Developer's Kolektiv

Seven Days with Windows 7 and Dell Studio 15

2010-02-17T01:46:00.011+05:30

Last week, I received my new laptop with pre-installed Windows 7. Well, I have been hoping it would be better than Vista atleast and I was not wrong. Here's long list of reviews and observations I could recollect during the first 7 days of using my laptop.

Quick Review

However, it seems that as Windows releases new versions, it is becoming difficult to use for people, we techies generally categorise into "LAYMAN". Seriously, since leaving home for more than 6 months now, I have managed to get my hands on friend's laptop to regulary check emails and comment on social networking websites.

Yet, I have used Windows XP for majority of that time. Now, taking a big leap from XP to 7, it came as a pleasant surprise. I didn't use Vista that much, but I feel migrating to Windows 7 from Vista is far more easier than migrating from Windows XP.

Anyways, this was just a quick review of the experience I had over the past 7 days, while getting used to Windows 7 and it's features. Let's go bit deeper in detail..

Windows 7 and It's Features..

MultiMedia

Firstly, got started with installing browsers other than pre-installed IE, like Mozilla Firefox 3.6 (Hangs too much) and Google Chrome (Using it for Google Products). Then, moving on to installing IM's like Yahoo Messenger (works absolutely fine) and Google Talk.

With Yahoo, I could try out the integrated webcam in my Dell laptop, it's seriously rocking.. Dell Webcam Central providing more options for enhancing the live streaming.

Thanks to laptop's Bluetooth capabilities and a feature I got in my mobile (Play Audio via Bluetooth), I finally got a chance to test that feature. I was able to just play songs from my mobile, while sound got redirected to laptop speakers ;) Incredible stuff..

Partition Drives and Backup Data..

Now, before I could go further I thought of creating a backup drive for my personal data and all these setups, plus the one's I would be downloading in future.

So, as found on Windows 7 website about partitioning, I downloaded EASEUS Partition Manager software, which turned out to be of no use as it's not compatible with 64-bit OS. After consulting Google Search little bit, I found Partition Wizard Home Edition 4.2.2 software that helped me resize my OS(C:) and create new drive DATA(E:).

While looking for this software, I came across this Windows Utility (diskmgmt.msc) and realised I do have recovery drive in-place, if something happens in future.

Gaming, Softwares and Networking..

After partition got created successfully, system rebooted. I'm ready to download and setup long list of softwares I have in mind. Now, started transferring data from mobile, friend's external harddisk, etc.

Installed Counter-Strike (Compatibility set to Windows XP SP2) to relive the college days by setting up an Ad-Hoc Network on my laptop, which my friend's laptop (Using Windows XP SP2) can detect and connect to using in-built Wifi capabilities.

Desktop Background and Dell Dock..

Unique way of setting up background, really new for me and it surely took sometime to get used to it. Well, here's the link that helped me save time, though. Now, I can create my own desktop backrgound slideshow and customize themes as well.

By the way, how can I forgot to mention this special effect, I got by using "Windows + Tab" together. Wow, that was seriously amazing to see something like that on a Windows Mach. Anyways, I moved on and thought of following Dell's Setup Guide..

BSOD Awakens..

Blue Screen Of Death --- I thought it would never happen, how can I ever assume that, huh? Yes, after downloading and updating drivers (few were actually in-compatible as well). Anyways, after few hiccups, I resumed my Windows session, setup another account on my OS and tested with privileges I can have or assign.

One Last Question..

When I created a fresh account while Win 7 was getting installed on my laptop, I assumed it to be the administrator itself as also I can see from "Control Panel Home". Still, to my surprise when I installed NetBeans 6.8 under "Program Files", I can't edit the "/etc/netbeans.conf" because I don't have the privileges.

Strange, still I managed to edit that file and do customizations by adding my account as an admin to the NetBeans Installation Directory sharing properties, as I don't want other accounts on my laptop to edit that file ;)

Alas, I would end this by stating that I am soon be found online from Virtual Machines, if the OSol 2009.06 and Ubuntu 9.10 Live CD Images gets downloaded successfully. Till then, adieu :)

Scripting aNd Querying These Days..

2010-02-04T19:18:00.002+05:30

2 months back, I started working on data warehousing projects at work. Basically, getting introduced to Unix environments through Putty and querying databases by making use of Teradata SQL.

Few days back, I wrote 2 tricks that can be real time-savers and make you more productive. Here are the tricks;

HTH..

Oracle acquires Sun Microsystems

2010-01-29T01:03:00.003+05:30

It is all over the web and when I tried to open Sun's official website http://www.sun.com/ I got redirected to http://www.oracle.com/index.html

Strange, isn't it??

Well, they could have kept the Sun official website online for sometime, maybe they had some other plans. I have not seen the webcast yet. Anyways, this means Sun website will cease to exist now and even if you try to access it, they will redirect it to Oracle's website.

Hope to update myself on more details about this acquisition.

See ya later.. Till then, time to watch another episode of Street Hawk..

uCertify PrepKit Review (SCJP 5.0)

2009-11-30T00:44:00.008+05:30

"Learn, practice in real exam conditions & track your progress"

This what uCertify have to say each & every one of you. In fact, as found out from other reviews. They have actually stood for, what they believed in (i.e. their motto).

However, this is something I will partially agree to, as I have never given any certification exam and don't intend to give any in near future.

First Look

If you download demo version, you would still be able to see that there's a menu bar with some disabled items. A tabbed-pane container having sets of "Practice Tests" & self-study material (Study Helper).

One can also find 2 panels namely, "Enhance Your Understanding" & "Track Your Progress". These panels provide study tips, test history, reports, etc. to do the needful. At the bottom, you can find useful tips related to the usage of the PrepKits.

As I got a chance to review this PrepKit, I got free license for 1 year. So, I had access to each and every option available within the PrepKit.

Exam Prep

Its better to go through exam objectives then, study smartly. These PrepKits provide you exactly the set of objectives, as mentioned in official certification websites.

You can also view study guides/notes along with exam objectives with a click of button. Or, you may view them individually like slides. As I am covering SCJP 5.0 PrepKit, so there were 7 chapters covering necessary topics as per the Exam Objectives, providing quality content with easy-to-understand examples. This surely helps in grasping the basics of Java. However, practice is still required. The more you practice, the more you learn.

You also have an option to create flash cards, i.e. writing notes about study guides based upon your understanding so as to help in quick revision/memorizing. Also, you can add/remove your notes instantly onto the study guides, tag them, etc. If you're keen on enhancing your understanding of subject, you may consider going through articles provided within the PrepKit.

All in all, PrepKits are really helpful, if you complement them with your own practice of the technology you want to get certified for. Also, you get chance to take mock test from within the PrepKit, you can easily assess yourself and find out in which specific area, you're weak/strong.

This PrepKit also provides an option to re-test all the incorrect/correct questions of previously attempted mock tests from within the PrepKit. The "Feedback" feature, I couldn't find it useful enough in short period I had to assess this PrepKit.

Also, while answering questions in mock test, you can instantly review your previously answered questions, pick any random question and change the answer. In the end, when result is generated, clicking "Review" provides you explanation for every answered question, be it wrong/right.

So, I think next time I get a chance to review the PrepKit, I would either be certified/getting ready to be certified.

___________________________________________

I would like to thank the PR of uCertify, that has given me an opportunity to review their fabulous PrepKit. For more reviews, find out on Google!

Hope this helps!

Going back to the basics..

2009-11-27T00:52:00.004+05:30

Its been a long time, folks! But, I'm back with lots to blog about. Few months back, I joined an IT company and got trained on Perl, C++, VB as part of their Training Program.

Moving from Java to C++ was not that tough (atleast for training part), however doing Perl scripting and creating VB Applications (for the very 1st time in my life), was one-helluva-ride ;)

Still, I managed to clear the training with minor hurdles, but I seriously felt like I am sitting on some kinda time-machine to go back and get the basics. Really, I was actually using Microsoft VB, VC++ (not the dotNet versions) for programming. Whereas, in case of Perl, I got my hands-on Active Perl.

In the end, I really felt good to have explored Perl and VB to some extent (do some quality progg., at last) before I get into real projects (post-training) based on Data Ware Housing.

Surprise, isn't it??

By the way, I also got started working on Unix Environments.. ;)

System crashing, yet again!

2009-07-23T15:58:00.004+05:30

After my system crashed this Monday, I got the partition of hard disk formatted that had Windows XP Professional OS. However, during formatting another partition that had almost 60 GB (out of 80 GB) of Free and Open Source Softwares, I have been using or wanted to use over the past years... read more..

Resolving Hardware Malfunction in Windows

2009-07-22T16:38:00.002+05:30

I had recently got installed NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Card on my Windows XP Professional. However, the guy responsible behind the installation, didn't install the driver from CD. He assumed that its being recognized in Device Manager, so it will work.

Within the next 24 hours, system started showing Hardware Malfuction System Error Messages (NMI: Channel Check / IOCHK), when I tried to do Voice Chat using Gtalk. For the first time, I looked into the web for solution and got a well documented report on Microsoft's Help and Support website.

After reading out the solution, I went to Device Manager (devmgmt.msc). There are many ways to open this window. Then, followed necessary instructions to update the driver from CD. Within few minutes, it was finished. I restarted the system and System Tray now shows the icon for graphics card. I had a wonderful experience fixing the issue.

Hope this helps!

Yahoo! Mail Goofups..

2009-07-17T19:13:00.002+05:30

Got a strange notification today, while trying to send an e-mail from my Yahoo account to Gmail account ;)

There was a problem!

Not sure why, but our usually-reliable server goofed-up while sending this message. Please try again.

PrayogShala and NetBeans Community Docs

2009-07-03T18:17:00.002+05:30

I have setup a new blog named PrayogShala at wordpress, you can find more information over here;
http://nbguru.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/blog-series-and-prayogshala/

Also, I filed first ever issue for NetBeans Community Docs Program, read this blog for more details;
http://nbguru.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/community-docs-and-netbeans/

Lot more things happening in my life, just go through these blogs to find out more.

Jazoon '09 Updates..

2009-07-03T18:08:00.002+05:30

Jazoon '09 ended in the last week of June and unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the event. Anyways, being a member of Jazoon Blogger Squad, I continue to get some news or the other. Today, I came to know about the pics taken at Jazoon '09.

Indeed, James Gosling did visit the Jazoon '09 to deliver his Keynote. Thanks to Christian Frei and his team efforts to invite James Gosling for this event.

Hopefully, Jazoon will continue next year and I would be somewhere in those pics too ;) Stay tuned for more..

NetBeans Weekly Newsletters

2009-06-17T12:24:00.006+05:30

I have been subscriber of the NetBeans Weekly Newsletter for almost 2 years and sometimes it happens that my blog entries are featured there. Here's a list of some of the featured tech tips, blogs, reviews and an exclusive interview;

Newsletter #396

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=3780

Newsletter #394

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=3732

Newsletter #383

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=3415

Newsletter #370

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=2988

Newsletter #365

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=2839
http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=2835

Newsletter #356

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=2522

Newsletter #353

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=2389

Newsletter #347

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=2157

Newsletter #346

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=2111

Newsletter #341

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=1931

Newsletter #328

http://www.netbeans.info/newsletter/story.php?id=1568

Stay tuned for more..

Blogs, Wolverine, etc..

2009-06-16T16:06:00.005+05:30

Strange title to begin with.. But, these days I am writing blogs, reviewing book and waiting to do advance booking for first-day-first-show action-packed thriller Wolverine.

Tired of social networking
Yes, I am bored making use of Twitter, Facebook and Orkut. Its addiction and I get bored anticipating that people would reply to my messages, tweets, etc. Blogging, on the other hand is not an addiction unless you have plenty of knowledge to share with the world.

Too, I am sick of Indian Reality TV shows, except one/two shows. I would rather watch The Amazing Race on AXN or some adventure trips on Discovery Channel, that's a reality worth watching!

Anyways, I look forward to watch the X-Men movie in the cineplex after a long time..

Version Control with SVN using CLI

2009-06-05T19:56:00.003+05:30

Working with CLI (Command Line Interface) does help sometimes, although it doesn't have a GUI comparable to the one's provided by IDE's these days.. Still, many softwares still provides commands to work with CLI, if you're adept at using it.

Last year, I had developed an interest in using CLI for configuring files supplied by many OSS softwares like NetBeans, etc.

svn help
Recently, I started working on my project and I am supposed to use SVN for controlling versions of my code. So, I found some commands that I didn't knew, how to use it from NetBeans IDE. Instead, I decided to continue my CLI exploration and thus, found that I had SVN in PATH variable. So, it was time to check it out and I typed svn help to see what all commands it provides.

