor. If you add properties or event handlers to your bean corresponding changes can be easily checked out in the bean info. Also the bean patterns can be monitored through the navigator which describes all properties and events of bean.

Compiling and adding the bean to palette.
Now our bean is ready to be used. But before that we must compile it and add it to palette. For that first right-click on ImageBean class and click compile.
Now again right-click >> Tools >> Add to palette.

Following dialog will appear. Select Beans and click ok.

Testing our bean:
1. Create a new jFrame class.
2. Go to palette and select our imageBean. You may have to refresh palette so that the bean is visible.

3. Now after the call to initComponents() method in source view add the following code:
imageBean1.displayimage(new File("C:\\pic.jpg"));
This will call the display image function that we had added to our bean. Pass the path of image that you want to load in the file object constructor.
Now set this class as main class of project and run the project.

Output:
The following output will be seen:

Conclusion:
Thus the new features provided for bean development in NetBeans 6.1 have made making useful bean components a really easy and interesting task. I did not explore the whole facilities provided but for a start I found it really user friendly and easy.
Thanks 6.1 Beta!!

How about Community Docs within the IDE?

2008-04-11T09:49:00.000-07:00

NetBeans community docs wiki is a collaboration space for NetBeans users and developers. It is home to excellent documentation regarding all aspects of NetBeans and provides young developers around the world the much needed kick start as far as diving into NetBeans field is concerned. I as a novice started learning NetBeans using the articles, tutorials and tips and tricks provided in an excellent way in the Docs.

Now I have myself contributed two tutorials to the Community Docs ( RMS Tutorial and Opening images within NetBeans ). It was at this time that the thought passed my mind..

NetBeans Community docs has played a significant role in marketing and popularising the NetBeans IDE specially among the student community (I have experienced it first hand). More and more people are now willing to contribute back to the community and NetBeans in general through tutorials, articles, Tips etc.

Now writing a Doc can be a labourious affair ,I had to open three things simultaneously while writing them:
1. NetBeans IDE to develop and execute the project.
2. Word Document to type in doc.
3. MS Paint to view and edit the screen shots....

Also finding the right guide or tutorial on the WIKI can sometimes be frustrating affair, and many times you dont find what exactly you want even if its there.

So why cant the developers think of providing support for Community Docs within the NetBeans IDE for the next version??
How about a seperate tutorial template that will have facility for typing the tutorials within the IDE according to the standard specifications, including support for managing and editing screenshots, and finally uploading the tutorial on the WIKI all done easily from within the IDE!!

Along with the tutorial support, the IDE can also maintain an index or a qiuck guide kind of a thing that will directly supply the user with the available list of tutorials on any topic of interest. This will not only save the browsing time for the newbies, but will also be helpful and time saving for experienced developers who might get stumbled on silly issus that need to be polished up.

Something to think upon right??

Well when I searched for such a thing I came to know that a Tutorial Module has already been proposed by Ankit Jain, Sumeet Singh & Varun Nischal where in they plan to make a tutorial template for easily posting tutorials.

I think this is a great idea that could be seriously considered by the developers for the next versions.. Hope you agree!

Embedded development Support in NetBeans?

2008-04-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

NetBeans claims that it is the only IDE that you need!!

Well if you consider the different project and software development areas you will find that NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta does offer brilliant development tools for most of them.

The most popular application areas supported by NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta are:
1. Java
2. Web
3. Enterprise
4. Mobility
5. UML
6. SOA
7. Ruby
8. C/C++
9. NetBeans Modules

Wow!!! That sounds cool!

Is there something missing?? Look at the list again...

Absolutely no support for embedded development!!
One might argue that there is support for the Sun Spot Applications development in NetBeans (refer my article The COOL "Sun Spots"!!)
But Sun Spots are just emerging and have a long way to go.

So what I want to say is why can't NetBeans provide support for Embedded development?

There are robust tools available for the same like Keil which has the best development tools for ARM, XC16x/C16x/ST10, 251, and 8051 microcontroller families.

