Just wanted to give Mad Props to Font Finagler for doing one thing and doing it well; namely fixing my corrupted Font Cache. Plus also: the name is hilarious.
Sometimes I think Jakarta Commons is Java’s only saving grace. Every time I do something, I check the myriad offerings of commons for an existing implementation… email (finally), file upload, command line options, etc.
It goes without saying, however, that Lang is #1. Not only does it obviate a bunch of your plumbing code, but it implements a consistent interface… and it’s NPE-tolerant!
Lang is Java done right. Everyday I find something new that I like! Use it now.
Whew. All of my plugins are up-to-date and compatible with Firefox 1.5 beta. This Window required a very small change, but it is ready for use with the new Firefox. Have at it!
I have updated my Firefox extension Next Image for Firefox 1.5 beta. I also added an update.rdf file so that updates will be available automatically.
A post on the Tucows blog caught my eye because it mentions a situation in which a developer chose to “port” a Java application to Rails. One of the key points against the switch highlights something that developers (myself included) tend to take too lightly:
It is easy to overlook the fact that while it’s easy (not to mention kickass) to port a Java app over to Rails, someday someone else is probably going to be supporting it. And it will likely be your employer or your client who is tasked with finding that person…
I had to write a “throw-away” data conversion script and to minimize the boredom and give myself a challenge, I wrote it in Ruby. That being said, it is very simple script and most of the complexity is in the SQL. But it use closures and a few other Ruby-isms. Now the larger project - of which my script was but a small part - has gone well over schedule and is out of control. But, instead of being able to pass my script off to one of the many Java developers at the client and move on… I’m stuck supporting it.
So, now, faced with re-writing another webapp in Java, I will pass on Rails - superior though it may be - in the interest of being a good citizen.
<pre><code>
class DwemthysArray < Array
alias _inspect inspect
def inspect; "#<#{ self.class }#{ _inspect }>"; end
def method_missing( meth, *args )
answer = first.send( meth, *args )
if first.life < = 0
shift
if empty?
puts "[Whoa. You decimated Dwemthy's Array!]"
else
puts "[Get ready. #{ first.class } has emerged.]"
end
end
answer || 0
end
end
</code>
It takes a minute to grok, then… Whoa.
Whenever I use a new language or framework I always want to do things the canonical way. So, a lot of times, this involves spending a lot of time hunting for good examples. I certainly think this is the best way to do things, as I always want to exploit a language to its fullest. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense to just write a C program with Ruby syntax!
This is probably old news, but I found PLEAC, the Programming Language Examples Alike Cookbook. It takes common tasks and provides language-specific examples in a “cookbook” style. It has examples in Ruby, perl, python, C++, haskell, and so on. All of the examples are commented and syntax-colored. Very helpful!
For Ruby, another fun one is Ruby One Liners. Though, some of them are a little esoteric. Surprise, surprise.
I know it isn’t a language, but I wish they had an entry for Cocoa! Instead, try CocoaDev.