Recent Posts by Geertjan Wielenga

Here's the quote of the year for me: I think that eventually the technical debt involved with writing large (50K-100K line) Javascript-based (non-type-safe) applications will become so huge that there may be a revival in Java based client applications to reduce maintenance costs, as well as, the desire for better performance and richer, less restrictive technical capabilities. From a commentor here on java.net.

Here I've got a Java EE 7 backend, using JPA and EJB, together with an HTML5 frontend, using Backbone.js and HTML, all defined within the same Maven application: This kind of mixed Java EE 7 / HTML5 application can be created from templates and wizards in NetBeans IDE 7.4. When deployed to a Chrome browser, where the NetBeans Chrome plugin is installed, you have bi-directional integration available between the browser and the IDE, as well as when you're using the embedded...

Here's where I find the GlassFish sources: https://svn.java.net/svn/glassfish~svn Let's set up the 4.0 branch of the above sources in NetBeans IDE. In the Team menu, use the Subversion tool to point to the above URL: Click Next and then pick the 4.0 branch: While the check out is taking place, add the folder where you're doing the check out to the Favorites window (Ctrl-3), which you can do by right-clicking in the Favorites window and choosing "Add to Favorites"... ...while also...

When I call up code completion in all versions of NetBeans IDE, the Java Editor gives typed suggestions for completing the current statement: This is called code completion. No surprises there. However, if I invoke code completion a second time (i.e., press Ctrl-Space twice), a deeper level of suggestions is returned in NetBeans IDE 7.3.1, as well as in recent releases before that: However, in NetBeans IDE 7.4, instead of the above, the code completion includes suggestions ...

What I like about the PhoneGap concept is that you can write a mobile application in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS without needing to care where it will be deployed. But how about writing a native mobile application without needing to care about where it will be deployed? And how can that even be possible, since by definition a native application is written in a language native to the mobile platform one is interested in, e.g., iOS or Android, for example. So, what you'd need to...

Recently I was showing someone how NetBeans IDE lets you fix missing @Override annotations: Then the someone said: "Well, now that I have fixed this particular missing @Override annotation, it would be cool if I could immediately tell NetBeans to find all other instances of missing @Override annotations, throughout my application." And, as luck would have it, all you need to do is click the right arrow key (as can be seen by the arrow in the hint above) and you'll see it expand...

Several times I've been told that the only major blocker to considering NetBeans IDE as a viable alternative is that Java formatting rules have been defined in Eclipse and that those formatting rules cannot be imported into NetBeans IDE. Well, Willie Scholtz from South Africa has solved this problem: http://epochcoder.blogspot.nl/2013/08/import-eclipse-formatter-into-netbeans.html And I followed the instructions in his blog and I now have a plugin that provides the possibility...

The JavaFX 8 API, which is bundled with JDK 8, contains a new UI control known as the DatePicker. The video below by Jim Weaver demonstrates how to use NetBeans IDE 7.4 Beta to create a JavaFX application from scratch that contains a DatePicker. It also touches on using Java lambda expressions to simplify event handling. In addition, the new date/time API is discussed, and the JFXtras CalendarPicker is demonstrated. The blog post associated with this video is located in...

When you start up NetBeans IDE, you're automatically given a Java DB database named "sample", which unsurprisingly includes some sample data: However, you have access to another database, should you need it, via utilities provided by GlassFish. Right-click the GlassFish node in the IDE and choose "View Domain Admin Console", as shown here: Once the Admin Console has started up in your browser, navigate to Resources | JDBC | Derby Pool, as shown below: Click the "Ping" button...