Keil is not Open Source nor free and my college spent handsome money to buy the tool.
For embedded programmers such tools are very important and if Netbeans ventures in this area and provides support for the same it will not only be great for the community but also help to improve the popularity of the IDE!!

And that will surely take it one step closer to being the only IDE that anyone will need!!

Beta Startup problem Returns!!

2008-04-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

They say that strange things happen to strange people!!

If you have read my previous post "Beta - Start up problem!!" you would be aware of the silly start-up problem that I faced.

Well.. at that time I was able to solve it as described in my post.. "Start-up problem solved!"

But it has now resurfaced.. and how!!!

This time the problem seems to be more troublesome. The IDE doesn't even pretend to start as it had done the previous time. Heres whats happening:

The new problem:

1. When I try to start the IDE absolutely nothing happens...

2. When I look in the processes tab in TaskManager , and double-click on the IDE, the processes:
netbeans.exe and nbexec.exe start for a split second of time and then vanish out!!

3. When I try to delete the folder: C:\Documents and Settings\username\.netbeans\6.1beta the following error is flashed...

Now the most interesting and frustrating part of it is that, my NetBeans IDE 6.0 is working fine!!
Also if I try to delete the "~\.netbeans\6.0" folder no error is flashed and it gets moved safely in recycle bin.

I again resorted to the cheapest way out!! uninstalling and again reinstalling the IDE.

And surprise surprise!!! The thing worked...

I simply cant understand why no one else is experiencing these stupid things.. Is there a special virus on my PC that just affects NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta???

If any one has the answer or a precaution, please help!!!

Tokens View

2008-04-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled upon a new feature that came bundled up with NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta, and found it quite interesting.

A Tokens View and AST View window..

These views are of use more so for module developers, and are not meant for end users. For further information visit this post by Geertjan's weblog

To open the Tokens View goto:
Windows >> Other >> Tokens View.

The tokens view shows all the tokens that will be generated by the Lexical Analyzer for the current java file.

Well I found the feature quite cool. I have studied different phases of compiler, including the lexical analysis phase, not long ago (It is in my college curriculum this semester!) I was quite happy to see first hand information of the tokens that were being generated...(This may sound quite stupid!! Sorry for that.. But thats "NOVICE"-ness for you :-) )

I tried to find out the application and use of this feature and found out this brilliant GLF Tutorial
I hope you find this interesting...

Start-up problem solved!

2008-04-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Note: Please refer my previous blog to know about the start-up problem i faced.

After a full day of toiling i finally managed to eliminate the start-up problem that I mentioned in my previous blog.

You may find the following information useful if you ever experience the same problem...

Here is an account of what I actually did:

1. The first and most obvious step in such a situation will be, uninstall the IDE and reinstall it!
Well I did the same thing. But during uninstall I got a message telling me that a .lock file exist in my user directory. But I could not stop the uninstall process and the IDE was successfully uninstalled.

2. Then I installed it again and hoped that everything will work out well... But no!! The same old problem again. So now what to do??

I searched about the ".lock" file and found a useful article (You may want to refer it too).
I found out following:

Immediatelly after startup the launcher will try to create a lock file in user directory: $nbuser/lock. If the creation succeeds, the launcher continues to run and allocates a java.net.ServerSocket on local machine and starts listening on it. After that it writes the port number, plus some randomly generated key into the lock file. To prevent problems with shared directories between multiple computers, also the local IP of the computer is written to the file. When the application is about to exit, it stops listening on the port and deletes the lock file (or the file can be marked as deleteOnExit).

Start of the Second Instance: When a second instance of the NetBeans is executed over the same user dir, it fails to create the lock file, so instead of launching second instance of NetBeans it opens the file and reads its content to find out the port and secret key for communication with the running NetBeans instance. When read (but this may fail as well, see next section) the launcher connects to the specified port on localhost (may fail as well), verifies that the running instance recognizes the secret key and if so, it refuses to start new instance of NetBeans over this directory.

3. So, now this solves the first puzzle... and I figured out why after restarting the machine,the IDE atleast tried to start for first time(before quitting with exception) and refused to start after that.

