Software View

Here's a great collection of web links personally accumulated by Kamal over many years accessed and valued by both local and foreign software developers. The collection is mainly about software, but some other categories of Kamal's interest (Mathematics, Electronics,...) appear at the bottom. New links are frequently added to this list (Last update: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 07:37).

Your web browser's search facility (CTRL + F) will help you in effective navigation through this list. Link classification does not follow a strict hierarchy, but adjustments are constantly done to improve the navigability.

Resource Centers for Developers

• developerWorks
  IBM's resources for developers
• The Rational Edge
  An online journal for developers.
• Oracle Magazine
  Goodies for you to read (also online)...
• HP Dev Resource Central
• HP's developer & solution partner program - developer edge home
  Lots of goodies on various technologies...
• Intel Developer Services Home
• AMD Developer Central
  Access the latest software development tools, get discounts on AMD-powered computer products, interact with AMD technology experts, explore the Developer Toy Box, and more-only at AMD Developer Central.
• Open Source Development Lab Developer Resources
  Primarily Linux
• MOTODEV
  Motorola portal for developers.
• java.net
  java.net is the realization of a vision of a diverse group of engineers, researchers, technologists, and evangelists at Sun Microsystems, Inc. to provide a common area for interesting conversations and innovative development projects related to Java technology.
• Java Skyline: Magazine for J2EE Web services
  A great place to visit!
• JavaRanch - A Friendly Place for Java Greenhorns
  Meet the cows and learn Java! Superb place to visit.
• DDJ (Dr. Dobb's)
  Everything...
• Absolute Java FAQ Daily Tips: advices, tips, code, applets, java freeware, shareware - All Java Resources!!!
• ONJava.com: Java API Map
  An easy way to search the content at ONJava.
• dev2dev - Articles
  From BEA. A superb collection of articles.
• dev2dev Online: dev2dev Live!
  From BEA. A superb collection of webinars.
• Google Code - Google's Developer Network
• Software Engineering Radio
  Listen to the radio!
• Peter Norvig
  Lots of articles from Google's Director of Research

Unclassified Goodies

• Software Engineering Information Repository
  The purpose of the SEIR is to provide a forum for the contribution and exchange of information concerning software engineering improvement activities.
• Food for Thought
  Ha ha ha. Need anything else?
• Webopedia: Online Computer Dictionary for Computer and Internet Terms and Definitions
• Reference Library (Orelly Books)
  A collection of online Orelly books. Books are a bit old but still useful resources.
• Online tutorials and interview questions
  Some nice books are here.
• SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides
  A great collection of study guides for free! Maths, Economics, Computer Science, Psychology and more... Guides have problems for you as well and contain answers.
• InformIT
  Books, articles, reference guides, ...
• Quick Reference Cards
  Here's a great collection of quick reference cards.
• TIOBE Software - The Coding Standards Company
  Want to know about coding standards?
• Sun BluePrints Program
  Lots of best practices are documented here. Mostly they are related with Sun's own technologies but you find lots of goodies for your own platform.
• Sun Microsystems - Documentation Center
  Go anywhere you want to go starting from this place...
• ACM: Association for Computing Machinery, the world's first educational and scientific computing society.
• The USENIX Association - The Advanced Computing Systems Association
• Google Scholar
  Find research papers and academic stuff. Pretty cool.
• Graphical User Interface Gallery
  Images of different user interface implementations.
• Computer software and computers - the best resources are on CompInfo
  Find The Best Sources of Computer Information
• Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. If you need to look at a web site that is not present now, see whether it is archieved here.
• The Programmer's File Format Collection
  This site contains file format information on hundreds of different file types and all sorts of other useful programming information; algorithms, source code, specifications, etc.
• Koders - Source Code Search Engine
  A search engine for identifying and accessing open source code on the Internet. You can search by keyword, language, and license or perform advanced queries using enhanced syntax. Search results are then displayed in a developer-friendly format that makes it easy to understand the code in its original working context.
• The CAPTCHA Project.
  How to use funny looking images of characters that humans can understand and computers cannot understand to make only humans interact with your system?
• An Introduction to LDAP
• RFID: A Technology Overview
• HTTP Time Protocol (HTP)
• A Layman's Guide to ASN.1, BER, and DER
  These are a set of common rules for creating binary encodings in a platform independent manner.
• WebDAV
  The central resource for documentation, specifications, software, mailing lists, and other useful items on WebDAV.
• STSC CrossTalk - The Journal of Defence Software Engineering
• The Open Group
  The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium whose vision is to enable access to integrated information, within and among enterprises, based on open standards and global interoperability.
• TIOBE Software - The Coding Standards Company
• my GUI guy - PDF2HTMLgui
  Convert pdf files into html
• Software Development Articles-UML, Agile, Java, .NET, Test, Project Management, SCM, ...
  Software development articles web directory : UML, Agile, software testing, programming, Java, .NET, project management
• How Google Finds Your Needle in the Web's Haystack
  A mathematical discussion on Google's PageRanking
• Dr. Dobb's | Rounding Algorithms | December 28, 2006
  The mind boggles at the variety and intricacy of the rounding schemes that designers may choose, depending on application
• HTTP/1.1 (DELETE, GET, HEAD, PUT, POST)
  An activity diagram to describe the resolution of the response status code, given various headers. Very good.
• IP2Location.com - Lookup IP address to Country, State, City, Netblock, Longitude and Latitude
  Lookup Country and Internet Service Provider (ISP) by IP Address
• The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC
  Software Development Best Practices from the best-selling book 'The Pragmatic Programmer'.
• Domain Commandments for Internet Business Developers
  10 tips to determine a good domain name
• OER Commons
  OER Commons is a teaching and learning network of shared materials, from K-12 through college, from algebra to zoology, open to all to use.
• Pipes: Rewire the web
  Graphically combine feeds and create more complex feeds
• Creating a multiplatform autorun CD
• Open Clip Art Library Drawing Together
  The Open Clip Art Library aims to create an archive of user contributed clip art that may be freely used. All graphics submitted to the project must be placed into the Public Domain according to the Public Domain statement created by the Creative Commons. If you'd like to help out, please join the mailing list. Also, browse the archives to review the project's history.
• DevCentral - C++ Tutorials
  DevCentral - Articles and tutorials with easy to understand examples for the seasoned professional to the student.
• Zamzar - Free online file conversion
  Convert files
• NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
  The Network Neutrality Squad (NNSquad) is an open-membership, open-source effort, enlisting the Internet's users to help keep the Internet's operations fair and unhindered from unreasonable restrictions.
• Internet Speed Testers
  • Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test
    Test your Internet connection bandwidth to locations around the world with this interactive broadband speed test
  • CNET Bandwidth Meter Speed Test - Bandwidth Test
    The CNET Bandwidth Meter speed test will check the bandwidth and speed of your connection to DSL, cable modems, and more.
  • BrowserMips - how fast is your browser?
  • Speed Test - dslreports.com
    Broadband news, information and community, Speed Test
• World Wide Web Consortium Process Document
• OpenDHT: A Publicly Accessible DHT Service
• Ontology-based IT Pedagogical Knowledge Framework
  How to distinguish between computer science (CS), information systems (IS), information engineering (IE), software engineering (SE), information technology (IT), electronic commerce (EC), computer engineering (CE), etc?
• swiss-copyright.ch – Welcome to the website for the revision of the swiss copyright law
  Platform for the Revision of the Swiss Copyright Law
• From parallel SCSI to serial SCSI
  SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), often called Parallel SCSI, is almost 30 years old and can hardly keep up with the demands of today’s IT environment. Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) was developed to address the limitations inherent in SCSI. This article highlights the differences between these two interfaces and points out the attributes that account for the increasing popularity of SAS.
• Domain Name Generators
  • Domain Name Suggestion Tool
    gi.net: Global Internet offers Fully branded reseller packages. Pay less for domain names and Register your .com, .net and .org domains. Private Whois options. Web hosting and email accounts for less. Global Internet is a fully accredited ICANN registrar.
  • Domain Suggestions
  • Nameboy Ultimate Domain Name Generator, search, creation, domain name lookup and domain registration
    Pretty good domain name generator!
  • Domain Name Generator and Search - MakeWords.com
    Create available domain names that are short, pronounceable and brandable. Generate random phonetic names, find synonyms, mix keywords, whois query
• 10 Papers Every Programmer Should Read (At Least Twice)

