Java

SVNKit 1.2.2

After four weeks of vacation, it takes some time to get started again, but I will give it a try 🙂

Lately, I have been writing a couple of small applications integrating with different tools, such as ScrumWorks, Mantis and Jira. Now the time has come to Subversion. SVNKit 1.2.2 was released recently this year, so I had to try it out.

SVNKit is a pure Java toolkit that implements all Subversion features and provides APIs to work with Subversion from within your Java application. I have only had time to play around with the SVNRepository class so far. The API is pretty straigthforward and easy to use. For my use the performance is OK, but it is maybe a little slow if you have a user hanging over your shoulder waiting for response…

Integrating with ScrumWorks

In an earlier post, I wrote about ScrumWorks. After having used it on a couple of projects I have gathered some thoughts here.

I usually prefer the good old whiteboard with post-its or an Excel sheet to track progress and generate burndown charts. But ScrumWorks has proved to be an excellent alternative to these old techniques. Developers find it pretty easy to use, and ScrumMasters get a pleasent user interface and a nice burndown chart almost for free.

So what is the downside? Well, sooner or later you will be asked by management to report progress. And managers are usually not willing (or capable) to using any unfamiliar tools, so you end up exporting the data to make some burndown chart or excel sheet available for them. This type of status reporting is overhead (or waste in lean terminology) and boring.

Luckily, ScrumWorks has a decent Web Services API which makes it fairly easy to extract the information you want. For example generate live burndown charts automatically on a wiki, or use the task information in ScrumWork to verify valid commit comments in a Subversion hook script. Imagination is the only limit…

NetBeans 6.5

NetBeans 6.5 is now available for download at netbeans.org. I have been using the beta and release candidates for some time now, so there should not be too many surprises. The feature I am happiest about right now is that it is possible to configure projects independently. This enables me to push out code conventions in the root pom.xml file for the entire project. Hence there is no excuse for not following the conventions 🙂

Download NetBeans!

Mockito

If you are going to set up a completely new greenfield project, I would definately consider using Mockito as mock framework. It expressive and very intuitive, and results in less boilerplate code in your tests than for example EasyMock.

Very few of us are so lucky to be setting up a completely new project, but are stuck with legacy code that probably require more advanced features than those offered by Mockito. In this case I would probably go for a combination of EasyMock and PowerMock.

PowerMock

The last couple of weeks, I have been testing a mock framework called PowerMock. See The PowerMock website for more information and download.

The short version is that this framework extends Easymock and lets you mock static methods, private methods, construction of new objects, bybass encapsulation and more to enable testing of code that used to be considered difficult (or impossible…?) to test.

JavaOne 2008

At Javarforum in Malmö yesterday, I gave a presentation about JavaOne 2008. Please see under Resources if you are interested in downloading the presentation.

The content of the presentation is:

  • Java + YOU
  • Upcoming Java Language Features (abstract from TS -5581 and TS-6185)
  • Future of Java (from TS-5581)
  • Boldness (abstract from TS-6213)

JAVA+YOU

Java+You is the theme of JavaOne 2008. No question about it! The feeling I have after day 1 of this year’s JavaOne is that the focus is on the integration with the consumers as well as the developers in all daily-life situations. Rich Green talked a lot about the “Screens of you life” in his keynote today. Whether you read a book, check you bank account statement, chat with friends on you mobile phone or navigate in you car it is all Java… it is the consumer that drives the change…!

This year they even brought Neil Young on the stage to talk about his new interactive blue-ray disc and the way Java technology has enabled him to produce his memorabilia in a format that he feels is what his fans wants – an interactive history of his musical career.

All in all a more or less typical JavaOne day one show. This is my ninth time at JavaOne, so I think I am entitled to say that 🙂

Java+ME