Dana Nourie's Blog

May 2006 Archives

Handwriting Recognition with Java Technology

I thought it was a little odd that only twenty something people sat with in a room that normally could seat over 100. I had thought many others would be interested in this topic. Apparently I was wrong.

I was excited to learn more about this topic, to discover what packages and clases are needed to write applications that work with writing devices, but this session fell flat on my expectations.

The speaker Yu-Hong Wang, from Maplesoft, spoke well and explained a few concepts in detail. He described the Hidden Markove Model and the Viterbi Algorithm, but Java technology barely came into the picture.

Perhaps there is not a lot to say on this topic. If that's the case, we didn't need a session on it. I don't feel like I learned anything, except to use a mouse listener for these types of application.

The session only lasted 30 minutes instead of the alloted 60 minutes, and the demo was simply the speaker drawing on a PC Mouse tablet.

In all, it was a disappointment.

Dana

Picking up the pace!

The pace has really picked up here at JavaOne. Streams of people going and coming from the rooms, the Pavillion is milling with crowds, but overall everything seems to be running smoothly.

Yesterday was interesting, starting off with the General Session, which hosted a live band, and lots of announcements. The main one was when Rick Green took the stage, and Johnnathon asked, "So when is Sun going to open source Java?" Rick looked rather uncomfortable, made a few jokes, and then replied seriously that "It's not a matter of when but how." Hmmm.

I had anticipated a lot of problems with the new Schedule Builder this year. John Gage, the opening speaker at the General Session, gave a lot of detail to the importance of using this new tool and why. But I noticed we were moving the session rooms quickly as we passed our Java cards over the scaners. I've only noticed a few people getting taken to the side because they were not registered, or their registration had not been properly logged.

The sessions are good. The speakers this year seem relaxed and articulate, and slides are filled with sample code, which is what developers want to see.

The session I went to on improving Swing productivity was good, though I think it would have equally made a really nice article in JavaWorld or some such.

San Francisco weather has caught up with us. The lovely sunny, warm air has given way to a thick, cold marine layer of fog. I can't see the bay out there this morning, and the Oakland hills that I could see from my hotel room yesterday is but a bit of memory in the light of day this morning.

Now, I'll eat then head back over to Moscone to mingle with the rest.

Have a wonderful day! Dana

Java University

The Java University course Exploring the Struts Framework and How it Supports Web Component Development was really outstanding. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, as this area of JavaOne was new to me. I was pleasantly surprised.

The area surrounding the rooms was crowded when I arrived, and more and more people arrived during my half an hour wait. I wondered how they were going to accomodate so many people. But the individual rooms were large, holding up to 140 people each, and the one I was in was nearly full.

The instructor obviously knew his stuff, and the topic of web components and struts was covered in great detail. I don't think anyone left the place without having a good understanding of the J2EE architecture, the components available, how they fit together, and how Struts simplify the process. In addition, the book that was provided had all the slides content, including the sample code.

I highly recommend Java University to all. It clarified a lot for me, and for those who know little about J2EE, it would be a wonderful introduction. Seasoned pros would also get a lot out of it, especially for the Q&A sessions during the class.

Tomorrow I'll be going to the first General Session! Dana

Opening day at JavaOne!

• Implementing Business Logic Using Enterprise JavaBeans Architecture for the Java EE Platform
• How Java EE Patterns Help in Architecting and Designing Robust Java EE Applications
• Using JAX-RPC to Enable Java EE Platform Applications to Interoperate With Applications That Are Not Java Technology-Based in a Secure Web Services Framework
• Exploring the Struts Framework and How it Supports Web Component Development

Getting Ready for the JavaOne Conference 2006

Hi Everyone,

The java.sun.com staff are gearing up to cover the JavaOne conference this year. We are attending some of the sessions and writing articles and blogs to cover the event. It looks like it's going to be a great year.

We have already we have put together Top 10 articles to point out some sessions we thought would be useful to you, and we have arranged them by theme. Here are a few:

Tools: Top 10 Destinations at the 2006 JavaOne Conference

Top 10 Java SE Destinations at the 2006 JavaOne Conference

Top 10 Destinations for Enterprise Developers at the 2006 JavaOne Conference

We hope to meet you there. If you can't make the conference this year be sure to watch the java.sun.com web site for coverage, as well as blogs.sun.com for blogging coverage.

java.sun.com

2006 JavaOne Conference Web Site

We're having delightful weather here in California, sunny, warm, with just a perfect breeze. But remember San Francisco tends to be windy and cool, sometimes downright foggy and cold, even in summer. So dress in layers. See you soon!

Dana Nourie,
Staff Writer for java.sun.com

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