4. Now I deleted the .lock file and ran the IDE. It started up, loaded modules and again the EXCEPTION. I found the .lock file created again. Something fishy was going on...
I concluded that the .lock file was being created by the IDE when it was first asked to start after rebooting the system and not being destroyed. Which means that the loader will think that the IDE is still running even though it has crashed due to exception.

5. Then I decided to take a chance and deleted the complete 6.1beta folder at C:\Documents and Settings\jay\.netbeans\

Fingers crossed!!! I double-clicked on the IDE, and hurray!!! The IDE finally woke up and began running. It did ask me if the settings created by previous IDE (6.0 which I have still kept) should be imported (There was also a folder for 6.0 in the path mentioned above). I clicked on no (Out of instinct!).

I still haven't figured out what went wrong but am sure that some settings in the 6.1Beta folder must have gone wrong!! If anybody has a valid answer or resource where I can find the reason for the exceptional exception I will be more than thankful!

Morale of the story: I case your IDE 6.1 Beta refuses to start, giving a null pointer exception, don't panic, dont restart your machine, don't even uninstall the IDE. Just delete the C:\Documents and Settings\username\.netbeans\6.1beta folder!!!!

Crazy, but it works!

Beta - Start up problem!!

2008-04-02T21:53:00.001-07:00

NetBeans 6.1 Beta was working just fine with me..
...until yesterday.
Now it has finally started to show up its "beta"ness.
----Null Pointer Exception during startup!!-----

Before the problem:

I usually hibernate my PC instead of turning it off, and the NetBeans IDE is open most of the time.I was working on the Images module project, and it was all well. I had to restart my PC for some reason.
I dont exactly remember what went wrong. But when i opened the IDE next time it flashed a Null Pointer Exception!!!.

Details of the problem:

Now whenever I restart my PC and start NetBeans for the first time, the wrecked exception comes up to greet me. Here are some of the pertaining to the exception:

Exception popup:

Show Details:Data collected in review and report:

Still More...

When I try to start it the second or third time, a "JFrame" like window opens up.
I can maximise it or close it.

I have reported the problem in NetBeans.

Something for the developers to look into...
For me..

BETA- has shown its first "beta"ness!!

Opening Images within NetBeans - PlugIn

2008-04-02T02:41:00.001-07:00

In my last article I presented a small tutorial on how to open images in NetBeans IDE. I have extended the functionality and made a utility plug-in that can not only open images but also perform basic operations on them including Zooming, Cropping, Shearing, Rotating and filtering out RGB components.
I have also uploaded the plug-in on the official NetBeans plugin portal where it can be downloaded and used freely.

Visit the ImagePlugin page to download.

Note: Special thanks to my team members
1. Sumit Roy
2. Pryianka Singh

This plug-in is an extension to our VI - Semester project on image processing.
Project Guide: Prof. M.B.Chandak,
H.O.D
ComputerScience Deptt,
SRKNEC, Nagpur.

Opening Images within NetBeans - Tutorial

2008-04-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here I demonstrate a small module project that will enable to open Images within NetBeans.

TOC:

1. Introduction.
2. Resources needed.
3. Setting up display.
4. Putting code in places.
5. Output.
6. Summary.

1. Introduction
We often have to include image files in our projects. To select a proper image and its suitability we need the help of image viewer. But it would be nice if we can open the images from within the IDE. We will see how easily it can be done using NetBeans Module development and the Java Advanced Imaging API.(JAI)

About JAI:
JAI is intended to support image processing using the Java programming language as generally as possible. At the same time, JAI presents a simple programming model that can be readily used in applications without a tremendous mechanical programming overhead or a requirement that the programmer be expert in all phases of the API’s design. JAI encapsulates image data formats and remote method invocations within a reusable image data object, allowing an image file, a network image object, or a real-time data stream to be processed identically. Thus, JAI represents a simple programming model while concealing the complexity of the internal mechanisms.
Detailed Information on JAI is present on the Official JAI Site.

