Started off with installing Mercurial using Synaptic Package Manager. Then Eclipse 3.5 along with PyDev, Yedit and MercurialEclipse plugins.

Then downloaded the Google AppEngine SDK (Python) and extracted it to /home/{username}/google_appengine

export PATH=${PATH}:/home/{username}/google_appengine

This is optional but makes life easier, unless of course you enjoy typing long absolute file paths in the console.

And that’s it. You’re done.

Next for me, setting up dev environments for Android and Flex.

Cheats codes

• Ubuntu 10.4 = New version of a popular Linux OS distribution
• Mercurial = Source code management
• Eclipse = IDE
• PyDev = Eclipse plugin for Python programming language
• Yedit = Eclipse plugin for .yaml files
• MercurialEclipse = Eclipse plugin for Mercurial
• Google AppEngine SDK = Libraries, tools, development sandbox for Google AppEngine

I take this opportunity to announce a few things. I have been working on a Facebook App these days, based on Adobe Flex, Google and (of course) Facebook APIs/libraries/platforms. For this app, I needed a very simple Python based Facebook library. I tried couple of API’s already available, none of them fitted the bill.

That lead me to create Simplefacebook

“simplefacebook is a minimalistic Facebook’s RESTful web service wrapper for Google App Engine (Python)”.

Check it out if you are looking for a minimalist Facebook library for a python web application deployed on the Google App Engine. Yes, its dependencies include Google App Engine libraries.

But that can be easily rectified, so feel free to fork it.

—

Update: I’ve moved Simplefacebook from SVN / Google Code to Mercurial / BitBucket. SVN to Mercurial for many reasons but primarily the ability to work in offline mode, and Google Code to BitBucket so that all my projects, public and private, are in the same place.

In fact I am going to stick my neck out and make a series of claims and eventually conclude that the benefits of choosing Adobe Flex today completely overshadow HTML5.

Flash/Flex reaches 99% of internet enabled desktops

I am not making this claim, Adobe is. And they have backed it up with real data including the Milward Brown surveyconducted as recently as September 2009 showing Flash runtime as the clear leader in this segment. In addition the Ubiquity survey for September 2009 shows that in average 93.5% of users in mature markets (i.e. U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) use the latest version for the Flash plugin which is version 10.

Comparing this with HTML5, which is only partially supported by only the latest versions of Chrome, Opera, Safari and Firefox (all of which put together don’t command a majority in the browser market share) is a no-contest. I’m with all of you and I use Chrome myself (with the Flash plugin!) and I am all for open standards prevailing over proprietary technologies, however when making a business decision personal preferences are to be put aside and market realities are to be acknowledged.

More people can view your web application if developed in Flash/Flash than in HTML5. I write this in December 2009 and I think this would hold true at least for the next 18 to 24 months.

Greater interoperability with your existing systems is achieved with Flash/Flex

Both HTML5 and Flash/Flex allow for asynchronous and persistent communications with server side layers. However Flex has been around longer than HTML5, hence its support for interoperability has matured significantly and provides for a lot more. Open technologies such as BlazeDS can be used to integrate Flex easily with your Java investments. I don’t want to make this post read like an ad for Adobe so I am not mentioning Adobe LiveCycle but if you’re looking for greater enterprise support, that would be the way to go. .Net too isn’t unfamiliar territory for Flex with inbuilt support for SOAP based web services.

Other popular server side languages such as PHP and Python also have popular AMF libraries – AMFPHP, AMFast and PYAMF just to name a few.

Offering a technology stack including Adobe Flex, Python and AMFast deployed on Google infrastructure (via the Google App Engine) would give us a solution where in development time is low (Python and Flex are popular for rapid app development) while the solution itself is secure, well backed up and highly scalable.

Do more with Flash/Flex

I am yet to see a good enough data visualization application in HTML5 that competes with everything that Flex offers i.e. the chart components, the simple and advanced data grids and OLAP data grids as well.

Data visualization being just one example. There is a lot more Flex can natively provide for that HTML5 simply does not at this point of time.  Not to mention the scores of open source and proprietary third party libraries available for ActionScript/Flex. BirdEye, PaperVision3D to name a couple, and this is a good place to get started.

