Ruby on Rails Posted:
Just made a configuration change on my hosting account: disabled Java in order to get Ruby-On-Rails
Decisions, decisions, decisions... Posted:
For a website I want to build, I have to choose the platform and the programming language. At work I use Java and Websphere 6, but can't use it for my own project. The reason is that I don't know how popular my service would be it seems quite expensive to put it into Websphere hosting. I have Java capabilities in my hosting plan here, but its only for web applications with no backend server support. In other words - there will be no MVC. Only JSPs and servlets.
And I will not be able to use JDK 5, nor be able to change server to, say, Glassfish, so I will be able to use some latest useful JSF components.
Another choice would be to choose other language, say Ruby. But I don't have any experience using it, so it would be a major roadblock for a starters.
I'm stuck again!
Windows Live Writer update is released Posted:
News from Writer's blog The following is a summary of the changes in the Writer 1.0 (Beta) Update:
* Tagging support * Support for Blogger Beta * Categories are sorted by name and support scrolling, plus improved support for reading categories from your blog * Improved startup performance * Paste is enabled for Title region and TAB/SHIFT+TAB navigation between title and body supported * Insert hyperlink added to context menu when text is selected * <!--adsense#links--> * Title attribute in Insert Link dialog * Custom date support for Community Server * Improved keyboard shortcuts for switching views * Change spell-check shortcut key to F7 * Add ‘png’ to insert image dialog file type filter * More robust image posting to Live Spaces * Improved style detection for blogs * Fixed issues with pasting URLs and links * Remember last window size and position when opening a new post * Open post dialog retrieves more than 25 old posts</body></html>
Open beta of Rational Software Architect soon Posted:
IBM Rational development organizations host a number of early betas to gain the expert contribution and insight from our customers and from those evaluating IBM Rational products. New open betas for IBM Rational Software Architect V7.0 and Rational Functional Tester V7.0 are scheduled to be available soon. Preregister now and we'll inform you via e-mail when the code is ready for download.
Here is the page with the overview and information on how to register.
Traffic in Moscow Posted:
Here is the map of the one of the Moscow's streets with the directions on how to get from one street to another.
They should have put the roundabout there...
Axis 1.x or Axis2? Posted:
This blog post answers the questions about which version of Axis framework developers should use and also gives a short story about Axis development history. Short and must read.
Websphere security: five tips for first time WAS hardeners Posted:
Spent some time trying to enable Websphere security on my machine. Here are some tips:
- Before trying to secure your WAS create the additional profile and use it to train yourself. Creation of the profile takes five minutes and you could delete it after you finished.
Use %was_install_dir%/bin/ProfileCreator/pctWindows.exe or use command line tool from %was_install_dir%/profiles/default/bin/wasprofile.bat
- Before you going to mess up this profile, make a copy %profile_dir%/config/cells/%cell_name%/security.xml
If you mess up the security and server won't start at all - just replace security.xml with saved copy. Chances are that server will start after that and you don't have to re-create profile.
- If you made some mistake and profile won't start anymore - just delete profile using wasprofile -delete -profileName %your_profile_name%
Sometimes this command won't remove the profile. In this case go to %was_install_dir%/properties and remove line with your profile from profileRegistry.xml. Then you can just simply delete the profile folder.
- After you enabled security you may see the exceptions in the SystemOut.log: (SECJ0305I, ADMN0007I) saying something about UNAUTHORIZED user can not be authorized. To resolve this simply add group, named EVERYONE to the Monitor role
Admin Console - System Administration - Console settings - Console Groups - Add - Select from special subject
- If you securing Websphere, supplied with Rational Software Development Platform, you will have problems starting server and/or deploying applications to it. Editing of the server profile will not always help. The best way is to create the Server project in J2EE perspective and then create the server in that project.
Don't forget to use Security options in the server profile and use SOAP for server communications as RMI not always work.
Sequence Diagram Guidelines revisited Posted:
- Strive for left-to-right ordering of messages.
And if you need to put right-to-left non-return message - consider using another instance of the swimline
- Layer classifiers
Huh?
- Give an actor the same name as a class, if necessary.
We are not dealing with classes in sequence diagrams, so give name to the instance of the actor's class.
- Include a prose description of the logic.
Not always needed, but helps in complicated places.
- Place proactive system actors on the left-most side of your diagram.
Actors are always start interactions. This is whe they called actors - they act.
- Place reactive system actors on the right-most side of your diagram.
No actors in the right side of the diagram at all. This is the rule!
- Avoid modeling object destruction.
Model object destruction freely if it whats you modeling.
- Don’t sweat activation boxes.
Again - if it is required you have to model it. Don't leave it for developer to decide.
- Name objects when you reference them in messages.
Don't do it. It will add much more complexity to the message signatures with no added value.
- Name objects when several of the same type exist.
Name all objects. This is what developer will do anyway.
- Apply textual stereotypes to classifiers consistently.
- Apply visual stereotypes sparingly.
- Focus on critical interactions.
- Justify message names beside the arrowhead.
Don't waste your time. This will not be appreciated.
- Create objects directly.
Is there another way? I think not.
- Apply operation signatures for software messages.
- Apply prose for messages involving human and organization actors.
- Prefer names over types for parameters.
This is true, but you should also set the types for all parameters too.
- Indicate types as parameter placeholders.
- Apply the > stereotype for use case invocations.
No use case invocations in sequence diagrams! It is possible, but will not help developer. Remember: sequence diagram is for developers.
- Do not model obvious return values.
Model them! Let developer know that return value is expected.
- Model a return value only when you need to refer to it elsewhere on a diagram.
Model it everywhere.