2. Resources Needed:

I. NetBeans IDE 6.0/ 6.1Beta
II. JAI API

Download JAI API Builds
Install JAI API in appropriate directory. Make note of the path. We will need to add the JAR files in our libraries of project if it is not installed in proper directory of NetBeans.

You may want to refer this beginners tutorial before proceeding

3. Setting up Display:

I. Create a new NetBeans module project.
Name it as ImageModule.

II. Create a new Window Component.

Set Window position as Editor.
Give Class Name Prefix as: ImageFrame
Select a suitable icon (16 x 16).
Click Finish.

You will have the following in your project tab

III. Go to ImageFrameTopComponent and add an internalFrame to it from the palette.
Rename it as ImageFrame.

IV. Add a MenuBar to the Frame.
Delete the Edit menu button.
Rename File Menu Button as Image.

V. Add a MenuItem to it as shown.
Edit its text to Open and set the variable name as openMenu.

V. Add an ActionPerformed event Handler to the Menu button.
OpenMenu >> Right Click >>Events >> ActionPerformed

4. Putting code in Places:

i. Import the following packages:

import java.io.File;
import javax.swing.JFileChooser;
import javax.media.jai.PlanarImage;
import com.sun.media.jai.widget.DisplayJAI;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Container;
import javax.media.jai.JAI;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;

ii. Add private variables:

//To select the path of image file
private File file;
//To load the image file
private PlanarImage srcImage = null;
//To display the image file
private DisplayJAI srcdj = null;
private JScrollPane srcScrollPaneImage = null;
//To choose file by browsing
private JFileChooser FileChooser = new JFileChooser();
//This flag will be set once image is loaded for the first time
public boolean flag = false;

iii. Add the following method to the class:

public void displayimage(File path )
{

// Load the image which file name was passed as the first argument to the
// application.
srcImage = JAI.create("fileload", path.getPath());
//When image is loaded for first time...
if(flag == false )
{
// Get the JFrame's ContentPane.
Container contentPane = ImageFrame.getContentPane();
contentPane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
// Create an instance of DisplayJAI.
srcdj = new DisplayJAI(srcImage);
// Add to the JFrame's ContentPane an instance of JScrollPane containing the
// DisplayJAI instance.
srcScrollPaneImage = new JScrollPane(srcdj);
//srcScrollPaneImage
contentPane.add(srcScrollPaneImage,BorderLayout.CENTER);
ImageFrame.setVisible(true); // show the frame.
ImageFrame.validate();
flag = true;
}
//If any image was already loaded before
else
{
srcdj.set(srcImage);
}

iv. In the OpenMenu Action Performed Handler add the following code.
It wil launch the JFileChooser dialog box so as to browse for image to be selected.

int returnVal = FileChooser.showOpenDialog(this);
if (returnVal == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION)
{
//Initialise file object
file = FileChooser.getSelectedFile();
//Display the image
displayimage(file);
}

V. Build and Run the project.

1. Output:

A new instance of the IDE will be launched. You can open the Image Frame as shown.

2. Choose the image using the file chooser. Image will get displayed as shown.

6. Summary:

JAI is a powerful tool and can be efficiently used to design a Image viewing utility plug-in.

The COOL "Sun Spots"!!

2008-04-01T09:33:00.000-07:00

Sun SPOT (Small programmable object technology) is my latest fascination! And one has to play with it to know how amazing it can be...
The Sun SPOT Device is a small, wireless, battery powered experimental platform. It is programmed almost entirely in Java to allow regular programmers to create projects that used to require specialized embedded system development skills.
The hardware platform includes a range of built-in temperature and light sensors, LEDs , IO Pins and an accelerometer as well as the ability to easily interface to external devices. Though it is in its initial stages and has a long way to go, the start seems to be really promising.

The spot comes with its own SDK an Emulator facility which is a simulation of the real spot.
And you don't have to buy the Development Kit to get in on the fun. You can get the SDK and get started with writing code, and running it on the Sun SPOT Emulator all without hardware!