Capability-wise HTML5 / Javascript libraries are just not there yet.

Finding developers

http://www.google.co.in/search?q=“flex+developer” returns 1,060,000 results
http://www.google.co.in/search?q=“html5+developer” returns 863 results

Not claiming this to be a scientific poll but you get my point!

Flash/Flex has been out there for many years now, good reference material is widely available, training programmes and certification exams are conducted and well supported by Adobe and third parties. Meanwhile HTML5 is still a “draft specification”.

Conclusion

As a developer I am excited about HTML5 and I would love to see an open technology succeed. But it would just not be practical to opt for HTML5 over Flex at the moment. The silver lining for HTML5 would be that it has an opportunity in the mobile devices segment where Adobe Flash does lag behind.

1. Deploy the default BlazeDS war file

2. Modify “WEB-INF\flex\messaging-config.xml” to add “SimpleChatDestination”

<?xml version=“1.0″ encoding=“UTF-8″?>
<service id=“message-service”>

    <adapters>
        <adapter-definition id=“actionscript” default=“true” />
        <!– <adapter-definition id=“jms”/> –>
    </adapters>

    <default-channels>
        <channel ref=“my-polling-amf”/>
    </default-channels>
 
 <destination id=“SimpleChatDestination”>
  <properties>
   <network>
    <subscription-timeout-minutes>0</subscription-timeout-minutes>
   </network>
   <server>
    <message-time-to-live>0</message-time-to-live>
    <allow-subtopics>true</allow-subtopics>
    <subtopic-separator>.</subtopic-separator>
   </server>
  </properties>
  <channels>
   <channel ref=“my-polling-amf”/>
  </channels>
 </destination>

</service>

3. Create a new project in Flex Builder 3 and configure it to your BlazeDS deployment. You will need to enter the root folder of the WAR package (usually in “server/default/deploy”), Root URL and Context Root.

<?xml version=“1.0″ encoding=“utf-8″?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx=“http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml“
 layout=“vertical“
 creationComplete=“consumer.subscribe()”>
 
 <mx:Script>
  <![CDATA[
   import mx.controls.Alert;
   import mx.messaging.messages.AsyncMessage;
   import mx.messaging.messages.IMessage;
   
   public function send():void {
                var message:IMessage = new AsyncMessage();
                message.destination = “SimpleChatDestination”;
                message.body = “\n” + usernameInput.text + “:\t” + messageInput.text;
               
                trace(producer.connected);
                producer.send(message);
               
                messageInput.text = “”;
   }
   
   public function messageHandler( message:IMessage ):void {
    textArea.text += message.body;
   }
  ]]>
 </mx:Script>
 
 <mx:Producer id=“producer” destination=“SimpleChatDestination”/>
 
 <mx:Consumer id=“consumer” destination=“SimpleChatDestination” message=“messageHandler(event.message)”/>
 
 <mx:TextArea id=“textArea” width=“400” height=“300”/>
 
 <mx:HBox horizontalGap=“0”>
  <mx:TextInput id=“usernameInput” width=“80”/>
  <mx:TextInput id=“messageInput” width=“180”/>
  <mx:Button label=“Send” click=“send();”/>
 </mx:HBox>
 
</mx:Application>

Subrato Banerjee

Help Subrato Banerjee complete his research by letting him know how you have been coping with the recession by filling in this private online survey. Results and analysis will be published in a leading business journal.

Survey: http://subrato2009.questionpro.com

What is a Choropleth Map?
A choropleth map (Greek χωρα + πληθαίν:, (“area/region” + “multiply”) is a thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map, such as population density or per-capita income.

The choropleth map provides an easy way to visualize how a measurement varies across a geographic area or it shows the level of variable within a region. — Wikipedia

—

The component does just that. It plots a map and then applies a theme to the various regions of the map. Relevant data and legend information needs to be provided to the component. (See example attached below!)

The component also provides tooltips on specific regions and provides an “Active Legend” that lets you highlight and hide/unhide specific regions of the map based on the data and legend.

