From 2007 to 2008

Today is the last day of 2007.I did make a few plans when 2007 begins.So,lets review my initial planning and the outcome.
1.Getting SCJP and SCWCD certifications.Well,I've got SCJP but not SCWCD.There are few reasons,one of it is because i am too busy :P...the other reason is I think SCBCD is more suitable to what I am doing now.
2.Create one or two open source projects.Well,I am too lazy for that.But I did post some of my findings on my blog,such as the jboss axis problem etc.

So what's my planning for the coming 2008?Here are some of them
1.I should really take my SCBCD exam before the voucher got expired.
2.I hope i can be a little bit more hardworking.
3.I will be going to Beijing in February,I hope I can do well in the new envinronment.
4.Earn more money,and spend less(I think spend less is more important..hehe)
5.Become a better man.

At last,I will like to wish everyone a Happy new year... :D

Just need to be patient

Recently I am looking at Android, the new phone platform launched by Google and some other partners. I found it quite interesting, and I mentioned this to Neo and suggested him to use this platform for his college project. And I myself also try to implement a famous "Hello world" program in Android.So i downloaded the SDK, Eclipse plugin and created a new Android project. I used the sample code from Android website and run it on the emulator. The emulator launched,but only the word "Android" shown on the emulator screen instead of "Hello world".This is weird, I tried few rounds and the code i wrote just seem not loaded.I did some surfing and finally I found out that it takes time for the emulator to load.I am using a 1.4 centrino with 2GB ram,and yet it still took around 1 minute to load.The lesson I learnt from this experiment is,when first launching the emulator,be patient and wait for the apps you wrote to load,then don't close the emulator to avoid the waiting when you load your apps again.
Happy programming :)

Updates : My first work using ZK,Spring and Acegi

Dear all,
If you were unable to download the war file,please leave your email here and I shall send u a copy of it.Please make sure that your email have sufficient space to receive the file.

My first work using ZK,Spring and Acegi

My job interviewer requested me to submit a file management application in one week time.This app should be able to upload and download file.I can use any open source libraries as long as I am doing it in Java.So,I think "Hey,this is a good chance to explore ZK.".I've been looking at ZK for quite a while,but dun really have time to play around with it.So I've decided to use ZK and Spring to complete this assignment.Other than upload and download file,I also added some other features.You can download the complete source code with libraries file here. This application is strictly for testing purpose only.Please leave comments here if you have any.Thank you.

Talented Programmer

Its been a while since my last blog post.I'd been quite busy with works,works and nothing but works for the past 3 months.And now,due to some management issues,I've decided to look for another new job.So,while I was browsing the job directory,I found some interesting jobs.One of it said that they are looking for "Talented programmer".Hmm...how they define talented?Do we categorize the ability of programming as skill or talent?If I can juggle, I am talented.If I can drink coke using my nose,I am gifted.But i don't see that have anything to do with programming.So can I demonstrate how to juggle 5 balls at a time during interview?Probably they will hire me since i m talented and my programming skill,probably doesnt really matter. LOL

No more comment,thank you

Sometimes ppl will ask me to listen to their stories and then ask for my opinion.I always give suggestions which I think are the most suitable,but not anymore.They can actually decide themselves, so why ask for my opinions?If I spent weeks to think a solution for them,and in the end nothing is taken,I felt like I am wasting my time.I don't know about others,but my time is somehow precious.I respect other ppl final decision,and i always think they know what are the thing they want,and this is what I want,no more comment,thank you.

Wake me up when September ends

Last month seemed like the busiest month I ever had.Almost every weekday I reached office at 5 or 6 am,and work all the way to 7pm,just to prove that I am not a bum to my manager.He assigned me tons of works at the beginning of September,and requested me to finish them within 3 weeks.Some of the functions are half done by other colleagues,and I am the one who clean up the mess.However,I did prove my value and my abilities by finishing almost everything on hand.I can't really finish all the things due to some requirement changes and I need more time to apply the new changes.
So,in your face,Mr Manager...

