Export Mylyn to a different computer

I've started working on a MacBook Pro and moved away from Windows thanks to the place where I work.
Honestly I have to say that the change has not been without pains. Keyboard configurations and short cuts have been the biggest pains so far. I know that for the most part they map just fine, however there's always that one hot-key that messes you up and makes you go "AAARRGGHH".

One of the things that I 100% cannot develop without is Mylyn, so as soon as I was able to install it in the Mac I was a happy dev. The issue I had is that I had a lot of tasks on the Windows computer that I wanted to have on the Mac. For a few of those I had uploaded the Context.zip file to the tracking system and I can easily recover my context of working files from there, however there were some notes and some local tasks that I didn't want to lose.

Luckily Mylyn as awesome as it is has an Export feature. Before getting rid of the old PC I did an export of all the tasks and sent myself the file.
I then did an import on the new installation and was able to see all previous tasks and context for those tasks.

Watir

Watir

• Stands for Web Application Testing In Ruby
• Pronounced "water".
• Is a testing framework similar to Selenium.
• Uses OLE to interface with IE and take control of the session.

CouchDB

CouchDB

• Document based DB specifically created for the web.
• It is now an Apache project.
• Uses a REST API and it returns data as JSON. <--very cool
• Written originally in C++ but it has moved now to Erlang.
• Super scalable.
• from http://couchdb.apache.org/ "CouchDB provides a RESTful JSON API than can be accessed from any environment that allows HTTP requests"
• Uses JavaScript as a query language
• The Web based administration console/DB Manager is called 'Futon'.

Hadoop

Today I start a small experiment of mine. I'll randomly read a new tech world word that I didn't know before or that I just heard but never looked up. Hadoop

• Named after an elephant toy, built using Java ( the software not the toy :) )
• An Apache project for working with huge/massive amounts of data.
• Yahoo is one of the biggest contributors.
• Uses a distributed architecture.
• Inspired by Google File System and Google MapReduce. <- don't know what these are.

Illudium generator gotcha!

I know I haven't been writing for a while, however this is something really interesting that happened to us here at work and I figure it may help someone else out there. We are using the well known Illudium PU-36 Code Generator from Brian Rinaldi. I use it for a project that connects to MSSQL and had no trouble generating the code, I even created my own template based on the "Prototype" provided with the generator. It creates nice clean code that we can start working on right away. The problem we had was that we were getting "duplicate parameters" and "duplicate Properties" once we started using any Oracle database. I started digging the code and learned a lot in the process, one thing I noticed is that on the adminAPIFacade.driverOrClassToType() method Brian checks for the datasource's Driver and Class values and if it finds "oracle" then uses "oracle.cfc" to get metadata from the database. If it finds "mssql" then it uses "mssql.cfc" to get the metadata from SQL Server. If nothing is matched then it tries to use the new CF8 for metadata extraction, the component used for that is scorpio.cfc. Well everything looked good there, logic look solid and things were working OK. The problem was on our side. I checked our datasources and every Oracle DSN is using "Other" as the driver. This turns out to be a JDBC connection where the Driver Class is "macromedia.jdbc.MacromediaDriver" and the driver Name is "MacromediaDriver" nowhere in these values you will find the word "Oracle". That's why the adminAPIFacade.driverOrClassToType() method was returning "Scorpio" all the time. Now I don't know why the CF8 tags are returning duplicate information on the metadata but I knew that I needed to find a way to tell the method to start using Oracle.cfc instead of scorpio.cfc. I found the answer on the datasource.url value. Right now it reads JDBC URL : jdbc:macromedia:oracle://[serverName]:1521;ServiceName=[ServiceName];AlternateServers=([ServerName2]:1521);LoadBalancing=true So I added that to the method and now all generated code is coming the way is supposed to be. Final method looks like this. <cffunction name="driverOrClassToType" access="private" output="false" returntype="string"> <cfargument name="datasource" required="true" type="struct" /> <cfif ((arguments.datasource.driver eq "MSSQLServer") or (arguments.datasource.class contains "MSSQLServer") or (arguments.datasource.url contains "MSSQLServer"))> <cfreturn "mssql" /> <cfelseif ((arguments.datasource.driver contains "mySQL") or (arguments.datasource.class contains "mySQL"))> <cfreturn "mysql" /> <cfelseif ((arguments.datasource.driver contains "Oracle") or (arguments.datasource.class contains "Oracle") or (arguments.datasource.url contains "oracle"))> <cfreturn "oracle" /> <!--- if you are running cf8 we can try to leverage db metadata tags ---> <cfelseif listFirst(server.coldfusion.ProductVersion) gte 8 and arguments.datasource.driver neq "MSAccess"><!--- only access with unicode seems to work with dbinfo ---> <cfreturn "scorpio" /> <cfelse> <!--- not a supported type ---> <cfreturn "" /> </cfif> </cffunction> çB^]\..