Tools for Developers

• Eclipse
  • Eclipse.org
    Eclipse is a kind of universal tool platform - an open extensible IDE for anything and nothing in particular.
  • ECESIS
    The goal of the Eclipse Community Education Project (ECESIS) is to promote the creation, improvement and distribution of commercial and academic quality Eclipse courseware, education and training technologies, and resource material.
  • Introductory
    • A brief history of Eclipse
    • Getting started with the Eclipse Platform
    • Mastering Eclipse V3.4, Part 1: The Eclipse workbench
      This 'Mastering Eclipse' series of articles teaches complete newcomers to Eclipse the ins and outs of the Eclipse IDE. By the end of the series, you'll be on par with advanced users. Here in Part 1, you will learn the parts of the Eclipse IDE and how to customize them.
  • Some Plugins
    • Eclipse - Omondo - The Live UML Company
      This is the UML plugin that I currently use.
    • Lomboz J2EE Plugin
      Here is a widely used J2EE plugin for Ecliplse supporting all Java application servers with flexible launching and debugging capability- Supported servers include JBoss, WebLogic Server, Tomcat, JOnAS, JRun, and almost any J2EE compliant server.
    • Lomboz Tutorials
      How to use the tool?
    • Easy Struts for Eclipse / JBuilder
      The Easy Struts project provides plug-ins for the Eclipse 2.0, Borland JBuilder 5, and Borland JBuilder 6 development environments to enable you to develop web applications based on the MVC design pattern provided by the Jakarta Struts framework.
    • JNDI Explorer for Eclipse by Renaud Waldura
      Explore a JNDI namespace using this Eclipse plugin.
    • JBoss-IDE
    • alphaWorks : JAR Class Finder
      JAR Class Finder is a WSAD/Eclipse plug-in utility for finding JAR files containing a given class for the Java build path of a project and for helping to fix NoClassDefFound exceptions.
    • Openknows Tomcat Eclipse's Plugin
    • EclipsePlugins : hi! Find your plugin for Eclipse here.
    • UMLet Homepage - Free UML Tool
      A simple and easy to use tool to create UML diagrams.
    • WebLogic Plugin 1.1.1 for Eclipse
    • Andrej Koelewijn: Using eclipse to debug your tomcat web application
    • The Eclipse Visual Editor Project
      The Eclipse Visual Editor project is a framework for creating GUI builders for Eclipse. It includes reference implementations of Swing/JFC and SWT GUI builders, but intends to be useful for creating GUI builders for other languages such as C/C++ and alternate widget sets, including those that are not supported under Java.
    • Create your own visualisations in Eclipse
      A good tutorial on Eclipse Visualizer. View the resources of your Eclipse project in different angles.
    • EclipseHTMLEditor
      Eclipse HTML Editor is an Eclipse plugin for HTML/JSP/XML Editing.
    • StrutsIDE
      StrutsIDE is an Eclipse plugin for web application development that used Struts.
    • CSS Editor (Eclipse Plugin)
    • MockCreator: Java Mock Generator
      Create mock objects with the help of this plugin.
    • Eclipse XML - XSLT Editor
    • E-BOB : Eclipse-Based Object Bench
      The Object Bench is a tool to create, view, and inspect objects in a visual manner for testing and learning purposes.
    • PHPEclipse.net
      A nice ide to php development.
  • Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT)
    • SWT: The Standard Widget Toolkit
      SWT project site.
    • Eclipse Technical Articles on SWT
      From the Eclipse site.
    • The SWT FAQ
    • The SWT Community Page
      This page provides links to additional SWT ports, widgets, and applications maintained elsewhere in the community.
    • SWT Widgets - Screenshots
    • SWT Snippets
      A nice set of code shippets are available from this place.
    • Getting Started with Eclipse and the SWT
      A good set of tutorials on SWT, JFace and other aspects of development with Eclipse.
    • SWT: The Standard Widget Toolkit
      PART 1: Implementation Strategy for Java Natives
    • SWT: The Standard Widget Toolkit
      PART 2: Managing Operating System Resources. Guidelines are provided on how to release the resources properly.
    • Developing SWT applications using Eclipse
      Setting up Eclipse for SWT development is described here. (This is one approach which is easier.)
    • Equipping SWT applications with content assistants
    • Taking a look at SWT Images
    • DND in SWT
    • Writing Your Own Widget
    • SWT Color Model
    • Understanding Layouts in SWT
    • Custom widgets
    • Migrate your Swing application to SWT
    • Sleak
      A tool to detect memory leaks in SWT
    • How to use the JFace Tree Viewer
    • An Eclipse Nebula widgets primer
      The SWT toolkit offers a robust interface to the native widgets of the operating system it's running on. However, native widgets often aren't enough. The Eclipse Nebula project is working to bridge this gap with custom widgets for functionality, including calendaring and advanced tables. This tutorial demonstrates five Nebula widgets, including Grid, CDateTime, CompositeTable, PGroup, and PShelf.
  • Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP)
    • Rich Client Tutorial Part 1
    • Rich Client Tutorial Part 2
    • Rich Client Tutorial Part 3
    • Make your Eclipse applications richer with view linking
    • Branding your application
    • Concepts of the Eclipse Rich Client Platform: What It's All About
      A book excerpt
    • Explore Eclipse's embedded Rich Client Platform
      Get an introduction to the embedded Rich Client Platform (eRCP). Learn about the various components that make up eRCP and get some examples on how to use them in your applications.
    • Using Eclipse Ganymede to develop for the desktop, Web and mobile devices, Part 1: Developing for the Rich Client Platform, the Ganymede way
      The Ganymede release of Eclipse includes 24 separate projects, covering a wide range of technologies. Many of these projects are mature, and this release provides incremental improvements to those. But Ganymede also includes a number of new projects that introduce new technologies to the Eclipse platform. In this three-part 'Using Eclipse Ganymede to develop for the desktop, Web and mobile devices' tutorial series, we will cover the following new Ganymede features: RCP, RAP, and eRCP, which allow you to develop software for the desktop, Web, and mobile platforms, respectively, with one common code base; Subversion for version control; and p2 for update and installation. Here in Part 1, we will use the mature Rich Client Platform (RCP) to develop an application for the desktop using Subversion for source control, and we will package and distribute the application using p2.
  • Eclipse Visual Editor
    • Visual Editor Tutorial
      This tutorial shows how to extend the Visual Editor to support a custom widget.
    • Build GUIs with the Eclipse Visual Editor project
    • Build GUIs with the Eclipse Visual Editor project
      In this article, you'll get an overview of Visual Editor and the technology behind it, along with a short demonstration of Visual Editor 0.5's features for building AWT/Swing applications and a preview of the SWT support in Visual Editor 1.0.
  • Web Tools Platform
    • Overview of the Eclipse Web Tools Platform
      A good read.
    • Introduction to the Web Tools Platform Project
      Seems to be a detailed presentation.
    • Building Web Applications with Eclipse, WTP, and Derby
      A very good article.
    • ONJava.com: Eclipse Web Tools
      This article gives you an overview of the WTP project, takes you on a tour of the great tools it has to offer.
    • Web Application Development with the Eclipse Web Tools Platform, Part I
      This EclipseWorld 2005 presentation discusses the Eclipse WTP, how to set up the WTP, and how to get started editing JSP pages, creating servlets, and running and deploying applications.
    • Generic Server - Server Definition File Explained
      How to define servers in WTP?
    • Debugging WTP projects using Cactus
    • Integrating existing maven project in Eclipse WTP.
    • Build a database-enabled auction Web service
      Based on Eclipse Web Tools Platform.
    • Build a Web-based auction client
      Based on Eclipse Web Tools Platform.
    • Reintroducing the Structured Source Editing family of editors
      A single file uses multiple languages (e.g. html/jsp) ? Here is a family of editors in Eclipse WTP.
    • XML tutorial on eclipse.org
  • SOA Tools Platform
    • Use the Eclipse SOA Tools Platform plug-in to build and deploy a Web service
      With the Eclipse STP plug-in, you can go from a Java interface, annotate it with Web service-related properties, create a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) for the Web service, generate and code Java stubs you can then compile into a WAR file, and deploy on your favorite Web server. This tutorial shows you how to accomplish all this using the Eclipse STP plug-in.
  • EMF/GEF
    • A Shape Diagram Editor
      For a beginer, this is a good article to start with GEF.
    • Create an Eclipse-based application using the Graphical Editing Framework
      This article describes the initial steps involved in creating an Eclipse-based application using the Graphical Editing Framework (GEF).
    • Building a Database Schema Diagram Editor with GEF
    • Displaying a UML Diagram with Draw2D
    • IBM Redbooks | Eclipse Development using the Graphical Editing Framework and the Eclipse Modeling Framework
    • Using GEF with EMF
    • Model-driven development with the Eclipse Modeling Framework, Part 1
    • Model with the Eclipse Modeling Framework, Part 2
    • Model with the Eclipse Modeling Framework, Part 3
    • Create an Eclipse-based application using the Graphical Editing Framework
      This article describes the initial steps involved in creating an Eclipse-based application using the Graphical Editing Framework (GEF). GEF has been used to build a variety of applications for Eclipse, including state diagrams, activity diagrams, class diagrams, GUI builders for AWT, Swing and SWT, and process flow editors. Eclipse and GEF are both open source technologies.
    • Metamodeling with EMF: Generating concrete, reusable Java snippets
      Learn how to extend the Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) Ecore metamodel by adding elements and attributes to model reusable Java snippets. Also see, step by step, how to use dynamic templates with JET to generate the implementation code for the extended model elements.
  • GMF
    • GMF Project Web Site
      The Eclipse Graphical Modeling Framework (GMF) provides a generative component and runtime infrastructure for developing graphical editors based on EMF and GEF.
    • GMF Tutorial
      A good one,
    • Introducing the GMF Runtime
      Illustrates capabilities of GMF.
  • UML
    • Getting Started with UML2
      This article describes how to get started with the UML2 plug-ins for Eclipse. In particular, it gives an overview of how to create models (and their contents) both programmatically and by using the generated UML2 editor.
  • Plugin Development
    • Notes on the Eclipse Plug-in Architecture
    • ONJava.com: Eclipse Plugins Exposed, Part 1: A First Glimpse
    • What to plug into Eclipse
      There's more to Eclipse than writing Java code.
    • Speed development with Eclipse wizards
      One of the greatest features of the Eclipse framework and integrated development environment (IDE) is its extensibility. In this article, you'll learn how to quickly build a wizard that automates the process of adding a new file. Because the contents of the file can be predefined, the wizard enables better development through consistency and automation.f
    • Build extensions for Eclipse one snippet at a time
      Find out how to build a plug-in for Eclipse and Rational Application Developer V7. You can use this plug-in to define snippets that let you add code that follows enterprise standards. This plug-in allows you to drag and drop pieces of code into the editor.
    • Build extensions for Eclipse one snippet at a time
      Find out how to build a plug-in for Eclipse and Rational Application Developer V7. You can use this plug-in to define snippets that let you add code that follows enterprise standards. Similar to the Snippets view that comes with the Web Tools Project, this plug-in allows you to drag and drop pieces of code into the editor. We follow object-oriented best practices so the snippets can be loaded from any source, such as a database (like Apache Derby), filesystem, or Web service.f
    • Speed development with Eclipse wizards
      One of the greatest features of the Eclipse framework and integrated development environment (IDE) is its extensibility. In this article, you'll learn how to quickly build a wizard that automates the process of adding a new file. Because the contents of the file can be predefined, the wizard enables better development through consistency and automation.f
    • Plug-in development 101, Part 1: The fundamentals
      Plug-in development in Eclipse is somewhat of an art form. If you're new to the concept of plug-ins, especially in the context of OSGi and Eclipse, it can be quite burdensome learning the myriad tools Eclipse has to help you write plug-ins. The purpose of this article is to help you learn some basic plug-in development skills with some best practices sprinkled in for good measure.
    • Create your own Eclipse plug-in template
      Default plug-in templates in Eclipse are useful as long as they meet users' needs. When a specified requirement is beyond the scope of a default template, it is necessary to customize a template. This article offers insight into how to customize a plug-in project template in Eclipse, elaborates on multisection implementation and control within templates, introduces UI component customization methods to improve usability, illustrates a way to add input validation function on the UI side, and explains how to organize the directory structure of plug-in project automatically.
  • Eclipse Process Framework (EPF)
    • Eclipse Process Framework Project (EPF)
      The Eclipse Process Framework (EPF) aims at producing a customizable software process enginering framework, with exemplary process content and tools, supporting a broad variety of project types and development styles.
  • Other Articles
    • developerWorks : Open source : Technical library : Articles
      Points to lots of articles on Eclipse.
    • J2ME Related
      • Develop J2ME applications with EclipseME
    • Database
      • Develop SQL databases with Eclipse, SQLExplorer, and Clay
        A good tutorial for you to go through which demonstrates the capabilities Eclipse and realated tools.
    • Put Eclipse features to work for you
    • Debugging with the Eclipse Platform
    • Refactoring for everyone
    • XML development with Eclipse
    • Enable a help system within the Integrated Solutions Console
      Want to know how that help system works?
    • Documenting your project using the Eclipse help system
    • Using Eclipse AspectJ: Your First Steps
      A book excerpt.
    • Migrating to Eclipse: A developer's guide to evaluating Eclipse
      How Eclipse differs from Netbeans, IntelliJ IDEA, and Borland JBuilder?
    • Building cheat sheets in Eclipse
      Cheat sheets help your customers get their hands dirty with your product and learn about its features interactively.
    • Build rich Internet applications
      Using OpenLaszlo, Eclipse Laszlo IDE, and Web Tools
    • Inside the Workbench: A guide to the workbench internals
    • Expose plug-ins as Web services with Eclipse
      With the recent development of a Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) server-side implementation, you can now extend traditional Eclipse plug-ins as Web services. Using the Eclipse Equinox Incubator server-side project, an implementation of the OSGi framework that you can deploy on an application server, you can package and dynamically load Eclipse plug-ins in a Web application server. You can expose plug-ins as Web services, and at the same time allow them to interact with other plug-ins that were intended for client-side applications.
    • Enterprise Java Community: Eclipse, Equinox, and OSGi
      A simple introduction to Equinox
    • Get started with Jigloo, a GUI builder for Eclipse
      Jigloo is an Eclipse plug-in that enables you to build sophisticated graphical user interfaces (GUIs) rapidly that run on the Java platform. It can be used to build Swing-based applications and Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT)-based applications. It is an easy-to-use visual editor, so you can create the UI for your desktop application quickly. In this tutorial, we build a simple workflow application and use Jigloo to create its UI. Learn how easy it is to get started with Jigloo and to tap into its advanced features, such as visual inheritance. Finally, we test an application and package it for others to use.
    • Dr. Dobb's | Eclipse and Public Health Software | June 8, 2007
      Open source community will have access to a processing engine for understanding and planning more efficient responses to pandemics
    • Revitalize your applications with Eclipse Forms
      Eclipse Forms offers a way to enhance the user experience of your Eclipse applications. It offers a 'Web-like' look for your applications without using the embedded browser. The goal of this article is to give a brief introduction Eclipse Forms as a user interface (UI) toolkit and to provide an easy-to-follow example to get you started.
    • alphaWorks : Web Browser-Based Interaction with the Eclipse IDE : Overview
      An Eclipse plug-in that enables browser-based access to Eclipse.
  • More IDEs
    • MOTODEV Studio
      MOTODEV Studio is an integrated development environment offering a fast and easy way to create applications that take advantage of the latest functionality in a wide array of Motorola's products.
  • BIRT
    • Developing an Eclipse BIRT Report Item Extension @ ECLIPSE DEVELOPER'S JOURNAL
      The Eclipse platform is an Open Source, integrated system of application development tools that you implement and extend using a plug-in interface. Eclipse provides a set of core plug-ins that configures the basic services for the platform's framework. A platform developer can build and integrate new tools in this application development system.
    • Eclipse Corner Articles
    • Introduction to BIRT, Part 1
      Learn how to install the Eclipse Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT) plugins, create a new reporting project, create a new report, and connect the report to an Apache Derby (IBM Cloudscape) database.
  • Misc
    • Getting started with Eclipse code templates
      This tutorial covers the basic use of Eclipse code templates. It takes a broad approach to expose the key concepts and skills that apply to templates regardless of the particular plug-in they're associated with. You will learn about the benefits of templates, how to create and edit them, and how to use them within the Eclipse IDE to increase your productivity.
    • Equinox p2 cures Eclipse plug-in headaches
      This article explores the new features of Equinox p2, which debuted in Eclipse V3.4. It looks at the pitfalls of the update manager user interface (UI) that was available in earlier versions of Eclipse and shows how the Equinox p2 framework is an improvement. Specifically, it shows how to use the new features in the Equinox p2 framework to install Eclipse and its plug-ins.
    • Dr. Dobb's | Test Case Generation, UML, and Eclipse | October 28, 2008
      Standard notations and open environments make useful tools for software quality-assurance techniques possible.
  • PDT
    • Debugging PHP applications with xdebug
    • Squash bugs in PHP applications with Xdebug
      The Xdebug extension for PHP helps you autopsy your application when an error or crash occurs. Learn how to use Xdebug to trace the call stack, analyze memory usage, and comb through the contents of arguments and variables.
    • How To Setup a Free PHP Debugger using Eclipse PDT + XDebug
    • Xdebug - Debugger and Profiler Tool for PHP
      Xdebug: A powerful debugger for PHP.
• NetBeans
  • Visual Web Pack
    • NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5 - Tutorials - Developing a Web Application
      A good introductory tutorial.
    • NetBeans Visual Web Pack - Tutorials - Getting Started With NetBeans Visual Web Pack
      This tutorial gives you a whirlwind tour of the Netbeans Visual Web Pack integrated development environment (IDE). The tutorial shows you how to use the IDE to perform the typical phases of web application development.
    • NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5 - Tutorials - Using Page Fragments
      Creating theme based web applications (common fragments (header, footer,...) is described here.
    • NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5 - Tutorials - Performing Inserts, Updates, and Deletes
      Database access (create, retrieve, update, and delete records) is described here.
    • Carol McDonald's Blog: Sample Store Catalog Application using Visual Web Pack and the Java Persistence APIs
      A good article with enough screen shots.
    • NetBeans 5.5 Visual Web Pack Installation Guide
      Contains some instructions on creating a new database inside NetBeans among other things.
    • NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5 - Tutorials - Using Databound Components to Access a Database
      Using NetBeans Visual Web Pack 5.5, add components to a page, bind those data-aware components to a local database, and build and deploy to an application server.
    • LAB-4430: Developing Custom JSF Components For Netbeans Visual Web Pack
    • Creating a CSS-Based Fixed Page Layout - NetBeans IDE 6.0 Tutorial
      This tutorial describes how to create a CSS-based fixed page layout in NetBeans IDE 6.0.
    • NetBeans Wiki: Web Tutorial Status
    • NetBeans 6.0 - Tutorials - How to Use Virtual Forms
      This tutorial explains how to use virtual forms in NetBeans 6.0.
    • NetBeans IDE 6.0 Web Application Documentation
      Release documentation, tutorials, webinars, articles, and blogs for the NetBeans IDE 6.0 Web Application Development
  • Enterprise Pack
    • Introduction to Java EE 5 Technology
      This document provides an introduction to the major concepts of the Java EE 5 specifications
    • Java Persistence in the Java EE 5 Platform
      This small tutorial teaches you how to create some persistence entity classes and build a minimal web application which uses the Java Persistence API.
    • EJB 3.0 Enterprise Beans
      Shows how to create an enterprise application with an entity class, session bean (facade), message driven bean and two servlets. While the application developed is simple, it is a full fledged Java enterprise application.
    • Web Services (JAX-WS) in Java EE 5
      This tutorial shows how to use NetBeans IDE 5.5 to developing a JAX-WS web service and consume it in a Java class in a Java SE application, or in a servlet or JSP page
    • Connecting to a MySQL Database in NetBeans IDE
      Connecting to a MySQL Database in NetBeans IDE
    • Securing a Web Application in NetBeans IDE 5.5
    • Creating a Simple Web Application Using a MySQL Database
      Creating a Simple Web Application in NetBeans IDE Using MySQL
    • Screncast #WS7: Secure and Reliable Web service using Metro/GlassFish and NetBeans IDE 6
  • GUI Development
    • Java GUI Application Learning Trail - NetBeans Tutorials, Guides and Articles
      All about the NetBeans GUI Builder
  • Other
    • Subversion Support in NetBeans IDE
      A preview guide of the IDE's support for the Subversion version control system.
    • Flash Demos and video tutorials for NetBeans IDE
      Flash Demos and video tutorials for NetBeans IDE features and functionality
    • NetBeans (2007 - Articles, Books, Tutorials)
      Welcome to netbeans.org, home of the original free and open source IDE. Develop cross-platform desktop, mobile and web applications based on industry standards utilizing the latest technologies with our full-featured integrated development environment for Java Software Developers.
    • Demo of remote applet debugging
    • Demo of JDK debugging
    • Using NetBeans IDE 5.5 - Debugging Applications
      Guide to setting up your development environment in NetBeans IDE.
    • Getting Started with JAX-WS Web Services - NetBeans IDE 6.5 Tutorial
      This tutorial shows how to use NetBeans IDE 6.5 to developing a JAX-WS web service and consume it in a Java class in a Java SE application, or in a servlet or JSP page
• Apache Ant
  • Ant's Home
    Apache Ant is a Java-based build tool. In theory, it is kind of like Make, but without Make's wrinkles.

