Steam on openSUSE

Posted by & filed under openSUSE, Uncategorized.

The steam linux beta is now open to everyone. I just installed it on my openSUSE PC. Here’s how. Update Andrew Wafaa pointed out that there’s an rpm package providing a much easier installation option that I could have found myself ¬_¬ It wasn’t entirely straightforward as there is only an Ubuntu package. These steps… Read more »

Test Stubbing with Builders, Real Objects, and Caches

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

I thought I’d start posting some of my notes on tips for testing. Starting with some tips and tricks for Mockito. Mocking/Stubbing frameworks like Mockito help to test units of code in isolation with minimal boilerplate. A couple of guidelines I like to aim to follow when writing tests are: Each test should assert/verify just… Read more »

Java Abuse: Inline instanceof

Posted by & filed under Java, Uncategorized.

One annoyance in Java is having to do instanceof checks on multiple lines. e.g. if (object instanceof Foo) { Foo foo = (Foo)object; foo.foo(); }if (object instanceof Foo) { Foo foo = (Foo)object; foo.foo(); } While this is often a sign of a design failure, there are times when instanceof checks are required often due… Read more »

Netbeans on n900

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

I meant to post some time ago about how great the n900 is for java development. Not only can one install OpenJDK, but Netbeans is even usable. It’s pretty easy to get running. Just install openjdk6 in the application manager. Then download and run the netbeans installer. It even runs at quite a reasonable speed… Read more »

Java Abuse: public static void main was not invented here.

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

Normally a command-line Java application will have an entry method that looks something like: public static void main(String… args) { /* Code that launches the application/deals with command line params here */ }public static void main(String… args) { /* Code that launches the application/deals with command line params here */ } This is far too… Read more »

Java Abuse – Ternary Try/Catch

Posted by & filed under Java, Uncategorized.

We often discuss Java limitations on IRC and try to come up with (sometimes silly) workarounds. Unfortunately after time passes it’s often easy to forget the outcome, and lose code snippets. So I thought I’d start blogging some of them so I don’t lose them, and other people might suggest other ways of doing things… Read more »

Software Portal Preview Available.

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve had some time to work on the software portal project for the first time for a while. There is now a test snapshot that you can play with if you wish, and help find bugs. Please do have a play and leave comments here or file a bug… Read more »

Snow

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

This morning we had an unusual amount of snow here, more than we’ve had in my lifetime. Most public transport was suspended and the people attempting to drive were quickly getting stuck and sliding all over the place. Motorists were making the classic motorist error. They’ve got too much power. I’ve got half a horsepower… Read more »