New Article: Introduction to java.net's VisualLangLab Project

We've just published a new article by Sanjay Dasgupta, administrator of the java.net VisualLanLab project. The article, titled "VisualLangLab - Grammar without Tears", introduces the tool's design, logic, and capabilities.

VisualLangLab is a JavaTools subproject that was started in January 2011. The software facilitates the development of parsers using a visual user interface. As Sanjay states in the article:

Parsing techniques and parser-generator tools are a great addition to any developer's arsenal, and VisualLangLab provides a convenient, gentle introduction to those topics.

The VisualLangLab software is actually coded in Scala, but you needn't have Scala installed on your system in order to run the application: the full download includes all the component Scala libraries you need. All you really need to run VisualLangLab is a 1.6+ JDK or JRE.

Sanjay's article walks you through the steps of using VisualLangLab to define a basic parser for a data stream that has a specific language grammar. Many aspects of the GUI are presented and discussed, along with capabilities such as literal token creation, regex token creation, whitespace and comments management, node management, rule creation, action code, and more.

The VisualLangLab download also provides sample grammars to help you better understand the tool's capabilities and how it works.

Near the end of the article, the relationship between VisualLangLab and Scala's parser combinators is discussed, and illustrated with the following figure:

For more information about this aspect of VisualLangLab, see Relationship with Scala Parser Combinators on the VLL project site, or in the downloadable VLLS.zip.

Summing up, Sanjay says:

The article introduces readers to parser development using the completely visual tool VisualLangLab. Its features make it an effective prototyping environment and a training tool, and will hopefully be a useful addition to any developer's skills.

Read the full article for more details.

java.net Weblogs

Since my last blog post, a couple new interesting java.net blogs have been posted by others:

• Bhavani Shankar, Embedded GlassFish : Programatically running asadmin commands from a servlet.; and
• John O'Connor, Changes in Java 7 Locale.

Poll

Our current java.net poll asks "Which JavaOne 2011 track interests you most (even if you're not attending)?" Voting will be open until Friday, September 16.

Java News

Here are the stories we've recently featured in our Java news section:

• Bob Rhubart highlights Architects and Architecture at JavaOne 2011;
• DonaldOJDK talks about The incredible Diversity of JavaOne;
• Terrence Barr provides some Quick Updates: Project Lambda Syntax, Java on OS X News, OTN Article on Java 6+7 Client Improvements;
• Mitchell Pronschinske reports that the Java 8 Lambda syntax (closures) is decided. It's similar to C# and Scala;
• Geertjan Wielenga discusses Alt-Enter in Code Completion Box;
• Alexis Moussine-Pouchkine talks about how to Setup your Embedded GlassFish with in-process asadmin calls;
• Java.net Community Manager Sonya Barry tells Tori Wieldt about the plans for Java.Net at JavaOne;
• Geertjan Wielenga sends us Greetings from India, where he's providing JUG Chennai members with NetBeans training; and
• Slim Ouertani investigates Basic WS with Scala, Sbt and JEE 6.

Spotlights

Our latest java.net href="http://www.java.net/archive/spotlight">Spotlight is Java Spotlight Episode 47: JavaOne 2011 San Francisco:

Alvina O'Neal, the JavaOne Conference Lead, and Sharat Chander, the JavaOne Program Chair, discuss what attending developers can expect for JavaOne 2011 San Francisco with regards to the programming and logistics for the event. Joining us this week on the Java All Star Developer Panel is Dalibor Topic...

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-- Kevin Farnham

Twitter: @kevin_farnham