Gorp

Spin, as in Bespin

2009-02-19T19:28:00.004+01:00

I've just come across this. These people have too much time on their hands. They implemented a text editor in Javascript. They implemented a text editor and UI framework based on the Canvas tag. From Scratch! It won't even run on Internet Explorer. And it looks like crap! Excuse me, but couldn't they just have used Java and run an Applet? While I have nothing against Javascript, it just seems like such a complete fucking waste of time.
Back in the 90ies, the hype was that Java in the browser would supplant Microsoft as the next Platform (with a capital P). Now it seems that Javascript is going to be the thing. Except with a weaker security model, no real modularity story, etc. I think a common runtime across platforms would be nice, but does it have to be Javascript in a Canvas? I want my Betamax back!

Wicket: truly OO

2009-02-19T14:12:00.003+01:00

Object orientation has been the great software success story of the 1990's. If done well, OO programming allows to save on development costs by fostering code reuse and by improving maintainability through reduced coupling. In the next paragraphs, I'll show what is necessary to support these techniques in a web framework and how Wicket has exactly those properties.

Code reuse is achieved through polymorphism and abstraction. Polymorphism allows to share code among object that are almost, but not quite the same. You define a common superclass for those objects and override methods to implement the behaviour specific to a particular subclass. Abstraction, on the other hand, works by allowing an algorithm to treat various object the same, even if they are implemented differently. We call this programming to an interface. In Java, for example, you can call methods on an interface, even if you don't know the implementing class. But this is only possible, if we do not depend on the implementation of the object. In particular, the state representation of the object must be private to the object.

The same mechanism of encapsulation also allows to reduce coupling between modules. If I do not know how an object is implemented, I cannot have a dependency on that implementation, and I'm therefore free to change the implementation without consequences in the rest of the system. The biggest maintenance nightmare is the class that nobody will touch, because the smallest change may have unforeseeable consequences.

Since Wicket components are simply Java objects, it is trivial to apply the OO mechanisms of code reuse to create new components. There is no tag library to implement, and existing components can be customized simply be overriding the appropriate methods. In other component oriented web frameworks, there is usually a clear distinction between creation and use of components. In Wicket, there is no such distinction. You cannot write a Wicket application without creating at least one component: the home page.

Wicket's use of controlled serialization for implementing private component state, plus a couple of associated techniques (markup inheritance or the component id scheme, for example), allows for truly "black box" components. The best prof of this is the usual installation instructions for wicket component libraries: you just drop the jar on the class path. The component needs to do the rest.

The Business Case for Wicket

2009-02-19T13:50:00.002+01:00

I believe that Wicket is a very economical choice of web framework for various reasons. It supports an object oriented, modular architecture in exemplary fashion. That makes code reusable and easy to maintain. The philosophy of "no magic" and the restriction of scope to the realm of web user interface make it possible to understand for the framework on a deep level. Wicket is written entirely in Java. This allows the programmer to debug his web application from end to end. It also makes for a very shallow technology stack: there is simply less code to understand and debug. That in turn expands the talent pool if you're trying to find programmers: you can concentrate on hiring the right people instead of the people with the right buzzwords on their resumes.

I have been complaining on the wicket-users list that more could be done to push wicket for business reasons. In future posts, I'll expand on the above points and try to show why Wicket could be right for your business.

Wicket Requests as RPC

2009-02-16T20:05:00.002+01:00

When you look at a Wicket URL, it's usually something like this:

<prefix>:page:version:<path to elmement>:AnInterface

The first part is an identifier of a particular version of an object, the second the method to be called. So in a general way, we can understand a request of a Wicket URL as a remote method invocation.

Modular Web Apps with Wicket & Eclipse

2009-02-12T11:52:00.001+01:00

I finally got around to experimenting with Eclipse & Wicket. I wrote up the results on my website.

