Generators allow the GWT coder to generate Java code at compile time and have it then be compiled along with the rest of the project into JavaScript. They are a sort of similar to T4 Templates in the .NET world. I don’t recommend Generators because you end up writing a lot of code in printLn()s which is sort of the opposite of “maintainability”. However, there were so few examples available I decided to post a simple one here just for the sake of it.
My Use Case is I want …

Back around New Years I was looking for a way to simplify creation of cross-browser, DDA accessible HTML. Screens basically. They had to be very rich with lots of bells and whistles and they had to perform. Ideally this system had to be so simple to use that a non-technical person could create XBrowser, DDA compliant screens. I decided to take a second look at ExtJS and it has come a long way since I’d seen it last.
Using ExtJS you can create a screen programmatic-ally using classes and …

I have built many frameworks over the years and I have a love-hate relationship with them. Building frameworks or other types of abstractions such as code generators, template engines and so forth are great creative outlets which tend to distract the over-burdened developer from the primary task at hand which is shipping software. They’re a lot of fun to think about and build and you don’t need to worry about those pesky business requirements. But are they worth the investment?
The first problem with a framework is the requirements. Since …

I interview a lot of candidates for the role of web developer. I thought I would take a minute to describe what I think this role means and the skills *I think* you need to be successful in today’s world. This is just my opinion, your results may vary.
Let’s get core skills out of the way; you need some exposure to the MVC, asp.net code-behind model only just doesn’t cut it. You should understand the rendering pipeline, how to manipulate the HTTP request and so forth. Basic stuff.
You …

A slight tangent this time; If you’re looking for a good valentine’s day gift for men, specifically a watch, it can be a daunting task. Of course no one needs a watch into today’s world but that’s not the point.  The watch is the only piece of jewelry a man can legitimately wear so in my view it’s fairly important to put some thought into it. The worst thing you can do is walk into a jeweler’s not knowing what you want, you’ll end up $2,000 poorer with a boring …

Is there an intelligent designer? If so then they are surely a mad and cruel scientist. Observe the parasite “Cymothoa exigua” [LINK]. Here’s is an animal, a parasite, that attaches to a fish’s tongue. Once attached it cuts off the blood to the tongue which eventually falls off. It then happily lives in its unfortunate hosts’ mouth. I assume its incredibly painful for the host fish who is powerless to get rid of it.
Or how about “Sacculina”, the mind-control barnacle? [LINK]
“Upon finding a host crab, a female Sacculina will crawl …

Bob Proctor is at it again.  The Secret, which benefited greatly from “The Oprah Effect” essentially put The Law of Attraction, around which much of Proctor’s shtick is based, on the map. The Law is…
“Essentially, “if you really want something and truly believe it’s possible, you’ll get it”, but putting a lot of attention and thought onto something you don’t want means you’ll probably get that too.”
This claim is entirely fantasy based, with no clinical evidence to back it up AT ALL. Yet The Secret was purchased by over 2 …

I had a weird Serialization problem with Linq to SQL the other day and since I didn’t Google the fix I figured I’d publish it here.
I had a table which refers to itself, something like this:

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[node](
[id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[title] [nvarchar](50) NOT NULL,
[parentId] [int] NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_node] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[id] ASC
)
ALTER TABLE [dbo].[node]  WITH CHECK ADD  CONSTRAINT [FK_node_node] FOREIGN KEY([parentId])
REFERENCES [dbo].[node] ([id])

I have a stored function to retrieve all the nodes, including their descendants from the DB, mine’s based on the function included here [LINK]
Once I got the rows, …

Moore’s Law states that the level of technology/computing power available doubles every 18-24 months. This exponential growth has held true the last thirty years and shows no signs of slowing down. There is a physical limitation which will be reach but I have no doubt that by that time we will switch from silicon-based transistors to some other means. E.g. Just the other day scientists announced the world’s first molecular transistor consisting of a single molecule of benzene [LINK].
So what’s next? Well if computers get stronger/smaller/faster you might think we’ll …

“I wonder on what basis anyone can say condoms make AIDS worse. The Pope is either stupid, ignorant or dim.” so says Richard Dawkins, speaking at a the University of Valencia after having been awarded an honorary degree. [LINK]
Dawkins was referring to the Pope’s comments in Africa earlier this year where the Pope said this about HIV/AIDS: “You can’t resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem.”
Dawkins loves to stir things up as it were but he’s not alone. The pontiff’s comments have prompted …