Java Archives - Scott S Nelson

Whatever Happened to the Promise of Java Beans?

October 18, 2009Scott S NelsonLeave a comment

I ran across a question on LinkedIn today and gave a long-winded rant-like response that I thought I would post here, too.

Javabeans are hailed as reusabel software components. Is anybody aware of a market for these wigits?

My Answer: Yes, and it has been dominated by IBM and Oracle for the past decade. When the books were written that proposed business models around the technology the expectation was that Swing would win massive acceptance and that Applets would continue to be the key technology of rich web applications. None of this came to pass.

There was also the expectation of an open market of beans, which missed the fact that most developers would rather write their own and only reuse when directed, or until it becomes a habit from being directed to do so. The reuse is still mostly of internally developed beans or those that are part of vendor applications.

And the vendor applications mostly make the beans proprietary, i.e., they only run within their servers.

The exceptions to my cynical gut-reaction is the FOSS community, where many Java Beans and other reusable components can be found.

As Dennis Miller used to say “But that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong”

Permission Error on Delete Directory for Java Projects on Windows

August 23, 2009Scott S NelsonLeave a comment

I wish I had take a screen shot of the error to make this easier for folks to say “oh, yeah, I have that problem”. The thing is, when you build some J2EE applications from a project on the Desktop or My Documents (which I am only now starting to use out of convenience for back up programs that think that is where things should be stored) and then are done with them you find you can’t delete them. You get this annoying warning that you might not have permission to do so, even though your are the administrator in Windows and the owner of the files.

This is because of a bug in Windows meant to annoy those of use who like having the directory structure match the namespace. The generated name spaces are often too long when combined with all that extra path crud that goes to My Documents or Desktop for the OS to handle. So, the simple solution is take the folder and drag it into the root of the drive and then delete it. Apparently, only delete is crippled by this bug and not move. Go figure.

And, yes, I know that Microsoft bashing is cheap and easy. So am I, which is why I do it. I am fully aware that if it were not for Microsoft I would most likely be living in a trailer wondering why a guy that likes and understands something as complex as programming is ignored by Corporate America and treated like a warehouse worker (the way it was before Bill was a Billionaire). Thank you Bill, for everything 🙂

PS: Microsoft bugs still piss me off.

Best Answer is There is Not Always One…

June 29, 2009Scott S NelsonLeave a comment

…Best answer, that is. Which is the gist of my response on the recent LinkedIn question “Adobe Flex vs Java Swing – Looks most similar way of architecture. Any points form your side?“. My best answer being:

While I agree in part with the comment about neither being the best choice, the decision should be based on the application audience and the development team skills. If the application is to be a public facing Internet application, Flex support is ubiquitous, making it the superior option (IMHO).

If the application audience is only internal or partner users, the pure Java implementations have some advantages that appeal to some development and/or maintenance teams. OTOH, if the skills and experience don’t already exist in-house, Flex is a lower risk path.

Bottom line is usability and ROI, and the ability to deliver those key values depends on your available skill set and distribution channel.

As Dennis Miller often said: “…that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”

Is There a Prize with That?

June 17, 2009Scott S NelsonLeave a comment

I just started answering questions on LinkedIn lately, and got a Best Answer yesterday on a question about Doubt in handling Exceptions in Java*. Before the Internet, everyone had 15 minutes of fame. Now it is more like 15 nanoseconds 🙂

*Requires LinkedIn account to view