More really needs to be said but for now I think I will post a quick link: Code the Unit Test First. Especially important is the section that says
Creating a unit test helps a developer to really consider what needs to be done. Requirements are nailed down firmly by tests. There can be no misunderstanding a specification written in the form of executable code.
(more follows in the next day or so)
RSSLibJ (http://enigmastation.com/rsslibj/) is (according to its website)
… a Java class library designed primarily to generate RSS data in various formats, based on a simple object model
later on in the FAQ it says
Can I use RSSLibJ to read in feeds?Yes. [..snip..] Note that RSSLibJ’s primary focus is on writing RSS feeds, and not reading them, so no attempt is made to compensate for badly formed feeds.
It then says
Why did you choose EXML instead of JAXP or JDom or DOM4J?Lots of reasons. First off, the JAXP API is horrible for people to actually use; it’s very literally correct, and ideal if what you’re interested in is the structure of the document and not really much past that. It’s very programmer-unfriendly, which is why JDom and DOM4J were written.
MMMmmmm 
Cyborg goodness - there’s a new trailer available for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
Looks like there’s a new trailer online for The Hulk Looks good!
Driving to work this morning I heard a radio show talking about NORD - the National Organization for Rare Diseases. Interestingly they have an A-Z listing of rare disorders … if you’re anything like certain hypochondriac memebers of my family, you dont want to read what could possibly go wrong!
I was scanning the ‘Net today looking for something I saw a fair while ago - a project calling itself “Jogger” - in many ways a competitor for Chronicle Lite if you read the features list that it was planned to have. Chronicle Lite followed a different path to Jogger though - I went to ground and released a finished (albeit rough) application through Freshmeat back in September last year, followed by a more polished (v1.1) later in 2002. Jogger is still “planning”, and has yet to release files. They have a project registered on Sourceforge … which makes me wonder … is registering a project there the kiss of death for many small efforts? Seems like a huge assortment of software in unfinished form lives on the SF site.
Back in October I was looking for someone to help me test Chronicle Lite with Movable Type - I am still looking for help with that. If anyone uses Moveable Type installed on their server, along with the XML-RPC extensions allowing Blogger.com client software to talk to it, I would be very interested in talking to you. Please leave me feedback so we can arrange a way to test Chronicle Lite with that server. I already know it works with Blogger.com and with Nucleus, so it shouldnt be too hard to get running with MT.
Anyhow. I was searching on Google and came across a completely different project also called Jogger. In the words on their page, Jogger is a “new weblog service (or blog) allows anyone to update their own personal journal through a normal Jabber client. Jogger is intended to demonstrate how Jabber can be used as a platform for application communication” Jabber is an open source (free!) IM application. It has many different clients and the server is setup to be able to speak to a variety of other back-end IM systems - Yahoo, AIM, MSN, ICQ, etc. Very impressive piece of work!
The Matrix Reloaded is to receive its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival on 15 May, the second day of the festival and the day the film is released worldwide. The BBC website has a page of interviews, for those who are interested.
Looks like the release date for the movie “Timeline” has been pushed back to November 26th - my movie watcher page has been ammended accordingly.
Interestingly enough, I remembered the other trailer we saw before “The Core”. When the trailer began I leaned across to Alison and whispered, “This looks a lot like The Italian Job” - then we got a flash of the updated Mini Coopers, and I said, “It is the Italian Job!” only to have it confirmed: there’s a remake of the classic 1969 Italian Job being released later this year.
The original movie is famous for launching the popularity of the original Mini Cooper so it’s no surprise that there would be a remake, given the new Mini that BMW produces. Where the original movie was about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam, the updated version is set in L.A. Other details are bound to have changed, but they’ve kept the name of the main character (Charlie Croker) - played by Michael Caine in the orginal, and by Mark Wahlberg in this year’s version.
I wanted to participate in the St Louis Earth Day festival last year but managed to miss it completely. This year I’ve been a little more proactive in tracking it down and getting a vendor registation in. The plan is to give away (absolutely free - no strings attached) bottled water and juice as a simple way of saying “God loves you” in a practical way. We’ve done this before - soda giveaway, free carwash, etc. The response has been great in every case: whether or not people cared to be told that God loves them, they come away with something good from the encounter. Everyone’s a winner, baby!