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Entries Tagged as 'Java'

Creating a circular gradient in iReport

February 7th, 2010 · View Comments · Java

JasperReports is an extremely flexible tool for creating reports in Java.  Reports are defined as JRXML templates, compiled to JASPER binaries and run through the JasperReports run-time.  iReport is the GUI report writing tool that creates the JRXML templates.
A JRXML template is an XML file with a jrxml extension.  Here’s an example of a very [...]

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Maven Micro-Tip: Get sources and Javadocs

January 27th, 2010 · View Comments · Java

When you’re using Maven in an IDE you often find the need for your IDE to resolve source code and Javadocs for your library dependencies.  There’s an easy way to accomplish that goal.
# mvn dependency:sources
# mvn dependency:resolve -Dclassifier=javadoc
The first command will attempt to download source code for each of the dependencies in your pom file.
The [...]

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Simple guide to Maven

November 9th, 2009 · View Comments · Java

I resisted Maven for a very long time. It seemed to be extremely complex for no great benefit. I thoroughly understood Ant and had built extensive and complex scripts that worked quite well.
But, eventually, I saw the light. I saw how trivial it made the majority of builds. I saw how [...]

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Using Java 1.5 and Java 1.4 on Snow Leopard

September 25th, 2009 · View Comments · Java, Mac

Since Apple removed Java 1.5 and Java 1.4 from Snow Leopard, it’s not possible to run software that requires older Java versions, or to develop against older Java versions.
In order to restore Java 1.4 and 1.5 to your Snow Leopard install, you’ll need to download the old Leopard versions and put them back where they [...]

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Easy Guide to 64-bit Eclipse on the Mac

September 22nd, 2009 · View Comments · Java, Mac

After upgrading to Snow Leopard I went looking for a 64-bit version of Eclipse.  One of the main reasons to switch to 64-bit is so that all of your Java apps are sharing the same loaded JVM.
But when I went looking for 64-bit Eclipse I quickly ran into a brick wall.  You can find 64-bit [...]

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Java 1.5 Reaching End of Life

September 11th, 2009 · View Comments · Java

Time really flies – Java 1.5 reaches End of Life in October
This is especially appalling given that its easy to find Java 1.4 code still in use throughout the Fortune 500 (and elsewhere).
What does this mean?
- Critical fixes won’t be made after October
- Security fixes won’t be made after October
Sun recommends two options:
- Move to [...]

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Super Simple SoapUI Tests

August 4th, 2009 · View Comments · Java, Web

SoapUI 3.0 comes with support for creating web service tests. This is quite easy to do once you understand the concepts.
The first step is to start with an existing SoapUI project. Define the web service calls you’ll be making. The easiest path is simply to import some existing WSDL.
Once you have the web services defined, [...]

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What does an Oracle acquisition of Sun mean?

April 21st, 2009 · View Comments · Java

I’ve been asked by multiple people what I think of the acquisition of Sun by Oracle. I’ve assembled my thoughts on the matter. I don’t have any particular insight, just a general experience with Oracle. And all of this is subject to the deal being completed sometime in the summer.
Oracle is now a hardware company. [...]

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What I would like to see out of a Sun purchase

April 3rd, 2009 · View Comments · Java

I talked a little bit before about what I think would happen in a Sun purchase. But, if I could pick what I want to happen, it would be this:
IBM re-licenses OpenSolaris, DTrace, ZFS, NFS and Java under the GPL or BSD
It’s just a shame that good, useful technologies can’t be incorporated into Linux and [...]

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Handling null values in Java

March 24th, 2009 · View Comments · Java

Like most Java developers I have a hatred for null values. They are incredibly annoying to deal with and Java gives you no good way to handle them. “Scripting” languages tend to be much more forgiving of null values which is one of the reasons they are popular. But, if you’re in Java, what are [...]

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