SVN Complete Reference
I searched the internet for operations like tagging sources, merge, rename, etc. I found this book instead and it provided proper explanation with good examples to help me understand the SVN commands easily. So, I learned how to tag the sources, do merging, renaming existing folders and creating new one's. Finally, you can refer the SVN complete reference about brief overview of all the commands and their usage.

Hope this helps.

Back with a bang

2009-05-26T20:51:00.004+05:30

I am back, I am enjoying it and I am loving it..

After a gap of 2 long years, I have finally developed interest in programming once again and this time, I am back with a bang! It probably took a tight-scheduled internship program which helped in reviving my interest back in technologies. I learned how to work with Adobe Flex SDK and more importantly, shifted focus to Eclipse IDE and Adobe Flex Builder (based on Eclipse RCP).

Strange, no more NetBeaning, right?

Wrong!

Even though, I left NetBeans Teams, I still have a soft corner in my heart for NetBeans and I will continue to explore and learn NetBeans Platform. Due to recent news of OSGi integrating into NetBeans IDE/Platform, I am looking forward to continue using the IDE for learning how to develop modular applications, while I continue to struggle with web applications.

Although, training-cum-internship program did give me confidence to go ahead and explore more about web applications using J2EE (or Java EE) and related technologies. So, I will continue to explore and learn the design principles of modular applications and web applications. Till then, enjoy reading my other blog!

Time for a break, as I leave NetBeans teams

2009-04-18T09:23:00.000+05:30

Hello all,

Its sounds strange, isn't it? What I am trying to say, is that I have stepped out of the NetBeans Dream Team and NetBeans Community Docs Team.

So, I can now devote the spare time I get these days (which I earlier devoted to NetBeans related activities and blogging) to do some exercises and relax. I have never had a long vacation since July 2007. Mind you, I am still an undergraduate, currently doing an internship to fulfill my B. Tech degree requirements.

Finally, I could manage some time in the last week of March this year and went to Goa with my friends, who came along with me for the internship. It was refreshing, when I came back I felt the old days are back again. I was fresh, full of energy, raring to go to try out something new.

So, nowadays I am learning Adobe Flex to complete the internship project. Just 1 month away from getting back to home and then, have a long break. See ya later :)

Bikes at stand still...

2009-01-11T11:38:00.000+05:30

Wow, should I get an award for best still photography? No way ;) This is the view of the parking lot at my university. It was a coincidence, that I happen to be parking my bike (2nd from right) between these 3 bikes.

I thought of capturing the view, as its rare to see bikes that are fast and furious, standing in silence. Of course, with Attitude!

Presence of Mind to the Rescue...

2009-01-10T17:47:00.006+05:30

Its been a long time, since I had updated songs on my iPod Shuffle (2nd Gen.). Yesterday, I thought of doing that, however forgot that recently when system was formatted, I forgot to re-install iTunes.

Also, everytime I have to re-install and bring my iPod in-sync with it, I had to "Erase-and-Sync" :|

Irritating Problem

That's irritating, but I never actually got into the technicalities of the issue and thought it only happens when system gets formatted, so I can live with it. However, these days I can't find time to even do blogging and so updating list in iPod was getting delayed.

Again, yesterday when I connected my iPod Shuffle to the USB port, I found another issue, it was taking time to launch iTunes instantly when iPod gets connected.

Google my friend...

I couldn't recall what the hell was happening? So, after spending 30 minutes with no success, I asked everyone's friend "Google" to troubleshoot this problem.

Finally, I got through several pages on the official support website and came across iPod Restore Utility, which was supposed to be downloaded. Damn, this was taking so much time, almost 50 minutes gone and now, I am probably just a download away, which itself would take time, thanks to my not-so-good-bandwidth.

Presence of Mind to the Rescue...

While it was getting downloaded, I was reading the follow-up steps and you know what? It said, when you install that Restore Utility, remember not to connect your iPod to non-powered USB hub/port.

Great, I made a mistake of connecting my iPod to non-powered USB port, that's why iTunes launcher was taking time and not prompting me to "Erase-and-Sync". Now, having realised that I continued downloading the Utility SW and I re-connected the iPod directly to the ports on CPU.

If I had not shown "Presence of Mind" at that moment, I would have ended up wasting more time, and the Restore Utility might have failed then as well (I guess).

It took me less than 10 minutes to restore my iPod :) I make a resolution for next year, not to repeat the silly mistakes I made this year, this month and this week.

Let The Music Play...

Look whose back...

2009-01-09T21:14:00.009+05:30

Happy New Year 2009

Just wanted to tell, I am back after a gap of over 4 months and I missed blogging here..But, thanks to the official blog of NetBeans Community Docs, I am back here! So, have a look at the following abstract of the special post, I wrote;

Jan 01, 2009

Indeed, today its a New Year, New Beginning! So, expect the unexpected.. As I take you down my memory lane, to recapture some of the defining moments of my life this year..

Today,
I am making a comeback, as I wanted to blog something not directly related to OSS projects I contribute to.. Here's the list of my 2 personal blogs, I maintained since leaving this blog...

http://nbguru.wordpress.com/ (Active this month)
http://weblogs.java.net/blog/n_varun/ (Irregular)

So, it really feels good to be back, although I am very late to make a comeback as I am going out for internship at an Indian IT company next week.. So, I might not blog anywhere :(

I am still hoping to be blog weekly/biweekly over here and other personal blogs of mine!

Till then, enjoy :)

Last Blog...

2008-08-20T12:25:00.002+05:30

Finally,

I am going off this blog, its been a long journey and I am just short of its first anniversary. However, this is my last blog over here...As I start a new journey over here- http://weblogs.java.net/blog/n_varun/

I am still active on http://nbguru.wordpress.com/

So, I would be intensively blogging about Java and NetBeans, on those 2 blogs.

Take care, and thanks for visiting my blog!

Time to move on...

2008-08-20T12:12:00.002+05:30

Hi,

Well, time has arrived when I become more focused towards my various works. As you know, I became NetBeans Community Docs Contribution Coordinator in May, then in July, I became NetBeans Dream Team Member.

In those times, I also held the post of a Sun Club Coordinator, in our campus. I had internship at Sun during summer holidays, May-July. I felt overburdened, there was a time when I had nothing to do, and looked for opportunities to keep myself busy with something constructive, and today I am so busy.

College re-opened recently, working on deciding proposals for final year project, managing so many activities. Attending nearly 100 mails daily, reviewing projects at Dream Team, planning about next phase of successful program- NBCD!

Also, time has come, that I am actually having meetings with people, I only either chatted with or replied to mails. I don't get much time, also don't have varied content for blogging here...

I have left Sun Club, joined the Dream Team, NetCAT 6.5 and many other things. I am happy, yet feel sorry about this blog, which kick-started my journey from a Nomad on web to Nb Guru!

Guys, next post would be my last over here...

Latest Community News

2008-08-04T12:04:00.004+05:30

Well,

This is the headline, or rather front page news for today. NBDT, i.e. NetBeans Dream Team gains 18 new members, including me ;) Here's, our Liaison Officer, finally making an announcement today!

Well, its coincidence that today is also the Code Freeze for NBIG project owners. Yeah, this is the same, I was aiming for 6 months back. But, today I am one of the judges :) As a member of NBDT, I might judge the projects too. Anyways, have fun as I am loving every bit of it..

Thanks again for your love and support!

What am I doing?

2008-07-26T17:02:00.004+05:30

Hello,

Its been a busy week, since ending Summer Training! JIIT University re-opened and I am back to study as a student :| Yeah, I am still a student, doesn't matter whether you are a popular blogger :P, Community Coordinator, or doing multiple projects in diverse domains in OpenSource world!

Bottom line, is I am student until I graduate and get a degree to show the world, I am no more a student. Well, we all continue to learn on daily basis, so we are a student for life, where God is our principal, parents are teachers and life is an examination!

Anyways, lets not get into that, I have been recently inducted into the NetBeans Dream Team, don't know what that is? Just surf over here- http://wiki.netbeans.org/NBDTCurrentMembers!

Also, blogging about my experiences with NetBeans Platform, enjoying developing plugin's these days, as well as, glad to be back to programming! Uploaded a newly developed module, based on existing support for hyperlinks in HTML Editor in NetBeans IDE, which is not yet bundled, but available as a download. So, I have revolutionized it by implementing more usecases with the help of NetBeans Community and Developers!

Today, I received my blogging contest runner-up prize! Certificate signed by none other than CEO, Sun Microsystems himself!

Enjoy and have a happy weekend!

Articles | NetBeans Guru

2008-07-20T13:13:00.002+05:30

Hey,

I have started writing articles on my other blog as well, check them out;

Well, earlier I used to write articles here as well, now shifting focus! Won't be frequent with my articles over there...

Anyways, I will soon chip in with some programming tips, articles over here...
sTay Tuned...

Article | Milestone OR Daily Builds...

2008-07-16T17:29:00.006+05:30

Hey,

I am back after a long time, I was blogging all about NetBeans over my other blog, so thought of not coming back here. But, as NetCAT has begun and I am running Daily Builds, Milestone to review and give feedback through this wonderful program.

I will present a weekly report of what I experience during each week on the other blog- NetBeans Guru!

I wanted to wait for 1 week, just as I said, but couldn't resist and here, I am sharing my first ever experiences with the Daily Builds, in the form of an article...I downloaded, installed, booted (NetBeans Dev 200807101204) to see a hell lot of new things. Better Splash Screen than 6.1 and 6.5 M1, Quick Search Toolbar and some cool improvisations!

Seriously, felt a lot better than using 6.5 Milestone 1, and I must say its better to stick to Beta, RC and FCS, for working on projects. I would never ever work on a real project using Milestones. They are not stable, and daily builds provide more stability and new features than Milestones. Though, daily builds may also get unstable in between, as they are also under continuous development, refer Hudson, Fisheye.

As I am participating for the 1st time in NetCAT, I have mixed reactions and would like to experience few more weeks before I can jump to any conclusion, though people there, do recommend to use Daily builds, during such testing periods, as Milestones tend to be out-of-date quickly. Even coordinator suggested to download daily builds 2-3 times a week, if you want to seriously participate, as so many issues are getting filed every day in each defined domain, and fixes are also being scheduled side-by-side.

Feature Freeze took place on Monday, and I think we need to wait before we could get hands on the next stable dev-build!

NetBeans Guru | Playing with XML Layer

2008-06-25T12:45:00.004+05:30

Ahoy!

I have started a blog series on NetBeans Guru, wherein you would learn how to play with NetBeans XML Layer, i.e. the file which registers various entities of a module into the Integrated Development Environment. It acts as an optional configuration file.

Have done a lot documenting this week, from Mon-Thurs! I contributed 8 wiki's in form of 4 tutorials, 2 tips & tricks, and finally, 2 howTo's! It was too much to ask for. Though, people are enjoying playing with XML Layer! Really, its all happening at only one place, NetBeans Zone!

Do visit this page- Tryst with Platform, this page states,

Here, I am beginning a fully dedicated page on NetBeans Platform, i.e. to explore and share my learnings about the Platform.

I had earlier started with GLF, but its been a while now, I might have updated that page. Now, I am seriously dealing with Platform on a daily basis, I would try my best, to share as much I could, to help community strive forward with Platform and NetBeans API’s easily!

NetBeans Module’s XML Layer

Recently, began a blog series on XML Layer, optional configuration file for NBM! Here are some of the documenting done for this subject;

eNjoy Technology...enjoy NetBeans

Interview | Mining the Blogosphere

2008-06-18T22:27:00.008+05:30

Ahoy!

Can you believe it? I got interviewed by NetBeans Content Developer, Tinuola Awopetu and got featured on the NetBeans website, and most importantly, in newsletter. This is the second time, I got featured on newsletter. Earlier, I was featured, when I was appointed as the coordinator.

So, coming back to the interview. I was asked various questions, most of them were really interesting one's and I'm glad to have got that opportunity. Expressed my views, blogs I write to and plans for expanding Community Docs!

What else now, just want to realise some more dreams! :D

Thanks NetBeans!

- 100 | my cEnTury Of BloGs -

2008-06-14T12:16:00.010+05:30

Guys,

Finally, the day has arrived, and I am blogging here for 100th time! I never thought I would ever blog, and that too for 100th time. Its special because of many reasons!

There were friends of mine, who were blogging since 2005! I never took any interest thinking as a waste of time... Never thought in wildest of dreams, I would ever blog and today, I write 4 blogs! I had started blogging since October, 2007!

This was my first blog, of the four blogs I write to, and it has brought me so much fame and success too! Not to forget, I made new friends as well in the virtual world!

