Showing posts with label howto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label howto. Show all posts

2010-03-11

Compiling Java applications to native Windows executables

Being a Java developer really sucks when it comes to making end-user desktop applications. You want these applications to be light, fast and easily redistributable. Packaging a bunch of jars along with startup script is the worst thing you can do. It may work quite well in various Linux distributions, where you can make a .deb or .rpm which automatically installs JRE, puts startup script to /usr/local/bin and creates a nice launcher with icon in the applications menu. In Mac OS you can use that outdated JRE that comes by default and then easily bundle all scripts and jars into an .app. But in Windows it does not work that way. You can use JSmooth to make .exe out of .jar and use NSIS to create a nice installer, but there still is a problem. User may not have a compatible JRE, or he/she may choose not to have one just because Java sucks for running on it's bloated memory hogging virtual machine. I have to agree here. As a user, I have no faith in desktop applications that are written in Java.

So what is the solution? Compile to native executable and forget JRE. It is possible, but it will not be a walk in the park. First, you will have to get familiar with GNU Compiler Collection and particularly with GCJ.

Let's compile a Hello World application like this one:

public class Hello {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello native world!");
    }
}
  1. Get the patched GCJ here: http://www.thisiscool.com/gcc_mingw.htm (120 MB)
  2. Extract it somewhere and add thisiscool-gcc/gcc-ejc/bin to your PATH
  3. Compile Hello.java as Hello.exe: gcj --main=Hello -o Hello Hello.java
  4. Enjoy your statically linked Hello.exe which prints Hello native world! and runs without JRE.
Wait. Hello.exe is 37MB? Holy crap! Well, it's a little overhead you have to pay for loosing the JRE, this .exe contains the whole garbage collection mechanism, etc. Also, you will be able to compile SWT GUI applications! It is possible to get smaller executables with MinGW tooling. Hello.java compiled with MinGW is about 3MB, but it has other issues, I couldn't manage to get the system output working. You may be more lucky though.

Anyway, when you compile native binaries, your Java code cannot be decompiled, so you have better protection than by using obfuscators. And the best thing is that end users won't complain that "it's crap because it's Java". They just wouldn't know.

I wish Sun (I just can't say Oracle when referring to Java, it makes me sick, sorry) could create an official AOT Java compiler so developers would not have to go through hellfire to make native executables.

2009-11-15

Making Windows a better place to be

Many developers including me are forced to use Windows at work due to various corporate reasons even when our work has nothing to do with Microsoft technologies. And we are all stuck with that terrible Command Prompt or a Power Shell which are crap compared to a proper terminal. However, there is a way to have a fully functional Unix terminal in Windows thanks to Cygwin and a patched version of Putty

I am doing this for several years and this is one of the first things I do in any Windows machine that I want to do some software development on, so it's time to come up with a little tutorial.

Setting up Cygwin and PuttyCyg

Getting Cygwin

Go to http://www.cygwin.com to download and run the setup.exe. Installation process is illustrated in screenshots below.
 


I suggest you installing cygwin directly to C:\cygwin as it's recommended. It's a significant part of your system and it is really worth the place in C:\ directly.



Cygwin offers "C:\Windows\System32" as a place for local packages, however I don't like that idea and keep it all under "C:\cygwin".


Some mirrors were failing for me with missing packages so I choose a respectable source and deal with slower download speed in exchange for reliability.



Choosing packages may take a while. You can go with default selection, however going through the long list is worth a while if you want to have goodies like vim, curl, ping, openssh, mc and so on.


Now go make yourself some coffee.


Don't add any icons or shortcuts because they open cygwin in that ugly command prompt we are about to get rid of.


Introducing Cygwin to your Windows

Now that you have the Cygwin, try it out by launching C:\cygwin\cygwin.bat. You will see something like this.


As you can see, a few files can be modified to configure your environment. Keep them in mind for future:
  • ~/.bashrc
  • ~/.bash_profile
  • ~/.inputrc

Now append these to the beginning of your Windows PATH environmental variable:

C:\cygwin\usr\local\bin;C:\cygwin\usr\bin;C:\cygwin\bin;



Run a fresh Command Prompt (if you are using Launchy or a similar program to run the cmd.exe, you have to restart it before the new PATH applies to programs you run.) and you will be able to do the following:


That's just a small benefit you get from cygwin, but it's handy to have unix commands anywhere in the system. If you think that cmd.exe is enough to enjoy unix commands, you are wrong. It fails to resize properly, it's hard to copy and paste. Compare using Putty with a remote machine to using Command Prompt on your local Windows box, It's like day and night.

Getting PuttyCyg

Get the latest puttycyg from http://code.google.com/p/puttycyg/. For the past year it's this one: http://puttycyg.googlecode.com/files/puttycyg-20090811.zip. You can put it in c:\cygwin\puttycyg to avoid a mixup with the original Putty if you use it.

Configuring PuttyCyg to access local cygwin

Create a shortcut to putty.exe from the puttycyg pack that you just extracted.


Run it to configure the local connection. Check "Cygterm" in Connection type and enter a minus (-) in Command.


Be sure to go to Window configuration and set Lines of scrollback to something more reasonable than the default 200.


Save the settings. Name the session "localhost".


Now click "Open" to test the configuration. You should see a working terminal.


You can now enhance the shortcut you created earlier to load the "localhost" session automatically. Just append "-load localhost" to the end of Target.


You're all set. A few resources to get you familiar with Cygwin:

2009-04-27

Symbolic links in Windows

Surprisingly, all the good Windows features are hidden, undocumented and hard to find. It took me nearly a decade to accidentally find out that Windows has symbolic links. They are called NTFS Junction Points. However their support is limited to directory links, and the usage is a bit weird.

