What is Java? If you have been hearing the buzz of this technology and wondering what its all about, Java can be used to describe the Java programming language as well as the Java Platform.

As a Programming language it is easy to use, a pace-setter(infact C-sharp was modelled after it.),and can be used to write programs for regular Computers, Smart-cards, Web applications, Mobile Phones e.t.c. For historical purposes it’s important to note that Java language was created by 2 great and respected programmers James Gosling and Bill Joy(co-founder Sun Microsystems) for Sun Microsystems.

As a platform Java serves as a container or environment for running applications written using languages such as JavaScript, Python, Scala, Groovy, Ruby and of course Java. It is pre-installed by all major computer manufactures and available on all almost all mobile devices in the world including Nokia, BlackBerry e.t.c. There are different editions of the Java Platform targeted for different purposes. Lets take a look at some of them and see where to fit in

1. Java SE (Java Platform, Standard Edition).

Java SE lets you develop Java applications on desktops and servers, as well as embedded and real-time environments. This is where you will want to start from as a beginner. Mastery of this area allows you to develop a lot of smart applications running on regular desktop and networked computers. Java SE provides the foundation for Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE).

2. Java EE (Java Platform, Enterprise Edition). This version help you develop secure server-side Java applications. It builds on the foundation of Java SE and provides services for enterprise applications. This is the stage for an experienced Java Programmer to develop tasking applications usually accessed at the same time by a lot of users. i.e Banking and Online applications. In this case there is a need to guarantee speed, security, stability and accessibility. It encompasses the development of Java based Web applications, Email applications, complex database and network applications e.t.c

3. Java ME (Java Platform, Micro Edition). This is also a stage for an experienced Java Programmer to develop applications running on devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, Blu-ray, and printers. A lot of the beautiful games we play on our phones where all developed using Java. If you’re interested in developing programs for your Mobile Phone, GPS, Cars, this is the environment for action. If you keep up with my articles, you can expect a detailed review of Mobile development exposing all the secrets.

4. Java Card

Java Card technology platform enables smart cards to securely run Java based applications. Think ATM , credit and fun cards, Java can do it all. All you need is to gain an in-depth expertise of this platform, in the process you should also study Cryptography for obvious reasons.

5. JavaFX

This is an emerging platform for creating smart and great looking applications that can run on any device such as desktop, browser and mobile phones,TV set-top boxes, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players e.t.c. It works like this you write a program for your desktop computer and it works on your Mobile Phone without a single code change,isn’t that exciting. Another benefit is the creation of delecious graphically appealing Java programs and easier programming for pros and beginners. It is important to note that writing JavaFX programs involves mixing a new JavaFX language with good o’l Java language.

Tools are essential in Programming, usage of the write tools makes your life easier and can make you more money. Lets take a look at the unavoidables.

Tools for Java Development

1. JDK(Java Developers Kit):This is the No1 prerequisite for writing Java programs. It is consists of a selection of programming tools ,selection of programming tools and essential libraries necessary for developing and running Java programs. You need the JDK before you can write and compile any Java program.

2. Java IDEs

IDE(Integrated Development Environment)-are smart programs that make it easy for you to write and compile Java Programs, minimizing errors, increasing development speed with a goal of maximizing a programmers productivity. Below is a list of relevant IDEs:

• Netbeans IDE- Promoted by Sun Microsystems(recently acquired by Oracle), this is an excellent tool for Java development, apart from its memory consumption I have had little problem with this product. Even if you choose to ignore some of its outstanding features its ability to make developing mobile phone applications a child’s play is indispensable. It can also be used for developing applications in other programming languages(PHP,C/C++) apart from Java. You can easily download this product from www.netbeans.org

• Eclipse IDE:Promoted by IBM this product is a darling of the Java developer community. It has a lot of software components that provide it with a lot of relevant features. Eclipse can also be used for developing applications in other programming languages(PHP,C/C++) apart from Java, but it is gradually being eclipsed by Netbeans IDE