What's the problem,mate?

Sometimes you might feel a bit down,problems around you just can't stop haunting you.Don't lose yourself into it,instead you should face it and solve it.Letting the problem lying there doesn't mean it will go away after a while.You might even need to spend more efforts if you don't solve it asap.So,all the best,mate...

Evolution

I've been using IMISSCSY as my nickname for few years.Never think of changing it until yesterday.I had a long chat with my friend in JB,who just got married early this month.And he told me that the other friend also got married early this year and expecting for his first child end of this month.Suddenly I felt the people around me changed,and they changed alot.We used to be together and talking craps.But now all of them have their own family,what about me?I felt like I didnt improve at all,did I ever think about future?What about family?What about my dream?Its like I threw these things away long time ago.

I think maybe this is the right time for me to evolve.I've decided to achieve something,and become somebody.I shall no longer be haunted by my past,and no fear to the challenges I am going to face.

Trip to Bukit Tabur... part 1

JDK 1.6 + JBoss 4.2.0 + EJB3 Web Service + Axis2

Few days ago I started to implement web service in current project.I exposed a few methods in existing EJB.The deployment of WS to JBoss server and generating WS client using Axis2 are ok.But when the client trying to invoke the WS at server,exception was thrown at server side.

java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: setProperty must be overridden by all subclasses of SOAPMessage
at javax.xml.soap.SOAPMessage.setProperty(SOAPMessage.java:424)
at org.jboss.ws.soap.SOAPMessageImpl.(SOAPMessageImpl.java:65)
at org.jboss.ws.soap.MessageFactoryImpl.createMessage(MessageFactoryImpl.java:115)
at org.jboss.ws.binding.soap.SOAP11BindingProvider.createMessage(SOAP11BindingProvider.java:59)
at org.jboss.ws.binding.soap.SOAPBindingProvider.bindRequestMessage(SOAPBindingProvider.java:89)
at org.jboss.ws.binding.soap.SOAP11BindingProvider.bindRequestMessage(SOAP11BindingProvider.java:65)
at org.jboss.ws.jaxrpc.CallImpl.invokeInternal(CallImpl.java:645)
at org.jboss.ws.jaxrpc.CallImpl.invoke(CallImpl.java:404)
...

Same problem was reported at JBossWS Jira .click here

After I googling,I found that this problem only arise when we use JDK 6. I tried to switch back to JDK5,and it works. Then I tried various methods, such as trying to deploy on JBoss 5.0 beta yet it still doesn't work. According to some forumers, the reason for this is the SAAJ classes being used in Sun JDK 1.6.0 are not compatible with JBossWS since they use their own SAAJ jar named jboss-saaj.jar. So,we will need to make sure that jboss-saaj is loaded before default one.

The solution to this is modifying JBoss lib folder structure.
1.Move all the jar file from ${JBOSS_HOME}/lib into ${JBOSS_HOME}/lib/endorsed except getopt.jar, jboss-system.jar, jboss-jmx.jar
2.Make sure the jboss-saaj.jar and jboss-jaxrpc.jar is in it.

It works for me after I modified the structure. :)

Strange Generic Problem

Today my colleague asked me a question about generic in Java.
Here's the code

package test;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.List;

public class TestGeneric {
public static void main(String[] args)throws Exception{
List list = new ArrayList();
list.add("test");
List newList = list;
newList.add(4);
System.out.println(list.get(1));

List list2 = new ArrayList();
list2.add(new Date());
List newList2 = list2;
newList2.add("test");
System.out.println(list2.get(0));
}
}

And an exception was thrown when executing it.
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.Integer cannot be cast to java.lang.String
at test.TestGeneric.main(TestGeneric.java:13)


But if I commented out line 13,it works.The thing is quite weird as if the type casting rule is applied list,why doesn't it applied on list2?Obviously,we put an integer into a list which is expecting Date object,and when we print it,it wasn't cast to Data object.Then I decompiled the class file and this is what i get.

package test;

import java.io.PrintStream;
import java.util.*;

public class TestGeneric
{

public TestGeneric()
{
}

public static void main(String args[])
throws Exception
{
List list = new ArrayList();
list.add("test");
List newList = list;
newList.add(Integer.valueOf(4));
System.out.println((String)list.get(1));
List list2 = new ArrayList();
list2.add(new Date());
List newList2 = list2;
newList2.add("test");
System.out.println(list2.get(0));
}
}

We look at line "System.out.println((String)list.get(1));" ,value in list was typecast to String object,where as "System.out.println(list2.get(0));" the value in list2 wasn't typecast to Date object.

