JamesBranam's Blog

NB Community Docs: Stepping Down

Hi all,

I have a big announcement to make in this blog entry, and I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

After two and a half years of managing the NetBeans Community Docs program, I've decided to step down. As a technical writer, I've been assigned duties other than NetBeans (Cloud Computing training courses), and it only makes sense to let another writer who is still writing for NetBeans take over.

There. I've said it. It's been a wonderful ride as NetBeans Community Docs Manager. I've met lots of great people, and I've made some friends for life, but it is time to pass the torch.

328 contributions from the community. You should all be very proud of what you've done, and how you've made the program such a success.

As of tomorrow, the new NetBeans Community Docs Manager will be Jeff Rubinoff. Also a blogger, I wish Jeff all the best in his tenure as manager. I wish him all the great cooperation I experienced during my time as manager.

Please join me in welcoming Jeff to the position.

So, I say goodbye to you one last time as manager of the program. Working with you has been one of the best experiences I've ever had.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 06:00PM Aug 31, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

NB Community Docs: Big Change Coming

Hi all,

I wrote about a month ago about a big announcement that was coming for the NetBeans Community Docs program. Well, for a couple of reasons, the change didn't come as I had expected, but it is is coming. I'll be making the announcement in tomorrow's blog entry. So tune in.

No need to worry: The program will continue to provide high quality documentation for the NetBeans Community.

See you tomorrow.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 05:40PM Aug 30, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

Connection Pool Problems for MySQL/GlassFish/OpenSolaris

Hi all,

Last night I spent some time setting up a connection pool in GlassFish's admin console. Here's the backstory: I'm working on a training course for cloud computing, and as part of my module on assembling a virtual data center I ran into a few problems. I have two virtual servers running. One is running OpenSolaris and has GlassFish application server installed on it. The other is running Fedora Linux and has my MySQL database on it. The problems occurred when I tried to ping the database server from GlassFish. I got some strange messages. When a colleague of mine googled the problem, he found out that the problem was OpenSolaris specific. After downloading several .jar files the error message said weren't there, I stumbled upon the solution:

1. The solution was to copy my regular MySQL driver .jar file from my local machine to the glassfish-install/domains/domain1/lib/ext/ directory on my virtual server.
2. I typed this: scp -i mykeypair.pem ~/location/of/my.jar root@my-aws-public-dns:/glasssfish/domains/domain1/lib/ext/.
3. I then restarted GlassFish and the connection pool worked: I was able to ping my database server.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 08:20PM Aug 28, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

Accessing a Remote MySQL Database from NetBeans

Hi all,

The past few months, I've been developing a course on the concepts of cloud computing and virtualization. It's coming along very well, and this week I've been working on a demo for an application in the cloud that uses a database located elsewhere in the cloud (i.e. on another virtual server). I'd thought I share the steps with you. I used MySQL, but the steps should be similar for other databases.

1. Install MySQL on the server.
2. Create a new user for MySQL: create user USERNAME identified by 'PASSWORD';
3. Grant the user access to the database: grant all privileges on DATABASE.* to USERNAME identified by 'PASSWORD';
4. Then I started up the IDE and went to the Services window, where I connected to my local MySQL database.
5. After connecting, I right-clicked the MySQL driver node and chose Connect Using.
   The New Database Connection dialog box opens.
   

   

6. Fill in the requested information and click OK.
   

   
   The database connection will appear in the Services window.

It's that easy.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 06:36PM Aug 27, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

Setting Location of Java DB Database in NetBeans 6.7

2 blog entries until number 500

Hi all,

I have several versions of the NetBeans IDE installed on my Mac. Occasionally, I'll update to a newer version of the GlassFish application server as well. Because both NetBeans and GlassFish are constantly undergoing improvements, sometimes directories get renamed, and pesky little warning messages pop up. A couple of days ago, I got such a message, politely letting me know that the location of my Java DB database server was set incorrectly: This is what I did to correct this:

1. I went to the Services window and expanded the Databases node.
2. I right-clicked the Java DB node and chose Properties, as seen in the following image.
   
   The Java DB Properties dialog box opens.
In the dialog box, I browsed for the location of Java DB. I found it in my SUNWappserver directory.

