Channel 9 - Discussions by atehrani

Coffeehouse - OpenSolaris

atehrani — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 01:56:57 GMT

Yes it does have some ways to go (particularly in driver support), but Sun has been working really hard on it recently. What they have come up with in a short amount of time is impressive.

At first one may question why not just use Linux. Besides the mentioned feature benefits with Solaris (ZFS, Dtrace, zones). The other thing Solaris brings is a stable ABI. This is contrast to Linux, in which they feel free to change (break) things.

Once Indiana matures a bit more, I will be seriously considering making it my primary OS.

Tech Off - other fun stuff about exceptions

atehrani — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:24:27 GMT

Far too many times I see incorrect exception rethrowing in C#.

"Re-throwing" an exception like this is incorrect, as the stack trace will be reset.

catch ( FooException ex )
{
throw ex; // WRONG
}

This is the correct way to rethrow an exception.

catch ( FooException ex )
{
throw; // CORRECT
}

Please note that a trace of the stack is only taken when the "throw" keyword is executed. In Java the stack trace is taken when an exception is instantiated. This is a subtle but large difference.

Coffeehouse - Hibernate

atehrani — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 01:08:08 GMT

Open the command prompt with admin privledges and it should work.

Coffeehouse - object pass by value/reference

atehrani — Sun, 20 May 2007 00:27:16 GMT

W3bbo,

   Your example is wrong. Take a look at this example (this time using primitives)

public class PassByQuestion
{
    public static void increment(int x)
    {
        x++;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        int i = 42;
        System.out.println(i);
        increment(i);
        System.out.println(i);
    }
}

Both outputs are 42, because it is pass-by-value.

It is best demonstrated using C# (as it supports both pass-by-value and pass-by-reference).

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;

namespace Test
{
    public class PassByQuestion
    {
        public static void increment_byvalue(int x)
        {
            x++;
        }

        public static void increment_byref(ref int x)
        {
            x++;
        }

        public static void Main()
        {
            int i = 42;
            Console.Out.WriteLine(i);
            increment_byvalue(i);
            Console.Out.WriteLine(i);
            increment_byref(ref i);
            Console.Out.WriteLine(i);
        }
    }
}

Coffeehouse - object pass by value/reference

atehrani — Sun, 20 May 2007 00:14:19 GMT

W3bbo,

Again, Java is pass-by-value. The "utlimate" proof would be to create a method to swap integer values. Please attempt to write one (hint: you cannot).

Besides, if I were to take your word or James Gosling, I think it would be best to take James Goslings word. He did help create the Java language after all.

Please go and actually read the articles I linked to. You will soon understand why you are wrong.

Coffeehouse - object pass by value/reference

atehrani — Sat, 19 May 2007 19:12:14 GMT

Java is pass by value, period. The JSL states it and the exam for SCJP states it. I don't understand why there is such confusion here.

public class PassByQuestion
{
public static void makeNull(Object o)
{
o = null;
}

public static void main(String[] args)
{
  Object obj = new Object();
  makeNull(obj);
  System.out.println(obj == null);
}
}

This program outputs false, if Java was pass by ref, it would output true.

Also, try writing a simple method to swap two integer variable values (hint, you cannot do it in Java because it is pass by value).

To quote the JLS 8.4.1

"When the method or constructor is invoked, the values of the actual argument expressions initialize newly created parameter variables, each of the declared Type, before execution of the body of the method or constructor."

Finally to quote James Gosling ("father" of Java)

Ken Arnold and James Gosling, authors of The Java Programming Language, Second Edition, say it best in section 2.6.1: "There is exactly one parameter passing mode in Java -- pass by value -- and that helps keep things simple."

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-passbyval/

Coffeehouse - object pass by value/reference

atehrani — Fri, 18 May 2007 22:59:55 GMT

wkempf is correct. Java is pass by value always! C# is pass by value, unless you specify that you want to pass by reference using the ref and out keywords.

Read the following article for more info
http://javadude.com/articles/passbyvalue.htm

Coffeehouse - Microsoft takes on the FREE World

atehrani — Tue, 15 May 2007 17:41:57 GMT

Jonathan Schwartz's (CEO of Sun) has an indirect response to this announcement. Worth a read IMHO.
http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/what_we_did

Coffeehouse - Microsoft takes on the FREE World

atehrani — Mon, 14 May 2007 08:45:39 GMT

This shows how desperate Microsoft is getting. Instead of competing by offering better value, they instead want to provoke a legal battle.

The irony here is that most Microsoft products are copies themselves! Most of their products are not entirely original.

Do as I say, not as I do...

Tech Off - Launching a SWT app in windows

atehrani — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:46:58 GMT

Use javaw

The javaw command is identical to java, except that with javaw there is no associated console window. Use javaw when you don't want a command prompt window to appear. The javaw launcher will, however, display a dialog box with error information if a launch fails for some reason.

Also you can also prefix your command with "start" in your batch file to open up another console window.

Coffeehouse - Open Source Software

atehrani — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 01:01:02 GMT

Apache (almost all of their stuff)

Java

Solaris

gVIM

SQLuirrel

SOAP UI

Netbeans

Eclipse

Mozilla/Firefox

Tech Off - free file compare software?

atehrani — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:55:15 GMT

windiff is okay

or use the diff that comes with (Subversion, Perforce, VSS..etc)

Coffeehouse - :D

atehrani — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 18:44:37 GMT

What is the e-mail for the team? I'd like one myself!

Coffeehouse - No Hotmail via Outlook?

atehrani — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 19:58:31 GMT

I had the same problem when I upgraded to IE7. Accessing Hotmail using Outlook Express broke. I have been unable to resolve the issue.

Coffeehouse - Best Free RSS Feed Reader?

atehrani — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 22:06:00 GMT

http://www.rssowl.org

Best RSS reader IMO

Coffeehouse - Quick question :)

atehrani — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 19:37:58 GMT

64-bit, provided you have mature driver support for your devices.

Tech Off - Opinions on null return vs argumentexception

atehrani — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 21:26:24 GMT

As the previous poster mentioned, exceptions should be used for exceptional conditions. Not finding an element is not exceptional IMO.

Also the use of Structs vs. Classes depends on the situation and in this example, I would use a Class.

http://www.jaggersoft.com/pubs/StructsVsClasses.htm

Coffeehouse - Oh noes! I found a bug in Windows Media Player 11!!!

atehrani — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 06:54:27 GMT

One would think that their QA would have had test cases for these edge conditions.