Oh, and you have to install Windows Resource Kit to get the functionality. You can download it from any of these locations:


The command you want is linkd. Let's take it for a spin.



The sandbox contains a directory named original with text.txt inside.

To create a symbolic link named symlinked that points to original, the command is linkd symlinked original. In POSIX it would be ln -s original symlinked.



When calling dir, symlinked shows as "junction". The other behavior is like a plain folder. In explorer you cannot tell the difference between the two.



To delete the symlink use rmdir, because del will attempt to remove the files from original directory.

2009-02-28

Hawkscope: Twitter plugin

The new release of Hawkscope has a Twitter plugin. Here's how you can install and use it:

Installing

First, go to Hawkscope Settings



Then go to Plugins tab and click Get Plugins



Hawkscope Plugins page will open in your Browser, click on twitter-1.0.jar to download it





Go to your download folder to find the plugin



Then go back to Hawkscope Settings Plugins tab and click Open in Plugin Location



A new Finder (or another file navigator) window will open. You will have to drag and drop twitter-1.0.jar from your downloads to Hawkscope plugins folder





Then, in Hawkscope Settings Plugins tab click Reload Plugins. You should see Twitter plugin in Available Plugins list



Close Hawkscope Settings window (click OK). Then if you open Hawkscope menu you will see a sad Twitter item. It's sad because there is no configuration.



Configuring

Go to Settings again. Your settings now has a Twitter tab



Enter your Twitter username and password. You can choose what elements to display. I chose not to see my own tweets. Click OK to apply your settings.



Your Twitter Hawkscope menu item is now enabled


Using

Click Tweet! to add a new Twitter status message



And you can also see more tweets or visit them in browser by clicking



Enjoy! And by the way, this plugin works on all operating systems that Hawkscope supports - Windows, Linux (Gnome) and Mac.

2009-02-13

Screw all GUI builders

Are you making your GUI with a builder? Do you like the generated code you get? I hate it. Even though I like the idea of building GUI with visual means (WYSIWYG), I can't stand the mess that code generators produce. In addition to that, there are more serious downsides:

  • You don't know how exactly the generated code works. You don't need to. You start not to care and GUI application development becomes a process of drawing and adding simple event handlers here and there.

  • Most GUI builders force you to use single class for single window, so generated classes tend to have thousands of lines of code.

  • Most GUI builders don't want you to modify the generated code. And if you do, they either break or rewrite your code.

  • GUI builders force you to use an IDE, mostly one you started coding with. So if you start with NetBeans, you most likely be forced to stay with it for the whole project.

  • The generated code is far from being optimal. It's not resize-friendly, not dynamic enough, it has many hard-coded values, refactoring is most likely impossible, because builder would not allow that.

So, why are you using GUI builders? Is it because you're doing GUI apps during your day job, you need fast results and you don't want to learn more than you have to? Or you just have no choice? That's reasonable, but when you have a choice, consider learning how Swing or SWT works, spend some time reading the API docs and examining the code - it's amazing how fast and dynamic your GUI building process can get when you finally get a clear understanding HOW to use all the widgets and layouts. Let me show you. Here's a window from Hawkscope app that I'm making in my spare time. It was generated with Jigloo GUI builder in Eclipse. First let's see how it looks:



The code (all comments removed):
package com.varaneckas.hawkscope.gui;

import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.MouseAdapter;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.MouseEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.PaintEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.PaintListener;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.SelectionAdapter;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.SelectionEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Color;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Cursor;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FormAttachment;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FormData;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FormLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.program.Program;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Button;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Canvas;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Label;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Shell;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Text;

import com.cloudgarden.resource.SWTResourceManager;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.Version;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.cfg.ConfigurationFactory;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.util.IOUtils;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.util.IconFactory;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.util.OSUtils;

public class AboutWindow extends org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Dialog {

private Shell dialogShell;
private Canvas logoCanvas;
private Label appNameLabel;
private Label appSloganLabel;
private Label appVersion;
private Label appHomepageValue;
private Button copyReportButton;
private Button closeButton;
private Label environmentLabel;
private Text environmentTextArea;
private Label appHomepageLabel;
private Label appReleasedValue;
private Label appReleasedLabel;
private Label appVersionValue;

public AboutWindow(final Shell parent, final int style) {
super(parent, style);
}

public synchronized void open() {
if (dialogShell != null && !dialogShell.isDisposed()) {
dialogShell.setVisible(true);
dialogShell.forceFocus();
return;
}
final Shell parent = getParent();
dialogShell = new Shell(parent, SWT.DIALOG_TRIM
| SWT.APPLICATION_MODAL);
{
SWTResourceManager.registerResourceUser(dialogShell);
}
dialogShell.setImage(IconFactory.getInstance()
.getUncachedIcon("hawkscope16.png"));
dialogShell.setText("About");