This blog was listed in PlanetNetBeans, the NB Blogosphere during CFF contest and beyond! I used to blog here about my Sun club activites. Listing helped me and my blog, get some recognition. I wouldn't have seen my name on NetBeans startup, if I had not blogged at all. All credit goes to NetBeans Team who integrates latest blogs from Planet and latest News & Articles from Community within the IDE.

I would like to thank all my friends and well-wishers, who have supported me and encouraged me, to share my knowledge through this wonderful medium.

So, to make this post more special, I wanted a guest blogger, so I had blogged an open invitation on NetBeans Guru! Only one person responded, however he was a new blogger. So, I decided to do it myself...

Thanks, Google for making Blogger!

sTay Tuned fOr More.....as This Isn't oVer yEt!

Web 2.0 rocks Euro 2008!

2008-06-07T16:38:00.002+05:30

Hey,

I know everyone is going crazy with Web 2.0 making news in every part of the world, and in almost every field, from maps to widgets, blogs to tweets, and much more. Being a soccer fan since 1996 World Cup, I never thought in recent years, that Web 2.0 and Soccer would ever meet. Well, they have and done that quite beautifully and aesthetically.

Today, Euro 2008 begins and I went to see details of individual teams, suddenly I came across a tab, named "widgets". I never thought that this could ever become a medium to cheer your team.

I am cheering for many teams, who are you hooting for? So, just relax tonight and every night, as Euro is gonna come into your homes, daily. Are you ready to Play The Game?

Article | Killer app loses Killer Instinct

2008-06-06T23:27:00.002+05:30

Hey,

So, when was the last time, you had tweet'ed, just few seconds ago, or few hrs ago, rather few days ago! Wondering, why I am saying this?

Well, as we all know, Twitter was declared as the Killer Application of Web 2.0! Even, I have appreciated it few recently on this blog. Since then, I am facing problem tweeting at twitter.com/nvarun. Its loads slowly these days, sometimes I am not able to see the webpage itself. You would think, just because I might not have good bandwidth to use such applications regularly, so I don't have the right to comment like that.

Well, that's not true, as every day I see some new update on homepage, some feature has been disabled temporarily due to some reasons....Maybe due to large no. of people creating accounts and tweeting a lot, putting a lot of pressure on their servers to handle so many requests.

Guys, then whats the use of such app's, if they don't have sufficient servers to handle that many requests. Please don't get me wrong, I was enjoying tweeting and I almost fell in love with this invention, until this problem occurred.

I hope they find a solution quickly to this problem, and then millions of people would happily tweet every second.....

Best of luck, Twitter!

Update on Blog - prOgramming bOnds

2008-06-05T09:11:00.001+05:30

Hey Blog,

As I had told you earlier, about shifting to the Wordpress blog. Its time for another change, yeah another change...I am changing the blog title from prOgramming bOnds TO Developer's Kolektiv. Now, its no more a collaborative blog, where I had 5 more authors, who blogged here rarely.

As I am the creator of this blog, and was blogging from the beginning. So, I felt there should be a change, and though, I can't go back in time. However, I can limit the authors at my will. So, from May 18th onwards, there's only 1 author, and thats me! I wanted to notify to the world, for the sudden change. As I had given so many references to people with the name prOgramming bOnds...

Now, its no more bOnds its Developer's Kolektiv...

First Look at OSol 2008.05!

2008-05-28T22:32:00.006+05:30

Guys,

I am really excited to see what all opportunities we have now, as OSol is out with its latest build as well as, new website - cool website, soothing to the eyes!

Anyways, after a grand opening night at Community One! Lets get down to work, I was so excited to try it out, as I have already been lucky to get my hands on the OSol RC0, one month prior to its official unveiling!

Well, I was so excited to see the announcement, that I downloaded the ISO, even though I was getting not the best of the bandwidth for downloading.

It took me nearly 15 hours, to finally get my hands on the newest build! Also, xVM VirtualBox 1.6 was out, so it was perfect way to get started. I referred to this well designed documentation, Getting Started with OSol 2008.05 using Virtual Box, to really jump-start with OSol.

I made all the necessary configuration, created a new Virtual Machine, dynamically-expandable Virtual Disk Image and USB support. Still, I was disappointed, as I couldn't run the VM on my Windows XP Professional SP2, with 512 MB RAM (host), 3.0 Ghz Intel Pentium IV Processor!

I have been using Virtual Box since it was acquired by Sun, i.e. innotek Virtual Box 1.5.6! Today, I use xVM Virtual Box 1.6 and was glad to see support for lot more OS's, also it made backup for previous VM's too. Anyways, I lost the excitement, and looked for ways to get started with OSol 2008.05.

Few days later, VMware (Player) came out with support for OSol 2008.05 and I got the appliance from my friend who downloaded it, it was 7-zip archive which got unzipped into 8 GB, I don't have much idea about that, as I tried running it once with the VMware Player!

Its Ubuntu-like OS, with obviously some amazing tools like IPS, ZFS, etc. I am still exploring it, though from the website. Also, I have posted a question concerned with the disappointment I had, for technical details refer that post, on opensolaris forums. If you can help, please reply there!

This is being submitted for review to the blogging contest - Student Reviews NetBeans 6.1 and OpenSolaris!
Author - Varun Nischal, University - JIIT University

Article | Del.icio.us, Technorati, Twitter - Web 2.0 Rocks!

2008-05-28T14:11:00.003+05:30

Blog,

I resisted for so long not to get addicted to things I mentioned in my post header, which are not merely things, but they are revolutionizing the way we used Internet. Web 2.0 has created a stir in the internet, with so many killer app's coming these days.

One of my friends, who works as part-time Sun CA, has his own Sun blog, that's cool, he advised me to tweet, use technorati and burn feeds with feedburner. I did just the last thing, neglecting others, was too lazy to add another account on web for such app's.

Recently, I felt its important to popularize my blog, yeah for virtual fame! So, I thought what's the latest widgets present in the blogs these days. There are some amazing blogs already in place that have such widgets which enhance their blogs, which are already filled with awesome contents.

I blog about technologies, which I use or I explore, not the one's which I would Google about! So, I am disappointed when I see people not commenting your blog, which according to you have been put up in the best possible way.

However, there are aggregators (blogosphere's) which enable your blog to get recognition globally through one medium. To stay abreast with the advancement in technologies in the world, you need to follow the latest trends, which might have been in place for long time, but you understood its importance, when they got recognition.

eNjoy Technology.....

NetBeans Guru | Wordpress Blogger

2008-05-18T21:41:00.003+05:30

Hi,

As I had told you few weeks back, that I would be shifting to Wordpress for blogging, well I have done that and I have been blogging there for a while, you can check out the blog -

URL - Learning NetBeans, the NetBeans way!

Well, I have started few blog series as well, Tips & Tricks (taT), Quest For Better IDE and finally, a bi-weekly series on NetBeans Quiz Contest!

Also, participating through that blog on New Blogging Contest as well, where Sun wants students to review NetBeans 6.1 and OpenSolaris 2008.05!

So, I would welcome to my new blog and looking forward to your comments & suggestions!

Thanks!

End of Blogging Contest

2008-05-13T08:38:00.005+05:30

Hello all,

Its been great time for quite some time, here's another good news, Blogging Contest Results are out! Even though, I didn't finish in Top 10, yet I am hoping against hope, that I would be amongst the Top 100 and win another cool NetBeans T-Shirt! Well, there's another advantage for me, being a college student, I could win something else.....just goto this post, you would know what I am trying to say!

The results for the NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta Blogging Contest are out. Congratulations to all 10 $500 American Gift Card winners and all other 100 winners who will get a NetBeans T-Shirt.

As Janice Campbell mentioned in his latest entry, that 50% of the winning entries were NON-ENGLISH! That really shows NetBeans adoption increasing and spreading across various parts of the World!

By the way, I was the 18th Blogger to submit my blog for review, and it was a special entry too, as I had submitted a link to all the posts that were tagged as NB_601!
Overall, there were 300 blog entries...Wow! Amazing work by NetBeaners, keep it up guys and sure you blog about the latest you explore...

Congratulations! All the Winners... :D

Have a Good Day!

Phase II | Community Docs | 11

2008-05-01T20:36:00.002+05:30

Hi,

Surprise is out, as expected and its about me...Yes, friends and all those who have helped me, supported me & my ideas, on my way to becoming the next Contribution Coordinator of the Community Docs.

Today is a one of the greatest days of my life, as I am appointed as the new NetBeans Community Docs Contribution Coordinator. Announcement was made by James Branam on his Sun blog!

It could be seen at the NetBeans Blogosphere too, where its featured at the top! I am looking forward to work with James and Amit, to take Community Docs to a new high!

Thanks, NetBeans Community!

Phase II | Big Surprise, Tomorrow!

2008-04-30T18:55:00.003+05:30

Surprised!

I am surprised too, blogging after a long time over here. Actually, I made a shift to my other blog - NetBeans Guru - so, I was blogging there for past few weeks.

I would continue blogging here too. As this is a group blog, whereas that's completely mine. Everything is related to NetBeans, whether its the tips & tricks, flash demos, some kind of an exploration. Its fully NetBeans inside-out!

To add more to that, there's another surprise in waiting! sTay Tuned... Anyways, I had submitted a new post based on another cool tip, at Dzone. Its getting great response there, I would love to hear from you, as well. Also, submitted at the Community Docs as well.

Dzone Submission - taT | Resizing Components -

eNjoy Technology.....

JIIT Sun Club's Virtual Install Fest | Angad's Blog

2008-04-13T08:19:00.004+05:30

VIRTUAL INSTALL FEST

A never done before event, for the first time,

JIIT Sun Club presents the idea of having an Install Fest right inside Hostel!

FREE OpenSolaris Starter Kit (2 DVD’S with OpenSolaris Distros) to all!

LUCKY DRAW!

1. Install OpenSolaris 2. Submit the feedback form 3. WIN prizes!

What’s an Install Fest?
An InstallFest is an opportunity to get hands on help in installing and/or configuring OpenSolaris on your computer. Unlike the monthly meetings where you can only talk about your Solaris issues, at the install fest you can bring those problems to your peers and show them what is going on. It is also about getting to know your peers in the local Open Source User Group, and being able to share expertise and knowledge in a very informal environment.

What is a Virtual InstallFest?

You don’t have to move around your precious hardware anywhere! Just be wherever you are and join us in the event!

A virtual install fest is one which is conducted with no physical gathering of the participants, rather one which is done digitally over the network. It is a new means of conducting InstallFests which avoids having to require the participant to take their CPU’s or Laptops anywhere and just participate in the event from the comfort of their Hostel Rooms.
Technology that will make a Virtual InstallFest possible: Video Streaming, Chat conferencing, File Sharing and Web Service over a LAN!

Web Service: Participants register on a local website, and then get links to:
- Download OpenSolaris Distro ISO
- Download the post-install questionnaire
- Get a link to view the live webcast
- Get a link to join the chat conference
Installation on a virtual machine: The host will install OpenSolaris on his system inside of a virtual machine

Live Video Streaming: Host provides a live screencast of his system over the network, for others to see and follow along the installation process on their own systems.

Chat Conferencing: The host and all the participants are in a live chat conference. If anybody has any trouble following the installation, gets stuck with any errors, etc they can immediately prompt the host to pause so that his problem can be resolved. The host responds with the solution over the conference, so that even others can rectify if they encounter a similar problem. The participants can also find it useful to share views, opinions or exchange messages related to their installation experience in the conference, just as they would physically in a standard InstallFest.
It is upto the participant to choose to install either inside a virtual machine or on bare-metal on his system directly. It would be more interesting to install OpenSolaris directly from an install fest-perspective, though, you may install inside of a virtual machine like VirtuaBox or VMware if you don’t have enough space to install it as a separate OS (please note that installing inside of a virtual machine requires substantial amount of RAM.. > 512 MB recommended).

What do I need to do?

Open your browser and go to http://installfest (note that you will have to add “installfest” in your browser’s proxy exceptions)
Download and Install VirtualBox on your system (from downloads section)
Login and join the chat conference at http://installfest/chat
Catch the live webcast link and open it in your video player.
Wait for the event to start, once all participants have joined.
The host starts the installation on his system, which you can see streaming live to your video player. Install along on your system. Ask for any doubts or questions in the chat conference.
Once the installation is over, download the feedback form, fill it up with useful feedback. This feedback will be sent to the OpenSolaris engineering team to suggest the overall user experience in the installation process and initial use phase. We want to send them this feedback to let them know what university students feel about the OS and what they could do to improve it. This feedback is of utmost importance.

