Istanbul Java User Group Day 2011

Istanbul Java Day, 2011, beginning with the participation of the head of JCP. The organization will be held at Bahcesehir University Besiktas Campus 24th of September by Istanbul Java User Group.

Java Community Process (JCP.ORG) President Patrick Curran will be one of the main speakers. Other speakers are Talip Öztürk from Hazelcast, Çagatay Çivici from Primefaces,Altug Bilgin Altintas from Kodcu.com and Fuad Malikov.

Click for details and registration

UPDATE AFTER THE EVENT : Event has been held successfully

Why JQuery Rocks?

Dealing with JavaScript is usually a difficult, error-prone and messy task. There are lots of javascript libraries that simplifies the developer's job when using javascript and JQuery is one of them.

There are many javascript libraries but what makes JQuery so special?  This article tries to answer this question by also giving some usage details of some popular javascript libraries .

As stated in the JQuery official web site, jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development. jQuery is designed to change the way that you write JavaScript. You write less and do more!

There are lots of other javaScript libraries out there. Dojo, Prototype, ExtJs, MooTools, YUI ( click for the full list of javaScript libraries ) etc. but JQuery is the most popular of them. In usage statistics, jQuery dominates the market with up to 80% market share. (Check the usage statistics given at the end of this article.)

So, why jQuery is so popular? As a brief summary, JQuery is easy to learn, has good documentation, has an enhusiastic community behind it, has successful cross-browser compatibility, is pluggable and has tons of plugins. Continue to read to learn more.

Developer Links Worth Looking at - August 2011

I want to share some links that I've come across lately. I hope you find the links interesting as much as I do.

To sum up, links include some useful java libraries, articles about a variety of different topics, some programming tips and news. Continue reading to see more...

Firebug - Web Development Evolved

Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of web development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.

A quote from Java World Article defines Firebug as a revolutionary tool for web development:

"Web development arguably has two distinct eras: BFB -- the (prehistoric) time before Firebug when we learned the limits of alerts -- and the modern AFB (after Firebug) when we found that we can once again spend quality time with our families. Firebug truly is Web development evolved. Developing a Web application without using Firebug is like coding Java in vi -- it can be done, but it's just not worth the pain." [1]

Firebug is free and open source, licensed under the BSD license. Firebug was initially written in January 2006 by Joe Hewitt, one of the original Firefox creators.  Firebug has two major implementations, an extension (add-on) for Mozilla Firefox and an in-page implementation called Firebug Lite. A cross-browser version is in development. Approximately 3 million users have the Firebug add-on installed as of Nov. 2010 . [2]

In addition to debugging web sites, Firebug is a useful tool for web security testing and for web site performance analysis.

Official Web sites : http://getfirebug.com/

Firebug has also several useful extensions including YSlow and fireQuery.

There are web development tool of the others' browser like firebug. These are : 

• Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar
• Opera Dragonfly
• Web Inspector
• Google Chrome's Inspector

Technology Behind LinkedIn

As you all know, LinkedIn is one of the most useful and successful business-related social networking sites. As of March 2011 LinkedIn reached 100 million professionals worldwide and it continues to grow.

I use LinkedIn regularly and I really love it. ( By the way, you can visit  My LinkedIn profile. ) It is a perfect tool to create a professional identity and connect with other professionals. It is also available in 9 different languages including Turkish. Another reason why I like LinkedIn is that they use Java technologies regularly.[1]

I've seen the following slide in Alexander Lawrence's profile and it was pretty awesome to see that Java is the core technology behind the LinkedIn. Here is a (modified) picture of the main technology stack given in this slide:

After some googling, I've also found out LinkedIn is pure %99 java. [2] Yes, LinkedIn is written in 99% Java except for some in-memory C++ caches that they use.