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JSPBuzz Vol I: Issue 8 -- 11/07/2000

HTTP://WWW.JSPInsider.com/ .
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***** IN THIS ISSUE ************************************************** 
News
1:Sun Loosens Grip on Java
2:Latest Draft Version of JSP 1.2 Released
3:Allaire Acquires Kawa
4:Sun Starts Dot-Com Builder
5:jEdit Text Editor Version 2.6 Released

Rambles 
1:Blog
2:Open Source Marches Onward!

Links 	
1:Jboss:  The Open Source J2EE Application Server
2:Orion Server Review
3:Jargon Scout
4:Online Book Chapter about Java & XML
5:Techniques for Optimizing Web Site Development
6:Solve Servlet-Based Presentation Problems
7:Dynamic Servlet to JSP Page Navigation

Like this newsletter? Tell a friend about the JSP Buzz!


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              THE LATEST NEWS
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1) Sun Loosens Grip on Java (ZDNet 11/03/2000)
Sun is in the middle of forming two groups to oversee Java development.
The 5 year goal is to make Java open source. The short term goal is 
to open up the process of improving Java while making sure the language 
stays free from fragmentation.

2) Latest Draft Version of JSP 1.2 Released (SUN 10/26/2000) 
The latest draft version of JSP 1.2 is available for viewing at the SUN
site.

3) Allaire Acquires Kawa (Allaire 11/06/2000)
Allaire's acquisition of Kawa should be beneficial for the JSP
community. Both Allaire and Kawa are strong supporters of JSP
developers. The Kawa IDE is a great Java tool and will complement 
JRun nicely.

4)Sun Starts Dot-Com Builder (Sun 10/2000)
Sun's new service is aimed at helping people build better web sites.
While still new and developing, the site has access to many forums 
as well as articles geared towards building large web sites. An 
interesting feature is the Project Outsourcing section for placing 
your project online to help find resources.

5)jEdit Text Editor Version 2.6 Released (Slava Pestov 11/03/2000)
Looking for a solid editor for your Java needs? Check out the latest
version of jEdit!


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                   Rambles by Casey Kochmer
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*************************** Blog *******************************

Where can you find the pulse of the Internet? Not an easy question
to answer. The best search engine will only show you the surface of the
web. So blogs come to the rescue. Blogs or weblogs are annotated 
lists of links and quick blurbs which are maintained by a person who
wants to speak out on a topic. While blogs have been around for quite a 
while, they are becoming a new pulse for the net. They are the open 
source information directories for the new generation of net users. 
Now don't get me wrong. I just gave a technical definition of a blog.
In reality, most blogs are online diaries, personal editorials and 
acts of random, in-your-face free speech. Many blogs are raw and hold 
no punches. So expect the unexpected with blogs. A blog isn't a place 
to find hard coded answers or programming wisdom. It is a place where 
the Internet gains a human face. It is a community of people expressing 
who they are to the Internet. Blogs sit squarely in between a full web 
site and an ephemeral chat room.

Why bring up blogs in this newsletter? I feel blogs are having an 
effect in web design. While many blogs are not technical in 
nature, the majority of blog authors take web design extremely 
seriously. Many of these authors are professional web designers and 
as a result directly impact our industry. Also, blogs have a rich 
vitality which many sites lack. It's this living quality 
which will have an influence on web site design and thought. 
Take the JSP Buzz for instance.  The JSP Buzz was designed to be 
more than a newsletter. It combines several distinct elements into 
its design, including the rambles and commentary which are really 
part blog -- a hybrid of a traditional newsletter and a stand-alone 
web page.  Does that make the Buzz a blogletter?  Hmm, not really.  
But it shows the influence blogs have. Another example is 
www.blogger.com, a site which helps users add blogs to larger sites 
to enliven the content. For more blogging check out the additional 
references. 


ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND A FEW BLOGS.
  
She has seen the future and it is -- weblogs  (Julia Keller 9/7/1999)

Daily Report 
(Jeffrey Zeldman is an out spoken web designer. A good place to stop
 to get ideas and current thinking about web design.)

