The NetBeans Monthly Newsletter - February 2003

http://www.netbeans.org/
http://www.netbeans.org/ide/download.html

Check this out

Module Catalogue

Catalogue of free and commercial add-on modules available for your NetBeans
IDE.

NetBeans 3.4.1
available for download.

OnJava NB Article

NetBeans article from OnJava

Sun ONE Studio Portal

NetBeans related resources

Hot threads

nbusers

indentation setup
23

PMD
18

CVS command line client problems
16

nbui

[proposal] Tab proliferation II
22

nbdev

Give everyone a chance to run tests
17

Most Active Posters

Jesse Glick
128

Tim Boudreau
60

CL Gilbert
52

Maxym Mykhalchuk
43

vbrabant
43

Statistics : January

IDE downloads

Total: 652108; +36449

Platform downloads

Total: 27193; +1627

Subscribers

2284; +13

Messages Posted

1759

http://www.netbeans.org/newsletter/sprout/2003-02-04.html http://www.netbeans.org/newsletter/sprout/2003-02-04_fr.html http://www.netbeans.org/newsletter/sprout/2003-02-04_pt.html http://www.netbeans.org/newsletter/sprout/2003-02-04_ru.html Issue 8

Sprout, Issue 8 (January 2003)

Hello and welcome to the first official NetBeans news of 2003! This is the eighth issue of Sprout, the NetBeans monthly newsletter.

First, congratulations to everyone involved in the NetBeans 3.4.1 effort, especially to Maxym Mykhalchuk the Release Coordinator. Great job.

Happenings from the month of January:

Please be sure to read about the new NetBeans marketing effort, how you can help and where to get started.

NetBeans In the Press - Get more than you pay for with NetBeans 3.4 - (Appearing on Builder.com by William Dawson) and other recent articles.

Five new modules were added to the NetBeans module catalogue. Do you know of any others? let us know .

The web redesign efforts are forging forward. There will be more news on its way in the near future.

Developer Spotlight with Vincent Brabant - You may know of his work: French localization efforts and helping out with 3.4.1. Read the article to find out what he is working on now and other things you might not have known.

Tasklist module write-up and interview featuring Tor Norbye

What is WISE and what do you do when efficient irrigation is a must?

Read the latest and greatest news concerning NetBeans right here every month. As always feedback is welcomed and encouraged. Just give us a shout at Sprout !

Rob Demmer

NetBeans 3.4.1 - a community desire acted upon

There once was an idea tossed about in the NetBeans world about a 3.4.1. Initiative was taken, support was given and the world smiles happily at a 3.4.1 knockout effort. Netbeans 3.4.1 "Merak" Release Coordinator Maxym Mykhalchuk enlisted some help from key individuals (found here ) to wipe clean some bugs from NetBeans 3.4 windshield.

So what was proven in this update? Well more than what's in the IDE and thats a lot. 3.4.1 is what NetBeans stands for and the people involved.

"An unreserved community of thought and feeling. --W. Irving."

A place where you have the ability to communicate through a mass medium and reach out to the world. A place where you can express your opinions, receive feedback on thoughts, provide bits and pieces of necessary materials that in whole creates a house where we can all work together.

A Platform to dive off into the realm of creativity to expand upon. An IDE vehicle to travel about from one house to another, one business to another and evolve into something new. This is a community where voices are heard, debates are waged, planning synchronized, hard work performed and where we reap the benefits. The NetBeans community has successfully completed one more step forward with our eyes on the next target.

"Personally, I had no objectives for 3.4.1. I just was curious about what will happen. At first I had little trust in the 3.4.1 project. Not that I did not have trust in Maxym's capabilities, but maybe some about the NetBeans team members. Will they accept the need to give so many privileges to external, strange people? Will we have the support of the NetBeans developers? There were so many obscure points like how to provide planning in CVS for NetBeans, how to run the quality tests, ... I just want to say that I am now convinced that NetBeans is REALLY an OPEN-SOURCE project and if someone doubts it, send him to me and I will explain to them." - Vincent Brabant

[3.4.1 details ]

Mission 1: Move the Needle

Mission #1 (M1) Face-off in February

Are you ready for a little competition? Each month we will be presenting a mission or shall we say challenge that is meant to bring focus upon one aspect of our game plan/community needs. We need as much of the community participating in these efforts as possible. This month we are seeking to find new users and have a fun time doing this, hence M1, our first mission.

So, face-off Febraury is going to be the first focus and we have a great initiative just underway. The name is face-off because we will be competing for the top spot on the list of usernames who are linking to NetBeans.org. The winners with the most referals sent to NetBeans.org as an individual and as a company will win prizes. On March 5th, the member with the most traffic sent to NetBeans for the month of February will be posted. The monthly prize winner will receive NetBeans: The Definitive Guide and more.

Read this initiative and take part. Here's the low-down on the competition for those who choose not to read the directions. Please send an email to [email protected] with the following:

- Decide on a username you would like to be known by. If you are a company please use a version of your company or product name.