3. I clicked OK, and then I was able to start the database server by right-clicking the Java DB node again and choosing Start Server.
   

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 10:56AM Aug 11, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

AWS Experience Part 13: Deploying to GlassFish in the Cloud

4 blog entries until number 500

Hi all,

I just got a simple web application running on GlassFish on my OpenSolaris AMI. You can check it out at http://174.129.6.161:8080/HelloWeb/

Here's what I did to get there:

1. I took an existing AMI and installed Apache, JDK, Ant, and GlassFish
2. I altered the var/apache2/2.2/htdocs/index.html file by editing the text and adding a photograph. You can see it at http://174.129.6.161.
3. I opened GlassFish's Admin Console and deployed the web application. (The web app was created using NetBeans IDE 6.7.)

It was that easy.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 09:38AM Aug 08, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

More About NB 6.8 M1

Hi all,

Since I blogged yesterday about NetBeans 6.8 Milestone 1 being available, the official press release has surfaced. Here it is:

The NetBeans team is pleased to announce that NetBeans IDE 6.8 Milestone 1 is now available for download.

Download NetBeans IDE 6.8 Milestone 1

Highlights of this stabilized development build include:

• Embedded Browser
• Java EE v6 support
• PHP
  • PHP 5.3.0 support
• Maven
  • Improved support for Groovy and Scala
• C/C++
  • Remote development
  • Code Assistance
• Ruby
  • JRuby bundle upgraded to 1.3.1
  • RSpec 1.2.7 support
• Jira support in Issue Tracking

Visit the NetBeans 6.8 New and Noteworthy page to learn more about all the new features and enhancements available in this milestone release. The final release of NetBeans IDE 6.8 is planned for Fall 2009.

As always, tell us what you think about the NetBeans IDE! Share your thoughts on NetBeans' mailing lists and forums. If you blog about NetBeans add your blog to Planet NetBeans. Follow NetBeans on Twitter for updates from the NetBeans team.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 09:00AM Aug 05, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[1]

NetBeans 6.8 Milestone 1 Is Available

Hi all,

NetBeans 6.8 Milestone 1 is now available.

You can get it here.

Cheers!

Posted at 09:16AM Aug 04, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[1]

AWS Experience Part 12: Frustration

Hi all,

As you already know, I've been messing around with virtual machine images on Amazon Web Services. It's been a lo of fun, but sometimes it has been very, very frustrating.

• The whole region thing is perplexing at best. When I launch an AMI in the US-East region, I usually can't access it.
• It's easy to access Fedora images, but OpenSolaris is a differen story. I can't get an OpenSolaris image to show up in my browser. Hmmmmm.
• After putting in hours of work, the image suddenly cannot be accessed. Ouch!

Enough for today.

Cheers!

Posted at 08:22PM Aug 03, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

NB Community Docs: Important Announcement Next Week

Hi all,

The NetBeans Community Docs program has been in existence since March of 2007. In two years and five months, 325 documentation item have been contributed. We've seen three Contribution Coordinators: Amit Saha, Varun Nischal, and currently Kristian Rink. It has been quite the ride.

Next week I'll be making an important announcement on this blog, so be sure to keep an eye out. No need to worry. I'm certain that this announcement will have no impact on the success of the program.

Tune in next week.

Cheers!

-James

Posted at 09:00AM Jul 31, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

NetBeans IDE 6.7.1 with JavaFX

Hi all,

It's official: NetBeans IDE 6.7.1 is out and available for download. Here is the official press release:

The NetBeans Team is pleased to announce the release of NetBeans IDE 6.7.1, which supports the latest JavaFX SDK.

Download NetBeans 6.7.1

(A JavaFX-only download bundle is also available.)

NetBeans IDE 6.7.1 is an update to NetBeans IDE 6.7 and includes the following changes:

• Support for JavaFX 1.2
• Upgrade of GlassFish v3 Prelude to include fixes from build #28f
• Integration of important bug fixes based on user feedback, especially in the Java Editor and project scanning areas

Learn more about NetBeans IDE 6.7.1 and download the release today!

