jonr originally posted this on FlexMonkey :: Flex UI Testing Tool.

• Added new Sub-Property Verification feature (http://www.gorillalogic.com/books/flexmonkey-docs/sub-property-verification)
• Added retry to VerifyGrid
• Addressed code-gen issues with retry
• Major refactor to all commands to clean-up the code and make them more robust
• Cleaned up command runner and added additional error handling to provide the user with better feedback while playing test through the console

Here’s a nice series of articles on using Kanban in an IT setting. I found it interesting because it shows not only what they did, but how their process evolved over time in several settings. http://blogs.lessthandot.com/index.php/ITProfessionals/ITProcesses/applying-kanban-to-it-processes-part-1

Eric Bruno originally posted this on Dr.Dobb's Journal | Eric Bruno Blog.

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A while ago I had predicted that the JCP would fall apart under Oracle's watch, and this appears to be occurring. First, statements from Mark Reinhold about JDK 7's "Plan B", where Oracle would simultaneously create a JSR and release Java SE 7 at some point in 2011 indicated this. Second, with IBM joining OpenJDK and abandoning Apache Harmony, it appeared that Oracle and IBM would be able to steamroll the JCP approval process going forward. Now, third, the resignation of Doug Lea from the JCP committee further indicates the deterioration of the JCP. There may even be other resignations we haven't yet heard of, or are yet to come.

In my opinion two things may come of this:

1) Oracle will accelerate the Java release cycle and, for the most part, good new features will be put into the JVM. This is at the risk of not having enough community involvement.

2) The OpenJDK will gain a lot of momentum in the community, and will take a life of its own. This is at the risk of forking the Java language and platform.

If you're a Java developer, you really should follow this one as it develops. At some point we may need to voice our opinion as a group to ensure the continued success of Java the language, and platform.

Eric Bruno originally posted this on Dr.Dobb's Journal | Eric Bruno Blog.

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Two days ago, with the release of the Java SE 1.6_22 update from Apple for Leopard and Snow Leopard, Apple distributed a deprecation notice for Java on OS X going forward. Although a little vague, this implies that Apple will not continue to port Java to the Mac platform.

In a way I don't blame them; it's not their software, and a lot has changed and continues to change in the world of Java. However, not having an option to run Java on a Mac is heart-breaking to me. I just love my MacBook Pro and OS X in general, and I'm not ready to switch away. However, as a Java developer, if Oracle or some other vendor doesn't step in to provide Java on the OS X platform, I may have to switch after all.

Apparently, after reading through some material online, Steve Jobs replied to a user email saying that Apple's release cycles for Java don't match Sun/Oracle's, and that may not be the best way to go about it in the future. This implies, to me, that Apple really would like Oracle to take over the job of porting Java to the OS X platform. If that's indeed what Steve wants, I would agree that it's the best situation, as Oracle will assuredly keep the OS X version of Java as up-to-date as the Windows and Linux versions.

Are you a Mac OS X user? What would you do if there is no solid plan for Java SE on OS X in the future? With the Apache Harmony project status questionable (yet still optimistic) the situation may be even more dire.

jonr originally posted this on FlexMonkey :: Flex UI Testing Tool.

We’ve released an updated version of FlexMonkey (4.1.1) that now supports multi-windows in Adobe AIR.  The new multi-window support only works with Flex 4 applications, as the underlying automation manager support for this is only available in the new version of the SDK.  The version also includes a handful of minor bug fixes and a nice new roll-over popup that provides you with automation / component details when recording a verify.

Make sure to update both the SWC library and the AIR Console.  You can access the latest software at: http://www.gorillalogic.com/flexmonkey

To take advantage of the Adobe AIR multi-window support you will need to include additional automation SWCs in your compiler arguments:

-include-libraries “../libs/automation_monkey4.x.swc” “${flexlib}/libs/automation/automation_air.swc”"${flexlib}/libs/automation/automation_airspark.swc”

As always, you can use the Setup Guide under the Project > Properties window to update both your FlexMonkey SWC file and get the latest compiler arguments.

Eric Bruno originally posted this on Dr.Dobb's Journal | Eric Bruno Blog.

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What's really going with the Oracle/IBM agreement for OpenJDK and future Java development?

What's really going with the Oracle/IBM agreement for OpenJDK and future Java development?...

The news yesterday is that IBM ditched Apache Harmony (all but killing it) and has backed Oracle and the OpenJDK project, putting its development time and resources there. In my opinion, this move helps to ensure that Oracle will get the speedy approvals it needs to get the Java SE 7 and Java SE 8 JSRs approved and out the door in its desired timeframes.

What does IBM get out of it? After all, they're placing developers and other resources on the OpenJDK project and that costs real money with a commitment over time. I'm not entirely sure, but I assume they'll have more control over its future, and some more leverage in getting its own versions of the Java VM (i.e. IBM's J9) approved as an officially licensed VM. IBM had none of this, and no control over Java, once Sun had released it as open source. This new agreement could potentially change that.

For now, it looks like the first victim will be Apache's Harmony project, which has been moving along only with IBM's support for years now. Although Java's source code is open source, Sun never released the full Java compatibility test kit (JCK) to the community, and this had been a point of dispute between Sun and Apache for quite some time. Without passing the JCK, you cannot call your software "Java" or Java compatible in any way, because you can't prove to yourself and others that it implements the Java language specification correctly and completely.