dialogShell.setLayout(new FormLayout());
dialogShell.layout();
dialogShell.pack();
dialogShell.setSize(516, 322);
{
copyReportButton = new Button(dialogShell, SWT.PUSH | SWT.CENTER);
FormData copyReportButtonLData = new FormData();
copyReportButtonLData.width = 125;
copyReportButtonLData.height = 29;
copyReportButtonLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 314);
copyReportButtonLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 252);
copyReportButton.setLayoutData(copyReportButtonLData);
copyReportButton.addSelectionListener(new SelectionAdapter() {
@Override
public void widgetSelected(SelectionEvent event) {
IOUtils.copyToClipboard(Version.getEnvironmentReport());
}
});
copyReportButton.setText("Co&py to Clipboard");
OSUtils.adjustButton(copyReportButton);
}
{
closeButton = new Button(dialogShell, SWT.PUSH | SWT.CENTER);
FormData closeButtonLData = new FormData();
closeButtonLData.width = 47;
closeButtonLData.height = 29;
closeButtonLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 451);
closeButtonLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 252);
closeButton.setLayoutData(closeButtonLData);
closeButton.addSelectionListener(new SelectionAdapter() {
@Override
public void widgetSelected(SelectionEvent event) {
dialogShell.dispose();
}
});
closeButton.setText("&Close");
OSUtils.adjustButton(closeButton);
}
{
environmentLabel = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
FormData environmentLabelLData = new FormData();
environmentLabelLData.width = 486;
environmentLabelLData.height = 17;
environmentLabelLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 12);
environmentLabelLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 127);
environmentLabel.setLayoutData(environmentLabelLData);
environmentLabel.setText("Environment");
environmentLabel.setFont(SWTResourceManager.getFont("Sans", 10, 1));
}
{
environmentTextArea = new Text(dialogShell, SWT.MULTI | SWT.WRAP
| SWT.V_SCROLL | SWT.BORDER);
FormData environmentTextAreaLData = new FormData();
environmentTextAreaLData.width = 468;
environmentTextAreaLData.height = 90;
environmentTextAreaLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 12);
environmentTextAreaLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 150);
environmentTextArea.setLayoutData(environmentTextAreaLData);
environmentTextArea.setText(Version.getSystemProperties());
environmentTextArea.setEditable(false);
}
{
appHomepageValue = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
appHomepageValue.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
@Override
public void mouseUp(MouseEvent event) {
Program.launch(Version.HOMEPAGE);
}
});
appHomepageValue.setCursor(new Cursor(dialogShell.getDisplay(),
SWT.CURSOR_HAND));
appHomepageValue.setForeground(
new Color(dialogShell.getDisplay(), 0, 0, 255));
FormData appHomepageValueLData = new FormData();
appHomepageValueLData.width = 242;
appHomepageValueLData.height = 17;
appHomepageValueLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 256);
appHomepageValueLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 104);
appHomepageValue.setLayoutData(appHomepageValueLData);
appHomepageValue.setToolTipText("Click to open in browser");
appHomepageValue.setText(Version.HOMEPAGE);
}
{
appHomepageLabel = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
FormData appHomepageLabelLData = new FormData();
appHomepageLabelLData.width = 94;
appHomepageLabelLData.height = 17;
appHomepageLabelLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 156);
appHomepageLabelLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 104);
appHomepageLabel.setLayoutData(appHomepageLabelLData);
appHomepageLabel.setText("Homepage:");
appHomepageLabel.setFont(SWTResourceManager.getFont("Sans", 10, 1));
}
{
appReleasedValue = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
FormData appReleasedValueLData = new FormData();
appReleasedValueLData.width = 242;
appReleasedValueLData.height = 17;
appReleasedValueLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 256);
appReleasedValueLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 81);
appReleasedValue.setLayoutData(appReleasedValueLData);
appReleasedValue.setText(Version.VERSION_DATE);
}
{
appReleasedLabel = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
FormData appReleasedLabelLData = new FormData();
appReleasedLabelLData.width = 77;
appReleasedLabelLData.height = 17;
appReleasedLabelLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 156);
appReleasedLabelLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 81);
appReleasedLabel.setLayoutData(appReleasedLabelLData);
appReleasedLabel.setText("Released:");
appReleasedLabel.setFont(SWTResourceManager.getFont("Sans", 10, 1));
}
{
appVersionValue = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
FormData appVersionValueLData = new FormData();
appVersionValueLData.width = 242;
appVersionValueLData.height = 17;
appVersionValueLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 256);
appVersionValueLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 58);
appVersionValue.setLayoutData(appVersionValueLData);
if (Version.isUpdateAvailable() == null) {
appVersionValue.setText(Version.VERSION_NUMBER);
if (ConfigurationFactory.getConfigurationFactory()
.getConfiguration().checkForUpdates()) {
appVersionValue.setToolTipText("Could not get version information.");
}
} else {
if (Version.isUpdateAvailable()) {
appVersionValue.setForeground(new Color(dialogShell
.getDisplay(), 255, 0, 0));
appVersionValue.setText(Version.VERSION_NUMBER
+ " (Update Available!)");
appVersionValue.setToolTipText("Click to go to update " +
"download page");
appVersionValue.setCursor(new Cursor(dialogShell
.getDisplay(), SWT.CURSOR_HAND));
appVersionValue.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
@Override
public void mouseUp(MouseEvent event) {
Program.launch(Version.DOWNLOAD_URL);
dialogShell.dispose();
}
});
} else {
appVersionValue.setText(Version.VERSION_NUMBER);
appVersionValue.setToolTipText("Latest available version!");
appVersionValue.setForeground(new Color(dialogShell
.getDisplay(), 0, 128, 0));
}
}
}
{
appVersion = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
FormData appVersionLData = new FormData();
appVersionLData.width = 77;
appVersionLData.height = 17;
appVersionLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 156);
appVersionLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 58);
appVersion.setLayoutData(appVersionLData);
appVersion.setText("Version:");
appVersion.setFont(SWTResourceManager.getFont("Sans", 10, 1));
}
{
appSloganLabel = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.WRAP);
FormData appSloganLabelLData = new FormData();
appSloganLabelLData.width = 342;
appSloganLabelLData.height = 17;
appSloganLabelLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 156);
appSloganLabelLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 35);
appSloganLabel.setLayoutData(appSloganLabelLData);
appSloganLabel.setText(Version.APP_SLOGAN);
}
{
appNameLabel = new Label(dialogShell, SWT.NONE);
FormData appNameLabelLData = new FormData();
appNameLabelLData.width = 342;
appNameLabelLData.height = 17;
appNameLabelLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 156);
appNameLabelLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 12);
appNameLabel.setLayoutData(appNameLabelLData);
appNameLabel.setText("Hawkscope");
appNameLabel.setFont(SWTResourceManager.getFont("Sans", 10, 1));
}
{
final FormData logoCanvasLData = new FormData();
logoCanvasLData.width = 114;
logoCanvasLData.height = 109;
logoCanvasLData.left = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 12);
logoCanvasLData.top = new FormAttachment(0, 1000, 12);
logoCanvas = new Canvas(dialogShell, SWT.RESIZE);
logoCanvas.addPaintListener(new PaintListener() {
public void paintControl(PaintEvent e) {
e.gc.drawImage(IconFactory.getInstance()
.getUncachedIcon("hawkscope128.png"), 0, 0, 128,
128, 0, 0, 114, 109);
}
});
logoCanvas.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
@Override
public void mouseUp(MouseEvent event) {
Program.launch(Version.HOMEPAGE);
}
});
logoCanvas.setCursor(new Cursor(dialogShell.getDisplay(),
SWT.CURSOR_HAND));
logoCanvas.setToolTipText("Click to visit Homepage");
logoCanvas.setLayoutData(logoCanvasLData);
}
dialogShell.setLocation(getParent().toDisplay(100, 100));
dialogShell.open();
Display display = dialogShell.getDisplay();
while (!dialogShell.isDisposed()) {
if (!display.readAndDispatch())
display.sleep();
}
}