NetBeans IDE 6.7.1 is available in English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese. In addition, the NetBeans Platform has been fully localized into the following languages: Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Swedish and Galician. Translations for Java SE modules and other community languages are still ongoing. Get the current status of localizations here, and also consider volunteering to help translate!

Tell us about your experience using the NetBeans IDE. Share your thoughts on our mailing lists and forums. If you blog about NetBeans add your blog to Planet NetBeans. Follow NetBeans on Twitter for updates about NetBeans news and development.

NetBeans IDE Connects Developers!

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 01:35PM Jul 28, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

Helping Make NetBeans Better

Hi all,

The NetBeans IDE is a product that is community driver. The community plays a huge part in its development, improvement, success. Users file issue, submit plugins and docs, and perform other crucial tasks. The IDE benefits from all of your efforts.

There is another way that you can contribute to the success of NetBeans: you can register the IDE.

Registering gives us an idea of who uses the IDE, what it is being used for, and how many users are out there. Based on this information, we can make important changes to the IDE, tailoring it to users' needs.

Registering is easy and takes just a couple of minutes.

You have the power to make the IDE even better. So, use it!

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 03:29PM Jul 21, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[1]

Exporting Blog

Hi all,

Due to uncertainty as to what the future holds, I've decided to back up my blog to another location. I'll still be blogging here, but I'll be copying each new blog entry to the new location.

You can find it at http://blog.jambra.net/bc/.

See you there!

--James

Posted at 02:33PM Jul 13, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

AWS Experience Part 11: AWS EC2 Toolkit

Hi all,

Although the AWS Management Console is an adequate tool for most tasks you may need to perform in the cloud, at some point you will need to use the commnd line to perform certain tasks. Also, for those users who are used to using the command line with other applications may find it easier and faster to use AWS EC2 AMI tools while working with their AMI.

The AWS EC2 Toolkit makes it easy to perform a number of tasks. Here are a few commonly used commands:

• ec2-describe-region. Use this command to view available regions.
• export EC2_URL=https://<service_endpoint>. This command changes a region.
  Note: Windows users: set EC2_URL=https://<service_endpoint>
• ec2-describe-images -o self -o amazon | grep machine . Use this command to find a suitable AMI.
• ec2-add-keypair gsg-keypair. Use this command to add a key pair.
• ec2-run-instances ami-235fba4a -k gsg-keypair. This command launches an AMI.
• ec2-describe-instances i-ae0bf0c7. Use this to display the launch status of an instance.
• ec2-authorize default -p 22. This commands authorizes access to an instance.
• ssh -i id_your-keypair root@ec1-23-456-789.compute-1.amazonaws.com. Use this to access an instance.
• # ec2-bundle-vol -d /mnt -k /mnt/pk-HKZ3YTJCMXYI9JHUAHSY5CLO.pem -c /mnt/cert-HKZ3YTJCMXYI9JHUAHSY5CLO.pem -u AIDADWWJSKSKSKD -r i386 -p sampleimage. This command bundles an instance. Note:This command must be executed from the AMI instance.
• ec2-upload-bundle -b <your-s3-bucket> -m /mnt/sampleimage.manifest.xml -a <aws-access-key-id> -s <aws-secret-access-key> Use this command to upload your custom AMI to your AWS S3 bucket.
• ec2-register <your-s3-bucket>/sampleimage.manifest.xml. This command registers the new AMI with AWS.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 12:45PM Jul 09, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

NetBeans 6.7 Available

Hi all,

You've probably heard the big news: NetBeans 6.7 is live. Here is the official press release:

NetBeans.org is proud to announce the availability of NetBeans IDE 6.7!

The focus of NetBeans IDE 6.7 is connectivity—helping developers to connect to the latest technologies and to each other. New features include integration with Project Kenai, a collaborative environment for developers to host their open-source projects; native Maven support, and Hudson integration.

Building on the success of previous releases, NetBeans IDE 6.7 offers enhancements for Java, PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, Groovy and C/C++, and more. Additional highlights include a self-diagnostic Profiler, and support for SVG Rich Components, remote debugging in Ruby, and the latest version of GlassFish. The release also provides plug-in support for Zembly, a single registry and repository for popular Web APIs.

