Semergence

FrontPage - Atom Wiki

We’re writing specifications for syndicating, archiving and editing episodic web sites.

RSS is SOOOOO last week.

Mission-Critical Development with XP & Agile Processes

Thanks to our process, we have complete confidence that we can fix bugs and add features without introducing new problems.

This article is preaching to the choir, but still a good read.

Common HTTP Implementation Problems

This document is a set of good practices to improve implementations of HTTP and related standards as well as their use. It explains a few basic concepts, points out common mistakes and misbehaviors, and suggests “best practices”.

Archive of W3C News in 2003

W3C is pleased to announce the advancement of the Resource Description Framework (RDF) to Proposed Recommendation. Comments are invited through 19 January. The RDF language is presented in six technical reports. RDF is used to represent information and to exchange knowledge in the Web.

Java(TM) Boutique - Using Mock Objects in Java

A mock object is, as the name implies, a simulation of some real object. In Java, a mock object would typically be an implementation, with very limited functionality, of an Interface. Mock objects play a significant role in unit testing, for a number of reasons. You’d consider using a mock object for your unit test if the real object has a complex set-up, uses many system resources (like cpu power), or doesn’t yet exist! If you’re writing an application that uses a database, there’s no need to wait for the team that develops the database modules before you start coding the rest of the application. What you need is a mock object that behaves like the database modules. If you have interfaces defined to the database modules you’re ready to go. Coding with these interfaces might even bring some problems in the Interface design to the surface before the coding of the database modules has even started!

Semantic Web and Resource Description Framework Hints and Tips

It is important that on the Semantic Web, people produce data that is clean and interoperable. Some RDF techniques can currently only be learned through the RDF community, through hours of research, or through implementation experience, so this is an attempt to gather some useful but quick hints and tips into one place.

Hibernate - Object/Relational Mapping and Transparent Object Persistence for Java

Hibernate 2.1 is intended to be completely backward compatible with Hibernate 2.0.x. In addition to a number of bugfixes, 2.1 introduces support for native SQL queries, a powerful Query by Criteria and Query by Example API and improvements to the Hibernate Query Language. A new, fully pluggable second-level cache framework provides built in support for the JGroups-based JBossCache clustered cache, EHCache, SwarmCache and OpenSymphony’s OSCache (Tangosol Coherence may also be used with Hibernate 2.1). A number or new performance-enhancing features were added, including batch-loading, more aggressive second-level cache utilization and a brand new query result set cache.

xmlhack: Practical RDF Town Hall

Around 30 people attended the Practical RDF Town Hall at the XML 2003 conference this week, watching demos and asking questions.

Norm Walsh inaugurated the festivities, noting that “I initially ignored RDF for a number of years, and eventually Dan Connolly showed me a few clever things you could do with it, and then I realized I could come up with a few clever things as well without waiting for the Semantic Web to emerge in the fullness of time.”

Software Development Online: Proof Positive

Solid research supporting the value of agility is beginning to come in, but the tough task of convincing the Doubting Thomases to “cross the chasm” may take further effort.

Stupid web site makes you register to view article.

The Poetry of Programming

Richard Gabriel is a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems, where he researches the architecture, design, and implementation of very large systems, as well as development techniques for building them. He is the author of three books: Writers’ Workshops and the Work of Making Things, Patterns of Software, and Performance and Evaluation of Lisp Systems. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford in 1981 and returned to school to get a Master’s in Fine Arts in poetry in 1998 at Warren Wilson College. In addition, he has in the works a program that would offer an MFA in software design. We recently caught up with him to trace the connections between creativity, software, and poetry.

In which Richard Gabriel argues for a MFA in Software Engineering.