More information on David Simmons' blog

And what more?? You can code for it using your favourite NetBeans IDE!! Lets see how the spot finally shapes up in the future...

Till then keep spotting!! And if you have not yet spotted the spot believe me you have missed SOMETHING!!!

Module development: Slowing things down???

2008-03-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

40% faster startup in NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta than 6.0!!!!

Thats 100% true....

But what about the overall performance??

I am writing this blog after two hours of frustration! And its 4 -30 AM . So if i curse something for wrong reasons, please don't mind it....

Yes! I am talking about 6.1 Beta slowing down my system upto the point of frustration!! It came to actual standstill!!!

All this when I was developing module project... added a window component to it.. The IDE goes to sleep and so does my system.. I restart my pc and the same thing happens again... and again!!!

Then I somehow gathered all my reserves of patience and waited for about five - ten minutes after i had clicked the close button on the IDE. It finally closed..

Then I went to the Task Manager which as expexted took ages to open up and I found this.....

What the hell are these four processes (netbeans.exe,nbexec,nbexec,Java.exe) doing even after I have closed the NetBeans IDE???
And the CPU usage is 100% !!!

I terminated these process manually...
And finally my system came to normal.

May be there might be an incompatible program running in my system which i think is highly unlikely.

If you have also experienced the same problem.. please feel free to add a comment..

Something for the NetBeans developers to look into...

Note: My desktop has a P4 2.66 GHz CPU , 704 MB Ram...

Using RMS to create Expenses utility for Mobiles in NetBeans

2008-03-28T12:01:00.002-07:00

Here i present a small tutorial to built utility applications using the RMS facility
in J2ME and NetBeans.

Table Of Content:

1. Introduction to RMS.

2. Aim.

3. Tools needed.

4. Creating the basic classes.

5. Creating the basic display containers.

6. Linking the display items.

7. Adding RMS functionality in the event handlers using the classes created.

8. Compile and run the project.

9. Future scope.

1. Introduction to RMS:

Small computing devices do not have a robust file system and therefore are unable to store information in the manner that we are accustomed to when working with a PC, server, and other traditional computing devices. The Record Management System (RMS) provides a file system–like environment that is used to store and maintain persistence in a small computing device. We can insert records, read records, search for particular records, and sort records stored by the RMS.

RMS stores information in a record store. A record store is a collection of records organized as rows (records) and columns (fields). RMS automatically assigns to each row a unique integer that identifies the row in the record store, which is called the record ID.

2. Aim:

To create a simple application in J2ME that will provide facility for storing expenses. The application will provide options for storing the reason for expens and the amount spent using an easy interface.

3. Tools Needed:

NetBeans IDE 6.0/ 6.1
Mobility Pack.

4. Creating the basic classes:

Create New MIDP application. Name it as ExpensesApp.

I. A HelloMIDlet.java file will be created in the src\hello\ package.

II. Create a new java file: Expenses.java.

III. Paste the following code there:

import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.DataInputStream;
import java.io.DataOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.microedition.rms.InvalidRecordIDException;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStore;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStoreException;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStoreFullException;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStoreNotFoundException;
/**
* This class is the base for handling the storage part of our
* Expenses application
*
* It handles all the writing and reading of the data from
* record store.
*
* An instance of this class will be created in the main Midlet
*
* @author jay
*/
public class Expenses {

/**
* The reason for which the expense was incurred
*/
String Reason = null;

/**
* The Amount of money that spent for the particular expense
*/
int Amount ;

/**
* Method to write the st to disk
*/
void writeToDisk() throws IOException {
try {
RecordStore ExpenseRecord = RecordStore.openRecordStore("ExpRecord", true);
//Creating output streams
ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
DataOutputStream os = new DataOutputStream(baos);
//Writing value to be saved to output stream
os.writeUTF(this.Reason);
os.writeInt(this.Amount);

//close stream
os.close();

byte[] data = baos.toByteArray();

//Write the record to the record store
int id = ExpenseRecord.addRecord(data, 0, data.length);
//Close Record store
ExpenseRecord.closeRecordStore();
} catch (RecordStoreFullException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
} catch (RecordStoreNotFoundException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
} catch (RecordStoreException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}