From what I've been seeing and hearing, most people look at this as good for Java and the community for the most part. My only question is, what made this deal so sweet that IBM, the target of much of Oracle's propaganda and competitive press over the past year, has agreed to jump in and help Oracle? Time will tell.

Happy coding!
-EJB

Eric Bruno originally posted this on Dr.Dobb's Journal | Eric Bruno Blog.

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I recently made available the fruits of a personal research project, called JetStreamQ, on my web site alluretechnology.com. The software project is a Java messaging server, which implements most of the JMS API, and requires no configuration to get started. The main goals are reliability, performance, and simplicity. Along those lines, the entire software package is compose of a single JAR file. Just import it into your JMS application and run. The single JAR switches between client mode and server mode automatically, discovers other JetStreamQ instances on your network, and automatically configures itself and clusters for high-availability. Again, with no configuration or administration required.

I think it's really cool, and since it started out as project to build the type of JMS server I was looking to use as a developer, I think most developers will be pleased to work with it. It performs really well for topic and queue based messaging, and when you limit it to two or three clustered servers, it offers high-availability with excellent performance. Give it a try with the free download available at alluretechnology.com/jetstreamq. You can also read more about it by downloading the datasheet slides. Let me know what you think of it!

Happy Coding!
-EJB

Eric Bruno originally posted this on Dr.Dobb's Journal | Eric Bruno Blog.

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I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Guy Ben-Artzi, co-founder and CEO of Particle Code, to speak about their new cross-platform SDK for mobile application development, called the Particle Platform. In brief, Particle allows you to write one code-base in a supported language of your choice, and target one or more mobile device platform for your application. The Particle Platform handles porting the single code-base to targeted devices, and the result is a set of native applications for those devices.

A Little History

Ben-Artzi was co-founder of Mytopia, a leading social games company that was acquired earlier in 2010. Mytopia was the first multi-player game development platform in the smart phone space, launched in 2006. Not only did it support multiple mobile platforms, Mytopia spanned the web and mobile spaces with its integration with Facebook. When 888 Holdings acquired Mytopia, the co-founders maintained the rights to the tools and platform software used to help port mobile applications natively across mobile operating systems. This code served as the basis for Particle Code.

How Particle Works

The Particle Code middleware and tools automate the porting process for Java, C#, and ActionScript3 applications to native code for the target mobile platforms. The platform currently supports all of the major mobile operating systems available today, with support for Internet-based TV as well as game consoles coming soon.

To begin, you choose a supported language (i.e. Java), target a mobile platform, and Particle Code uses the native language, compiler, and API for that platform to port your code into a native mobile application. The end result is an application that is indistinguishable from one that you wrote with that platform's native APIs to begin with. Therefore, Particle Code has never had an issue getting applications approved for Apple's iOS platform. In fact, with Mytopia, many iPhone applications have been available through Apple's App Store using this platform for some time now. This, combined with Apple's recent loosening of the rules around how iOS applications are built, all but removes this concern completely.

Some Limitations

Although Particle works well for application business logic and other non-UI code, it cannot port UI components across mobile platforms. This limitation was intentional, as Particle Code was not looking for a cookie-cutter approach, which could potentially lead to less-than ideal mobile applications across platforms. Instead, Particle has created a set of tools that let you begin your native UI development by targeting device capabilities and form factors. This includes screen size, form factor, touch interface support, and so on.

Getting Started

Two weeks ago, the Particle team revealed the Particle Platform at the Demo conference and won a DEMOgods award. When launched, the Particle Code platform will be available completely free to developers, and although not entirely open-source, portions of the platform will be released as open source over time. Sign up today to preview the Particle Platform at particlecode.com, to be released soon.

There may be times when you want to use an asset/graphic that exactly matches an asset/graphic used by the Flex framework. For example, if you’re already using the Tree component and need to mimic the opening and closing of folders, you may want to use the same icons that the tree uses. It’s really very simple to do this.

The Flex framework stores these types of assets in Assets.swf. To find out what assets are available in Assets.swf, you can peruse the “default.css” file provided in the sdk ([path-to-your-sdk]/frameworks/projects/framework/default.css).

For example, the Tree component has this entry in default.css:

/*
//------------------------------
//  Tree
//------------------------------
*/

Tree
{
	defaultLeafIcon: Embed(source="Assets.swf",symbol="TreeNodeIcon");
	disclosureClosedIcon: Embed(source="Assets.swf",symbol="TreeDisclosureClosed");
	disclosureOpenIcon: Embed(source="Assets.swf",symbol="TreeDisclosureOpen");
	folderClosedIcon: Embed(source="Assets.swf",symbol="TreeFolderClosed");
	folderOpenIcon: Embed(source="Assets.swf",symbol="TreeFolderOpen");
	paddingLeft: 2;
	paddingRight: 0;
	verticalAlign: "middle";
}

There are five assets here that we can use (TreeNodeIcon, TreeDisclosureClosed, TreeDisclosureOpen, TreeFolderClosed, TreeFolderOpen).

One way that we might use them in our application is to embed them into a Class object and then use that as the source property for an Image object. For example, if you wanted to use the little triangle that appears next to a closed folder in the Tree component, you could do the following:

Declare this in your <fx:Script> section:

[Embed(source="Assets.swf", symbol="TreeDisclosureClosed")]
private const myClosedIcon:Class;

Then, use this in your MXML code:

<mx:Image source="{myClosedIcon}" />

… lather, rinse, repeat.