Providing superior support for multiple languages and innovative team support through Project Kenai, the NetBeans IDE 6.7 is the ideal tool for developers to stay connected to their teams and to the latest technologies!

NetBeans IDE 6.7 is available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese and Simplified Chinese. There are several community-contributed localization efforts underway to support additional languages. Join the efforts today.

More information about NetBeans IDE 6.7:

• NetBeans IDE 6.7 Features
• NetBeans IDE 6.7 Tutorials and Documentation
• Videos of NetBeans IDE 6.7 in Action

As always, we welcome and encourage feedback about your experience using the NetBeans IDE. Share your thoughts on our mailing lists and forums. If you blog about NetBeans add your blog to Planet NetBeans. Follow NetBeans on Twitter for updates about NetBeans news and development.

NetBeans IDE Connects Developers!

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 12:49PM Jun 30, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[2]

AWS Experience Part 10: Configuring GlassFish in the Cloud

Hi all,

I'm still working on my cloud computing course. Now I'm more into GlassFish, and how to configure it on a virtual server. I'm not finished, but here's what I have so far:

1. The first step in this process is to create a domain. Let's name the domain domain1. Type the following commands in the command line:
   cd /opt/gf21/glassfish
chmod -R +x lib/ant/bin
lib/ant/bin/ant -f setup.xml
   
2. Back up the original domain1 configuration by typing
   cp /opt/gf21/glassfish/domains/domain1/config/domain.xml /opt/gf21/glassfish/domains/domain1/config/domain.xml.org.
3. To put GlassFish tools in the path, type echo export PATH=$PATH:/opt/gf21/glassfish/bin >>~/.profile.
4. Type exit to return to the root user.
5. Start the server by typing /opt/gf21/glassfish/bin/asadmin start-domain domain1.
6. Log in as the user gf21 by typing su - gf21.
7. To tweak GlassFish configuration for use with an AWS EC2 c1.small instance, type
asadmin create-jvm-options -- "-Xmx1024m"
cat /opt/gf21/glassfish/domains/domain1/config/domain.xml | grep Xmx
asadmin delete-jvm-options -- -Xmx512m
cat /opt/gf21/glassfish/domains/domain1/config/domain.xml | grep Xmx
8. Exit gf21 and type the following to determine if GlassFish is running:
   ps -ef |grep gf21
svcs glassfish/domain1
svcs -l glassfish/domain1 | grep logfile


Thanks fo Rudolf Kutina for help with this.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 10:53AM Jun 29, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

Check Out NetBeans RC3

Hi all,

Just a quick reminder, be sure to check out NetBeans RC3. Here is the official press release:

NetBeans IDE 6.7 Release Candidate 3 is now available for download.

Download NetBeans 6.7 Release Candidate 3

The focus of NetBeans 6.7 is connectivity--helping developers to connect to each other and to the latest technologies. New features for 6.7 include integration with Project Kenai, a collaborative environment for developers to host their open-source projects; native Maven support; and GlassFish and Hudson integrations. This release also offers enhancements for Java, PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, Groovy and C/C++, and more. Providing superior support for multiple languages and innovative team support through Project Kenai, the NetBeans IDE 6.7 is the ideal tool for developers to connect to their teams and to the latest technologies!

Learn More about NetBeans 6.7 RC3

Tutorials & Videos

The final release of NetBeans IDE 6.7 is planned for late June. Download RC3 today and give us your feedback about your experience using the release. Join discussions about the NetBeans IDE on our mailing lists and forums. If you blog about using NetBeans add your blog to a Planet NetBeans. Follow NetBeans on Twitter for updates about NetBeans news and development.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 09:00AM Jun 19, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[2]

NetBeans 6.7 RC2 Is Available

Hi all,

NetBeans 6.7 Release Candidate 2 is out. Here is the official message:

NetBeans.org is proud to announce the availability of NetBeans IDE 6.7 Release Candidate 2!