EricBlog: Java, MP3, Slashdot stuff ... and Spies!

Blogger.com:  A free service for creating blogs.


******************** Open Source Marches Onward **********************

Well it seems open source software is quickly becoming a new religion
for big corporations. Every time I write the Buzz I just keep finding
more Java open source projects. I think it's great and I will continue
to post open source projects in each Buzz as I come across them.

Now, the reasons for the rush are countless.  My ramble, however, is 
directed elsewhere, so for an insight on the reasons of the open 
source flood check out:

ZDNet: Riding on the open-source wagon 

I feel like the bulls have been released and as I see it, that's a good
thing. The open source rush is shaking things up and giving
the developer a wonderful opportunity to be part of changing landscape.
The simple fact is that people are finding open source development
to be quicker, producing software that is more reliable and stable
than traditional program development. As developers, it gives us a 
chance to be part of the build process and access to great
code. If you are a developer, this open source rush is
a great thing. The projects are out there and they need our help!

Of course, this open source rush has a dark side. I suspect we will
see more open source projects flounder due to improper management and
the push to speed things up. So when looking for an open source initiative
to join, choose a well organized one with a clear vision.

Two of the more interesting open source references I have come across
this week are from Motorola and SUN.

Motorola is trying to build a developer community using the open source 
model for building wireless Java applications. Since Motorola is now
one of the voting members of the mobile Java standard, I see this as
a serious move on Motorola's part to energize mobile Java development.
It's a large and ambitious setup worth looking into for anyone 
thinking about developing in the mobile Java environment.

Nicholas Petreley has some interesting thoughts on the matter 
of Sun making Java open source.  I, however, remain neutral.

The Open Source  (Nicholas Petreley 11/03/2000)


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             Links and a Sprinkling of Blogs
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[Server] Jboss:  The Open Source J2EE Application Server
Looking for an application server? Don't know if you should use a big 
name one or small one? Check out Jboss, an open source application 
server that is gaining momentum at a breakneck pace. Application servers 
like Jboss are important for larger JSP projects because they provide a 
powerful framework within which JSP functions.  This support is critical 
if JSP is to successfuly compete against Microsoft's .Net framework.  
Jboss is new enough that many people are still learning about it and 
how to use it successfully on a JSP project. I will keep you up to date 
as I try to learn to use Jboss myself.

[Server] Orion Server Review (Nelson King 10/27/2000)
Orion is another awesome J2EE application server. This quick review 
provides a brief taste of what Orion is and why every person I know 
that uses this server loves it. It's fast, simple and inexpensive. 

[Blog] Jargon Scout
Tired of fasgrolia? Are you a 'trep in glocalization. Ok, I have no
idea of what I just wrote, but you can check out Keith Dawson's 
blog on the latest jargon and terms which are evolving in our
Internet culture. 

[Online Book] Online Book Chapter about Java & XML  (O'Reilly  10/2000) 
This online chapter from "Java Examples in a Nutshell" covers an 
alphabet soup of topics, including Parsing with JAXP; SAX 1 and  
SAX 2; Manipulating the XML with JAXP and DOM; Traversing XML with 
DOM; and examples using JDOM API.

[Article] Techniques for Optimizing Web Site Development
I found the movie analogy for development difficult to read. 
If you skip down to the section called "Runtime Performance 
Optimizations" you will find two gems on speed optimization tricks 
which are often overlook by web developers.

[Article] Solve Servlet-Based Presentation Problems (Kevin Unger 11/2000)
It's a confusing time to be a Java web developer. The market is giving 
us access to many servlet-based tools for developing web sites.  This 
article looks at various architectures in building web applications
such as servlets, JSP, template engines and others. Kevin discusses the
debate occurring right now regarding which Java-based development method 
works best for building web sites. If you are a project manager or 
technical lead this article is a must-read for you.

[Article] Dynamic Servlet to JSP Page Navigation (Todd Lasseigne 11/2000)
This article describes how to build a dynamic Servlet to JSP page 
navigation system. If you are thinking about expanding your JSP 
to include using servlets for page process management then check out
this article.

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