Any idea?

Of course cannot apologize la...leaking only ma

So,lately there are few topics related to same issues - leaking.

Mr Samy said that its not contractor's fault that the water is leaking all over the parliament building.The contractor only make sure the building is built,that's all.Hey,what do you expect then?You only paying like 90 millions to the contractor to build this,ok?You expectation is totally not reasonable.Look at Proton,they just make sure that the car can hit the road and the rest is not their responsibility adi.You only pay for the car,not the quality of it.Please understand that,malaysian.Plus,who will be attending meeting at parliament everyday?If this issue was not reported in the news,I think most of the parliament members won't even aware of that.Thanks god they are alive and no one is hurt.

Then,come to the other leaking problem.There are 2 parliament members giving some statements which practically insulted all the women in the world.I can't disclose their name,because I don't know who these small potatoes are.So sorry,guys.So after their giving such statements,they still being stubborn and not apologizing.Please forgive them,guys.They just want to get some attention thats all.They just forget that their mother,wife or daughter are women.And the main reason i think is because,they are probably a retard.God bless them,really,malaysian should really forgive them two.Even their head,Mr Najib already said its ok to joke sometime.He probably know that these 2 guys are simply retard but he just cover it up for them.What a good leader he is.

So,let's review the morales we learned from these incidents.

• Malaysia's government is very generous and willing to pay RM90 millions for a Parliament building,which is good looking and water leaking.
  
• Water leaking is probably an attribute of government building,wherever you see water leaking in the building,90% that it is a government building.This includes Parliament,High Court etc.
  
• If you are a retard,find a leader who is just a bit smarter than you.Since you guys are in the same group(retard group) ,he will sure cover your ass no matter what.

Viva Malaysia

Final decision - SCBCD

So after few days of researching and considering,I decided to take Sun Certified Business Component Developer(SCBCD) exam around September this year.The reason is because this certificate is all about Java EE 5,which is what I am using in my work now.Also I planned to pursue my Sun Certified Enterprise Architect(SCEA) next year.So after the next certificate,I will spend the next 6 to 12 months to prepare for my SCEA.You might wondering,do I need that many months to prepare for a SCEA certificate.Yes,I do.I will need to know everything from UML, Design pattern, Enterprise Architecture and some general knowledge on Enterprise application.I suck big time on UML,seriously.Now have to pick everything up again.Anyway,at the moment I will just focus on SCBCD and spend more time in learning Java EE 5.

Keroro...

Passed my exam and life goes on!!

So I passed my SCJP exam.After a few days of studies during my holiday,and this is what I get.The passed score is 59% and I scored 59%.So close,LOL.Anyway,I could have score better if I spend more time to take more mock exam.But passed is passed,I still able to claim my exam fees,and also an increment promised by my company.What my next plan?I am actually thinking to take another certificate,is either SCBCD or SCWCD.SCBCD is more on EJB3.0 where SCWCD is more one JSP and Servlet.Most probably I will take SCBCD cos' I am doing Java EE now.Also I will like to start my open source project soon.Still in the planning stage,and if there are any updates,I will post it here.Basically I've got some ideas on what to do.Just need to do more research and planning including road map,time line,technologies applied etc.

