Tag: java

Gradle Build Tool

A few helpful links and details to where information is on the Gradle Build Tool.

Installation

Via SDKMAN sdk install gradle x.y.z where x.y.z is the version, like 8.0.2.

Via Brew with brew install gradle.

Manually check out the instructions here.

Building a Java Library (or application, Gradle plugin, etc)

Using the init task. From inside a directory with the pertinent project.

gradle init

You’ll be prompted for options.

With the project initialized this is what that initialized folder structure looks like.

At this point add the Java code for the library, similar to this example, and execute a build like this.

./gradlew build

Build Collateral

View the test report via the HTML output file at lib/build/reports/tests/test/index.html.

The JAR file is available in lib/build/libs with the name lib.jar. Verify the archive is valid with jar tf lib/build/libs/lib.jar.

Add the version by setting the version = '0.1.1' in the build.gradle file.

Run the jar task ./gradlew jar and the build will create a lib/build/libs/lib-0.1.1.jar with the expected version.

Add all this to the build by adding the following to the build.gradle file:

tasks.named('jar') {
    manifest {
        attributes('Implementation-Title': project.name,
                   'Implementation-Version': project.version)
    }
}

Verifying this all works, execute a ./gradlew jar and then extract the MANIFEST.MF via jar xf lib/build/libs/lib-0.1.0.jar META-INF/MANIFEST.MF.

Adding API Docs

In the */Library.java file, replace the / in the comment by / * so that we get javadoc markup.

Run the ./gradlew javadoc task. The generated javadoc files are located at lib/build/docs/javadoc/index.html.

To add this as a build task, in build.gradle add a section with the following:

java {
    withJavadocJar()
}

Publish a Build Scan

Execute a build scan with ./gradlew build --scan.

Common Issues + Tips n’ Tricks

gradlew – Permission Denied issue

Let’s say you execute Gradle with ./gradlew with whatever parameter and immediately get a response of “Permission Denied”. The most common solution, especially for included gradlew executables included in repositories, is to just give the executable permission to execute. This is done with a simple addition chmod +x gradelw and you should now be ready to execute!

Do Java Code Streams Exist?

Recently while doing some coding on Twitch I was posed a question, “Are there any people streaming Java?”

It’s an interesting question, as I’ve seen a lot of people streaming a lot of languages. The bulk of streamers seem to be streaming JavaScript and the related frameworks and tools like React, Node.js, Vue.js, and others. I’ve also seen a lot of people using Python, and a few doing things like Rust, C++, and a few others but barely anybody using Java.

Continue reading “Do Java Code Streams Exist?” →

Starting an Ubuntu Dev Tools List

I’ve recently setup a completely clean virtual machine for doing web, system, and related development on Ubuntu. Here’s the shortlist of what I’ve installed after a default installation. The ongoing list of tools and related items I have installed on my Linux dev box I’m keeping here, and it will be kept as a living doc, so I’ll change it as I add new tools, apps and related changes. So lemme know what I ought to add to that list and I’ll add it to my docs page here. Here’s what I have so far…

Other To-dos

  • Always run sudo apt-get update once the system is installed. It never hurts to have the latest updates.
  • I always install Chrome as my first app. Sometimes the Ubuntu Software Center flakes out on this, but just try again and it’ll work. I use the 64-bit Chrome btw, as I’ve noticed that the 32-bit often flakes out when attempting installation on my virtual machines. Your mileage may vary.

What this enables…

At this point I can launch into about any language; Java, JavaScript, and a few others with a minimal amount of headache. Since it’s a Linux instance it gives me a full range of Linuxy things at my disposal.


Default Java Installation

  1. Run a ‘sudo apt-get update’.
  2. To install the default Java JRE and the JDK run the following commands.

    [sourcecode language=”bash”]sudo apt-get install default-jre
    sudo apt-get install default-jdk[/sourcecode]


Oracle Java v8 Installation

  1. [sourcecode language=”bash”]sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer[/sourcecode]


WebStorm Installation

  1. I download the application zip from JetBrains and then run

    [sourcecode language=”bash”]tar xfz WebStorm-*.tar.gz[/sourcecode]

  2. Next I always move the unzipped content to the directory in which I’d like to have the application stored. It’s good practice to not keep things in the download directory, just sayin’. Generally I put these in my usr/bin directory.