Closed Source is like DRM

2009-02-12T11:24:00.002+01:00

My friend Ralph works to further the Eclipse ecosystem in Europe. He argues a lot on the business side of things, and one of the stories he tells in his dog and pony show is how a big company had a large investment in some particular development tools. The supplier of these tools was then acquired by a competitor, who understandably had no interest in supporting those tools. The only way forward for the company was to convert their development process to new tooling, because they couldn't get bugfixes etc. anymore.
The same thing happens when you buy DRM-encumbered media. You effectively give up control of the media to the company you buy them from. Let me illustrate: the new car I bought last year comes with a great feature: the audio system has a USB port where you can plug in a stick with MP3s. I quickly put all of my music on and now I'm sometimes embarassed by the crap I used to listen to in the eighties. The point is: my CD collection goes back to around 1983. I can carry that music forward with me as far as I like because I have it in a reasonably open format. If you buy media that are DRM-infested, the seller still controls it. Just remember when Microsoft pulled the approval servers for it's "Plays for sure" scheme.
The point here is: if, as a company, you rely on some critical piece of software, it really makes good business sense to go with open source software. If you rely on closed source software for a critical piece of your infrastructure, you have just outsourced control over a critical piece of your business to someone else. With open source software, you always have the option to take control of the code yourself. Chances are, you're not the only one relying on the product, so the chance of continuing the development over a long period in time is much higher.

Crisis, what crisis?

2008-11-20T22:20:00.004+01:00

Everybody I talk to seems to agree that I have picked the worst possible time to start my own business (with the financial crisis and all). I tend to agree, but still: thanks to my friend Ralph I actually got my first contract pretty easily. I am currently working a Tonbeller AG in Bensheim, Germany on a designer for business intelligence cockpits. Where the financial crisis seems to kick in, is that the contract runs out at the end of the year. I guess they're going to put the breaks on development in order to see whether the new product gets any traction in the market place. I can't say I mind too much, since I'm really looking forward to spending some time a home in Zürich.
I figure the exact same scenario is playing out all over the world right now. Everybody is a bit worried about the downturn, and by keeping back on spending (on me, dammit!) they bring about the recession they are worried about.

The good news is that this is is your chance to hire me. If you need an expert (alumnus committer, actually) for Eclipse or Wicket in the new year, give me a shout.

Being Scammed

2008-07-17T20:36:00.002+02:00

I recently registered my company, Devotek IT. In Switzerland, company registrations are published by the registry office. Not surprisingly, people scan these publications in order to hit you with advertising, etc. And of course, you get the scammers. So I got a very official piece of correspondance from a company called the "Institut für Wirtschaftspublikationen" (or "institute for economics publications" in englisch). They were trying to get me to pay roughly 500.- CHF for the privilege of being listed in their company register. Of course, it's a complete scam. I doubt anyone ever looks at the register. I take it as a rite of passage. People consider me worth of being scammed. That means I'm a real enterpreneur, woot! Surprisingly, that kind of scam seems to work quite well despite being well publicised in Switzerland. So kids, don't do that at home!

It's Official: Samsung Sucks

2008-06-23T13:35:00.003+02:00

I got a reply from the escalating adress at Samsung (remember, the 24" with the red pixel). I'm not surprised to see it came to nothing. They just quoted ISO 13406-2 at me which means, basically, "fuck you". They didn't even send the mail with a working reply-to adress, which means, basically, "fuck off".
Don't buy Samsung monitors. Buy Dell, they offer a warranty against bright pixels. Harumpfh!

Prose vs. Javadoc

2008-06-17T17:48:00.002+02:00

I've been thinking about documentation lately. I believe we often concentrate too much on the small scale documentation. We write Javadoc for every method, but what is usually sorely missing is documentation about the big picture. And I don't mean UML diagrams, I mean good old prose describing what a system does and how it goes about that.
Any reasonably competent programmer can figure out what a method does if he or she understands how a system works in general.

