Obscured Clarity

Start and Stop Tomcat from within the Eclipse IDE

2009-11-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

Starting and stopping Tomcat from within the Eclipse IDE, once set up, can speed up your Java Web Application development time because you won't have the extra step of opening the terminal to start and stop Tomcat. The following instructions assume you have Eclipse installed and Tomcat installed.

Step 1: Open up the External Tools Configurations in Eclipse. In Eclipse's toolbar click on the little icon with a run symbol and the toolbox, then External Tools Configurations... .

Step 2: In the dialog box that pops up, right-click on Program and select "New".

Step 3: Give the new run configuration a name such as "Stop Tomcat", and in the "Location" text field enter "/Library/Tomcat/bin/shutdown.sh". You need to adjust the path of the shutdown.sh to match the file's location on your computer. Also, if you're using a Windows machine you need to call shutdown.bin instead. Click "Run".

Step 4: Create another configuration for starting Tomcat be repeating steps 1 through 3.

From now on, starting and stopping Tomcat as well as building your projects is accessible with a click of the mouse. Just click the little down-arrow next to that icon with a run symbol and the toolbox, and you'll see a list of the run configurations that you have set up.

Piece of Cake!!

Set Tomcat Memory Heap Size

2009-11-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

If your Java Web Application running on Tomcat ever crashes and throws the exception:

SEVERE: Servlet.service() for servlet WebAppServlet threw exception
java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

, you need to increase the allocated memory that Tomcat has for running applications. This is accomplished by adding "-Xms256m -Xmx512m" to the catalina.sh file found in the "bin" directory of the Tomcat installation, where 256 and 512 should be replaced with appropriate values for your application. Xms mean starting heap size and Xmx means maximum heap size. I was able to increase the memory allocated to Tomcat on a Mac running Mac OS X Leopard with Tomcat 6.0.20 installed. These instructions should work for any *nix machine, but I can't guarantee it.

Step 1: Open up the catalina.sh file with any text editor.

Step 2: Search for "JAVA_OPTS=" in the file and in particular locate the following lines of code:


if [ -z "$LOGGING_MANAGER" ]; then
  JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS -Djava.util.logging.manager=org.apache.juli.ClassLoaderLogManager"
else 
  JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS $LOGGING_MANAGER"
fi

Step 3: At the end of the JAVA_OPTS definitions add "-Xms256m -Xmx512m".


if [ -z "$LOGGING_MANAGER" ]; then
  JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS -Djava.util.logging.manager=org.apache.juli.ClassLoaderLogManager -Xms256m -Xmx512m"
else 
  JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS $LOGGING_MANAGER -Xms256m -Xmx512m"
fi

Step 4: Save the file and restart Tomcat.

Piece of Cake!!

Setup Tomcat and Connector/J MySQL Connector

2009-11-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

If you plan to create a Java Web Application which runs in Tomcat and accesses a MySQL database you'll need to add a Connector/J MySQL Connector Jar to the Tomcat installation. That's all you should really need for setting up Tomcat and Connector/J. Here's how to do that in detail assuming you already have Tomcat installed.

Step 1: Download the most current release of the Connector/J MySQL Connector from mysql.com and unpack the *.tar.gz file.

Step 2: Inside the unpacked folder you'll find a Jar called "mysql-connector-java-5.1.10-bin.jar" or something similar. Copy that file into Tomcat's "lib" directory.

Step 3: Restart Tomcat.

Piece of Cake!!

Setup Eclipse and CVS on Mac OS X

2009-11-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

Integrating CVS with your Eclipse IDE seems like a daunting feat, but in fact it's not too bad. Let's get right to it...

Step 1: Install Xcode, the Mac Application development suite, which can be downloaded for free at developer.apple.com after you sign up for a ADC membership. One teeny-tiny part of the install puts the CVS code on your computer where you have acess to it's function via the terminal. I believe, but am not sure, that you can install Xcode from the Mac OS X installation CD. If there is a way to just get the CVS part of xCode and install it separately, please tell me how. :)

Step 2: Create a folder for your CVS repository somewhere. I created a folder called "csv_repository" on the root of the hard drive, i.e. /csv_repository.

Step 3: Fire up the Terminal and enter:

cvs -d /cvs_repository init

Your CVS repository is now set up!

Step 4: Start Eclipse and set up the workspace so that the CVS Repositories and the Synchronize views are shown. I like to dock them underneath the Package Explorer view.

Step 5: Right-click somewhere in the CVS Repositories View and select New --> Repository Location. A Wizard opens up that you use to create a new Repository.

Step 6: Fill out the info as follows using the computer's admin username and password. If you installed the repository under a specific user account, use that accounts's name and password.

Step 7: Add your project to the CVS repository. In this tutorial, I'm using a Hello World Java Web Application for the CVS demonstration. In the Package Explorer view, right-click on the project you'd like to add. Select Team --> Share Project... .

Step 8: Go through the wizard, on the first page, selecting the new repository location you added in steps 5 and 6. On the "Share Project Resources" page of the wizard add the "build" and "dist" folders to .cvsignore by right-clicking on it and selecting "Add to .cvsignore...". These two folders are dynamically created for deploying the web app during the ANT build process and are not needed in the repository. Also add .cvsignore (yup, you should add the .cvsignore to itself). Click Finish.

Step 9: Set up the synchronizer. In the Synchronize View, there's a little icon in the view's tool bar that when you hover over it it says "synchronize...". Click that button. Another wizard pops up. Just click through it to the end not changing anything.

Step 10. Commit your code to the repository. Right-click the resources you want to commit and choose Commit... . In the window that pops up enter a comment such as "initial commit" and click "Finish".

That's it, your project is committed! Now onto some optional testing steps...

Step 11: Make a change in your source code and commit it. In my Hello World Java Web Application, I changed some code in the Servlet class. To commit the change, right-click on the file and select Team --> Commit. Writing a comment during the commit is a good habit to get into because it will really help one day when your looking back through the history of your file for a certain change you made. Also, you can always go to the Synchronize view to commit your code when you have extensive changes in your project.

Step 12: View the history of the Servlet. In the Package Explorer view, right-click on the file and select Team --> show history. You should see a history of the file which you can use to compare different versions of the file.

Piece of Cake!!

Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 3)

2009-11-12T12:34:00.000-08:00

Building with ANT and Deploying to Tomcat

This is the third of a three part series of tutorials that shows how to create a Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse. In Part 1, I demonstrate how to create your Java Web Application project in Eclipse and set up the directory structure of the project. In Part 2, I take you through getting the Java jar needed to code Java servlets, creating a Java Servlet and a JSP file, configuring the web.xml and build.xml files. In this part, I show how to build the project with ANT using the build.xml file and how to deploy the project to a Tomcat server running on your development computer. Along the way, I point out a few tips and tricks for using the Eclipse EE IDE.