    [sourcecode language=”bash”]mv /downloads/WebStorm-* your/desired/spot[/sourcecode]

  3. Now at your terminal, navigate to the path where the application is stored and run the WebStorm.sh executable.

    [sourcecode language=”bash”]./bin/webstorm.sh[/sourcecode]

  4. To add WebStorm to the Quicklaunch, just right click on the icon and select to Lock to Launcher.


IDEA IntelliJ Installation

  1. Follow all the steps listed under WebStorm, it’s the exact same process.


Sublime 3

  1. Go to download the latest v3.
  2. Run the package and it should launch the actual Ubuntu installer, setup Sublime for bash use and get it installed.

(NOTE UPDATED 1/18/2016 > The installer doesn’t seem to get it installed, so I went with this link http://olivierlacan.com/posts/launch-sublime-text-3-from-the-command-line/ which has a good solution.)

In-memory Orchestrate Local Development Database

I was talking with Tory Adams @BEZEI2K about working with Orchestrate‘s Services. We’re totally sold on what they offer and are looking forward to a lot of the technology that is in the works. The day to day building against Orchestrate is super easy, and setting up collections for dev or test or whatever are so easy nothing has stood in our way. Except one thing…

Every once in a while we have to work disconnected. For whatever the reason might be; Comcast cable goes out, we decide to jump on a train or one of us ends up on one of those Q400 puddle jumpers that doesn’t have wifi! But regardless of being disconnected from wifi, cable or internet connectivity we still want to be able to code and test!

In Memory Orchestrate Wrapper

Enter the idea of creating an in memory Orchestrate database wrapper. Using something like convict.js one could easily redirect all the connections as necessary when developing locally. That way development continues right along and when the application is pushed live, it’s redirected to the appropriate Orchestrate connections and keys!

This in memory “fake” or “mock” would need to have the key value, events, and graph store setup just like Orchestrate. With the possibility of having this in memory one could also easily write tests against a real fake and be able to test connected or disconnected without mocking. Not to say that’s a good or bad idea, but just one more tool in the tool chest doesn’t hurt!

If something like this doesn’t pop up in the next week or three, I might just have to kick off this project myself! If anybody is interested please reach out to me and let’s discuss! I’m open to writing it in JavaScript, C#, Java or whatever poison pill you’d prefer. (I’m not polyglot to limit my options!!)

Other Ideas, Development Shop Swap

Another idea that I’ve been pondering is setting up a development shop swap. I’ll leave the reader to determine what that means!  😉  Feel free to throw down ideas that this might bring up and I’ll incorporate that into the soon to be implementation. I’ll have more information about that idea right here once the project gets rolling. In the meantime, happy coding!

Glassfish, Java, JSF and Explorations of IntelliJ IDEA 13

I recently dove into working with some tooling at Jetbrains. The first thing I needed to take a dive into is the latest EAP of IntelliJ IDEA 13. If you do any sort of Java development you’ve definitely heard of IntelliJ, and if you work in other realms like C#, Node.js & JavaScript, Python or other languages you’ve likely heard of other Jetbrains tools like ReSharper, WebStorm or PHPStorm, Pycharm or a host of the other IDEs that they produce. A few ways to describe their product line; solid, quality, useful and kick ass. But I digress, here’s a run down of the look into IntelliJ IDEA 13.

Getting Something to Serve These Pages

Glassfish 4.0 is the latest and greatest of the Glassfish Server. I downloaded and got the server up and running to use as a base to do local development off of. I had installed Glassfish 3.1.2 but realized rapidly that it just wasn’t a good idea. Thus, a piece of advice, stick to Glassfish 4.

When installing Glassfish 4. I ran into a recurring problem, which is obviously recurring far beyond my use. The installer has the error trapped with an intelligent response.

Click for full size image.
Click for full size image.

So thus the Glassfish doesn’t understand where the default installation location is for the JRE. Thus you’ll likely have to help it out and provide it the path via the -j switch. Your path will likely look like this:

[sourcecode language=”bash”]
"C:\Users\you\Downloads\glassfish-4.0-windows.exe" -j "C:\Program Files\Java\jre7"
[/sourcecode]

Once that was taken care of Glassfish 4.0 installed just fine and I was on my way to some sample app building. On to that sample app building shortly, for now let’s talk about configuration of IntelliJ IDEA 13 to work with Glassfish as an application server and the respective bits to get going.