    You write all the tasks (compilation, testing, copying, downloading, emailing the progress...) that are required to be executed when the project is built in a build.xml file. Then you simply type "ant" and that's it.

  • Apache Ant - Resources
  • Articles
    • Apache Ant 101: Make Java builds a snap
    • Apache Ant User Manual
    • Ant: Building a Better Build File
      A short article. Good for structuring the build file in a clean way.
    • Java Development with Ant
      Two free chapters. Very nice!
• Maven
  • Maven
    Maven is a Java project management and project comprehension tool.
  • Better Builds with Maven
    A free book on Maven 2
  • Apache Maven Simplifies the Java Build Process - Even More Than Ant
    A simple article to digest. You can start from here.
  • ONJava.com: Maven: Trove of Tips
    Tips!
  • ONJava.com: Developing with Maven
  • Project management: Maven makes it easy
  • ONJava.com: Extending Maven Through Plugins
  • Mevenide, Maven IDE Integration - Mevenide - Integrating Maven into IDEs
    Plugins to integrate Maven with IDEs (Eclipse, NetBeans, JBuilder).
  • Building J2EE projects with Maven
    Nice set of slides here.
  • Maven Magic
    A good article on the project object model and the usage of Maven for J2EE projects.
  • Maven-Proxy
    maven-proxy is a lightweight servlet engine that sits on your main server and imitates ibiblio (for instance). When it gets a request for a jar it doesn't have, it gets the jar from the upstream servers and stores it into it's cache before returning it to the requester.
  • RepoWeb
    Repoweb is a MAVEN repository manager. Maven is probably one of the most exciting apache project of this year. It works with the concept of a unified binary repository for building java projects.
  • Maven: Handling Multiprojects
  • Jelly - Jelly : Executable XML
  • Maven: Building Complex Systems
  • Introduction to Apache Maven 2
    Modern software projects are no longer solely monolithic creations of single local project teams. With the increased availability of robust, enterprise-grade open source components, today's software projects require dynamic collaboration among project teams and often depend on a mix of globally created and maintained components. Now in its second generation, the Apache Maven build tool -- unlike legacy build tools created before the Internet-enabled era of global software development -- was designed from the ground up to take on these modern challenges. This tutorial gets you started with Maven 2.
• Subversion
  • Subvertion Project
  • Version Control with Subversion
    A great book on Subversion
  • Subversion FAQ
  • ONLamp.com: Keeping Your Life in Subversion
  • ONLamp.com: Single-User Subversion
  • ONLamp.com: Multiuser Subversion
  • Subversion Plugin for Eclipse
  • Pure Java Subversion (SVN) Client Library
  • Dr. Dobb's | Subversion and Linux: Setup and Use, Part 1 | July 30, 2007
    First you set up Subversion, then you use it
  • Dr. Dobb's | Subversion and Linux: Setup and Use, Part 2 | August 6, 2007
    First you set up Subversion, then you use it
  • SVN with MySQL authentication [arune.se]
  • The Wrath of Krang: Configuring Subversion authentication using Windows Active Directory and Basic Auth from a file - I tried, and failed.
  • Dr. Dobb's | Subversion 1.5 Released | June 19, 2008
    Merge tracking is now part of the package
  • Subversion Cheat Sheet
  • TortoiseSVN
    • TortoiseSVN
      CollabNet, Facilitating Collaborative Software Development
    • TortoiseSVN downloads | TortoiseSVN
    • tortoisesvn: TortoiseSVN FAQ
      CollabNet, Facilitating Collaborative Software Development
    • Documents
    • TortoiseSVN (HTML/Online) documentation
    • The Mind Project: TortoiseSVN Tutorial
      A simple tutorial.
• Build Environments
  • CruiseControl
    • Continuous Integration
      A good article on continuous integration.
    • CruiseControl Home
      CruiseControl is a framework for a continuous build process. It includes, but is not limited to, plugins for email notification, Ant, and various source control tools. A web interface is provided to view the details of the current and previous builds.
    • CruiseControl Configuration Reference
    • Driving On CruiseControl - Part 1
      A superb article - demonstrates how to get it configured, up and running.
    • Driving On CruiseControl - Part 2
    • KSB's Java, Ant, JUnit, CruiseControl 'Hello, world' example
      Detailed guidelines are available with sample code/configuration files
    • Getting Started With CruiseControl - CruiseControl - Confluence
    • Integrating CruiseControl With WebLogic Workshop Applications
  • Viewtier Parabuild
    Parabuild is a powerful automated software build management server. Commercial, but provides free license for open source development.
  • InfoQ: Continuous Integration and Code Inspection with Hudson and FindBugs
    A recent article published in IBM developerWorks talks about automating Continuous Integration and Code Inspection tasks in a build process using open source tools. It explains how to install and configure Hudson server with Subversion, Ant, and software inspection tools like FindBugs and PMD to create a build process with continuous feedback on test results and defects.
  • hudson: an extensible continuous integration engine
• GCJ
  • GCJ: The GNU Compiler for Java - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)
  • gcj: the gnu static Java compiler - HP DSPP
    What GCJ is and how to use it?
• Obfuscators/Decompilers
  • Covert Java: Obfuscating Classes
    An article of usage of obfuscators
  • ProGuard
    ProGuard is a free Java class file shrinker and obfuscator. It can detect and remove unused classes, fields, methods, and attributes. It can then rename the remaining classes, fields, and methods using short meaningless names. The resulting jars are smaller and harder to reverse-engineer.
  • Java Optimize and Decompile Environment (JODE)
    JODE is a java package containing a decompiler and an optimizer for java.
  • Jmangle: The Java Class Mangler
    The Jmangle program helps discourage reverse engineering of Java programs and software piracy by allowing the developer to mangle the symbols used in the class file.
• Groovy
  • Groovy
    Groovy is a new agile dynamic language for the JVM combining lots of great features from languages like Python, Ruby and Smalltalk and making them available to the Java developers using a Java-like syntax.
  • Groovy - Scripting for Java
    A good article to get started with Groovy. Comprehensive.
  • Build scripts with Groovy and Ant
    This article shows how to put together Ant and Groovy to build a more flexible and powerful automation tool.
• Python
  • DrPython
    DrPython is a highly customizable, extensible editor/environment for developing programs written in the Python programming Language.
• XDoclet
  • XDoclet: Attribute-Oriented Programming
    XDoclet is a code generation engine. It enables Attribute-Oriented Programming for java. In short, this means that you can add more significance to your code by adding meta data (attributes) to your java sources. This is done in special JavaDoc tags.
  • Reduce code bloat with XDoclet
    A good article to get started with XDoclet.
  • XDoclet: Entity Bean Relationships
    This article explains how you specify the relationships between beans. Nicely written.
• Database
  • Execute Query
    Execute Query is an operating system independent database utility written entirely in Java. Very nice.
  • P6Spy
    P6Spy is an open source framework for applications that intercept and optionally modify database statements. The tool can primarily be used to log the SQL statements.
  • SchemaSpy
• AJAX
  • Discover the Ajax Toolkit Framework for Eclipse
    The Ajax Toolkit Framework (ATF) is a core piece of the new Open Ajax initiative, which aims to increase accessibility to the powerful Web programming technique through the Eclipse Foundation. The ATF extends the Eclipse Web Tools Platform (WTP) by adding an Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax) development environment for a variety of open source Ajax tool kits, including Dojo, Zimbra, and Rico. This article includes a HelloWorld example in which you install and configure the ATF, then use Eclipse and Dojo to create a basic Web application.
• Web
  • Web Developer Extension
    A useful Firefox extension for web developers.
  • Modify Headers
    A useful Firefox extension for web developers.
  • Web Test Tools
    A superb collection of web test tools. Each entry has a comment as well.
  • Fiddler HTTP Debugger - A free web debugging tool
    Fiddler is a HTTP Debugging Proxy which logs all HTTP traffic between your computer and the Internet. Fiddler allows you to inspect all HTTP Traffic, set breakpoints, and "fiddle" with incoming or outgoing data. Fiddler includes a powerful event-based scripting subsystem, and can be extended using any .NET language.
  • HTML Tidy Project
    When editing HTML it's easy to make mistakes. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a simple way to fix these mistakes automatically and tidy up sloppy editing into nicely layed out markup?
• HTML Editors
  • Bluefish Editor : Home
    Home of the Bluefish Editor
  • NVU
  • The SeaMonkey® Project
  • gPHPEdit - PHP/HTML/CSS Development Environment for GNOME
• Modeling
  • Umbrello UML Modeller
  • AndroMDA - Homepage
    AndroMDA (pronounced: andromeda) is an open source code generation framework that follows the model driven architecture (MDA) paradigm. It takes a UML model from a CASE-tool and generates classes and deployable components (J2EE or other), specific for your application architecture.
  • BOUML - a free UML tool box
    BOUML : A free UML toolbox running under Unix/Linux/Solaris and Windows to specify and generate code in C++, Java, Php, Python and Idl
  • Graphviz
    Graph Visualization Software
  • UniMod
    UniMod states for Unified Modeling. Long term project goal is to create unified methodology for application development process that will close the gap between Design and Development phases. Present implementation can reasonably generate code from the models. Superb!
  • Drawing UML Diagrams with UMLGraph
• Testing
  • PatternTesting
    PatternTesting is a testing framework that allows to automatically verify that Architecture/Design/Best practices recommendations are implemented correctly in the code. It uses AOP and AspectJ to perform this feat.
  • dogtail: taking your application for a walk
    dogtail is a Desktop GUI Tester for Linux. It is a GUI test tool and automation framework written in Python that uses Accessibility (a11y) technologies to communicate with desktop applications. dogtail scripts are written in Python and executed like any other Python program.
  • luntbuild - automate and manage your builds
    LuntBuild is a powerful build automation and management tool. Continuous integration or daily build can be easily setup through a clean web interface. Generated builds are well managed through functions such as search, categorizatoin, promotion, patching, deletion, etc. It also acts as a central build artifacts download area for your whole team.
  • In pursuit of code quality: Automate GUI testing with TestNG-Abbot
    TestNG-Abbot is a testing framework that breathes new life into testing GUI components. This month, Andrew Glover walks you through the hardest part of GUI testing with TestNG-Abbot, which is understanding how a user scenario will play out. Once you've got that down, you'll find it surprisingly easy to isolate GUI components and then verify them using the framework's handy fixture objects.
  • Synergy
    Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems.
  • Automation for the people: Hands-off load testing
    Load testing is often relegated to late-cycle activities, but it doesn't need to be that way. In this installment of Automation for the people, automation expert Paul Duvall describes how you can discover and fix problems throughout the development cycle by creating a scheduled integration build that runs JMeter tests.
• Misc
  • Online Lab - Introduction to Ant, CVS, Eclipse and Tomcat for Life Sciences Developers
  • Sun Java Studio Creator
  • load4j
    Load4J provides a framework for developing and running stress tests. The framework itself is a scalable distributed system to based on Java RMI. Setting up stress tests of your own requires the development of Java classes.
  • Bluefish Editor
    Bluefish is a powerful editor for experienced web designers and programmers. Bluefish supports many programming and markup languages, but it focuses on editing dynamic and interactive websites.
  • IzPack
    IzPack is an installers generator for the Java platform. It produces lightweight installers that can be run on any operating system where a Java virtual machine is available.
  • SableCC parser generator
    SableCC is an object-oriented framework that generates compilers (and interpreters) in the Java programming language.
  • PMD
    PMD scans Java source code and looks for potential problems like: Empty try/catch/finally/switch blocks, Unused local variables, parameters and private methods, Empty if/while statements, Overcomplicated expressions - unnecessary if statements, for loops that could be while loops, Classes with high Cyclomatic Complexity measurements.
  • Jalopy Java Source Code Formatter Beautifier Pretty Printer
    Jalopy is a source code formatter for the Sun Java programming language. It layouts any valid Java source code according to some widely configurable rules; to meet a certain coding style without putting a formatting burden on individual developers.
  • SLOCCount
    SLOCCount is a set of tools for counting physical Source Lines of Code (SLOC) in a large number of languages of a potentially large set of programs.
  • XPath Explorer
    XPath Explorer (XPE) is a GUI application that lets you interactively experiment with XPath.
  • GeSHi - Generic Syntax Highlighter
    Syntax highlighting PHP class supports more than 30 languages.
  • Software Development Tools-Java, .NET, PHP, Database, Testing UML, Project Management, SCM
    Software development tools for java, .net, php, ruby, xml, javascript, ajax, database, software testing, project management, etc.
  • JDepend
    A Java package dependency analyzer that generates design quality metrics.
  • Automation for the people: Pushbutton documentation
    Project documentation is often one of the necessary evils in delivering a software product. But imagine being able to generate your documentation at the click of a button. In this installment of Automation for the people, automation expert Paul Duvall explains how you can use open source tools to automate the generation of Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams, build figures, entity-relationship diagrams (ERDs), and even user documentation.

Software Forges

• SourceForge.net
  Largest repository of Open Source code and applications available on the Internet!
• ObjectWeb
  ObjectWeb is an international consortium fostering the development of open-source middleware for cutting-edge applications: EAI, e-business, clustering, grid computing, managed services and more. Don't forget to look at their downloads.
• ObjectWeb Forge: Project List
• The Codehaus
  The Codehaus is an open-source project repository with a strong emphasis on Java, focussed on quality components that meet real world needs. They believe in open source as a pragmatic approach to software development, and all projects are business-friendly in terms of licensing.
• OpenSymphony
  OpenSymphony is an Open Source project dedicated to providing enterprise class J2EE components. Really good products are found here.
• Savannah: Welcome [Savannah]
  This web site (called Savannah) is a central point for development, distribution and maintenance of GNU Software.
• Tigris.org: Open Source Software Engineering
  Tigris.org is a mid-sized open source community focused on building better tools for collaborative software development.

