A Java geek

Jul 8, 2012 css maven

Empower your CSS in your Maven build

People who know me also know I’ve interest in the GUI: that means I’ve sometimes to get my hands dirty and dig deep into stylesheets (even though I’ve no graphical skill whatsoever). When it happens, I’ve always questions regarding how to best factorize styles. In this regard, the different CSS versions are lacking, because they were not meant to be managed by engineers. A recent trend is to generate CSS from a source, which brings some interesting properties such as nesti

Jul 1, 2012 jpa persistence spring data

Easier JPA with Spring Data JPA

Database access in Java went through some steps: pure Java DataBase Connectivity, proprietary frameworks, standards such as EJB Entities and Java Data Objects, OpenSource frameworks such as Hibernate and EclipseLink (known as TopLink at the time).

Jun 24, 2012 envers hibernate persistence

How to test code that uses Envers

Envers is a Hibernate module that can be configured to automatically audit changes made to your entities. Each audited entity are thus associated with a list of revisions, each revision capturing the state of the entity when a change occurs. There is however an obstacle I came across while I was 'unit testing' my DAO, and that’s what I want to share to avoid others to fall in the same pit. First, let’s have an overview of the couple of steps needed to use Envers: Annotate your enti

Jun 17, 2012 cms devops drupal

Vagrant your Drupal

In one of my recent post, I described how I used VMWare to create a Drupal I could play with before deploying updates to morevaadin.com. Then, at Devoxx France, I attended a session where the talker detailed how he set up a whole infrastructure for after work formations with Vagrant. Meanwhile, a little turn of fate put me in charge of some Drupal projects and I had to get better at it… fast. I put my hands on the Definitive Guide to Drupal 7 that talks about Drupal use with Vagrant.

Jun 3, 2012

Ways of comparing Date objects in Java

Let’s face it, compairing Date objects in Java is complex and as well as error-prone. This is the case in standard code, but this is also the case in testing code, where we regularly need to create Date objects that point at specific instant in time, to be our reference in comparison. The good ol' deprecated way In test code, I’ve no qualms about using deprecated methods. So, I used the old Date constructor to initialize dates: Date date = new Date(112, 5, 3); Pro: it’

Jun 3, 2012 dbunit spring test testng

Database unit testing with DBUnit, Spring and TestNG

I really like Spring, so I tend to use its features to the fullest. However, in some dark corners of its philosophy, I tend to disagree with some of its assumptions. One such assumption is the way database testing should work. In this article, I will explain how to configure your projects to make Spring Test and DBUnit play nice together in a multi-developers environment.

May 27, 2012 arquillian integration testing jboss testng

Arquillian on legacy servers

In most contexts, when something doesn’t work, you just Google the error and you’re basically done. One good thing about working for organizations that lag behind technology-wise is that it generally is more challenging and you’re bound to be creative. Me, I’m stuck on JBoss 5.1 EAP, but that doesn’t stop me for trying to use modern approach in software engineering. In the quality domain, one such try is to be able to provide my developers a way to test their code in

May 20, 2012 ejb3 spring

EJB3 façade over Spring services

As a consultant, you seldom get to voice out your opinions regarding the technologies used by your customers and it’s even more extraordinary when you’re heard. My current context belongs to the usual case: I’m stuck with Java 6 running JBoss 5.1 EAP with no chance of going forward in the near future (and I consider myself happy since a year and a half ago, that was Java 5 with JOnAS 4). Sometimes, others wonder if I’m working in a museum but I see myself more as an archae

May 13, 2012 user interface web

Quick evaluation of Twitter Bootstrap

I must admit I suck at graphical design. It’s one of the reasons that put me in the way of Flex and Vaadin in the first place: out-of-the-box, you got an application that is pleasing to the eye. Using one of these technologies is not possible (nor relevant) in all contexts, and since I’ve got a strong interest in UI, I regularly have a look at other alternatives for clean looking applications. The technology I studied this week is Twitter Bootstrap. Bootstrap is a lightweight clie

May 5, 2012 specification test

Specification by Example review

This review is about Specifications by Example by Gojko Adzic from Manning. Facts 18 chapters, 254 pages, $29.21This book covers Specifications by Example (you could have guessed it from the title). In effect, SBE are a way to build the right software (for the customers), as opposed to build the software right (which is our trade as engineers). Specification by Example is a set of process patterns that facilitate change in software products to ensure that the right product is delivered effic