IntelliJ IDEA 13 Configuration

Once you have IntelliJ IDEA 13 open, create a new project.

Welcome Screen for IntelliJ IDEA 13. Click for full size image.
Welcome Screen for IntelliJ IDEA 13. Click for full size image.

Once you click that, pending you’ve already configured IntelliJ IDEA you’ll see a screen display as shown below. If you haven’t configured it already, I’ll go through how to configure things after project creation. That way one can double back and configure the applications you might have already started or pulled from git or something without Glassfish or other servers being setup.

Glassfish and other things, already setup, available for options during project creation. Click for full size image.
Glassfish and other things, already setup, available for options during project creation. Click for full size image.

Note the JavaEE Web Module selection, then set a project name, project location (or leave the default, it’ll fill in when you enter the project name), set the Project SDK. If one isn’t available you’ll need to setup the SDK via the New button. This will bring up a dialog that will allow you to point to the SDK path and IntelliJ will know which version is available. You can do this for additional versions also, but for this example I’ve just installed 1.7 and run with it. Next set the Application server to Glassfish 4.0.0. Next click on Finish, then you’re all set.

When setting up Glassfish a few other options I like to set are shown in the dialog below. This is my default Glassfish setup for Local development. I’ve set the default browser to launch after a build to Chrome. Set the application server to GlassFish 4.0.0. It might seem silly to have this selection on the GlassFish Server dialog, but when there are multiple versions available you may need to setup a different version for different configurations. Next, I often run the server locally without security username and password, so be sure to remove the admin username that is there for the default configuration.

Glassfish Local setup. Click for full size image.
Glassfish Local setup. Click for full size image.

One last thing that I do to myself when setting up JSF, is keep forgetting to add the appropriate option to GlassFish to run JSF Workflow Apps. To run these apps open up the application server configuration for glassfish itself and select the JSF framework library.

Selecting JSF. Click for full size image.
Selecting JSF. Click for full size image.

Now with the application created there is a list of files & libraries.

To the left you can view a number of files & libraries listed. Click for full size image.
To the left you can view a number of files & libraries listed. Click for full size image.

Just to make sure everything is wired up right and the application is able to run, double click on the index.jsp file and add some HTML content. I’ve set up my file like this just to get started.

[sourcecode language=”html”]
<%– Created by IntelliJ IDEA. –%>
<%@ page contentType="text/html;charset=UTF-8" language="java" %>
<html>
<head>
<title>Octo Bear!</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Bears!</h1>

<p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla at iaculis eros. Cras eget aliquam mi, ut suscipit
arcu. Suspendisse accumsan auctor tellus in condimentum. Integer interdum a neque eget pharetra. Mauris nec dolor
ipsum. Quisque quis fermentum lorem. Sed tempor egestas dui, sed bibendum justo vulputate eget. Pellentesque tempus
auctor tellus id aliquam. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In erat leo, pharetra eget
convallis ut, interdum et eros. Morbi in tortor id tellus tristique aliquet at non urna. Pellentesque habitant morbi
tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas.</p>
</body>
</html>
[/sourcecode]

Now click on the run button in the top right corner of IntelliJ. You might hit this error if you’ve just installed Glassfish and moved straight to creating the project.

Running the new project immediately after installing Glassfish.
Running the new project immediately after installing Glassfish.

Open up a browser and navigate to http://localhost:4848/ to bring up the administration page for Glassfish 4.0.

Glassfish 4.0 Administration site. (click for full size image)
Glassfish 4.0 Administration site. (click for full size image)

Click on the server (Admin server) section that’s pointed to in the image above. A page will display that has a button to stop the Glassfish server. Click on stop and that will enable IntelliJ to take over and run the server instead. You’ll want IntelliJ to do this as it will manage the restart, redeploy, update of classes and resources during coding & running the web application. This is much easier than attempting to attach or otherwise manage the server during development.

That’s just a few of the tips and tricks to getting started with the latest IntelliJ IDEA 13 EAP IDE for Java. In my next article I’m going to dive into a few of IntelliJ IDEA 13’s newest features for JSF Workflow Faces Applications.