I pushed REM 1.3.0 for NetBeans to SourceForge earlier today. This release addresses the following issues:

1. Upgrades the ZK libraries to 3.0.1
2. Updated the internal DTD to match ZK's XML Schema
3. Include support for the zkforge components.
4. Registers ZK's XML schema with NetBeans 6.0 so it can be used for syntax highlighting and code completion.

The project can be found at http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/rem1 .

I pushed REM 1.3.0 for NetBeans to SourceForge earlier today. This release addresses the following issues:

1. Upgrades the ZK libraries to 3.0.1
2. Updated the internal DTD to match ZK's XML Schema
3. Include support for the zkforge components.
4. Registers ZK's XML schema with NetBeans 6.0 so it can be used for syntax highlighting and code completion.

The project can be found at http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/rem1 .

I pushed REM 1.3.0 for NetBeans to SourceForge earlier today. This release addresses the following issues:

1. Upgrades the ZK libraries to 3.0.1
2. Updated the internal DTD to match ZK's XML Schema
3. Include support for the zkforge components.
4. Registers ZK's XML schema with NetBeans 6.0 so it can be used for syntax highlighting and code completion.

The project can be found at http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/rem1 .

We use the ZK web application framework on our project at work. It was selected before I came back to Sun. ZK in itself is a pretty decent web framework that would allow JavaScript averse Java developers to write an Ajax-like dynamic web application without having to worry about the details of the browser. We've done some pretty amazing things with it.

But this is not a post about ZK.

Most of the team also uses NetBeans as our IDE. NetBeans has improved a lot over the last couple years. I even switched back to it when I was still at TransZap and used it a few times at OpenLogic for it's profiler. NetBeans 6.0 is really an amazing environment to code in Java, has great support for Ruby and has a community of plugin developers who are at work adding support for Groovy, Scala and other languages.

This post is only partially about NetBeans though.

I was pointed to the REM plugin when I came back to Sun. This plugin adds support for ZK to NetBeans. It was created as part of a school project and was posted on SourceForge. It was supporting ZK 2.3.0 and we were using ZK 2.3.0. This plugin made it much easier to learn ZK and write the pages themselves.

Then we upgraded to ZK 2.4.1. The plugin didn't though. But it was still useful, so we kept using it.

Work on NetBeans 6.0 was moving along quite nicely. I downloaded NetBeans 6.0 beta 2 to test it. I started installing my collection of plugins only to discover that REM wouldn't load. I posted a note on the forums asking about support for NetBeans 6 but didn't hear anything. So I downloaded the source code for the plugin, found the area of code that wouldn't work with NetBeans 6.0 and commented it out. It was still usable, but it wouldn't quite do for production work.

I decided to contact the project owner and offered to help. That was the beginning of my official involvement with the REM plugin. In a few weeks, I upgraded the plugin to support ZK 2.4.1 and then ported it to NetBeans 6.0. This was done just in time for Sun's IT to upgrade the default IDE to NetBeans 6.0.

This wouldn't have been possible if REM was a closed source product. We would have been either stuck on NetBeans 5.5 or we would have had to abandon the plugin. The open source nature of the project means that not only can we keep using the plugin moving forward but that we can contribute back to it and make it more valuable to people outside of Sun. This in turn helps the ZK community by adding value to it by integrating it with another IDE and helping it grow.

We use the ZK web application framework on our project at work. It was selected before I came back to Sun. ZK in itself is a pretty decent web framework that would allow JavaScript averse Java developers to write an Ajax-like dynamic web application without having to worry about the details of the browser. We've done some pretty amazing things with it.

But this is not a post about ZK.

Most of the team also uses NetBeans as our IDE. NetBeans has improved a lot over the last couple years. I even switched back to it when I was still at TransZap and used it a few times at OpenLogic for it's profiler. NetBeans 6.0 is really an amazing environment to code in Java, has great support for Ruby and has a community of plugin developers who are at work adding support for Groovy, Scala and other languages.

This post is only partially about NetBeans though.

I was pointed to the REM plugin when I came back to Sun. This plugin adds support for ZK to NetBeans. It was created as part of a school project and was posted on SourceForge. It was supporting ZK 2.3.0 and we were using ZK 2.3.0. This plugin made it much easier to learn ZK and write the pages themselves.