What to bring? Where to go?

You don’t have to go anywhere! Just logon to http://installfest at the stipulated time of the event and follow the instructions. Have fun installing Solaris!

What’s an Are there any prizes or giveaways?

Yes! :)

All participants who successfully install OpenSolaris on their systems (or inside of virtual machines) and fill up and submit the questionnaire to us will be entered into a LUCKY DRAW.

First Prize: An OpenSolaris Mug, Netbeans 6 DVD, and a Cap!
Each participant will be given the OpenSolaris Starter Kit. It consists of 2 DVD’s, one with OpenSolaris Community Edition Distro and the other one with various flavors of OpenSolaris including Belenix, Nexenta, etc.

Return of the Blog

2008-04-10T17:24:00.002+05:30

After Blog was blocked for review the Google Blogger Team, I'm finally back to work! Its been a week, since I did some serious work on my blog, related to Technologies and NetBeans.

This Week, we saw the inclusion of new NetBeans-oriented blog at Planet NetBeans, namely NetBeans, maintained by Tushar Joshi.

Soon, I would be switching over to Wordpress.com, to overcome this issue, which had put me off track, for nearly a week.

Its good to be back...sTay Tuned for action this week...

Phase II | Dzone Special | 10

2008-04-01T17:47:00.002+05:30

Hello everyone,

Its been a long time since I blogged, and I saw NetBeans Dzone, is the place to be, these days! So, I'm no different, being blogging about NetBeans for past 4 months, I also started contributing to the Dzone, few weeks back...

Anyways, coming back to the point, click on this post header to get directed to the Dzone Links section, where I have submitted my blogpost on "Troubleshooting the NB Startup". Your views/comments are awaited, either on my blog OR over the Dzone.....

If you really think thats cool, then do "Vote In Favour" of my post...Thanks!

eNjoy TechnOlogy.....

nb-6.1 Beta | Install/Reload Module | Part 6

2008-03-28T21:06:00.005+05:30

Friends,

Today, I finally started making a project, and started off creating a Module, referring to this documentation, Introducing NetBeans plug-in Development. Then, I right-clicked the "Project Node", to "Install/Reload in the Target Platform", and for the first time ever, I saw a prompt like the one, we use to get when we launch the newly installed NetBeans IDE, i.e. to import settings from the previously installed versions of NetBeans on the system.

I had NetBeans 6.0 (Java SE) and NetBeans 6.1 Beta (Web & JavaEE) installed, and I used NetBeans 6.1 Beta to discover the above feature. Anyways, I am still exploring the IDE, what about you? When are you going to start working on it?

Download, Use and Blog to Win great prizes, as well as, earn fame, as during the blog-review period, NetBeans.org would direct traffic to your blog, only if you blog about the IDE, and submit your blog for review...

Lets get it started folks!

eNjoy TechnOlogy.....

nb-6.1 Beta | Drag 'n' Drop Improvised | Part 5

2008-03-27T23:34:00.003+05:30

Finally, another topic to ponder upon.... :D Well, this time I have found something unique in NetBeans 6.1 Beta, which is really made a difference, is not present in previous versions...

Its about the Drag 'n' Drop Features of the Dockable Windows, present in the NetBeans IDE.....I have made the flash demo's (feat. 6.0 & 6.1 Beta), there's no audio, no tutor.....just showing the drag 'n' drop functionality, which has really improved and it came as a surprise to me...

How about uploading them on NetBeans Wiki! Lets hope, James and Amit, stumble upon this blogpost...

Download, Use and Blog (NetBeans 6.1 Beta) to Win great prizes, as well as, earn fame, as during the blog-review period, NetBeans.org would direct traffic to your blog, only if you blog about the IDE, and submit your blog for review...

eNjoy TechnOlogy...

nb-6.1 Beta | BooTing cOntinues... | Part 4

2008-03-27T00:33:00.005+05:30

Hi,

I'm back to the startup again, man! When would I start creating a Project on the new NetBeans IDE??? Anyways, this time around, I experimented the startup, in a new way.....I had installed it on Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) using appropriate content on the web, to get it started...

Now, as you all know, when you bootstrap, i.e. launch newly installed NetBeans IDE, the 1st time, it creates a "user directory" (userdir), on the system.....you may now locate the "etc" directory in the "installed directory", check the "netbeans.conf" file, which now contains an entry that locates to the "user directory"...

Now, the experimentation.....I booted NetBeans 6.1 Beta (on Gutsy) using NetBeans 6.0 (userdir on Windows XP), as I had not installed any sort of plugins in NetBeans 6.0, so I was having fresh "user directory" check this post for more details.....

Also, please this blog as well, to know how to "Reset the NetBeans userdir", I saw it on the NetBeans Support Weblog.....awesome support!

Download, Use and Blog (NetBeans 6.1 Beta) to Win great prizes, as well as, earn fame, as during the blog-review period, NetBeans.org would direct traffic to your blog, only if you blog about the IDE, and submit your blog for review...

Any suggestions/comments...

eNjoy TechnOlogy.....

Phase II | Adding Support for Your Favorite Language | 9

2008-03-27T00:23:00.006+05:30

Docs have started to flow again, I was really surprised to see a doc related to Generic Language Framework, which was basically describing you, how to add support for your favorite programming language in NetBeans IDE.....

Just check this contribution, its really worth giving a shot at it once...Here are some links, to get acquainted with basics of Project Schliemann,

Don't miss it, its a chance to either add a support for a new language onto NetBeans, but also improving the existing one.....

eNjoy TechnOlogy...

Part 5 | Became Gutsy from Fiesty, as Hardy on its way!

2008-03-27T00:07:00.003+05:30

Hi,

I'm back on VirtualBox, it feels good to be back, after getting my system upgraded, its running even faster than the previous time, I had installed it.

As I booted Ubuntu 7.04 from VDI, after installing from Live CD, I came across similar GUI, desktop, etc...the Update Manager upgraded the system tools, then after 1 day, I got a notification for version upgrade, i.e. to move onto Gutsy Gibbon, I really enjoyed pushing my bandwidth to limit, and downloading files weighing approx. 700 MB.

Installing space accumulating to around 1 GB, uff.....after all this was done, I restarted the system, and what the hell happened, system looked more robust, better processing, it was somewhat blazing, keeping in mind the specifications provided to it. Only 256 MB RAM, but 8 GB VDI as well...

Anyways, I enjoyed it, installed latest NetBeans IDE (6.1 Beta), played music on RhythmBox, browsed over the Internet, playing games in Facebook, not to forget...chatting through much improved Pidgin.....

It was really an amazing experience, I'm still using it.....sEe ya sOon....with mOre upDates!

eNjoy TechnOlogy...

Article | Handle XML with Android | IBM developerWorks

2008-03-21T22:34:00.005+05:30

How about building a mobile RSS reader? That too, using Android...

What good is a mobile computing environment if you can't keep track of your favorite news feeds on the go? Sure, you can use Android's browser to read your favorite Web sites, but it's unlikely the sites are optimized for a screen two inches high. And besides, then you'll miss the opportunity to integrate RSS or other XML data with other mobile applications to make your own mash-ups. This tutorial shows you how to use the Android Developer Tools to read, parse, and display XML data

Its a tutorial featured in IBM developerWorks newsletter...
You may cOntinue rEading It.....by clicking the header of this post...

eNjoy Technology...

Adv | RIA's on Desktop with Adobe AIR | NetBeans Zone

2008-03-21T19:28:00.005+05:30

Guys,

Seriously, there's no life without Internet (for a developer), reason being, the kind of resources, latest updates on technologies and news from around the world, one gets at fingertips.

Today, while surfing through NetBeans Zone, I came across this advertisement, it was Adobe AIR. I had heard it for the first time, I was excited to know what is it all about?

What exactly is Adobe AIR?
Adobe AIR software is a cross-operating system runtime that allows web developers to leverage their existing skills, such as HTML, JavaScript, Adobe Flash®, and Adobe Flex® software, to build rich Internet applications (RIAs) that run on the desktop. Leading companies like eBay and AOL are already shipping applications on Adobe AIR.

Want to explore it on your own? Why not visit them, and explore...
eNjoy Technology...

Phase II | Community Docs & PlanetNetBeans | 8

2008-03-21T19:07:00.003+05:30

Hmmmm....sOunds great! Isn't it?

After a long wait, we can finally see the official blog of NetBeans Community Docs Program on NetBeans Blogosphere, i.e. PlanetNetBeans.org!

You may catch up with the latest on this blog, based on the program, which has already made its presence felt in the community, since March 2007.

Don't miss the Action....eNjoy!

Angad's Blog | NetBeans Blogging Contest

2008-03-21T08:50:00.005+05:30

A NetBeans Blogging Contest has launched and runs through April 18th!

Sun is giving away $500 for 10 winners and T-Shirts for 100 winners with the best blogs (plus a chance to get your blog featured on Netbeans.org!). This is a GREAT opportunity for developers --including students-- to learn about NetBeans IDE, have some fun, and possibly get rich and famous! Well maybe not rich, but there are cash prizes and noteworthy blogs will be linked from NetBeans.org :-)

Blog about NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta for...

10 chances to win a $500 American Express Gift Certificate!

100 chances to win a cool NetBeans T-Shirt!

Simply:

1. Download the NetBeans IDE 6.1 Beta (or later release) and try it out.
2. Blog about it!
3. Submit the URL to your blog.
4. Do it before April 18, 2008!

Blogging Tips:

Need ideas for what to post to claim the top prize? Here are suggestions:

Show a cool code sample using the new NetBeans IDE 6.1
Create a "Top 10" NetBeans Tutorials/Links/Snippets/Tricks
Share your deep insight about NetBeans IDE 6.1 development, including your favorite features
Give suggestions on how to enhance the NetBeans IDE 6.1
Build a cool plugin to share with the NetBeans Community
Just blog about the latest and greatest features of NB 6.1!

Your blog post must be around Netbeans 6.1. In terms of features, seems like there is better JavaScript and MySQL support. There have also been some performance improvements in startup and memory usage.Click here to know more..

Deadlines for the Contest:
Contest starts: March 14, 2008
Contest deadline: April 18, 2008
Judging period: April 19 - May 12, 2008
Winners announced: May 12, 2008

Here's some added incentive:
The 10 schools with the highest number of blog entries will each receive 50 vouchers for credit towards Java certification (to be distributed by the ambassadors either to students who blogged and/or via Tech Talks). And the school with the most blogs total gets $250 USD cash for pizza at an upcoming Tech Talk.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to indicate that you are studying at JIIT University when submitting your blog entry to the contest.. :)

Blog away!

Project | Coding From Java To VB | Part 1

2008-03-20T19:53:00.000+05:30

Guys,

I never ever thought I would learn Visual Basic like this, but this is life! I had made a semester project coded in Java, using NetBeans IDE. A good friend of mine, wanted to do the same, not in Java, but in Visual Basic.

So, I am helping him out code in Visual Basic, by converting each and every line of code in Java into Visual Basic using .NET Framework.

I had used Java Application (used Swings) as Front-End and Oracle 9i as Back-End.....Now, I have to use MS SQL Server as a Back-End to support Visual Basic .NET Windows Form Application, being used as a Front-End.

Thats why I am learning Visual Basic, though not much in detail, still need to learn atleast the basics, before I can do anything....

Project Details....I'll post it soon!
eNjoy Technology...

nb-6.1 Beta | NetBeans Startup | Part 2,3

2008-03-20T12:27:00.003+05:30

Hi,

As a part of this newly started blog series based on NetBeans 6.1 Beta IDE, I present to you the latest tips & tricks, that would really help any NetBeans user, whether its 6.1, or any other.

You may have a look at the following posts that are applicable to NetBeans 6.1 Beta as well,

Its just the beginning, I am booting NetBeans, the day I start working on it, I will blog about it more!

Download, Use and Blog (NetBeans 6.1 Beta) to Win great prizes, as well as, earn fame, as during the blog-review period, NetBeans.org would direct traffic to your blog, only if you blog about the IDE, and submit your blog for review...

eNjoy TechnOlogy.....

Phase II | TroubleShoot BooT (Part 2) | 7

2008-03-20T11:11:00.008+05:30

Hi,

After presenting to you, a cool tip on "Troubleshooting the NB Startup", now I would like to present to you, another cool tip, thats based on NB Startup, again!

As you may see, in the above figure, its the Netbeans UserDirectory (.netbeans) on Windows. Yesterday, I upgraded my system, the main focus being, the upgradation of the Hard Disk, I replaced 40 GB Ultra ATA Seagate, with 160 GB Ultra ATA Seagate.