}


Now, a hand-rewritten version with no GUI builder:



The code:
package com.varaneckas.hawkscope.gui;

import org.eclipse.swt.SWT;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.MouseAdapter;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.MouseEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.PaintEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.PaintListener;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.SelectionAdapter;
import org.eclipse.swt.events.SelectionEvent;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Color;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Cursor;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.Font;
import org.eclipse.swt.graphics.FontData;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FormAttachment;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FormData;
import org.eclipse.swt.layout.FormLayout;
import org.eclipse.swt.program.Program;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Button;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Canvas;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Control;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Label;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Shell;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Text;

import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.Version;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.cfg.ConfigurationFactory;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.tray.TrayManager;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.util.IOUtils;
import com.varaneckas.hawkscope.util.IconFactory;

public class AboutShell {

private Shell shell;
private FormData layout;
private Font bold;
private Color red;
private Color green;
private Color blue;
private Cursor hand;
private Canvas logo;
private Label labelAppName;
private Label labelAppSlogan;
private Label labelVersion;
private Label labelReleased;
private Label labelHomePage;
private Label labelAppVersion;
private Label labelAppReleased;
private Label labelAppHomePage;
private Label labelEnvironment;
private Text textEnvironment;
private Button buttonCopyToClipboard;
private Button buttonClose;

public void open() {
if (shell != null && !shell.isDisposed()) {
shell.setVisible(true);
shell.forceFocus();
return;
}
createShell();
createResources();
createLogo();
createLabelAppName();
createLabelAppSlogan();
createLabelVersion();
createLabelReleased();
createLabelHomePage();
createLabelAppVersion();
createLabelAppReleased();
createLabelAppHomePage();
createLabelEnvironment();
createButtonClose();
createButtonCopyToClipboard();
createTextEnvironment();
shell.pack();
shell.open();
}

private void createResources() {
final FontData data = new FontData();
data.setHeight(10);
data.setStyle(SWT.BOLD);
bold = new Font(shell.getDisplay(), data);
red = new Color(shell.getDisplay(), 255, 0, 0);
green = new Color(shell.getDisplay(), 0, 128, 0);
blue = new Color(shell.getDisplay(), 0, 0, 255);
hand = new Cursor(shell.getDisplay(), SWT.CURSOR_HAND);
}

private void createShell() {
shell = new Shell(TrayManager.getInstance().getShell(), SWT.SHELL_TRIM);
final FormLayout layout = new FormLayout();
layout.spacing = 6;
layout.marginHeight = 12;
layout.marginWidth = 12;
shell.setLocation(shell.getParent().toDisplay(100, 100));
shell.setImage(IconFactory.getInstance()
.getUncachedIcon("hawkscope16.png"));
shell.setText("About");
shell.setLayout(layout);
shell.layout();
}

private FormData relativeTo(final Control top, final Control left) {
layout = new FormData();
layout.top = new FormAttachment(top);
layout.left = new FormAttachment(left);
return layout;
}

private FormData relativeToBottomRight(final Control right) {
layout = new FormData();
layout.bottom = new FormAttachment(100, 0);
if (right == null) {
layout.right = new FormAttachment(100, 0);
} else {
layout.right = new FormAttachment(right);
}
return layout;
}

private void createLogo() {
logo = new Canvas(shell, SWT.NONE);
logo.addPaintListener(new PaintListener() {
public void paintControl(PaintEvent e) {
e.gc.drawImage(IconFactory.getInstance()
.getUncachedIcon("hawkscope128.png"), 0, 0);
}
});
logo.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
@Override
public void mouseUp(MouseEvent event) {
Program.launch(Version.HOMEPAGE);
}
});
logo.setCursor(hand);
logo.setToolTipText("Click to visit Homepage");
layout = relativeTo(null, null);
layout.width = 128;
layout.height = 128;
logo.setLayoutData(layout);
}

private void createLabelAppName() {
labelAppName = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelAppName.setText(Version.APP_NAME);
labelAppName.setLayoutData(relativeTo(null, logo));
labelAppName.setFont(bold);
}

private void createLabelAppSlogan() {
labelAppSlogan = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelAppSlogan.setLayoutData(relativeTo(labelAppName, logo));
labelAppSlogan.setText(Version.APP_SLOGAN);
}

private void createLabelVersion() {
labelVersion = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelVersion.setText("Version:");
labelVersion.setFont(bold);
labelVersion.setLayoutData(relativeTo(labelAppSlogan, logo));
}