Download NetBeans 6.7 Release Candidate 2

The focus of NetBeans 6.7 is connectivity--helping developers to connect to each other and to the latest technologies. New features for 6.7 include integration with Project Kenai, a collaborative environment for developers to host their open-source projects; native Maven support; and GlassFish and Hudson integrations. This release also offers enhancements for Java, PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, Groovy and C/C++, and more. Providing superior support for multiple languages and innovative team support through Project Kenai, the NetBeans IDE 6.7 is the ideal tool for developers to connect to their teams and to the latest technologies!

Learn More about NetBeans 6.7 RC2 Tutorials & Videos

The final release of NetBeans IDE 6.7 is planned for late June. Download RC2 today and give us your feedback about your experience using the release. Join discussions about the NetBeans IDE on our mailing lists and forums. If you blog about using NetBeans add your blog to Planet NetBeans. Follow NetBeans on Twitter for updates about NetBeans news and development.

NetBeans IDE 6.7 Connects Developers!

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 09:00AM Jun 07, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[6]

AWS Experience Part 9: Uploading and Registering an OpenSolaris Bundle

Hi all,

Success! My bundle was created. Now it's time to upload it to S3 and to register it with AWS for use. Here's how:

1. First, see yesterday's blog entry about setting the environment variables. This saves a lot of time.
2. I changed to the directory hosting the part of my bundled AMI: cd $DIRECTORY/parts.
3. From there, I uploaded the bundle to my S3 bucket, which is created for me as I do it: ec2-upload-bundle -b $BUCKET -m $IMAGE.manifest.xml --url http://s3.amazonaws.com --retry -a $EC2_KEYID -s $EC2_KEY. It took a few minutes, but you can follow the progress as it uploads each bundle part.
4. To register the AMI, I typed the following command: ec2reg -C $EC2_CERT -K $EC2_PRIVATE_KEY $BUCKET/$IMAGE.manifest.xml.
   The next thing you see in the command line is the AMI ID, for example: IMAGE ami-1a2b3c4de. Then you know that the AMI has been registered. Go to the AWS Management Console > AMIs and do a search to see for youself.

I write some more about AWS tomorrow.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 09:00AM Jun 06, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

AWS Experience Part 8: Bundling OpenSolaris

Hi all,

I created the perfect AMI: OpenSolaris with JDK, Ant, MySQl 5 and GlassFish. And then it turns out that OpenSolaris has different directions for bundling than Linux. It took me a while to find them, but I did. Here they are (I'll skip the pre-bundling cleaning up):

1. Connect to the OpenSolaris instance in the same way as Linux (SSH).
2. Execute the following commands: cd /mnt and /opt/ec2/sbin/rebundle.sh -v your-bundle.img. Note: of course you can name the bundle whatever you want.
3. Get some coffee. This could take a while.
4. Set the following environment variables:
   • export BUCKET=<bucket-name>
   • export JAVA_HOME=/usr/jdk/latest
   • export EC2_HOME=/opt/ec2
   • export PATH=$PATH:$EC2_HOME/bin
   • export RUBYLIB=$EC2_HOME/lib
   • export EC2_URL=https://ec2.amazonaws.com
   • export EC2_PRIVATE_KEY=/mnt/keys/<PRIVATE KEY FILE>
   • export EC2_CERT=/mnt/keys/<CERT FILE>
   • export EC2_KEYID=<AWS-personal-key>
   • export EC2_KEY=<AWS-secret-key>
   • export DIRECTORY=/mnt
   • export IMAGE=your-bundle.img
5. Create the parts and keys directories inside the /mnt directory. Here's how:
   • mkdir $DIRECTORY/parts
   • mkdir $DIRECTORY/keys
6. Copy your private key file to the /mnt/keys directory on the AMI.
   • scp -i /*.pem root@:/mnt/keys/
7. In the AMI, bundle the image. ec2-bundle-image -c $EC2_CERT -k $EC2_PRIVATE_KEY --kernel aki-6552b60c --ramdisk ari-6452b60d --block-device-mapping "root=rpool/52@0,ami=0,ephemeral0=1" --user <AWS-acct-no> --arch i386 -i $DIRECTORY/$IMAGE -d $DIRECTORY/parts
8. Get some more coffee... or maybe something stronger.

This is taking too long. It's getting late. I'll try again from home (maybe I'll leave my computer on all night).