I hate Windows Vista

That's it. I just hate it. I don't have time or patience to find out where everything is. The File explorer is completely messed up. I do not like it. Microsoft : "fix it " .. Oh wait, you created this, never mind.

Get Firefox FIRST!

We'll I ended up buying a new laptop for work.I figured that I can use the old laptop for Ubuntu and this new one for Windows.Yes, maybe I could use one for both, however I'm pretty sure my old trusty laptop won't be able to handle two systems, no matter what I do to it.It is from 2001!!.
So for now the old trusty is my Ubuntu play area and this new one is the one I'll be using for work from Bolivia.

It is a Toshiba Satellite L45-S7423, nothing fancy really. I don't do games or watch DVDs that much so I just went for the bare necessities. It has 1gb of RAM which I think would be good enough for the things I do.

Why a Toshiba? My sister got one a year ago, when my old trusty started failing on me, I borrowed hers for a while and I liked it. The price was also good.

One thing I don't like is that it comes with the over hyped Windows Vista, I'd rather have XP pro." No problem" said the 18 year old sales person at Circuit City we can downgrade it for you it will cost $350 though.

Anyway I feel weird using Vista, I don't like it. I don't need it. I think is too much make up for the system with nothing really beneficial for the work I do.
First thing I did is install Firefox, I don't care if IE has tabs now. I cannot use IE outside work (they pay me to use it). I got my Firefox installed and the first thing I'm doing in it is write this post.

Next thing? get rid of all the trial garbage they install on these machines. That's one really cool think about Ubuntu, install it, power up, get to work, simple as that.
After that Eclipse, and all the tools for development.

çB^]\..

NoDans Series on ModelGlue Reloaded Part 5

This was also a short entry. The main purpose here is to change the free form text for the Contact Types to a Select box. We do this by creating a MAP with ENTRIES in Coldspring.xml and then calling a method getContactTypes() on the ContactService bean. Once we have the collection of values we set the variable "ContactTypes" for later use un the final view (frmContact.cfm). Direct Link to MindMap of Part 5 (opens full Size)

NoDans Series on ModelGlue Reloaded Part 4

This was an easy and short one. Part 4 deals with the validation of the form. We have two main objectives here

1. Check the values provided against our validation rules
2. Display error messages if the values don't pass validation

Direct Link to MindMap of Part 4 (opens full Size)

NoDans Series on ModelGlue Reloaded Part 3

I'm finding Mindomo a bit of a pain to work with, there are some restrictions on the application that are starting to get me. However, I still think it is a good tool and has a lot of potential, not only that but I want to keep consistent with the MindMaps. I didn't want to recreate the first one I did and I didn't want to do this third part in some other system.
I think I'll just finish the whole series using Mindomo and then look for other more interesting options.

Anyhow, I went through part 3 of the series from Dan Wilson's blog and I broke all the information on 4 sections.

1. Create the Bean that will hold data from the form.
2. Create the Form that will gather data on the front end.
3. Create the Action handler for the form once data is submitted.
4. Something I called ColdSpring Magic. Dan creates a Service and wires the whole thing using Coldspring and Model Glue.

Dan uses a cool code generator called ROOIBOS.

I tried to put as much detail as possible but you can only go so far with mindomo.
Direct Link to mindmap of Part3 (opens full Size)

Apparently Mindomo has a set width and height, therefore if you open all branches at the same time some text will get cut off. I recommend keeping (2) and (3) open and then when you are ready for (4) collapse (2).
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I want to make something clear, I'm doing this to help me understand how a ModelGlue application works. I'm using Dan Wilson's series since it is easy to digest and covers all the basics. I don't claim to be an expert on ModelGlue, this is a compliment effort to what Dan Wilson has on his website. You still have to read the entries on Dan's blog but hopefully all the verbose will make more sense if you have a graphical way of connecting things.