/**
*Method to read record from disk and
* initialize values of member variables
* @param RecordID the id of the record to be read
*/
int readFromDisk(int RecordID) throws IOException {
boolean flag = true;
while (flag) {
try {
RecordStore ExpenseRecord = RecordStore.openRecordStore("ExpRecord",false);
//read get the record, specified by RecordID in a byte array
byte[] data = ExpenseRecord.getRecord(RecordID);

//If record is read, RecordID is valid and flag
//needs to be reset
flag = false;

DataInputStream is = new DataInputStream(new ByteArrayInputStream(data));

//retrieve

this.Reason = is.readUTF();
this.Amount = is.readInt();

//close stream
is.close();
ExpenseRecord.closeRecordStore();
} catch (RecordStoreFullException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
} catch (RecordStoreNotFoundException ex) {

ex.printStackTrace();
} catch (InvalidRecordIDException ex) {
//If invalid recordID, it means that the
//the record was deleted, and we need to search
//in next id for a proper record.
RecordID++;
} catch (RecordStoreException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
//Return the ID of next record
return (++RecordID);
}
}
You may want to add functionality to store date, place etc. Make the corresponding entries here.

IV. Create a new java file: ManageExpenses.java.

package hello;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStore;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStoreException;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStoreFullException;
import javax.microedition.rms.RecordStoreNotFoundException;

/**
* This class is the base for handling the storage part of our
* Expenses application
*
* An instance of this class will be created in the main Midlet
*
* @author jay
*/
public class ManageExpenses {

/**
* The array corresponding that will store myExpense objects
*/
Expenses myExpense[] = null;

/**
* count: To indicate the total number of records
* added: To indicate number of records added since the midlet
* was last opened
*/
int count;

int added;

/**
* Constructor.
*/
ManageExpenses(){
myExpense = new Expenses[20];
count = 0;
added = 0;
};

/**
* Method to write the current state of Expense object
* to a record store.
* This is similar to Serialization of an object
*/
void writeToDisk() {
for (int i = count-added; i < count; i++) {
try {
myExpense[i].writeToDisk();
} catch (IOException ex) {

}
}
}

/**
* Method to read from disk and initialize Expense object
* It is like Deserialization
*/
void readFromDisk() {
try {

//Open Record Store
RecordStore SubjectRecord = RecordStore.openRecordStore("ExpRecord", false);

//Get the length of Record Store in a Length member variable
int Length = SubjectRecord.getNumRecords();

//Start From RecordID 1
int RecordID = 1;

for (int i = 0; i < Length; i++) {
myExpense[i] = new Expenses();
RecordID = myExpense[i].readFromDisk(RecordID);
count++;

}

//Close Record Store
SubjectRecord.closeRecordStore();

} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
} catch (RecordStoreFullException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
} catch (RecordStoreNotFoundException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
} catch (RecordStoreException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}

/**
* @param r
* @param a
* @param d
*
* To add a Expense entry in the list
*/
void addExpense(String r, String a)
{

Expenses e = new Expenses();
//e.id = 0;
e.Reason = r;
e.Amount = Integer.parseInt(a);
myExpense[count++] = e;
added++;

}

}

5. Creating the basic display containers:

I. Open the HelloMIDlet.java and click on the Flow tab you will find something like this:

II. Now go to the palette window and select the list option. Add it to the file by clicking anywhere on the Flow tab as shown:

Rename the List name as well as the instance name as menu. This can be done by right clicking on the list and selecting properties option. This list will be used to display the main menu.

III. Now create an exitCommand for the Menu List Item. This can be done by:

RightClick >> New/Add >> exitCommand as shown:

V. Similarly add two List Elements to Menu and rename them as Add Expense and View Expenses.

VI. Add another List item and rename it as viewExpense. Add backCommand to it. Rename it as backCommandView.

Go to edit view.

Right-click and add two text-fields.

Set their instance names and Labels to “Reason” and “Amount”.