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 09:00AM Jun 05, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

AWS Experience Part 7: OpenSolaris AMI

Hi all,

Up until now, I've been working with Fedora AMIs in my quest to master working with virtual servers on AWS. Today I jumped over to an OpenSolaris AMI.

I love it! The pkg command makes things very easy.

So far installing things like Ant, JDK, and MySQL have gone perfectly. I'll write more as I learn.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 05:56PM Jun 04, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

AWS Experience Part 6: Creating a Custom AMI

Hi all,

Here is another installment on working in the cloud, the AWS cloud that is. Today's topic: creating a custom AMI. This may sound like as easy task. And it would have been, had AWS documentation been up to scratch. I spent lots of time messing around with this, and I finally got it to work. Here's how:

1. Launch an exiting image (I chose a Fedora 8 image). Modify the /var/www/html/index.html file to something else (thus making it "your unique AMI). I went one step further: I installed JDK 6 and MySQL on mi AMI for use at a later date.
2. Now you have to upload your private key and x509 certificate to the AMI. Here's how to do this in the terminal:

   scp -i ~/.ssh/<yourkeypair.pem> ~/.ec2/<pk-whatever.pem> ~/.ec2/<cert-whatever.pem> root@your-public-DNS:/mnt.

   The private key and x-509 certificate should be uploaded to the mnt directory to prevent them from being bundled with the new AMI.
3. When this has been done, log in to your AMI to check if it is there.
4. While you're logged in to your virtual server, you can perform the next step of the process. (The reason I am even mentioning this is that AWS didn't mention it). Type the following command

   ec2-bundle-vol -d /mnt -k /mnt/<personalkey.pem> -c /mnt/<cert.pem> -u <AWS-acct-no> -r i386 -p sampleimage

5. Get a cup of coffee as this will take a while.
6. Type the following to check if the AMI image is indeed there where it should be:

   ls -l /mnt/sampleimage.*

7. Upload your bundle to AWS S3 Storage. (Make sure that you sign up for S3 before you do this.) To do, type:

   ec2-upload-bundle -b <S3-bucket-name> -m /mnt/sampleimage.manifest.xml -a <AWS-access-key-id> -s  <AWS-secret-access-key> --location EU

   Note: Remember to upload to an S3 bucket in correct region. Also: if the bucket does not exit, it will be created for you. (I've used a European bucket as an example.)
8. Now we get to register the AMI with AWS. Type the following:

   ec2-register <bucket-name>/sampleimage.manifest.xml --region EU-WEST-1

   
   AWS returns the new AMI ID (in my case ami-2faf875b).
9. Go to the AMIs panel of the your AWS Management Console and do a search for part of your AMI. It's there and ready for use! (You can see mine in the screenshot at the top of this blog entry.)

I hope that this information will save a lot of people a lot of time. I have just spent hours scouring AWS documentation, forums and google search results to get this far. The most useful of these: Google by far. Amazon documentation left out key information and variables. Yuck!

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 04:28PM Jun 02, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[3]

NetBeans 6.7 RC Is Out

Hi all,

Here is the official announcement:

NetBeans.org is proud to announce the availability of NetBeans IDE 6.7 Release Candidate 1!

The focus of NetBeans 6.7 RC1 is connectivity--helping developers to connect to each other and to the latest technologies. New features for 6.7 include integration with Project Kenai, a collaborative environment for developers to host their open-source projects; native Maven support; and GlassFish and Hudson integrations. This release also offers enhancements for Java, PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, Groovy and C/C++, and more. Providing superior support for multiple languages and innovative team support through Project Kenai, the NetBeans IDE 6.7 is the ideal tool for developers to connect to their teams and to the latest technologies!

The final release of NetBeans IDE 6.7 is planned for late June. Download RC1 today and give us your feedback about your experience using the release. Join discussions about the NetBeans IDE on our mailing lists and forums. If you blog about using NetBeans add your blog to Planet NetBeans. Follow NetBeans on Twitter for updates about NetBeans news and development.

NetBeans IDE 6.7 Connects Developers!

Wow.

--James

Posted at 10:17PM Jun 01, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  | 

6.7 RC Around the Corner?

Hi all,

it's getting close. NetBeans IDE 6.7 Release Candidate (RC) is just around the corner, so be looking for it.