private void createLabelAppVersion() {
labelAppVersion = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelAppVersion.setText(Version.VERSION_NUMBER);
labelAppVersion.setLayoutData(relativeTo(labelAppSlogan, labelHomePage));
updateLabelAppVersion();
}

private void updateLabelAppVersion() {
if (Version.isUpdateAvailable() == null) {
if (ConfigurationFactory.getConfigurationFactory()
.getConfiguration().checkForUpdates()) {
labelAppVersion.setToolTipText("Could not get version information.");
}
} else {
if (Version.isUpdateAvailable()) {
labelAppVersion.setForeground(red);
labelAppVersion.setText(Version.VERSION_NUMBER
+ " (Update Available!)");
labelAppVersion.setToolTipText("Click to go to update " +
"download page");
labelAppVersion.setCursor(hand);
labelAppVersion.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
@Override
public void mouseUp(final MouseEvent event) {
Program.launch(Version.DOWNLOAD_URL);
shell.dispose();
}
});
} else {
labelAppVersion.setText(Version.VERSION_NUMBER);
labelAppVersion.setToolTipText("Latest available version!");
labelAppVersion.setForeground(green);
}
}
}

private void createLabelReleased() {
labelReleased = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelReleased.setText("Released:");
labelReleased.setFont(bold);
labelReleased.setLayoutData(relativeTo(labelVersion, logo));
}

private void createLabelAppReleased() {
labelAppReleased = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelAppReleased.setText(Version.VERSION_DATE);
labelAppReleased.setLayoutData(relativeTo(labelVersion, labelHomePage));
}

private void createLabelHomePage() {
labelHomePage = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelHomePage.setText("Homepage:");
labelHomePage.setFont(bold);
labelHomePage.setLayoutData(relativeTo(labelReleased, logo));
}

private void createLabelAppHomePage() {
labelAppHomePage = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelAppHomePage.setText(Version.HOMEPAGE);
labelAppHomePage.setLayoutData(relativeTo(labelReleased, labelHomePage));
labelAppHomePage.setCursor(hand);
labelAppHomePage.setForeground(blue);
labelAppHomePage.setToolTipText("Click to open in browser");
labelAppHomePage.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
@Override
public void mouseUp(final MouseEvent event) {
Program.launch(Version.HOMEPAGE);
}
});
}

private void createLabelEnvironment() {
labelEnvironment = new Label(shell, SWT.NONE);
labelEnvironment.setText("Environment");
labelEnvironment.setFont(bold);
labelEnvironment.setLayoutData(relativeTo(logo, null));
}

private void createButtonClose() {
buttonClose = new Button(shell, SWT.PUSH);
buttonClose.setText("&Close");
buttonClose.setLayoutData(relativeToBottomRight(null));
buttonClose.addSelectionListener(new SelectionAdapter() {
@Override
public void widgetSelected(final SelectionEvent event) {
shell.dispose();
}
});
}

private void createButtonCopyToClipboard() {
buttonCopyToClipboard = new Button(shell, SWT.PUSH);
buttonCopyToClipboard.setText("C&opy to Clipboard");
buttonCopyToClipboard.setLayoutData(relativeToBottomRight(buttonClose));
buttonCopyToClipboard.addSelectionListener(new SelectionAdapter() {
@Override
public void widgetSelected(final SelectionEvent event) {
IOUtils.copyToClipboard(Version.getEnvironmentReport());
}
});
}

private void createTextEnvironment() {
textEnvironment = new Text(shell, SWT.MULTI | SWT.WRAP
| SWT.V_SCROLL | SWT.BORDER);
textEnvironment.setText(Version.getEnvironmentReport());
textEnvironment.setEditable(false);
layout = relativeTo(labelEnvironment, null);
layout.right = new FormAttachment(100, 0);
layout.bottom = new FormAttachment(buttonClose);
layout.width = 500;
layout.height = 150;
textEnvironment.setLayoutData(layout);
}

}


If you compare the two versions, handcoded one is superior in most aspects. The code is smaller, more readable and text editor friendly. The window can be resized, it is better looking - in generated code the logo image was scaled due to dragging inacuracy. And, believe it or not, I've spent less time creating the handcoded GUI version than "drawing" the automated one and then hacking it's generated code. Of course, if you know your tools well, you can be much more productive with a GUI builder, but I'll rather learn the low-level GUI API than some commercial third party product that treats you like parents treat their kids with LEGO.

No more GUI builders for me.

2009-01-06

Using Unicode in Java .property files

Using multi-byte characters in Java .property files? Forget the Sun's native2ascii application. Rather than doing the irritating conversions, create UTF-8 encoded .property files, edit them directly and use Utf8ResourceBundle to access them. The code:

package com.varaneckas.utils;

import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException;
import java.util.Enumeration;
import java.util.PropertyResourceBundle;
import java.util.ResourceBundle;

/**
* UTF-8 friendly ResourceBundle support
*
* Utility that allows having multi-byte characters inside java .property files.
* It removes the need for Sun's native2ascii application, you can simply have
* UTF-8 encoded editable .property files.
*
* Use:
* ResourceBundle bundle = Utf8ResourceBundle.getBundle("bundle_name");
*
* @author Tomas Varaneckas <tomas.varaneckas@gmail.com>
*/
public abstract class Utf8ResourceBundle {

/**
* Gets the unicode friendly resource bundle
*
* @param baseName
* @see ResourceBundle#getBundle(String)
* @return Unicode friendly resource bundle
*/
public static final ResourceBundle getBundle(final String baseName) {
return createUtf8PropertyResourceBundle(
ResourceBundle.getBundle(baseName));
}

/**
* Creates unicode friendly {@link PropertyResourceBundle} if possible.
*
* @param bundle
* @return Unicode friendly property resource bundle
*/
private static ResourceBundle createUtf8PropertyResourceBundle(
final ResourceBundle bundle) {
if (!(bundle instanceof PropertyResourceBundle)) {
return bundle;
}
return new Utf8PropertyResourceBundle((PropertyResourceBundle) bundle);
}

