Category Archives: Software Engineering

Using log4j to monitor web application errors

When monitoring a production website (especially with a dozen or so application servers) you don’t want to rely on combining the logs and reviewing them manually for exceptions, you want the servers to notify you when there’s a problem. There … Continue reading

Posted in Java, Software Engineering, Systems Administration | 3 Comments

Why nobody is web testing in Java

Go into any IDE and create a default Web project and you’ll often get JUnit, but I have yet to see one include some form of web testing support (e.g. Cactus, Cargo, and HttpUnit) and that’s just lame!

Posted in Java, Ruby, Software Engineering, Web | 3 Comments

Will a language scale? Wrong question!

This tongue in cheek post by Dion about Ruby not scaling made me chuckle but also got me thinking! The whole question of whether a modern language scales or not is really the wrong question to ask. Almost any language … Continue reading

Posted in Java, Ruby, Software Engineering, Web | 5 Comments

Ruby on Rails Mac OS X Intel Binary

Update 8/13/06: Upgraded to Rails 1.1.6 Update 5/10/06: Upgraded to Rails 1.1.2 and built Ruby with the ri docs per Duncan McGregor’s comment Update 4/7/06: Upgraded to Rails 1.1.1 Update 3/28/06: Now that Rails 1.1 has arrived I’ve upgraded this … Continue reading

Posted in Desktop, OSX, Ruby, Software Engineering | 26 Comments

Ruby + Rails + OSX Intel = Crazy Confusing

The Ruby on Rails scene for new users on the Mac has and continues to be pretty confusing! The version of Ruby that comes with the Mac isn’t suitable so you have to install a second copy and if you … Continue reading

Posted in Ruby, Software Engineering | 1 Comment

Differences between Digg and Reddit

I wrote a tongue in cheek humor piece on April fools day last year about ditching Java and switching to .BAT. Earlier this year it hit the front page of Reddit which was very exciting since my little server stood … Continue reading

Posted in Humor, Java, Software Engineering, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

5 things Ruby on Rails has that Java doesn’t

After listening to this weeks Ruby on Rails podcast where Geoffrey Grosenbach interviewed Bruce Tate, it got me to thinking about why Ruby on Rails appeals to me. For me as a Java person, the real appeal of Ruby lies … Continue reading

Posted in Agile Development, AJAX, Java, Ruby, Software Engineering, Web | 3 Comments

MacBook Pro first impressions and why I switched

I just received my MacBook Pro on Friday. For me this is an even bigger switch since I’m making the switch from Windows to OSX as my primary work desktop. Over the years I’ve alternated between Linux and Windows and … Continue reading

Posted in Desktop, Software Engineering | 48 Comments

The top 5 most common XHTML mistakes

When I first started writing XHTML pages about a year ago I thought that all there was to it was closing every tag XML style. Oh how wrong I was! I’ve since learned to W3C validate as I go so … Continue reading

Posted in Software Engineering, Web | 8 Comments

Podcast interviews tell a bigger story than most blogs

I just received my first iPod from Amazon the other day and have been playing with it a little here and there. Having music to go is great but I’m really enjoying listening to podcasts! Just as blogs have become … Continue reading

Posted in Software Engineering, Web | 6 Comments