If anybody has questions about the mindmap please let me know.
çB^]\..

NoDans Series on ModelGlue Reloaded Part 1 & 2

When I have to work on complex stuff,tackle a new project or learn a new technology, I usually create a Mind Map on a big piece of paper. I started looking for options on the Internet that I can use from anywhere and that can help me diagram fairly complex concepts. I found www.mindomo.com and I like it!! the fact that the application was created in FLEX is even better. Anyways, I've finished the series of 10 tutorials from Dan Wilson. I learned a lot of things related to ModelGlue and I decided to do the whole 10 exercises again and this time create my usual Mind Maps so I can absorb things in a graphical way. I'll start posting the different Parts and the related MindMap, hopefully this Maps will be a complement to anybody trying to learn ModelGLue and following Dan's tutorials. Here are the two first Parts of the series. If anybody has questions/comments about the Maps please let me know. Direct Link to Parts 1-2 (opens full Size) çB^]\..

Useful XML beautifier for ColdSpring and ModelGlue files

I'm following Dan Wilson's 8th entry on ModelGlue and after a while I noticed that some of my files, specially the ColdSpring.xml and ModelGlue.xml under the config folder were getting really big and ugly. I don't spend too much time trying to line up everything on the XML files, right now I'm trying to get through the series and start building my own small application. Anyhow, I saw that the XML files were getting messy, a little time on the Internet produced this great resource xml lint online converter. Simply navigate to the page, click on the Browse button, find the Coldspring or ModelGlue files that you are trying to beautify and voila!! You get a nicely formatted XML file for the viewing pleasure of human eyes. On the resulting page you can view the source and then copy/paste the whole thing back to your ColdSpring or ModelGlue files. As usual, BACKUP your files before doing this!! Even better put the files in favorite flavor of source control CVS/SVN and then try to make them pretty. çB^]\..

Giant steps on ModelGlue

It seems to me that I was over my head when I started looking at the Model-Glue Series from Ray Camden. I started looking for more information on the web and I found two great resources, Dan Wilson and Doug Boude. These two guys have great information on Model Glue. Right now I'm making giant steps on Model Glue thanks to the following

• The ModelGlue Event Lifecycle in Laymans Terms (Doug Boude)
• Yet Another ModelGlue QuickStart (Doug Boude)

Great video posting here, it explains a lot about the ModelGlue Framework and how things connect between Model, Views and Controllers. I recommend people trying to learn ModelGlue check the video.

• So You want to create a ModelGlueUnity application (Dan Wilson)

This series is just amazing, I had done the two initial parts and I liked them because they are easy to understand and the reading is simple but packed with a lot of information. I started following Posting #3 of the series and I was blown away by the reference to Rooibos Generator. Are you kidding me? I spent so much time doing the getters and setters before that now that I found this nifty app I don't know if I'll ever do it again. Great stuff, really great stuff. Once I get a good understanding of the whole thing and I'm done with the tutorials I'll have to create a small app from scratch and post here all the steps. çB^]\..

Coldfusion on Ubuntu 7.10

Update It seems I spoke too soon, and I Was too tired to think straight. I was able to follow the steps and have Coldfusion installed, however I can't setup Apache to listen to CFM requests. I've been trying to run the ./cf-connector.sh script and so far nothing happens, screen doesn't change and every time I try to open a .cfm page the server asks me if I want to download it.

---

wow, I've not been this excited about computers in a long time. 3:20AM and I'm still unable to go to sleep, even though I have to wake up early tomorrow (actually today, in a couple hours). Coldfusion was a little more tricky than the other ones. Most of the steps came from Installing ColdFusion 8 on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn. But the trick with the correct paths to all the files came from Installing ColdFusion 7 on Ubuntu Feisty Fawn

Add web server Configuration Apache

1. What directory contains your Apache configuration file: /etc/apache2
2. Where is the Apache program binary file?: /usr/sbin/apache2
3. Where is the control file that you use to start and stop the Apache web server?: /etc/init.d/apache2

çB^]\..