• Oracle JDeveloper:promoted by Oracle, its abilities are limited and is mostly useful for Oracle application development

3. Version Control

When you start writing programs that go beyond your typical school assignment you need a good version control software to help you manage your ever-growing codes. It involves the management of changes to your codes and program, which helps to avoid confusion and a lot of other big issues that can crop up when you’re developing as a team or developing software that will be used by other people apart from you. In any case we all forget things, so a version control system is a must. Examples of Version Control Softwares include: Subversion, Mecurial, OpenCVS e.t.c

A smart way of learning rapidly is to visit Java forums and developer blogs on-line. By visiting this sites you get to benefit from the knowledge of experienced hands. Listed are some useful sites

• java.net

• java.sun.com

• javalobby

• javaworld

Now lets look at some benefits of being a Java developer:

1. Free tools for development: The JDK and Java IDE’s can all be downloaded on-line and used freely.

2. O.S(operating System)Independence:You can develop an application on windows and have it run successfully on Mac, Linux and Solaris. No double wahala, No stress

3. Ease:Unlike some other programming languages, Java was designed to be easy to use , and is therefore easy to compile, debug and maintain.

4. Open source:the source code of this remarkable platform is available on-line, which means you can make your own improvements to the existing features to suit your needs as well as gain visible recognition. A lot of dedicated open-source contributors eventually are employed by Sun Microsystems, Oracle e.t.c

5. Support:There is a huge amount of help available for an aspiring Java developer which includes lots of available libraries and tools, massive developer communities, excellent inbuilt documentation system e.t.c

6. Job relevance:Java is still one of the most relevant programming languages finding favour in relevant economic sectors. Statistics from Tiobe, Google Trends and langpop all confirm this fact.

Some popular applications developed partially or entirely in Java language include:

• LimeWire - a free peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) client .

• MATLAB- a numerical computing environment. Java was used for the user interface and as part of the core system

• Jetbrains IntelliJ Idea, NetBeans and Eclipse IDEs are written in Java.

• SAP -the world’s largest enterprise software

• OpenOffice -an office application suite

• Your Freedom -for anonymous browsing

• Opera Mini-a web browser for mobile phones

Now you have it all at your fingertips, so what’s stopping you from developing the next smartest Java application.

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Today I wish to share with you a recent experience I had developing a Firefox Extension. A friend had asked me for assistance in his MSC Thesis which had to do with Information Security particularly Anti-Phishing.

Anti-Phishing software as you know are designed to prevent Internet Phishing scams. The task involved developing a browser toolbar/extension to trap scammers.

Basically he wanted the extension to do the following

1. Detect Phishing/Malware Websites

2. Log the IP address of the offending site as well as detection time on a File

3. Detect and Display the Country name and flag of accessed sites.

4. Display of a friendly Page in the browser to assist users in case of a Phishing attack

After considering the features of what he wanted my preference was to go the Firefox way for the following reasons:

• Platform Independence(Firefox is available on all Operating Systems)

• Speed

• Embedded Database(SQLite)- in case I have to do any storage

• Free Tools(Firefox, Netbeans IDE, Venkman Debugger) for extension development

• Simple and Easy to Understand languages(XUL, JavaScript, CSS) for development

• Other advantages are listed here

After elaborating on the above advantages my pal ditched any thought he had for Internet Explorer. Two of the desired features involved getting results from external services in-order to work.
Detecting if a site was a Phishing site involved calling the PhishTank WebService API, while detecting the IP address and Country of the Web site required an interaction with the IP Location API from IPInfoDB

I will only review the relevant and tricky aspects of this extension with you, the complete source code and extension is available on request.