I had all my important data in the 40 GB Hard Disk, so I got all my important data copied into the new Hard Disk, inculding the all important .netbeans directory. Why I am saying its important, because I had recently installed the ClearCase and Developer Collaboration modules, and I didn't want to loose it...

Why should I download and install it, again & again? I am glad, this time I had the solution...Watch the above figure, its booted using the settings in the above mentioned .netbeans/6.1beta directory. It looks like you are booting newly installed NetBeans IDE.

Here, you may see, Mercurial under Versioning menu, surprised?? Well, you should be, because its being bundled with NetBeans 6.1 Beta IDE.

Firstly, Install the NetBeans IDE, goto the .netbeans directory, you would see the directory 6.1beta, cut and paste it, on the Desktop or somewhere else. Now, locate the .netbeans/6.1beta directory which has the settings for the previous installation of the same NetBeans IDE.

Now, copy that and paste it, under the current .netbeans directory (see above figure), and launch the NetBeans IDE, you would now see the same NetBeans, which you had in your other Hard Disk...

In the figure below, you may see the ClearCase and Developer Collaboration module, I was talking about.

Try this out, it would really help you a lot.....Any suggestions/comments?

Submitted at Dzone.

Also, this blog has been contributed to NetBeans Community Docs Program and for latest updates on this content, refer to the contribution.

Phase II | TroubleshOot BooT | 6

2008-03-16T17:02:00.013+05:30

Hi,

Once I had encountered a problem, that is, suppose you have installed NetBeans IDE (version 5.5 and above), you can only do so, if you have an appropriate pre-installed Java Development Kit (version 1.5 and above).

What if, after installing and running NetBeans for few months, you find out that JDK got removed somehow, either by you, while you might have formatted your OSystem OR Accidentally? Now, what to do?

When I had first encountered the problem, I screwed it up, what I did, I uninstalled the NetBeans, re-install the JDK and then installed the NetBeans, that took a hell lot of a time!

Here's the tip, goto NetBeans Installed Directory, generally "C:\" drive in Windows under "Program Files", then locate folder "etc", it contains the configuration file for NetBeans IDE.

Open "netbeans.conf" -

You may do so, through Command-prompt (in Windows), Terminal in Unix-compliant OS (like Linux, Solaris)

# ${HOME} will be replaced by JVM user.home system property
netbeans_default_userdir="${HOME}/.netbeans/6.0"

# Options used by NetBeans launcher by default, can be overridden by explicit
# command line switches:
netbeans_default_options="-J-client -J-Xss2m -J-Xms32m -J-XX:PermSize=32m -J-XX:
MaxPermSize=200m -J-Xverify:none -J-Dapple.laf.useScreenMenuBar=true"
# (Note that a default -Xmx is selected for you automatically.)

# If you specify the heap size (-Xmx) explicitely, you may also want to enable
# Concurrent Mark & Sweep garbage collector. In such case add the following
# options to the netbeans_default_options:
# -J-XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -J-XX:+CMSClassUnloadingEnabled -J-XX:+CMSPermGenSweepingEnabled
# (see http://wiki.netbeans.org/wiki/view/FaqGCPauses)

# Default location of JDK, can be overridden by using --jdkhome <dir>:
#netbeans_jdkhome="D:\Java\jdk1.5.0_10"
netbeans_jdkhome="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_03"

# Additional module clusters, using ${path.separator} (';' on Windows or ':' on
Unix):
#netbeans_extraclusters="/absolute/path/to/cluster1:/absolute/path/to/cluster2"

Look at the bold header, in this document #(hash) used as single-line comment. Now, you may see under that header, there are two statements, first one is commented, its showing two JDK_HOME's because I had added the first one on my own, by default second was present, which was used to install NetBeans 6.0 and 6.1 Beta on my OSystem.

(Assuming that you have two JDK's on your OSystem)

Now, considering that you are not aware of that you have lost JDK, you boot NetBeans IDE, and the following error-dialog prompts you with a message "JDK 5.0 or newer Not Found".

Don't worry, just goto the configuration file and make following changes,

# Default location of JDK, can be overridden by using --jdkhome <dir>:
netbeans_jdkhome="D:\Java\jdk1.5.0_10"
#netbeans_jdkhome="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_03"

As my OSystem had two JDK's, so it was easier for me to switch over, else you have to reinstall JDK and run the NetBeans IDE, it will boot up normally.

Hope you may find it useful. Any suggestions/comments...

References -
[1] FAQ on "netbeans.conf"
[2] Tuning JVM Switches

This blog has been contributed to NetBeans Community Docs Program and for latest updates on this content, refer to the contribution.

nb-6.1 Beta | Installation | Part 1

2008-03-16T15:03:00.006+05:30

Hi,

Before I start working on NetBeans 6.1 Beta, lets first go through the pre-requisites;

Java Development Kit 6.0 and above (Latest | Java SE Development Kit 6 Update 5)
An Operating System (Windows | Linux | Solaris)

Recently, I had installed NetBeans bundled with Web & J2EE on Windows XP Professional SP2. I am yet to start working on it, but I can bet on one thing, its startup is much faster than the previous shipment, i.e. NetBeans 6.0

Check out the features of NetBeans and peep into the world of Web & J2EE with NetBeans IDE | http://www.netbeans.org/features/web/index.html

What are you waiting for, just download it and get started, you would find more options on the download page.

Also, download, use and blog (NetBeans 6.1 Beta) to Win great prizes, as well as, earn fame, as during the blog-review period, NetBeans.org would direct traffic to your blog, only if you blog about the IDE, and submit your blog for review...

Happy NetBeaning...

Phase II | Blogging Contest | 5

2008-03-16T14:35:00.007+05:30

Hi,

I have not yet started coding in NetBeans 6.1 Beta and here comes another contest, that too a blogging contest. NetBeans Community is coming up with great kind of competitions, firstly there was Code For Freedom, then Dreams Of Reality(results awaited) and now, blogging contest!

I remember hearing NetBeans Podcast Episode #40, which had mentioned about the blogging contest, that it might come soon...Its been over a month and here they are!

Wish me luck! I am really looking forward to compete in this as well.... :D

Best Wishes,
Varun

Part 4 | "Hello World, I'm on Ubuntu..."

2008-03-15T23:59:00.009+05:30

As I told, in my previous post, Part 3 (which explained how to install NetBeans using VirtualBox on Ubuntu 7.04), I would now show you a series of snaps to get started with NetBeans 6.0.1

The slideshow above can be viewed at Picasa | Google.

Article | The State of Online Feed Readers | Tech Crunch

2008-03-15T23:45:00.003+05:30

While surfing over the net, I was looking for desktop feed readers, so that I don't have to open my browser again, and again, just to retrieve the feeds...Here's an article which is not a solution, but it discusses the state of online feed readers, the Web 2.0 Revolution!

Syndication is undoubtedly the heartbeat of the web 2.0 movement. A feed reader, the most common solution to consuming synidcated content, saves the user time by monitoring countless sites and sources and providing near real-time updates to one location.

Mobile Bond | Forum Nokia | Part 1

2008-03-15T20:19:00.002+05:30

These days, Forum Nokia has been under spotlight, as Featured Partner. It has been a Community Partner of NetBeans, and this is what they do,

Nokia offers developers the single largest addressable market of Java™ enabled devices. More than 500 million Nokia platform devices supporting Java technology have been shipped, offering developers huge potential for commercializing their Java development with minimal effort.

Forum Nokia, the world’s largest mobile developer community with over 2 million members, supplies a range of tools for Java developers. SDKs for the Series 40 platform and S60 platform integrate into NetBeans, allowing developers to efficiently create mobile Java applications using the power of NetBeans.

Few months ago, I came across Nokia E65, looks cool and features rich, with their tagline being,

where style meets | substance

sTay TunEd.....Sony Ericsson | Next

Phase II | NetBeans.Dzone | 4

2008-03-14T00:55:00.003+05:30

Guys,

I have made an account on Dzone as well, another way to contribute to the community, well yes it is, Dzone developed using Drupal, is an amazing website for any sort of developer, whether its Ajax, CSS, Eclipse, NetBeans, .NET, etc...

Another way of contributing docs, but in the form of posts.....great forum!
Join Dzone soon, to get to know the latest before anyone does...

Regards,
nvarun | NetBeans.Dzone

Part 3 | InstallingNetBeans.onVirtualMach(Ubuntu)

2008-03-10T00:11:00.000+05:30

Hey,

I am back from my adventure on Ubuntu 7.04(Fiesty Fawn), installed on VDI using VirtualBox on Windows...Before I left, I installed NetBeans 6.0.1 and tried it, not much. However, I saw the in-built support for SVN as well....That's good. I referred to this tutorial, to install JDK 6 Update 5, then NetBeans 6.0.1 for Linux Kernel 2.6

As far as coding point of view, I just made a simple Java "HelloWorld" Application, to have a feel of running it on the VirtualBox...Presenting you some snaps of NetBeans on a VirtualMach.....Njoy!

Pre-requisites
I would suggest you to, if you aren't a Linux user. So, goto Applications > Terminal, a window opens, run the following command, assuming $ as your command prompt,

$ sudo su

You are prompted with "Password:", so Enter your password, if you are the admin.
Then, run following commands...

# mv jdkXXXXX.bin /usr/local
# cd /usr/local
# ./jdkXXXXX.bin

Now, accepting what all text is presented, installation begins, within a minute or two, its installed...Then, run exit, the root user is now, logged out. Now, follow the instructions in the tutorial under section "Add the bin subdirectory to the PATH".

NetBeans Installer
First way | After all this is done, goto the folder containing the NetBeans Installer script, change its mode to executable, and run the script as per the instructions under the section "NetBeans Installation" in the tutorial.

Second way | Have a look at the installation guide provided by NetBeans.org, as soon as your download begins...

Coming next | Creating a Simple Java Application on NetBeans...
To be continued.....

Blog Series | The Blog Reloaded

2008-03-07T18:24:00.001+05:30

Friends,

Here I am with another initiative, on my blog, as a part of my blogging adventure.....I thought of starting a series of posts on Game Development and I. Then, I started using VirtualBox, and similar thoughts came across my mind, i.e. sharing my experiences with Virtualization on Windows.

Finally, my favorite Community Docs, the first contribution to OpenSource was possible only through the NetBeans Community Docs Program. I would like to personally thank, James and Amit, for all the support they gave, and making me, what I am today.

So, these are the blog series, I have started, do come back and see what's in store for all of you.

Regards,
Varun

Phase II | Where's my Docs? | 3

2008-03-07T18:03:00.000+05:30

Hey,

Not to forget, if you don't see your docs on the Community Docs, maybe they have been archived, or shifted to the NetBeans.org. Also, see my first ever contributed doc, its been archived into December '07 Archive.

Interested in contributing, just go through this quick start guide and start contributing. NetBeans Community, still looking for more contributors, there's no end to contributions....I would soon be making a comeback, by contributing a set of docs...

Don't miss this chance, its a great platform for anyone, who wants to be a part of OpenSource Movement.....

To be continued...

Phase II | Blogger, Facebook, MySpace | 2

2008-03-07T17:49:00.000+05:30

Hello,

The creation of the official groups on the most popular social networking sites all over the world, Facebook & MySpace.

Also, NB Community Docs Blog at http://nb-community-docs.blogspot.com. NetBeans Community Docs Team will be blogging from there on all things concerning Community Docs.

Keep an eye on their blog as well.....I am also blogging, but there's something, that's going to revolutionize things in a unique manner.....

Best Wishes,
NetBeans Community Docs Contributor

Phase II | Revamped Community Docs | 1

2008-03-07T17:36:00.000+05:30

Hi,

As you all know, the Community Docs has shifted to Phase II, as soon as the Community scored a century of docs, in the month of February and James Branam, the Community Docs Manager had announced the beginning of Phase II of the NetBeans Community Docs.

It all got started with the shifting of the docs to the NetBeans.org. Not to forget the beginning of the archiving of the docs, right from the start of the program, i.e. March 2007. You can visit all the Archives over the Wiki, at http://wiki.netbeans.org/NBCDArchive

Keep watching.....To be cOntinuEd!

Google Summer Of Code

2008-03-07T00:09:00.000+05:30

Google is back, with their program Summer of Code, guys looking for a platform to kickstart their involvement in OpenSource Movement....may do so from 24th of March onwards, as applications would be accepted for students till 31st of March...

You may also join them, before even participating in the program, i.e. through IRC channel #gsoc on freenode and also, subscribe to their mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/google-summer-of-code-discuss

Also, the OpenSource organizations are filling out their applications to become one of the legitimate mentoring organization, catch the list of mentors on 17th March, 2008...

