22 iulie 2005

Swing Hacks on Amazon

Amazon.com: Books: Swing Hacks (Hacks): "Swing Hacks helps Java developers move beyond the basics of Swing, the graphical user interface (GUI) standard since Java 2. If you're a Java developer looking to build enterprise applications with a first-class look and feel, Swing is definitely one skill you need to master. This latest title from O'Reilly is a reference to the cool stuff in Swing."

Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures

Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures: Interesting stuff, no matter how experienced you are, your memory can't match with the information collected here. Check it out, put it in your bookmarks ..

JasperReports - new version 1.0 !

JasperReports - What's New in v.1.0:
1. Built-in Chart Support
2. Support for large reports
3. Support for CLOB and BLOB report fields
4. Returning values from subreports

Good news for every user of this trustful tool !
I'm eagerly waiting for a iReport update too :)

20 iulie 2005

Hacknot - Beware The GUI Builder

Hacknot - Beware The GUI Builder: "So, are GUI builders good for anything at all? Perhaps. They have some utility for mocking up interfaces. You can create static 'snapshots' of your interface and show them to users, perhaps employing printouts of them as paper prototypes. In other words, you ignore the code generation functionality and use the GUI builder as a shape-based drawing tool. I believe this is one of the few useful applications of GUI builders.

Attempting to use them in the prescribed manner is generally a bad idea. They shield the programmer from coding details that they must eventually conquer anyway, introduce an unnecessary tool dependency into the development cycle, and discourage re-use. Of course, as long as there are uninformed managers with access to the company purse, GUI builders will continue to be sold on the basis of their novelty and unsubstantiated claims to productivity improvement."