1. Detect Phishing/Malware Websites

var q="http://checkurl.phishtank.com/checkurl/";
var enc=window.btoa(aURI);
var param="url="+enc;
var req = new XMLHttpRequest();
req.open("POST", q, true);
req.setRequestHeader("Content-type",
"application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
req.setRequestHeader("Content-length", param.length);
req.setRequestHeader("Connection", "close");
var xmlDoc=req.responseXML;

2. Logging the Offending Sites IP address and detection time

var file = Components.classes
["@mozilla.org/file/directory_service;1"]
.getService(Components.interfaces.nsIProperties)
.get("Home", Components.interfaces.nsIFile);
file.append("phishlog.txt");
var foStream = Components.classes
["@mozilla.org/network/file-output-stream;1"]
.createInstance(Components.interfaces.nsIFileOutputStream);
foStream.init(file, 0x02 | 0x08 | 0x10, 0666, 0);
var converter = Components.classes
["@mozilla.org/intl/converter-output-stream;1"]
.createInstance(Components.interfaces.nsIConverterOutputStream);
converter.init(foStream, "UTF-8", 0, 0);
var data=phishlink+", "+detectiondate+"\n";
converter.writeString(data);
converter.close();

3. Detect and Display the Country name and Flag of accessed sites.

var results=new Array(2);
var re = new RegExp('^(?:f|ht)tp(?:s)?\://([^/]+)', 'im');
var hostname= aURI.match(re)[1].toString();
var url="http://ipinfodb.com/ip_query2.php?ip="+hostname;
var complete=false;
var req = new XMLHttpRequest();
req.open('GET', url, true);
var xmlDoc=req.responseXML;
var filename=cCode.toLowerCase()+".gif";
var src="chrome://{appname}/skin/flags/"+filename;
element.setAttribute("src", src);

4. Display of a friendly Page in the browser to assist users in case of a Phishing attack

var browser=gBrowser.selectedBrowser;
var uri="chrome://{appname}/skin/warning.html";
browser.loadURI( uri,null, "utf-8" );

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This article is directed at those who want to begin a promising career in Programming and Software Development. It is my belief that after carefully going through this write-up you will be better informed at selecting the right language to start achieving with.

Software is as diverse as most fields and keeps diversifying at an even faster rate. It also has the shortest shelf-life in terms of skill relevance. What I mean is that the fact that that Java Programmers or Windows is hot today doesn’t mean its going to be relevant in 5yrs time, this is unlike so many other professions where what you learnt in University will see you eating fat throughout the rest of your life.

In Software development you have to learn and keep learning rapidly to stay on top of your game.

As we all know a Programming language consists of a vocabulary and set of grammatical rules for instructing a computer to perform specific tasks. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behaviour of a machine, to express algorithms precisely, or as a mode of human communication. What I intend to do in this article is to quickly review some popular software fields. These are just broad classifications, they are not necessarily that distinct, the fact is that in the art of Software development features of some applications encompass multiple skill sets. It is also impossible to cover all aspects/categories as innovations continue to arise by the day.

Away with the stories, lets now get down to profiling these fields as well as reviewing the Programming languages that make it possible to develop applications on them.

1. WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

A web application is a software that is accessed over the Internet/Intranet using a web browser.

If you want to develop web applications like Facebook, Yahoo Mail, Wikipedia and Google this is a field you cannot ignore.

Listed below are the languages you need to learn in-order to be employable, independent and indispensable.

Learn all of these

• HTML

• XML

• CSS

• JavaScript

• SQL

• any Server-Side programming language(used to create dynamic websites that interface with a database).It runs on the server and not the browsers machine

Examples of Server Side languages are:

Learn any one of these

• PHP

• ASP/ASP.NET

• JSP(JavaServer Pages)

• PERL

• Python

• ColdFusion Markup Language

• Ruby

The Server Side language you choose to adopt for the creation of a web application must be available or supported by your Web Host. The most supported or popular languages in this regard are PHP and ASP.

2. MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

This section takes a look at popular mobile phone Platforms/Operating Systems and the programming languages you need to develop exciting applications on them.

Most Phones allow you to use a variety of languages to create applications on them. for example Symbian allows you to use anyone of the 7 languages listed in the table above. The same concept is applicable to Windows Mobile and iPhone.

