HTML Generator in Java – renderSnake

19. March, 2011

There is another HTML generator: renderSnake. Here is how it looks:

public class Logo implements Renderable {
    public void renderOn(HtmlCanvas html) throws IOException { //@formatter:off
        html
            .div(id("logo"))
                .div(id("logo_text"))



                    .h1()
                        .a(href("index.html"))
                            .write("render")
                            .style().write(".snake { color:yellow; }")._style()



                            .span(class_("snake")).write("S")._span()
                            .write("nake")
                        ._a()
                    ._h1()
                    .h2().write("lean and mean HTML page writing machine")._h2()._div()



                ._div();
    }
}

I’m not sure about the “_” versions but it sure looks better than JSP 🙂

Related articles: Simple HTML Output From Java Using renderSnake

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Posted by digulla

Getting Rid of Checked Exceptions in Java

18. March, 2011

So, you’re tired of rethrowing checked Exceptions that you can’t handle? Did you wish a long time ago IOException and SQLException were in fact RuntimeExceptions (as they should be according to Sun’s own definition)? The pain was there but it got kind of dull over the years? Acceptance of the inevitable and all that. How about this:

    @SneakyThrows
    public void doSomething() { 
        throw new Exception();
    }

Did I hear a “WTF”? Say hello to project Lombok.

IBM developerWorks has a great article to get you started with your own custom AST transformations.

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Posted by digulla

Project Dash m4e Tools – Create Maven Artifacts From Eclipse Plug-ins

18. March, 2011

[UPDATE] There is now a testing repo which contains Eclipse 3.6.2

If you use Maven and Eclipse, you know the pain: How do I convert Eclipse plug-ins into Maven artifacts?

The simple step is to run mvn eclipse:make-artifacts (or the ill fated eclipse:to-maven).

But that’s only half of the work. A few of the plug-ins have bad dependencies (stuff isn’t declared optional, polluting your runtime classpath; versions of dependencies are missing). And a major problem is source attachments. Eclipse separates those from the binaries, so you end up with org.eclipse.core.runtime and org.eclipse.core.runtime.sources.

A few days ago, bug 337068 – “Please set up maven.eclipse.org” was fixed. The site exists and there is even a Nexus running on it.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit empty for now. We’re working on it 🙂

One of the first steps is a set of tools that takes downloads from eclipse.org and converts them into proper Maven artifacts – with source and all.

Welcome Project Dash m4e Tools. A preliminary version is available on github: https://github.com/digulla/org.eclipse.dash.m4e.tools

It consists of three tools so far:

  1. m4e-import can import downloads (archived or unpacked) into a temporary Maven 2 repository. Your own local repository (${user.home}/.m2/repository) is left untouched!
  2. m4e-merge can merge several a temporary Maven 2 repositories into one.
  3. m4e-attach-sources tries to find all source bundles, moves+renames the source JAR to the right place and name and deletes the unnecessary folder.

Next step is a tool to patch the artifacts. One open issue is: How to handle dependencies which come from Project Orbit (bundling third party libraries for Eclipse projects).

Please visit Bug 340416 – “Resolving dependencies from Project Orbit” if you have an opinion.

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Posted by digulla

Numpty Physics

17. March, 2011

I really liked Crayon Physics. It was simple idea, great brain teaser, the perfect UI.

If you liked it as well, have a look at Numpty Physics.

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Posted by digulla

Urban Hacking

17. March, 2011
GRL Graffiti research Lab http://graffitiresea...

Image via Wikipedia

You like to hack the world? But graffiti feels too destructive?

Now there is another option: LED throwies. They are relatively easy to make, non-destructive and shiny.

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Posted by digulla

Flash in Firefox 4 on Ubuntu 10.10

17. March, 2011

Trouble getting Flash to work on Ubuntu 10.10? Use Flash-Aid.

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Posted by digulla

Building RCP Apps With OSGi

16. March, 2011

Dave Orme wrote a really interesting article about building blocks of a RCP application with OSGi: The OSGi Building Block Pattern: An Invitation

I agree with him: The RCP wizard should really create projects to build a p2 repo and to package the bundles and features into something that a user can download and install.

Right now one of the major stumbling blocks when starting with Eclipse projects is that they either don’t build at all or that I fail to bundle/package them into some “output.”

The typical situation is that I’ve managed to import the project into my workspace. Now I get a lot of compile errors because bundles are missing in my IDE. Problem: I see the names but I have no idea at all where to download them. (See bug 340014 – “Offer a quick fix to install missing dependencies from p2 repositories”)

After manually googling for bundle names, trying to find the p2 repo which might contain them (in former times, p2 repositories offered a way to quickly browse them with a web browser – that doesn’t work anymore, so it’s poking in the dark). After a couple of restarts, the compile errors are gone.

At long last, I can start to fix my problem.

But now what? How can I create the “thing” that I need? (where “thing” can be a RCP app, a p2 repo, a bundle, a feature). Eclipse doesn’t allow to save the final after-build-step anywhere. Users must remember the steps: Export…, select the correct tool out 500, fill out the 100+ options in the little dialogs that pop up, rinse, repeat.

Welcome bug 340018 – “Allow to save export actions in a “launch” config”

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Posted by digulla

TNBT – Object Teams

15. March, 2011

Object Teams, or OT/J for short, is a solution for the old Java problem “there is no I in ‘team'”: Most Java code is written as if the whole world was openly hostile. It’s riddled with final, private static, singletons, thousands of lines of code which almost do what you need except for this one line .. that you can’t change without copying the other 999.

Groovy’s solution: AST transformation. A topic for another post.

OT’s solution: create a Java-like programming language which allows you to extend code that isn’t meant to. A great example: Extending Eclipse’s Java compiler.

The Eclipse Java compiler is one of the most complex pieces of code in Eclipse (“5 Mbytes of source spread over 323 classes in 13 packages“). Unlike other compilers, it can compile broken code. The same technology is used to create byte code and error markers in the editor.

Stephan Herrmann wanted to add support for @NonNull and @Nullable. Usually, you’d create a branch, keep that branch in sync with the main branch, etc. Tedious. For every change that someone makes in the main branch, you must update your development branch. Even if the change is completely unrelated. CVS has a very limited concept of “related”. DVCS like Git or Mercurial are better at merging but they also don’t understand enough of Java to give the word “related” a useful meaning. “Same file” is the best you can get.

So instead of the tedious way, he used OT/J to create an OT/Equinox plug-in which patches the JDT compiler byte code. Sounds dangerous? Well, OT/J does all the ugly work. You just say “when this method is called, do this, too.” Sounds a bit like AOP? Yes.

Unlike AOP, it communicates intent more clearly. The code wasn’t designed to be the most compact way to define a “point cut” and then leave it to the reader to understand what this is supposed to mean. It better communicates the intent.

I’m not completely happy with the syntax, though. I don’t have specific points, only a general wariness. Maybe a careful application of Xtext would help.

Related Articles:

  • The Next Best Thing – Series in my blog where I dream about the future of software development

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Posted by digulla

JaCoCo: Successor of EclEmma

15. March, 2011

If you’re using EclEmma to check the code coverage, you should have a look at JaCoCo. If you’re not using code coverage, yet, you really should.

JaCoCo (Java Code Coverage Library) is the successor of EclEmma where the developers applied all the lessons learned during the time with EclEmma.

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Posted by digulla

Eclipse Workspace Mechanic

14. March, 2011

If you want to:

  • Create a consistent environment among groups
  • Save time setting up new workspaces
  • Make sure your favorite preferences are applied to all your current and future workspaces

then this is for you.

Related articles:

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Posted by digulla

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