Dick Spellman: Head in the Clouds

We have recently completed the 4.2 release of Project Woodstock.  This blog is coming a little late.  We completed 4.2 and announced it when simultaneous to the release of NetBeans 6.1 just before JavaOne.

As with NetBeans 6.1, Woodstock 4.2 was primarily a quality and performance release.  We fixed a lot of bugs and improved our average page download performance by nearly 40%!

So
we are off on to the 4.3 release and are looking for additional
feedback on our list of new features and components.  Check out the Roadmap and send feedback to dev@woodstock.dev.java.net.

You can now download and deploy the Project Woodstock Example application via the Glassfish Update Center.  With the latest version of Glassfish, V2 ur1, you will find the "Project Woodstock Example Application" in the "Web Technologies" section of the Available Software page.  Just startup the Glassfish Update Center from ("glassfish_install_dir"/updatecenter/bin) and you will see it listed.  Just check the box (as shown below) and click on Install.

 After you click through and accept the license, the download and deploy will begin.  It doesn't take long.  If Glassfish is already started, then the application will be autodeployed and appear in the Web Applications list.

You can now launch the application and see what Project Woodstock is all about.  The home page is very much like our project home page on java.net.  You can view all the examples deployed on your Glassfish server via the Preview link.

Some fun for after the holidays.  Enjoy!
 

Well we have finally completed the 4.1 release of Project Woodstock.  I posted our GA build (Build 15) yesterday.  This build was also integrated into NetBeans 6.0 for the upcoming RC1 release.  For those who have not been following the 4.1 release we have introduced a number of new components (BubbleHelp, Accordion, PopupMenu among others) and Ajax enabled all of the base components.  We have also been adding more tutorials on how to take advantage of these new components and the new, dynamic Ajax behaviors of the existing components.  You can find more details here.

So we will now be off on to the 4.2 release and are looking for additional feedback on our list of new features and components.  Check out the Roadmap and send feedback to dev@woodstock.dev.java.net.

 Enjoy!
 

I will be attending the SunTech Days in Boston the next two days, Sept 11th and Sept 12th.  It looks like a great agenda.  In particular I plan to hit the NetBeans Day sessions.

The team has released Build 11 of the Project Woodstock 4.1 web component library on August 31st.  This particular milestone build had to be free of P1 and P2 bugs since it was integrated into NetBeans 6 for their Beta 1 build.  NB 6 Beta 1 is scheduled to be released on the web in about 10 days or so.  You can find their schedule here.

The concentration is now on fixing P3 bugs through until the release at the end of October.  We plan on 4 more bi-weekly promotion builds, then we get started on 4.2.  So look at the plans on the Roadmap page, and look at the features/components planned for 4.2 (Drag'and'Drop, new AJAX Tab and Tree, etc.) and send us your input on what you would like to see.

Enjoy! 

I finally got some free time to update the look of the Project Woodstock site on java.net.  It now is themed like other Glassfish community projects.  This new theme provides some nice ways to navigate around the Glassfish community to find related projects as well in addition to providing a nice easy way for me to add new features and areas right in the left column menu for future attractions.  I will be tweaking it over the next few days, so try it out and send me feedback.

Special thanks to Eduardo and Kohsuke for the tools and tips.

Enjoy.

 

Build 10 for Woodstock 4.1 was posted/announced on Wednesday August 15th.  This is our Feature Freeze build and we are now entering serious bug fixing mode.  The last new component added was the ActionMenu.  There are now examples for the Accordion and the BubbleHelp components. You can check them out from the Preview page if you want to see them online before you download the jar.

We have updated the instructions for how to use the NetBeans module.  We will be posting the module on the download page soon and will document how to setup NetBeans 6 to "monitor" the site for updates throught the Update Center.  We have also updated the Build it Yourself instructions if to clarify how you setup your environment once you get the sources and want to build them, either inside NetBean  or standalone.

Build 11 should be coming out on August 31st and will be the build we promote for NetBeans 6 Beta 1, so stay tuned.

Well we promoted Build 9 for Woodstock 4.1 last Friday.  New components lately include an Accordion and a BubbleHelp widget.  There is an example for the Accordion and for Build 10 the BubbleHelp component will also have an example.  We will update the Preview page when Build 10 comes out so you can see them online before you download the jar.  Hopefully we will have the new PopupMenu in there as well.

The Netbeans Module is also working now, and the instructions for how to use it have been updated.  We will be posting the module on the download page soon, but you can build it yourself if you get the sources.  This allows access to all the components in Project Woodstock from the NB 6 component palette.

Enjoy!

Well it has been an extremely long time between blogs.  In fact, you might just as well consider this a restart.  Consider it a rolling start.

 My main role at Sun is as the Program Manager and Community Manager for Project Woodstock.  This is an Open Source version of AJAX enhanced JSF components that today ships as part of NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5.1, and will ship as a core part of NetBeans 6.0 when it ships later this year.  It is also used in the admin GUI of Glassfish, if you want to see a complex, real-world application that is built with these components.

 So check out the site and please come and join us if this something that interests you.  We are adding new components, like an Accordion, BubbleHelp and PopupMenu for the next release, 4.1.  We really work hard to make them all consistent and robust, so please stop by.

I will be posting more about Project Woodstock here and announcing new builds and talking about other things too.