If you check the August 2009 smartphone statistics from Gartner it’s easily seen that Symbian is currently the most popular platform, followed by BlackBerry and then iPhone. Also obvious is the fact that Symbian is losing its market share to BlackBerry and iPhone which are catching up quickly.

This should tell you one or two things about which platform you intend to target.

3.  WIDGET/GADGET DEVELOPMENT

Widgets are small, smart, cool looking applications that do useful things. like Clock, Weather, News, Calculator e.t.c. Widgets usually serve a single purpose or perform a particular function.

Typical Widget Engines/Platforms:

A widget engine is a software service available to users for running and displaying applets on a graphical user interface, such as that of the desktop.

There are 4 types of widget engines, which are Desktop widgets, Mobile widgets, TV set widgets and Web widgets(i.e. FaceBook, WordPress). However I will only elaborate on Desktop Widgets below.

Examples of Desktop widget engines include:

In addition to the tools listed in the table above the following tools/resources are also very useful for widget development:

Mozilla Firefox Web browser, Netbeans IDE, Adobe Dreamweaver, Firebug, W3c schools.

It can be interpreted from the table that widgets/gadgets are easy to create, particularly if you are already familiar with HTML and scripting languages

4. EMBEDDED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

According to wikipedia an embedded system is a computer system designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions, often with real-time computing constraints. It also refers to any electronic system that uses a CPU chip, but that is not a general-purpose workstation, desktop or laptop computer. Embedded systems generally use microprocessors, or sometimes custom-designed chips or both.

It is used in various applications such as vehicles, POS terminals, Game consoles, Satellite Decoders, Medical equipment, machine tools e.t.c

Programming Language:Assembly, C/C++, B#, Hex Files e.t.c

I intend to bring a POS software Guru here in a few weeks to show us one or two things about developing smart POS applications, so watch-out.

5.  MOZILLA FIREFOX TOOLBAR/EXTENSIONS

I have already covered this subject, follow this link.

If you care about popularity of programming languages, Tiobe Software and langpop try to provide relevant rankings. The most popular language is not necessarily the best or most relevant, your interests, which should include: requirements of the task at hand and industry relevance should always determine the choice.

The next step for you is to get a listening mentor or peer to guide and motivate you.

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Firefox: What’s all the noise about!

Firefox is one of the most useful browsers with tons of extensions and according to w3schools is already used by 47.9% of computer users. Firefox is already a standard(default web browser) on most if not all Linux O.S and will become increasingly popular with the advent of Windows 7.Why you may ask?

Well consumers will actually do the cherry picking for the first time as Windows 7 O.S will allow users select from an array of Web browsers according to Microsoft. You can imagine the implication, usage of Internet Explorer will continue to slid until it loses its dominant position. that’s why you should seize the opportunity of being a relevant developer while making some cool cash.

Easy Developer Migration

As a beginner or average Web Designer/Developer you can leverage your skills further by becoming a Firefox Extension Developer. What do I mean?

Extensions add new functionality to Firefox and other Mozilla applications such as SeaMonkey and Thunderbird. An extension can be a toolbar, chat client or any application you can conceive. So If you know JavaScript, CSS, HTML and XML then you are already on your way to becoming a Firefox Extension developer. These same skills easily become reusable in the development of extensions for a lot of other Mozilla Applications such as Thunderbird(an email client), SeaMonkey e.t.c.

You can make more money developing browser toolbars for your Clients as well as enhancing the interactivity of your Web Applications. Apart from earning extra money you also gain expertise of the Netbeans IDE, in-depth knowledge of JavaScript and all kind of tricks with manipulation of the HTML DOM.

Firefox is not just a Web browser, I like to think of it as an application container or an O.S like Windows, so apart from extensions you can easily develop applications of your choice and have it run on any computer in the world via Firefox.

