Develop Reference

JVM Frameworks, which one?

I don't have much experience in frameworks or languages, so i need your help.
Here's what i've done so far so you can understand where i'm coming from.
I've developed a web app using Java/Spring MVC/Hibernate. on the front end i've got some jquery datatables doing ajax calls to a db, another pages executes a stored prod and thats about it.
Now i got fed up with all the configuration, beans, hibernate mapppings, spring mappings, apache tiles, and the list goes on.
I had a play with Groovy/Grails and that seems so much easier, but that means i need to learn groovy and i've heard about it's performance weakness.
So i ran into Play Framework, can someone tell me if Play would make my life easier with the above scenario or should i just go into Groovy/Grails or even scala/lift.
I don't have too much time on my hands to pick up another language so if i can stay with core Java and use Play that would be great.
So is my described headache the reason why there's RoR/python-django, grails ect,ect? or is it something else?
thanks,
glenn.

I can tell you from the perspective of a 10 year J2EE developer who went from JSP/servlet to Grails to Play. 6 years ago I discovered groovy and I liked it very much, I've been using groovy and it's GSP templates in my other projects for code generation. I really love groovy syntax. Because you can do a lot in a single line of code ;) Because of groovy I tried Grails. But, besides the use of the language to code something in perhaps some 20% of the project time, you are 80% dealing with Grails conventions. How do they map this and that and to the persistence layer (which is JPA underneath the surface). So you're browsing the docs most of the time.
Then I found play. It really felt natural. Everything is so quick with it. Everything is direct, it is 80% undisturbed, productive coding, only 20% reading the docs. The code completion of any Java IDE is literally sufficient support. In Grails you either need a Grails IDE or you find yourself frequently browsing the docs.
The biggest attractor of Play to me is the hot code swap feature, which nearly completely eliminates the build phase. Play's class enhancers give you enough comfort to get over the loss of those dynamic finders in Grails. In the meantime, I even write my own enhancers to get even more comfort.
In a real project, the strongly typed Java language is a huge benefit to all developers. You just can't break it so easily as you can with groovy.
Also, if you look at the Play package, you always get reasonable defaults. Things that all developers like. jQuery based CRUD, beautiful code samples, good visual experience. And it's all as minimalistic as possible. Which means, you can always go to the play framework source itself and read the code to understand play's behavior.
So to sum up, after 10 year of Java and J2EE frustration and almost giving up on Java I switched back to it as implemented by Play, because in Play it is so much fun and I now love it again. I recommended play to 2 other developer friends and they love it too. It feels like the Java that it should have been in the first place. Fast, clean, secure & a lot of fun. I will never use something else based on Java, not even for a simple main() ;)

Play!
After 6 or 7 years of Spring/Hibernate, a couple of more with JSP/EJB I was done with the Java world, looking for other alternatives like Scala, Node.js, Rails, etc. Play Framework has made me fall in love with Java all over again, even though I do recommend Scala.
I have lots of information about Play on my blog http://geeks.aretotally.in and http://playframework.info.
It's super easy to pick up, it's crazy productive and you will have lots of fun!

If you ask a Play framework guy, he will tell you to use Play. If you ask a Scala/Lift guy, he will tell you to use Scala/Lift.
Ideally you'd like to find someone who has used Groovy/Grails, Scala/Lift, and Play, but unfortunately there are not too many of those around.
FWIW, I use Groovy and Grails, and like it a lot. If you already know Java, Spring, and Hibernate you already know most of what you need to be productive with Groovy/Grails.
If you don't want to spend a lot of time learning a new language, I'd stay away from Scala, as it's a very different language to Java, whereas Groovy is almost a superset of Java, and with a familiar syntax.
I know virtually nothing about Play, but I'd be concerned about the size of the community - check the number of Play and Grails questions on stackoverflow for a rough comparison.

