An application that does not persist its data in a database is a rarity. Programming languages reflect this trend. That's why all languages provide a robust and flexible library for database access. Java is no exception.... more »

Today, I had the need to produce some simple xml, from a simple object structure in Java. I was not in the mood to get one of the big guns into position (XStream, Xerces, DOM, JAXB, ...), but simply wanted to output some tag content easily, without importing the world in dependencies.... more »

Java deals with many of the security issues associated with arrays in languages such as C and C++, as it does not allow explicit usage of pointers. In C or C++, a programmer can control the array operations to a more minute level, thanks to the way pointers and arrays work together. But it can also lead to memory leaks.... more »

A couple of years back, the phrase 'Open Source' would have brought to mind visions of a geek hacking away, driven purely by the joy of creating living, breathing code and deriving satisfaction from just seeing his code being used and acknowledged by others.... more »

Grails creator Graeme Rocher tells us what's special about the web framework and how it offers developers the best of the Java and the scripting world. He also talks of how Groovy and Grails complement Java and also when it would be madness to think of using a scripting language over a language like Java.... more »

Google Web Toolkit (GWT) Java AJAX Programming by Prabhakar Chaganti is an excellent book for GWT beginners. The language is straightforward and easy to follow. The book starts with a short introduction to Ajax. It then talks about the steps to follow for getting started with GWT 1.3.3. The first chapter essentially familiarizes you with the GWT extract - the folders and their contents. It also talks about the sample applications that come with the download... more »

Sanjeeb Sahoo's session on 'J2EE vs Java EE' presented at the IndicThreads.com Conference On Java Technology. Session Abstract - J2EE 1.4 to Java EE 5 is not merely a name change or a version upgrade. Now we have a new approach to building enterprise Java applications. This session takes a look at the changes in the platform and what's coming ahead.... more »

Digital Signature is one of the most widely misunderstood terms in the area of computer security. People often either confuse it with scanning a manually signed paper, or just know that somehow something happens mysteriously and we can obtain a digital signature! Let us understand what digital signatures are, and how to work with them in Java; in the course of this article.... more »

Java Web application frameworks have been one of the important reasons for the success of enterprise Java. One wonders if Java EE would have been so successful without the Apache Struts framework. Although the underlying programming language is important, it's often the frameworks that bring the language into the limelight. If you have been following the discussion forums, you will have noticed how that's also the case with the Ruby language and the Ruby On Rails framework. Ruby has been around for more than a decade, yet only after the Ruby On Rails framework became a runaway hit did developers start noticing the Ruby language.... more »

As you're probably well aware of, there were several important releases this week. First, NetBeans 5.5 was released. This has been covered extensively by other Sun bloggers so I won't repeat the highlights here - just check it out if you haven't already.... more »