Developing applications for Firefox allows you to harness the most widely deployed SQL database know as SQLite and write applications that can interact with other Programming Platforms like Java, C/C++ e.t.c

Below are the primary skills you need for developing extensions in Firefox

• JavaScript-defines the logic and functionality of the application

• CSS-used for theming and styling of the UI

• XUL(XML User Interface Language)- a language that smells and feels like XML. Its used for creating the user interface of your application

Tools you need to get started

• Mozilla Firefox Web browser or Thunderbird email Client

• Netbeans IDE with foxbeans plugin

ever since I started chewing on this product for Java Programming I have had no regrets. This is arguably the best IDE for Programming. The Netbeans foxbeans Plugin makes developing Firefox applications as easy as a-b-c. With integrated support for CSS, XUL and JavaScript there is no better choice than this combination.

• Komodo Edit

serves a similar purpose as Netbeans

• Venkman Javascript Debugger

what’s programming without a good debugger? Its like driving with your eyes closed.This debugger will make your JavaScript coding faster and error free. It is available freely as a Firefox extension.

• MDC(Mozilla Developer Centre)

if you want to get started rapidly this is the ultimate resource site for Mozilla application development. Here you will find tutorials, code snippets e.t.c

• XUL Explorer

This lovely tool allows you to drag n drop XUL components, edit and test XUL code without compiling or using an IDE.U get to see your changes almost in real time.

• mozdev.org

provides free project hosting for Mozilla applications and extensions.

With over a billion downloads if you’re are thinking of developing a viral application Firefox is a true platform for your investment.

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So it came to me as a shocker when a few months ago they decided that access to the hitherto free full News reports on the Website would be possible only on subscription.Naturally I tuned off and went searching for some other free Online Newspapers to fuel my addiction to News. What i found lacked the rich content i had become accustomed to, so i swung back occasionally hoping that the Punch Business Managers would come back to reality(people ain’t gonna pay) and keep the market they are losing.

Did they disappoint? I guess they didn’t, albeit in a queer way.

I had made an interesting discovery that at seemingly random clicks on links to News stories I would be able to read the full stories without paying a dime because the Login Page doesn’t come up. Instead the name and account expiration date of some registered user appears on the Web Page and I get to savour all the news story. If you clicked again you might get to see the Login Page and if you clicked again it went away.

I wondered if this was a twisted gimmick by the NewsPaper but apparently it looks like a big security flaw in the Web Application which goes to promote lack of consumer confidence in E-Commerce Solutions in Nigeria. I mean why should i pay, when some other dude gets to read it for free and my identity cannot be protected. A NewsPaper as big as Punch should know better than give their job to quacks to handle.

Appropriate and secure handling of user sessions is fundamental in Web Application Design, lets always adopt the best practices. Whew!

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I decided to put together this writeup to help discerning entertainment consumers and aficionados make the best possible decision in modern video entertainment, actually my motivation stems from my costly adventures while trying to seek out the latest in HD entertainment.

HD, HD-DVD, Blu-ray are some of the most common terminologies used by electronic manufacturers to bamboozle consumers this days, its become a case of the more u hear the less u know. HD actually means High-Definition and refers to any Video or TV system of higher resolution than Standard Definition(SD).

Resolution is the main reason HDTV looks much better than standard television, it involves display resolutions of 1280 x 720 pixels(720p) or 1920×1080(1080i/1080p) as against standard television resolutions of 720×480(480i/480p).

It is important to note that an inexpensive HDTV showing high-definition looks much better than a standard TV showing the highest quality stuff, however there is no point in buying a HDTV if you re not going to watch HD material to enjoy the set in its full glory.

HD Components

To really get a true HD experience 4 important factors must be inplace:

1. A HD media source(HD-DVD discs, Blu-ray discs, HD Television or HD satellite broadcasts ),

2. a HD Video Player(PS3, X-box or any Blu-ray or HD-DVD players),

3. a HDMI(High-Definition Multimedia Interface) connector(some players come with it)

4. and a Full HD TV.

So these items were on my shopping list on that day and I thought a worthy place to go would be the Samsung center. At the Samsung center they told me they had no Blu-ray players in stock yet, only a demo was on display. So I taught a full HD Upscaling player would suffice, mind u my focus was on the HD. So I got a 32-inch Samsung LCD HDTV(1080P) and a cute Samsung DVD player(F-1080) with the inscription Full HD-Upscaling which luckily came with the HDMI connector and I taught bravo am done.