So, guys any plans for Summer vacations, etc...why not give it a try at the Summer of Code and learn how to do work in real world, in a professional way.

Student Registration
Starts - March 24th, 2008 | Ends - March 31st, 2008

Part 2 | Blogging.onTopOfVM(Ubuntu);

2008-03-06T01:29:00.000+05:30

Today,

I'm blogging for the first time, from Ubuntu (Fiesty Fawn), which is now installed on Virtual Hard Drive on my Windows XP SP2.

The Installation took just 30 mins, depending on my system's configuration, as I could only provide 256 MB for running the Virtual Machine.

Feels great to be a part of Linux community.....

Hopefully, after some experience I could also contribute something useful to the Linux community as well.

Keep an eye on my blog, for more updates on my Virtual Machine...

GameDev and I, Why not go Mobile? | Part 2

2008-03-05T21:45:00.000+05:30

Continuing from my previous post[Part 1], where I was wondering, what could be a better IDE for game development, as I am proficient in C++ and Java, so I could have possibly tried Visual C++ for developing games.

Today, while surfing over the net, I came across this article Developing Java-based Mobile Games, so I thought why not develop a Java game instead, rather than making a switch to .NET Framework...As everyone knows, where else you could develop a better mobile application, obviously it has to be NetBeans.....

Lets see what happens.....I am day-by-day coming across so various platforms, keep an eye on my blog, as this series continues...

Any suggestions/comments...

Part 1 | Setting Up the Virtual Mach on Windows

2008-03-04T13:44:00.000+05:30

Hello,

Download and install VirtualBox, once you are done with the installation, launch innotek VirtualBox on your OS...

Following Setup has been done successfully on Windows XP Professional SP2. However, most of the steps (for creation of VM), would be independent of OS's.

Host Operating System-
The operating system, on which VirtualBox is going to be setup, and would virtualize different OS using the resources of the host.
In our case, its Windows | Windows XP Professional SP2

Guest Operating System-
The operating system, which VirtualBox would virtualize, using the resources of the host OS.
In our case, its Linux (Kernel 2.6) | Ubuntu 7.04 (Fiesty Fawn)

To be continued...

Ubuntu704.onTopOfHostOS(Windows);

2008-03-03T23:55:00.000+05:30

Hi,

Surprised by the post header, well its a Java-style "line of code", as Java is my favorite language.
I love programming in it, that's why used its syntax (to call a method) to tell you about my experience I had this weekend, when I ran Ubuntu 7.04 on top of Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Win XP SP2), using the world's top Virtualisation software solutions, innotek's VirtualBox.

I came across Gregg Sporar's recent blogpost, and as I had mentioned in my previous post...So, here I am, I downloaded the VirtualBox, installed it on my Windows XP Professional SP2 and setup a new Virtual Machine to be Linux 2.6 compatible.

I am going to present the whole process over a series of posts, keep an eye on my blog to get to know more about the experience.....

To be continued...

Innovating NetBeans using innotek VirtualBox

2008-03-02T18:28:00.000+05:30

As the end is near......I mean for the proposal submission for NBIG - Dreams Of Reality, the last date is approaching, just over 24 hrs to go...also, looking forward to using the innotek VirtualBox, newly acquired by Sun Microsystems to complement their xVM.....(read in Gregg's blogpost).

If the proposal gets selected, I can then look forward to implement the dream into reality through the VirtualBox. Well, to use it on daily/regular basis, would be very demanding for the CPU...so, I am right now getting through all the necessary steps to create a VM on my Windows XP Professional SP2. Probably, time for my system renaissance, to make it a smoother experience, in the near future as well as, in the long run. Will post about it soon, the day I create the VM on my system.

Happy NetBeaning...

GameDev and I, Gonna wOrk rEally Hard | Part 1

2008-03-02T18:10:00.000+05:30

Thinking about developing games, I think I loved playing them and probably, sometimes dreamt of developing them. But, getting 2 months to develop a game, is an uphill task, that would require a lot of hard work and patience, to deliver a good yet efficient game.

Firstly, the requirements, what I need for game development, NetBeans IDE, will that suffice my needs.....I don't think so, probably I could use it for developing games using J2ME for Mobiles, but not for desktop surely...so, I came across its competitor Visual Studio .NET, with its new Express Editions for 2008 version, code-named as Orcas, its a free download consumes a lot of space....which I think will remain a drawback for years to come...

Going back to the basics with C++, i.e. Visual C++ and with the help of some graphics library, or possibly using Directx9 SDK with Dark GDK, supported by .NET framework for easy, smooth game development...

Lets see what happens...

Mission Accomplished

2008-03-02T17:07:00.000+05:30

This weekend has been a breath-taking one for me, as I experimented with my system and the experience I had, was unbelievable.....

I was not able to access the Task Manager of my Desktop PC (running Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2) at home.....A message used to prompt me whenever I tried to access it, "Task Manager is disabled by the administrator". So, I thought of raising this issue and get it solved by some of my friends, who are into experimenting with the PC for quite a long time, they probably know more than me - on How to configure the PC, Manage accounts, etc. Before I get more into the details, lets have a look at what exactly a Task Manager do...

What is a Task Manager? - Refer to Wikipedia
Its a program used to provide information about the processes and programs running on a computer, as well as the general status of the computer. Its also used to terminate programs/processes, as well as change their priorities.

What is a Window Task Manager? - Refer to Wikipedia
Its a task manager application included with Microsoft Windows NT family of OS's that provides detailed information about computer performance and running applications, processes and CPU usage, commit charge and memory info, logged-in users and send messages amongst them, etc.

Coming back to the problem, one of my friends helped me and told me to refer "Window XP Tweaks" over the Internet and there I got the solution, downloaded the registry file for Window Task Manager and double-clicked it, prompted me to get permission to use "Regedits", I clicked "Yes", file got saved to the hard disk. Its done....rEally, are you sure about that.....NO! Now, click on "Start", open "Run..." window and run "gpedit.msc", it opens a window titled "Group Policy".

On the left pane, you can see "User Configuration" node, its already expanded, now expand sub-node "Administrative Templates", again a list of nodes occurs. Now, expand "System" node, click "Ctrl+Alt+Del Options", view right-pane of the window, click "Remove Task Manger" and see its description and then, disable/enable OR let it be not configured as per your wish.

I disabled it by logging into my system as an administrator. Now, everything is smooth, Task Manager. I tried a lot, from scanning the whole system (detected 4 trojan's, got them healed/removed) to searching over the Internet to deleting "SCVVHOST.exe" (its a trojan declared 95% dangerous for Windows). Its not a Windows system file, uses ports to connect to LAN/Internet, its able to hide itself and monitor applications.

I am back to where I belong, made my fresh account on the system, running Command Prompt, Task Manager and coding on Visual C++ .NET Express Edition 2008 like never before.

Finally, Mission Accomplished...click on the post header to get directed to a page containing the solution...

JIIT University - Contributions & Winners

2008-02-26T19:05:00.000+05:30

Hey,

Good times are surely ahead, as JIIT Sun Club Team now comprises of a Grand Prize Winner and a Significant Contributor, under NetBeans Category.

Check out the "CodeforFreedom.IN" website to see the Winners and their Contributions, also featuring the Sun Club members.

We would like to thank Sun Microsystems and the entire Code for Freedom Contest team for giving a great opportunity to university students across India to get a platform to showcase their skills and their love and commitment to the open source community through the Code for Freedom Contest. Have a look at our Campus CFF Report.

Special thanks to NetBeans Community Docs team, without their support we might not have been able to contribute the majority of our contributions.

Regards,
Sun Club Coordinator

Time to rEalise some drEams

2008-02-26T18:55:00.000+05:30

Hey,

As Code For Freedom ended last week, its time to look ahead and realise our dreams. I mean the kind of projects we had ever dream of working on, and getting paid for it. Now its possible to make them a reality.

Thanks to Sun Microsystems for their never ending support for OpenSource Communities, that has resulted in such initiatives, the latest one being NetBeans Innovators Grants(Dreams of Reality).

Its a great opportunity for those who have recently contributed to the NetBeans Community through Code For Freedom, to revolutionize the IDE...
Also, its not only for India, but its open to various countries across the World. So, hurry up guys, just a week left, for submitting your proposals of your dream projects.

Best Wishes,
Varun

Angad's Blog | Screencast on NetBeans.TV

2008-02-18T09:10:00.001+05:30

Thanks to Gregg Sporar, my netbeans plugin's (RegExPlugin) screencast video has been uploaded to the Netbeans.tv screencast section.
I'm excited to tell you that I just saw my screencast on Netbeans.tv homepage! :)

Watch the screencast here!

Latest on NetBeans TV

2008-02-15T20:28:00.000+05:30

Hi,

As you might know, that Angad Singh, Campus Ambassador of Jaypee Institute of Information Technology University, Noida has recently blogged about his plugin Regular Expression Builder...

I am glad to tell you that Gregg Sporar, NetBeans Evangelist had suggested him to upload the video of this plugin on NetBeans.tv! So, have a look at the screencast.

Also, Amit and I, are working out on the proposal for the plugin Idea, that NetBeans Podcast Episode #40 had featured...View all the NetBeans Podcasts at NetBeans.tv!

Do post your comments, what you feel about them!

Happy NetBeaning!

Duke's Choice Awards

2008-02-13T22:56:00.000+05:30

Announcing the Sixth Annual Duke's Choice Awards!

Every year the world's biggest Java technology event, the JavaOne[SM] conference, culminates with the the Duke's Choice awards. The awards celebrate extreme innovation in the world of Java technology. They are granted to the best and most innovative projects using the Java platform.

A global search is on — to find the coolest Java technology innovations on the planet. Don't miss this opportunity to be recognized as one of the Java developer community elite at JavaOne, in San Francisco. The primary judging criteria for this prestigious award is innovation — putting small developer shops on an equal footing with multi-national giants.

Winners will receive a statuette of "Duke," the Java technology mascot, at JavaOne and depending on the application, they are also eligible to be featured on java.com, and to participate in other co-marketing and PR activities.

How the Winning Entries Are Selected

Winners are selected by James Gosling and the Java technology leadership team. Judging will be based on the innovation and creativity of the Java technology-based applications and services, including web applications and tools, mobile applications and services, games, and card-based applications.

Entering the Contest

Entering the Duke's Choice Award is easy. Simply complete the submission form online before the deadline of March 14, 2008. Winners will be notified by April 4, 2008.

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about the awards process, please e-mail us at: dukes-choice-entries@sun.com.

IRC Channel #CFF-Netbeans-Help

2008-02-13T22:51:00.001+05:30

Guys,

Yesterday, it was the last session that took place at IRC Channel #CFF-Netbeans-Help.

I was the only CFF participant, present there. There were the same members, as seen in the previous two weeks. Nothing new about that.

The only positive was Rohan, a Sun engineer, who has been there regularly, since the beginning of this channel [25th December, 2007].

I discussed with him about some of my own Plugin Idea's, one mentioned during the NetBeans Podcast[1], as well as, the one submitted by Angad recently. Have a look...[2]

As Code For Freedom Contest comes to an end, the accumulation of results are in process. Come March 15th, 2008 to check out your results.

But, this is not just an end, its rather a beginning of an era in the coming years, probably months. So, gear up and move on...to achieve newer heights in the future.

All the best!

Regards,
Varun
--

References,
[1] http://www.netbeans.org/servlets/NewsItemView?newsItemID=1188
[2] http://blogs.sun.com/angad/entry/my_contribution_to_the_code

Regular Expressions Plugin: My First Contribution to CFF Contest

2008-02-10T18:20:00.000+05:30

Contributed by Angad Singh,

Today, I have successfully made my first contribution to a Sun Open Source Community, specifically, Netbeans!, and my first submission to Sun Microsystem's Code For Freedom Contest.

My contribution is an an easy to use all-in-one regular expressions plugin (builder,
tester, organizer) for the Netbeans IDE.

Flashback

I had initially sought to develop this tool as there weren't such a feature in Netbeans. I had checked out the Netbeans Plugins portal and Netbeans contrib project and found out two plugins which dealt with regular expressions but supported only some aspects of what I had in mind. A much more powerful tool could be developed. I had discussed the idea on the nbdev@netbeans.org mailing list and received enthusiastic response for the development of such a plugin and suggestions for features it should have. Thus, I started off with this plugin and tried to incorporate as many of the features they suggested as possible.

A little background on Regular Expressions

Regular expressions are a way to describe a set of strings based on common characteristics shared by each string in the set. They can be used to search, edit, or manipulate text and data.
You must learn a specific syntax to create regular expressions — one that goes beyond the normal syntax of the Java programming language.