Software And Related Documents

• Repositories/Directories
  • GOCC - Welcome to the Government Open Code Collaborative Repository
    The Government Open Code Collaborative is a voluntary collaboration between public sector entities and non-profit academic institutions created for the purpose of encouraging the sharing, at no cost, of computer code developed for and by government entities where the redistribution of this code is allowed.
  • Open Source Java Directory on Onjava.com
  • Open Source Software in Java
  • developerWorks : Java technology : Downloads
    HUGE list!
  • Jakarta Project
    Lots of useful projects!
• Java
  • Object Refinery
  • JPackage Project
    Free Java RPMs
  • SSHTools
    Some useful SSH related software
  • GanttProject - Home
  • eXtropia - the open web technology company
    eXtropia is an open source resource for web application development. Free software applications, development tools, free tutorials, and other related resources.
  • OpenJMS - OpenJMS
    An open source implementation of JMS.
  • Jabber
    • Jabber: Open Instant Messaging and a Whole Lot More
      Jabber is a set of streaming XML protocols and technologies that enable any two entities on the Internet to exchange messages, presence, and other structured information in close to real time. The first Jabber application is an instant messaging (IM) network that offers functionality similar to legacy IM services such as AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo.
    • Jabber : Instant messaging for e-business
    • Instant logging: Harness the power of log4j with Jabber
  • Web
    • jCookie Library - Home
      jCookie is a free, open source Java library for easy and robust cookie handling in client-side Java applications.
  • Misc
    • Jive Software XMPP - Smack API
      Smack is an Open Source XMPP client library for instant messaging and presence.
    • Jive Messenger
      A Java-based XMPP server.
    • JCIFS
      JCIFS is an Open Source client library that implements the CIFS/SMB networking protocol in 100% Java. CIFS is the standard file sharing protocol on the Microsoft Windows platform (e.g. Map Network Drive ...).
    • Jakarta POI - Java API To Access Microsoft Format Files
      The POI project consists of APIs for manipulating various file formats based upon Microsoft's OLE 2 Compound Document format using pure Java. In short, you can read and write MS Excel files using Java.
    • iText, a Free Java-PDF Library
      iText is a library that allows you to generate PDF files on the fly.
    • Generate PDF files from Java applications dynamically
      If your application needs to generate PDF documents dynamically, you need the iText library. The open source iText library makes PDF creation a snap. This article introduces iText and gives a step-by-step guide to using it to generate PDF documents from Java technology applications. We create a sample application to better understand iText.
    • Tools of the Trade, Part 1: Creating PDF documents with iText
      A book excerpt.
• Linux
  • Fresh RPMs
    Find RPMs here.
  • LinNeighborhood
    LinNeighborhood is free software for browsing Microsoft machines/networks and mounting SMB filesystems.
  • Advanced Linux Sound Architecture - ALSA
  • Linux Router Project
    LRP is small enough to fit on a single 1.44MB floppy disk, and makes building and maintaining routers, access servers, thin servers, thin clients, network appliances, and typically embedded systems next to trivial.
  • XORP: eXtensible Open Router Platform
    XORP is the eXtensible Open Router Platform. The XORP project is developing an open source software router. The software is intended to be stable and fully featured enough for production use, and flexible and extensible enough for research use.
  • Find your way around open source GIS
    Geographic Information Systems tools for UNIX and Linux users.
  • FreeNAS - The Free NAS server
    FreeNAS is a dedicated operating system (FreeBSD reduced size) for network-attached storage (NAS) services.
  • Fedora Directory Server: the Evolution of Linux Authentication
    A free LDAP implementation with lots of capabilities.
  • Get Your Webcam Working with GSPCA | Linux Journal
• VOIP
  • Asterisk
    • Asterisk - The Open Source Linux PBX
      Asterisk is a complete PBX in software. It runs on Linux and provides all of the features you would expect from a PBX and more. Asterisk does voice over IP in three protocols, and can interoperate with almost all standards-based telephony equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware.
    • trixbox CE
      An Asterisk-based PBX Phone System (formerly Asterisk@Home) | trixbox.
    • Tribox (Asterisk@Home) - Sourceforge site
      The Asterisk@Home project enables the home user to quickly set up a VOIP Asterisk PBX. A web GUI makes configuration and operation easy.
    • Digium - The Asterisk Telephony Company - Documentation
    • AstLinux - The Professionals PBX - Home
      A custom Linux distribution centered around Asterisk, the Open Source PBX.
    • Asterisk : AreskiCC CallingCard Application
    • voip-info.org : AreskiCC CallingCard Application
    • voip-info.org : ASTCC
    • astGUIclient - A GUI client application for the Asterisk open-source PBX
    • voip-info.org : Asterisk
    • voip-info.org : Asterisk Fedora Core 3
    • voip-info.org : Asterisk Linux Fedora
    • VoIPowering Your Office with Asterisk: Securing Your Server
    • VoIPowering Your Office with Asterisk: Securing Your Server, Part 2
    • Convert WAV audio files for use in Asterisk - voip-info.org
    • Adding a voice modem
      A forum thread.
  • Pingtel
    Open source VOIP
  • VOCAL: Open Source VoIP Software for Linux
  • SIPfoundry
    SIPfoundry is an international Open-Source community dedicated to improving and expanding SIP applications and the underlying technology.
  • Building a Call Center with LTSP and Soft Phones | Linux Journal
  • OpenWengo :: Freedom to Call, Freedom to Code
    A good sip phone is found here.
  • Is Linux Voice over IP Ready? | Linux Journal
    What is Voice over IP really? What do you need for Voice over IP? What do you mean, I can't call my girlfriend? What's all that buzz about open and proprietary protocols? Can I start my own telecom service? This article addresses these questions and compares the most popular Linux applications for calling and conferencing.
  • WengoPhone - call, talk, chat and share for free with anyone
    Operateur de telephone via Internet. Appeler le monde entier a des prix incroyables et effectuer gratuitement les appels de PC a PC avec un son HiFi
  • Speex: a free codec for free speech
• ERP/HRIS
  • Tiny ERP & CRM
    Seems to be a good one.
  • GNU Enterprise
  • Openbravo ERP
    Web based ERP for SMEs
  • OrangeHRM - Human Resource Management
  • webERP: What Is webERP?
  • opentaps Open Source ERP + CRM - Home
    opentaps Open Source ERP CRM Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relations Management Manufacturing Software
• Business Applications
  • webERP
    Integrated Accounting ERP: Multi-currency, multi-location inventory, SO, AR multi-branch, PO, AP, GL, Bank, Sales Analysis, multi-level BOM, assemblies, kit-sets, price variances, flexible pricing, discounts, pdf reports.
  • PHP POS - Online Point Of Sale Program
    PHP Point Of Sale is designed to help small businesses with keeping track of customers, inventory, finances and generate reports based on sales. This program works great for businesses that use cash, check, or account numbers for their sales.
  • The Open For Business Project
    Open Source ERP, Open Source CRM, Open Source E-Business / E-Commerce, Open Source SCM, Open Source MRP, Open Source CMMS/EAM, ...
  • Accounting Receiving and Inventory Administration
    ARIA contains Accounting, Receiving and Inventory Management and Payroll.
  • Enterprise Payroll Systems
  • Linux-Kontor ERP System
    Not very active. Is this a dead project?
  • OSSuite
  • CK-Ledger: Demo Site Entrance
  • Silk: A Framework for Open Collaboration
    Silk is a general purpose, web centric, enterprise collaboration application built on industry standard technology (J2EE, JBOSS, MySQL and Linux among others) and designed to provide a viable open alternative to the proprietary collaboration environments offered by the major enterprise software vendors.
  • SugarForge
    SugerCRM is a nice customer relationship management application.
  • ERP5 Community - Industrial Grade Open Source / Libre Software ERP/CRM Solution: Zope Products
    ERP5 is based on Zope which is extended with a framework of advance components in order to provide entreprise level features to the Zope Object Database.
  • Compiere ERP CRM Software
    Needs Oracle database!
  • XRMS : Open-Source CRM
    A fully-integrated suite of PHP web-based customer relationship management (CRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA), and business intelligence (BI) tools, allowing companies to integrate their sales, service, and marketing data into a single information store.
• Help Desks
  • Best Practical Solutions, LLC:
  • HOT - Hot Open Tickets
  • Atrus Trivalie Productions: IRM
  • f2w Helpdesk at Sourceforge
    A helpdesk support system based on requests, with a simple web interface.
• Web Based WYSIWYG Editors
  • A list of them
  • HTMLArea -- the online editor
  • FCKeditor - The text editor for Internet
  • HTML Text Editor for embedding in Web Pages
  • hexidec codex : Java : Ekit
  • Bitflux Editor
    Bitflux Editor is a browser based Wysiwyg XML Editor – and that changes everything! You can edit now your content semantically and at the same time display it to your users and editors in its final form.
  • TinyMCE Javascript Content Editor by Moxiecode Systems AB
• Social Networking
  • Elgg: the open source social networking platform
    Elgg is an open source social networking platform based around choice, flexibility and openness: a system that firmly places individuals at the centre of their activities.
• Learning Management
  • Moodle - A Free, Open Source Course Management System for Online Learning
    OSI Certified; Pretty good.
  • 45 Minutes to a Moodle Education Server - www.reallylinux.com
  • .LRN
    Another superb e-learning environment.
  • OLAT - The Open Source LMS
    OLAT - The Open Source LMS. NEWS: Jobs available at OLAT (University of Zurich). OLAT 6.0.5 release this Tuesday. OLAT wins the Swiss(ness) Open Source Award 2008! OLAT 6.0.4 released! Video-Streams for GSoC Closing Event available. OLAT 6.0.3 released! Google Summer of Code Closing Event. OLAT 6 released today! Polish version of OLAT website. Jobs@OLAT. Swiss OpenSource Award: Subscribe to OLAT news: OLAT Calendar. Who visits OLAT.org? Locations of visitors on this page.
  • Sakai Collab : Gateway : About
  • e-Learning Centre by Learning Light - Open Source Course (CMS) and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS)
    e-Learning Centre by Learning Light
  • TextWeaver - A pedagogy based discussion forum
  • Manhattan: Simple. Smart. - Welcome
    The Manhattan Virtual Classroom is a fast, simple and effective course management system. Licensed under the GPL, Manhattan runs on Linux and Unix-like servers, and is completely free.
  • dokeos Open Source e-Learning
    OSI Certified; Pretty good.
  • OpenUSS
    Open Source Software for Universities and Faculties (Open Source University Support System)
  • ATutor: Learning Content Management System
    Another good one (Open Source).
  • DrupalEd
  • OPEN Learning Management System
  • CampusSource
    CampusSource
• E-Learning Content Authoring Packages
  • Javanti - eLearning Authoring Tool
    Javanti is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for eLearning applications. Several assessment types and a collaborative working mode are available. The java-based software is open source and runs on Windows, Linux and Mac.
  • Freestyle Learning
    Freestyle Learning
• Screen Capture
  • vncrec
    A simple VNC session recorder and player.
  • vnc2swf
    Record a vnc session into a flash file.
  • Creating Animated Screenshots on Linux LG #102
    This article explains how to use vncrec and vnc2swf tools to capture the screen and embed audio.
  • LinuxDevCenter.com: Making Screen-Capture Movies
    This artilce demonstrates how to create an animated image with multiple screen captures. No audio. No special tools are required other than ImageMagic.
  • Jacareto
    Jacareto is a capture & replay tool for programs written in Java.
  • Wink
    Wink is a Tutorial and Presentation creation software, primarily aimed at creating tutorials on how to use software (like a tutor for MS-Word/Excel etc). Using Wink you can capture screenshots, add explanations boxes, buttons, titles etc and generate a highly effective tutorial for your users.
  • DebugMode Forums :: View topic - Look! Wink with sound!
    Discusses about adding audio to Wink
  • XMG - The X MPEG Grabber
    XMG is a utility for the X Window System which allows you to create MPEG-1 video streams by repeatedly grabbing a window on the screen and then joining the frames into an MPEG sequence.
  • Xvidcap Project Home Page
    A small tool to capture things going on on an X-Windows display to either individual frames or an MPEG video.
• GIMP
  • ArchWiki :: CMYK support in The GIMP - ArchWiki
  • CMYK Separation Plugin for The GIMP
  • GIMP - Tutorials
  • GIMPguru.org: Image Editing Tutorials for Photographers
    GIMP Tutorials for Photographers
  • Gimp Tutorials - Tutorialized
    Gimp Tutorials
  • Introduction: Design and code a website in The Gimp, HTML and CSS
  • 22 great Gimp Tutorials
  • How To Create Your Own Website Design Using Gimp | Gimp-tutorials.net - Gimp , tutorials , brushes , downloads, forum.
    Learn how to Design a blog like template or a website using The Gimp image editor.
  • SimplyBlue web layout - Part I at TechnoMono
    Flash Game Development
  • Separate+ - CMYK Separation and Softproofing plug-in for the GIMP 2.2/2.4
• Multimedia
  • Multimedia Players
    • Video for Linux resources
      A good categorized software list about video on Linux
    • VideoLAN
      The VideoLAN project targets multimedia streaming of MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and DivX files, DVDs, digital satellite channels, digital terrestial television channels and live videos on a high-bandwidth IPv4 or IPv6 network in unicast or multicast under many OSes.
    • VLC media player
      VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
    • xine - A Free Video Player
      xine is a free multimedia player. It plays back CDs, DVDs, and VCDs. It also decodes multimedia files like AVI, MOV, WMV, and MP3 from local disk drives, and displays multimedia streamed over the Internet.
    • Flash
      • XSPF Web Music Player (Flash) - Plays MP3 on your website
        A cool mp3 player.
      • Home of FlowPlayer, the free Flash video player for the Web
        Home page of FlowPlayer, the ultimate video player for the Web
      • Flash Streaming to FlowPlayer using only PHP - RMBwiki
  • Multimedia Manipulation
    • Kino
      A video editing tool
    • Making Movies with Kino | Linux Journal
    • Kino Tips: Installing from Scratch and Exporting MPEG Videos | Linux Journal
    • Kino Tutorial
    • Cinelerra
      A vedio editing tool
    • Cinelerra Tutorial - Getting Started
    • Secrets of Cinelerra
      Secrets of Cinelerra
    • Cinelerra CV Manual: Table of Contents
      Cinelerra CV Manual: Table of Contents
    • FFmpeg
      FFmpeg is a complete solution to record, convert and stream audio and video.
    • VideoHelp.com - Tools - swf2avi
      Convert an swf file into avi.
    • Omnividea FOBS - FFMpeg C++ & JMF Bindings
      FOBS is a set of object oriented APIs to deal with media. It relies in the ffmpeg library, but provides developers with a much simpler programming interface.
    • Composite Media Group - IBM Research
      MPEG 4 related technologies from IBM. A nice cross-platform toolkit is found here.
    • KToon: 2D Animation Toolkit - Home
      KToon: 2D Animation Toolkit. Create flash files with this.
    • Nedron's Faq-O-Matic: What size should I use when creating menus?
      Image sizes to be used in videos
    • PHASEX: A New Linux Softsynth | Linux Journal
    • Some Linux Audio Updates And Expansions | Linux Journal
    • Updates, Beautiful Updates | Linux Journal
      More tools...
    • Flash
      • Flagstone Software
        Java libraries to manipulate Flash files are found here.
      • Open Source Flash Projects Open Source Flash
    • O'Reilly -- Web Mastering: The Art of Optimizing Sound Files for Napster and the Internet
      O'Reilly coauthor discusses production techniques of posting audio files to Napster and other Web sites. By Josh Beggs, coauthor of O'Reilly's Designing Web Audio (December 2000).
    • LinuxPlanet - Tutorials - Building A Linux Music Studio - Cranky Audiophile Approves of Digital
      This is a great time to be your own recording and sound engineer. There are all kinds of great digital recording gear, from tiny portable recorders to multi-channel mixer-recorders with CD burners, and Linux has a wealth of good-quality audio recording and editing programs.
    • LinuxPlanet - Tutorials - Building A Linux Music Studio Part 2 - Fixing Volume Levels
      Last week we made a music CD from a live digital recording the easy and simple way. Today we're going to fix volume levels and do graceful fades and transitions using Audacity and normalize.
    • Kokkini Zita: The Audio Software Of Fons Adriaensen | Linux Journal
    • Give Me 3 Synths, Part 3 | Linux Journal
    • Audio/Visual Synthesis For Linux: The New Art, Part 1 | Linux Journal
    • Audio/Visual Synthesis: The New Arts, Part 2 | Linux Journal
    • BBC - Commissioning - A Guide to Picture Size
      Some guidelines on image sizes to be used when videos are created for TV screens and computer screens.
    • Portable Hard Disk Recorder How-To
    • Java Sound & Music Software for Linux, Part 2 | Linux Journal
    • Hyper Low-Latency Audio with a Real-Time Kernel | Linux Journal
  • Pictures
    • Creating An Animated Gif With GIMP
      How to make an animated gif?
    • Nicu's How-to - Rain animation with GIMP
      Tutorial: Rain animation with GIMP.
    • The FREEIMAGE Project
      FreeImage is an Open Source library project for developers who would like to support popular graphics image formats like PNG, BMP, JPEG, TIFF and others as needed by today's multimedia applications.
    • Make a button with rounded corners at TechnoMono
      Flash Game Development
    • Linux, EPS and Latex: Creating Good Quality EPS Graphics Using OpenOffice | Stephan Bourduas
    • ImageMagick v6 Examples
    • Advanced Glow Effects - PSDTUTS
      Advanced Glow Effects, Photoshop Tutorials
