dans.blog

Adobe always seems to like releasing things to Adobe Labs in mass. They've also just released Flex Builder 3 (Public Beta 3). I actually found beta 2 to be pretty stable and have even rolled out a project into production based on beta 2. I plan on upgrading as soon as I have some time.

Posted by Dan on Dec 13, 2007 @ 10:40 AM

Adobe Labs just released BlazeDS as a new Open Source project (released under the LGPL v3 license.) Essentially BlazeDS is the remoting and messaging technology behind LiveCycle Data Services. For people familiar with Adobe Flex, they know that this is the "push" technology that allows you to build interfaces that are updated automatically when the data on the server changes. This means you can make data on the screen change in realtime as changes on the server occur.

I spent a few minutes looking through the BlazeDS documentation, but didn't see any real good information related specifically to ColdFusion. However, according to the Release Notes it looks like you can integrate BlazeDS directly with ColdFusion 8.

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Posted by Dan on Dec 13, 2007 @ 10:34 AM

Yesterday, I posted on how to use JConsole to monitor ColdFusion's JVM. Today I wanted to give you a quirk and dirty script you can run on ColdFusion 8 which will give you a lot of the same memory information—but wrapped up into a CF script. The script is based on some code from Steve Brownlee's useful post on accessing ColdFusion internals using Java.

The key benefit to this method is there's nothing to install—just copy the code on a server and run it. Obviously, this only works if the server is responding and is not going to be as thorough as using JConsole. I have found this script handy to just give you a quick overview of the system state.

I've only tested the code in CF8, but it doesn't utilize any special ColdFusion classes—it utilizes the core Java classes. This code should work on any ColdFusion installation using Java 5 (v1.5) or higher.

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Posted by Dan on Dec 13, 2007 @ 9:27 AM

If you're experiencing problems with your server or just want a better idea of how your server's using memory, the Java JDK provides an excellent monitoring tool called JConsole.

JConsole comes included in the latest Java JDK and can be found in the JDK_HOME/bin folder (where JDK_HOME is the installation folder for your JDK). ColdFusion does not come with the JConsole application, so you'll need to download and install the JDK on a machine that has access to your server (if you do not already have a JDK installed.) JConsole does not need to run on the ColdFusion server, you can connect to a remote server so you can run the application right from your Workstation.

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Posted by Dan on Dec 12, 2007 @ 5:16 PM

I've been monitoring a server that was recently upgraded to ColdFusion 8. The application was previously running on ColdFusion MX 7—which used Java SDK v1.4. As many of you know, CF8 now runs on Java SDK v1.6.

I've noticed a significant difference in memory management between the two versions of ColdFusion. I've been closely monitoring the server because of the jump in Heap usage I've seen after upgrading.

In my process of researching Memory Management in Java, I came across this an excellent article title Brain Drain In Your Java Apps?* that appears Software Test & Performance magazine. This article appears in the April 2007 Volume 4, Number 4 issue.

There is also a follow article that appears in the May 2007 issue titled It's Not Just The Younger Generations*.

This article is a good resource for anyone trying to figure out how to debug those "Out of Memory" errors. Fortunately, I think my issue is only related to Garbage Collection in the Tenured Generation.

NOTE:

The link to the articles points to PDFs containing the entire magazines. I could not find an HTML versions of them. The article Brain Drain In Your Java Apps? is on page 22 of the April 2007 issue and the article It's Not Just The Younger Generations is on page 26 of the May 2007 issue.

Posted by Dan on Dec 12, 2007 @ 8:49 AM

All the sudden today I started getting a weird problem when trying to edit files in Eclipse. I could save the file once, but on a subsequent save I was getting the following error:

If I closed the file and re-opened the file, I could save it again but only once.

This had me really scratching my head. My projects actually exist on my LAN as I save the files directly to my personal Dev Server. I thought the problem might have related to some kind of network problem, so I went through a bunch of steps—including rebooting both my Dev Server and my Workstation—but nothing was working.

Finally I got the bright idea to disable ESET Smart Security (which is the new version of the NOD32 scanner.) What do you know, things started working again. I had to play around with things for a while before I was able to figure out what exactly was causing the problem.

It turns out the "Real-time file system protection" was causing the problem. I'm not sure why it's causing the problem, but the fix is easy enough.

1. Open up ESET Smart Security
2. Make sure you're in the Advanced mode layout
3. Go to Setup > Antivirus and antispyware
4. Click the "Configure..." option
5. Click the "Setup..." button
6. Un-check the "Scan all files" option
7. Keep clicking the "OK" button until you're back to the ESET Smart Security window

NOTE:

If you prefer, you could just add the specific extensions you're having problems with to the "Exclude" filter list, the option is up to you.

I'm going to open up a ticket with ESET's support and see what they have to say about this.

Posted by Dan on Dec 10, 2007 @ 4:50 PM

I'm having a weird problem with Desktop Development PC. When using the CF8 Debugger to debug a template, I continually get a window that opens up with the message "Source not found." Here's what the content of the window is:

I've updated to the latest version of the ColdFusion 8 Extension for Eclipse from Adobe's site and that hasn't changed anything. I found one message from Michael Dawson on the CFEclipse Users mailing list where he was having the same issue. Michael said that updating to the latest extensions fixed his problem, but that has not worked for me.

I think this problem may have to do with the fact that my projects are stored on my Development Server which I access over Windows mappings. Things work fine on my laptop, but I use FileSync to synchronize files from my local drive to the Development server.