Anyway,I will like to wish 2 of my friends who are switching to their new job this week.Hope they will like the new job and enjoy it.Cheers

Web messenger

I've been using web based messenger for quite a while.The reason of using web based messenger is because I keep switching machine,between my own laptop and my office desktop.Web based messenger helps me keep track of my chatting history.And to avoid someone will read my chatting history like what happened to my friend and I before.These kind of people do exist,they read you chatting history and try to find out whether you talking anything bad on him or not.Sometimes I am lazy to deal with this so I just use web based messenger. :)
Pros

• can use different IM including MSN,Yahoo!,GTalk and etc at the same time
• store chat history on the server
• able to cross platform
• no more annoying emoticons(This is the part I like the most)

Cons

• Unable to send files(some web based messenger support this,but the one I am using now doesn't)
• needs internet connection to view chat history

SCJP Exam by next week

Well,I will be taking my very first SCJP exam next Thursday(Hope its the only one =..=).Hows my preparation?Actually I already finished study the book,probably will do more revision by this weekend.Wish me luck guys.

Fax facts

This is a story I heard from my cousin.There is a girl,still a college student,working in a local company for industrial training.So one day her manager asked her to fax a document to client.After half and hour,the manager received a call from client,"Please stop faxing us the document,your clerk had send us over 30 faxes of the same document.".The manager was surprised,then he asked the girl in and told her stop faxing the document as client had already received it.The girl then said,"Got meh?But the paper is still there."

If those who thinks that if you fax it,the paper will disappear,you probably should read the description below(from wikipedia).
Fax (short for facsimile, from Latin fac simile, "make similar", i.e. "make a copy") is a telecommunications technology used to transfer copies (facsimiles) of documents, especially using affordable devices operating over the telephone network. The word telefax, short for telefacsimile, for "make a copy at a distance", is also used as a synonym.

ejb-jar.xml

In a normal EJB jar file,we will need to include a ejb-jar.xml in the META-INF folder.For EJB3,we can use annotation to configure the bean instead of writing it in ejb-jar.xml.Information such as bean name,mapped name etc can be configured through annotation.For more information,please refer to EJB3 javadoc.However,can we use an empty descriptor,a ejb-jar.xml without any configuration in our jar file.According to what I know,the configuration in ejb-jar.xml will overwrite the configuration done using annotations.This give the user flexibilities to change the configuration whenever its necessary without changing the code.

Journey to the Enterprise Edition

I've started using Java EE 5 for the past few days.The very first thing is to choose a Java EE container.I downloaded GlassFish and JBoss and start evaluating them.I started my experiment on GlassFish V2.I got my first hello-world ejb working on it,no problem. So I started to port my application which is using Hiernate to communicate with database.Now the problems arised,GF has pre-defined Oracle Toplink as the default persistence provider ,so if I want to use Hibernate,I need to specify the provider in my persistence.xml.Fine, I can live with just modifying one file and using my preferred persistence provider.Then I also need to change the xml declaration with the correct schema.Then I deployed again,error occured. I spent the next 4 hours to make it work including moving the necessary libraries to server library folder.And the strange thing is,although i already specified the persistence provider, but sometimes it still pointing back to Toplink.So i have to use the admin console to stop the application,then start the application again.Did I mention that you need to include log4j.jar in you EAR/lib in order to use it?Yes,you need to.

I was so fed up with GlassFish,but don't get me wrong,its not mature yet,that's all.So I switched to JBoss 4.05.Ok,i just put my EAR in,and it runs.Then i found some other strange problems,when connecting to database,such as

Caused by: java.lang.ClassCastException: org.hibernate.ejb.EntityManagerFactoryImpl cannot be cast to org.hibernate.ejb.EntityManagerFactoryImpl

Weird,rite?How come the class cannot be type casted to the same type of class?Probably no many people out there met this kind of strange problems.So,googling wouldn't really helps.After another 5 hours I found out that the problem is because my EAR file contains some libraries JBoss has.I remove those duplicated libraries in my EAR file,and it works.

I shall continue next post with some of the features provided by Java EE 5.

Haunted

I'd dream of you again,finally i can remember your face,but when is this going to end?when will you stop haunting me?am i not doing good enough to forget you?am i not felt guilty enough for leaving you 7 years ago?let me go,pls...

