The SquizLogKeith Pitty takes a squiz at the world. |
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The SquizLogKeith Pitty takes a squiz at the world. |
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I sat there staring at the first line of text in the dialog box. "JVM terminated. Exit code=1", it helpfully displayed.
All I had tried to do was start Rational Software Architect, a tool that I had been using for over a month without a hitch. Perhaps the fact that I had just allowed the latest Windows XP patch to install was a mere coincidence. Who knows? In any case, even after a reboot, RSA refused to play ball. The JVM was failing before Eclipse even displayed the RSA splash screen.
Fortunately for me, a Google search revealed that someone else had experienced a similar problem. I now realised that one of the later lines in the dialog box, the one that says -Xmx768m, was actually helpful. I added -vmargs -Xmx1028M to the properties of the RSA shortcut, tried again and this time the IDE started up successfully. I could resume coding.
Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I think that Eclipse should be resilient enough to give a more helpful error message. Or maybe programmers are generally lazier in this age of googling for solutions to problems.
I think it's an interesting question. Why would a Java shop want to use Ruby? Some would say that there's no need. I don't have a problem with that decision if it is well-informed. However, I suspect that many people in traditional Java groups do not know how they could benefit from Ruby.
At OSDC in Brisbane in late November I'll be attempting to show that there is a potential to improve a Java shop's business success by augmenting existing skills and techniques with the use of Ruby.
Now that my proposal has been accepted, it is time to start fleshing out my paper.
The Sydney Rails Group is hotting up. On Wednesday night I was privileged to be one of the presenters along with Rob Sharp, who gave a very informative talk about memcache and Max Muermann, who stepped us through what's involved in publishing a Ruby gem.
Thanks again to Jason Crane for being the front man, to Lachie Cox for being the recording guru and to Matt Allen for organising the swanky new venue. Apparently we had nearly 40 people in attendance, many of whom were new to the group. It feels like Rails in Australia - sorry, Oceania - is just about to really take off.
The slides of my talk, "Why is Ruby such a good language for Rails?", are available here.
The English cricket selectors appear to have rocks in their collective heads when it comes to selecting a wicketkeeper.
I happened to see a bit of the recent Test Match at the Oval, via the conduit of pay television. Matt Prior's lead-footed blundering behind the stumps left me bewildered. Is it any wonder that he drops crucial catches when his footwork is so inadequate? I wholeheartedly agree with Ian Chappell's assessment. The wicketkeeper is a vital position in the most important aspect of the game of cricket, fielding. In recent times there has been a trend towards only considering selecting keepers who are good batsmen. This is flawed thinking. Just because Australia have been fortunate enough to have Adam Gilchrist, arguably the greatest keeper-batsman of all time, in their Test team for the last eight years doesn't mean that selectors of other Test teams should choose a player who is capable of scoring hundreds as well as keeping wickets. Australian selectors have at times fallen into the same type of trap when trying to find an all-rounder who could emulate Andrew Flintoff.
When it boils down to it, a Test keeper must be of Test standard. Any runs he or she scores are a bonus.
Update (20th August): It would appear that former English keeper Bob Taylor agrees with me.
Last Thursday the Australian Prime Minister said he was sorry.
No, he was not making a belated apology to the aboriginal inhabitants of this land. He has taken an altogether different tack in relation to them. Howard was saying that he was sorry that interest rates had risen again. He wasn't commenting on his government's role in the fifth rise in interest rates since the last election. Journalists didn't let the PM off, though. Peter Hartcher, in The Sydney Morning Herald alluded to a comment from Chris Richardson, of Access Economics, that emphasised how the federal government's tax cuts have contributed. Richardson painted a farcical picture, remarking that "the Government is throwing money into the economy and the Reserve Bank is trying to take it out again. We have one foot on the accelerator and one on the brake. No wonder we're blowing smoke."
Three years ago the Liberals ran a scare campaign, trying to frighten the electorate about what might happen to interest rates if Labor got in. This time round, having tried to blame the states for rising interest rates, as well as trying to cast the latest interest rate rise as a demonstration of how healthy the economy is, the Liberals are leaving that scare campaign to a business lobby group.
I do hope the polls accurately forecast what will happen on election night. In this scribe's humble opinion it would be poetic justice for Howard to not only lose government, but lose his seat!
How time flies! I've just noticed that it is four years to the day since I started writing in this blog. I find it interesting to ponder what has changed and what has stayed the same throughout those years.
What has changed? Three years ago I started taking an interest in Ruby on Rails. I remain fascinated by Ruby and continue to enjoy developing Rails apps in my spare time. I've also moved on from Linux on an old IBM ThinkPad laptop to my current MacBook Pro via an iBook G4. Hopefully I've improved my professional skills, whether they are Java skills, general software development skills or soft skills, in various ways over the last four years.
Some things have stayed the same. I still earn a living developing Java software for the same consultancy. I still commute between my home on the Central Coast and the Sydney CBD. Commuting is a topic that I wrote about on day one of my blog. I've revisited this theme from time to time. It's fair to say that, for various reasons, I've become less tolerant of the long commute as the years have gone by.
There is always a prospect of change for the better. John Howard was entrenched in power when I started this blog. Now his position looks shaky and, in my humble opinion, Australia will be a better place if his tenure has ended by the time this blog turns five.
Meanwhile, I've enjoyed the experience so far and intend to continue writing here for the time being. I find it therapeutic if nothing else.
Dan Diephouse wonders what is the web framework du jour for Java these days?
Matt Raible offers some advice about choosing a JVM Web Framework. He lists Struts 2, Spring MVC, Stripes, JSF, Tapestry, Wicket, GWT, Flex and OpenLaszlo as choices. Amongst the comments Rails, Grails, Open Spaces, Seam and Wings are added to the list.
Is it any wonder that Brian McCallister, thinks that "we are in a (Java) web framework nuclear winter"? Furthermore, is it any wonder that some Java EE developers, when faced with the possibility of choosing a JVM web framework, have just said "No!" and stuck to using standard servlets and JSPs?
First there was the ill-conceived attempt to convict Dr Haneef and, is so doing, feed off the fear of terrorism and exploit widespread racism within the Australian community. Now John Howard has cynically announced a federal takeover of a hospital in a marginal Tasmanian seat.
Time appears to be running out for an increasingly desperate Australian PM. When he is voted out, it will not be a moment too soon!