Java Basics

My Top Seven Wishes From Adobe MAX 2009

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EDT

In ten days I’ll be sitting at the general session at Adobe MAX 09 in LA. People from Adobe will come up on stage one after another delivering the latest news on the products we all use daily. Here’s my short wish list of the news I’d like to hear. I’m sure people who are using Creative Studio 4 see some room for improvement too, but this is not my cup of tea and I can’t come up with additional items for my wish list that would please the graphic and Web designers. But if my seven wishes become a reality, I’ll openly admit that Flash platform is a killer.

Intro to Object-Oriented Programming with Java

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

In the second of a new series, Yakov Fain takes a look at the basics of object orientation and method overloading in Java.

Methods, Constructors, Overloading and Access Levels

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

In the third lesson Yakov takes into the world of object constructors and method access methods with easy to follow examples.

Java Exceptions

Sat, 28 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

This installment has Yakov looking at Java Exceptions.

Java Streams Basics

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

This installment has Yakov looking at Java Streams Basics.

Reading Data from the Internet

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

Yakov shows that working with the streams over the Internet may be as simple as dealing with files on your local disk, in the sixth installment of Java Basics.

Java Serialization

Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

In lessons 5 and 6 of this series, you've learned how to use some of the Java streams to read or write bytes, characters or numeric data. This lesson is about reading or writing entire Java objects into streams.

Java Basics: Introduction to Java Threads, Part 1

Tue, 24 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

Yakov Fain's popular online tutorial series continues. This lesson he discusses the basics of threads, including how to create them, how to get them to step aside, and how to stop them.

Java Basics: Introduction to Java Threads, Part 2

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:00 EST

Yakov Fain, in Lesson 9 of his immensely popular online 'Java Basics' series for JDJ Industry Newsletter, talks about using threads for creating more advanced programs than those already discussed in Lesson 8. He analyzes the role they play in major Internet portals like Yahoo, CNN, or your bank's Web site. These portals usually display different types of information like News, Weather, Stock Market quotes, etc. Each of these info pieces appears on the screen instantaneously even though it's coming to the portal from different servers.

Lesson 12: An Introduction to Graphical User Interfaces with Swing - Part I

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:00:00 EDT

When Java was originally created, only AWT library was available for working with graphics. This library is a simple set of classes like Button, TextField, Label and others. Pretty soon, another and more advanced library called Swing was introduced.

Reflections on Debugging

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 11:00:00 EDT

This rather pedagogically worded article is a collection of my thoughts on debugging Java software, the programming patterns I have used, some useful APIs, and techniques.

Java Annotation Facility - A Primer

Wed, 09 Mar 2005 00:00:00 EST

The 5.0 release of JDK introduced a slew of new features. A powerful technique that resulted from the JSR-175 recommendation is the Program Annotation Facility. It can annotate code in a standard way and automate the generation of source code or configuration files, helping cut down on boilerplate code.

Java 5.0 - Tiger: A Classic printf Snippet from the Past

Mon, 16 Aug 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Chakra Yadavalli wanted to explore the new printf feature of the java.io.PrintStream, to see how it differed from its C counterpart. Says the author: 'This revealed some interesting observations that refreshed my Java fundamentals.'

Does Your Project Need a Rule Engine

Thu, 03 Jun 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Many Java developers today have moved toward some form of logging and/or unit test framework, and their code has been purged of many System.out. println() statements that were the traditional approach. Now perhaps it's time to get rid of some of those if ( x ) {. . .} as well.

Building the Ultimate Logging Solution

Wed, 05 May 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Anyone who has dealt with complex enterprise applications knows the value of a good logging solution. Features such as consolidating log files, separating events, and turning debugging on or off all come free with a good logging API.

The Perils of Copy-Paste Coding

Mon, 05 Apr 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Copy-paste coding is a kind of misguided code reuse. You have a problem to solve and you see a similar problem and its solution in your existing body of code. So you copy and paste the solution, and make the necessary modifications so that the solution matches your current problem.