Demo | Source code

Demo | Source code

Here’s from the Adobe AIR Team Blog:

Exciting news! Now available on Adobe Labs are the public beta releases of Adobe Flash Builder 4 (formerly Flex Builder), Adobe Flash Catalyst and the Flex 4 Framework.

Flash Builder 4 is the next evolution of Flex Builder, and includes a long list of feature improvements, new data-centric development features, and a new design-develop workflow with Flash Catalyst. Flash Catalyst, also now available in public beta, is a new interaction design tool for rapidly building application user interfaces without coding. Both Flash Builder and Flash Catalyst are based on the updated Flex 4 framework, also available for beta download.

Visit Adobe Labs to find out more and to download the installers.

The acquisition gives Oracle a massive 55% (approx.) market share as far as Database Management Systems are concerned. The acquisition also raises doubts of the future viability or growth of MySQL as a platform for obvious reasons.

Some could argue that there is space for two variants of DBMS’s in today’s market. MySQL being Open Source has a huge following and a very attractive adoption rate among small to medium business, personal and not for profit operations. While Oracle is generally preferred for mission critical, enterprise or other high end requirements.

One thing is certain — MySQL with a 30% (approx.) market share isn’t going to disappear in a hurry. In fact MySQL could continue to survive as a community, open source project but the chances of MySQL Enterprise Edition’s survival look bleak.

Could the forthcoming demise of MySQL be the opening PostgreSQL needs? Time will tell.

Adobe resources

• Adobe Flex 3 with AIR Exam Preparation Guide
• Adobe Devnet Tutorial
• Flex 3: Introducing Cairngorm
• Flex 3: Architecting Applications with Cairngorm
• Flex 3: Using ActionScript 3
• Flex 3: Developing Rich Client Applications
• Flex 3 and LiveCycle Data Services: Integrating with Data and Messaging
• Flex 3 and LiveCycle Data Services: Integrating with ColdFusion
• Flex 3: Building Charting and Dashboard Applications
• Flex 3: Extending and Styling Components
• Flex 3: Developing Rich Internet Applications
• Flex in a week (Video)

Third-party resources

• Getting Started with Flex 3 (O’Reilly, June 2008)
  Download the PDF version of the book (PDF, 1.44M)
• Flex 3 Cookbook (O’Reilly, June 2008)
• Learning Flex 3 (O’Reilly, June 2008)
• Attest — a standalone Adobe AIR application that allows you to take your mock exam, view results and helpful tips, and refer to the Flex 3 livedocs website in real time.

Feel free to suggest more resources to add to the list above.

A recent contest at CanSecWest, an event that brings together some of the most skilled experts in the security community, has demonstrated that the three most popular browser are susceptible to security bugs despite the vigilance and engineering prowess of their creators. Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer were all exploited during the Pwn2Own competition that took place at the conference. Google’s Chrome browser, however, was the only one left standing—a victory that security researchers attribute to its innovative sandbox feature.

And my choice of dumping Firefox for Chrome stands vindicated.

On a serious note,  OSSCamp is one of the largest conferences in India focusing on IT, Open Source and entrepreneurship. They have their camp this time at the IIT Delhi campus which is right in the heart of New Delhi. If you’re anywhere in India, this is be one event you shouldn’t want to miss. At least not when I’m speaking.

For event details, go here: http://osscamp.in/event/osscamp-delhi-march-2009

Code:

<visualization:AdvancedLegend dataProvider="{lineChart}"/>

Screenshot:

What’s next?
– Checkboxes based selectable legend items 
– Chart series item style controls via legend 

Demo | Source code

Code:

<containers:AdvancedTitleWindow width="400" height="300"/>

Screenshot:
 

What’s next?
– Docking
– Minimize, Maximize options
– Selectable style patterns

Demo | Source code

Screen shot:
 