Regular expressions vary in complexity, but once you understand the basics of how they're constructed, you'll be able to decipher (or create) any regular expression.

There is a lesson available on Sun's website which explains how to use the java.util.regex API for pattern matching with regular expressions. This lesson starts with the basics, and gradually builds to cover more advanced techniques.

There's a good tutorial on learning regular expressions available here.

My Plugin: Regular Expressions Plugin (RegExPlugin 0.1)

What is it?

A simple and easy to use all-in-one solution which helps a developer in all aspects of working with regular expressions - Learning, Building, Testing and Organizing.

What all does it do?

Building
- Building a regular expression is as easy as browsing the built-in regular expressions language reference, double clicking on the language elements to insert them into your regular expression.
- Paste your regular expression from Java Code, convert it into a regular expression (all \\’s to \’s converted automatically), modify and/or test it, then automatically
  convert it back to a java string.
Testing
- Uses java.util.regex API for robust regular expressions matching
- Syntax Validation
- Matches the regex against an input text and shows match results in the form of a tree, with matches at the first level with their matched groups at the second level.
- Match results show individual groups matched with exact position and sub-sequence.
- Clicking on a match highlights the sub-sequence in the input text window.
- All regular expressions compilation options supported – Multiline, Dotall mode, etc.
Complete Regular Expressions Language Reference
- No need to leave Netbeans to refer language reference for regular expressions
- Divided into intuitive categories- Characters, Character Classes, Grouping Constructs, Substitutions, various types of Quantifiers, etc.
- All the language constructs described in java.util.regex.Pattern javadoc are included.
- Click on a language element to see it’s description in the pane below.
- Very helpful for newbie’s and learners. Gets you up to speed quickly.

Download: At Netbeans Plugin Portal

Usage: To open the regular expressions plugin window, go to Tools > Regular Expressions Plugin.

Demo Video: I've made a small video showcasing the features of the plugin by showing how to build and test a regular expression for checking email addresses:

Do check out the plugin and point out any bugs / suggestions / any valuable input you can give for it's improvement.

One More To Go!

2008-02-05T19:15:00.001+05:30

Hi,

I am glad to see the growth of NetBeans Community Docs Program in last 1 month and 2 weeks. Its really been a rapid, yet a steady one!

Guys, its celebration time as the program reaches another milestone, a bigger one - 100 Docs with 10 months.

On an average 10 Docs per month, this is what the stats say, but you know this is just the beginning.....so, gear up and roll out some docs from your shell of experience.

Best Wishes,
Every Contributor

Spotlight on Mentoring Program

2008-02-02T23:35:00.000+05:30

Hi,

I am late to notify you all about two people I mentioned the previous month, Arpit Goel & Prateek Garg, see the pOst. They have contributed the Flash Demo to the NetBeans Community Docs Program.

View the Flash Demo on Using JDBC-ODBC Bridge Layer in NetBeans.

These guys are from Jaypee Institute of Information Technology University, Noida in India, where I am currently studying in pre-final year as an undergraduate in Computer Science. They are also pursuing the same degree.

Any Suggestions/Comments? Do write to me....Also, if you are interested in contributing a doc to the NetBeans Community Docs program? Here's a quick start guide.

Regards,
Varun

Bringing Ideas to Life

2008-02-02T00:19:00.000+05:30

NetBeans Innovators Grants

Do you want to make your dream project a reality? You came to the right place. The Dreams of Reality: NetBeans Innovators Grant will help you bring your ideas to life and will assign real money to dream projects, to help make them a reality!

The NetBeans Innovators Grant is part of Sun Microsystems initiative to give US$ 1 million to open source developers across the globe to work on their favorite Sun-sponsored project. Led by the NetBeans Community and the NetBeans Dream Team, the NetBeans Innovators Grant will help you get your ideas into real projects.

For more info, visit NetBeans.org!

Bug Fixed: Issue #124775

2008-02-01T23:48:00.000+05:30

Hi,

I had told once about a bug concerning "Move The Needle" campaign.
See the post on Bug Report.

I am glad to tell you that its fixed and the campaign is running successfully. It got fixed in January itself. I forgot to post about it on the blog.

So, Njoy and move the needle.....

Regards,
Varun

Blog Validation!

2008-02-01T23:23:00.001+05:30

Whenever PlanetNetBeans.org doesn't show our blog posts, its because our blog validation fails when checked by the W3C Feed Validation Service.

Objective: Check the syntax of Atom or RSS feeds

This image is placed onto our blog as well, it signifies that our feeds are Valid Atom 1.0 Feeds.

So, no need to worry when our blog doesn't show up on PlanetNetBeans Homepage, OR NetBeans IDE Startup Window.

Past, Present and Future of NetBeans Sources

2008-02-01T20:39:00.000+05:30

Firstly, it was the CVS that provided the NetBeans Sources for the past 4 years. However, over the last few months.....the Nature of the Sources seems to have changed, as one of my documentation on CVS, would no longer be apt for the Community Docs.

There are several people who have worked a lot on the integration of CVS into NetBeans and then providing various Docs in form of FAQ's, Tutorials, Articles, Flash Demos, etc. Lets Thank them for the hard work they had put into the success of CVS being bundled with NetBeans in recent years.

I am not sad, and don't have any regrets as well. As I am still getting accustomed to the Concurrent Versioning System, so adapting to the new system would take some time.

Moving On...

The NetBeans source is now organized into Mercurial[1] repositories. Currently the interesting ones are:

The Mercurial main repository[1]. Now and in the future, new functionality that is reasonably stable (does not break anything else) goes into the trunk. This code is used to make regular daily development builds.
Milestone branches. Periodically between major release a build is made which has been vetted for quality. Each such milestone build gets its own Mercurial repository, which usually diverges from the trunk in only a few files which needed to be patched to fix high-impact bugs.

Brief Overview -
"Mercurial is a cross-platform, distributed source management tool for software developers. It is written in Python, with a binary diff implementation written in C. Mercurial is primarily a command line program. All its commands begin with hg, a reference to the chemical symbol for mercury." - as defined in the Wikipedia[3].

References -
[1] http://hg.netbeans.org/
[2] http://www.netbeans.org/community/sources/structure.html
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercurial_(software)

[nbweekly] NetBeans Weekly

2008-01-28T23:00:00.000+05:30

Hi, today I received yet another Issue (Issue #326) of the NetBeans Weekly News, i.e. a newsletter for the NetBeans community. Have a close look at the following section in the newsletter, the quick start guide, they are referring to is actually a doc made by me, contributed to and for the growth of the Community Docs.

Training -
Accessing MS Access / MS SQL from NetBeans IDE

This Community Docs contribution from Gustavo Soto shows you how to use the NetBeans IDE with JDBC - ODBC Bridge to connect to MS Access / MS SQL Server database. Interested in submitting a tutorial to the NetBeans Community Docs program? Here's a quick start guide.

Mentoring Program: New Contributiors!

2008-01-24T20:57:00.000+05:30

Hi,

Its not a great start as expected still, two members from our Campus Sun Club, came up with an Idea of creating a Flash Demo on "How To Configure and Use ODBC Driver using JDBC-ODBC Bridge Layer in NetBeans".

Its in progress these days, hopefully we can have a view on it soon. There would soon be a Wikipage on it, describing the purpose of the demo.

Lets wish them luck!

Regards,
Sun Club Team

Posts from PrOgramming BOnds on NetBeans Press Center!

2008-01-16T23:07:00.000+05:30

Hi,

There's added one more feather in our caps. Yes, its true that our blog would also be checked for posts useful for the growth of NetBeans.

Just check out the last three, shown in the image, the topics are from our blog.

Regards,
Varun

Now, I Can Wear NetBeans 6.0!

2008-01-15T23:24:00.000+05:30

Thank God!

Now, I would like to thank the NetBeans Community, for timely help and support.

Especially, the Docs Manager and Coordinator, for giving me such respect on/off the mailing lists and showing faith in me, and my ideas.

I have received the NetBeans 6.0 T-shirt from Sun Headquarters in Czech Republic.
Thanks Again.

Regards,
Varun

JIIT Sun Club's Report on Latest Events!

2008-01-14T00:19:00.001+05:30

Hi,

First of all, I would like to introduce to you the members of the JIIT Sun Club Team.

Sun Campus Ambassador

Angad Singh

Sun Club Coordinator

Saurabh Dhupar

Varun Nischal

On behalf of the JIIT Sun Club Team, I would like to give you a brief report of what all happened, you may refer about the Events (in details), as posted by Angad.

Report -

Angad Singh started out with a very basic question: What is Netbeans?.. as that is what the talk is all about.. right? Someone said its a java IDE, which is exactly what Angad wanted him to say, so as to tell him as well as everyone, that it's NOT just a java IDE.

It's 3 things: A multi-lingual IDE, a community and a platform, and explained what all it provides with these 3 roles.
Then, he talked about what exactly is an IDE, why we have IDE's, what is the basic difference and advantage of using an IDE, that an IDE is a collection of tools integrated together to help a developer do all activities which are part of the software development life cycle: planning, designing, coding, debugging, testing, project management, versioning, etc.. and that Netbeans does all that!

Then, he talked about...Whats new in NetBeans 6.0?... as well as discussed about its coolest features and told the audience about the features, which were bundled with the NetBeans 6.0 final build, unveiled on December 3rd, 2007.

He also gave a general Live Demo on using the IDE, followed by 3 feature specific Live Demos, 2 of which (Matisse GUI Builder, Profiling).

He did an excellent job...Hats off to him!
Then came my turn, it was my 1st ever presentation of my life, and I think I did good, as I tried to make my speech on the brief history of NetBeans, as interactive as possible.

I told them how NetBeans got its name, the role of Roman Stanek, in creating a business around Xelfi, which later on became NetBeans DeveloperX2, then renamed to Forte 1.0 by the Sun Microsystems and finally getting back its name as NetBeans.
Saurabh Dhupar, it was his 1st presentation as well, for the Sun Club. He did great job, as he was supposed to give a Live Demo. He explained the Forward as well as Reverse Engineering of the UML Modelling Add-On pack.
The following day, It was my solo presentation, basically it was an informal meeting with the audience that attended the Talk, the previous evening.

It was about the Code For Freedom Mentoring Program, making them more aware about our program, intended for making many useful contributions, as I told about it in the NetBeans Docs mailing list - dev@usersguide.netbeans.org , as well as told by Angad in the previous post.
Also, coming Wednesday, Angad and probably Saurabh would be taking up the Hands-on Plugins Workshop! However, the purpose is to dispel some myths about developing plugins as well as, encouraging them to work towards developing them.

That's all for this week.
Hope to see me, back blogging about more such events, on regular basis.

With Regards,
Varun Nischal

JIIT Sun Club's Code For Freedom Contest Mentoring Program

2008-01-13T19:22:00.000+05:30

The Code For Freedom Contest is a very high profile contest organized by Sun in India. Students can contribute bug fixes / new features to open source projects and gain valuable technical experience and exposure by working in real-life open source projects used by millions of users all over the world, and on top of that, there’s exciting prizes to be won.

The best part is, contributing for the contest isn't rocket science. Anyone can contribute! Your contributions maybe anything from solving bit-size bugs, contributing documentation in the form of how-to articles, tutorials, screencasts and flash demos, to adding new features / writing plugins!

As the Code for Freedom Contest ends in only a month's time, it's high time we get some contributions from our university. With this concern, we've pondered on how to churn out good contribs from students in the most certain way.

We asked ourselves, why aren't people contributing, what is the barrier to entry to this great opportunity, and what all can we do about it. The obvious answers were, a) People are unaware, b) They think it's all too tough (though that stems out from the first reason).

Despite all ours' and Sun's efforts to create awareness about the contest, I could still find that some students are in the dark. We had a CFF contest workshop by a representative from NIIT. We've got posters put up all over the campus. We have quite an active mailing list and wiki (provided by the google group) where we continually keep posting wake up calls, news related to the contest, and how-to articles on how to contribute.

People definitely do "know about it", they know what needs to be done, they know the idea, they just don't know how to get there, and what all are the many ways of getting there.. and so we thought why not go one step ahead of evangelism and promotion, to providing direct support to CFF aspirants, and thus we came out with a new initiative which we call the Code for Freedom Contest Mentoring Program.

Ofcourse, Sun provides mentors, and the online communities of the 5 open source projects can provide support too, but everyone is not that web-savvy and local support in the form of frequent meetings, brainstorming sessions, etc is always better.

We did always provide support even otherwise, but this would be a proper program with a concrete plan to help complete winning contributions in the course of 1 month.

How will the mentoring program help one in winning the Code for Freedom Contest?

