Newsletter Article

Packt Publishing, the publishers of computer related books have released their latest book on Tapestry 5, the Apache open-source framework for creating dynamic, robust, highly scalable web applications in Java. The new book titled, Tapestry 5: Building Web Applications is a step-by-step guide to Java Web development with the developer-friendly Apache Tapestry framework.

The book based on the latest version of Tapestry Web development framework and helps you get working with Tapestry components. It builds up an example website through each the book.

The book assumes that the reader is reasonably comfortable with the Java programming language, but no knowledge of web technologies is needed. For experienced Servlet, JSP, or Struts developers, the book will show an alternative way that will allow them to raise their productivity to an incomparable level. With this book you will see that a contemporary component-based framework can be easy to learn and a pleasure to work with.

More information about the book can be found at: http://www.packtpub.com/tapestry-5/book

Packt Publishing has offered a sample chapter that is available as a PDF - http://www.packtpub.com/files/Tapestry-5-Advanced-Components-Sample-Chapter.pdf

Press Release

August 2007
New Website Launched that Promises to ease the Software Installation Process

InstallationWiki.org is a new website designed to provide users with comprehensive, free guides to installing software. Launching on August 6, 2007, the website will largely be driven and populated by content supplied and edited by experts, and hopes to bridge the gap between software experts and software users.

Quality, relevant and free information on installing software is often difficult to find, especially when new versions and editions are being released on a regular basis. The aim of InstallationWiki.org is to provide people with a one-stop source of information for installing whichever piece of software theyâ??re working with.

The Installation Wiki will provide myriad benefits for a variety of individuals; acting as a resource for software users, whilst supporting the software community through gaining exposure for their respective programs.

InstallationWiki.org has been developed using the open source MediaWiki software package and is supported by UK publisher Packt. The site has initially been populated using installation chapters from Packt books. â??Weâ??re more than happy to provide InstallationWiki.org with content from our booksâ? explains Packt spokesman, Damian Carvill. â??Packt is pleased to support the idea of providing an online repository of guides for installing software and weâ??re honored to populate the Wiki with its first contentâ? he adds.

InstallationWiki.org is inviting software experts to share their knowledge by adding to the content on the site, helping it grow into an exhaustive library whilst increasing their position of authority in the subject.

InstallationWiki.org is free to use and open for everyone to contribute to. It is expected to grow and expand over the coming months with more installation guides and features. For more information, please visit www.InstallationWiki.org.

Are you of the thinking that if something looks good is a respectable web browser such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, or Internet Explorer, then it is satisfactory (especially if the code also validates using the W3C validator)?
Have you ever tried to browse the web using a screen-reader such as JAWS or Opera Browser/Audible?

Building an inaccessible web
Content and application accessibility is not being regarded with as much importance as it deserves. Currently, too much focus is put on the lowest common denominator, and investing time and resources in features and implementation strategies that will get the biggest bang for the money and time is a commonly tolerated compromise. This Web Design and Development strategy is a direct result of letting business interests drive the way of the Internet. It is undeniable that the business community and capitalist market forces are responsible for the growth of the Internet from a scientific experiment, to the previously unimaginable medium that it is today. However, catering only to what will generate high dividends for share-holders can be lack of visions.

An example of this short-sighted drive to cater for the majority at the expense of the non-traditional and minority site visitor became clear to me in two situations where the CEO of a mid-size company asked this question when he was told that web applications built for the federal government had to be Section 508 compliant so that blind members of the public could use them: "Blind people do not read, and should they use the Internet?" In another situation, a senior project manager at another company remarked that to reduce server overhead, a new application would be built so that the last bits of XSLT logic to transform raw XML data to the UI (user interface) markup would be done in the web browser. When told about accessibility, and the use of non-traditional web browsers such as PDAs, text-only, and other browsers that are not able to parse XML/XSLT, he angrily responded that "We are building a rich application that will work with the latest browsers (IE6+, FF, Safari), opening the Web Application to non-traditional browsers is not part of this project and will have to be scoped separately as an enhancement"!!

The above-two are examples of some level of ignorance, disregard for Web Accessibility, and quick frustration with the otherwise meticulous process of making web sites and applications accessible. I cannot deny that it is slow, and anything but easy to attempt to code a site, and as opposed to previewing it in Mozilla Firefox or Internet explorer, to open up JAWS, or turn off the monitor and preview/browse the website/application without any visual information. This is also the biggest reason to make web-sites and applications accessible to blind, low-vision and otherwise disabled users.

No one can deny the the W3C placed and has continued to place importance and dedicate time and resources to developing the necessary techniques and infrastructure for designing and developing accessible websites and applications without compromising the eye-candy that we often rush for at the expense of accessibility. We therefor have very weak, or no reasons at all for not building accessible web applications and sites.

Currently, there may be relatively little motivation for business management to spend the extra time and resources required to make applications accessible. I once worked on a project that was launched despite my protests and warnings that the UI markup was not valid HTML or XHTML. The 'important' thing at that time is that the application was relatively stable and quite usable in Internet Explorer version 6, IE7, and Firefox. My protests seemed to many to be the passion or a lone and narrow-minded purist with little regard for the financial consequences of delaying the project so that the issues could be fixed and bring the web application to scope in terms of accessibility and code validity. The disregard for valid code soon begun to make the applications behaviour unpredictable, unstable, and difficult to quickly update because what initially seemed stable and usable became unstable when small changes were made

Blogs are the de-facto method of publishing commentary on contemporary events. In recent times however, it is becoming clear that blog entries may be too time-consuming, and not frequent enough to keep content fresh, up-to date and spontaneous.

Increasingly, we are all beginning to use services such as tumblr, twitter and istalkr that enable content publishers to write and publish ideas as they come to mind (snippets of information) without having to wait to write an entire blog entry. In addition to this, it is also possible to write and post this information from mobile devices (phones, PDAs etc). This has increased the spontaneity, and ad-hoc nature of these methods of publishing and sharing information and opinion.

This posting is a clear manifestation of the new possibilities and trends - I have composed this article on my Nokia e62 mobile phone and emailed it to this Drupal powered website for automated processing and posting using the Mailhandler module.