Ubuntu LAMP

I have no idea why I was so afraid to start working with Ubuntu as my development box. I was hesitant to install a LAMP server so I can start playing with Joomla and Coldfusion.Boy was I wrong!! Ubuntu is beautiful, I have to admit that initially I liked it just because of the pretty colors and the idea of answering 'yeah I run a Linux system' when asked what kind of computer I use, but little by little I'm finding new cool things about this system. by the way the steps I used to install the LAMP are here : Ubuntu LAMP for Newbies I was up and running and testing a new Joomla installation in a matter of 20-30 minutes, if that. Next, setup a Coldfusion server. çB^]\..

Model Glue and the MasterJedi Series

For the last two days I've been following the Model Glue Series from Ray Camden as a way to get my feet wet. I like Ray's work overall and I think that if I had followed the series from the beginning it would've been much easier to follow. Sadly I'm stuck and trying to figure out somethings on part 7, it doesn't help that I'm using Model-Glue 2.0 Unity and the series is written for an earlier version without any ColdSpring. I decided that at some point I'll start a website explaining basic concepts related to Model-Glue and Coldfusion in general in a graphical way. I like to code as much as the next guy but to me a graphic or a diagram can save a lot of grief and also helps me understand the big picture of things instead of trying to create the whole thing bottom-up. ShowMeCF.com , graphicalCF.com? çB^]\..

I'm officially running Ubuntu 7.10

Having seen what Edubuntu can do on my kids computer and having experienced too many blue screens lately on my trusty but old laptop ( we got in 2001) I decided to wipe out Windows from the laptop and install Ubuntu. The whole thing took me less than 30 minutes and I was up and running with no problems. I know there are certain things that I still have to figure out, like downloading codecs to watch and listen to music. All in time I guess, now it's not a matter of having time to do it. I just forced myself to work with Ubuntu and find solutions to my little pet peeves. This will be definetely a great learning experience. I just now have to find a way to create a developer's box on the laptop. Shouldn't be too difficult I guess considering that I'm using Apache, MySQL and PHP for my latest projects. çB^]\..

New project on the way

I started working on both projects and first thing I needed was to setup my development environment. I started installing Apache, and then MySQL and PHP. For some reason things didn't work out. I got so frustrated that I went and decided that since this is a development box, there was no need for me to tune the different pieces individually. I remember using XAMPP years ago, so I decided to look for the same package or similar one. I found XAMPP and also WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL and PHP) . I decided to go with WAMP. Install was quick, easy and completely painless, if you are trying to get a development box up and running in no time, I'd advice you get WAMP. WAMP comes with PHPMyAdmin, however I decided to try some of the apps provided by MySQl, so I downloaded the MySQL GUI Tools. I have to say that is a pretty nice set of applications. Speaking of tools from MySQL, the one I'm interested in, that is in Beta is MySQL WorkBench, which will include the DBDesigner software for data modeling. I've been using DBDesigner as a stand alon application from Fabforce.net for the other project related to Joomla. I initially stumbled upon this while looking for the ERD of Joomla and I have to say that for a piece of software that comes free is a pretty good application. çB^]\..

If I was a Simpson's Character

I played with the Simpson's website a couple months ago and ended up with this character. If I was living in Springfield I'd look like this.

That was a long snooze

Haven't entered anything for months, not that I didn't have anything to write about, just lack of time and too many things going on actually, one of them called Summer. It was a great summer, the kids enjoyed and so did we. Back to business. I've contacted people in Bolivia to start ( finish actually) a couple projects to get my Bachelors degree. I decided to finish things from college now that we've settled down, don't plan on having more kids and have a stable job. The projects are related to things I work with on a daily basis. One of them is an online game similar to Yahtzee created exclusively for my website www.LLAJTA.com. This will require PHP, MySQL and a good understanding of the Joomla framework. I've used the admin options of Joomla for over a year but never really got into messing with the code. This is my chance. The second project is a hybrid CRM system/Project Management System for construction companies in Bolivia. This will require Coldfusion 8.0 and MySQL. I'm excited about this one since I'll be playing with the new features Coldfusion offers and at the same time I'll get my feet wet in the Model-Glue waters. For those who don't know, Model-Glue is a development framework for Coldfusion apps. Lots of things happening. I guess I'll be posting more often now that I have projects outside work.