Jason Bell

mycgiserver Web: www.mycgiserver.com E-mail: general@mycgiserver.com Sometimes finding hosting for your well-crafted pieces of code can be more work than the coding itself. Locating a service that does it free of charge is a real challenge; however, www.mycgiserver.com is a service that meets both criteria. The site started life as a CGI server that could run user's Perl scripts, PHP, and Java servlets, but in November 2000 they made the decision to concentrate on Java deployment. There are other providers of free server space to run your Java Web applications, such as iSavvix (www.isavvix.com) or WebAppCabaret (www.webappcabaret.com), so it is advisable to check all of them and see which will fulfill your requirements. Many free services on the Internet contain banner advertising to fund the service. The only banner ads on www.mycgiserver.com are on their own home ... (more)

Success Without a Successor Is Failure!

I've always believed that we should pass on our knowledge to our peers, then, over time, we'd have a network of programmers who had a firm foundation in how Java works. To that end I try and help out where I can. I'm a member of the JDJList archives and I like to chip in once in a while. This is where all my troubles started. Some people seem to think that if they demand a solution, they'll get it. Not so. Guitarist Robert Fripp used a wonderful phrase with his students many years ago: "The quality of the question determines the quality of the answer." I know it sounds harsh but... (more)

Rational XDE by Rational Software Corporation

Over the past few years the integrated development environment has raged on. For years I've used a text editor and a build tool to create my Java software; I used no set processes or design methods. The integration of UML modeling and Java coding makes obvious sense to a software designer, but a programmer like me has to ask, can XDE mentor me and make me think differently about the way I design software? XDE stands for extended development environment; installation is a straightforward matter, as is installation of software on most Windows systems, but it only runs on Windows 2... (more)

Who Needs Resolutions

Since last month's JDJ was the Linux focus issue, I didn't get a chance to inflict my goals for the year. I call them goals, as I hate the term New Year's resolutions as resolutions are always broken by the end of the first week of the new year. In fact, I think it's more of a custom in the UK to purposely break New Year's resolutions so people can get back to normal as soon as possible. 1.   Read Thinking in Java cover-to-cover. Now in its third edition, Thinking in Java by Bruce Eckel (Prentice Hall) continues to fill my head with all things new. It's a good reminder of how Ja... (more)

Building the Social Network

Whether you like it or not, you're part of the Java community. Just by reading this publication you're declaring that you're a part of the Java way of life, maybe not by choice but you're still here. We have a network of developers all programming in the same language; there are many aspects to this language, but they all share a common thread. Fun, isn't it? One of my little side projects is occasionally contributing to the FOAF community. FOAF (Friend-of-a-Friend) is RDF-based metadata regarding who you know and what you know about them. It builds into a handy RDF/XML-based file... (more)