/**
* Resource Bundle that does the hard work
*/
private static class Utf8PropertyResourceBundle extends ResourceBundle {

/**
* Bundle with unicode data
*/
private final PropertyResourceBundle bundle;

/**
* Initializing constructor
*
* @param bundle
*/
private Utf8PropertyResourceBundle(final PropertyResourceBundle bundle) {
this.bundle = bundle;
}

@Override
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
public Enumeration getKeys() {
return bundle.getKeys();
}

@Override
protected Object handleGetObject(final String key) {
final String value = bundle.getString(key);
if (value == null)
return null;
try {
return new String(value.getBytes("ISO-8859-1"), "UTF-8");
} catch (final UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
throw new RuntimeException("Encoding not supported", e);
}
}
}
}

2008-12-08

How to restore grub after Windows installation

There's nothing magical about it, you can easily Google it up, but I always forget the "find /boot/grub..." part and there are many other ways people explain this procedure, so I'm adding a screenshot as I'm doing it yet another time.

This is a best and easiest way to fix MBR after Windows f*ck it up.



In short:
1. boot from Ubuntu live CD (or any other live cd)
2. start a terminal
3.

sudo grub
find /boot/grub/stage1
root (hdX,Y)
setup (hdX)
quit


If you've got several drives you should check if your Windows partition is bootable and the other ones are not, otherwise if you install grub into linux partition, Windows will "fix" itself by changing bootable flag. To view and change bootable flags in Ubuntu Live go to System > Administration > Partition Editor (or run sudo gparted in terminal). The rest is illustrated below.






If grub loads but boot fails, it means grub detected your partitions incorrectly. Hit 'e' on linux entry, change the "root (hd1,0)" to "root (hd0,0)" or vice versa and press 'b' to attempt a modified boot. Repeat the "sudo grub" procedure when booted, but choose "setup (hdX)" target the oposite of your "root", i.e., if you did "root (hd1,0)", do "setup (hd0)" instead of "setup (hd1)". You should also edit /boot/grub/menu.lst afterwards and change all (hd0 to (hd1 and (hd1 to (hd0 to fix the boot menu.

Does all software have to suck?..

2008-11-25

Python MUD Game Example

I've found a small MUD-like single player game that I did with Python several years ago. Thought it would be nice to share the source. So here it is.

First of all, a live demo (type help. gone if my internet connection or home server is down.)

server down


And a "screenshot" (sorry for my bad sense of humor):


> help
welcome to mud. available commands are:
go, move, help, exit, look, say, take, drop, inventory, use
>
Unknown Command
> look
spajus sees deep green woods. There also seems to be: flower, bird
> touch bird
looks like a rainbow
> use bird
you do not have bird
> take bird
spajus puts bird in his inventory
> use bird
cuckarekoo! motherfucka!?!
> drop bird
bird was dropped..
> kill bird
Unknown Command
> look north
spajus sees shallow river. There also seems to be: object
> go north
spajus moves to shallow river
> look object
spajus sees a stinky one
> touch object
ewww...
> take object
spajus puts shit in his inventory
> use shit
you are sick, you know that?


Now, the engine.py

class MudObject:
def __init__(self, name, sight, collide = 'nothing happens', usability = 'unusable'):
self.name = name
self.sight = sight
self.collide = collide
self.usability = usability
def view(self):
return self.sight
def touch(self):
return self.collide
def use(self):
return self.usability
class MudPlayer:
def __init__(self, name):
self.inventory = {}
self.name = name
self.health = 100
def move(self, area):
return self.name + ' moves to ' + area.sight
def take(self, obj):
self.inventory[obj.name] = obj
return self.name + ' puts ' + obj.name + ' in his inventory'
def drop(self, name):
if self.inventory.has_key(name):
return self.inventory.pop(name)
def say(self, what):
return self.name + ' says: ' + what
def use(self, what):
if self.inventory.has_key(what):
return self.inventory[what].use()
else:
return 'you do not have ' + what

class MudArea:
def __init__(self, sight):
self.objects = {}
self.panorama = {}
self.sight = sight
self.inverted_directions = {'north':'south', 'south':'north', 'east':'west', 'west':'east'}
def addArea(self, direction, area):
area.panorama[self.inverted_directions[direction]] = self
self.panorama[direction] = area

def relocate(self, args):
try:
return self.panorama[args]
except KeyError:
return None
def addObject(self, name, obj):
if obj != None:
self.objects[name] = obj
return name + ' was dropped..'
def getObject(self, name):
if self.objects.has_key(name):
return self.objects.pop(name)
else:
return 'there is no ' + name + ' arround!'
def touchObject(self, name):
if self.objects.has_key(name):
return self.objects[name].touch()
else:
return 'there is no ' + name + ' arround!'
def view(self, args = 'arround'):
if (args != '' and args != 'arround'):
try:
return self.panorama[args].view()
except KeyError:
try:
return self.objects[args].view()
except KeyError:
return 'nothing.'
else:
objects = ', '.join([k for k, v in self.objects.items()])
if (objects != ''):
obsight = '. There also seems to be: ' + objects
else:
obsight = ''
return self.sight + obsight
import sys

class MudCommand:
""" welcome to mud. available commands are:
go, move, help, exit, look, touch, say, take, drop, inventory, use """
def __init__(self, char, area):
self.char = char
self.area = area

def go(self, args):
""" alias of move """
return self.move(args)

def use(self, args):
""" uses item from inventory """
return self.char.use(args)

def inventory(self, args):
""" displays inventory """
return self.char.name + ' has: ' + ', '.join(self.char.inventory)

