Unable to update Avira Antivir

Since couple of days, I found my Avira Antivir Personal edition (free) not updating properly, or taking for ever to do an update. I thought something might be wrong with my program or worse, my computer might be affected. After searching the web, I found that sometimes when the update files are big and if the update server get over burdened, you will not be able to automatically update.

Solution: Do a manual update. To do that, download the latest virus definition file (VDF) from Avira VDF update. After the file is downloaded, use your Avira Antivir program to do a manual update by clicking "Update" > "Manual Update".

Let me know if this works for you.

Paul Graham - Great Hack

Here is an article from Paul Graham. This is a gem of an article. Great Hackers by Paul Graham.

Python is faster than Java!

I wanted to pitch Java and Python against each other and see how they perform. So I put in a simple program that puts some stress on the system. Data Structures would also be used. Both the programs should be run on same machine. There shouldn't be any other Java or Python process running in background. I wrote a simple program in both Java and Python and ran them.

Java Program (JVM version - 1.6.0_11-b03)

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Hashtable;
import java.util.Iterator;


public class PerformanceTester {

 private final static int SIZE = 500000;
 
 public static void main(String[] args) {
  
  long start_time = System.currentTimeMillis();
  
  Hashtable build_hash = new Hashtable();
  for(int i=0; i build_array = new ArrayList();
  for(Iterator it = build_hash.keySet().iterator(); it.hasNext();){
   Integer value = build_hash.get(it.next());
   it.remove();
   String strValue = (value.intValue()+8)+"add more";
   build_array.add(strValue);
  }
  
  long stop_time = System.currentTimeMillis();
  System.out.println("Total Time = "+((stop_time - start_time)/1000.0000));

 }
 
}

Multiple Run Result
Total time = 1.391
Total time = 1.375
Total time = 1.344
Total time = 1.422
Total time = 1.484


Python Program (CPython version 2.6.1)

import time

start_time = time.clock()
SIZE = 500000

build_hash = {}

for a in range(1,SIZE):
   build_hash[str(a)] = a

build_array = []

for key in build_hash:
   build_array.append(str(build_hash[key]+8) + "add more")
   build_hash[key] = None

stop_time = time.clock()
print "total time = ", (stop_time - start_time)

Multiple Run Result
Total time = 0.888883333612
Total time = 0.878249380963
Total time = 0.991458537034
Total time = 0.850523498354
Total time = 0.860505161151

I see Python showing a huge advantage when it comes to speed of execution. Java is slow! Thats bad news for Java. I would like you to try same or similar program and let me know how it performs. If you run the same above programs, try increasing the hash size for both the programs. You will be surprised with what you see! I can't believe Java is not only slow, but also uses more memory. Python is not only simpler, but faster, more powerful and uses lesser memory than Java.

Java is loosing the grip while Python and Ruby gaining ground

We have come accross many instances that Java/J2EE is trying to get rid of its complexities, yet not very successful at it. First the misfortunes EJB 2, and then the obliteration of XML files in a large application. Finally the tedious and daunting task of putting all the types of frameworks and to make them work together for every new application. There has been a huge improvement in EJB 3, but architects and managers still dread the name EJB.

The management hates it when we tell them that we are throwing away code. They panic, as if we are throwing away used furniture. Why throw it, can't we re-use them somewhere! This statement looks very logical from the management perspective, but when it comes to we super technologists, it sounds ridiculous. For us, old code is like old milk. You refactor it and continually improve it or just throw the freaking thing away. Old code has a shelf life, just like milk. We are involved in developing and maintaining code, we know how bad it stinks. The smell is a good indicator that the application is deteriorating in quality and increasing in quantity.

If you are worried about your job prospects, Java/JEE is still a hot bed as of May 2009. The ecosystem is complex enough that you need people who are bright enough to make sense from it. Many companies still stick to Java as their primary web technology, but things might be changing soon.

Sun is now acquired by Oracle and I do not know what future holds for new Java apps. Oracle is big and they will push the Java technology to upper management in many large corporations. These companies have lot of money to invest and they are always more comfortable when they know that they are in company with large corporation such as Oracle. If you are very enthusiastic about web application development, and are willing to take some risks in the job market, you should try Rails or Django. Job prospects are improving for both, so you might not be in loss. But you will enjoy your work much better because I see either Ruby or Python to be much better programming languages than what Java is or going to become. After being with Java for this long, I see that Java has this inferiority complex with C# and does a catch up. I am in big favor of open source and you might know how I might feel about C#.

