DECENT PROGRAMMING

Rails, Ajax, Python, Zope and more.

April 2006

We've got the old favorite, Perl which chugs along (and screams along under mod_perl). We also have
PHP, Java, Ruby, Python.

Now things are heating up with the "new" AJAX technologies. (Not actually "new",
but the widespread use is new). AJAX is behind many new, cool applications like gmail, flickr, digg, 30boxes, and the list goes on!

We've got the old favorite, Perl which chugs along (and screams along under mod_perl). We also have
PHP, Java, Ruby, Python.

Now things are heating up with the "new" AJAX technologies. (Not actually "new",
but the widespread use is new). AJAX is behind many new, cool applications like gmail, flickr, digg,
30boxes, the list goes on, and on, and on!

So, what do YOU think is going to be the next "big deal" in internet development technologies?

What language, or languages, do you think will take off?

What is the coolest new web application that you've seen?

With so much changing so rapidly, I'd love to get a feel for what our readers think are going to take off!

Sign-up, login, and let me know what you think!

Brent

Posted by Brent Michalski at 02:16 PM  Permalink |

For reasons WAY beyond the scope of this blog, one of my current tasks at work is to create a Java interface for a large Perl application that we now are using. If it was up to me, I would stick with the Perl interface that already exists - but it isn't up to me.

I tossed around a couple of different options: create a SOAP interface, create Java apps that call Perl command-line utilities, create small (non-SOAP) client/server apps, etc. However, then I came across a set of modules that have given me a different perspective on the task that I need to accomplish.

The Inline module, coupled with Inline::Java allows you to call Java classes/methods right from your Perl code. Newer releases of the module allow you to directly call Perl modules FROM Java! One of the more impressive things about this module is that you can pass objects such as arrays or filehandles between the two languages!

While not perfect yet, this module provides an excellent way to create a bridge between Perl and Java. To many, this may not seem like a huge deal. To those of us in the corporate world, who have to live daily with "company standards", this can provide a powerful tool to help you accomplish tasks that may otherwise require a complete rewrite from one language to the other.

The module's documentation is good, but more examples and tips would make it even better! My plan is to document the helpful things that I learn while working with the module and submit them back to the Patrick LeBoutillier, the module's author. Check out this module and see what you think - and don't forget to share what you learn!

Posted by Brent Michalski at 08:47 AM  Permalink |

It seems to me that in the corporate world, where I work, there is a huge push for test-first development and for more testing of applications before they are shipped out the door. This is a good thing!

However, when it comes to creating automatic tests for web pages and their content, nobody seems to know what to do! I realize that there are expensive automated web tools available, but most people don't realize that automated testing of web pages/sites can be done, quite easily, with Perl and WWW::Mechanize, or better yet, the Test::WWW::Mechanize module.

By using Perl modules such as these, it is quite easy to handle many automated web testing situations. You can also get creative and use modules HTML::Parser and HTML::TableExtract to really be able to drill-down into the data and make sure everthing is exactly how it should be!

I'd bet that I hear "I didn't know you could do that in Perl" at least three times per week because of the vast amount of excellent tools and modules available to Perl!

Posted by Brent Michalski at 03:32 PM  Permalink |