Learning to Learn

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 00:00:00 EST

I have come to the unpleasant realization that I might have forgotten how to learn. I'm not talking about the small bridges we cross every day in our jobs or our lives. I'm talking about the big tectonic shifts that take place far less often. I suppose it started out when I realized I am jaded. I'm sure there is a difference between 'specializing' and 'being in a rut,' but I can't see it from where I sit right now.

Java Serialization - Lesson 7

Thu, 26 Feb 2004 00:00:00 EST

In lessons 5 and 6 of this series you've learned how to use some of the Java streams to read or write bytes, characters or numeric data. This lesson is about reading or writing entire Java objects into streams.

HTTP Session Garbage Collector

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 00:00:00 EST

A common approach to caching data in Web applications is to use an HTTP session. A business use case that spans multiple HTTP requests may create the need for caching in a Web tier. Once business use–case processing is completed, this cached data needs to be removed.

Core Object Principles in OO Programming

Thu, 08 Jan 2004 00:00:00 EST

Individuals just starting out with Java and object-oriented (OO) programming often feel overwhelmed by not only having to learn a new language syntax but also having to comprehend the unfamiliar concepts of OO programming. For those individuals, building a strong foundation on the key OO concepts is a great place to start.

Your First Java Program

Sun, 16 Nov 2003 00:00:00 EST

In the first of a new series, Yakov Fain takes a look at the basics of coding in Java with the traditional 'Hello World' programming.

Are You Using Abstract Classes, Polymorphism, and Interfaces?

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 EDT

If the answer is no, at a minimum your project needs a code review. Let's work on the following assignment: a company has employees and consultants. Design classes with and without the use of inheritance to represent the people who work for this company. The classes should have the following methods:

Accessing MBeans Through the Jini Service

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Network systems based on service discovery can provide a consistent view of their distributed components even during changing network conditions. The ability of a system to heal itself during a network catastrophe, including architectural change and system breakdown, will help the system to realign its content traversal route intelligently and swiftly. This ability can be obtained from various healing strategies like failure detection, consistency maintenance, and distributed service activation techniques.

Java Games Development - Part 2

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Part 1 of this series appeared in the August issue of Java Developer's Journal (Vol. 8, issue 8). JDJ: I'd just like to pick up on that 85% portability goal Jeff mentioned earlier. I'm just going on assumptions, but I think if you were developing a title for the PS2, GameCube, and XBox you would attempt to make sure that only the graphics and audio functionality were platform-specific and make the rest of the game as portable as possible. Seventy-five to eighty-five percent portability would therefore seem to be an achievable goal in C/C++, in which case Java has just lost one of its advantages, has it not?

java.net. NetworkInterface

Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:00:00 EDT

My laptop goes where I go. Some people like to read; I like to hack code. Just ask my wife - I took the laptop on vacation to the Cayman Islands. The problem I'm having is that I can never predict the state of my online connection. At home I'm wireless; at work, wired. In between, such as my 90-minute daily train commute, I'm neither. Don't get me started on the lousy connectivity from the beach.

From COBOL or RPG to Java

Tue, 01 Oct 2002 00:00:00 EDT

This article, tailored for seasoned COBOL and RPG programmers, provides a jump start into the Java programming language and the concepts behind it; it may also be useful for anyone who is stepping into the Java arena for the first time.

J2EE Frameworks - Extend and Submit

Thu, 01 Aug 2002 00:00:00 EDT

As the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform continues to grow and gain ground in corporations and the battle between Java and Microsoft .NET intensifies, more and more companies are looking for help in building their J2EE applications.

Enabling Constant Substitution in Property Values

Sat, 01 Dec 2001 00:00:00 EST

XProperties is a simple subclass of java.util.Properties that allows you to treat property values like constants, referring to and embedding them inside other property values. It handles the substitution of the constant value automatically and transparently when you call the getProperty() method.

Extreme Performance Tuning

Thu, 01 Nov 2001 00:00:00 EST

Many development shops have used J2EE to build a successful business-logic tier but have fallen short on obtaining the desired look and feel. On my current project we considered using applets as substitutes for GIF-based buttons, creating a utility to modify tree-based structure data as well as an application that will allow a secure file-based transmission. In my spare time I'm also working on an idea for a video game. All of these require an architecture that takes performance into consideration.

