Time for the “Best Of The Week” links for the week that just passed. Here are some links that drew Java Code Geeks attention:
* How to Hire a Programmer: Some tips on how to hire a programmer like checking fir his portfolio, having a phone screen, assigning an audition project etc. Also check out our brand new Jobs section.
* Introducing Spring Integration Scala DSL: Sping introduces the Spring Integration Scala DSL, Domain Specific Language written in Scala with the goals of providing a strongly-typed alternative to XML configuration for Spring Integration, providing first class integration with various Scala frameworks and products such as Akka and providing seamless integration with Java where Scala developers can still leverage their existing Java investments.
* Akka 2.0 Released!: On a similar note, Akka version 2.0 has been released. Akka is a Scala/Java framework suitable for programming for concurrency, fault-tolerance and scalability.
* Zero Defects : Baking Quality into the Agile Process: In this presentation it is explained how to use testing and defect management in an Agile project to ensure product quality, addressing design quality, legacy systems, and how build management affects quality. Also check out 4 Warning Signs that Agile Is Declining and Agile’s Customer Problem.
* What Every Programmer Should Know About SEO: As the title says, this article provides some insights on SEO and how to optimize it.
* Continuous Integration in the Mobile World: This presentation discusses using CI for iOS and Android apps, headless emulators, tools for unit and functional testing, and mobile app deployment. The whole process is described, from creating a new project to emailing the project’s artifacts. Also see “Android Full Application Tutorial” series and The Ten Minute Build.
* How sheep-like behavior breeds innovation in Silicon Valley: A nice article on how we try to apply pattern-matching in a world of low probability, usually with bad results. I liked the mention at Survivorship Bias, i.e. that we draw our pattern-recognition from well-publicized successful companies while ignoring the negative data from companies that might have done many of the same things, but end up with unpublicized failures.
* Say Hello to Jelastic: This brief tutorial shows how to get started with Jelastic by deploying a simple Spring MongoDB application to the cloud. Also see OpenShift Express: Deploy a Java EE application (with AS7 support).
* Speeding Up Java Test Code: An article that provides pointers on how to reduce test execution times with tips like avoiding “sleeps” in the code, reducing the hierarchy of test classes, avoiding to hit the database, minimizing file I/O etc.
* DRY and Duplicated Code: This post briefly discusses the DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) principle and it’s most common violation, code duplication. Gives an example of DRY violation and discusses how to identify it and treat it. Also see Integrating Maven with Ivy that talks about building an infrastructure that can identify DRY principle violations.
* I’m an Engineer, Not a Compiler: This article discusses phone interviews and the fact that very often “nano-questions” are used in the processed, i.e. questions that could be answered with a quick google search. Those carry a lot of disadvantages, including generating false negatives.
* You can’t achieve REST without client and server participation: In this article the author suggests that when building a RESTful system both client and server have to be good citizens. A RESTful system has a shared set of responsibilities between client and server, so both sides should receive the proper attention by the developers/architects.
* Basic Application Development with Spring Roo and SQLFire: This presentation introduces Roo (Rapid Application Development framework) and SQLFire (Memory-oriented clustered database) along with a demonstration of using AspectJ for SQLFire administration.
*Java Book Recommendations: Top and Best Java Books: What the title says. Also see Top 10 Java Books you don’t want to miss and Java Developer Most Useful Books.
* Why Do IT Pros Make Awful Managers?: A very interesting article on why IT professionals usually make awful managers. It basically boils down to choosing the computer interface over the human interface and the fact that sucessful people have the belief that success and smartness applies to pretty much everything they do.
* Ask For Forgiveness Programming – Or How We’ll Program 1000 Cores: Interesting article on parallele programming and concurrency. It is stated that the only way we’re going to be able to program the new multicore chips of the future is to sidestep Amdhal’s Law and program without serialization, without locks, embracing non-determinism.
In essence, removing serialization is the only way to use all the available cores.
That’s all for this week. Stay tuned for more, here at Java Code Geeks.
Cheers,
Ilias Tsagklis