Back from Thailand

Finally,I am back from Thailand...well,there are tons of things I would like to write on Thailand...probably will start from tomorrow or Thursday...hope I got the time and energy,so,stay tune,guys....

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Happy Chinese New Year,guys...I know its a little bit earlier to say so,however I am not spending my Chinese New Year here in KL.Now is 15th,February 2007 and its 4am when I am writing this.I will be going to Thailand 4 hours from now.Anyway,I will try to update my blog with tons of pictures(if there are)when I am back.

Ciaos...

Pimp My Apps

Yeah,so this ain't MTV Pimping people's car here...My company apps is totally a havoc,slow loading,slow responding,slow in almost every aspect.Therefore,my task is to tune this thing and make it runs faster.But,due to the previous performance is really worst(9 minutes to load up the thing,what the hell),now even 2 minutes loading for them is consider OK.Just imagine you login to a system,and wait for 2 minutes before you can continue.Sweating...

However,due to the apps didnt really utilize the caching and pooling features,I guess if I could apply these in,I guess it should be less than 2 minutes.Argghhh....really missed those days working on JSP.More than one second I already start doing tuning and optimization.But now...probably 30 seconds is more than enough for them.Lets pray for the users,shall we?

New Company,New me

Well,since many people been asking me about my new company,maybe i should briefly describe it.

My company business nature is selling CRM.The CRM is not off shelf,it is customizable.The analyst will gather the requirement from customer,then they will key in the requirement into an Excel file following the standards defined by the company.Things that can be key in including fields to be shown on page,database table schema,access level,user setting etc.After they keying all these information,they will use a tool to parse these Excel files.Please bear in mind that this is all done by business analyst,no programmer involves.After the parsing process,the parsing tool will generate a few files.Then,there is another engine which will read these configuration and generate an application on the fly.The interface is Flash based,whereas the backend is Java.

I will be working on the backend part.Now is at the end of version 2.This version is kinda hard to modified as it is already at very late stage.So,instead of modifying the structure,the programming team decided to release it as a usable version.We will basically do debugging and some performance tuning.The coming version 3 will involve a lot of restructuring.So I think my workload will be even heavier by then.At the moment,I am going through the codes and the structures of the system.Frankly,it is very complex.A lot of reflection were used.And the structure also quite confusing. :S

The working environment is quite OK.The working hour is flexible,which I can reach office around 10am even though official working hour is starting from 9am.If come in late,then must leave late also.Just make sure that every week my working hours will reach around 40 hours.Then the company also forcing me to take SCJP,a certificate for Java programmer.If I fail to get it within 6 months,then I cannot pass my probation period. :sweat: Its good also cos now there are people pushing me to take the cert,as I already planned to take at least 2 certs by this year but afraid that I might be too lazy to take it.Not really much overtime,even overtime will only be working until 8pm.I can foresee that I will learn alot here.

Anyway,I am looking forward to involve in version 3.Hope I can learn more on the core programming and some project management skills from my manager.

Cron expression builder using HTML

Dear all,
I am now working on a schedule function which required a HTML page that allows user to select the month,day or time.When user submits it,it will be constructed to a valid cron expression to be used with Quartz(http://www.opensymphony.com).I probably will get the thing done before friday.So,stay tune guys.

From,
Thor

Know your name and say your name

Dear All,
Please be aware of the christian name you selected for yourself or maybe your children.At least know what's the meaning of the name.Personally,I don't prefer calling my son a "Dick".Of course,if my daughter birthday is on April,I won't name her by "April" too."Paris" is OK, but not "Kepong" or "Skudai".

Try to google around first,find the meaning of the name before you making any decision.People might not remember your face,but is the name they will remember.Name is very important in giving people the first impression of yourself..If there are 2 girls in the chatroom,one is Ah Choo,and one is Michelle,who will you choose?9 out of 10 will choose Michelle.

