Back when 14.4k baud modems were fast, mice were beige, IBM made PCs, and new software versions were relased annually instead of weekly, software came with useful, intiutive manuals that included tutorials for everything you needed to get up and working.
Other than the ability to take the manual in its binder to the couch to flip through, dog ear and highlight, I was happy to discover a full set of training buried in the doc folder of the Oracle Database install (and many other of their applications, though location may vary).
Even if you don't have the full install, the 2 Day DBA and other really useful documents can be found online, too. The 10.2 version is located here: http://www.oracle.com/pls/db102/portal.all_books.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Installing PMD Plugin for WebLogic Workshop 10gR3
For those that read my Cleaner Code with the PMD Eclipse Plug-In article on Developer.com, you will know that PMD is one of my favorite tools for saving time in code reviews. I recently wanted to review a project built for WebLogic Portal 10.3 and was frustrtated to find that it would not install through the Eclipse updater. At the time I wrote the article, I was unable to find zip install for the more recent PMD versions. Today I found a new location for the old download and unzip install files for PMD on SourceForge today at http://sourceforge.net/projects/pmd/files/, and it seems to work fine when installed with this approach.
Friday, July 24, 2009
WebLogic Workshop 8.x Out Of Memory Fix
A clip from the release notes:
Large Applications May Require Additional Memory Allocation If you are building and testing a large application, WebLogic Workshop may run out of memory, which can cause it to run slowly or shut down. Workaround: You can increase your memory allocation by modifying the Workshop.cfg file, located in the BEA_HOME\weblogic81\workshop\ directory. Add this flag to the command-line arguments: VM flag -Xmx512m
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
WSRP over HTTPS in WLP
Ever run across a problem that sounds real familiar, but you don't remember all the details of the solution? Recently someone was telling me an issue they were having with WSRP where the WSDL when accessed over the HTTPS port still showed the HTTP end point. That is when I experience De Ja Vue (I'v seen this before).
When using HTTPS with WSRP in WLP you must edit the wsrp-producer-config.xml in the producer application:
The bold is where the default value has been changed to true. My conclusion from this is that with WLP your WSRP portlets are either available over HTTP or HTTPS, but not both. I haven't tested this theroy, however, as I have not yet worked on a WSRP project that was not over HTTPS.
When using HTTPS with WSRP in WLP you must edit the wsrp-producer-config.xml in the producer application:
<!-- This element describes the capabilities of this producer. Set the secure attribute to "true" if you require this producer offer any port over SSL. -->
<service-config>
<registration required="true" secure="true"/>
<service-description secure="true"/>
<!-- Set accepts-mime to true to more efficiently process uploaded files when the consumer is a WebLogic Portal. -->
<markup secure="false" rewrite-urls="true" transport="string" accepts-mime="false"/>
<portlet-management required="true" secure="true"/>
</service-config>
The bold is where the default value has been changed to true. My conclusion from this is that with WLP your WSRP portlets are either available over HTTP or HTTPS, but not both. I haven't tested this theroy, however, as I have not yet worked on a WSRP project that was not over HTTPS.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What is Web 2.0?
I saw this question posted on Linked-In today and thought I would blog my input, especially as I have been tied up with some paid work and haven't been blogging as much lately...
Q: What are the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0?
A: In addition to answers already provided, Web 2.0 is often a battle cry for selling new IT products and services rather than an actual technology. It encompasses AJAX, blogs, wikis, RSS, mash ups, and just about everything else that is currently popular.
What is the same between the web before and Web 2.0 (no one ever referred to Web 1.anything until the Web 2.0 marketing banner was raised) is that these technologies can be a huge benefit when implemented well against a solid design and massive headache if done wrong.
Not all of the technologies are mature yet, which is where the big push to use them can be beneficial. Why? Because as development teams run into the issues and limitations vendors will be pushed to fix them, which will accelerate their maturity.
IMHO :)
Q: What are the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0?
A: In addition to answers already provided, Web 2.0 is often a battle cry for selling new IT products and services rather than an actual technology. It encompasses AJAX, blogs, wikis, RSS, mash ups, and just about everything else that is currently popular.
What is the same between the web before and Web 2.0 (no one ever referred to Web 1.anything until the Web 2.0 marketing banner was raised) is that these technologies can be a huge benefit when implemented well against a solid design and massive headache if done wrong.
Not all of the technologies are mature yet, which is where the big push to use them can be beneficial. Why? Because as development teams run into the issues and limitations vendors will be pushed to fix them, which will accelerate their maturity.
IMHO :)
Friday, July 10, 2009
Speed Up The WebLogic Portal Admin Tool
Large WLP applications usually have many desktops. For speed and convenience, these are often based on a .portal file. You may notice a long delay in the loading of the list of .portal files when creating a new desktop. If you do, you can greatly improve the speed of that list being created with one or two steps. The firs step is to store all of your .portal files in a single location. Many people do this already, which is why for them this will be a one step process. The final step is to add the path in web.xml like this:
This can be found in the performance tuning manual that comes with WLP, but we all know how often we get to read the whole manual :)
<context-param>
<param-name>portalFileDirectory</param-name>
<param-value>/</param-value>
</context-param>
This can be found in the performance tuning manual that comes with WLP, but we all know how often we get to read the whole manual :)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
If Building Architects Had To Work Like IT Architects...
Confession: I'm buried in trainings and deliverables and recycling some material from my original catch-all blog.
This was forwarded to me today. Normally I would be concerned about copyright violation, but this is way too good not to share. If the unknown author ever contacts me I will happily take it down after thanking the person profusely for the best description of my job I could ever send to a layperson.
Dear Mr. Architect:
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.
My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdowns for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one at a later time.
Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).
As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)
Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate (among other things) my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.
To assure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, you will need to contact each of my children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any decisions that you make.
Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house and get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpeting. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.
Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.
While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the potential home buyers in my area that they like the features this house has.
I advise you to run up and look at the house my neighbor built last year, as we like it a great deal. It has many things that we feel we also need in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the construction cost.
Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your ideas and completed plans.
Finally, I consider all of this work a demonstration of your qualifications (or lack thereof) and so of course do not expect to be billed for this.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.
This was forwarded to me today. Normally I would be concerned about copyright violation, but this is way too good not to share. If the unknown author ever contacts me I will happily take it down after thanking the person profusely for the best description of my job I could ever send to a layperson.
Dear Mr. Architect:
Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion.
My house should have between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdowns for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one at a later time.
Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).
As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)
Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate (among other things) my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.
To assure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, you will need to contact each of my children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any decisions that you make.
Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house and get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpeting. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.
Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.
While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the potential home buyers in my area that they like the features this house has.
I advise you to run up and look at the house my neighbor built last year, as we like it a great deal. It has many things that we feel we also need in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the construction cost.
Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.
You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your ideas and completed plans.
Finally, I consider all of this work a demonstration of your qualifications (or lack thereof) and so of course do not expect to be billed for this.
PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.
PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.
Monday, July 6, 2009
One AJAX XSS Solution
While there are definitly some cool aspects to AJAX, it also reminds me of the good old days of the browser wars (which seem to be back, albeit more of a Cold War). While my personal preference is to stick to simple solutions that will cause less headaches in production, sometimes you just have to do something the hard way. So far, I've been lucky and have found a simpler solution to the AJAX needs of my clients, but I almost didn't once, which is when I found an article at Solitex Networks on one solution. I'm sure there are other approaches, and would love to see some comments pointing them out.
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