Code:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" xmlns:visualization="net.srirangan.visualization.*">
  <mx:Script><![CDATA[
     import mx.collections.ArrayCollection;
     [Bindable]
     public var expenses:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection([
        {Month:"Jan", Profit:2000, Expenses:1500, Amount:450},
        {Month:"Feb", Profit:1000, Expenses:200, Amount:600},
        {Month:"Mar", Profit:1500, Expenses:500, Amount:300}
     ]);]]></mx:Script>
<mx:Panel title="Line Chart With Strokes">
     <mx:LineChart id="myChart" dataProvider="{expenses}" showDataTips="true" seriesFilters="{new Array}">
        <mx:horizontalAxis>
           <mx:CategoryAxis dataProvider="{expenses}" categoryField="Month"/>
        </mx:horizontalAxis>
        <mx:series>
           <visualization:DashedLineSeries yField="Profit" displayName="Profit"/>
           <mx:LineSeries yField="Expenses" displayName="Expenses"/>
           <mx:LineSeries yField="Amount" displayName="Amount"/>
        </mx:series>
     </mx:LineChart>
     <mx:Legend dataProvider="{myChart}" direction="horizontal"/>
  </mx:Panel>
</mx:Application> 

What’s next?
– Pre defined multiple line patterns
– User defined line patterns 

Demo | Source code

Note: It is important to set the DataGridColumn’s editable property to false as the itemRenderer itself is the itemEditor.

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="vertical" horizontalAlign="center" verticalAlign="middle">
<mx:DataGrid id="dataGrid" editable="true">
<mx:dataProvider>
<mx:XMLList xmlns="">
<node isTrue="true" name="xxxxxxxx" location="yyyyyyy"/>
<node isTrue="false" name="xxxxxxxx" location="yyyyyyy"/>
<node isTrue="true" name="xxxxxxxx" location="yyyyyyy"/>
<node isTrue="false" name="xxxxxxxx" location="yyyyyyy"/>
<node isTrue="true" name="xxxxxxxx" location="yyyyyyy"/>
</mx:XMLList>
</mx:dataProvider>
<mx:columns>
<mx:DataGridColumn dataField="@isTrue" width="25" headerText=" " editable="false">
<mx:itemRenderer>
<mx:Component>
<mx:CheckBox selected="{(data.@isTrue == 'true')?true:false}" click="{data.@isTrue = (data.@isTrue != 'true') ? 'true' : 'false';}"/>
</mx:Component>
</mx:itemRenderer>
</mx:DataGridColumn>
<mx:DataGridColumn dataField="@name" headerText="Name"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn dataField="@location" headerText="Location"/>
</mx:columns>
</mx:DataGrid>
<mx:DataGrid dataProvider="{dataGrid.dataProvider}"/>
</mx:Application>

Screenshot
 

Code

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="vertical">
<mx:Script>
<![CDATA[
public function customDataTip(item:Object):String {
return "custom static data tip";
}
]]>
</mx:Script>
<mx:DataGrid>
<mx:columns>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Name" dataField="@name"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Age" dataField="@age"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Location" dataField="@location" dataTipFunction="customDataTip" showDataTips="true"/>
</mx:columns>
<mx:dataProvider>
<mx:XMLList xmlns="">
<node name="AAA" age="1" location="New Delhi"/>
<node name="BBB" age="2" location="New Delhi"/>
<node name="CCC" age="3" location="New Delhi"/>
</mx:XMLList>
</mx:dataProvider>
</mx:DataGrid>
</mx:Application>

Sample code:

<inputs:CheckBoxTree width="480" height="320" title="Indian Subcontinent">
<inputs:dataProvider>
<mx:XMLListCollection>
<mx:source>
<mx:XMLList xmlns="">
<node state='checked' label='All' value='1'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Afghanistan' value='2'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Bangladesh' value='3'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Bhutan' value='4'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='India' value='91'>
<node state='unchecked' label='Jammu and Kashmir' value='10'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Himachal Pradesh' value='11'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Punjab' value='12'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Haryana' value='13'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Uttaranchal' value='14'/>
</node>
<node state='unchecked' label='Nepal' value='5'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Pakistan' value='6'/>
<node state='unchecked' label='Sri Lanka' value='7'/>
</mx:XMLList>
</mx:source>
</mx:XMLListCollection>
</inputs:dataProvider>
</inputs:CheckBoxTree>

A quick screen shot..
 Again, all code self explanatory. Proper documentation will follow when advanced features will be introduced into the component.