Regular, frequent meetings and brainstorming sessions.
Complete step by step guidance and mentoring from the inception of your idea to the final submission for the contest
Assistance with the contest rules, learning all about how to contribute, and helping whenever one gets stuck.
We will connect the participants with experienced mentors, from Sun Microsystems to assist them throughout your project.
We will help the participants get the best support from experienced Sun Engineers and the open source communities!

Next comes the important part. We've thought of two cool ways of contributing for the code for freedom contest in a month, and have good chances of winning. We will mentor students in the following 2 kinds of contributions:

Netbeans Plugins: Plugins empower people to add their own wanted features into Netbeans, very easily, and then share it with the community. Students often have a myth that writing plugins for netbeans is very tough and that myth has to be dispelled. We will float some ideas and conduct brainstorming sessions in meetings to get more ideas. We will have a Hands-On workshop on writing plugins for Netbeans in the coming week. The NB community loves its plugin developers and it's a great way of contributing to the contest too.
Netbeans Community Docs: You can easily contribute a tutorial, how-to article, flash demo, FAQs, tips & tricks and translations. You can write articles on specific features of Netbeans (having good knowledge of using that feature and wanting to help others, e.g.-one of our coordinators has written a doc on "Checkout from CVS and doing headless builds"). You can even write about your favorite plugin (C/C++ Pack, UML, PHP, etc.) or you could even present an article about your project. There are tonnes of ways you can contribute here.

We'll be primarily working on the above 2 types of contributions under the mentorship program, though we can have workshops on bug-fixing in netbeans/solaris too, if students show interest.

We started with the program on January 11th, 2008 (yesterday) with an opening session. It was kind of an orientation session. Around 15 students attended the session. They were told all about the rules and procedure of the contest, followed by a brief on the Netbeans community docs program by one of our coordinators, Varun Nischal. We also announced that we'd be having a hands-on workshop on netbeans plugins on January 16th, 2008 (the coming wednesday) and a few links they should check out.

These are some wiki pages connected with our mentoring program:

Code for Freedom Contest Mentoring Program
Contribution Ideas Page- This page enlists all contribution ideas for Netbeans plugins as well as community docs. We have compiled a list of our plugin ideas and the Netbeans Plugin Community wishlist. Some students had come to me to discuss their ideas. I have put up their ideas in the list too.
Contribution Status Page- Once they've decided the project / doc they want to work on, participants would add and maintain their project status (idea, status, mentor, etc.) over here
Campus Contribution Report Page- list all the completed and submitted contributions from our univ.

Mentoring students to successfully make contributions to a contest in 1 month's time is a tough job. We will be in constant touch with the mentees by all means - both physical (meetings) and virtual (mailing list) and will monitor their progress to make sure they complete and submit their entry before the contest ends.

With Regards,
Angad Singh

Netbeans Tech Talk

2008-01-13T19:19:00.000+05:30

Netbeans Tech Talk
________________________________________________________________

Our Sun Club has made a sweet head start in the New Year with a successful tech talk on Netbeans. This talk was catered towards the mainstream audience (more on that in a seperate blog post..).

Around 70+ people attended the talk. Getting people to attend the talk has always been major battle (especially in our university). People here aren't that aware of the spirit of open source and local user groups. This time, I think we did good job on that front..I and my team expended all efforts we possibly could to arouse interest in students, especially the juniors, to show some participation in such activities.

________________________________________

Apart from noticeboards and mailing lists, I've gone and talked to students personally, telling them the advantages of participating / contributing in open source communities.

I've also realized that a virtual community isn't enough. In order to be heard, we have to go out there and reach people physically. The world (atleast here) isn't that tech-savvy, yet.

People show better response in a public meeting rather than a mailing list, and thus I've decided to follow this approach this semester, as it would help us lead a more active community, as well as to sharpen our soft skills.

The talk was attended by students of Computer Science, IT and Electronics branches from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year. It's great to see a diverse audience, shows you really are reaching out to everyone, and for me the success of this talk meant a lot of confidence to do future talks in this semester.

________________________________________

I wanted everything to be perfect. From the past week, I had been observing some of our faculty lecturers carefully, trying to understand the art of holding the interest of your audience throughout the lecture, how some lectures turn out to be boring, while others keep you glued to the teacher.

We all know we hate slide reading, we hate too much theory, bookish language.. but there's a lot more to it. Body language, being friendly and casual, relating your audience and yourself with the topic, visualization of ideas, giving examples, case studies and most importantly, involving your audience, making it interactive and not just one-way traffic.

Slides do matter too. I referred a lot of presentations (and talking on netbeans was a big advantage, one can find a lot of resources on netbeans.org) for ideas and good slides, and decided not to just go with the standard slide set available to all the ambassadors.

________________________________________

I started out with a very basic question: What is Netbeans?.. as that is what the talk is all about.. right? Someone said its a java IDE, which is exactly what I wanted him to say, so as to tell them that it's NOT just a java IDE. It's 3 things: An multi-lingual IDE, a community and a platform, and explained what all it provides with these 3 roles.

I talked about what exactly is an IDE, why we have IDE's, what is the basic difference and advantage of using an IDE, that an IDE is a collection of tools integrated together to help a developer do all activities which are part of the software development life cycle: planning, designing, coding, debugging, testing, project management, versioning, etc.. and that Netbeans does all that!

And, this is how the talk went on.. After the features overview, Varun talked about the history of Netbeans, how it all started, how it got its name, etc. I gave a general demo on using the IDE, followed by 3 feature specific demos, 2 of which (Matisse GUI Builder, Profiling) were given by me and the one on visual UML modeling by Saurabh. We couldn't give the demo on developer collaboration, as the time ran out, but we'll give it during the plugins workshop on wednesday.

____________________________________________________________

Here's the talk's outline:

What isN'T Netbeans.
What is Netbeans?

What are it's features?
What can I do with Netbeans?
Which Operating Systems does it work on?
Supported Technologies
Profiler Pack, Mobility Pack, Enterprise Pack, C/C++ Pack, Visual Web Pack
The Netbeans Community
The Netbeans Platform

What's new in Netbeans 6.0
Brief History of NB
Netbeans 6.0 Demo

Setting up a project
Using the code editor – Code Completion, Code Generation, Instant Rename, Debugging and other features
Using the Matisse GUI Builder
Compiling, running and debugging programs

Coolest Features of Netbeans

Matisse GUI Builder (+Demo)
Developer Collaboration
Debugging & Profiling (+Demo)
Visual UML Modeling (+Demo)

Presenters: Angad Singh (1,2,3,5,6.1,6.3), Saurabh Dhupar (6.4), Varun Nischal (4,6.2)

____________________________________________________________

I'll post the photos of the event soon on my blog: http://blogs.sun.com/angad/entry/netbeans_tech_talk

With Regards,
Angad Singh

Article: Wiki Doc published in "Also Today"

2008-01-08T18:42:00.000+05:30

Hi Guys,

As you all know, I had contributed an Article to the NetBeans Community Docs, almost a month back. You may visit the doc here, titled "Checking out NetBeans from CVS and doing headless builds".

I had tried publishing an article to the java.net "Also in Java Today", to make more people aware of this documentation.

"Also in Java Today", where the news which go through an editorial review are published over here. If you are a java.net member, then you may also tell them about any sort of news item, which would then, after editorial review, be published in the above News Archive.

It might sound amusing but, it has been published since 3 weeks, and I came to know about it today.

Have a look at the article here - Article on Wiki Doc. Its also listed in the Projects & Communities section.

Bug Reported: Issue #124775

2008-01-06T23:32:00.000+05:30

I found problem with the following webpages;

1. On this page -
http://www.netbeans.org/community/teams/evangelism/movetheneedle.html
Refer to the 6th point-
Come back each week and visit the results
page<http://www.netbeans.org/community/teams/evangelism/mtn-results.html>to
see how you're doing. Can you move the needle?

2. On this one -
http://www.netbeans.org/community/teams/evangelism/mtn-results.html
Results have not been updated since March 2007

So, I decided to file an issue, I know its too late as far as the CFF is concerned,
but for the future it might prove beneficiary.

Event at JIIT Sun Club

2008-01-05T18:27:00.000+05:30

Guys,

Its going to be my first ever presentation, as a part of JIIT Sun Club event, in college in front of nearly 100 students. What could be better than presenting NetBeans in your 1st ever presentation.

Our Sun Campus Ambassador Angad Singh, my Sun Club teammate and myself are going to give a talk on NetBeans.

I'm enjoying the Code For Freedom Contest, as well as being a member of the Sun Academic Initiative.

Lets see what Sun have up their sleeves, when they reveal the new OpenSource Award Program.

Wish both of us luck!

Regards,
Varun Nischal

2008 Is Here!

2008-01-01T18:30:00.000+05:30

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year!
The past 1 year has been an amazing one for the NetBeans Community as well as for me.

I have been a member of this community for the last two months.
So lets have a flashback for the last quarter of 2007;

I became NB community member.
NetBeans was released under dual license.
PHP plugin was made available.
I made my first ever contribution to the community,
through a documentation titled, "Checking Out Using CVS and doing Headless Builds".
NetBeans 6.0 was unveiled on 3rd December.
my.NetBeans.org - a dream became reality.
New look of NetBeans.org!

That's it from my side.
I hope, all of you had a great year.

May God bless you and brings prosperity to all!

Lets rOck the World in 2008.....Njoy!

Collaborate and Improvise

2007-12-20T23:42:00.000+05:30

Friends,

I think this is the best feature NB has provided with, its a module named "Developer Collaboration".

What's Plugin Portal

Plugin Portal page showcases "Recently Added", "Top Rated" and "Most Popular" Plugins made by the NetBeans community members.

The "Plugins" allow you to extend the functionality of the NetBeans IDE, as well as any other application built on top of the NetBeans Platform.

Install plugins to get support for the latest technologies, frameworks and specifications. Download, comment, and rate plugins provided by community members and third-party companies, or post your own contributions!

About Developer Collaboration

This module enables the end-user to join the collaboration network, "share.java.net", often used, to collaborate and share their work with Sun engineers or their team members.

One can chat in various typing modes with the user on the other end, thus providing you a chat messenger sort of UI and features, as well.

One can "drag" the file\project and "drop" it over the provided window, to share with the specified users.

For more info, goto Developer Collaboration.

my.NetBeans.org rOcks!

2007-12-20T12:51:00.001+05:30

Hello everyone,

Check out the Welcome Message of the new social networking website for the community, by the community.

Its my.NetBeans.org, the coolest website for community.

- Features -

Turbo C++ IDE's

2007-12-17T16:08:00.000+05:30

You might be wondering why I mentioned IDE's and not IDE. Its because, Turbo C++ is coming back in two versions;

Turbo C++ Professional
It has pre-built drag and drop components providing everything you need to start real C++ development today, as well as great environment for build-your-own and third party components and IDE add-ons.
Turbo C++ Explorer
This is a free edition and is a all-in-one solution which lets beginners and hobbyists learn programming and develop applications using the C++ language.

Lets have a quick view over its features;

Extensible component model - Use inculded 200+ app components, build your own, download free, or buy 3rd party components.

Code faster with Live Templates, Code Completion, Code Insight and Block Completion.

Easily connect to your data

Build industry standards based C/C++ applications.

_________________________________________

The fast and easy way to develop C/C++ applications!

Download it, Today!
______________________________________________

NetBeans Spotlight

2007-12-15T23:43:00.000+05:30

NetBeans Spotlight is on Varun Nischal, this time around.

Varun Nischal aka N vArUn, that's me!
___________________________________________________

Amit Kumar Saha, the NetBeans Community Docs Coordinator,
has welcomed me on behalf of the NetBeans Community
for Contributing more Docs.

This is what he has to say about me:

Varun is very passionate about NetBeans which is amply
demonstrated on his blog called "prOgramming bOnds" where
he along with his friends blog almost regularly on all things related to NetBeans.

Read more!
___________________________________

If you need any help on contributing a documentation to the community,
please have a look at the following article, "The NetBeans Community Docs Program Wants You!", before you go any further. ___________________________________________________

Doc #1: NB Community Docs

2007-12-14T23:35:00.000+05:30

I'm glad to tell you all, that I have successfully contributed my First Documentation titled "Checkout Using CVS and doing headless builds".

______________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Amit Kumar Saha, the NetBeans Community Docs Coordinator, has validated and enlisted my contribution on the Community Docs Wikipage.

Refer to his latest blog post.
___________________________________

If you need any help on contributing a documentation to the community,
please have a look at the following article, "The NetBeans Community Docs Program Wants You!", before you go any further.

___________________________________________________