Then we upgraded to ZK 2.4.1. The plugin didn't though. But it was still useful, so we kept using it.

Work on NetBeans 6.0 was moving along quite nicely. I downloaded NetBeans 6.0 beta 2 to test it. I started installing my collection of plugins only to discover that REM wouldn't load. I posted a note on the forums asking about support for NetBeans 6 but didn't hear anything. So I downloaded the source code for the plugin, found the area of code that wouldn't work with NetBeans 6.0 and commented it out. It was still usable, but it wouldn't quite do for production work.

I decided to contact the project owner and offered to help. That was the beginning of my official involvement with the REM plugin. In a few weeks, I upgraded the plugin to support ZK 2.4.1 and then ported it to NetBeans 6.0. This was done just in time for Sun's IT to upgrade the default IDE to NetBeans 6.0.

This wouldn't have been possible if REM was a closed source product. We would have been either stuck on NetBeans 5.5 or we would have had to abandon the plugin. The open source nature of the project means that not only can we keep using the plugin moving forward but that we can contribute back to it and make it more valuable to people outside of Sun. This in turn helps the ZK community by adding value to it by integrating it with another IDE and helping it grow.

I just couldn't wait... I looked up my tracking number on the Fedex web site and realized that the package had arrived at Sun's Broomfield campus. I locked my screen, made my way to the mail center and picked the boxes. One of these boxes contained my very own copy of Leopard.

I debated for a while whether to wait or install it. The excitement got the best of me so I loaded the DVD and started the installation.

It's only afterward that I realized that a very important piece was missing: Java 6. It wasn't there! Even the old preview didn't work anymore.

Like many others, I ranted, spammed Apple's feedback URL and bug submission web pages with comments about this very important missing component. And now, I'm adding my vote to the blogogpshere:

13949712720901ForOSX

13949712720901 is the decimal notation for 0xCAFEBABE. This is the first 4 bytes in the files that contains the Java classes. I'm joined by Henry Story, David Van Couvering and others in spreading the word.

Not having Java 6 on my Mac forces me to do things like run Solaris under VMWare on my Mac. All of this so I can participate in the project that I'm working on. It's workable, but it's certainly foreign. It's certainly a lot less elegant than I would like it to be.

Obviously, I can't certainly make a big difference by myself. All you need to do to participate is to add

13949712720901ForOSX

to your blog to show support for Java 6 on Leopard.

I bought my brand new 15" 2.4GHz MacBook Pro the Wednesday following it's release. I had saved up the money, I was ready to buy. So I showed up at the Broomfield Apple store with my Sun badge in one hand and a credit card in the other and walked out with my new laptop. I transferred my settings and application from my PowerBook G4 and haven't looked back since.

It turns out to be an amazing machine. It's so fast that I no longer have time to read an RSS feed entry when compiling code. I did have performance issues when running Windows XP under Parallels, but those were quickly resolved by upgrading the memory to 4GB. The display is sharp and extremely bright. I usually end up dimming it a bit so it is easier to read and match my external display.

It's really nice to have a few hours of battery time. I usually end up with about 3 hours of battery life without having to turn too many things off. This allows me to bring the laptop to serial meetings or enjoy a full evening of Sci-Fi channel and RSS reading without having to carry the power brick.

... on everything but the Mac. Again. Even NetBeans 5.5 isn't available as a preview for Mac OS X. (You can download a daily build, but it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that comes with the preview.)

This is very frustrating to me as a Sun employee. I use a Mac as my main development platform. Yet, I cannot really try it. Sure I can get a daily build, but it will not include the BPEL and UML tools. It is especially irritating after Charles Beckham showcased screenshots of the the same BPEL and UML tools on Mac OS X Intel.

I do wonder how Sun can continually ignore the developers who have chosen the Mac as their development platform. You just have to look at No Fluff, Just Stuff conferences or local Java User Groups meetings to see how prevalent the platform is.

Of course, there is still hope that NetBeans and Sun will make NetBeans 5.5 and the Enterprise Pack available for the Mac once they hit beta or release candidate status.

It would just be nice to see my platform of choice treated as a first class citizen for once...

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