Option Tax Rebate: Over My Dead Body

2008-06-13T16:50:00.002+02:00

The swiss parliament just voted a law which (among other things) contains a tax rebate for managers cashing in their stock options. I can think of no good reason why this particular group of taxpayers should enjoy a reduced tax rate for their income, while the rest of us is milked. Thank god for direct democracy. There is simply no way this is going to survive the popular vote.

The Dead Pixel Lottery or Samsung Sucks

2008-06-13T15:24:00.004+02:00

While setting up a new workspace at home, I bought a this 24" monitor. Nice, you'll say, but unfortunately, it has a very noticeable always-on red subpixel near the middle of the screen. I promptly called customer service, but I got the reply that, well, I was shit out of luck and these things just happen.
I do know that they specifically exclude single pixel faults from the warranty, but come on, what kind of customer care is this! I can just see the managers on a retreat giggling: "I know, I know, let's screw over every tenth customer. That will be fun!" O tempora o mores! Assuming 10% of the panels are defective, they could offer a guaranteed fault-free monitor for as little as 30 bucks more than the 600CHF price of the monitor.
I got an email adress to plead my case with the hight ups, but until I get this monitor replaced, SAMSUNG SUCKS!

PS: funnily enough, the slogan on the linked page reads: "perfection to the highest degreee". No, in a perfect montitor, EVERY fucking pixel works!

Modular Webapplications With Eclipse & Wicket

2008-06-11T15:07:00.001+02:00

One of the next things I want to play around with is this: get the Eclipse plugin system up inside jetty and then build a model application with Wicket. Extensiblog?n MoWickr? Ideas welcome

Why Wicket Is Different

2008-06-11T15:03:00.003+02:00

Eeelco Hillenius says it well on the Wicket mailing list:

Wicket supports private state for individual components, whereas the
traditional (REST) pattern assumes to take the state out (to string
based request parameters) and up to the request level. The big
difference is that without using a framework like Wicket, you can't
really create self contained components. You have to ensure that state
gets passed in any URL that is generated on a page, ensure the
parameters are properly scoped, have to worry about how to serialize
and de-serialize (from regular objects to strings and vice versa),
etc.

You can test this by creating a Struts app where you create a pageable
list. You'd append parameters for e.g. the page number and query to
every URL that passes back to the page, even if the link you are
constructing has nothing to do with the pageable list. Just the fact
that it is on the page means you have to pass the parameter. That by
itself is doable - though destroys encapsulation -; the problems
really start when you decide to move/ reuse the 'component' to/ in
another page, and when e.g. you add more things to the pass that need
to pass state like for instance tabs.

That really sums up my experience, too: you can use the wildest components and just not care about how they are implemented.

Why Eclipse Is Pointing At Your Big Toe

2007-04-05T14:16:00.000+02:00

Rob Williams complains that Eclipse plugins suck. Unfortunately he is right. Most plugins (and that includes some projects hosted at eclipse.org) don't come anywhere near the quality of the Eclipse SDK. Rob asks in a comment why the unwashed masses of plugin developers are allowed to shoot themselves (and the whole Eclipse install) in the foot. As usual, it seemed like a good idea at the time (an still may be).
One of the basic tenets of eclipse development is that there are no privileged clients. The idea at the time was to migrate all IBM dev tools onto a common platform. This would include web tools, c, cobol, you name it. It should be possible to write a state of the art tool for all these problem domains. At the same time, the platform should allow for all these tools to seamlessly integrate into the same workbench. It was felt that the platform would only end up with the appropriate degrees of freedom if the developers of the Eclipse SDK would themselves have to live by the same rules as all the "third party" plugin writers (a practice called "eating your own dogfood"). That meant that if the JDT or the update manager or whatever SDK plugin could plug in some functionality into the workbench, anybody else could do so, too. Voila a whole bunch of loaded guns conveniently pointed at your foot ;-)

Visitors Not Welcome

2007-03-21T15:47:00.000+01:00

The Register carries this story today. Am I the only one offended by this? Oh well, I'll just not visit!