VII. Now go to the Palette tab and add a new Form.

Rename it as addExpenseForm.

Give the title as Add Expense.

Add cancelCommand and okCommand to the form in similar way as described before.

Rename them as cancelCommandAddForm and okCommandAddForm.

VIII. Add a splashScreen from the palette.

Right click splashScreen >> Select Edit.

There set the message to be displayed as “Expense added successfully!”

IX. Finally delete the form that was previously present.

The layout will be as follows:

6. Linking the display items:

Now we come to the most interesting and easy part of creating the application. We will link the display items that we created. This is an easy drag and drop process.

Left click on the event and drag it to the item you want to be displayed on occurrence of that event. The display item will be automatically linked with the event.

Example: On the Started event of Mobile Device item, we want the menu to be displayed.

So, right-click on Started button and drag it to menu.

Create following links in a similar fashion:

Event	Display Item
1. Mobile Device: Started()	menu
2. menu: exitCommandMenu()	Mobile Device
3. menu: Add Expense()	addExpenseForm
4. addExpenseForm: cancelCommandaddForm()	menu
5. addExpenseForm: okCommandAddForm()	splashScreen
6. splashScreen: DISMISS_COMMAND	Menu
7. menu: View Expenses()	viewExpenses
8. viewExpenses: backCommandView()	Menu

The window will look like as follows:

(Note: To get the items arranged in a systematic fashion, click on the button highlighted in red circle in figure)

7. Adding RMS functionality in the event handlers using the classes created.

I. Open the Source Tab.

II. Add variables:

//To indicate that application has started for first time

private boolean flag = false;

//Array of expenses

private ManageExpenses myexp = new ManageExpenses();

III. In the exitMIDlet() function add the following code:

try {
myexp.writeToDisk();
} catch (Exception ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}

IV. Go to Generate Method: menuAction.

Place the code below as shown in next figure

if(!flag)
{
myexp.readFromDisk();
flag = true;
}
for(int i=viewExpense.size();i
{
viewExpense.append(myexp.myExpense[i].Reason+" : "+myexp.myExpense[i].Amount , null);
}

V. Similarly expand Generate Method: CommandAction for Displayables.

Add following code as shown.

myexp.addExpense(Reason.getString(),Amount.getString() );
Amount.setString("");
Reason.setString("");

8. Final Step: Compile and run the project.

You can see following outpot when you launch the Midlet.

9. Future scope:

The functionality can be extended so as to store expenses according to date, give useful information from the stored expenses data like expenses for a particular month etc.

Note: Special thanks to Vasusen Patil who literally dragged me into mobile programming and has always been there for help.

Androiding the NetBeans way…

2008-03-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ever since Google announced the plan to launch the Android platform and enter the mobile development world there have been waves of anticipation in the developer community. Google has released the Android SDK for development of Android applications.

There is a brilliant tutorial for starting android development using NetBeans by Amit K Saha which you can find at: http://wiki.netbeans.org/IntroAndroidDevNetBeans

The unofficial NetBeans plugin available for the android development though has not been updated and since the release of the latest Android SDK m5-rc15 the applications give error in the AndroidManifest.xml file.

I frustratingly searched a day to find out the correct solution and finally ended up here: http://abhrajit.blogspot.com/2008/03/undroid-and-android-sdk-m5-rc15.html

The android platform seems to be really cool and has all the functionality that a developer can dream of. It has a robust set of API functions and the development language is java which makes it all the more addictive and easy to grasp. Besides these Android also provides optional API that give access to the Location-Based Services (such as GPS, compass, etc.), OpenGL 3D graphics, Bluetooth, and accelerometer.

With the Android developer challenge deadline fast approaching, it needs to be seen is what the developers throughout the world have come up with. And since Google is behind the whole thing, we can just wait and be prepared for a revolution. Sky seems to be the limit!!

Intelliscence for JavaDocs…

2008-03-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

Documentation is the most important aspect of project development. A well documented project is not only easy to understand for others who may want to read it but also for the author himself. I never used to document my code until the day I realized first hand the problems it can create.