Grails 2.0 performance will be pretty much on par with the static typed languages out there.
Based on your current architecture, Grails would be the most natural fit - you can re-use all existing classes and code without an issue, and have it directly picked up. You can freely use #Autowired and other Spring annotations, java code, and Grails picks it up - because Grails is Spring under the covers. The only part that might need a little tweaking are JSPs, but I was able to get existing JSPs and custom taglibs working without an issue. Grails uses SiteMesh to compose it's Groovy Server Pages (think JSP groovy-ized, and removing some of the JSP restriction gotchas).
Nothing against Play, Lift, Clojure's web framework, SEAM, or any of the other frameworks out there -- but if you want a simple transition from what you have to something a little more productive, then Grails would be the closest fit.
Of course these days, just about every one of those frameworks supports polyglot programming - you use Scala for something, Groovy for something else, and Java all around - compilers, build environments, and tools are all addressing polyglot development.
Long story short, it comes down to requirements and risk management - do you need functional programming, dynamic typing, re-use of your Spring controllers, or just some simplification and productivity boosts?
Even a simple Spring 3.1 upgrade may eliminate some of your XML files for annotations and solve most of your problems.
Happy Hunting!

Understanding Java as a Delphi programmer

I have a database I have created in Delphi that’s still in the testing phase
I found it easy to give access to my database through Java in the form of a *.dll
but this is not just a standard database (its very cutting edge with Nodes).
It’s taken me a lot of learning to get to this point. I very much appreciate the help and thanks of this forum and the replies I have received to my questions to get me hear.
What it very exciting at the moment is Android devices and to write in java
But I know nearly nothing about Java. The developers are like five times more busy than Delphi. The Google apps web page is averaging about 40 hits a day and thats only a part of java.
I want to make it accessible to the Maven approach to using databases that I have no documentation on how to do this yet.
I know I have ShortIntegers, LongIntegers, I'm not sure about strings that originate as ANSCI but can be UTRF-8 and other things. Do I have double numbers and do I have date records.
Do I have any other type data types in java
Can any one enlighten me please.

Java for dummies

If you are Delphi programmer then you you know how to program: you know loops, routines, variables, objects etc. Java differs from Delphi in many things, but it is hard to say what will make problems to you. You must give it a try.
Install JDK
Read some good Java book. You can find some good free books such as older edition of Thinking in Java
Fire good text editor. You can start with Eclipse or Netbeans, but there are many simple editors with Java syntax highlighting that may be better for Java novice
Start writing programs in Java.

Getting back up to speed on Java after 8-10 years

The last time I did any serious Java coding was back around the turn of the century. In the mean time I've been doing a lot of other stuff, most recently c (embedded stuff) and c++. I'm starting on a new assignment in a couple of months and it will most likely be all-Java-all-the-time. I don't much info other than that I will be dealing with JBoss for some applications.
So, I would like some suggestions on books/site/whatever to at a minimum get me buzzword-compliant and hopefully give me a good handle on the state-of-the-art in the world of Java.
Thanks,
Cesar

I was in a similar situation a year ago, and this book was the most useful: JBoss At Work. You will start from a simple web page, and then build toward a WebService with JPA, JMS, JTA, EJB etc. So you really code instead of just read -- it helped me to get to speed very quickly. Highly recommendable.
The only downside is that AFAIK, there have been no 2nd edition, and a lot has changed since then... But I still recommend it.
For changes in JavaSE (particularly those new things since Java5), Effective Java 2nd Edition. Period.

An overview of jboss related projects you find here: http://www.jboss.org/projects/matrix
I'm afraid that you will be buried in information.
You should find out what technologies are used for your assignment.
I would suggest a roadmap like that:
Presentation Layer
JSF and Richfaces (which includes Ajax4jsf)
JSP
Seam
Business Layer
EJB (Message Queues,TimerBeans as well as annotations have been added)
Webservices JAX-WS, XML-Binding JAXB
Java Connector Architecture (JCA)
Rule Engines
Persistance
Hibernate is commonly used as an implementation of JPA
JbossCache could also be important if it's about performance
Build System
ant
maven
Testing Frameworks
SOA would be a another complex topic
Hope this helps

JBoss suggests Java EE, so I suggest Mastering EJB 3. Given your background I doubt you need to do much on the Java SE stuff.