We writers have been busy updating documentation for the 6.7 release, which is this summer, but now we're focusing on the RC. It's always a big thing to move from a Beta to an RC. The IDE starts to come together. Fun, fun, fun!

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 09:00AM May 29, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[2]

AWS Experience Part 3: Trying Another Instance

Hi all,

Hmmmm...

I switched on my machine this morning thinking a new day will bring new results. Nope. Same old results. As I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, I created a server instance using Fedora with LAMP, complete with MySQL. Hmmm.. Sound good? Well, it comes with MySQL 4.1. Normally an update would be a straightforward process. Since Fedora 8 doesn't come with an

apt-get

command, I chose to go the

yum

route. I tried

 yum update mysql-server

. No dice. problems. I spent another 30 minutes or so, trying to correct the problem, but to no avail. So I decided to create a whole new server instance with Fedora 8 and no MySQL. I manually installed MySQL on the machine, by doing the following:

• I download the MySQL sever, cient, and headers and libraries from the MySQL.com.

  wget http://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQL-5.1/MySQL-server-community-5.1.34-0.rhel3.i386.rpm/from/http://mysql.linux.cz/
  wget http://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQL-5.1/MySQL-client-community-5.1.34-0.rhel3.i386.rpm/from/http://mysql.linux.cz/
  wget http://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQL-5.1/MySQL-devel-community-5.1.34-0.rhel3.i386.rpm/from/http://mysql.linux.cz/

• I installed MySQL using rpm. For example:

  rpm -i http://dev.mysql.com/get/Downloads/MySQL-5.1/MySQL-devel-community-5.1.34-0.rhel3.i386.rpm/from/http://mysql.linux.cz/
  I set the root password: 
  /usr/bin/mysqladmin -u root password 'mypw'
  

MySQL worked perfectly. I created a database and messed around with it for a few minutes. No problems.

Now there were other issues to take care of. I needed to install a JDK and ant. And while I was at it, I went ahead and downloaded GlassFish. Just getting ready.

I made sure I set my JAVA_HOME again, and made sure it was on the path. I also set my ANT_HOME and made sure it was on the path. I'll worry about getting Glassfish functioning soon.

Major Obstacles

This has been one huge learning experience for me. I've encountered a lot of obstacles, and here is a short list:

• Creating an AWS account in itself is not so easy. You have to know some basic things before you even go there. For example: EBS, EC2, ES, etc, and why you would need them.
• I got the impression that AWS tries to push you toward their SimpleDB. There is little support for MySQL. There is one tutorial that causes more problems than anything else.
• Instructions in tutorials are written for the Linux user...for the Debian Linux user. Albeit, there are a lot of similarities among brands of Linux, but there are just enough differences to screw things up. This is an especially frustrating point in that AWS offers you types of servers for starting up: Fedora and Windows. But the instructions are for Debian. Hmmm. Go figure. Doesn't make much sense to me. As an AWS beginner I'm pushed toward Fedora, and end up pulling out my hair while googling for Fedora equivalents of Debian commands.
• There is a little drop down list in the upper left-hand corner of the AWS Management Console. Even though I registered with my European address, used a European credit card, I was denied access to the US-East region. Not that I wanted access to that region, but this is the default setting. So, after several failed attempts at launching a server instance, I figured it out. I had to manually change it to the EU-West setting.
• AWS documentation is not very good. Granted, it's only my opinion, but I write documentation for a living and I know bad documentation when I see it. It leaves you guessing too much. Why don't they just remove all the content from the documentation and replace each instance of document with one line: Google it yourself!
• Nobody likes old versions of software (except for Windows XP maybe), so why feature MySQL 4.1 on one of your AMIs, when MySQL 5 has been out for a while now.
• The only way to get access to other AMIs is in the Community AMIs tab. I haven't played around with this yet, but I did try to find an Open Solaris AMI. Open Solaris is listed as a choice in the drop down menu, but there are no AMIs listed. I don't blame AWS for this though, since it falls under Community. I hope this changes with time.

That's it for today.

Cheers!

--James

Posted at 03:58PM May 14, 2009 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[2]