Things to Streamline

I recently started writing a Swing feed reader (FeedTrove.dev.java.net) - which i was on my checklist, so that's ticked - but i have still more things to do there...

• Rather than using an HTML JTextPane, i want to try to render all the stories on a canvas, to get full control, anti-aliased font's, etcetera. Another option would be to use Flyingsaucer, but that is quite big, and quite a few jars which confused me when i wanted to give it a try. Anyway, it's a Swing app, so i guess i should be using Swing graphics rather than XHTML/CSS!?
• Ditto, for the console. I have an HTML JTextPane console in QuiteGooey - but i wanna try using Swing to render LogRecord's using beautiful fonts and colors and layout. I need this for other Swing apps too, eg. cute RIAs like a chat client...
• Add more components into the app, like a JTable (showing feeds), and form (with JTextFields et al, for settings and options) - just for the sake of rounding off the framework i'm spinning out of it (called Gooey.dev.java.net, which is an AppFramework-based minimalist rehash of QuiteGooey - which i am also currently refactoring and simplifying on it's own, so all quite confusing, innit?!)

More Swing

Besides a feed reader, i have a few other "small" swing apps i want to write (desperately!)

• A simple chat client, which may be the beginnings of a Swing-based social network RIA type application?! (Hey, I want to a billionare too! ;)
• A calendar/reminder "desklet" - a name i'd like to "coin" for Swing desktop apps that are launched from the internet ie. WebStart, and interact with an internet server using REST, rather than the local filesystem - ie. they are "stateless" on the client-side, in the sense that a web-browser is stateless app.
• A workflow/bug/issuetracking app, like the numerous web-based ones, but in Swing, using REST to backend servlets.

Wheels to Reinvent

Even though i know the future of web development is JEE/JSF/Seam, because it's standardised, i like interesting approaches like Wicket and Echo2, ie. using Java code (rather than XHTML et al) to build user interfaces ie. a hierachal composition of components. So i started a research project (divlet.dev.java.net) to experiment with that. Having done the basics, I still have two or three big issues to solve in my mind and implement in my svn, but no rush.

1. Composition of pages ie. templating.
2. Componentisation, eg. flexible, extensible InputText, DataTable components.

Things to Finish

The "Gooey Beans" series on aptframework.dev.java.net has temporarily stalled because of two many things on my plate! But i want finish that off in the next few months - with an article per month - including this month! So I got back into it this week, after a few months' neglect. Actually it'll never be finished, but i want to solve some "big" remaining issues for me...

1. data bean bound JTable's
2. Componentisation of lookup fields, eg. for entering/finding persistent entities, eg. using a combination of a JTextField, "search by..." dropdown, maybe high-volume auto-completing JComboBox and/or popup JTable et al for high-volume multi-column scanning, with JLabel to display the selected entity after all that, all as one "field" eg. PersonFinderField, to plop onto all your forms were a Person has to be specified, and use as a JTable cell editor, and similarly for every entity you have!

Also "outstanding" but much less of a priority for me is "Hyper Beans," where i want to address describing a printable/viewable document using java code (rather than XML), in order to produce HTML, Excel and/or PDF output - using iText and Apache POI. And after that, ODF. This is for business "documents and reports" eg. invoices and such, and also the results of database queries and such, innit.

In the "Jelly Beans" series, i got so many things i want to do, i won't even start! OK, i'll list some of them quickly....

• write about JPA (which i've eventually starting using in the past few weeks for a JEE/JSF/Seam web project)
• build a transactional REST server servlet backend framework for (my) Swing client applications
• implement a new experimental ORM, and using property "objects" rather than annotations, to enable native queries, ie. no strings attached, as in the previous blog entry
• implement an in-memory engine for the above, ala Prevayler

un-Java-ish Things to Do

• Visit friends and family in UK, Ireland, and Russia.
• Cycle from Dublin to Cork, via counties Wicklow (beautiful mountains), Carlow (visiting a friend), Laiose (my relatives). I might then cycle up the West Coast to Galway! I've done much of these routes on two earlier occassions, and want to do it again!
• Trek in the Annapurna in Nepal, and visit Tibet.
• Cycle from South of France, over the Pyrennes, taking the French Way of St James, a traditional pilgrimage across Northern Spain. (Very overdue!)

Now that my goals are set, i begin the task of trying to achieve them innit! But before i start, it's time for me to cycle around Cape Point, for the third time this week, it's nice! Which reminds me, my other blog is called "Getting Fit, Aiii".

Because, yes it's true, i'm not really a Java professional. Actually right now, I'm trying desperately to break into the fitness instructing field - much less deadlines and zero stress - and you get to exercise while you work!

The position i'm applying for (spinning instructor), requires you to "work" zero or otherwise 45 minutes a day, yeah baby, yeah! And you are encouraged to shout out things like "yeah baby yeah" at the top of your voice every minute or two, which is another perk! ;)

The other seven hours of the day... Actually I would like to be building a real Swing app for real people, using Netbeans 6.0, AppFramework (not aptframework), WebServices and/or JPA - so gimme a bell if you got simple requirements and plenty of bucks!