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JavaFX 1.2.3 SDK Released

2010-02-08T19:04:28Z

The latest version of the JavaFX SDK is out and available from the usual JavaFX.com downloads page. Looking at the release notes it's a bug fix release with a couple of tweaks for performance that include:

Smaller JavaFX runtime download
Faster startup times for JavaFX applications
Improved reliability of JavaFX applications in Safari and Firefox on the Mac OS X
Improved error handling

JavaFX 1.2.3 SDK Released originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 19:04:28.

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Project Kenai - Change of Plans

2010-02-07T21:11:07Z

It appears there has been a slight change of heart for Project Kenai so ignore the previous post on Project Kenai shutting down to the public. It seemed it was destined for internal use in Oracle and users were told to move their projects before April 2nd but now the message has changed:

Our plan is to shut down kenai.com and focus our efforts on java.net as the hosted development community. We are in the process of migrating java.net to the kenai technology. This means that any project currently hosted on kenai.com will be able to continue as you are on java.net.

If you have a project on kenai.com it might be best to stay put and wait to see how the migration goes. This decision by Oracle makes the most sense considering the amount of work that has gone into integrating the Project Kenai infrastructure with NetBeans.

Project Kenai - Change of Plans originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 21:11:07.

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Incorporating Neural Networks into Java Apps

2010-02-04T22:00:26Z

On NetBeans Zone there has been a good three part series of articles about Neuroph, a Java framework for developing neural networks. Part 1 and part 2 focus on what neural networks are and what they are typically used for. Basically a neural network is a structured model of nodes that map input data to an output. The model changes as it assigns weights to the connections between the nodes based on a training process with a set of data.

What really caught my eye was part 3 on using a neural network for image recognition. There's a demo application called easyNeurons that makes trying out a neural network extremely simple. You can download the demo along with the Neuroph framework or just try it online. The instructions for creating a neural network for image recognition are fairly straightforward and I couldn't resist giving it a go.

I decided to use a set of Duke images. More specifically the ones of Read more...

Incorporating Neural Networks into Java Apps originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 22:00:26.

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Project Kenai Shutdown

2010-02-04T20:03:47Z

One of the changes to come out of Oracle taking over Sun Microsystems was the switch to Project Kenai from a public facing website to a private project for internal use only. The end date for when this will happen has been posted on the Project Kenai website - April 2nd, 2010. If you have a public project on there that you want to keep, now is the time to move it to another host.

One of the projects I'm going to miss is the open source images of Duke. Hopefully they'll be switched to somewhere else in the near future or I might even stick them in a gallery on this site at some point.

EDIT: There's been a change of plans.

Project Kenai Shutdown originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 20:03:47.

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The Reader's Choice Awards 2010 � Voting Begins

2010-02-01T06:00:45Z

The nomination process has finished and each category has been narrowed down to five nominations. Throughout February voting will take place to see which of the nominations will take home the About.com Reader's Choice Award for their category. Winners will be announced in March.

There's plenty of categories to choose from and the competition is bound to fierce, so get voting for your favorites at About.com's Reader's Choice Awards 2010.

The Reader's Choice Awards 2010 � Voting Begins originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 06:00:45.

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Oracle on JavaOne

2010-01-28T05:56:06Z

There's been a lot of speculation about whether there will be a JavaOne conference this year. Oracle has confirmed that there will be a conference, nestled beside Oracle Develop in Oracle OpenWorld 2010. JavaOne "will focus solely on Java Technology and its associated ecosystem". The Oracle OpenWorld 2010 conference is being held in San Francisco, September 19-23.

It will be possible to register just for JavaOne or attend it in conjunction with the rest of the Oracle conference. There's also talk of it going on the road to Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2010/11.

Oracle on JavaOne originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 05:56:06.

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Oracle on Java

2010-01-28T05:53:02Z

The Java Strategy webcast is worth watching to see what's going to happen with Java. In short:

the JCP process will continue
JDK 7 is still to be released this year
there's a commitment to take Java SE, Java EE, Java ME, JavaFX, JavaCard and Java for Business forward

Also, NetBeans will continue to be developed but Project Kenai will become an internal project for Oracle and not for general public use. The Sun Developer Network and java.sun.com resources will continue as they are for now but will eventually be sucked in the Oracle Technology Network .

Oracle on Java originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 05:53:02.

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Oracle Completes Sun Deal

2010-01-28T05:50:39Z

At last the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle has been completed for around $7.4 billion. Last week the European Commission announced the deal had been approved under the EU Merger Regulation:

Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "I am now satisfied that competition and innovation will be preserved on all the markets concerned. Oracle's acquisition of Sun has the potential to revitalise important assets and create new and innovative products."

There is a series of webcasts that outline Oracle's approach to Sun products (hardware, systems, software, solutions and partners) as well as a FAQ for the Developer Community.

Oracle Completes Sun Deal originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 05:50:39.

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The Queue ICPC Programming Challenge

2010-01-20T01:31:44Z

If you're looking for something to stretch the old Java brain cells you might be interested in the Queue ICPC Challenge as mentioned on JavaLobby.

The programming challenge allows anyone to submit a player in a game called Capture. Capture is all about turning a field of grey pucks into your player's color (red or blue). This is done by using a sled that can move around and encircle a set of pucks. As long as one of your colored pucks is in the set, the grey pucks will change to your color. However, if the set also contains another player's colored puck then they all revert back to grey. Be careful to make sure one of your pucks is included because if the set contains an opponent's puck and not yours then you will convert all the grey pucks to their color. And, to make it more interesting each player has a couple of bumpers that can move the pucks around the board. There's an instructional video on the Queue ICPC Challenge website that explains it all visually.

The challenge is to write an automated player in Java (or C++ or C#) that captures more pucks than your opponent. There's a downloadable zip file with everything you need to create a player, including some sample players to test your player against. The deadline for submitting a player into the tournament is February 7 2010.

The Queue ICPC Programming Challenge originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 01:31:44.

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JavaFX 1.2.1 Plugin For Eclipse Released

2010-01-19T22:20:15Z

I've just been playing with the new JavaFX 1.2.1 plugin for Eclipse. The plugin creates JavaFX projects and enables developers to drag and drop JavaFX code snippets into their scripts.

The new version for JavaFX 1.2.1. has some useful new features. Instead of just creating an empty JavaFX project, it's now possible to choose a project template. Templates can be for desktop and/or mobile applications, including projects like a display shelf, path animations, and photo effects. There's also a wizard that let's you import a NetBeans JavaFX project into Eclipse. See the release notes for more details.

Install instructions for the JavaFX 1.2.1 plugin can be found on the JavaFX website.

JavaFX 1.2.1 Plugin For Eclipse Released originally appeared on About.com Focus on Java on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 22:20:15.

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