+1 on Effective Java. Best money you'll spend on a Java book, for sure! Other than that, I'd encourage you to stay away from as many acronyms as possible... Most of them are only good for making sure the guy after you has plenty of work to do...

For getting a general intro into Java EE, I would recommend Java Enterprise in a Nutshell. This gives an overview of most of the relevant technologies, so you get an idea about what's what, and have a base to decide where to dig deeper.
Also JBoss in Action.

I would take a look at The Spring Framework, it is used in almost every Java project I know of.
Also, learn the new (now old though) language features introduced since last time you worked with Java, most of them introduced in Java 1.5 (generics, autoboxing etc).

Read through the JDK release notes / new features list for each release since then (at least, for 6 and for 1.5). Basic language functionality has improved. I can't remember 2000 exactly, but generics, autoboxing, annotation, enhancements to Swing, the Collections framework, instrumentation, for (obj:objs), and asserts are all language enhancements that jump to mind--and they are all detailed in release notes.
That'll at least get you through 2007 or so. ;) Past that, start looking into the frameworks mentioned elsewhere, and have a peek at the upcoming Java proposals for new features.

It may help immensely to download eclipse with spring tools and start playing with some sample applications.

Java or Groovy CMS

I'm considering developing a school information system using the Grails web framework. Before a school can use the system, they will need to setup the following data
School data
Students
Teachers
Subjects
Classes
etc.
I'm considering using a CMS in order to get the ability to CRUD these entities "for free". The CMS may also provide other features out-of-the-box that I could use.
Ideally the CMS should be implemented in Java or Groovy, does anyone know of something suitable? I looked at the Weceem CMS plugin for Grails, but it's missing some core concepts I need, e.g. the ability to add users to groups.
Thanks,
Don

Java is good for rock-solid, high-performance, secure Enterprise apps. Java is considerably less good for getting a relatively simple Web project out the door in a short time.
Therefore, were I in your position, my personal gut feeling would be to go with something Grails based. I'm not very aware of any projects that already partially implement what you want, but if you can find one (Google?) then grab it! That will leave you more time for polishing and adding bells and whistles.

If you're not tied to Java, I'd recommend looking at Drupal for PHP as your CMS. Many sites, even sites of major Java organizations such as SpringSource, have used Drupal as their CMS because it offers so much out of the box.

Magnolia CMS 1 in version 4.3 has full-blown Groovy support. After 7 years of active development, a CMS like Magnolia provides you with a ton of stuff you need to run a website. I wouldn't even think about starting from scratch no matter what framework you use. Understanding the problem you are trying to solve and finding a solution to it is usually taking more time than actually implementing said solution. Even if you believe you know what you need now, rest assured your requirements will overrun you before you know it.

I know it's not Grails related, I would use the DaisyCMS, as it's java based you can add an extra Java Web applications to the Jetty and add extra functionality to the CMS using Grails for your other functinality. I hav enot tried this, it's just a suggestion.

Use Grails scaffolds to get simple CRUD functionallity.

Do you really want to build it from scratch? There are already open-source CMS. In your case I would evaluate open-source CMSs and if necessary would contribute code.
Does it need to be Java/Grails? There are good ones written in PHP or Python (django, joomla).
I tried Grails 1 year ago. It is very straightforward as long as you align with the concepts and standards (e.g. simple CRUD scaffolding). But if there a special requirements you get to similar efforts as with a Java framework like Spring MVC (though grails is also based on Spring MVC).

Preparing for a Java professional work environment before interviews

I recently graduated in Computer Engineering. I don't have a permanent job yet. The recession is making a good difference in my aim and reality. I don't want to just sit down. I want to sharpen my capabilities. I want to learn and practice in a professional work environment.
Now my question is: What are the tools and practices followed in a professional working environment? I mean IDEs, team working tools,debugging tools, unit testing tools etc?
What are the frameworks in Java EE which are must-know, or which will bring me advantages in my job interviews?
Thanks in advance.

