It's not a blog, it's a feature

Caused by the decision to realise a project with three different operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac Panther), where I want to take the Linux part, I've decided to take a first dip into .Net development with Mono in Suse Linux 9.1

So I use Monodevelop and wrote my first Webservice which (suprisingly) works without a problem with xsp.
So I'm really exited which success our programming project tonight at the PCCP clubhouse will bring or if we will fail to realise this project.

By the way: I am using Suse Linux 9.1 really intensive currently - so this entry is written with the satisfaction of the progress of the Linux development.

Yesterday we started our Programming Project with a few members of PCCP (Max, Dani, HPK and I) - and the problemes where hugh (what does not really suprise me):

• first we spend about 1,5 hours to install Mono on Suse Linux 9.1, especially to run MonoDevelop was the difficulty. The solution was simple but late expected: to install GNOME fully
  
• installing Mono on MacOs X miscarried caused by a damaged dmg-file
  
• a simple webservice was fast written, but when we want to access the SQL Server on Windows Server 2k we failed. We all believe this is caused by the name resoultion but we have no solution for this problem yet - maybe SQLClient could it be, so research should be done until our next meeting
  
• HPK and Max dabbled in using GTK+ on Windows XP
  

I'm really fascinated in Java Eclipse: this free IDE is my companion in developing Java Projects quite a long time. But now I figured out many new, great functions provided by Eclipse 3.1.1 with the help from a book: Beginning Eclipse 3 for Developers.

I'm astonished and happy to develop my Java programs with the support of Eclipse - enjoy a few examples:
- with F3 you can open the declaration of the selected type in the editor
- mark Code a let Eclipse create a method of this code and replace it with a method-call in the programm; the same with local variables instead of values
- code completion and error correction
- ... many, many more, it will suit your needs

Links to Eclipse:
Eclipse Homepage

If you have used an older Media Player Version in .NET and are now facing problems using your old programms, or you want to use it for the first time these may be helpful for you:

- First you have to import the COM Component Windows Media Player to your Toolbox.
- Next step is to declare a player: private AxWMPLib.AxWindowsMediaPlayer Player;
- you have to specify a URL where the Player takes the media from: Player.URL = "directory/file.avi";
- Start the player with: Player.controls.play(); and your are finished with this simple version

Links: Playing Digital Media in a Visual Basic .NET Application for a complexer version of a Player

I was faced with problems with the actual version of OpenMHP 1.0.4 (the free open source project for application development based on DVB-MHP).

There was no TV screen visible and I fixed the problem with adjusting the openmhp.properties in the openmhp/static directory.

The solution was to add the following line:
additional_classpath=d\:\\programme\\MHP\\openmhp
You have to insert the path to your ophenmhp installation and everything will work fine!

I found a very useful link for every Window$ Java programmer:
The Java Development KIT documentation in Winhelp and HTMLHelp formats completed with useful index and search functions.

Because I need it so often it has managed to get a popular place in my quickstart bar.

Here is the very useful link: JDK 5.0 Documentation

I just found a very useful link: Cheat Sheets

Can you see the difference in the following properties:

encoding = UTF-8
encoding = UTF-8


I can not find the difference, but diff is able to find the blank at the end of the second entry. But just if you don't use the parameter -w ...

This realization needs a few hours of work :( - because Java means that UTF-8 with a blank at the end is a different encoding to UTF-8.
So if you near black despair think about the blank ...

Nowadays Web Applications are more complex and interactive than ever before. To achieve the goal of interactivity JavaScript is used most of the time.

Developing JavaScript was not as comfortable than writing for example Java classes, because there were no debugging possibility and no comfortable IDE, with for example code completion, available.

The "bad" times are now over; here are two tools that every Javascript developer needs:
- For Debugging JavaScript the Firebug Plugin for the Firefox Browser is state of the art: Firebug Website
- For Writing JavaScript the JSEclipse Plugin for the Eclipse IDE offers many comfortable support like a powerful IDE: How to install JSEclipse

Enjoy the new feeling of JavaScript development ;)