eclipse 3.5 – four good, 1 bad feature

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I’ve been using Eclipse 3.5 for a couple months now making it a good time to share the features that affected me the most – 4 good; 1 bad.

Getting started

Quick install with favorite plugins:

My Eclipse 3.4 workspace was starting to get corrupted making it a good time to make a clean break.  It wasn’t too time consuming to download/install Eclipse and create a new workspace.  I also installed the plugins I use regularly as I wanted them installed before switching to do development in the new workspace.
Sysdeo – For Tomcat with Eclipse.
Subclipse – For Subversion repository access.  The install of this one leaves something to be desired, but that’s not Eclipse’s fault.  it’s a license thing.
Ecl emma – For code coverage.
PMD – For static analysis.

Workspace setup:

1) Pulling in the source code from SVN is trivial.
2) I tweaked a few settings in the preferences.  I could create an epf file, but I hadn’t changed much in the old workspace.  This was a good opportunity to look at the new preferences in any case.
3) Then there’s the “what I need to do project” – it’s not committed to SVN (which is an accident waiting to happen) – but I have all the information in my gmail account or in my head.  The bulk of that project was a “todo.txt” file which I used to keep track of what tasks I wanted to work on for JavaRanch.  This file is now gone.  Which brings me to my favorite feature #1.

Features

Favorite feature #1 – Task Lists

This feature is awesome!  It replaced my “todo.txt” file for keeping track of stuff. (It’s different than //TODO or //FIXME because it isn’t necessarily tied to code.)  You can specify the status, a due date, categories and estimates.  I’m one of those organized types who likes keeping lists.  At work, I have a piece of paper I write on as I code with little things that come to mind, test cases I need to write, other tasks, etc.  At home, I was using the “todo.txt” file in Eclipse because I have less desk space than at work.  This makes the transition to an actual task list system a natural one and a pleasure.  I also started using gmail’s tasks around the same time.  They serve different purposes.  Eclipse for development.  Gmail for other things.  Did I mention I really like this feature?

Favorite feature #2 – “Open with”

When you use “open type” there is a drop down next to open that lets you choose the “open with” option.  This is really nice.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried using open type on a JSP to have it tell me my encryption settings aren’t correct.  I know the solution – open in a text editor – but that wasn’t the default before.  A minor annoyance, but nice to see it resolved.

Favorite feature #3 – Export/import JUnit results

Being able to send an XML file to co-workers about failing tests beats a screenshot.   Especially in terms of seeing the stack trace for “it works on my machine” type bugs.

Favorite feature #4 – Generate toString

This speaks for itself. And easy way to generate toString so it spits out all the fields is a nice time saver.

And the worst feature

Code formatting.  What happened?  This used to work intuitively and well in Eclipse 3.4.  In Java, it gets rid of my careful placed (for readability) whitespace between lines.  I checked the preferences and “number of empty lines to preserve” is set to one.  HTML is much worse.  If I format a bunch of lines containing one <input> per line, Eclipse turns this

<input type="hidden" name="action" value="moveAllSave" />
<input type="hidden" name="module" value="${moduleName}" />
<input type="hidden" name="source_forum_id" value="${sourceForumId}" />
<input type="hidden" name="log_type" value="0" />
<input type="hidden" name="log_description" value="bulk move from admin console">
into this
<input type="hidden" name="action" value="moveAllSave" /> <input
type="hidden" name="module" value="${moduleName}" /> <input
type="hidden" name="source_forum_id" value="${sourceForumId}" /> <input
type="hidden" name="log_type" value="0" /> <input type="hidden"
name="log_description" value="bulk move from admin console">

Huh?  That didn’t happen before.   I tried setting “never join lines” but it doesn’t take effect for HTML. I guess I’m not relying on the code formatting.  Unfortunate as it will slow things down.  But yuck.  Just look at it.

what happened to the java programmer plus certification?

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Where did the Sun Java Programmer Plus Certification go?

[edit: July 12nd – it’s back now]

Background

This week I’ve blogged about Sun announcing a beta for the new Sun Java Programmer Plus Certification including why requiring programming is such a great thing and how it differs from the existing SCJP/SCJD.

Current links

If you Google “Sun Java Programmer Plus Certification”, the first link is currently the one to Sun’s announcement page.  (the second is to this blog)

Clicking on Sun’s link gives a “page not found.”  Sun also took the call for beta testers off their training page.

What’s going on?

With nothing posted from Sun about where this information went, that leaves us to wonder:

  • Did Sun not mean to announce this  yet?
  • Did Sun get cold feet and decide not to do it?
  • Did Sun realize the SCJP makes them a lot of money and they want to continue the multiple choice exam?
  • Did Sun get enough applicants for the July 22-31 beta and pull the information?
  • Did Sun realize people might be hesitant to take the existing exam when a new one is on the way?
  • What gives???

[edited to host image on alternate server]

Sun Java Programmer Plus Certification exam vs Sun Certified Java Developer exam

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As a followup to Sun Java Programmer Plus Certification, I have some remarks on how the new exam relates to the old SCJP and the new SCJD.

Today I pulled out my SCJP (Kathy & Bert) book and re-read the introduction as to the purpose of the exam.  Right around page xxvii I found some interesting quotes that relate to the new exam – even though the book was written years before the Programmer Plus was envisioned.

The SCJD has you work on an assignment at home at your leisure. The onsite exam is an essay to show you actually worked on the code.

No. It may prove you read your code. It may prove you understand your code. It doesn’t prove you wrote your code. A friend could have written it and had you study it. The Programmer Plus is proctored programming – which really does prove that YOU wrote your code.

On the SCJP – “But does it mean that you can actually develop software in Java? not necessarily, but it’s a good head start.”

A head start for the person learning – sure. What about the employer? I thought the point of the SCJP was to show the new hire new a certain about of Java. One would think coding in Java would be part of that. This is a big part of why I’m excited about the new exam.

The Sun Certified Developer Exams is unique to the IT certification realm, because it actually evaluates your skill as a developer rather than simply your knowledge of the language or tools.  Becoming a Certified Java Developer is, by definition, a development experience.

My first thought is Cisco has a hands on portion – but that’s networking, not development.  My second thought is great, but it’s a bit advanced.  What about an entry level developer who doesn’t yet know Swing/RMI? For that matter, many companies don’t use Swing or RMI – how is it the first certification requiring coding uses these two technologies?  The Programmer Plus addresses this.  Coding basics are important.

A comparison amongst the three exams

Old SCJP New Programmer Plus SCJD
Programming required offsite No No Yes
Programming required onsite No Yes No
Multiple choice Yes No No
Cost $300 TBD $375 +$200
Scope Core Java Core Java RMI, Swing, etc

Which should I take?

Since the new programming exam is still in beta, this is a moot point at this time.

  • Old SCJP – If you’d like to take the exam in the near future, this is the one to take.  If you aren’t sure, there’s still a shortage of information on the new exam and the old materials will make you learn a lot you are likely to know on the new exam.  Sun is promising 90 days notice of the exam being retired.
  • New Programmer Plus – If you aren’t in a hurry to get certified and like this style better, you may do well to wait.
  • SCJD – The SCJP (or programmer plus) is still a pre-requisite for the SCJD.

[edited to fix table]