Michael A. Sick

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what words do you use when the picture is in the wrong format? Not exactly a Zen koan, but a valid question whose answer is JIMI, the Java Image Management Interface from Activated Intelligence. JIMI is a toolkit for reading, writing, viewing and manipulating images in multiple-graphics file formats. JIMI supports an impressive number of image formats, but if your target format is not supported, JIMI's open design allows you to add your format while taking advantage of key JIMI features. As you'd hope and expect, JIMI is platform-neutral 100% Pure Java that works with Java l.0.x and 1.1.x, and with the current beta versions of Java 1.2. This article will let you know if JIMI has the features that will lighten your load and tighten your code. The "Overview" section examines JIMI's major features and identifies how JIMI can fit i... (more)

Web Services @ Work:Gluing Web Servicesto Baan

Web services is often spoken of as a future technology, yet it's important to understand that Web services is already proving to be a key component of the products and projects of today. In this article I examine how Web services has become an enabling piece of Epic Data's Connectware for Baan toolkit, which is designed to easily connect wireless devices and other clients to the Baan warehousing and manufacturing ERP modules. I then study the requirements and realities that led Epic Data to select Web services over competing technologies. Additionally, I examine the reasons why ... (more)

Web Services: Building Blocks for Distributed Systems

Have you ever looked at a child's toy and thought, "I wish they had that when I was growing up?" I had that familiar feeling while reading Web Services: Building Blocks for Distributed Systems by Graham Glass. Having pored over various specifications, articles, and newsgroup archives over the past year, Web Services is the type of book that I wish I had when I first approached the topic. The book will be a help to developers, architects, and technical managers that want to become acquainted with Web services. The book starts with a short, short history of computing and a brief sum... (more)

Dice Check

I recently completed my first WebSphere Portal v5 install/implementation for a moderately sized healthcare company. Typically, when I consider new assignments and new technologies, I perform the "Dice Check". The Dice Check consists of some quick and dirty research using dice.com's job posting database to determine the vitality of the software stack with which I might be working. After completing this portal work, I shared some of my experiences with one of Sun's principal engineers, who suggested I take a look at the Sun ONE Portal Server. After reviewing Sun's portal server, I ... (more)

Overview and Analysis of the Department of Defense Discovery Metadata Specification (DDMS)

The Department of Defense (DoD) Discovery Metadata Specification (DDMS) describes the DOD's preferred approach for decorating data assets with metadata. By providing a common convention for metadata, the DoD is building a common system for asset discovery, search, description, consumption, and security. This article provides a summary of the DDMS's purpose, structure, and capability. Upon completion the reader should have a basic understanding of the DDMS and should know where to go to get more detail and related materials. All questions regarding this article should be directed ... (more)