Impotent Player

As usual after purchasing any item I go online 2 check d tech reviews in order to ensure I haven’t fumbled with my purchase. To my delight I discovered I had acquired one of the best HDTV’s and to my consternation a cute possibly impotent Full HD-Upscaling player. Ow now!, Haba was I blind? No! I was just mis-informed n poorly educated about this techno bubble called HD.

Lets spill the beans. My cute lookin “HD player” is not a HD player after all, its just a regular DVD player that supports what is know as HD-upscaling. Upscaling is an approximation of High-Definition not High-Definition, it involves taking standard definition movies and enhancing them to High-Definition resolution. The picture quality is definitely not High-Definition.

The only useful item from this purchase was the HDMI cable that came with the player. HDMI connectors provide better quality than S-Video, Component, RF or A.V connectors as they eliminate the need for Audio to Digital conversions.

Indeed i wasn’t pleased about this waste considering the fact that I wanted a player that would give me a true HD experience .

Something must be done

My research took me to Sony centre where this Blu-ray HD babies (players) are available for like 60,000.So whts it gonna be 4 me a Playstation 3 (PS3) or a Sony BDP-S350? Only time will tell.

After much pondering i decided to go for a PS3 because i had always wanted to renew my romance with Video games coupled with the following facts:

• this machine Plays all discs CD’s, DVD’s and Blu-ray disc’s

• has an Internet browser

• supports USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet and WIFI

• has variety of decent storage sizes(20GB, 40GB, 80GB, 160GB)

• can run Linux Operating System(means u can turn it into a P.C. and do all Word Processing , Spreadsheets, Presentations e.t.c.)

• More value for money, 80GB version costs 58,000

• supports HD resolutions of 720i/p and 1080i/p

and much more

I got this machine and haven’t regretted it even though the games are pricey ranging from 7000-17,000 depending on where u purchase them. The only other issue I have discovered now is a difficulty in getting Blu-ray movie discs to buy. This things are simply not on the market from Park n Shop to Silverbird Galleria to Mega-Plaza it was a no show. The luckiest i got was at Oshodi market where this dude had just 3 movies for sale and at Park n Shop where they only had blanks for 2,500 Naira.

Important things to note when buying HDTVS

• Don’t buy them if u have no intention of buying a Blu-ray(HD) player and HD-quality discs

• Make sure the Television has an HDMI input and always utilise HDMI connectors, anything else will reduce the quality

• Don’t buy HD-DVD players no matter how cheap, they are no longer supported. Blu-ray players are now the industry standard for HD.

• Beware of standard DVD players that state HD Upscaling or Upconversion, its not the same as HD.

• Go for the 1080P resolution for maximum satisfaction

• Blu-ray discs are scarce and expensive in Nigeria

by the way I heard Multichoice will introduce HD decoders into Nigeria by August

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After years of stalling, dilly dallying, pussyfooting, back sliding, mouth making e.t.c boredom plus joblessness finally made me do it this rainy afternoon of June 30^th 2009.Yeah! am talking about the online expression of my ruminations about technology, its time 2 share it with everyone and stop being a selfish dude

I will basically write about software and technology related issues including of cus anything that pricks my sensitive soul including politics, current affairs including those ass-holes we call leaders(Umaru n family) .Am supposed 2 be a nerd or geek rt? not concerned with politics? but na lie anything that disrupts my coding like NEPA, troubles my loins like Women, including pesty clients is an ISSUE. and I wont take it likely am gonna xpress my mind without any decorum. The TRUTH must be told cus its time we decontaminate this damned society we are caged in.

To think the reason I finally got my acts together was because NEPA struck, and i got tired of buying fuel into my i beta pass my neighbour generator to do some aimless surfing or africa magic cum cnn is quite worrisome.

Evil atimes does bring some Good.

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