Step 1: Understand the build.xml file. After Part 2, we have a Hello World Java Web Application project in Eclipse named HelloWebApp with the build.xml file shown below. The build file is used by ANT to take all the source code and configuration files in the Web App project, compile them, and package them in a .war file, which Tomcat needs to run your application.

build.xml


<?xml version="1.0"?>
<project name="hello" default="deploy_local" basedir=".">

   <property file="build.properties"/>

   <path id="classpath">
       <fileset dir="${lib.dir}" includes="servlet-api.jar"/>
   </path>

   <target name="clean">
       <echo>Cleaning the ${build.dir}</echo>
       <delete dir="${build.dir}"/>
       <delete dir="${dist.dir}"/>
   </target>

   <target name="init" depends="clean">
       <echo>Creating the build directory</echo>
       <mkdir dir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/classes"/>
       <mkdir dir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/lib"/>
       <mkdir dir="${dist.dir}"/>
   </target>

   <target name="compile" depends="init">
       <echo>Compile the source files</echo>
       <javac srcdir="${src.dir}" destdir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/classes">
           <classpath refid="classpath"/>
       </javac>
   </target>

   <target name="copy" depends="compile">
       <copy todir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF">
           <fileset dir="${web.dir}/WEB-INF"/>
       </copy>
       <copy todir="${build.dir}">
           <fileset dir="${web.dir}"/>
       </copy>
       <copy todir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/lib">
           <fileset dir="${lib.dir}">
               <exclude name="servlet-api.jar"/>
           </fileset>
       </copy>
   </target>

   <target name="war" depends="copy">
       <echo>Building the war file</echo>
       <war destfile="${dist.dir}/${project.name}.war" webxml="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/web.xml">
           <fileset dir="${build.dir}"/>
       </war>
   </target>

   <target name="deploy_local" depends="war">
       <echo>Deploying .war to local Tomcat</echo>
       <copy todir="${tomcat.dir}">
           <fileset dir="${dist.dir}">
               <include name="${project.name}.war"/>
           </fileset>
       </copy>
   </target>

</project>

build.properties


project.name=HelloWebApp
lib.dir=lib
src.dir=src
web.dir=web
build.dir=build
dist.dir=dist
tomcat.dir=/Library/Tomcat/webapps

The build file consists of several targets and a properties file and classpath definition. The ANT builder, which comes bundled with Eclipse parses this file and carries out the instructions defined within it. Here, I'll go through the file step-by-step and explain what the ANT builder does.

Line 2: The "deploy_local" target is the default target and will be implemented first. The "basedir", where all the paths will be relative to is defined as "." meaning the directory where the build.xml file is found.

Line 4: The properties file "build.properties" is imported by ANT and stores certain key value pairs used for the build. Mostly directory names and paths are defined in the properties file.

Line 6: The jars in the classpath are used by ANT when compiling the Java source code.

Line 51: Let's skip down to this line because ANT starts with this target because it is defined as the default target. This target depends on the "war" target, which depends on the "copy" target, which depends on the "compile" target, which depends on the "init" target, which depends on the "clean" target. So actually, this means the "clean" target will be implemented first, then the "init" and so on...

Line 10: The "echo" element just prints out to the console what you tell it to. In this case, "Cleaning the ${build.dir}", where "${build.dir}" is replaced with the value "build" from the build.properties file, and "Cleaning the build" is printed out. The "delete" elements delete the "build" and "dist" folders in the project if they exist.

Line 16: The "init" target creates 3 folders in the project: "build/WEB-INF/classes", "build/WEB-INF/lib", and "dist".

Line 23: The "compile" target compiles all the java files found in the src folder and puts them in the "build/WEB-INF/classes" folder. It uses the jars defined on the classpath on line 6.

Line 30: The "copy" target moves files from the "web" and "lib" folders to the "build" folder.

Line 39: We don't copy over the servlet-api.jar because the Tomcat server already contains this jar. After all, that we're the jar came from in the first place.

Line 44: The "war" target takes everything in the "build folder", makes a WAR file and puts it in the "dist" folder.

Line 53: Inside the "deploy_local" target, the war is copied from the "dist" folder to the "/Library/Tomcat/webapps" folder, which is where the Tomcat installation resides.

Step 2: Run ANT to build the project. Right-click on build.xml and choose Run As --> Ant Build.

Here's what your new HelloWebApp Java project should now look like in the Eclipse Package Explorer View after the ANT build:

Step 3: Startup Tomcat. Now that the Tomcat installation has the WAR file in it's webapps folder, you need to start Tomcat up so it runs the web app. To do this, fire up the terminal and type: "sh /Library/Tomcat/bin/startup.sh". If you're using a non-UNIX-based computer (Windows), you have to start the startup.bat file instead, remove the cp at the front of the command, and adjust your path appropriately.

Step 4: Check out your web application in action. Point your browser to http://127.0.0.1:8080/HelloWebApp/ . You should see the Hello Web App web application in it's full glory!

Piece of Cake!!

Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 1)
Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 2)

Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 2)

2009-11-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

Servlet, JSPs, web.xml, build.xml, build.properties

This is the second of a three part series of tutorials that shows how to create a Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse. In Part 1, I demonstrate how to create your Java Web Application project in Eclipse and set up the directory structure of the project. In this part, I take you through getting the Java jar needed to code Java Servlets, creating a Java Servlet and a JSP file, configuring the web.xml and build.xml files. In Part 3, I show how to build the project with ANT using the build.xml file and how to deploy the project to a Tomcat server running on your development computer. Along the way, I point out a few tips and tricks for using the Eclipse EE IDE.

From part 1, we have a Java project in Eclipse named HelloWebApp with the following directory structure:

HelloWebApp (this is the project)
--src
----com.hello (this is actually a package, not a folder)
--lib
--web
----WEB_INF

Step 1: Put the servlet-api.jar, which comes with the Tomcat installation, in the lib folder. The jap is found in the lib folder in the Tomcat installation's root directory.

Step 2: Add the jar to the project's build path. Right-click on the jar in the lib folder of the Web App project and select Build Path --> Add to Build Path.