    • imgtops/epstoimg
    • Image manipulation tools and techniques
      Image manipulation tools and techniques I found useful for postprocessing of visualization resulting images
    • Netpbm home page
    • little cms, links
    • HOWTO Convert a ps file to CMYK
    • Blog of John » Blog Archive » ImageMagick CMYK to RGB
    • Pixel image editor
      RGB, CMYK and HDR image editing and photo retouching for Windows, Mac OSX, Linux and others.
  • Music
    • Linux MIDI & Sound Applications
    • Building a Multi-Room Digital Music System | Linux Journal
    • Something's Happening Here | Linux Journal
    • Planet CCRMA at home
      A nice set of music, midi, audio and video applications
    • cSounds.com
      Csound is an incredibly powerful and versatile software synthesis program. Drawing from a toolkit of over 450 signal processing modules, one can use Csound to model virtually any commercial synthesizer or multi-effects processor.
    • KeyKit
      A programming language and graphical user interface for MIDI, useful for both algorithmic and realtime musical experimentation.
    • Pleasant Diversions At Studio Dave | Linux Journal
    • Loop-based Music Composition With Linux, Pt. 1 | Linux Journal
    • JACK Sync: A Primer For Linux Users | Linux Journal
    • Rakarrack: Guitar FX For Linux | Linux Journal
    • AlgoScore - Music By The Numbers | Linux Journal
    • An Introduction To OSC | Linux Journal
    • Music Notation Software for Linux: a Progress Report, Part 1 | Linux Journal
      The following article presents a status report on the development of five of the most active notation software projects for Linux. Most of them are works in progress, but all are well along on their development track and in varying states of usability.
  • Speech Processing
    • FreeTTS 1.2beta - A speech synthesizer written entirely in the Java(TM) programming language
    • oc volume - java speech recognition engine
    • Xvoice
      Control your GNOME desktop easily.
    • Perlbox.org Linux Speech Control and Voice Recognition
      Perlbox.org provides voice solutions for Linux and Unix desktop control.
    • CMU Sphinx: Open Source Speech Recognition
    • CMUSphinx: The Carnegie Mellon Sphinx Project
    • Open Mind Speech - Free Speech Recognition for Linux
      Aims to develop free (GPL) speech recognition tools and applications.
    • Praat Language Lab
      A tutorial on Praat, a quality audio analysis tool with many features.
    • Speex: a free codec for free speech
      Speex is an Open Source/Free Software patent-free audio compression format designed for speech. The Speex Project aims to lower the barrier of entry for voice applications by providing a free alternative to expensive proprietary speech codecs.
  • Sharing
    • Introducing: Simplify Media | Linux Journal
      A DAAP (Digital Audio Access Protocol) implementation.
  • Flash
    • Penguin Pete's Blog - Creating Flash Animations on Linux - part 1
      Penguin Pete's Extraordinarily Geeky Blog
    • Developing for the Flash Platform using Linux Open Source Flash
    • FLASH & FLEX: FREE FOR ALL (even Linux)! | James Ward - RIA Cowboy
      As of yesterday, for the first time EVER, nearly everyone in the world has access to a FREE, ubiquitous application runtime, and a FREE application development
    • KToon: 2D Animation Toolkit - Home
      KToon: 2D Animation Toolkit
    • Flex 2 for Linux - Adobe Labs
  • Misc
    • The Linux Sampler Project
      LinuxSampler - free, open source pure software audio sampler with professional grade features.
    • Creating an Audio CD with mp3cd | Linux Journal
  • DVD
    • DVD FAQ
      The official DVD FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions about DVD) of the Internet DVD newsgroups. The most comprehensive source of DVD technical information in the galaxy. By Jim Taylor.
    • What is DVD?
• Content Management
  • Open Source Content Management System List (perl, php, python, m4, java, etc) Blog API
  • The CMS Matrix - cmsmatrix.org - The Content Management Comparison Tool
    Compare content management systems
  • OpenACS
    OpenACS (Open Architecture Community System) is a toolkit for building scalable, community-oriented web applications.
  • Metadot: The World's Most Popular Open Source Portal Server
    Metadot Portal Server is a point-and-click web builder software to allow non technical users to build and maintain intranets, extranets and websites in just a few clicks. It includes content management, collaboration features and a dashboard like My Yahoo. It can be extended by programming new portlets called Gizmos. Uses Perl, Mysql, Apache, Linux.
  • Mambo
    An open-source, full-featured CMS.
  • Caravel Content Management
    Seems to be a superb CMS
  • Bricolage
    Bricolage is a full-featured, open-source content-management and publishing system. Features include intuitive and highly configurable administration, workflow, permissions, templating, server-neutral output, distribution, and document management.
  • opencms.org: OpenCms - The Open Source Content Management System
    OpenCms is a professional level Open Source Website Content Management System. OpenCms helps to create and manage complex websites easily without knowledge of html. An integrated WYSIWYG editor with a user interface similar to well known office applications helps the user creating the contents, while a sophisticated template engine enforces a site-wide corporate layout.
  • Building Websites with OpenCms
    An article pointing to a book except as well.
  • Drupal
    Drupal can support a variety of websites ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven websites.
  • Drupal used project: developerWorks : Sample IT projects: Using open source software to design, develop, and deploy a collaborative Web site
  • Daisy
    Daisy is a comprehensive content management application framework, consisting of a standalone repository server accessible through HTTP/XML and a high-level (remote) Java API, and an extensive Daisy browsing and editing DaisyWiki application. Daisy is licensed under the commercially-friendly Apache License 2.0.
  • Gallery :: your photos on your website
    Gallery is a slick Web-based photo album written using PHP. It is easy to install, includes a config wizard, and provides users with the ability to create and maintain their own albums in the album collection via an intuitive Web interface. Photo management includes automatic thumbnail creation, image resizing, rotation, ordering, captioning and more. Albums can have read, write, and caption permissions per individual authenticated user for an additional level of privacy.
  • Magnolia Content Management (CMS)
    The Magnolia 2.0 CMS tries to combine an clean GUI, enhanced usability, web-based deplyoment and J2EE enterprise strength. It is the first open source CMS using JSR-170, the "Java Content Repository API".
  • SAPID
    SAPID is open source site development environment compatible with XML Sapiens specification (unified language of managed sites).
  • Search Tools - Enterprise Search Engines - Information, Guides and News
    A really good site on different search tools avaliable.
  • Magnolia
    JSR170 Based
  • WordPress › Free Blog Tool and Weblog Platform
  • Wiki
    • Wiki - Wikipedia
      What is Wiki? Here's a great discription.
    • XWiki
      A nice WikiWiki written in Java.
  • Owl Intranet
    Owl is a multi user document repository (knowledgebase) system written in PHP4 for publishing files/documents onto the web for a corporation, small business, group of people, or just for yourself.
  • redhat.com | Lyceum: One installation, many blogs
  • Drupal
    • Useful Modules
      • Porter-Stemmer Module
      • Nice Menus | drupal.org
      • Organic groups | drupal.org
      • View own | drupal.org
      • Content Access | drupal.org
      • Image | drupal.org
      • Image FUpload | drupal.org
      • Lightbox2 | drupal.org
    • Cool stuff about Drupal search I learned from Robert Douglass | WebWise Solutions
    • Marinelli - A nice theme
    • Development
      • Add drop down menus to your site | drupal.org
      • Suckerfish Style Menus in Drupal 6.x
        A personal blog site focusing on php, javascript, ajax, drupal, mysql, html, css and other current web technologies. Also, a heavy dose of political views and random ridiculousness is freely provided.
      • Yahoo YUI | drupal.org
    • Content Management
      • Using Drupal's Workflow and Revision Moderation Modules Together
        Your page description here ...
      • Allowing Content Editors to View Unpublished Content in Drupal 5 | Aten Design Group
  • Fedora Commons - Home
    Fedora is an acronym for the Flexible Extensible Digital Object Repository Architecture. The Fedora Repository is very flexible; it is capable of serving as a digital content repository for a wide variety of uses. Among these are digital asset management, institutional repositories, digital archives, content management systems, scholarly publishing enterprises, and digital libraries.
• Publishing
  • DocBook
    • DocBook Conversions with XFC
      While XFC can take some time to set up, it's a very powerful tool for transforming DocBook documents to any output format for which DocBook stylesheets exist. You're no longer trapped at the command line, and you don't have to worry about remembering a complex set of commands or parameters. With XFC, DocBook publishing is now literally a mouse click away.
    • XML.com: Mastering DocBook Indexes
      An article.
    • DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide
    • XML & DocBook: Structured Technical Documentation Authoring
      An introduction to XML and DocBook.
    • Docbook Frequently Asked Questions
      A superb collection of FAQs.
    • ONLamp.com: Writing "Learning PHP 5"
    • DocBook Wiki
      This is a web application for viewing and editing DocBook documents online.
    • Introduction to DocBook XML
    • redhat.com | Introduction to DocBook XML, part 2
  • Linux as a Publishing Platform
    An article: Using Linux, OOo, Scribus and The GIMP lowers the barriers to taking your book to publication.
  • Podcasting
    • redhat.com | Podcasting in open source
  • Microblogging
    • OpenMicroBlogging specification
    • Public timeline - Identi.ca
      An open twitter clone.
    • Your life, on the line - Plurk.com
  • Build a digital book with EPUB
    Need to distribute documentation, create an eBook, or just archive your favorite blog posts? EPUB is an open specification for digital books based on familiar technologies like XML, CSS, and XHTML, and EPUB files can be read on portable e-ink devices, mobile phones, and desktop computers. This tutorial explains the EPUB format in detail, demonstrates EPUB validation using Java technology, and moves step-by-step through automating EPUB creation using DocBook and Python.
• Utility
  • WebCalendar
    WebCalendar is a PHP-based calendar application that can be configured as a single-user calendar, a multi-user calendar for groups of users, or as an event calendar viewable by visitors. MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, DB2, Interbase or ODBC is required.
  • FreeMind
    A mind mapping tool.
  • Red Hat Magazine | The open palette: Creating grungy Gimp brushes using Inkscape
    A lengthy article on using GIMP and Inkscape
• Office
  • HylaFAX+
    A fax server.
  • AvantFAX.com - What is AvantFAX?
    Home of AvantFAX Web 2.0 network faxing
  • KoolWIRE.com - PDF to RTF Converter
  • OpenOffice
    • Paragraph and Page Spacing in OpenOffice.org Writer | Linux Journal
    • Expand the editing capabilities of OpenOffice with XSLT
      You might know that you can pull XML data into OpenOffice's spreadsheet program, Calc, but did you know that you can create a filter to make word-processing documents out of data stored as XML? This tutorial shows you how to use OpenOffice's import/export filters to open your XML data as though it's just a plain document. From there, users can edit the document much more naturally and then save it back to its native format. You can also use this feature to easily turn your documents into XML data.
    • OpenOffice Converter Installation
      Configure OpenOffice to act as a service.
    • OpenOffice.org template collections | Linux Journal
    • Extensions for OpenOffice.org Impress | Linux Journal
    • Faxing in OpenOffice.org | Linux Journal
    • Automating the creation of slide shows in OpenOffice.org | Linux Journal
    • How to open Microsoft OpenXML docx documents in OpenOffice : mypapit gnu/linux blog
    • Convert OpenXML (.docx, etc.) in Linux using command line - OpenOffice.org Ninja
    • OpenOffice Calc: Charting: Creating a Gantt chart
    • OpenOffice.org Impress: Preparing a Slide Show | Linux Journal
    • Convert SpreadSheets to CSV files with Python and pyuno, Part 2 | Linux Journal
    • Python (pyuno) "Hello World" Addon for OpenOffice | Linux Journal
    • Creating Handouts
      • Creating handouts - OpenOffice.org Wiki
      • OpenOffice.org Training, Tips, and Ideas: Resizing the slides in OpenOffice Impress Handouts
        This excellent tip comes to me from Robert. You can specify the number of slides in your Presentation handouts. Click the Handouts tab at the top of the work area and you get this view. Pick 1, 2, 3, 4,...
      • OpenOffice Impress - Adding and formatting notes
        OpenOffice Impress User Guide
      • OpenOffice.org Training, Tips, and Ideas: Printing handouts in OpenOffice.org Impress (repost)
        Note: See also a related article I wrote for TechTarget.com on creating presentations in OpenOffice.org 2.0. Printing handouts is a little more complicated than it needs to be. Here's the quick description. With a presentation open, choose File > Print,...
• Remote Desktop
  • TightVNC: VNC-Based Free Remote Control Solution
    TightVNC is a free remote control package derived from the popular VNC software. With TightVNC, you can see the desktop of a remote machine and control it with your local mouse and keyboard, just like you would do it sitting in the front of that computer.
  • VNC Reflector
    VNC Reflector is a specialized VNC server which acts as a proxy sitting between real VNC server (a host) and a number of VNC clients. It was designed to work efficiently with large number of clients.
  • VNCj
    VNCj is toolkit for creating 100% Java VNC servers. Using VNCj, you can create a full graphical user interface (GUI) in Java, using Swing and AWT, and immediately export it to anyone on the network with a VNC viewer.
  • FreeNX
    Free Software (GPL) Implementation of the NX Server
  • Synergy
    Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems, each with its own display, without special hardware. It's intended for users with multiple computers on their desk since each system uses its own monitor(s).
  • GDM logins using VNC
  • SSL secures VNC applications
    SSL provides a novel mechanism for convenient, secure access of remote desktops with VNC and standard Web browsers.
• Networking
  • OpenVPN - An Open Source VPN Solution by James Yonan
    OpenVPN is an easy-to-use, robust, and highly configurable SSL VPN (Virtual Private Network) daemon which can be used to securely link two or more private networks using an encrypted tunnel over the internet.
  • GNU Hosting Helper
    GNU Hosting Helper is a web hosting management package. This package provides tools to manage many of the aspects of a hosting environment.
  • Red Hat Magazine | Squid in 5 minutes
  • Unison File Synchronizer
  • File Synchronization with Unison | Linux Journal
  • Monitoring
    • Bandwidth Monitoring Tools For Linux -- Ubuntu Geek
      Ubuntu Linux Tips,Tricks,Howtos&Tutorials
    • Down for everyone or just me?
      Is the web site down only for you?
• Computer Management
  • SystemImager
    SystemImager is software that automates Linux installs, software distribution, and production deployment.
  • Moodss and Moomps
    Moodss is a modular GUI application that can monitor systems, networks, and databases. It displays data in graphical viewers, sends emails and execute scripts on thresholds, archive data in a SQL database, and includes a daemon for background monitoring.
  • OCS Inventory NG
    Open Computer and Software Inventory Next Generation is an application designed to help a network or system administrator keep track of the computer configuration and software installed on the network.
  • OpenQRM - Open Resource Manager
    openQRM is an open source systems management platform which integrates with existing components in enterprise data centers. openQRM is derived from a proven commercial product and distributed under a modified Mozilla Public License.
  • ISPConfig
    ISPConfig is an open source hosting control panel for Linux. ISPConfig is licensed under BSD license.
  • Zenoss: Open Source Network & Systems Monitoring
    Zenoss is an enterprise-grade open source monitoring solution built on the python-based Zope application server. Zenoss Inc. provides support and professional services for the Zenoss open source project.
  • Custom checks and notifications for Nagios | Linux Journal
  • Ganglia and Nagios, Part 1: Monitor enterprise clusters with Ganglia
    This is the first article in a two-part series that looks at a hands-on approach to monitoring a data center using the open source tools Ganglia and Nagios. In Part 1, see how to install and configure Ganglia, the scalable, distributed monitoring system for high-performance clusters based on a hierarchical design. Also learn how to add more monitoring capability by writing Ganglia plug-ins and by enabling external-source spoofing.
  • Ganglia and Nagios, Part 1: Monitor enterprise clusters with Ganglia
    This is the first article in a two-part series that looks at a hands-on approach to monitoring a data center using the open source tools Ganglia and Nagios. In Part 1, see how to install and configure Ganglia, the scalable, distributed monitoring system for high-performance clusters based on a hierarchical design. Also learn how to add more monitoring capability by writing Ganglia plug-ins and by enabling external-source spoofing.
  • Ganglia and Nagios, Part 2: Monitor enterprise clusters with Nagios
    This is the second article in a two-part series that looks at a hands-on approach to monitoring a data center using the open source tools Ganglia and Nagios. In Part 2, learn how to install and configure Nagios, the popular open source computer system and network monitoring application software that watches hosts and services, alerting users when things go wrong. The article also shows you how to unite Nagios with Ganglia (from Part 1) and add two other features to Nagios for standard clusters, grids, and clouds to help with monitoring network switches and the resource manager.