Ruby on Rails or Python with Django provide very powerful combination for web development. Job demands will come, but will come as the industry adoption grows. Both Python and Ruby are mature and have good community of users. The new features in the languages come from key persons. Just like Linus Torvalds drives Linux kernel development, Yukihiro Matsumoto will drive Ruby language development and Guido van Rossum will drive Python language development. I feel this is much better than a language being driven through a community similar to JCP.

Ruby on Rails IDE for beginners

I have been a Java programmer for a long time and a big fan of eclipse. Lately I have been very interested to try out Ruby on Rails and Python with Django. I am not the guy who wants to program using text editors. I found that we have these following choices. I have listed here some IDEs and simple test editors which can turn into powerful programming environments for you as a new RoR explorer.

Programming environments listed in Alphabetical order
Note: If you are already using a tool for Ruby on Rails development, please leave a comment and let us know about it.

Eclipse based RadRails - If you are coming from Java shop and are already heavily into eclipse as your IDE, then you might want to check this out. It installs on Linux, Mac OSX and Windows. Because eclipse is java based, you will need jvm installed before you install RadRails with eclipse. RadRails can also be installed with Aptana Studio, an IDE bundle by RadRails creators.

JEdit - JEdit is a powerful programming tool for those who are good with using just a text editor for their coding requirements. Here are couple of good guidlines from Eric and Eadz for working with JEdit for RoR.

Komodo - This is an excellent IDE from ActiveState developers for scripting languages. You can program in Python, Perl, PHP, Ruby, and even HTML, CSS and javascript using Komodo. If you are also programming in other mentioned languages, then this IDE would be worth a look.

NetBeans- This is a java based IDE which has a good support for RoR. Comes bundled with Glassfish V3 Prelude. They provide RoR learning trails that can help you if you are a beginner.

TextMate - For all Mac enthusiasts, this is the editor of choice for RoR. This is pretty powerful and highly customizable. You defenitely want to check this out if you are on a Mac. If you use windows, there is a similar editor called eTextEditor, which is equally powerful.

Ruby, JRuby, Rails, Python, Django, J2EE

As an experienced Java/J2EE developer for more than 4 years, and after successfully leading Java projects, we are missing something. It takes too much time to even just set up a rough draft of what we want. Even to provide a small demo for the client, we had to set up the whole mixture of frameworks, make sure the jar files don't conflict with new versions, and tedious manipulations trying to figure out how each framework will talk to each other... and so on. What a pain. Programming should be better than this. Web programming has so much capabilities and yet getting simple things in and out shouldn't be such a trouble. Python with Django and Ruby with Rails are beginning to solve most of these problems.

There are talks for Sun being acquired by IBM. Bad news for Java. I don't see much innovation happening due to Java Community Process. The web and open source shall remain the first and last place for free spirited innovation. If you are someone like me who wants to explore and find solutions where Java is failing, then you should definitely give Python or Ruby a try. There is no harm in learning a new language. Infact it will flex your cranium further, and you will be a better programmer, whether you program in Python, Ruby or Java.

Glassfish on Ubuntu

Here is a nice link to setup Glassfish on Ubuntu

Favorite Proverbs and Quotations

These are the ones I like the most.

• Action speaks louder than words. - Proverb
• Patience, humility and caution builds great characters.
• Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. - Aristotle
• Silence is a fence around wisdom. - Hebrew Proverb
• Silence is the best way to answer stupidity. Only a fool has his answer at the tip of his tongue. - Arabic Proverb
• Empty vessels make more noise. - English Proverb
• Above all, try something - FDR

Python and Django

Python and Django, a similar combination to Ruby on Rails, is another scripting combination for the web for speedier delivery schedules. Adrian's Django presentation gives more information on the history and the present trends with Django. There has been a lot of hype surrounding Ruby on Rails. But that will involve learning a whole new language, Ruby. When it comes to Python, you can safely bet on Django. Generating PDF's were my biggest concern in my previous project. I was overwhelmed to see that there is ample support for outputting PDF's. Here's the documentation for this! :)

Google App Engine

Home page for Google App Engine

Developing and deploying an application on Google App Engine
youtube demo link

Google App a second look
on High Scalability blog

Also check out Heroku for RoR deployment something similar to Google App Engine for RoR.