PhoneGap - Create New Project

I have just started with PhoneGap. First impressions are overly positive, though I see one subtle detail worth improving - the create script. Documentation (Android) suggests to invoke the script from within the installation directory. It can obviously be called using the absolute path from any location, but either way I find it too much of a hassle. In this post, I want to share a simple solution I have created to save myself some typing.  

MWC 2013 - Developer's View

In the recent Mobile World Congress I joined two sessions intended for application developers. In the OneAPI App Developer Conference both GSMA and representatives of big industry players unveiled their view on web-based ecosystems. Next, I joined the Samsung Developer Day where new APIs were presented from a high-level perspective. Despite a strong marketing overtone of both events, I found some of the presentations enjoyable and informative. Here is a brief summary.

Application of Currying in Scala

As a Scala newbie I was struggling to understand the benefits of currying in a real-life scenario. Most of the examples I could find were a bit too academic for my taste. Eventually, the coin dropped and I realized that currying enables to derive specialized methods out of a general one in an elegant and concise way.

On Branching

Branching is a common practice in code versioning. To my experience, a branch is usually seen as a playground for experiments with brand new features. As far as I can tell, branches have typically been used as a natural shield against tight deadlines. Let's branch out, see how it goes and take a qualified decision of what to merge back to trunk when the worst is over (i.e. post-delivery). There are several reasons for why this is not a good idea.

Øredev 2012 - Lessons Learned

Øredev is an annual Developer Conference that takes place in Malmo, Sweden. Since this is my first year in Sweden I was curious of what to expect. It turned out to be an exciting and highly inspirational adventure. I took part in a couple of sessions and here is what I have taken from them.

Spring MVC, TeeOutputStream, grep4j and How it All Fits Together

Grep4j caters for an easy search in log files. Since it is really easy to use and simple enough  I could not resist the temptation to try it out. I came up with a simple scenario: Let's use Spring MVC to conduct a small JSON-based web app, capture the exchanged requests and responses in a log file and use grep4j to do most of the verifications. I am writing to share experience I gained during my little exercise. As usual, source code is provided at the end of the post. 

Introduction into HTML5 WebSocket

This post is for anyone who is after a quick introduction into a compelling feature of the HTML5 specification, the WebSocket. Long story short, WebSocket draws a line between conventional web design conforming to or working around the statelessness of the HTTP protocol and modern real-time data-intensive applications. WebSocket finally enables to establish a single bidirectional communication channel. Today, I would like to demo a simple application showing basic principles of this fascinating technology.