• Directories
  • Fedora Directory Server
  • JXplorer - an open source ldap browser
    A very good one.
  • ONLamp.com: LDAP Server Administration with GOsa
    GOsa (GOnicus System Administrator) is a web administration tool for managing accounts and systems in LDAP databases, written in PHP and licensed under the GNU GPL.
  • Centralize user accounts with OpenLDAP
    A good article covering many aspects of OpenLDAP.
  • LDAP Series Part VI - Directory Service Modeling | Linux Journal
    Just one artical of a good series.
  • Documentation - Fedora Directory Server
  • LPI exam 301 prep, Topic 305: Integration and migration
    In this tutorial, Sean Walberg helps you prepare to take the Linux Professional Institute Senior Level Linux Professional (LPIC-3) exam. In this fifth in a series of six tutorials, Sean walks you through integrating LDAP with your system's logins and applications. He also details the procedure to integrate your server into a foreign Microsoft Active Directory.
  • Python and LDAP
    At some point in their careers, most systems administrators need to interact with an LDAP server. This article shows how LDAP can be used for Apache authentication, as well as how to perform CRUD, or Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations on an OpenLDAP database, using the Python module python-ldap.
• RSS
  • Introduction to Syndication, (RSS) Really Simple Syndication
  • PCWorld.com - News on Demand
    A good article. Look at the feature comarison charts if you need to select one.
  • RSS 101
    An article
  • Linux RSS Feed Readers / News Aggregators
    Article
  • RSS Jobs - RSS Readers
    Article
  • BottomFeeder - Cross-platform RSS/Atom News Aggregator
    My favorite. Pretty cool!
  • RSSOwl | RSS / RDF / Atom Newsreader
    Applications that collect data from RSS-compliant sites are called RSS readers or "aggregators." RSSOwl is such an application. It lets you gather, organize, update, and store information from any compliant source in a convenient, easy to use interface, save selected information in various formats for offline viewing and sharing, and much more.
  • Straw, the GNOME 2 desktop news aggregator
    Straw is a desktop news aggregator for the GNOME environment. Its aim is to be a faster, easier and more accessible way to read news and weblogs than the traditional web browser.
  • Syndigator - an RSS feed reader
    Syndigator is an RSS feed reader based on Gtk2 and is targeted primarily at those people using Linux (since this is the platform that the developers are using).
  • Kiza's Spot: Snownews
    Console based.
  • weblog for blogreader project
  • Dreams Of A Rarebit Fiend
    HotSheet is a program that retrieves news headlines from multiple websites, displays them, and allows you to interact with them (e.g. to get the story that goes with a particular headline).
  • Informa : News Aggregation Library for Java
    The Informa library provides a convenient Java API for handling news channels and metadata about them. Different syntax formats (RSS 0.91, 1.0, 2.0 and Atom 0.3) for feeds are supported. Also support for channel information descriptions (OPML) available.
  • mozdev.org - forumzilla
    Integrates with Mozilla and Thunderbird.
• Site Specific Browsers
  • Mozilla Labs » Prism
    Mozilla Labs
  • Fluid - Free Site Specific Browser for Mac OS X Leopard
• Database
  • SwisSQL Stored Procedure Migration Tools.
    SwisSQL offers Free Edition for Stored Procedure Migration tools. The migrations that are possible are : Oracle to SQL Server, Oracle to DB2, Oracle to Sybase, Oracle to Java, SQL Server to Oracle, SQL Server to DB2, Sybase to Oracle, Sybase to DB2, DB2 to Oracle, DB2 to SQL Server.
  • Daffodil Replicator
    Daffodil Replicator is a powerful Open Source data replication tool that allows bi-directional data synchronization between heterogeneous databases – Oracle, SQL Server, Postgre SQL, Derby, Daffodil DB – supporting JDBC drivers, triggers and procedures.
  • Open Source Database Software Comparison
    A good one.
  • Comparison of different SQL implementations
    A good one.
  • MySQL
    • MySQL - ibdata1 doesn’t reduce it’s size at Joel’s Corner
      About me and myself
    • MySQL Backup and Recovery
• Integration
  • Orbeon Integration Suite: Open Source Business Integration
• Clustering
  • ActiveCluster
    ActiveCluster is a framework for writing cluster-based applications, monitoring the available nodes in a cluster and communicating with them.
  • Open Terracotta - Terracotta
• ESB
  • Mule--Open Source ESB and Integration Platform
    Mule is the leading open source ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) and integration platform. It is a scalable, highly distributable object broker that can seamlessly handle interactions with services and applications using disparate transport and messaging technologies.
  • Apache Synapse
    An ESB implementation
  • Mock Web services with Apache Synapse to develop and test Web services
    Apache Synapse is a simple, lightweight, high-performance enterprise service bus (ESB) released under the Apache License, Version 2.0 from the Apache Software Foundation. Using Apache Synapse, you can filter, transform, route, manipulate, and monitor SOAP, binary, XML, and plain text messages that pass through your large-scale enterprise systems by HTTP, HTTPS, Java Message Service (JMS), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Post Office Protocol Version 3 (POP3), FTP, file systems, and many other transport mediums. But for an individual developer, what's the use of an ESB product in your day-to-day life? The simplicity of the configuration, out-of-the-box feature set, extensible architecture, and the minimal footprint makes it a versatile and powerful tool that you can use for a variety of tasks. This article examines how you can use Apache Synapse to create mock Web services.
• Groupware
  • OpenGroupware.org
    A great groupware server.
  • PHProjekt - an open source groupware suite
    PHProjekt is a modular application for the coordination of group activities and to share informations and document via intranet and internet.
  • Zimbra Collaboration Suite, Version 4.5 | Linux Journal
  • GForge Collaborative Development Environment CDE: Welcome
  • dotProject
  • dotProject Training Materials and Courseware
    Welcome to the dotProject Training Site.This site is established and managed by Saki Computer Services Pty Ltd, staff of Saki have been project administrators for dotProject since 2002, and users of the system since 2001.Good documentation is an extremely resource and time intensive task and in order to be able to support this activity here and on the free documentation site (http://docs.dotproject.net), we have established this resource to generate a small amount of revenue to support that activity. Your support of this site is contributing to dotProject's ongoing development and support in a really positive manner - providing you with a quality training resource at the same time. We thank you most sincerely for that support and we will continue to contribute documentation to the free online documentation site as our primary concentration.Please ensure that if you kindly purchase one of our online courses that you purchase just the one, try it and make sure you are happy with the content before proceeding to the next course.  Where a course is a special sub-set of another course we have adjusted all of the course summaries to indicate this.We apologise - for the first period of operation of this courseware the site will be running on a slow link to the Internet. If there is enough interest in the site then we will look at funding the move to a faster link.If you would like to try any of the free courses - just click on the coursename and we'll log you straight in as our guest.
• Planning/Scheduling/Tracking
  • VTCalendar
    A nice event calendar
  • WebCalendar
    WebCalendar is a PHP-based calendar application that can be configured as a single-user calendar, a multi-user calendar for groups of users, or as an event calendar viewable by visitors.
  • WebCalendar
    Another good web calendar
  • XPlanner Home
    XPlanner is a project planning and tracking tool for eXtreme Programming (XP) teams.
  • TimeSleuth
    TimeSleuth is a system for recording the amount of time spent performing activities such as consulting, project work, etc., and producing useful reports such as time sheets and summaries from the recorded data.
  • WR Time Tracker
    WR Time Tracker is a simple, open source, web-based time tracking system.
  • plan - calendar and day planner
    A good one.
  • MultiSync - A Synchronization Tool
    MultiSync is a modular program to synchronize calendars, addressbooks and other PIM data between programs on your computer, other computers, mobile devices, PDAs or cell phones.
  • Personal Information Management Systems
  • Office / Project Management Software
  • Taskjuggler - Project Managers Delight - Home
    A comprehensive project management tool.
  • Chandler, a next-generation Personal Information Manager (PIM) integrating calendar, e-mail, contact management, task management, notes, and instant messaging
    Nice look and feel.
  • ProjectKoach - a light-weight tool for agile project management
    Good Software, delivers better solutions for modern software teams
  • Wilos Is a cLever process Orchestration Software | Open source process & project management
• Bug Tracking
  • Mantis Bug Tracker
    Mantis is a popular free web-based bug tracking system. It is written in the PHP scripting language and works with MySQL, MS SQL, and PostgreSQL databases and a webserver. Mantis has been installed on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, OS/2, and others. Almost any web browser should be able to function as a client. It is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
• Ontology
  • The Protégé Ontology Editor and Knowledge Acquisition System
    Protégé is a free, open source ontology editor and knowledge-base framework.
• PC Benchmark
  • Roy Longbottom's PC Benchmark Collection
  • PerfSuite
    PerfSuite is a collection of tools, utilities, and libraries for software performance analysis where the primary design goals are ease of use, comprehensibility, interoperability, and simplicity.
  • Linux hardware stability guide, Part 1
  • CPU Burn-in Homepage
    CPU Burn-in v1.01 by Michal Mienik is the ultimate stability testing tool for overclockers. The program heats up any x86 CPU to the maximum possible operating temperature that is achievable by using ordinary software.
  • Memtest86 - Memory Diagnostic Page
    Memtest86 is thorough, stand alone memory test for x86 architecture computers.
  • freshmeat.net: Project details for kernbench
    kernbench is a CPU throughput benchmark. It is designed to compare kernels on the same machine, or to compare hardware.
  • Haveland-Robinson Associates - Home Page
  • bandwidth: a benchmark - memory
    This is an artificial benchmark for measuring memory bandwidth, useful for identifying a computer's weak areas.
  • Linux hardware stability guide, Part 2
• Search Engines
  • Use IBM OmniFind Yahoo! Edition REST APIs
    Learn how you can easily access a freely downloadable search engine, IBM OmniFind Yahoo! Edition, from your custom applications.
  • Nutch
    Nutch provides a transparent alternative to commercial web search engines.
  • Jakarta Lucene
    Jakarta Lucene is a high-performance, full-featured text search engine library written entirely in Java. It is a technology suitable for nearly any application that requires full-text search, especially cross-platform.
  • java.net: Lucene Intro
    An introductory article/tutorial on Lucene.
• Communication
  • Send/Receive Faxes In Linux
    A program for Unix and Linux to send and receive faxes using a fax modem
  • SMS Server Tools 3
    SMS Server Tools 3 - Text messaging application for Windows and any Unix.
  • Short Message Service / SMS Tutorial
    A tutorial about the SMS technology. Discusses different ways to send and receive SMS messages from computers in detail.
  • Celliax.Org | Asterisk GSM CDMA cellular driver, Skype cellphone calls support, via chan_celliax and hardware adapter
  • Hayes AT Commands
    One of the Worlds most popular mobile portals.Over 1 million global visitors per month
  • Asterisk and fixed line SMS
  • Streaming Audio with Ices and Icecast | Linux Journal
  • Building a Call Center with LTSP and Soft Phones
• Reporting
  • Advanced charting in BIRT
    Since 2004, the Eclipse-based Business Intelligence and Reporting Technology (BIRT) community has grown and gained massive success. This success is growing as more users are starting to integrate with BIRT technology to present business data. A key reason for this success is that users are discovering the rich BIRT reporting components. The BIRT charting capabilities is one of the rich components that allow the end user to uncover trends in data to answer business questions. BIRT provides extensive interactive charting and other advanced features to allow report developers to create professional-looking reports.
  • Introduction to BIRT, Part 1
    Learn how to install the Eclipse Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT) plugins, create a new reporting project, create a new report, and connect the report to an Apache Derby (IBM Cloudscape) database.
  • Introduction to BIRT, Part 2
    This demo shows how to create a data set from a data source created in Part 1, build an SQL query, build a table, preview a report, and run the report using the Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT) viewer.
  • JMagallanes
  • Pentaho Commercial Open Source Business Intelligence: Reporting Project
  • JasperReport
    • Open Source Java Reporting with JasperReports and iReport
      JasperReports is a powerful and flexible open source reporting solution. The iReport visual designer enables you to take advantage of the full power of JasperReports without in-depth knowledge of the JasperReports native XML format.
    • JasperReports - tips & tricks
    • Tutorial iReports - Opentaps Wiki
    • Tutorial iReports - Opentaps Wiki
    • JasperReports - Tutorial
    • JasperAssistant User Guide
    • DynamicJasper - DynamicJasper :: Making Jasper Reports dynamic
    • Step by Step Instructions on How to Run a Jasper Report from Java
• Data Mining
  • Rapid - I
  • Pentaho Commercial Open Source Business Intelligence: Home
• Data Manipulation
  • Data Manipulation with Sprog | Linux Journal
• Security
  • Disk Encryption
    • TrueCrypt - Free Open-Source On-The-Fly Disk Encryption Software for Windows Vista/XP, Mac OS X and Linux
      TrueCrypt is free open-source disk encryption software for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
• Misc
  • Coefficient - coefficient
    Coefficient is a scalable open source project based collaboration platform that can run in J2EE and web application containers. It currently provides basic collaboration tools as hot deployable modules. It also provides a workflow engine to help guide projects through their development cycle.
  • AWStats
    AWStats is a free powerful and featureful tool that generates advanced web, ftp or mail server statistics, graphically.
  • Open Tax Solver
    OpenTaxSolver (OTS) is an easy-to-use free program for calculating Tax Form entries and tax-owed or refund-due, such as Federal or State personal income taxes.
  • Google Code
    Google Code is Google's place for Open Source software. You find projects and APIs.
  • DataVision
    DataVision is an Open Source reporting tool similar to Crystal Reports. Reports can be designed using a drag-and-drop GUI. They may be run, viewed, and printed from the application or exported as HTML, XML, PDF, LaTeX2e, DocBook, or tab- or comma-delimited text files.
  • Boa Webserver
    A tiny webserver particularly for embedded systems.
  • Workrave
    Workrave is a program that assists in the recovery and prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). The program frequently alerts you to take micro-pauses, rest breaks and restricts you to your daily limit.
  • Computer Laboratory - Xen virtual machine monitor
    Xen is a virtual machine monitor for x86 that supports execution of multiple guest operating systems with unprecedented levels of performance and resource isolation.
  • LogMiner
    LogMiner is a powerful log analysis package for Apache (or other web servers using the combined log format).
  • :: SiteBar :: The Online Bookmark Manager | The Bookmark Server
    SiteBar is a solution for people who use multiple browsers or computers and want to have their bookmarks available from anywhere without need to synchronize them or take them along.
  • WinSCP :: Freeware SFTP and SCP client for Windows
  • Grisbi - Personal Finance Manager for all
    Grisbi is a personnal accounting application running under GNU/Linux and Windows, released under the GPL licence.
  • Checkpointing.org - The home to checkpointing packages
    The softwares found here are about taking "snapshot pictures" of running applications for later use.
  • Dr. Dobb's | Checkpointing, CHPOX, and Linux | April 21, 2006
  • UW Classroom Presenter
    The basic goals of Classroom Presenter are to provide instructors with increased flexibility in delivering a presentation and to facilitate interaction with the audience. Presenter is a distributed presentation system for the Tablet PC.
  • Implement business logic with the Drools rules engine
    Use a declarative programming approach to write your program's business logic.
  • Using Inkspace
  • Tesseract: an Open-Source Optical Character Recognition Engine | Linux Journal
  • phplist.com : Homepage : home
  • chrysocome.net
    Rawwrite for Windows - a low level copy tool for Windows.
  • Azureus : Java BitTorrent Client
  • Microsoft's TrueType core fonts on rpm based systems
  • Winmail.dat opener
    Online opener of winmail.dat files
  • Exploring Space with Celestia | Linux Journal
• Rapid Application Development
  • OpenXava - Home
• Mobile
  • Android
    • Open Handset Alliance
    • Android Open Source Project
    • Android
    • Android
• Installers
  • Automation for the people: Wielding wizard-based installers
    Installing software is often a painful chore for most users. The installation package you generate -- the 'last mile' of software development -- can make the difference between user adoption and another product thrown into the virtual waste bin. In this installment of Automation for the people, automation expert Paul Duvall demonstrates how the freely available, open source IzPack tool for writing wizard-based installers can make installing your software a snap for users.
• Human/Computer Interface
  • Touchlib - Home
    Touchlib is a library for creating multi-touch interaction surfaces.