Step 3: Create a Servlet file. Right-click on the com.hello package in the src folder and select New --> Class. Name it HelloServlet.java. Copy and paste the following code into the file.


package com.hello;

import java.io.IOException;

import javax.servlet.Servlet;
import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

public class HelloServlet extends HttpServlet implements Servlet {

   private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;

   public HelloServlet() {
       super();
   }

   @Override
   protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {

       request.setAttribute("hello_string", "Hello WebApp!");

       request.getRequestDispatcher("/hello.jsp").forward(request, response);

   }
}

Step 4: Create a JSP file. Right-click on the "web" folder and select New --> Other... . A wizard will pop up and you need to find the JSP file type, which is in the Web folder. Name it hello.jsp. Copy and paste the following code into the file.


<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
   pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
   <head>
       <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
       <title>Hello Web App</title>
   </head>
   <body>
       <h3><%=(String)request.getAttribute("hello_string")%></h3>
   </body>
</html>

Step 5: Create another JSP file. Name it index.jsp. Copy and paste the following code into the file.


<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
   pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
   <head>
       <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
       <title>Index</title>
   </head>
   <body>
       <jsp:forward page="/hello" />
   </body>
</html>

Step 6: Create an XML file. Right-click on the "WEB_INF" folder and select New --> File. Name it web.xml. Copy and paste the following code into the file.


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee" xmlns:web="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd" xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd" id="WebApp_ID" version="2.5">

 <display-name>HelloWebApp</display-name>

 <servlet>
  <servlet-name>HelloServlet</servlet-name>
  <servlet-class>com.hello.HelloServlet</servlet-class>
 </servlet>

 <servlet-mapping>
   <servlet-name>HelloServlet</servlet-name>
   <url-pattern>/hello</url-pattern>
 </servlet-mapping>

 <welcome-file-list>
   <welcome-file>index.jsp</welcome-file>
 </welcome-file-list>

</web-app>

Step 7: Create another XML file. Right-click on the HelloWebApp project and select New --> File. Name it build.xml. Copy and paste the following code into the file.


<?xml version="1.0"?>
<project name="hello" default="deploy_local" basedir=".">

   <property file="build.properties"/>

   <path id="classpath">
       <fileset dir="${lib.dir}" includes="servlet-api.jar"/>
   </path>

   <target name="clean">
       <echo>Cleaning the ${build.dir}</echo>
       <delete dir="${build.dir}"/>
       <delete dir="${dist.dir}"/>
   </target>

   <target name="init" depends="clean">
       <echo>Creating the build directory</echo>
       <mkdir dir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/classes"/>
       <mkdir dir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/lib"/>
       <mkdir dir="${dist.dir}"/>
   </target>

   <target name="compile" depends="init">
       <echo>Compile the source files</echo>
       <javac srcdir="${src.dir}" destdir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/classes">
           <classpath refid="classpath"/>
       </javac>
   </target>

   <target name="copy" depends="compile">
       <copy todir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF">
           <fileset dir="${web.dir}/WEB-INF"/>
       </copy>
       <copy todir="${build.dir}">
           <fileset dir="${web.dir}"/>
       </copy>
       <copy todir="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/lib">
           <fileset dir="${lib.dir}">
               <exclude name="servlet-api.jar"/>
           </fileset>
       </copy>
   </target>

   <target name="war" depends="copy">
       <echo>Building the war file</echo>
       <war destfile="${dist.dir}/${project.name}.war" webxml="${build.dir}/WEB-INF/web.xml">
           <fileset dir="${build.dir}"/>
       </war>
   </target>

   <target name="deploy_local" depends="war">
       <echo>Deploying .war to local Tomcat</echo>
       <copy todir="${tomcat.dir}">
           <fileset dir="${dist.dir}">
               <include name="${project.name}.war"/>
           </fileset>
       </copy>
   </target>

</project>

Step 8: Create a properties file. Right-click on the HelloWebApp project and select New --> File. Name it build.properties. Copy and paste the following code into the file.


project.name=HelloWebApp
lib.dir=lib
src.dir=src
web.dir=web
build.dir=build
dist.dir=dist
tomcat.dir=/Library/Tomcat/webapps

Here's what your new HelloWebApp Java project should now look like in the Eclipse Package Explorer View:

OK, that's what you need for a fully functional HelloWorld-type Java Web Application that runs on a Tomcat Server. In the next and final part, I will explain the build.xml file, use ANT to build the project and deploy it to the Tomcat server.

Piece of Cake!!

Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 1)
Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 3)

Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 1)

2009-11-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

Java Web Application Structure in Eclipse

This is the first of a three part series of tutorials that shows how to create a Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse. In this part, I demonstrate how to create your Java Web Application project in Eclipse and set up the directory structure of the project. In Part 2, I take you through getting the Java jar needed to code Java servlets, creating a Java Servlet and a JSP file, configuring the web.xml and build.xml files. In Part 3, I show how to build the project with ANT using the build.xml file and how to deploy the project to a Tomcat server running on your development computer. Along the way, I point out a few tips and tricks for using the Eclipse EE IDE.

Step 1: Install the Eclipse IDE for Java EE developers. Once installed, open up Eclipse and go to the Eclipse Workbench. I also recommend tweaking the default Eclipse development settings for a much cleaner and efficient coding experience.

Step 2: Create a new Java Project. Right-click somewhere in the Package Explorer View and select New--->Project... .

On page 1 of the Project Wizard, choose "Java Project".

On page 2 of the Project Wizard, give the project the name: "HelloWebApp".

Finish the wizard.

Step 3: Set up the directory structure of the web app project. For this I followed the recommendations outlined in the Tomcat documentation that comes with the Tomcat installation, except I chose to include a lib folder directly in the project to hold Java jars needed for the project. Create the nested directory structure as follows:

HelloWebApp (this is the project)
--src
----com.hello (this is actually a package, not a folder)
--lib
--web
----WEB_INF

The src folder holds all your Java source files including any Servlet classes, which you place in the com.hello package. The lib folder holds any 3rd party jars your project depends on. The web folder holds any .jsp or .html pages, Javascript files, and CSS files. The web folder also contains a folder named WEB_INF, which hold the project's web.xml file.

Here's what your new HelloWebApp Java project should now look like in the Eclipse Package Explorer View.

Piece of Cake!!

Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 2)
Hello World Java Web Application in Eclipse (Part 3)

Setup Eclipse for Efficient Java Coding

2009-11-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

The default Java coding settings in Eclipse are fine until you realize one day that there are some really neat things that Eclipse can do automatically for you that aren't activated by default. Here's how I like to set up my Eclipse development environment after a clean install.

Step 1: Make the text editor show line numbers. This helps immensely when reading stack traces and locating errors in your code. Go to the Eclipse Preferences, drill down to "Text Editors" and check the box next to "Show line numbers".