Some initial suggestions:
IDE: Eclipse or IntelliJ
Source code management tools like git, Subversion, Mercurial, CVS
JUnit for testing
Read "Code Complete", then sleep with it under your pillow. Maybe keep a copy in your bathroom as well.

IntelliJ is by far the best Java IDE, but it is commercial. Between Eclipse and NetBeans I would recommend NetBeans, it is closer to what an IDE should look and/or do(nothing against Eclipse, but I couldn't get used with it...maybe is just something wrong with me :) ).

You might find this poll (long but) interesting... http://www.java-forums.org/new-java/7315-what-you-using-write-your-code.html
We've been running a co-op (i.e. cadette) program for the last five (or so) years. Here's a list of stuff (in no particular order) that co-ops are clueless about that we really really wish they knew "the basics of" when they arrived:
Testing - Everyone tests, but (IMHO) few do so really effectively. Myself included.
Team development - How to work together on a codebase which is bigger than anyone.
Understanding legacy systems - Hey, this code is twice is my age? WTF?
Project management - That dark arts of delivering quality on time and on budget.
Business analysis - BA's are full of it! You at-least need to know enough to smell the effluent.
Known when to say NO - Practice saying this in front of a mirror: "No sir, I'm sorry, you really can't have this Ferrarri for the price of a second-hand mini."
The technology really is the easy bit. Having said that, your first position is likely to be as a code-monkey... so the more tecken ze spreken, the more likely you are to get a foot in the door.
So I suggest
Tackle the J2EE 1.4 Tutorial
... also look at a web-app MVC framework like Struts 1 or (better) JSF; and
... also look at Hibernate - the psuedo standard persistence layer.
... also look at "early" DHTML - manipulating a html-DOM with javascript.
... also look at Swing, Applets, but try not to drown in it.
then (and only then) tackle the J2EE 1.5 Tutorial (EJB3).
I'm still in the process myself. I've been at it for two months. Anymore than two hours at-a-time makes my brain hurt, a lot... you can teach an old dog new tricks, you just have to do it slowly.
Like already stated: Every position will have it's own technology set... two people sitting next to each other may use vastly different product groups. What I advise you to learn instead of "all the techs" is the process of learning technologies, and the considerations in selecting appropriate technologies to suit a particular problem, and organisation.
The best thing you can do to improve your chances of actually getting that job is to join a "Young IT Professionals" group (like this one in Australia)... they'll probably do a "mock interview" day... constructive criticism (as apposed to spoonfeeding) will improve your job applications, your CV, and your interviewability. Hanging-out with a bunch of people who shre your interests is informative, and fun. You'll miss that "brain stimulation" in the break between uni and IT work.
On the recession thing... I graduated B.Bus(Computing) a month after the dot-com bubble burst. I worked in a supermarket, drove a cab, delivered pizza, did some builders labouring, flogged PC's, vended bad financial advise to people who can't add-up for ${nameless_charlitans}, flogged anti-virus software, tutored at the local TAFE college, got a few short-term contracts writing software for a big accounting firm... then I started voluntarily fixing up the PC's at my local employment exchange (I was there waiting for appointments for hours-on-end anyway, and it was better than doing nothing)... The IT-dude there got me an interview with "a mate" (i.e. my job was never advertised), and the rest is history. Funny how stuff works out. I feel for ya', just please don't take the knock-backs personally... you're likely to get a lot of them... it's just how the game is played.
Cheers. Keith.

For the long term, work on an open source project. You'll learn a lot, and probably more quickly than you'd learn from a job.

My Java colleagues use this for most things.
Eclipse
Oracle or MySQL
Struts
Subversion
Bugzilla
JUnit
They also use Sun's Java Composite Application Platform Suite (JCAPS) for some things.

I think you need to take a close look at the companies you are applying to. The amount of "toolage" in the java world is way too much for you to become familiar with on your own in order to become attractive to any random employer.
I personally vote that the majority of it is overcomplicated crap, despite all the marketing hype that it gets. Find a company that looks like it works with stuff that you're interested in, find out what sort of stuff they use and then familiarize yourself with that. You probably won't be able to demonstrate job-level experience, but you will show yourself to be enthusiastic.

