Blog entries from Rocky

A tiny cloud in Android

Rocky — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:48:15 +0100

This article proposes creating an Android-based service that emulates a network server that enhances the value of the local machine in unique and unexpected ways. Put a tiny cloud in your Android handset and experience the usefulness of a local Web server.

AIX tips for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Admins

Rocky — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:10:27 +0100

Are you broadening your skills as a Linux systems administrator into various flavors of UNIX? Get a rundown of the differences and similarities between Red Hat Enterprise Linux and AIX so that you can perform day-to-day activities with ease.

Use Sun SPOTs as your build canary

Rocky — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:07:16 +0100

SPOTs are small wireless devices that run Java programs. Find out how to turn a new, open source wireless device — Sun's Small Programmable Object Technology (SPOT) — into a highly visible indicator of the health of a continuous integration build.

Examine PHP V5.3.0 features under the microscope

Rocky — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:03:34 +0100

PHP is an attractive technology, that facilitates a pick-and-mix model of Web-site development. As the popular PHP language continues to evolve, many new features enhance its object-oriented aspects. In this article, PHP V5.3 examples illustrate late static binding, namespace support, class method overloading, and variable parsing and heredoc support.

Patching in Eclipse Galileo

Rocky — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:52:19 +0100

Eclipse Galileo includes new features for applying patches. This article provides an overview of the method for creating and applying patches, and includes an overview of the patch format used by Eclipse. Here are examples of creating simple patches.

Linux introspection and SystemTap dynamic kernel analysis

Rocky — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:32:24 +0100

Modern operating system kernels provide the means for introspection, the ability to peer dynamically within the kernel to understand its behaviors. With this knowledge, you can tune or modify the kernel to avoid failure conditions. Discover an open source infrastructure called SystemTap that provides this dynamic introspection for the Linux kernel.

New to Java programming?

Rocky — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:56:12 +0100

This provides an overview of Java technology basics and explains how the technology fits into the context of contemporary software development. Links to relevant introductory Java content, other educational resources, as well as IBM downloads and products give you a rich starting point for further investigation.

Linux app migration from Windows, Solaris, & OS2

Rocky — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:52:48 +0100

Here's some help to port your applications from Windows, Solaris, and OS/2 to run natively on Linux on x86-based systems. The information here also covers porting from Windows to Java and porting and migrating x86-based Linux apps to Linux on multiple other hardware platforms.

IBM Monitoring & Diagnostic Tools for Java

Rocky — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:00:22 +0100

The IBM Monitoring and Diagnostic Tools for Java - the Health Center provides live information and recommendations about classes being loaded, the virtual machine environment, garbage collection, locking, and profiling. This article introduces you to the Health Center and shows an example of how it can be used to check the impact of a source code change in a Web application.

Chiphopper simplifies Linux porting of C/C++ apps

Rocky — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:57:41 +0100

With Chiphopper you get significant application porting cost reductions.Chiphopper provides tools to scrub their C/C++ code for portability prior to porting to System p, System i, or System z. There are tools for C and C++ applications as well as new test scripts for Perl and Python.

Java Web services: Introducing Metro

Rocky — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:07:29 +0100

The Metro Web service stack provides a comprehensive solution for accessing and implementing Web services. It's based on the reference implementations of the JAXB 2.x and JAX-WS 2.x Java™ standards, with added components to support WS-* SOAP extension technologies and actual Web service deployment. This article looks at the basic principles of Metro client and server development.

Next-generation Linux file systems to rule the world

Rocky — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:04:39 +0100

Linux continues to innovate in the area of file systems. It supports the largest variety of file systems of any operating system. It also provides cutting-edge file system technology. Two new file systems that are making their way into Linux include the NiLFS(2) log-structured file system and the exofs object-based storage system. Discover the purpose behind these two new file systems and the advantages that they bring.

You too can join and prosper in the mobile phone economy

Rocky — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:40:58 +0100

As mobile platforms become increasingly sophisticated, the demand for mobile computing will increase. In this series, learn about the embedded Standard Widget Toolkit (eSWT). In Part 1: Use simple widgets to quickly build mobile apps. In Part 2: Use advanced controls for your mobile apps.

Pipe Viewer adds a heartbeat to the soul of the machine

Rocky — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:38:45 +0100

Pipe Viewer is one of those little-known gems that once you find it, you can't recall how you lived without it. Find oodles of uses for it in your automation scripts. You can now insert a probe to give you real-time feedback of whats happening in your pipes.

Tune your Linux-based server for power efficiency

Rocky — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:21:18 +0100

Part 1 introduces the components and concepts you'll need to tune your system for power efficiency. Part 2 compares the five in-kernel governors: performance, powersave, userspace, ondemand, and conservative. Part 3 show you what results you can achieve by power tuning your system.

IBM Java Developer Kit for Linux

Rocky — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:19:30 +0100

The IBM Developer Kit for Linux, Java 2 Technology Edition is a development kit and runtime environment that contains IBM's just-in-time compiler, enhanced with a unique Mixed Mode Interpreter and a re-engineered Java 2 virtual machine. This update includes enhancements to the JIT compiler, garbage collection technology, JVM serviceability, and an updated XML parser for Java.

Virtual appliances and the Open Virtualization Format

Rocky — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:37:41 +0100

Virtual appliance fundamentally changes the way software is delivered, configured, and managed. But the power behind virtual appliances lies in the ability to freely share them among different hypervisors. Discover a standard solution for virtual appliance interoperability called the Open Virtualization Format.

Getting comfortable with Linux plumbing

Rocky — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:53:38 +0100

If you think streams and pipes make a Linux expert sound like a plumber, here's your chance to learn about them and how to redirect and split them. You even learn how to turn a stream into command arguments. You can use this material in this article to study for the LPI 101 exam for Linux system administrator certification, or just to learn for fun.

Linux virtualization and PCI passthrough

Rocky — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:50:35 +0100

Processors have evolved to improve performance for virtualized environments, but what about I/O aspects? Discover one such I/O performance enhancement called device (or PCI) passthrough. This innovation improves performance of PCI devices using hardware support from Intel (VT-d) or AMD (IOMMU).

Getting completely comfortable with Linux files and directories

Rocky — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:17:06 +0100

This article grounds you in the basic Linux commands for manipulating files and directories. This article also helps you prepare for Objective 103.2 in Topic 103 of the Linux Professional Institute's Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) exam 101.