As it is rightly said – “Programming is 10% coding and 90%documentation”.

For me documenting has been and will always be the most boring aspect of writing code. But then I came to know about the JavaDocs and its support in Netbeans. If I like java for any reasons the most important of them would be that it has made writing world class standard and formatted documentation a child’s play. And what more...

NetBans 6.1 has made the thing even better. So now not only are you just a click away from generating neatly edited and polished html pages for all the code that you have written, but it also helps you to write formatted JavaDoc comments through the newly added feature of “intelliscence” as I like to call it. (The term was originally coined and is popularly used in regard to the Microsoft Visual Studio).

Just type ‘@’ within your javadoc comment and do ‘CTRL+SPACE’ and the feature will provide you will all the options that you can further write. If you say @see then it will provide the list for all documents that may be referred. The new addition seems to be really cool and is a real help as far as I am concerned.

Though it prompts for most of the possible options the options @author, @serialfield, @version seem to be missing.There must be a good reason for it which I haven’t yet figured out. Or else we can surely expect the additions in the next version.

Till then keep docing the intelliscent way!!

Reference:

To learn how to write comments for javadoc tool : http://java.sun.com/j2se/javadoc/writingdoccomments/
For a tutorial regarding creation of javadocs in NetBeans : http://javadoc.netbeans.org/

Setting off in the right direction - Netbeans IDE 6.1 Beta

2008-03-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

NEWS:

The Netbeans IDE has come of age and its latest release version 6.1 Beta is an outstanding evidence for that. There has been quite a bit of talk regarding the new features it has to offer. The largely awaited release has finally shown up. Download it at
http://dlc.sun.com.edgesuite.net/netbeans/6.1/beta/

The developers as well as the programmers are eager to see whether it lives up to the expectations. Some of the most promising features include:

- JavaScript Support

- Performance Enhancements

- Spring Framework Support

- New MySQL Support in Database Explorer

- Java Beans Support

- JSF CRUD Generator

- Ruby/JRuby Support

- Javadoc Code Completion

- Sharing Projects (AKA Sharable Libraries)

- New Update Center Modules

The details of the above features may be viewed at http://www.netbeans.org/community/releases/61/

The developers also seem to be eagerly anticipating the response from users and the community and have launched a blogging contest in that regard.

http://www.netbeans.org/competition/blog-contest.html?cid=923686

The luxury of an “IDE”

2008-03-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

I still remember the good old days when I used to sit for days together writing stupid programs in C (those good old days are actually not that old – I am talking about a year and half ago when I wrote my Hello World program in C). I was proud of myself when I had written an othello game program and I thought I am a genius. I had written more than “twelve hundred” lines of code sitting in front of computer for two full days. Whew!!! The designing of the UI (using 16 bit graphics with keyboard as the only source of input) and the help file and the artificial intelligence and handling the events…. All done tediously using C!!

Now if I try to implement the same program I am sure will make it in 4 – 5 hours with a tidy user interface, click – button event handlers and 6.4 million graphic colors. This is the power that an Integrated Development Environment can offer. It offers all the conveniences that a programmer can dream about.

I first got the chance to get my hands on the Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0. And I got instantly addicted to it. And from then on I thought I will forget the Blue Turbo C++ screen.

I am completely fascinated with the .Net Framework and now by Net Beans. The quality, ease and functionality they offer is quite extraordinary. The intellisence of Visual Studio which prompts all possible options as we type our code, the refactoring facility, the wizard generated code, automatic generation of JavaDocs in NetBeans, the cool project, file and resource management tabs, versioning facilities, xml support, ant scripting, formatting there seems to be no end to the luxuries the IDE has to offer.

But then I realized there is also other side to it. Given all the comforts that the IDE’s have to offer, at the end of the day what matters is how the programmer uses it. For that the concepts underlying the software development must be strong. And to build those one has to sit in front of that Blue Screen. As Mr Yeshwant Kanetkar always says- "Code till your fingers start to swell, only then can you say you have scaled a tiny part of the monstrous hill called programming".

So, keep coding!!!