NetBeans Notes from the Field

I got my very own copy of Rich Client Programming at a local Barnes and Noble bookstore today. I purchased it for two reasons; to learn more about the NetBean's internals, especially with regard to reusing it as a foundation (or platform) for my own applications, and to help fund the effort and hopefully make it successful enough for more books like this in the future. Many will look at dead tree documentation as a complete waste. But the effort to gather and organize information for publication produces the most focused collection of accurate information you're going to read anywhere.

Over the years I've discovered that a bad book is far better than a 'good' collection of on-line documentation, especially if it's a computer book. There are thousands of years of refinements in how to publish books. The books we take for granted trace directly back to the fifteenth century and Gutenberg's invention of movable type. I can sit and read a book far more easily than any computer or 'e-book'. A dead-tree book doesn't need any power (other than me turning pages), it can be read in just about any light and any angle (except from the back), and just about any little slip of paper can be used as a bookmark. Even writing in the margins to make corrections or jot down thoughts is dead easy.

NetBeans 6 Regression

I tried to load and use NetBeans 6 Milestone 9 on rhea, the system with Ubuntu 7.04 and Beryl enabled. Unfortunately this version of NetBeans 6 will not work with Beryl enabled. The windows come up as white (no controls displayed). If I disable Beryl, then NetBeans 6 behaves correctly. Since rhea is more for cross checking and testing, not development, it's not that big a deal. But it is something to keep and eye on, and yet another reason not to enable Beryl on europa.

Another World Wind Java Post

Geertjan Wielenga, one of the three authors of "Rich Client Programming", has posted another entry about using the Java version of World Wind in NetBeans. This time he's gotten it integrated into the NetBeans Platform. I like what's happening because it shows what can be accomplished when two very different open project, both designed for reuse, are "mashed up" into something new and interesting. Geertjan and his friends over at Planet NetBeans are a great source of information, support, and ideas.