 What’s next?
– Select all, Clear all features
– Support for multiple dataProviders
– getCheckedItems(), setCheckedItems() methods etc.

 Demo | Source code (Zip 6kB)

<visualizations:MultiChart id="multiChart" width="640" height="480"
backgroundColor="#ffffff" title="Default chart title" legendHeight="40"/>

[Bindable]
public var dataArrayCollection:ArrayCollection = new ArrayCollection;
public function creationCompleteHandler():void {
dataArrayCollection.addItem(new ArrayCollection([{"x":115, "y":120, "z":125, label: "Series1.1"},{"x":215, "y":220, "z":225, label: "Series1.2"},{"x":215, "y":220, "z":225, label: "Series1.3"}]));
dataArrayCollection.addItem(new ArrayCollection([{"x":415, "y":420, "z":425, label: "Series2.1"},{"x":15, "y":520, "z":525, label: "Series2.2"},{"x":615, "y":620, "z":625, label: "Series2.3"}]));
dataArrayCollection.addItem(new ArrayCollection([{"x":75, "y":75, "z":75, label: "Series3.1"},{"x":45, "y":50, "z":235, label: "Series3.2"},{"x":324, "y":654, "z":345, label: "Series3.3"}]));
multiChart.dataProvider = dataArrayCollection;
multiChart.refresh();
}

A few screens..

This is the first release so there isn’t any real documentation available, but there is a demo, an example and the source code. It should really be self explanatory at this stage. One thing, the object needs to be refreshed [refresh()] after changing the dataProvider. It has been left like this on purpose.

What’s next?
– Smart legends
– Timer based chart switcher
– Exposing more chart, axis, legend, panel styles to the user
– Themes.. etc.

Demo | Source Code (Zip 22kb)

NSG Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan

Amar Jawan Jyoti

Prayers for the families of all soldiers and victims of the Mumbai Terror Attacks. To the soldiers who’ve given us the ultimate sacrifice, you will not be forgotten. Your loved ones will be taken care of and your legacy shall shine forever.

Jai Hind!

• VT Terminus
• Colaba Cafe Leopold
• Oberoi Hotel
• Taj Hotel
• Ville Parle
• Cama Hospital
• Cinema hall near VT
• BP petrol pump in colaba blown up
• Oberoi hotel lobby set on fire 
• Board of Unilever and Global CEO hostage in Taj Hotel
  .. and the terror continues through the night

Prayers for Mumbai.

Tuesday — Am talking to a client (Skype) and he needs to demostrate to me a product running on his system (LogMeIn). Then we need to share Excel and Powerpoint files (Gmail).

Friday — The client is traveling and only has access to his laptop. We need to talk (Phone) and I need to send him back the documents he originally sent me (Gmail). I also need to send him additional documents (Gmail) and need to share a prototype developed (Web) and he needs to make notes and send them back to me (Screenshots + Powerpoint via Gmail)

This is one of the better situations. It can get worse, much worse.

I feel every communication session I participate in should be automatically archived, reference material preserved and easily accessible and I must be able to restart/continue the session again with one or more participants.

I might have a prototype soon that addresses some of these concerns. (-:

Of course the key aspect would be the User Experience. It is one thing to have a good service but another to “serve” it well enough. Usability, clean design and the general “feeling” the user gets after using the service must be taken care off with proper User Experience design.

For web based services, user convenience is also very important. Make sure you provide mobile access. Make sure the user can subscribe for RSS feeds into Outlook (or whichever reader he/she uses). Make sure user can opt in for newsletter or periodical alerts via email. In short make sure your service reaches the user at his/her convenience.

Support. Quick, accurate, helpful support always adds that little extra that make users feel welcome. It also ensures that users can actually use your service effectively. Your clients are paying their hard earned money, they deserve proper support. The importance of proper support can never be stressed enough, especially if the product is technical keeping the average user in mind.

I think I’ve covered some of the general points that apply to all. Of course this is not an exhaustive list and there’s always scope for doing more.