- Next link NetBeans up from as many sites and web pages as you can (legally please).

- Send us the URLS that provides links to NetBeans.

- Last part in this process please ensure you use the proper logos from the Move the Needle page whenever possible. Links count also, but images help people to remember a name. Try to have a minimum of one NetBeans logo per site.

- Please include a proper email address specifying where you would like to receive initiative updates.

- Put all of that information in an email and ship it off to us so we can get busy setting up your account.

So good luck and get to it. Updates can be followed here , in the weekly newsletter and through bragging individuals. All right ramblers, let's get ramblin'!

[Move the Needle ]

Module Catalogue

Throughout the Internet there are many modules that we are currently missing from our module catalogue. If you know of any extensions to NetBeans please initiate contact with the extension owner and inform them of the opportunity of being placed in the NetBeans' module catalogue. Here is a link on how to get it listed . The information should be sent to [email protected] .

Recent Additions & Their Categorical Listings:

- Ambit/J Value Object Builder - Java Tools

- koaLaGML - XML

- Ambit/J Bean Generator - J2EE Tools

- Ambit/J Server Connector - J2EE Tools

- EJB Templates - J2EE Tools

- Xalan Integration - Libraries

[complete catalogue ]

NetBeans Marketing? You bet.

Why do we need a marketing effort? Because, we are the developers, we are the users and we are the people who know NetBeans and why the world should take notice. There are the basic six questions that can be answered here.

Who: The NetBeans community (developers, users, businesses building on NetBeans, open source believers). In short everybody.

What: To represent our community of users and ensure that our voice is heard. Educate the public about open source, share your opinions to the world and share your findings with the community. To spread the use of our IDE, Platform, EDU and Localization programs. We need to build a bridge between our community and the media, public and businesses in search of a solution which we may hold the key to.

When: Every day, at events, after reading an article, when something is interesting, when you find something compatible and most importantly when you think something can benefit our community and users.

Where: In the newspapers, magazines, weblogs, newsgroups, tradeshows, local shows, surveys and on our mailing lists. In short world-wide baby!

Why: If we don't who will? Gain users to benefit all of the people involved with NetBeans. More notoriety, more developers, more apps built on/for NetBeans, more ideas, and a better IDE.

How: Volunteer, is that's simple. Participate in marketing initiatives. Tell the world why you love NetBeans. Most importantly join [email protected] to help coordinate these efforts. It is up to us.

This is only a brief introduction. For more complete information please visit the NetBeans marketing home.

[Marketing home: get me involved ]

Developer Spotlight: Vincent Brabant

Vincent has been a member of the NetBeans community for approximately two to two and a half years. He joined in out of curiosity to see first hand if open source projects were a reality not just a myth. He has since gained the belief that NetBeans is more open source than other open source projects.

At this time Vincent is back in the trenches providing translations of the NetBeans IDE and web content. He estimates that the About section of NetBeans.org stands at 80% translated and the IDE section is about 50% complete. His goal is to be able to furnish a stable enough version of NetBeans IDE in the French language and the documents to support these users. This is not an easy task to accomplish alone. He is also behind the translation of Sprout into French and a contributor by way of interviews and module reviews. Mr. B. was also helping out with version 3.4.1 providing logistical support. Yes, work exist beyond pure development and Vincent is proof of these on-going efforts.

Vincent is in contact with many French speaking members of the NB community and other developers so we tried to get further information.

The largest barrier in the expansion and adoption rate of NetBeans in the French community appears to be language issues. In Vincent's opinion, "The great force of MS is the localization of the product. I can confirm to you that if a French speaking person must choose between a free English product or to buy a French product, he will choose to pay for the French due to localization." He believes through having a localized version of www.netbeans.org and support documents that we can attract French developers. Further possibilities could come in the form of French applications based upon the NetBeans Platform and more third-party interest in having a localized version of NetBeans.

In his modest manner he does not like to speak about himself but adores his wife and children. He likes computers and Java programming, through which he found NetBeans. Travel is loved and lost with the lack of time but believes he will travel soon.

Any French speaking volunteers out there looking to assist in these projects? Please go to French translated files home and read more.

[continue to full interview ]

In the Press

Get more than you pay for with NetBeans 3.4 -
With so many great open source software projects out there, it seems like we programmers don’t really need to spend much money. NetBeans is one such project. It’s been around for a while, and its IDE, used primarily for Java projects, is the unbranded open source version of the Sun ONE Studio IDE (formerly Forte for Java). I first experimented with NetBeans a few years ago, when it was good, but a little wobbly. After looking at the latest version, I can easily see how much it has matured.

Open Source: Beyond the Fairy Tales

A perspective on business innovation broken into the following subsections: What Happens When You Assume About Open Source..., Innovation Happens Elsewhere (IHE), NetBeans: A Case of Open Source and "Innovation Happens Elsewhere", Implications for the Future of Open Source.