Corporate Governance

• Center for Corporate Governance
• Principles of good corporate governance - ASX - Australian Securities Exchange
  principles of good corporate governance
• London Stock Exchange – Practical Guide to Corporate Governance
• National Association of Corporate Directors - Corporate Governance Resources, Education and Information
  The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), a nonprofit membership organization for corporate board members, provides corporate governance resources, education, information, and research on leading board practices.
• NACD Online: DM Extra
  DM Extra is a electronic publication designed to provide you with immediate, up-to-date information regarding current events in the corporate governance arena.
• Interesting Cases
  • NACD Online: The Enron Crisis
  • Worldcom: Six Questions for Directors
  • The BRAD BLOG : DIEBOLD VOTING MACHINE KEY COPIED FROM PHOTO AT COMPANY'S OWN ONLINE STORE!
  • HSBC loses files of 370,000 customers - CNN.com
    Banking giant HSBC has revealed it has lost a computer disc containing details of 370,000 insurance customers.
• COSO
  • Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Wikipedia on COSO
  • COSO
    Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
• Risk
  • "Managing the Business Risk of Fraud: A Practical Guide "
  • Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
  • Bank Secrecy Act
    The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (or BSA, or otherwise known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act) requires U.S.A. financial institutions to assist U.S. government agencies to detect and prevent money laundering.
• International Governance - United Kingdom | Risk Management and Governance
• Publications Archive | Risk Management and Governance
• International Financial Reporting Standards
• Compensation
  • In Their Own Words: Executive Compensation from the Perspective of the Largest Institutional Investors