I'm going to go the route of suggesting what I feel are the most popular choices out there, which hopefully will give you more exposure to land that first job. Once you get your feet wet, I would recommend investing some of your free time to evaluate the other options out there. There is so much in the Java ecosystem to explore.
IDE: From people that I talk to, Eclipse seems to be the most popular. Netbeans is solid too but its future is in doubt since Oracle is working on acquiring Sun. A lot of folks swear by IntelliJ but I think it's much smaller community (and costs money).
SCM: Subversion and CVS are probably the most popular and Eclipse has built-in support for both.
Unit Testing: JUnit, it's the de-facto standard.
Builds: Ant, again the de-facto standard for build automation.
Frameworks: I would recommend either (1) Spring and Hibernate, the wildly-popular open source stack or (2) EJB and JPA, the Java standards. My personal preference is towards #1. As far as UI goes, there are a lot of options available, so it's harder to recommend. Struts and Spring MVC are more "old school" classic MVC frameworks whereas GWT and JSF are more "component-oriented" frameworks. You also have less popular ones like Wicket and Tapestry.

Assuming you can get your CV/resume read by someone and get an interview:
Get a copy of Effective Java by Josh Bloch, read it, memorize it and understand it. A lot of interviewers (and I have done more than my fair share) use it as a good source of techniques that people should know and understand.
In terms of tools - you can't go wrong if you know:
Eclipse
Spring
Hibernate
Ant/Maven/Hudson
JUnit
Log4J
These are all Open Source (and hence will fit anyones budget). Most Java shops will use at least one of these!

With below tools you can make sample/demo applications
IDE : JDevloper/Eclipse/Netbeans
Server: Tomcat/Jboss/Glassfish
Technology: Hibernate,Spring,EJB,Struts,Log4J,SLF4J,Hudson,Ant,Maven

Weblogic,Jetty,JBoss or Tomcat with
-Maven build tool (indirectly background Ant and library versioning)
-Prettify ("readify")
-Minify (spaceless)
-Refactoring (batch rename units)
-XML
-Stress test tool
Old tools e.g. rsync, emacs, awk, xargs, dd handle the largest files. less is good for streaming files (shift+F)

This really depends on the jobs in your area. I suggest you take an analytical approach.
Use a job search engine for you area and do keyword searches. This will give you hard numbers of job skills people are looking for in your area.
You may also find these pages useful 10 Hot Skills for 2009 The 2009 IT Salary Guide

Write an own homepage! It shows that you have fun when you write software (so you do it in your free time).

Build something you're interested in building and choose technologies that seem correct to do the job. At the same time, take the extra time -- as you should when working as well -- to use tools that might be a hassle but you think will bring you an advantage. Knowing frameworks like Spring or Maven or whatever may or may not be relevant. A good employer doesn't care what you know, but how you know what you know. Can you learn?
Use some note repository (like Evernote or my own, TheKbase :) and start making notes about your world. Whatever knowledge you have digested should be instantly retrievable and not based on your limited memory.
I was always interested in Swing and teaching, and strangely I got a job teaching Swing (which I knew a bit), but also teaching all kinds of stuff that I didn't know like Struts and XML security (you read the books and put in the time). Plus I taught IDEs, which I always liked even, though everyone thought I was an immature programmer because I wanted autocomplete :) Again, following preferences...
My point is that unless something about learning a framework or tool particularly appeals to you, don't bother learning it. On the other hand, if frameworks are particularly annoying for you (for me they have been), take the most annoying and daunting and build something with it. It's a rite of passage that most people do because an employer asks for it, which is too late, IMO.

You already have a good list of tools from the answers above. Here are a few things you could do to get more attractive to potential employers.
Participate in an Open-Source Project
To become a better programmer, learn
a language completely different from
Java. A good starting point could be
other languages on the JVM - Clojure
/ Scala.
Gain expertise in specific areas in J2EE that will make you stand out - security, performance analysis, etc.
Create your own website using the tools and the frameworks you have learnt