Step 2: Make the Workspace build, refresh, and save automatically. Refreshing forces the folders and files shown in the Package Manager View to be updated when anything changes in those directory behind the scenes. Drill down to "Workspace" and check the boxes.

Step 3: Automate certain tasks whenever you save. Drill down to "Save Actions" and make your selections. Formatting the source code automatically is one of the greatest timesavers. How it's formatted will be defined in Step 3. Under additional actions, my favorite save action is "Remove unused imports". Organizing imports is very time-saving as well. Each time you new-up a new class in a java file, just hit save and the import for that class will be automatically generated.

Step 4: Set up the Code Formatter. This properly indents your code, adds blank lines where you want them, etc., all automatically. Drill down to "Formatter" and make your selections. There are too many choices here for me to go through and I actually use settings very close to the default. The important thing is that the Formatter was activated in step 3. Your changes to the formatter can be saved and shared between developers on a team so that all code is formatted consistently. Use the export button to export an XML file.

Step 5: Setup code templates. For example, when a new class is created, you can have it add certain comments formatted in the way you like. Drill down to "Code Templates" and make your selections.

Step 6: See all your changes in effect. Create a test class, add some fields with different indentations, new up an ArrayList, and save. You should see line numbers. You should see the fields automatically align and the import for the ArrayList be added to the imports. Add a method with a parameter that returns a String, type /** above the method definition, and hit enter. You should see a JavaDoc comment automatically be created according to how you defined it in the code templates.

Piece of Cake!!

Installing Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers on Mac OS X

2009-11-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

The Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers is by far the most popular download in the Eclipse IDE family. Developers use it mainly for developing Java Web Applications, which are made up of primarily JSP, XML, HTML files and Java Servlets. Installing the Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers can be done in a few simple steps.

Step 1: Go to www.eclipse.org and download the proper version of Eclipse for your operating system. I happen to be developing on a 64-bit Mac running Mac OS X Leopard, so I downloaded the Mac Cocoa 64-bit version.

Step 2: Unzip the downloaded *.tar.gz file (double-click it) and move the "eclipse" folder to the root of your hard drive. Eclipse is installed!

Step 3: In the /eclipse directory, you'll find a Eclipse.app file. Double clicking it will start Eclipse. I prefer to drag this file down to the Dock for easy access.

Step 4: Once Eclipse is started, you'll be greeted by the Eclipse welcome screen.

Step 5: Click on the Workbench icon in the upper right corner to get to the workbench. You'll be asked to choose a workspace. This is where all your Java EE projects will reside.

Piece of Cake!!

Unpack a Java .war file on Mac OX S

2009-11-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Unpacking Java .war file on a Mac is not hard at all. For this demonstration, I'll use the sample.war file that comes with the Tomcat Installation.

Step 1: Fire up the terminal

Step 2: cd to the directory where the .war resides. In this case I moved it from the Tomcat directories to /sample beforehand.

# cd /sample

Step 3: Unpack the .war with the following command:

# jar -xvf sample.war

The contents of the .war are unpacked for you and placed in the same folder as the .war file.

Piece of Cake!!

Installing and Running Tomcat on Mac OS X

2009-11-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Installing Tomcat on Mac OS X should be easy, and it is, if you follow these instructions exactly.

Step 1: Get Tomcat. Go to tomcat.apache.org and download the version of Tomcat you need. Download the "Core" distribution with the tar.gz extension and unzip it (double-click the file).

Step 2: Install Tomcat. Move the contents of the unzipped file to /Library/Tomcat, creating the folder "Tomcat" in "Library" if it is not there already. That's it. Tomcat is installed.

Step 3: Fire up the terminal.

Step 4: Start Tomcat.

# sh /Library/Tomcat/bin/startup.sh

To start up Tomcat, you could also cd to the bin directory and use the command: # sudo ./startup.sh

Step 5: Test if it worked. Use your browser to go to: http://127.0.0.1:8080/ You should see the default Tomcat homepage running from your newly installed Tomcat server.

Step 6: Shutdown Tomcat:

# sh /Library/Tomcat/bin/shutdown.sh

Optional steps to deploy a sample .war file!

Step 7: Point your browser to: http://127.0.0.1:8080/docs/appdev/sample/

Step 8: Download the sample .war file found on the above page and place it in /Library/Tomcat/webapps. Tomcat will recognize and load the .war file.

Step 9: Point your browser to: http://localhost:8080/sample/ to view the sample webapp.

By the way, Tomcat can be found in the Activity Monitor with the name "java". If Tomcat ever hangs and you need to kill the process, just use Activity Monitor to do so.

Piece of Cake!!

See also: MacBook Hard Drive Upgrade Instructions
And also: Install MySQL on Mac OS X

Rock Climbing in Bielatal near Dresden, Germany

2009-10-25T01:07:00.000-07:00

Rock climbing in Bielatal is like warping back in time and landing in the days when climbers climbed barefoot, wore Swami belts, and used slings for protecting routes - literally.

The climbing in the Dresden, Germany area has not followed the flashy modern ways of most other climbing venues. No chalk, no bolts, no top-roping, no nuts, no cams. While modern climbing harnesses and shoes are now common sights in Bielatal, you might be chased out of the woods if you're seen using the aformentioned items. Part tradition and part protecting the soft sandstone, the modern metal climbing gear found hanging on people's harnesses in every crag in America is not allowed in Beilatal. Watching the locals climbing with just a rack of slings and biners is a humbling experience.

Getting there. You can get to Bielatal using public transportation. View this Google Map.

Several sandstone towers reach above a forested ridge a few kilometers from the Czech Republic.

Most of the routes follow flaring crack systems.

Most routes are lead and the followers are top-belayed to prevent rock-damaging rope drag.

The first follower trailing a rope for the next.

An old-school biner from the DDR!

Slings with knots tied in them for protection.

Heike demonstrates the "fling" technique. Tie the perfect size knot one-handed on lead, and fling it in the crack above your head until it catches.

One of the few "bolts" seen in the rock.

At the top, there is usually a single monster anchor to secure yourself into and to rappel from. Tradition calls for everyone to shake each others hands and say "Berg Heil!" (salute the mountain!).

Each tower has its own register book in specially created metal boxes on the top, which you must sign. It's very important to document who lead the route and who top-roped. And most importantly, use the supplied straight edge to draw a horizontal line under your party's entry.

Kicking back on the top. Berg Heil!