- Justify return values beside the arrowhead.
Waste of time!
- Model return values as part of a method invocation.
Before it was said that we don't have to model return values and not we need to model them? As I said - model return values all time.
- Indicate types as return-value placeholders.
Model them in the method signature.
- Indicate the actual value for simple return values.
Indicate the type of the return value. Anything else goes into comments.
Activity Diagrams Guidelines revisited Posted:
Last year, after reading a book about UML, I wrote a set of posts with distilled UML guidelines. Now it is the time to look at them again and put some comments on usage.
- Place the start point in the top-left corner.
I tend to create vertical activity diagrams, so I usually place the start on top and in center. This way looks more visual.
- Include an ending point.
What? No ending point? So activity never ends? I always have at least one ending point
- Simplify operations requiring flow charts.
The whole goal of activity diagrams is to visualize and, if possibly, simplify the process.
- Question “black-hole” activities. Question “miracle” activities.
I would question any activities. It is very usual to have some unneccesary work only because analyst and/or client do not fully understand what is needed and what is achievable
- Reflect the previous activity by using decision points.
- Avoid superfluous decision points.
- Ensure that each transition leaving a decision point has a guard.
If there is no guard then what this flow is trying to decide?
- Do not overlap guards.
Huh?
- Ensure that guards on decision points form a complete set.
And if they not - why do you have decision point, by the way?
- Ensure that exit transition guards and activity invariants form a complete set.
- Apply an [otherwise] guard for “fall-through” logic.
This one support the thesis about having the complete set of the guards next to each decision point.
- Model guards only if they add value.
If you don't have real guards - you should not have the decision point in this place
- Ensure that forks have corresponding joins.
Not always true - some of the forked processes may be terminated before they go to the join. Messaging is a good example.
- Ensure that a fork has only one entry transition.
- Ensure that a join has only one exit transition.
- Avoid superfluous forks.
- Order swimlanes in a logical manner.
It is all about logic, why say more?
- Apply swimlanes to linear processes.
- Have less than five swimlanes.
I would say that is you trying to add fourth swimlane, you are already creating something bigger, than anybody in your team can comprehend without asking you more questions. It is time to simplify the activity.
- Consider swimareas for complex diagrams.
Consider to use UML2 and include sub-activities in this activity
- Reorganize into smaller activity diagrams when swimareas include several activities.
Yes, very good point.
- Consider horizontal swimlanes for business processes.
Well, it depends on business process and your preference.
- Model the key activities in the primary swimlane.
Good point. If you don't have key activities in the primary swimlane chances are that you modeling incorrect activity.
- Place shared action objects on swimlane separators.
- Apply state names when an object appears several times.
- Reflect the life-cycle stage of an action object in its state name.
And use color, if your modelling program allows it.
- Show only critical inputs and outputs.
- Depict action objects as smaller than activities.
Security in JSF apps Posted:
Java Developer's Journal published a very good article on security issues in JSF applications. The article consists of three pages. Two first pages provide the neccessary background information with the possible solution. The third page looks like the editors decided not to publish more details and just finish that article as fast as possible. And source code attachment does not work either.
Another link to check is JSF security project on Sourceforge
CoComment finally become useful Posted:
The CoComment service, which was debuted this year, has some updates, which make this service actually useful. Before those updates there was no way to check for and be notified about comments posted to somebody's post. Now it is possible!
For example: you noticed some interesting post, but don't want to participate in the comments. But you still want to look at other people's thoughts. The only option would be to bookmark the post and come back later. In many cases you will just forget about returning back and the discussions will be gone.
Now you just instruct CoComment's crawler to report any comments and it, if you have any luck, will.
The essence of London Posted:
This is my best photo so far. It has been seen 350 times as of 7th of May, 2006.
Filenet does XSLT Posted:
When some developer sees the XSLT first time she tries to use it the "normal" way - she builds procedural code. Resulting XSLT template will have horrendous memory footprint and will performs really slow. This is exactly what happens with Filenet Workplace.
If you have been on Filenet Fundamentals or Filenet Web Framework course, you have heard that Workplace starts so slow because "the JSPs are being compiled". This is, of course, not true because Filenet Web Framework's JSPs are really small ones. Real reason lies in XSLT transformation. It uses procedural XSLT and most of the time just wastes CPU time and server memory.
Of course nobody bothers to cache the results of the transformations, so the same pieces of content are compiled and transformed by XSLT processor again and and again.
Microsoft Origami Posted:
Microsoft has opened a viral marketing site about something called Origami. It was discovered by Design Tastes Good, they sent an email to Scoble with questions and Scoble responded in his snobby manner "I know everything, but I can't say it to you". And not the hell broke loose.
Engadged posted the pictures of the future gadget, but denying the validity. Todd Bishop remembered the Bill Gates' WinHEC speech about new device, and Transmeta's announcement about some agreement with Microsoft.
I hope that Microsoft will create something really useful and with neat design. What I need in such device is:
- It should be small. Preferably fits on one palm
- It should have keyboard. Even if it has touch screen - I ltype much better, than scribble.
- USB 2.0 connector/charger
- Bluetooth and Wifi.
- If it has IrDA - it's beam must be strong enough, so I can use gadget as remote control
- No special (iTunes like) software required to connect to device
Sun at Blizzard Beach Posted:
I like this picture very much. It reminds me of good old times, when I was living in Miami...
Keeping phone call records Posted:
Ramit Sethi writes about capturing and keeping a records of every calls to customer services and provides an Excel file to do that.
This is wonderful idea. I do some of the call notes in my Moleskine, but never though of having Excel of Word file for this purpose.