Java & In-Memory Tech Articles

The BileBlog, without the Bile

The last week I have been corresponding with Hani, the writer of the BileBlog, without realising it was him. The BileBlogger seemed to know a lot of people that I know so I thought:

a) he must be based in Europe, or travel to Europe a lot and
b) would in turn be known to my European contacts.

Though the name Hani is not that rare, I made the connection, checked with some colleagues and then realised my email correspondent Hani Suleiman and the BileBlogger were one and the same. His emails were courteous and well thought out.

I read the Bile Blog and find myself in broad agreement with much that is said. So, after discussing it with him first, I am blogging about the last three issues in his BileBlog, without the bile. The purpose is to create some discussion and amplify Hani’s points, which I believe have some merit.

So I will do away with the profanity and abuse, and try to distil the issues into a technical discussion that is hopefully more accessible. Where relevant, I’ll also mention some positives and helpful suggestions for some of the issues, both of which are considered ‘offtopic’ on the bileblog.

The metric system: a case study in technical standard setting

I have just finished reading The Measure of All Things : The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error That Transformed the World. It is a fascinating case study in how international standards are set. As of 2004, the only countries in the world whose official system of measures is not the metric system are Myanmar (formerly… Continue reading The metric system: a case study in technical standard setting

SimonSays: A stretch reminder program to cure those stiff necks

I finished the first Java version of a program recently which reminds programmers and other continuous computer users to stop and stretch. Versions are available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows. It is the Java reincarnation of a commercial program I wrote years ago and sold quite a few copies of.
It took me three years of part-time effort to complete the new Java version. It was started on JDK 1.1 and finished on JDK 1.4.2. Over that time Java has matured enormously, and made it a lot easier to create a smooth desktop application. Simon has been developed primarily on Mac OS X and Linux. Mac OS X has also matured as a Java platform and I finished the application on IntelliJ.
If you supervise people there is a problem getting them to stretch regularly. On our project we now have four people who have their own chairs and regularly see physiotherapists. Yet a better approach is to develop healthy habits. These include posture, particularly seating position, and regular stretching.
Simon Says pops up at predetermined time intervals. Simon, our cartoon character then guides you through an animated series of stretching exercises . It logs your exercises, so when you get that stiff neck you can go back and check whether you have been streching, or not. When the exercise program is completed it sleeps for a set time after which it will pop up again with another program to run.
There are more than 100 exercises which exercise most parts of the body organised into programs. For example, stretches can be selected for cervical spine, arms and wrists, thoracic spine, lumbar spine etc.

Threads as a metric of the scalability of Java Virtual Machines – by Operating System

The scalability of a JVM depends on: – maximum memory – maximum number of threads – garbage collection – a host of miscellaneous factors. In this survey I look at the maximum number of threads. It shows that Linux is by far the superior Java platform followed distantly by Windows and then Mac OS X.… Continue reading Threads as a metric of the scalability of Java Virtual Machines – by Operating System