See also: Diedre 5.7, Squamish - Climbing Beta
and: Ten German Birds

Add an Image to an Eclipse RCP Application

2009-10-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

This article shows how to add an image to a view in an Eclipse RCP application and builds off of a clean RCP Application with a View. Images used in an RCP application are managed by an ImageRegistry that is global to the scope of a plugin. If your project has a class that extends AbstractUIPlugin, then there is a static method you can use called getImageDescriptor() to access ImageDescriptors given a path to the image. The Activator class ectending AbstractUIPlugin is automatically generated if you used the wizard to create a Hello World Eclipse RCP Application. The ImageRegistery is the preferred means of handling images in your application because it handles the lazy loading of the images and disposes of them properly when needed. The image is added to a view by adding a canvas to the view's parent composite and adding the image from the image descriptor to the canvas through its addPaintListener method. It may sound confusing, but in practice it's really simple.

Step 0: Create a Hello World Eclipse RCP Application and add a View to it.

Step 1: Add the image into the RCP plugin project. In this example an image called moon.png is added to the "icons" folder inside the plugin project. Whether you use this folder or not is really not important - you can organize your images any way you want. In the next step, the path to the image's location is used to get the image.

Step 2: Add the image to the view. In the view's class where you want the image to appear, add a global Image field and set it in the view's constructor calling the Activator.getImageDescriptor("icons/moon.png").createImage(); method. Adjust the path accordingly to locate your image. The path is relative to the plugin. In the createPartControl method, add a Canvas to the view's parent Composite and define its PaintEvent to draw the image. In the drawImage method, give it the image and the x and y coordinates where it should be drawn.


package com.blogspot.obscuredclarity;

import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.PaintEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.PaintListener;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.GC;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Image;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Canvas;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite;
import org.eclipse.ui.part.ViewPart;

public class MainView extends ViewPart {

public static final String ID = "com.blogspot.obscuredclarity.mainView"; // the ID needs to match the id set in the view's properties

private Image image;

public MainView() {

image = Activator.getImageDescriptor("icons/moon.png").createImage();
}

@Override
public void createPartControl(Composite parent) {

// Create the canvas for drawing
Canvas canvas = new Canvas( parent, SWT.NONE);
canvas.addPaintListener( new PaintListener() {
public void paintControl(PaintEvent e) {
     GC gc = e.gc;
     gc.drawImage( image,10,10); // Draw the moon
}
});
}


public void setFocus() {}

}

Step 3: Run the application and test if everything worked. Your application should now have an image in the view and look something like this:

Piece of cake!!

<--- Previous - Add a Custom Menu Action to an Eclipse RCP Application

Also see: Eclipse RCP Tutorial Table of Contents

Add a Custom Menu Action to an Eclipse RCP Application

2009-10-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

This article shows how to add a custom menu item to a menu in an Eclipse RCP application and builds off of a clean Hello World Eclipse RCP Application. As shown in the article Add a Menu to an Eclipse RCP Application, it is very easy to add a File menu containing the Exit action. Here a custom menu action is added to the File menu that opens a dialog box when clicked.

Step 0: Create a HelloWorld RCP application.

Step 1: Make the custom action. Create a new class that extends org.eclipse.jface.action.Action and implements IWorkbenchAction. The class needs a private static final String property used to set the ID in the constructor. Inside the run() method is where you put your custom code. In this example, code is added that opens up a message dialog box.



package com.blogspot.obscuredclarity.customaction;

import org.eclipse.jface.action.Action;
import org.eclipse.jface.dialogs.MessageDialog;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Shell;
import org.eclipse.ui.PlatformUI;
import org.eclipse.ui.actions.ActionFactory.IWorkbenchAction;

public class CustomAction extends Action implements IWorkbenchAction{

private static final String ID = "com.timmolter.helloWorld.CustomAction";

public CustomAction(){
setId(ID);
}

public void run() {

Shell shell = PlatformUI.getWorkbench().getActiveWorkbenchWindow().getShell();
String dialogBoxTitle = "Message";
String message = "You clicked the custom action from the menu!";
MessageDialog.openInformation(shell, dialogBoxTitle, message);
}

public void dispose() {}

}

Step 2: In the ApplicationActionBarAdvisor class add the CustomAction as a private field. In the makeActions() method, new up the custom action, set its text and accelerator and register it. The accelerator is of course optional and it simply adds a keyboard shortcut, in this case CTRL+T. In the fillMenuBar() method, add the action to a File Menu.



package com.blogspot.obscuredclarity;

import org.eclipse.jface.action.IMenuManager;
import org.eclipse.jface.action.MenuManager;
import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.application.ActionBarAdvisor;
import org.eclipse.ui.application.IActionBarConfigurer;

public class ApplicationActionBarAdvisor extends ActionBarAdvisor {

private CustomAction customAction;

public ApplicationActionBarAdvisor(IActionBarConfigurer configurer) {
 super(configurer);
}

protected void makeActions(IWorkbenchWindow window) {

//Custom action
 customAction = new CustomAction();
 customAction.setText("Do custom action!");
 customAction.setAccelerator(SWT.CTRL + 'T');
 register(customAction);
}

protected void fillMenuBar(IMenuManager menuBar) {

 MenuManager fileMenu = new MenuManager("&File", "file"); //create a menuManager to take care of all submenus in "File"
 fileMenu.add(customAction); //Add the "customAction" action
 menuBar.add(fileMenu); //Add the "File" menu to the menuBar
}

}

Step 3: Run the application and test if everything worked. Your application should now have a File Menu containing a custom action:

When the custom action is clicked or CTRL+T is entered, a messaage box should come up:
Piece of cake!

<--- Previous - Add Nested Menu Items to an Eclipse RCP Application
Also see: Eclipse RCP Tutorial Table of Contents

MacBook Hard Drive Upgrade Instructions

2009-10-18T02:30:00.001-07:00

This article shows how to upgrade the hard drive in a Macbook while keeping all existing files, software, settings, and preferences intact.

First, a note about MacBooks and hard drive capacity. The info out there in the interwebs regarding the maximum HD capacity a MacBook can be upgraded to in unclear. In my experience, upgrading above 250GB is ill-advised. In a previous article I wrote, 500GB MacBook Harddrive Upgrade for Under $100, the issue came up from some commentors that the hard drive controllers in certain MacBook motherboards couldn't handle HDs with more than 250GB capacity. The upgrade and subsequent use will work, but when the HD starts to fill up to the ~250GB level, problems and perhaps data corruption/loss will occur. I was able to verify this with Apple, that for my MacBook, greater then 250GB wouldn't be a good idea, but for other newer models it is OK. How to tell which models can be upgraded to what, I couldn't find out. After learning this, I chose to downgrade the 500GB HD in my MacBook which I installed previously and use that as an external data backup device.