def help(self, args):
""" gives you help on a topic"""
if args == '':
return self.__doc__
else:
try:
return getattr(self, args).__doc__
except AttributeError:
return 'help topic not found'

def exit(self, args):
""" exits game """
print 'bye bye!'
sys.exit()

def look(self, args):
""" lets you look arround """
return self.char.name + ' sees ' + self.area.view(args)

def take(self, args):
""" takes item from the ground """
try:
return self.char.take(self.area.getObject(args))
except AttributeError:
return 'you cannot take ' + args

def touch(self, args):
""" touches item from the ground """
return self.area.touchObject(args)

def drop(self, args):
""" drops item from inventory to current area """
return self.area.addObject(args, self.char.drop(args))

def move(self, args):
""" moves arround """
area = self.area.relocate(args)
if area != None:
self.area = area
return self.char.move(self.area)
else:
return 'There seems to be nothing that way.'

def say(self, args):
""" makes character talk """
return self.char.say(args)
class MudGame:
def __init__(self, char, area):
self.cmd = MudCommand(char, area)

def run(self):
while True:
command = raw_input('> ');
self.parse(command)

def parse(self, command):
comm = command.lower().split(' ')
try:
cmd = comm[0]
except IndexError:
cmd = 'help'
try:
args = comm[1:]
except IndexError:
args = []
try:
result = getattr(self.cmd, cmd)(' '.join(args).strip())
except AttributeError:
result = 'Unknown Command'
print result


And the main game script - mud.py:

from engine import *

#objects (name, description, on touch, on use)
rose = MudObject('rose', 'a red blossom with spikes', 'bites fingers!', 'wanna eat it or what?')
shit = MudObject('shit', 'a stinky one', 'ewww...', 'you are sick, you know that?')
gaidys = MudObject('bird', 'oh, a cock!', 'looks like a rainbow', 'cuckarekoo! motherfucka!?!')

#areas
woods = MudArea('deep green woods')
river = MudArea('shallow river')
hills = MudArea('orc hills')
house = MudArea('house of all gay')
meadow = MudArea('a green smelly meadow')

#attaching interactive stuff to areas
river.addObject('object', shit)
woods.addObject('flower', rose)
woods.addObject('bird', gaidys)
meadow.addObject('animal', gaidys)

#link all areas with bidirectional references
river.addArea('south', hills)
woods.addArea('north', river)
woods.addArea('west', house)
hills.addArea('east', meadow)
meadow.addArea('north', woods)

#create a player
char = MudPlayer('spajus')

#create a game with player and starting area
game = MudGame(char, woods)

#lets go!
game.run()


OK, and of course, unit tests:

import unittest
from engine import *

class TestMudObject(unittest.TestCase):
def setUp(self):
self.o = MudObject('object1', 'sight1', 'collision1', 'usage1')
self.o2 = MudObject('object2', 'sight2')

def test_view(self):
self.assertEqual(self.o.view(), 'sight1')
self.assertEqual(self.o2.view(), 'sight2')
self.assertNotEqual(self.o.view(), 'c')
self.assertNotEqual(self.o.view(), self.o2.view())

def test_touch(self):
self.assertEqual(self.o.touch(), 'collision1')
self.assertEqual(self.o2.touch(), 'nothing happens')
self.assertNotEqual(self.o.touch(), 'sight1')
self.assertNotEqual(self.o.touch(), self.o2.touch())

def test_use(self):
self.assertEqual(self.o.use(), 'usage1')
self.assertEqual(self.o2.use(), 'unusable')
self.assertNotEqual(self.o.use(), 'unsuable')
self.assertNotEqual(self.o.use(), self.o2.use())

class TestMudPlayer(unittest.TestCase):
def setUp(self):
self.p1 = MudPlayer('player1')
self.p2 = MudPlayer('player2')
self.area1 = MudArea('area1')
self.area2 = MudArea('area2')
self.o = MudObject('object1', 'sight1', 'collision1', 'usage1')
self.o2 = MudObject('object2', 'sight2')

def test_move(self):
f1 = self.p1.move
f2 = self.p2.move
a1 = self.area1
a2 = self.area2
self.assertEqual(f1(a1), 'player1 moves to area1')
self.assertEqual(f2(a1), 'player2 moves to area1')
self.assertEqual(f1(a2), 'player1 moves to area2')
self.assertEqual(f2(a2), 'player2 moves to area2')
self.assertNotEqual(f1(a1), 'player1 moves to area2')

def test_take_drop(self):
take = self.p1.take
use = self.p1.use
drop = self.p1.drop
inven = self.p1.inventory

o1 = self.o
o2 = self.o2

self.assertEqual(inven, {})
self.assertEqual(take(o1), 'player1 puts object1 in his inventory')
self.assertEqual(inven, {'object1':o1})
self.assertEqual(take(o2), 'player1 puts object2 in his inventory')
self.assertEqual(inven, {'object1':o1, 'object2':o2})

self.assertEqual(drop('object1'), o1)
#neesamo objekto dropint neina
self.assertRaises(TypeError, drop('object1'))
self.assertEqual(inven, {'object2':o2})
self.assertEqual(drop('object2'), o2)
self.assertEqual(inven, {})

def test_use(self):
p1 = self.p1
o1 = self.o
self.assertNotEqual(p1.use('object1'), 'usage1')
self.assertEqual(p1.use('object1'), 'you do not have object1')
p1.take(o1)
self.assertEqual(p1.use('object1'), 'usage1')

class TestMudArea(unittest.TestCase):
def setUp(self):
self.a1 = MudArea('area1')
self.a2 = MudArea('area2')
self.o1 = MudObject('obj1', 'sight1', 'collide1', 'use1')
self.o2 = MudObject('obj2', 'sight2')