Extreme Performance Tuning

Mon, 01 Oct 2001 00:00:00 EDT

The performance of J2EE-based applications sometimes doesn't live up to users' expectations. Usually it's impossible to quantify exactly where the bottlenecks are. Many developers spend time searching for articles on the Internet only to find the same old tips about using the synchronized keyword and string concatenation without ever finding information that's useful. This article will help you find the holy grail of Java performance.

Recognizing and Eliminating Errors in Multithreaded Java

Sat, 01 Sep 2001 00:00:00 EDT

Errors in multithreaded programs may not be easy to reproduce. The program may deadlock or encounter other thread-related errors under only very specific circumstances, or may behave differently when running different VMs.

Extreme Performance Tuning

Sat, 01 Sep 2001 00:00:00 EDT

There are many articles about basic performance tuning a Java application. They all discuss simple techniques such as using a StringBuffer versus using a String, and the overhead of using the synchronized keyword.

A Deeper Look At Java

Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 EDT

This excerpt discusses the specifics of coding the Student Registration System (SRS). Java is an extremely rich language, and our goal is not to duplicate the hard work that has gone into existing Java language books, but rather to complement them by showing you how to bridge the gap between producing an object model and turning it into live Java code.

J2ME Cryptography

Sun, 01 Jul 2001 00:00:00 EDT

The absence of standard and familiar Java APIs presents one of the biggest obstacles when developing for Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME). Since J2ME targets much smaller devices, it lacks many libraries and features that are normally available in larger Java installations.

Serving Web Pages

Mon, 01 Jan 2001 00:00:00 EST

After reading the previous articles in this series, we're now ready to apply our Java database knowledge to real-world applications. Perhaps the simplest example is utilizing JSP to dynamically present data stored in our database over the Internet.

Dialog With Data

Fri, 01 Dec 2000 00:00:00 EST

Since this issue of JDJ is devoted to Linux, it's only appropriate to focus on architectural issues. In our case this means examining the various software architectures that use databases in Java applications as well as some details of the low-level operations that occur between a database, a JDBC driver, and a Java application.

Coming to grips with Apache & JServ

Fri, 01 Dec 2000 00:00:00 EST

JServ for me represents the best-value servlet engine on the market today. 'Why?' I hear you ask. Well, that's easy. It's free, of course. To this day, the fact that I can download the Apache Web server and JServ for Linux and have the beginnings of an excellent enterprise server for nothing surprises me. And why anybody would use any Web server/servlet engine combination other than Apache/JServ escapes me. 'What about the lack of support?' the voices cry out. Is that a real reason? I'm not convinced, but I've heard lots of remarks on the 'difficulty' of setting up JServ with Apache on Linux. This article provides a step-by-step guide on getting JServ up and running.

After The Connection

Wed, 01 Nov 2000 00:00:00 EST

In this series we've explored the process behind selecting a database and a JDBC driver as well as establishing a connection between your Java application and your database using JDBC. To actually do something useful, however, you need to be able to actively interact with a database using JDBC.

The Evolution Of Connecting

Sun, 01 Oct 2000 00:00:00 EDT

So here you are, the eager Java developer, about to embrace JDBC (Java Database Connectivity), the next item on your Java technology checklist. If you followed my last article (JDJ, Vol. 5, issue 9), you've selected a database system and a JDBC driver to help you master this technology. Now you want to jump in and start writing code. Perhaps you've bought a JDBC book, read your JDBC driver documentation or collected various JDBC articles from magazines (such as this one). Unfortunately, many of these resources skim the introductory topics or, worse, offer seemingly conflicting code examples. This article discusses the details of connecting a Java application to a database using JDBC, including how the process has changed with the evolution of the Java programming language.

A Java File Search Utility

Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:00:00 EDT

File searches are traditionally accomplished by an operating system utility. Most operating systems provide some sort of search facility that allows the user to track down misplaced or forgotten files. However, the facilities differ in their approach for searching files graphical versus command-line interface, comprehensive versus limited search capability.