Disclaimer: Before you attempt this, backup all your data! Perform this upgrade at your own risk. This worked for me, but I can't guarantee it will work for you! Consider any warranty issues this might cause and call Apple first to see if this will void your warranty and/or AppleCare Protection Plan. Take Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) precautions when handling the hard drive out of it's case or handling any raw circuitry with with your hands. It's never a good idea to directly touch electrical components on a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), but having said that, if you are properly grounded no damage will occur. All you need to do is touch something connected to the ground with your finger to neutralize any static charge your body may be holding before you touch the electronics. If you're not sure of what you're doing, proceed with caution (but do proceed so you learn something new)! I performed this upgrade on my all-white MacBook I bought in October 2007, which is running Mac OSX 10.5.5.

Step 1: Buy a 150GB internal laptop hard drive and an external hard drive enclosure. What's important is the HD needs to have a 2.5 inch form factor and a SATA 2 interface. The enclosure must be the USB/SATA type. The exact hard drive and hard drive enclosure I used were:

Link: Western Digital Scorpio

Link: StarTech InfoSafe

Step 2: Connect the hard drive to a free USB port using the USB to SATA connector that is part of the external HD enclosure. Simply connect the HD to the USB/SATA connector and plug the connector into your computer using a USB cable.

Step 3: Partition the external drive as a GUID Partition Table drive. The drive must be partitioned this way if you ever want to upgrade the OS in the future for an Intel-based Mac. Open Disk Utility and select the external hard drive in the left column. Select the "Partition" tab. Select "1 Partition" as the Volume Scheme. You can give the volume a name now if you like, but you can always change it later. Choose "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" as the Format. Click on the "Options..." button and choose the "GUID Partition Table". Click "OK" and then "Apply".

Step 4: Use SuperDuper! to clone your current bootable harddrive image to the external drive. This free software will quickly and easily make an exact copy of your current OS image including all your software, existing files, settings, and preferences - it only takes a few clicks.

With the external harddrive plugged in the USB port, run SuperDuper! Select: Copy "Macintosh HD" to "250GB HD" (or whatever it's named in your case) using "Backup - all files" and click the "Copy Now" button. After an hour or so depending on how much data you have, the external hard drive will be an exact copy of the hard drive inside your MacBook. While you're waiting, you could check out How to Build a 24-Core Linux Cluster in a $29.99 IKEA Cabinet or How to Identify Bacteria on Your Hands Using DNA Sequencing. Once the cloning is complete you can do a test and boot from the newly created bootable image on the external hard drive by restarting your MacBook and holding the option key. This will let you choose which disk you'd like to boot from. You should be able to boot from the external hard drive at this point and it will look like you booted from the internal hard drive that you just cloned.

Step 5: Swap the external hard drive with the internal hard drive. Apple made it very easy to replace hard drives on the MacBook. By the way, for this step, unplug the power from your laptop and shut the computer down. For a complete guide how to do this, you can download Apple's Hard Drive Replacement Instructions. First, remove the battery on the bottom of the laptop using a coin to unlock it. With the laptop flipped upside down and the battery removed, unscrew three little screws using a small Phillips head screw driver that hold a retaining clip. You don't have to fully remove the screws from the retaining clip to remove it. Once the retaining clip is removed, fish out the white plastic flap and pull to slide out the internal hard drive.

With the old hard drive out, remove the metal sheath from it by taking out the four screws. The screws require a star-tipped screwdriver. Because I didn't have that, I just used a pliers to grab onto the screw heads and twist them out. With the old hard drive now completely out, take the new one and in reverse order of taking the old one out, put the new one in.

Step 6: Turn on your MacBook and enjoy your extra space. After you reassembled your MacBook, you should just be able to turn it on like normal and it will boot up from the newly-installed 500GB hard drive. Everything will look and behave just like before except now you'll have tons of extra space! You can right click on the hard drive in Finder and choose "Get Info" and rename the hard drive to something like "MacBook HD" if you like.

Step 7: Put the external HD case to good use. Either put the old hard drive into the external HD case and use it for a file backup or get an additional 250GB HD for the case and regularly use SuperDuper! to clone the internal 250GB HD onto the external one. That way if your internal HD ever dies, you have a clone ready to swap into your MacBook in about 5 minutes and continue with your work right where you left off!

Piece of cake!!

3000 Galaxies in 3D

2009-09-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

"We pointed the most powerful telescope ever built by human beings at absolutely nothing for no other reason than because we were curious and discovered that we occupy a very tiny place in the heavens."

A team of astronomers decided to use their valuable Hubble Space Telescope time to take a 10-day exposure of a black point in the night sky the size of a grain of sand held at arms length...

Setup MySQL Development in Eclipse

2009-08-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Setting up Eclipse as a MySQL development environment using the Database Development perspective is quite easy. Here you will find a step-by-step guide showing how to set up Eclipse for MySQL development. The tutorial shows how to get the right version of Eclipse, how to setup a MySQL database, how to get and use the Connector/J database driver, how to connect to a database within Eclipse, and how to create a table containing some sample data.

Step 1: Download and Install the Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers.

Step 2: Download the Connector/J MySQL Database Driver.

Step 3: Download, Install, and start up MySQL. If you're developing on a Mac, see: Install MySQL on Mac OS X.

Step 4: Open up Eclipse and switch to the "Database Development" perspective (Window --> Open Perspective --> Other... --> Database Development perspective).

Step 5: Connect to your MySQL database.

In the "Data Source Explorer" view, right click on "Database Connections" and select "New...".

On the first page of the "New Connection Profile" Wizard, select the "MySQL" connection profile type and hit "Next >".

Click the circle with a plus sign next to the "Drivers" drop-down box.

On the "Name/Type" tab, select the MySQL JDBC Driver version 5.1 (or whatever version you downloaded). Just ignore the error in the wizard for now. Hit "Next >".

On the "Jar List" tab, add the driver .jar from the package that you downloaded and remove the default .jar that was added to the list. The error message in the wizard should now disappear. Click "OK".

On the second page of the "New Connection Profile" Wizard, edit the connection properties. In the "Database" and "URL" fields, change the word "database" to the actual name of the database you want to connect to. Change the URL, User name and Password appropriate to your circumstance. By default the MySQL database setup creates a root user with a blank password. Test the connection and hit "Finish".

Step 6: Create a table.

In the main Eclipse menu, select File --> New --> SQL File.

