theJavaJar.com

So as 2008 comes to a close, I want to reflect on the past year and what I am expecting/looking forward to in 2009. Professionally and personally, I have gained some great experience.

On a professional level, I have experienced a lot of different technologies that have given me a wider, open view when it comes to providing IT solutions. I started 2008 ready to throw Java at almost every development problem I encountered. Now with some experience with Flex/ActionScript, Python, Groovy/Grails and Ruby/Rails, I have realized that I should not look to solve everything with Java unless it is a best fit solution for the problem. I still love Java for many applicable purposes but I have come to the realization that polyglot programming is among us and will grow in popularity in 2009. I still love the Java enterprise stack and I really, really love what SpringSource is doing to ease the overall complexity that shadows enterprise Java.

Personally, I have matured a bit. I realize that people are going to have opinions about technology that I may never understand. What I have come to understand is that their experience has led them to that opinion, good or bad, and I should at least respect that they have an opinion.

I am looking forward to 2009 for many reasons. I am sure the road ahead will not be smooth but I anticipate 2009 being a year that will be worth the bumpy ride. As long as we put down a good foundation, we should be able to re-build what we have lost. To my colleagues/friends: Happy New Year and may 2009 be a prosperous year.

The other night, I followed the directions posted here and successfully installed and configured Ubuntu 8.10 on my MacBook Pro. I wanted OS X and Ubuntu as options at startup but I could have just installed Ubuntu or made it a trifecta with OS X, Ubuntu and Windows as options at startup.

It is a pretty simple process: Use OS X’s BootCamp utilitiy to create a partition on your hard drive. I created a 30 GB partition which is plenty of space for now. Then, install rEFIt. Next, boot from the Ubuntu 8.10 disc. At startup, with rEFFIt, you can choose to boot OS X or from the Ubuntu CD. Once running on the Ubuntu LIVECD, use gparted to delete the partition that you just created. Finally, start the Ubuntu installer from the Desktop icon and select to install on the “largest continuous free space”. On the last screen of the installer, click the advanced button and choose to install grub to “/dev/sda3″.

I like Ubuntu running on my MacBook Pro. There a few things that I needed to setup that made running Ubuntu feel like OS X. A few things I first noticed and fixed with a few Google searches: 2 finger scrolling, right-click and closing the laptop lid for hibernate/sleep mode.

I found this site this evening and I thought it was something worth writing about. It is a great tool for developers or analysts. Go check out http://www.websequencediagrams.com and experience an incredible tool for creating sequence diagrams in your browser.

It is pretty incredible to read this morning on groovyblogs.org that G2One, the company behind Groovy and Grails, has been aquired by SpringSource, the company behind Spring. The press release is here.

It is going to be a great fit because both companies have succeeded in changing the face of Enterprise Java. Congratulations to SpringSource and G2One.

Does anyone know where and when the Groovy/Grails Experience will be in 2009? I attended the conference in Reston, VA this year and I want to make sure that I make it out to the event next year. So as this is my pre-announcement post for this event, I would like to mention some topics or areas of interest that I would like to see at Groovy/Grails Experience 2009:

- State of Groovy/Grails:
No doubt, a must have presentation on where Groovy/Grails is now and will be going.

-  DSL’s with Groovy:
I understand the concept but how do I apply DSL’s to let’s say Enterprise Integration or Business Process Management?

- Dynamic Productivity for Java Developers:
I am reading Venkat Subramaniam’s book Programming Groovy and I want more.

- Meta Programming:
I liked what I saw at this past event, but now I would like to see it in practice. 

- Griffon:
I have heard quite a bit about it, I have it downloaded, but I haven’t had the time to dig in just yet.

That is a quick list of topics I am looking forward to learning more about. There will probably be more concepts that I will be privy to and interested in by the time the event comes along as I am learning and experimenting every week.

I had a good time and attended some great presentations at BarCamp Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, I only attended the “Dev Day” portion of the event. It was well organized and the space provided by USF was more than adequate. For a zero attendee cost event, I was extremely impressed. I really enjoyed the presentation on Adobe AIR and the introduction to Python. I am very interested in learning more about Python and I found out that a Tampa Bay Python User Group exists here and meets on the first Wednesday of each month. I look forward to experimenting with AIR and Python in the next few weeks and I will definitely have to put together a presentation for the next BarCamp.

I had to write a quick post about Google Chrome because the hype fire needs to keep burning. I downloaded Chrome today just to give it a spin. I have not set it up as my default browser just yet because I am going to need to put it through some trials first. Hopefully, a version for OS X is on its way because I really like the speed and the simplicity of the user interface. If Google stays focused on providing a browser that is geared towards supporting Internet applications then I think we will see some great things from Chrome. 

I am looking forward to attending BarCamp Tampa Bay. I attended BarCamp Orlando last year and I am extremely pleased to know that the concept of the “unconference” will be coming to my backyard. Working with the Tampa Java User Group has shown me how passionate our community is about Java and through my channels, I know that there is a passionate Ruby community as well here in the Tampa Bay area. You can register for the event at http://www.barcamptampabay.com.

Firefox 3 has been released and I just downloaded and installed it on my Windows machine. It was on my TO-DO list and I finally got around to it. I need to install it on my Macs when I get a chance. I am really not too concerned about the browser war nor am I concerned about anyone’s personal preference, but I really like Firefox 3. At a glance, it looks and feels slicker and faster than previous versions. I have to say that these guys and gals are doing something right. Mozilla Firefox and its impact on the Web and the Open Source community is huge and there is no denying that fact. I am a big fan of what has been done in the past and I am excited about what is still to come.

JavaOne is going full blast as I type and I am here blogging about it from the opposite side of the country. It would have been great to go this year, but I have a few priorities I need to take care of before I spend $2500+ to eat, sleep, and breathe Java for a week. I have heard and read that JavaFX is a big point of focus for this year’s event but unfortunately I feel like I am still waiting for the big “AHHH” moment because I have yet to see a demo that is going to impress me after being exposed to technologies like Flash. I guess I will have to wait and see. Well, hopefully some friends of mine, James Williams or Vladimir Vivien, will bring me a shirt (XL or XXL) or some kind of Java swag that will help me look cool.