Friday night was fireworks night at IBM Hursley. There was a good mix of new fireworks and old favourites and some nice long combinations. Having watched most of last year’s display through a viewfinder I was banned from taking a camera but Adrian has some good shots.
Hursley fireworks
November 6th, 2006J2EE newbies
November 3rd, 2006Whilst the majority of the customers I deal with are well versed in the ways of WebSphere, just occasionally I come across one that is not only new to WebSphere but also to the world of J2EE. In the past I have struggled to suggest suitable reading material, often resorting to the Sun J2EE tutorial as a starting point. Now Charlie Brown (who, as he hastens to point out, does have a beagle but not called Snoopy) has written an excellent introduction to J2EE the WebSphere way entitled “Experience J2EE! Using WebSphere Application Server V6.1“. It’s currently only a draft but, having taken a look at the messaging section, it’s well written and informative. There is even a chapter covering the, to my mind, advanced topic of importing a subject on to a message-driven bean’s thread using the credentials passed in a message. Be sure to rate the book so that we can ensure that Charlie’s good work can continue.
Pitter patter of tiny feet
November 2nd, 2006As Christine has broken the news over on her blog, I’m assuming it’s okay for me to do the same here. We’re expecting a baby, due in May next year, so expect things to get a little gooey round here if not a bit pooey and sickey!
developerWorks roundup
November 2nd, 2006This is my usual weekly roundup of what’s new and interesting on developerWorks. This week we start with something for the WebSphere Application Server developer. When abstracting configuration properties out of code they often end up in a simple properties file. This is fine if the values are static but, if they need updating, you either need to redeploy the application containing the file or else put the file somewhere separate from the application. (If taking the latter approach then the config directory is a good place for the file as then you call leave the application server to replicate it across the nodes.) Perhaps a better approach is to configure a resource environment provider as described in this article, enabling properties to be defined administratively.
High availability of WebSphere MQ link
October 31st, 2006Today sees the release of WebSphere MQ SupportPac MR01. This provides the source for a WebSphere MQ channel exit which can be configured with a list of host names and port numbers to which the channel will attempt to connect. The intention is that this exit can be used when using a WebSphere MQ link to connect a clustered Service Integration Bus messaging engine to a queue manager. The messaging engine can now failover to another cluster member and the queue manager will still be able to connect.
Blood, sweat and tears
October 31st, 2006All set for the OMM
October 27th, 2006This afternoon I’m flying up to Prestwick for the all new Original Mountain Marathon (previously the KIMM), set to take place in Galloway Forest Park over the weekend. In a repeat of two years ago I’m running the B class with fellow Tuesday night runner Neil (whose Aussie passport also helps guarantee us an entry). Back in the Brecons Neil was the one struggling but, whilst I’ve become less fit over the intervening years, Neil has only got faster so we’ll see who’s trailing behind this time. The weather forecast doesn’t look too bad at the moment in terms of wind, rain and temperature although lack of visibility may make navigation interesting. The previous week’s rain is likely to make the legendary terrain even boggier and stream crossings fun. Full report when I get back on Monday but you can watch the action unfold on SleepMonsters in the meantime.
Tax discs online
October 27th, 2006The DVLA have finally joined the 21st century and I’ve just purchased a new tax disc online. Shame that the big yellow box on the front of my renewal form didn’t contain the required reference number but holds an advert for buying online instead. Fortunately, with the reference number from the vehicle registration certificate and a license plate number it was able to find the necessary records. The system doesn’t quite deliver on the “quickly” part of the advert – only after you’ve paid does it tell you that it may take up to five working days for the disc to arrive. Shame the current one expires on Tuesday!
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