In the "New SQL File" wizard, select the folder where the SQL file should be stored. Create a new project if you don't have one yet. Give the file a name and hit "Finish".

In the SQL Editor view, write an SQL statement to add a table to the selected database. Highlight the text to be executed, right click, and choose "Execute Selected Text".

Step 7: Add data to the table.

In the "Data Source Explorer" view, dig down into the directory structure until you find your table in the "Tables" folder. Right click on it and choose Data --> Edit.

In the table editing view that appeared, add your data. Save to commit your changes.

Piece of cake!!

Uninstall MySQL on Mac OS X

2009-08-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Uninstalling MySQL on Mac OS X is very easy - you just have to delete some files. Here you will find instructions to delete both MySQL and the MySQL Startup Item, which you may have installed following the instructions found here: Install MySQL on Mac OS X. Be aware that doing this will delete all your MySQL databases and data.

Step 1: Uninstall MySQL. Fire up the Terminal and type in: cd /usr/local , hit enter, type in: ls , hit enter, and verify that there are two items called "mysql" and "mysql-5.1.37-osx10.5-x86_64" (or similar). These are the two items you want to delete. Type in: sudo rm mysql , hit enter, type in: sudo rm -rf mysql-5.1.37-osx10.5-x86_64 , and hit enter. You'll need to enter your password at some point when prompted.

Step 2: Uninstall the MySQL Startup Item. In Termainl type in: cd /Library/StartupItems , hit enter, type in: ls , hit enter, and verify that there is an item called "MySQLCOM". This is the item you want to delete. Type in: sudo rm -rf MySQLCOM , and hit enter. You'll need to enter your password at some point when prompted.

Piece of cake!!

See also: Install MySQL on Mac OS X

Install MySQL on Mac OS X

2009-08-17T11:26:00.006-07:00

There are already several instructions out there on how to install MySQL on Mac OS X, but most of them are either outdated or more complicated than they need to be. Here you will find an easy tutorial showing how to install MySQL, start it up, access it as the default root user, create a database, delete the database and exit.

Step 1: Download MySQL. Go to the downloads page at mysql.com and download the particular version of MySQL that is appropriate for your OS and machine architecture. In my case, I downloaded the "Mac OS X 10.5 (x86_64)" version because I have Mac OS X 10.5 running on a MacBook with a 64-bit Intel processor.

Step 2: Access the installers. Go the the directory where the .dmg file was downloaded to and mount the .dmg file by double clicking it. The .dmg contains the MySQL and MySQL Startup installer packages.

Step 3: Install MySQL and the MySQL Startup Item. Double-clicking on mysql*.pkg icon starts an installer wizard that takes you through a few intuitive installation steps. Once you click through the wizard and accept a license agreement you should see the "install succeeded" page. Repeat for MySQLStartupItem.pkg.

Step 4: Verify Install. Fire up the Terminal and type in: cd /usr/local , hit enter, type in: ls , and verify that there are two items. The Mac OS X .pkg of MySQL installs itself into /usr/local/mysql-VERSION and /usr/local/mysql.

Step 5: Restart your computer. When the computer reboots, it will startup the database server allowing you to connect to it.

Step 6: Start MySQL. Type in: /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql -u root -p . The last part of the command tells it you want to start it up as the root user and that you'd like to be prompted for a password. By default the root's password is blank, so when you are prompted for it, just hit enter. You are now running MySQL, and you can tell it what to do at the MySQL command prompt: mysql>.

Step 7: Create a database, delete it and exit MySQL. At the mysql> prompt, type in: create database mynewdatabase; . Verify that it was created by typing in: show databases; . You should see the database along with the default databases. Delete the database by typing in: drop database mynewdatabase; . Verify that it was deleted by typing in: show databases; . Exit MySQL by typing in: exit; .

Piece of Cake!!

In addition, here are the commands you need to start and stop MySQL:

sudo /Library/StartupItems/MySQLCOM/MySQLCOM stop
sudo /Library/StartupItems/MySQLCOM/MySQLCOM start
sudo /Library/StartupItems/MySQLCOM/MySQLCOM restart

Placing Two DIVs Side-by-Side using CSS

2009-08-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

There is a little CSS trick needed when placing two HTML elements or DIVs side-by-side in order to prevent the two elements from jumping out of the containing DIV. In this simple demonstration there is an 'outer' DIV containing a 'header' DIV containing a 'title' DIV and a 'search' FORM. The FORM could just as well be a DIV for this to work. The title and search are forced left and right using 'float:left' and 'float:right' respectively. The trick is to add a third DIV after the search FORM inside the header DIV with a CSS 'clear:both' styling: <div style="clear:both;"></div>.

Before:

After:

HTML & CSS:

<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">

#outer {
    width:600px;
    margin:0 auto;
    background:#BBBBBB;
    text-transform:uppercase;
    padding:10px;
}

#header {
    background:#0044FF;
    padding:5px 10px;
}

#title{
    background:#FF2244;
    padding:10px;
    float:left;
}

#search{
    background:#22CC22;
    padding:10px;
    float:right;
}

</style>
<body>
<div id='outer'>
    <div id='header'>
        <div id='title'>
            <p>Website Title</p>
        </div>
        <form id='search' method="get">
            <input type="text" name="searchText" />
            <input type="submit" value="Search" />
        </form>
        <div style="clear:both;"></div>
    </div>
</div>
</body>
</html>

Piece of Cake!!

Hexidecimal and RGB Color Palette

2009-08-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a color palette of a small sampling of the 256^3=16,777,216 possible colors to choose from when coding with colors across a wide range of computer languages (Java, C#, CSS, MATLAB, etc.) on systems that support 24-bit colordepth. The hex color chart contains both the hexidecimal and rbg codes. It was generated with a JSP script, which can be found below for reference.

