Netbeans…Impressive

Okay, okay. I admit I started out as an Eclipse user and thought very highly of that development environment — and I still do. However, several months ago I was on a project that encouraged the use of Netbeans so I decided to fit right in and just use it.

It took some adjustment but now, several months later, I still find myself going back to Netbeans again and again. Whether developing Swing, Java Web, or Liferay Portlets, Netbeans’ platform offers such a great development and testing framework thats hard to resist. For me, its the ease of use and integration with other tools with especially tight integration with Application and Web Servers.

But the very best part: Netbean’s debugging facility is sooo easy to use that it all comes down to just clicking a button. No messy steps to find and download appropriate plugins and then hope that they’ll work. Right now I’m testing a new Spring web app with Tomcat and I must say I’m very pleased with how easy it is to test.

I know, I know. Most Eclipse users won’t be so easily swayed. But that’s their problem. As for me, I’m loving using Netbeans and if you’re reading this I invite you to give it a chance as well. I think it can only your development life easier.

So, for all you willing and open-minded souls, here’s the link to the download page: Netbeans.org. Happy hunting!

Posted in General by Jeff Robinson. Comments Off

Part 1: Plugin SDK Development

Today, I’ll begin a series of guided video tutorials geared toward helping beginners get started with Liferay Development using the Plugin SDK. The first screencast demonstrates where to find the Plugin SDK zip file needed to begin development. Subsequent tutorials will highlight other aspects of portlet development using the Plugin SDK.

Part 1 Plugin SDK Development

Click on the image above to start the video. Click on the ‘play’ arrow at the bottom of the video to start or pause the tutorial if needed.

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Posted in Tutorials by Jeff Robinson. Comments Off

Hello jQuery Portlet

I was recently asked: “What is jQuery?”.

By now, most Javascript enthusiasts understand the advantages of jQuery‘s power. To demonstrate one of those advantages, I’ve added a simple portlet demonstrating the use of jQuery with a submit button.

Play the video below to see this portlet in action. Notice that the screen immediately updates and does not flicker when the button is clicked. Subsequent clicks removes the previous list and redisplays the list again.

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Posted in Annoucements by Jeff Robinson. 7 Comments