So,here are some common name people use which are quite "incorrect".
Dick - cock: obscene terms for penis
Fanny - female genitalia: external female sex organs; "in England `fanny' is vulgar slang for female genitals"

Do you have others?Feel free to write to me so I can put it in.

Journey finding a JOB

So,for the past 10 days I've been busy finding jobs and attending interviews.Luckily,I've found one which I think its most suitable for me where this company actually provided me an environment to learn and grow(of cos,the pay is quite good too!!).

I've went to around 10 interviews.There are some experience that I would like to share with you guys.

A US based company,with its Asia Pacific HQ located in Hong Kong,asked me to visit their office and attend the interview.So, as usual,I went to this office,and I was early than the scheduled time.A staff opened the door,bring me to a meeting room.The meeting room is like any ordinary room,just that it is equipped with teleconferencing kit and a TV.But I wasn't really bother about that,as I was busy filling up the forms and answering the questions they given.After I finish filling up,I told the staff,who brought me in just now,that I am done.Then she took my paper and told me that the person in charge will call me through the phone.Yes,no face to face contact,only phone.Then I was like "WTF...".When I was going through the interview on the phone,I can't stop thinking that is this a joke or what?Is there a hidden camera,recording down my behavior while I was talking?Did they see me scratching my back just now?This is my first,and probably the last time going through an interview,alone.

I happened to attend an interview in another company,which I think 95% of the staffs are Chinese.So the moment I was in the office,I can see staffs playing with handphones,like with the ringtones,features,smsing etc.WTF,are they working here or what?This is office,not some handphone shops in LYP.Can you guys be professional a bit?

I think some company requested their candidates to answer some questions,whether technical questions,or IQ questions.Yes,I mean IQ questions.Sometimes they even ask you to rate the importance of things in your life,and as a smart person,I will rate "Company future" as my first priority.Try to ask a working staff,world peace and company future,which one is more important?

Anyway,I would like to thank those companies who offer me a job with reasonable amount of salary and attracting benefits.However,there is only one me in this world,therefore I can only choose only one and the one which I think its best for my future and current situation.I hope that my friend who is also looking for job out there,will find his ideal job in the end of the day.Good luck,dude...

Annoying Answer

So,some states of Malaysia are being flooded last month.During the incident,the victims got no where to hide except the roof top of their house.There is no water,food or anything.They just simply stay there and hoping someone will come and give them a hand.Of course,there some volunteers,individual or company,renting boats to save those victims.Government also sending out army to save them.However,there are some rumors saying that the army is actually asking money from victims then only the victims is allowed to be on the boat.The next day,our dearest Deputy Prime Minister was kind of pissed off and saying something like people can't accuse the army without any evidence.Truly,no one is willing to giving statement that time.Flood still going on for days.Finally someone stood out and saying that he paid the army for taking his customer out from his shop for RM250.There are quite number of them including this man.
Here comes the annoying part.The next day after this man giving the statement,a guy from the government,seriously I can't remember who,saying something like the army didn't ask for it,but the victim willing to pay them.
What the fuck?If victim giving them money,then they are eligible to take it?Why no one accusing those volunteers who use their own money to rent the boat?How come they don't ask for money?I seriously doubt they are getting any money out of this.Yet our dearest army,they supposed to be there,saving our lives,and protecting our nations asking for money.Does this mean that in the future if there is war,I have to pay them in order to get my ass out of here?And what if I don't?Would they care about my life and death?To them,I am just only one of the millions,but to me,they are suppose to be my savior.How disappointed.

The beginning

So,its new year,and yeah,we should be hugging and greeting each other happy new year.But at some other countries, they ain't that lucky.

• 1st Jan 2007,Indonesia ship sunk,522 passengers including crews on the board,only 100++ being rescued.Where's the other?
  
• 1st Jan 2007,several explosions happened in Bangkok,Thailand.Few killed and injured.
• 3rd Jan 2007,an airplane at Indonesia lost contact with the control center.Suspected crashed on an island near Sulawesi.122 passengers including crew on the board.Until now still haven been discovered.
• etc,etc