http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/ en-us 2004-12-16T20:50:57-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2004/12/noted_cocoa_pro.html Cocoa isn't the only beverage for the holidays. Java can also really hit the spot. Programming castelaz 2004-12-16T20:50:57-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2004/10/ui_trick.html A dropdown combobox is an extremely useful control, but its associated button isn't really needed until the control has focus. A small UI trick can help you maximize precious screen space by hiding the dropdown button until it's needed. You can size the combobox control to show all of the selected item text without wasting space on the button. Programming castelaz 2004-10-19T19:32:34-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2004/09/pair_programmin.html Pair programming may be the most controversial part of extreme programming. If you have any doubt, start a conversation on extreme programming, and see where it ends up. castelaz 2004-09-17T03:42:48-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2004/08/ambiguity.html As developers, we frequently concentrate on resolving misunderstandings between users and ourselves. So much so, we tend to forget that ambiguities can exist between programmers. Standard practices and Java idioms can go a long way in keeping this problem at bay. Patterns and practices are more than ways to implement solutions. They are also an important way for programmers to convey intent. Programming castelaz 2004-08-31T21:13:53-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2004/08/the_best_laid_p.html You've done the research. You've reviewed the specs. The technology appears to fit your needs like a glove. Then, you find it doesn't work as specified, or it exhibits weird and contrary behavior. The project goes poof, and you find yourself back at square one. Perhaps it would have been better to let the mice do the planning. castelaz 2004-08-10T07:47:00-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2004/07/hesitant_acroba.html You can’t stand on the shoulders of giants, if you never climb up. Programming castelaz 2004-07-21T12:15:57-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2004/07/buried_treasure.html There are nuggets of useful code to be found all around, if you take a moment to scratch beneath the surface. A particularly rich treasure can be found in the Jakarta Commons. Programming castelaz 2004-07-14T04:30:06-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2003/12/the_catastrophe.html Sometimes an iterative development process sorta happens on its own. Community castelaz 2003-12-18T21:32:38-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2003/09/are_encapsulati.html The three principle features of object-oriented languages are encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance. How we rank them in importance influences our use of OO. Community castelaz 2003-09-24T10:20:23-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2003/08/robogrammer_230.html Even it's not particularly useful, it's always fun to speculate about the future of programming. Community castelaz 2003-08-06T19:36:53-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2003/07/development_tug.html Rave may have some interesting consequences Community castelaz 2003-07-09T15:52:33-08:00 http://weblogs.java.net/blog/castelaz/archive/2003/06/when_gotos_roam.html Are the green fields of development gone? castelaz 2003-06-13T13:21:29-08:00