Chris Johnston

Here are several links for getting your Java development up and running on Linux.

How to do a custom installation of Java — This article covers how to install Java using Sun’s Java rpm on Fedora Linux.

Robert Clevenger wrote two articles for Oracle’s OTN (Oracle Technology Network) on getting up and running with Java on Linux. The first article covers installion while the second article covers creating the classic Hello World program using a standard editor (vi or emacs) and ant. One added benefit of the second article is that it includes a quick introduction to emacs and ant.

This blog article contains some excellent links on communication and team interaction along with why crunch mode doesn’t work.

Dan Benjamin has written an article entitledRegarding Ruby (and Ruby on Rails) in which he states that Ruby and the Ruby on Rails framework may not be a good place for new programmers to start. It may be an excellent framework and it may overtake php for rapid development of websites, but there will be a large learning curve to master Ruby and, once mastered, to translate that knowledge to another language such as Java.

Once I have read the article I will comment more on it, for now, go read it yourself.

I generally like using php for developing small websites such as a blog or a CMS, however, the article,
Experiences of Using PHP in Large Websites, states that php is not a suitable language for developing large enterprise websites. The simplicity inherint in php, once scaled large enough, actually turns into complexity and causes more problems then it solves.

Steve Collins, Rae Buerckner and Jeremy Cox have put together the ACME Guide which covers how to setup Apache, ColdFusion MX 7, MySQL and Eclipse on a windows computer. This is an excellent guide for the beginner. It contains a ton of screenshots and step-by-step instructions on how to setup each application. Have a look if you are new to CFMX 7.

Update: The link for the ACME guide has changed. The link above now points to the guide’s current home.

I just saw the coolest form of unobtrusive advertising. Instead of using a popup or pop-under, the site places a small little animation in the top right corner of the page. When you mouse over the animation, the page looks like it curls over and shows you what is underneath—which is another webpage containing an article and an ad. When you click on the ad, you are taken to the page that is partially displayed.

You have got to check this out.

Feeling a little confused as to where to start working with Eclipse? Then check out this little tutorial over at java.net called
A Starter’s Guide to the Eclipse IDE, Part 1: Installation and Projects. I haven’t read it yet so I can’t comment on its quality, but in a quick skim of the article I managed to learn at least one trick when working Eclipse so the article can’t be that bad.