Setting breakpoints does work, but it doesn't drill down to the correct ticket view. I have a feeling this is a configuration issue, but it could be a bug.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Posted by Dan on Dec 10, 2007 @ 2:23 PM

Adobe has just posted Brio—the next generation of Adobe Acrobat Connect—to Adobe Labs for downloading. The new beta version allows you to:

• Host unlimited online meetings with up to 3 meeting participants.
• Interact with easy-to-use screen sharing, chat and whiteboards.
• Access your meeting instantly with a personalized, easy-to-remember URL.
• Distribute documents and files to meeting participants.
• Use integrated VoIP, teleconferencing and multi-point video.

I've had interest in Adobe Acrobat Connect (which is a horrible name,) but it was way out of my price range. Now that they've opened it up for free for up to 3 participants, it looks like it's time to check it out!

Posted by Dan on Dec 7, 2007 @ 6:13 PM

Nathan Strutz posted a cool tip using regular expressions to speed up coding which uses a regular expression to convert a single line list of variables into something actually useful.

You have a list of values on lines and you want to want to apply some code to each:

first_name
middle_initial
last_name
phone
country
state_province
city

Select the lines, and use your IDE's find/replace tool with the regex option. In Eclipse, this is just CTRL+F and check the checkbox. Use this as the search pattern:

^(.+)$

This regex says to select any line with at least one character in it and store it in a character group.

Some code like this would be the replace pattern:
querySetCell(myQuery, "$1", "");

Replace them all and your code will be generated in an instant. The regex will drop each line's content into the $1 backreference.

That's a tip I'll have to remember.

Posted by Dan on Dec 7, 2007 @ 12:25 PM

DryIcons.com has released 5 free icon sets. I'm a terrible artist, so the more free icon sets I can find, the better off I am when I'm designing an interface. Here's what DryIcons is offering:

Ruby Multimedia Icon Set - 13 High Quality Web Icons
WYSIWYG Sapphire Icon Set - 47 High Quality Web Icons
WYSIWYG Classic Icon Set - 47 High Quality Web Icons
Blue Velvet Icon Set - 86 High Quality Web Icons
Aesthetica Icon Set - 160 High Quality Web Icons

Posted by Dan on Dec 7, 2007 @ 11:53 AM

If you're not aware, Verizon has released the UTStar AKU3 ROM Update for download. While the link is available on the Verizon Support site, it's somewhat buried. The direct link is:

http://www.utstar.com/pcd/Downloads/XV6700%20AKU3.zip

This is supposed to resolve the Error: Data Call Failure. Error 37: Miscellaneous Erroneously Mobile IP Setup Occurred message that often appears when connecting to the network as well as provide other miscellaneous fixes.

I have heard that updating to AKU3 could prevent you from using some of the custom WM6 ROMs—which I've been very tempted to try. I really want this phone to be stable. I've heard WM6 is much more stable than WM5, but I'm not sure I want to upgrade to an unsupported ROM. Either way, I've got to do something to get this phone to a more stable and usable state.

Posted by Dan on Dec 5, 2007 @ 12:10 PM

Ever since doing a hard reset on my Verizon Wireless XV6700 I've had a reoccurring problem where my phone would randomly prompt me for my login credentials. If I clicked the "Save password" option and left the username & password fields blank it would go ahead and connect, but I'd eventually the prompt would randomly reappear.

Since this prompt typically happens in the background (while my phone is doing a sync with my mail server) I don't always know that I'm not getting mail. This is pretty frustrating when you rely on your phone to notify you of job related tasks.

After searching the 'net for what credentials to use and not coming up with anything, I finally called Verizon Support. The information they gave me to enter was:

Username: [Your 10-digit cell number]@vzw3g.com
Password: vzw
Domain: [leave blank]

NOTE: The information between the brackets are instructions and are not to be typed verbatim.

Hopefully this information will help someone else out and prevent a call to Verizon Support.

Posted by Dan on Dec 5, 2007 @ 12:04 PM

Ajax Rain blogged about my jQuery Field Plug-in. If you like my jQuery Field Plug-in (official site) make sure to go vote for it on Ajax Rain!

Posted by Dan on Dec 4, 2007 @ 5:01 PM

I was checking out the official Dream Theater site the other day and saw the following tidbit that Dream Theater is Xbox LIVE Artist of the Month.

• Dream Theater will be featured as the Xbox LIVE Artist of the Month for the month of December
• LIVE members on Xbox 360 will have access to exclusive performance, interview, and behind the scenes footage from Dream Theater's recent tour
• On top of that Dream Theater are participating in the Game with Fame portion of the promotion this Wednesday, December 5th from 5 - 8 PM EST.
• They will be playing several video games through Xbox Live with fans including "Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge."
• Click here for more details.

The Xbox LIVE site has a nice brief article which gives a little insight on the band. I'll have to check out to check out Xbox LIVE tomorrow!

Posted by Dan on Dec 4, 2007 @ 4:45 PM

As many of you know, Flash Player v9.0.115.0 was released yesterday. I've been using Flash Player v9.0.64.0 since I recently completed a project using the Flex 3 beta. I see from the list of fixes, that issue #212379 (audio playback in swf off sync) has been addressed—which I'm hoping fixes the problem I've seen in lots of streaming video recently.

I always have trouble finding the Flash Player Content Debugger downloads so I wanted to make sure to provide a link. You'd think the page would be easy to find, but I always have to search for it. You'll only find the page in Adobe's Support section for the Flash Player.

Here are the links directly to the Windows versions:

• Download the Windows Flash Player 9 ActiveX control content debugger (for IE) (EXE, 1.59 MB)
• Download the Windows Flash Player 9 Plugin content debugger (for Netscape-compatible browsers) (EXE, 1.56 MB)
• Download the Windows Flash Player 9 Projector content debugger (EXE, 3.69 MB)

I've just installed the updated versions, so hopefully I don't run into any problems!

Posted by Dan on Dec 4, 2007 @ 1:05 PM