def test_addArea(self):
#assignmentas turi buti veidrodinis
self.a1.addArea('north', self.a2)
self.assertEqual(self.a1.panorama, {'north':self.a2})
self.assertEqual(self.a2.panorama, {'south':self.a1})

def test_relocate(self):
self.a1.addArea('north', self.a2)
self.assertEqual(self.a1.relocate('north'), self.a2)
self.assertEqual(self.a2.relocate('north'), None)
self.assertEqual(self.a2.relocate('south'), self.a1)

def test_addObject(self):
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {})
#dropped returninama todel, kad paprastai objectas zaidimo metu addinamas tada, kai playeris dropina ji.
#kreivai biski, bet ka padarysi :)
self.assertEqual(self.a1.addObject('something', self.o1), 'something was dropped..')
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {'something':self.o1})
self.a1.addObject('other', self.o2)
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {'something':self.o1, 'other':self.o2})
self.assertEqual(self.a1.addObject('something_clone', self.o1), 'something_clone was dropped..')
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {'something':self.o1, 'other':self.o2, 'something_clone':self.o1})

def test_getObject(self):
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {})
self.a1.addObject('something', self.o1)
self.a1.addObject('other', self.o2)
self.assertEqual(self.a1.getObject('something'), self.o1)
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {'other':self.o2})
self.assertEqual(self.a1.getObject('something'), 'there is no something arround!')

def test_touchObject(self):
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {})
self.a1.addObject('something', self.o1)
self.a1.addObject('other', self.o2)
self.assertEqual(self.a1.touchObject('something'), self.o1.touch())
self.assertNotEqual(self.a1.touchObject('obj2'), self.o2.touch())
self.assertEqual(self.a1.touchObject('ass'), 'there is no ass arround!')

def test_view(self):
view = self.a1.view
self.assertEqual(view(), 'area1')
#unindentified object/panorama
self.assertEqual(view('my brain'), 'nothing.')

self.a1.addObject('my brain', self.o1)
self.assertEqual(view('my brain'), self.o1.view())
#padarom dar idomiau. kadangi pridejom my brain, reikia parodyti ir tai..
self.assertNotEqual(view(), 'area1')
self.assertEqual(view(), 'area1. There also seems to be: my brain')
self.a1.addObject('duck', self.o2)
self.assertEqual(view(), 'area1. There also seems to be: my brain, duck') #', '.join(self.a1.objects)

self.assertEqual(view('north'), 'nothing.')
self.a1.addArea('north', self.a2)
self.assertEqual(view('north'), 'area2')
#kadangi priskyrem area2, turejo atsispindeti ir is ten paziurejus i priesinga north krypti (south), turi matytis area1 viewas
self.assertEqual(self.a2.view('south'), view())
#akurat.. matosi :)

class MudCommandTest(unittest.TestCase):
def setUp(self):
self.p1 = MudPlayer('player1')
self.a1 = MudArea('area1')
self.a2 = MudArea('area2')
self.o1 = MudObject('obj1', 'sight1', 'collide1', 'use1')
self.o2 = MudObject('obj2', 'sight2', 'collide2', 'use2')
self.a2.addObject('bread', self.o1)
self.a2.addObject('pig', self.o2)
self.a1.addArea('east', self.a2)
self.c = MudCommand(self.p1, self.a1)

def test_go_move(self):
#MudArea.go === MudArea.move
#test wrong way
self.assertEqual(self.c.go('somewhere'), 'There seems to be nothing that way.')
#test walk arround
self.assertEqual(self.c.go('east'), 'player1 moves to area2')
self.assertEqual(self.c.go('west'), 'player1 moves to area1')

def test_use(self):
self.assertEqual(self.c.use('bla'), 'you do not have bla')
#lets go east and take something to test using
self.c.go('east')
self.c.take('bread')
#as bread was only the looks, we know it's actually obj1, so lets use it
self.assertEqual(self.c.use('obj1'), self.o1.use())

def test_inventory(self):
self.c.go('east')
self.c.take('bread')
self.assertEqual(self.c.inventory(None), 'player1 has: obj1')

def test_help(self):
self.assertEqual(self.c.help(''), self.c.__doc__)
self.assertEqual(self.c.help('move'), self.c.move.__doc__)
self.assertEqual(self.c.help('blabla'), 'help topic not found')

def test_look(self):
self.assertEqual(self.c.look(''), 'player1 sees ' + self.a1.view())
self.assertEqual(self.c.look('at my balls'), 'player1 sees nothing.')
self.assertEqual(self.c.look('east'), 'player1 sees ' + self.a2.view())

def test_take(self):
self.c.go('east')
self.assertEqual(self.c.take('bread'), 'player1 puts obj1 in his inventory')
self.assertEqual(self.p1.inventory, {'obj1':self.o1})
#already taken!
self.assertEqual(self.c.take('bread'), 'you cannot take bread')

def test_touch(self): #perv test.. :)
self.assertEqual(self.c.touch('self'), 'there is no self arround!')
self.assertNotEqual(self.c.touch('bread'), self.o1.touch())
self.c.go('east')
#kad paliesti reik pirma nueiti
self.assertEqual(self.c.touch('bread'), self.o1.touch())

def test_drop(self):
self.assertEqual(self.c.drop('smelly thing'), None)
self.c.go('east')
self.c.take('bread')
self.c.go('west')
self.assertEqual(self.c.drop('obj1'), 'obj1 was dropped..')
self.assertEqual(self.a1.objects, {'obj1':self.o1})

def test_say(self):
self.assertEqual(self.c.say('i love this game'), 'player1 says: i love this game')
self.assertNotEqual(self.c.say('python sucks'), 'player1 says: that\'s true!')

if __name__ == '__main__':
unittest.main()


To run the game:
python mud.py


To run the tests:
python testengine.py


Damn, I really miss such coding activities :)