Time for another photo

2007-03-15T18:04:00.001+01:00

P1010169
Originally uploaded by thomas.maeder.

This one is a view from the peak of Säntis direction a bit south from due west

Why does JSF use JSP

2007-03-15T17:42:00.000+01:00

I've been looking into JSF these last days. What I don't get about it is why they use JSP to create the component tree? If you write an internationalized application, you end up with zero, zip, kein HTML on your page. At that point, wouldn't we be better off just building the component tree in Java, with nice things like code assist and static type checks? Or am I just missing something here?

log4j must die!

2007-03-14T11:25:00.000+01:00

Arghh, stuck in log4j hell once again:

log4j:WARN Please initialize the log4j system properly.

I would, if this fucking piece of shit actually told me any useful information, like where it was trying to load the configuration from.

Trees in the fog, seen from Üetliberg

2006-10-10T11:04:00.000+02:00

P1010008
Originally uploaded by thomas.maeder.

Just testing blogging a photo from flickr

Saturday, May 28

2006-07-01T14:37:00.001+02:00

I drove out to north Berwick along the south coast of the Firth of Forth. There a is a bunch of villages & harbors along the way:

After about 40 min. I got to North Berwick. The golf course starts at the sea end of the village. They have a nice little clubhouse:

I had to wait for a while to get out since they had a club competition on. I could finally tee off with a couple of members (Peter, Peter, Phil & Chris). We hit off into what I would call a gale force wind, but they called a "breeze". Yeah right. It was exactly what you would expect from a links course: It rained twice (hard, sideways), I was summery hot and everything in between. My shots alternated between 150 yard drivers & 250 yard 3-Woods (depending on the wind, of course). The course goes along the beach with a very nice views of Bass Rock & the Firth.

(Yes, the white stuff on the rock is bird shit :-)
To the unaccustomed eye, the course looks a bit unkempt (if you're used to the north american style of greenkeeping), but the greens are fast as concrete and just as flat. Just very different.

As you can see, I didn't lose my smile, though and it was a very nice round, thanks also to the nice company. We had a nice round of beers in the clubhouse afterwards and watched the americans with their caddies come in.

Thu & Friday 26/26th of May

2006-06-05T12:25:00.000+02:00

The flight to Edinburgh was rather uneventful. Of course, British Airways lost my golf bag, but considering I had to change planes in Heathrow, that had to be expected. Bloody bastards. The weather was quite nice when I got to Edinburgh, so I walked around a bit, had dinner an a couple of pints.
Edinburgh is built on a couple of hills. On one of them stands the castle. From the castle, the royal mile runs town to Holyrood Palace, the official seat of the british monarch in Scotland.
This picture shows the upper part of the royal mile (hight street) with St. Giles Church, I believe.

A bit lower down, after John Knox house, the character of the street changes as it runs down to the Palace of Holyrood House.

Friday passed rather uneventfully, as I was mainly waiting for my clubs to arrive. The whole BA baggage tracing system is crap, since what you really want to know is when you're going to get your luggage and they only tell you that shortly before you get it. At least, they should give you a phone number to call where you can speak to an actual person. Harumph!
In the morning, I walked to a golf shop I had previously located and got myself a nice Galvin Green waterproof golfing top. Yummy! This thing is just great (and totally water- and windproof as I would later find out). Had a haircut (and discussed football with the hairdresser he actually had been to Basel when they played Hearts of Midlothian last year).
In the afternoon, I went shopping along Princes Street and Rose Street. Found a large outdoors & climbing store and spent a good hour browsing. I am a sucker for equipment.
Went to a pub on the Grassmarket & watched the England friendly.
As I came back to the hotel, the clubs had arrived. Yay!

2006-05-25T07:47:00.000+02:00

Well, I'm off to Scotland today. Nine days of golf, hiking and general merriment. Yay! As usual when I'm travelling, I woke up way too early. The day started brilliantly here in Zürich and I hope it will be the same in Edinburgh, but the weather forecasts are rather grim.