Sun readying J2EE 1.4

"There's an Oracle-led JSR [numbered 198] for an open Java IDE through JCP, which we believe is the right way in which to do this, NetBeans will comply with that JSR when it gets through the process. We believe that's the route to go right now." - Ingrid Van Den Hoogen, Director of Strategic Marketing for Sun Software.

Bob's Products: Case Study

The webdesigner’s goal is to make application development as simple and flexible as possible. You are able to leverage your favourite Java compiler, your favourite HTML editor and your favourite paint program.

NetBeans Version 3.4.1 is Now Available

Available from various news sources.

[the archives: still news to me ]

The Tasklist Module

This month, I would like to speak to you about a very promising module. The Tasklist module is currently in a pre-alpha stage and showing great promise. It can be divided into three categories of functionality:

User tasks - permits the user to manage a list of tasks, and sort them by priorities, creation date, etc. You can also export that into HTML files or use it with other calendar applications. It's the more stable part of the tasklist module, even if that module is enhanced every day.

Suggestions view - lists provides exactly that, suggestions by other modules (currently the Java Parser Error, the PMD module, and recently the Javadoc checks).

Buglist - will connect you to a bug database (at this moment only Issuezilla) and list the bugs in a tasklist format.

The Tasklist module was written to allow other modules to provide information to the suggestion panel. It means that in the future, the suggestion panel will be able to give you some information/suggestions concerning the metrics of your code by example, or respect of style (checkstyle).

Do not be intimidated. The Tasklist module is configurable and you have the possibility to deactivate some of the suggestions if they are not compatible with your style of developing.

Personally, I discovered this module, I tried it and I like it. Now I also installed the trunk version of NetBeans at work replacing the already old FortĂŠ for Java 3.

Are You Ready To Try It?

Just download the last dev version, and install the nbm of tasklist available in the daily alpha update center. You also have to install the PMD Bridge and the JavaParser module. Read this article to find out how.

If it seems too complicated, you can always download this zip file and read the instructions. If I can install the Tasklist module, you certainly can too.

Please try it, test it and give feedback to the developers. They are listening to you. But please show respect in your comments and suggestions. They are working for free, on their own time for the NetBeans community.

[interview with Tor & Trond Norbye ]
Vincent Brabant

What is WISE?

In Washington State efficient irrigated systems are crucial to the economy. Salmon are on the endangered species list, the legality of water rights are in question, and the agricultural community is worried because two-thirds of the agricultural land in production depend on irrigation. Efficient irrigation is a must.

WISE screenshot Washington State University's WISE tool is used to generate irrigation scheduling for crops.

Washington State University's IAREC (Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center) group felt that Washington's agricultural community was in need of a better irrigation scheduling tool. Frustrated with the constraints of a DOS-based program that only allowed the scheduling of one field at a time, Dr. Brian Leib, IAREC's irrigation engineer, devised a set of requirements for a new application. Most important was the need for networking capabilities -- the proposed software would have to work hand-in-hand with the fifty-nine real-time weather stations available over the Internet through PAWS (WSU's Public Agricultural Weather System). Further, IAREC wanted a product that would be available to the widest number of users; it had to run on multiple operating systems as well as move away from the DOS-based user interface. A program that would allow the users-growers and irrigation consultants-to visually follow the scheduling elements they would be manipulating was an i!

deal solution.
Efficient Irrigation Scheduling

IAREC's response has been the JavaTM technology-based program WISE (Washington Irrigation Scheduling Expert). This cross-platform application has an intuitive user interface and advanced networking capabilities that links scheduling to real-world information via the Internet. Schedulers use WISE to define the variables for their farms; water usage, crop, emergence and harvest dates, irrigation system, and depletion rate are reported for each farm and field. When the user connects to the PAWS network, they are able to download state-wide Reference Evapotranspiration information, which is then used to update irrigation schedules for the selected fields.

IAREC's Development Team Chose NetBeans

IAREC chose to build WISE using NetBeans Developer because of its advance support of the latest Java platform specifications and libraries and because it was completely written to the Java platform, providing true cross-platform support.

"I believe it saved us a lot of time and frustration," says WISE developer Todd Elliott. "I don't think our design would look as good or work as well if I hadn't had access to NetBeans. NetBeans makes it very easy to design and re-design until you are happy with the results," Elliott said.

The WISE developers found that NetBeans allowed them to lay out forms, create skeleton event handlers, and edit the code that was generated. "If I needed to redesign or change the layout, NetBeans made it easy," said Elliott. "It would have been very, very difficult without NetBeans." NetBeans' cross-platform functionality also turned out to be important to the development process. "I started developing WISE under OS/2 and switched to Linux in the middle without a problem," Elliott said.

Also on the slate: A new radio-telemetry based data-acquisition network. The related website is http://www.agweathernet.com . NetBeans has been used to layout the GUI design on all of this software. NetBeans was also used to develop the front-end for the wind rose plots and topo-maps in the samples section.

[Go WISE ]