000000

0,0,0

000022

0,0,34

000044

0,0,68

000066

0,0,102

000088

0,0,136

0000AA

0,0,170

0000CC

0,0,204

0000EE

0,0,238

0000FF

0,0,255

002200

0,34,0

002222

0,34,34

002244

0,34,68

002266

0,34,102

002288

0,34,136

0022AA

0,34,170

0022CC

0,34,204

0022EE

0,34,238

0022FF

0,34,255

004400

0,68,0

004422

0,68,34

004444

0,68,68

004466

0,68,102

004488

0,68,136

0044AA

0,68,170

0044CC

0,68,204

0044EE

0,68,238

0044FF

0,68,255

006600

0,102,0

006622

0,102,34

006644

0,102,68

006666

0,102,102

006688

0,102,136

0066AA

0,102,170

0066CC

0,102,204

0066EE

0,102,238

0066FF

0,102,255

008800

0,136,0

008822

0,136,34

008844

0,136,68

008866

0,136,102

008888

0,136,136

0088AA

0,136,170

0088CC

0,136,204

0088EE

0,136,238

0088FF

0,136,255

00AA00

0,170,0

00AA22

0,170,34

00AA44

0,170,68

00AA66

0,170,102

00AA88

0,170,136

00AAAA

0,170,170

00AACC

0,170,204

00AAEE

0,170,238

00AAFF

0,170,255

00CC00

0,204,0

00CC22

0,204,34

00CC44

0,204,68

00CC66

0,204,102

00CC88

0,204,136

00CCAA

0,204,170

00CCCC

0,204,204

00CCEE

0,204,238

00CCFF

0,204,255

00EE00

0,238,0

00EE22

0,238,34

00EE44

0,238,68

00EE66

0,238,102

00EE88

0,238,136

00EEAA

0,238,170

00EECC

0,238,204

00EEEE

0,238,238

00EEFF

0,238,255

00FF00

0,255,0

00FF22

0,255,34

00FF44

0,255,68

00FF66

0,255,102

00FF88

0,255,136

00FFAA

0,255,170

00FFCC

0,255,204

00FFEE

0,255,238

00FFFF

0,255,255

220000

34,0,0

220022

34,0,34

220044

34,0,68

220066

34,0,102

220088

34,0,136

2200AA

34,0,170

2200CC

34,0,204

2200EE

34,0,238

2200FF

34,0,255

222200

34,34,0

222222

34,34,34

222244

34,34,68

222266

34,34,102

222288

34,34,136

2222AA

34,34,170

2222CC

34,34,204

2222EE

34,34,238

2222FF

34,34,255

224400

34,68,0

224422

34,68,34

224444

34,68,68

224466

34,68,102

224488

34,68,136

2244AA

34,68,170

2244CC

34,68,204

2244EE

34,68,238

2244FF

34,68,255

226600

34,102,0

226622

34,102,34

226644

34,102,68

226666

34,102,102

226688

34,102,136

2266AA

34,102,170

2266CC

34,102,204

2266EE

34,102,238

2266FF

34,102,255

228800

34,136,0

228822

34,136,34

228844

34,136,68

228866

34,136,102

228888

34,136,136

2288AA

34,136,170

2288CC

34,136,204

2288EE

34,136,238

2288FF

34,136,255

22AA00

34,170,0

22AA22

34,170,34

22AA44

34,170,68

22AA66

34,170,102

22AA88

34,170,136

22AAAA

34,170,170

22AACC

34,170,204

22AAEE

34,170,238

22AAFF

34,170,255

22CC00

34,204,0

22CC22

34,204,34

22CC44

34,204,68

22CC66

34,204,102

22CC88

34,204,136

22CCAA

34,204,170

22CCCC

34,204,204

22CCEE

34,204,238

22CCFF

34,204,255

22EE00

34,238,0

22EE22

34,238,34

22EE44

34,238,68

22EE66

34,238,102

22EE88

34,238,136

22EEAA

34,238,170

22EECC

34,238,204

22EEEE

34,238,238

22EEFF

34,238,255

22FF00

34,255,0

22FF22

34,255,34

22FF44

34,255,68

22FF66

34,255,102

22FF88

34,255,136

22FFAA

34,255,170

22FFCC

34,255,204

22FFEE

34,255,238

22FFFF

34,255,255

440000

68,0,0

440022

68,0,34

440044

68,0,68

440066

68,0,102

440088

68,0,136

4400AA

68,0,170

4400CC

68,0,204

4400EE

68,0,238

4400FF

68,0,255

442200

68,34,0

442222

68,34,34

442244

68,34,68

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Java Server Page (JSP) script:

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<body>
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Download JSP file here.

Robot Snakes

2009-07-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not afraid of snakes, but this first one-eyed robot snake freaks me out a bit.

Statistics Not Calculus

2009-06-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Paddling the Isar from Sharnitz to Wolfratshausen

2009-06-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

Bavaria is not only the land of 1-liter beers and dirndl-clad alpine women, but it also offers the adventurous numerous paddling opportunities with train-accessible put-in and take-out points. A buddy of mine visited me last week and brought with him two Alpacka Packrafts from a small company in Colorado, USA. A Packraft is a cross between a kayak and a raft and is just long enough to sit in it with your legs stretched out in front of you. They weigh about 2.5 kg, have a spray skirt, and are propelled with a kayak paddle and strong arms. They can be rolled up into a bundle about the size of a packed down sleeping bag and carried in a backpack - ideal for traveling fast and light. We set our sights on the main river that flows right through the heart of Munich - the Isar - and took off early one morning on a train heading to the source of the river near Sharnitz, Austria. In a total of three days, we made a round trip from Munich to Sharnitz and back with 95 km (60 miles) on the Isar between Sharnitz and Wolfratshausen.

If you plan on paddling the Isar anywhere along that stretch of the river, click on the interactive map for beta about portaging the numerous dams and other tips.

Upper Isar above Sharnitz

The "Nature Lounge" in Sharnitz, Austria. A place to rent boats, neoprene, helmets and get river beta.

The Isar somewhere between Wallgau and Fall

One of hundreds of alpine waterfalls

The upper Sylvanstein Stausee Dam

Mixing point of multi-colored water

Sylvanstein Stausee

Lunch break in Lengries

See also: Diedre 5.7, Squamish - Climbing Beta
See also: Surfing in Downtown Munich, Germany

Bar-headed Goose - Streifengans

2009-06-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Bar-headed Goose (Streifengans) is seldom misidentified given its light color and striking black horizontal bars against a white background on its head. Native to Central Asia, scattered populations live throughout Europe, whose ancestors were probably escapees from bird collectors who fancied this bird's beauty. One of the highest flying birds in the world, they are able to migrate at over 10,000 m, hitch a free ride on the jet stream, and complete a 1,000 mile trip in one day. Compared to other geese their wing span to weight ratio is relatively large and specially adapted blood lets them fly high at low oxygen levels. The geese pictured here were photographed in Munich's English Garden, where a local population lives year-round off of frequent bread hand-outs from the locals. I observed one bold bar-headed goose approach a woman who had bread, stand in front of her with its neck streched high, and comically stomp its feet on the ground as its way to ask for a hand-out. Click on any thumbnail for a screen-filling full-resolution detailed image.

See also: Mandarin Duck - Mandarinente