JBoss AS6 Released – Featuring the new Java EE6 Web Profile

It seems that the final version of JBoss Application Server 6 has been released. This seemed to have happend just before the new year on December 28th and it is available as download from jboss.org

Database Testing

Really good article on  Database Testing: How to Regression Test a Relational Database

It's a good summary on what needs and could be done in that area as well what different tools can used in the process.

MAMP Pro

I have earlier tried to use the free MAMP and found it to be useful but it had some drawbacks such as not being able to

• Start servers on system startup
• Easy configuration

The solution to all of this is obviously to use MAMP Pro who have all of these features but it also costs $59 to register.  Perhaps not that much but nevertheless still too much for me. Also the fact that there is a pro alternative made me feel that I was missing something and it was not that obvious how to tune everything in the free version of MAMP. I have used XAMPP instead as it just felt easier to tune and it was available for free. Anyway some days ago MacUpdate Promo had an offer for registering MAMP Pro for 51% off the regular price and now I felt that the price was more for my pocket  and I  registered MAMP Pro. I must admit that I really never had tested MAMP PRO earlier as I always was opting for the free standard version.

To my surprise everything just worked perfectly. I could not complain on anything. I could even get the postfix working. I am really a happy user of MAMP Pro. The only problem that I did have was with the postfix setup and that was due to the fact that my ISP at home blocked port 25. After some unsuccessful searches on the internet I managed to solve the problem by myself. The solution was to add the new port number 26 separated by a colon (:) to Host. In my case it was just to add :26 at the end of the Host in the postfix “Smart Host” configuration.

My Mac Mini (Intel mid 2006)

I have been thinking about what to do with my Mac Mini (Intel mid 2006 version). I have been using it more as a file server as I have 2 external USB drives connected. The internal HD is just 80GB and feels a bit too small to use for anything useful. I really like the Mac Mini as it is always powered on and completely silent. Actually an ideal candidate for a small home server. The processor is a dual core 1.66GHz.

Late back in 2006 I did a memory upgrade to the 2GB maximum for the device and remembered how difficult it was to open the case. At that time there were no 2.5 inch SATA HD drives with more storage space than 160GB so I did not bother to change the HD at the same time as I did the memory upgrade.

Anyway last week I finally decided that it was time to replace the 80GB HD with a 500GB. After 1 or 2 hours I managed to change the HD and got all pieces back together. I then did a install of latest Mac OSX e.g. Snow Leopard and the Mac Mini was up and running again.

Next step is to install VMware Fusion 3.0 as my intention is to install Ubuntu Server 9.10 and also an experimental Windows Server 2008 with Active Directory. Even if one can install MAMP or XAMPP directly in OSX to get LAMP server functionality then Ubuntu is much easier to install and get working with all LAMP features.   

Template Frameworks for Joomla and WordPress

Gantry

Key Features

• 960 Grid System (http://960.gs) for simple consistent layout
• Cleaner more understandable index.php. All the complicated bits are handled for you in the Gantry core.
• Flexibility to configure up to 6 modules in row position.
• 65 base module positions in the Gantry core. These can be easily extended to add more
• 36 possible combinations for the layout of the mainbody/sidebars alone!
• Flexibility to configure different grid-size layouts based on number of published modules. You are not forced to use the same grid layout for every page
• 12 built-in Gantry Features like Logo, font-sizer, to-top smooth slider. Easily create your own to add more functionality with little coding required.
• Ability to force module display and ‘blank’ module positions for advanced module placement ability.
• Stunning new Admin interface providing better usability and control.
• Unique Layout controls allow you to configure your layout without having to do math or ever create a ‘broken’ layout.
• Layout controls provide visual representation of your front-end layout for simple and intuitive customization.
• Gantry is XML driven, adding another row of completely flexible module positions is as simple as editing one XML file.
• New flexible parameter system allows loading preset theme attributes and modifying for a custom design. Also support session and cookie level overriding for development.
• All new table-less HTML overrides based on the excellent GNU/GPLv2 overrides from YOOtheme
• New standard typography and Joomla core elements styling
• New advanced caching system makes using Gantry really fast!
• All configuration state is stored in params.ini and cached for speed.
• Optimized codebase with speed, size, and reuse core tenants of the framework design

Warp5

YOOtheme have their template framework called Warp5. That template framework was introduced with the July 2009 template named Phoenix.

Key Features

Warp5 is a fast and powerful template framework for Joomla. It lets you create sophisticated templates in no time, even for comprehensive websites. It provides a hybrid fluid-pixel grid and all the elaborate functionalities that make our templates easy to edit, nice to look at and super fast, in every browser.

• Flexible Layout – The flexible grid with its modern multi column layout lets you achieve any design layout.
• Menu System – Create clearly arranged & even comprehensive interfaces with Warp’s enhanced menu system.
• Developer Toolbox – CSS, JS and PHP kits for rapid template development make creating websites a breeze.
• Module System – Warp provides a clear grid for modules and a wide diversity of templates for module variations.
• Ultra Fast Loading – Optimal loading time thanks to minimal file requests, gzip compression and image sprites. – Search Engine Optimized
• Search engine friendly 2-1-3 column ordering for fully accessible sites, even without JS.