IT Governance

• Need for ICT Governance and Management Standards, October 2006
• The governance landscape: Steering and measuring development organizations to align with business strategy
  from The Rational Edge: Are you seeking a clear explanation of organizational governance? This paper describes different levels of governance and how they affect critical management concerns such as productivity and risk. It also explores the link between good governance and the ability of software development organizations to align their processes with business strategy.
• Frameworks
  • COBIT
    • COBIT
      COBIT is an IT governance framework and supporting toolset that allows managers to bridge the gap between control requirements, technical issues and business risks.
    • COBIT Case Studies
      Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology, (COBIT) a generally applicable and accepted standard for good Information Technology security and control practices that provides a reference framework for management, users, and IS audit, control and security practitioners.
  • AS 8015
    • Publication Details - AS 8015-2005 Corporate governance of information and communication technology
      Australian standards, ISO standards, European standards, Irish Standards, International standards, IEC standards, ANSI standards, Engineering standards, technical specifications, specifications and technical information for engineers, ETSI standards, Business standards, Telecommunication standards\
    • AS 8015 (2005) - Australian Standard for Corporate Governance of ICT
      Overview of AS8015-2005 Australian Standard for the Corporate Governance of ICT
    • AS 8015 (2005) - Australian Standard for Corporate Governance of ICT
      Overview of AS8015-2005 Australian Standard for the Corporate Governance of ICT
    • AS8015 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • ISO/IEC 38500
    • Aussie ICT guidelines embraced as world standard: News - Business - ZDNet Australia
      Guidelines on the corporate governance of ICT developed by Standards Australia have been adopted as an international standard by the ISO (International Standards Organisation).
    • Commentary on ISO/IEC 38500:2008 Corporate governance of information technology
      Commentary on ISO/IEC 38500:2008, Corporate governance of information technology,
    • | ITGIâ„¢ Enables ISO/IEC 38500: 2008 Adoption
  • ITIL
    • An Introductory Overview for ITIL V3
  • REF (from CERT)
    • Resiliency Engineering Research
      The CERT Resiliency Engineering Framework (REF) is a capability model for operational resiliency management.
• Bodies/Organizations
  • IT Governance Institute
  • ISACA
    Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
  • ITSMF International |
    The IT Service Management Forum (itSMF) is a global, independent, internationally recognized not-for-profit organisation dedicated to IT Service Management. itSMF is wholly owned and principally run by its membership.
  • ACS Governance of ICT Committee
    Some great resources are here from Australian Computer Society.
  • Information Technology Process Institute - Research, Benchmarking, Prescriptive Guidance
    The Information Technology Process Institute is a not-for-profit organization seeking to improve IT service management
• Books
  • Welcome to itSMFBOOKS bookshop
  • Corporate and IT Governance Books on Amazon - IT Governance
    A collection of books.
• Newsletters
  • Compliance Week
    Not for free! Compliance Week is a newsletter on corporate governance and compliance issues that reaches over 40,000 financial and legal executives at U.S. public companies.
  • Spafford Global Consulting - The Intersection of Human Factors, Complexity, Security and Business
• News/Resource Sites
  • IT Today
    IT Today Informative Articles on Information Technology and Management information systems management
  • CICA RMG Publications
    Great publiations! For example, look at the 20 Questions Series.
  • ISACA - K-NET
    Over 6,000 peer-reviewed web site resources pertaining to knowledge covering IT Governance, Assurance, Security and Control.
  • Information Quality & Technology - Center for Corporate Governance
    Great resources for boards on IT governance found here.
• Webinars/Podcasts
  • SpaffordConsulting.com - Webinars & Podcasts
• Strategic Alignment
  • Aligning Investment in Information Technology with Business Strategy: What CFOs Need to Consider (2005)
  • Goal to Objective Mapping
  • ITPI: Know Thy Self - Improving an IT organization's ability to drive business success
• Investment
  • AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) - Yen-tsai Wang and John Campbell: IT Investment Practices in SandP300 ASX Listed Firms
• Compliance
  • Role of Information Technology in Sustained Regulatory Compliance (2006)
  • ITSM Watch Blog - Spontaneous Empowerment
• Auditing
  • The State of IT Auditing in 2007 - EDPACS: The EDP Audit, Control, and Security Newsletter
    Summing-up the state of such a broad professional field in just a few short pages is not easy so, in place of a thousand words, here is a picture. Thi...
  • The Vital Need For Quality Internal Auditing
    Compliance Week is a newsletter on corporate governance and compliance issues that reaches over 40,000 financial and legal executives at U.S. public companies.
  • Organizational Governance: Guidance for Internal Auditors
    Known to be a landmark publication.
  • Current Position Papers - The Institute of Internal Auditors
    The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association of more than 120,000 members. Throughout the world, we are recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in guidance, certification, education, and research.
  • The Role of Auditing in Public Sector Governance
  • 20 Questions Directors Should Ask about Internal Audit
    A really good document including guidelines as well.
  • Government of Canada - Audit Related Guidelines/Documents
  • GTAG11 - Developing the IT Audit Plan
    The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association of more than 120,000 members. Throughout the world, we are recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in guidance, certification, education, and research.
  • IT Resources - The Institute of Internal Auditors
    The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association of more than 120,000 members. Throughout the world, we are recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in guidance, certification, education, and research.
  • ITAC Publications
  • FFIEC Information Technology Examination Handbook
  • Systems Development Life Cycle and IT Audits
  • Systems Development Life Cycle and IT Audits
  • Ethics and Auditing (A book)
  • IT Control Objectives for Sarbanes-Oxley 2nd Edition
    Validate your IT control compliance against SOX.
  • Guide to the Assessment of IT Risk (GAIT) - The Institute of Internal Auditors
    The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association of more than 120,000 members. Throughout the world, we are recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in guidance, certification, education, and research.
  • Calabrese’s Razor « Righteous IT
    Metrc based evaluation of the relative importance of different controls.
  • STSC CrossTalk - Management’s Inspection Responsibilities and Tools for Success - Mar/Apr 2009
    There are many pitfalls that cause software inspections to fail. This article addresses management’s critical role in preventing these pitfalls to attain successful inspections. In addition to meeting their responsibilities, management needs a comprehensive computerized set of tools to support their efforts. By carrying out their responsibilities—supported by inspection-specific tools—management will be better equipped to implement sustained successful project inspections that consistently reap the benefits of lower project cost and high product quality.
  • Assessing the "readiness" for an IT project - AuditNet Internet Resources for Auditors
    AuditNet, the Web portal and online community for the audit profession provides free audit work programs, ICQ's, checklists, monographs, workpapers, job opportunities and more.
• Security
  • Why is Security a Software Issue? - EDPACS: The EDP Audit, Control, and Security Newsletter
    Software is everywhere. It runs your car. It controls your cell phone. It's how you access your bank's financial services, receive electricity and nat...
  • The IT disaster recovery plan
    Continuity Central provides a constantly updated one-stop resource of business continuity and disaster recovery information. Expert or novice, Continuity Central will meet your needs, keeping you up-to-date with everything that happens in this fast changing market and enabling you to rapidly and comprehensively research the subject.
  • UK government publishes final version of ‘A national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic’
    Continuity Central provides a constantly updated one-stop resource of business continuity and disaster recovery information. Expert or novice, Continuity Central will meet your needs, keeping you up-to-date with everything that happens in this fast changing market and enabling you to rapidly and comprehensively research the subject.
  • Security Governance
    • Governing for Enterprise Security
      Some good resources from CERT
    • CERT's Podcast Series: Security for Business Leaders
    • Making Security Governance Investment Decisions – A Dashboard Approach
    • Australian Government ICT Security Manual (ISM)
    • A Model to Quantify the Return on Information Assurance
      This article explains and demonstrates the structure of a model for forecasting and subsequently measuring the financial Return on Information Assurance, especially in the effectiveness of countermeasures to possible system attacks.
    • Information Security Governance and Boards of Directors: Are They Compatible?
  • Books
    • The Definitive Handbook of Business Continuity Management
      Continuity Central provides a constantly updated one-stop resource of business continuity and disaster recovery information. Expert or novice, Continuity Central will meet your needs, keeping you up-to-date with everything that happens in this fast changing market and enabling you to rapidly and comprehensively research the subject.
    • Computers at Risk: Safe Computing in the Information Age
      Computers at Risk presents a comprehensive agenda for developing nationwide policies and practices for computer security. Specific recommendations are provided for industry and for government agencies engaged in computer security activities.
  • Resource Sites
    • Information Security: Covering today's security topics
      Find the latest information on Internet Security, Access Control Management, Network Security and more.
    • Security School Course Catalog from SearchSecurity.com
      Free online security training led by information security experts on the latest security topics such as Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, intrusion prevention, access management, CISSP certification, email security, Web security and more.
    • CERT's Podcast Series: Security for Business Leaders
    • ENISA: Index
      The European Network and Information Security Agency, ENISA, is a new agency of the European Union. Formally, ENISA came into being on 14 March 2004, following the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 460/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on 10 March 2004. The Executive Director, was nominated by the Management Board and later appointed by the European Parliament on 6 October, 2004. Operations started 1, September, 2005, in Crete, after successful EU25-wide competitions and recruitment of skilled candidates from all over Europe. The Agency's work is essential to achieve a high and effective level of network and information security within the Community. It will seek to develop a culture of network and information security for the benefit of citizens, consumers, business and public sector organisations in the European Union. This will also contribute to the smooth functioning of the Internal Market. As its in-house expertise grows, ENISA shall help the Commission, the Member States and, consequently, the business community to address, respond and especially to prevent network and information security problems. The Agency shall also assist the Commission in the technical preparatory work for updating and developing Community legislation in the field of network and information security.
    • ENISA : Publications & Deliverables
    • Whitepapers - www.technicalinfo.net
  • Privacy
    • GAPP
      • Generally Accepted Privacy Principles
        Top principles are presented here.
      • Generally Accepted Privacy Principles
        Download the papers (spec)
      • Mind the GAPP: Accountants bring GAAP-like principles to the privacy sphere
        Columnist Jay Cline sees companies gearing up for audits against the new Generally Accepted Privacy Principles in what could be the biggest drill since Sarbanes-Oxley.
  • Wireless
    • Security for Wireless Systems (Revised 2004)
  • News
    • Banks: Losses From Computer Intrusions Up in 2007 - Security Fix
      The latest news on computer, technology and network security issues. A blog by washingtonpost.com reporter Brian Krebs. Visit www.washingtonpost.com/technology.
    • The DNS Bug: Why You Should Care | Linux Journal
  • SDLC
    • STSC CrossTalk - Practical Defense in Depth - Sep 2008
      As part of its ongoing commitment to Bill Gates’ vision of Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft officially adopted important security- and privacy-related disciplines to its software development process. These changes, called the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) have led to a demonstrable reduction in security vulnerabilities in products such as Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system and its SQL Server 2005 database. The purpose of this article is not to describe the SDL in detail, but to outline some of the practical defensive measurements in use at Microsoft required by the SDL. If Microsoft’s SDL is new to you, refer to the sidebar, “A Brief SDL Overview.â€
    • STSC CrossTalk - Enhancing the Development Life Cycle To Produce Secure Software - Sep 2008
      Over the past decades, efforts to enhance software development life cycle (SDLC) practices have been shown to improve software quality, reliability, and fault-tolerance. More recently, similar strategies to improve the security of software in organizations such as Microsoft, Oracle, and Motorola have resulted in software products with less vulnerabilities and greater dependability, trustworthiness, and resilience. In its mission to improve the security of software used in America’s critical infrastructure and information systems, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Software Assurance Program has sponsored the creation of the book Enhancing the Development Life Cycle to Produce Secure Software , a source of practical information intended to help developers, integrators, and testers identify and systematically apply security and assurance principles, methodologies, and techniques to current SDLC practices, and thereby increase the security of the software that results. Unlike the numerous other books on secure software development, Enhancing the Development Life Cycle does not espouse any specific methodology, process model, or development philosophy. Instead it explains the essentials of what makes software secure, and takes an unbiased look at the numerous security principles and secure development methodologies, practices, techniques, and tools that developers are finding effective for developing secure software – information that readers can leverage in defining their own SDLC security-enhancement strategies.
    • STSC CrossTalk - Hazardous Software Development - Sep 2008
      Developing safety-critical software is often an extremely complicated process, and if managed incorrectly could have the tendency to cause more harm than good. In order to deal with the challenge of writing safety-critical software, certain considerations must be followed. Different case studies will be used in this article to illustrate points about the ethics standards, hazard identification challenges, and aftermath management techniques needed to effectively manage the development and deployment of safety-critical software.
  • Misc
    • Managing the Business Risk of Fraud: A Practical Guide
      A whitepaper.
    • Introduction to Forensics | Linux Journal
    • Verizon 2008 Data Breach Investigations Report
    • Security Analysis: The Case For Disclosing Breach Data -- security -- InformationWeek
      Read this chapter from The New School Of Information Security before your company gets hacked, and learn why covering up a data breach is a bad short-term strategy and a risky long-term one.
    • Where the truth is: Logs and breach-disclosure laws
      A data breach and the ensuing public relations nightmare is something no company wants to deal with. Contributor Anton Chuvakin suggests that keeping good log data could ease the pain if that comes to pass.
    • Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program
    • Architectural Risk Analysis
    • Personnel and security: Hiring
    • Banks: Losses From Computer Intrusions Up in 2007 - Security Fix
      The latest news on computer, technology and network security issues. A blog by washingtonpost.com reporter Brian Krebs. Visit www.washingtonpost.com/technology.
    • Assessing the costs, benefits, and probabilities of protecting the homeland
    • Bruce Schenier, Marcus Ranum debate risk management
      Experts Bruce Schneier and Marcus Ranum debate whether risk management is an appropriate strategic direction for information security professionals to follow.
    • Identifying Software Security Requirements Early, Not After the Fact
    • PWC: "Safeguarding the New Currency of Business"
      Based on Price Waterhouse Coopers’ new 2008 global state of information security study.
    • OCTAVE® Information Security Risk Evaluation
    • 5 Steps to Communicate Security's Value to Non-security People - CSO Online - Security and Risk
      In belt-tightening times, making the case for security investment is more difficult than ever. Security Catalyst founder Michael Santarcangelo details five steps risk professionals can use to communicate value effectively.
  • PCI
    • e-Book: "PCI for Dummies"
      Qualys, Inc. provides on demand vulnerability management solutions to identify and fix network security vulnerabilities and ensure security compliance.
• Performance/Measurement/Benchmarking
  • Implementing the IT Balanced Scorecard: Aligning IT with Corporate ...
    A free book chapter.
  • How Do I Measure IT Performance?
    A free book chapter is found here!
  • BSC and Information Technology
    An independent source of information on applications of the balanced scorecard.
  • Statistical Process Control
    • Statistical process control - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    • Control Charts / Statistical Process Control (SPC)
      Statistical process control, control charts articles, white papers, examples and links.
    • Statistical Process Control (SPC) Resource Center
      Quality Training Portal provides web-based and computer-based training for manufacturing quality and productivity improvement.
  • CCAF’s Contribution to Public Performance Reporting
  • Using application quality metrics to improve the business value of applications
    from The Rational Edge: Read how software quality metrics are becoming increasingly important to business health, and how software development organizations can begin incorporating quality metrics into their processes.
  • IT Service Management: Metrics That Matter
  • ITPI: IT Controls Not All IT Controls Are Created Equal: Understanding the performance improvement potential of Foundational Controls
  • ITPI: IT Controls Reframing IT Audit and Control Resource Decisions
  • Understanding the Purpose and Use of Benchmarking
    It is important for Six Sigma practitioners to understand the purpose and use of benchmarking. Thus they can help their companies use the information to identify gaps in the organization’s processes in order to achieve a competitive advantage.
  • Public Performance Reporting — CCAF-FCVI Inc.
  • Calculating ROI for process improvement
    from The Rational Edge: This article illustrates how you can readily demonstrate clear return on investment for IT process improvement efforts.
• Outsourcing
  • Secret of Outsourcing Success
    Everyone knows the outsourcing story. Outsourcing offers significant potential benefits - some outsourcing efforts deliver promised benefits - other outsourcing efforts never live up to expectations and end up being terminated early. Why are some outsourcing efforts successful while other outsourcing efforts are unsuccessful?
  • 20 Questions Directors Should Ask About Information Technology Outsourcing (2005)
  • Outsourcing Metrics: Key Performance Indicators | 360° Vendor Management
    An outsourcing vendor management and outsourcing governance process to measure contractual service level agreements and key performance indicators and metrics.
  • 360 Degree Vendor Management - Best Practices in Outsourcing, Vendor Management, Service Level Agreements, Governance, and Contracting
    Best Practices to Be Successful With Outsourcing, Vendor Management, Service Level Agreements, Governance, and Contracting
  • More on Outsourcing Vendor Metrics: Operational Metrics | 360° Vendor Management
    Improve service level agreements by structuring outsourcing contract to improve the precision of performance metrics
• Data Governance
  • Executing a data governance strategy: Data Protection Security School: Security Schools: SearchSecurity.com
    Russell L. Jones of Deloitte & Touche on how to build an enterprise data governance strategy; learn to plan, organize and implement policies and procedures that secure application data.
  • Best Practices for Protecting Critical Business Data
    We live in an information age. In this era, even the smallest of businesses must manage large volumes of paper and electronic records, often juggling data in multiple formats and across distributed locations, to serve customers. Protecting this information and managing it properly is paramount to ensuring a company's success, both now and in the future. An effective data protection strategy safeguards data against disaster and would-be identity thieves and restores it in the event of destruction, damage or loss. Additionally, the right plan ensures companies comply with broad and industry-specific regulations for managing that information. Regardless of its size or industry, an organization requires a data protection program that mitigates risk, reduces cost, ensures compliance and improves overall operations.
  • Playing It Safe: How to Protect and Share Sensitive Data with Third Parties | Deloitte Insights podcast - Deloitte LLP
    Sharing sensitive data with third parties may be necessary, but it always carries a degree of risk.To use our embedded media player, please install the latest version of Macromedia Flash Player.   Download | Subscribe:  Email |  iTunes |  RSS (What is RSS?) We may have many friends, but we’re willing to confide only in a few. Why do we choose to share something personal with one person and not with another — and what happens when that person violates our trust? Companies have to make those very
  • How to conduct a data classification assessment
    Before data protection is possible, businesses must learn how to conduct a data classfication assessment. Tom Bowers explains.
• Development Governance
  • Development governance for software management:
    Read how key performance indicators (KPIs) can be derived from a Rational infrastructure to gain insight into and exert management control with respect to development processes. Look for the Webinar link at the end of this article.
  • Achieving governance goals with GQM
    from The Rational Edge: Read how the Goal-Question-Metric Approach (GQM) provides a way for whole teams, or individual team members, to better understand the role they play in successful software development.
• Business Continuity/Disaster Management/Recovery
  • Disaster Recovery Journal - Dedicated to Business Continuity Since 1987
    DRJ is the premiere leader in the Business Continuity Arena, delivering the most informative publication, the two largest conferences in the world, and the most active website dedicated to DR.
  • CCEP - Disaster Management Canada Magazine
  • IT Compliance Institute - Auditor Answers: What Should Your Business Continuity Efforts Focus On?
    Auditor Answers responds to real questions submitted by real readers. This week, the auditor looks at how to preserve business functions in the face of natural disasters and staff decimation.
  • Disaster recovery planning for CIOs
    Disaster recovery (DR) planning is a crucial step to success after an emergency. Learn more in this executive guide.
  • Boardroom Briefing: Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
  • BCP Booklet - Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
  • Critical Foundations - Protecting America’s Infrastructures
  • GTAG10 - Business Continuity Management
    The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association of more than 120,000 members. Throughout the world, we are recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in guidance, certification, education, and research.
• Failures
  • Organisational Power and Information Systems Development:
  • Conflict as a Factor in Information Systems Failure
• Lean
  • Sarb-Ox Compliance: Five Lessons to Reduce Cost and Effort
    After advising over 100 companies and government agencies on Sarbanes-Oxley and A-123 implementations, Adam Nelson comes up with five essential lessons learned.
• Risk
  • Guide to the Assessment of IT Risk (GAIT)
    The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association of more than 120,000 members. Throughout the world, we are recognized as the internal audit profession's leader in guidance, certification, education, and research.
• SaaS (Software As A Service)
  • SaaS project costs in detail: The payoff isn't always in cash
    Does a SaaS project save you money in the long run, and how quickly can you realize an ROI? CIOs share their SaaS project experiences.
  • SaaS ROI, do we know the facts? | AccMan
    A constant back and forth around the saas topic is whether it provides a long term competitive cost/benefit alternative to on-premise offerings. Getting hard
• Misc
  • CareerJournal | Should Employees Be Allowed To Try Out New Technologies?
    Human Resource Management Journal - Human resource articles and information from the experts at Career Journal. Read professional human resource management topics and stories from some of the most highly regarded people in the human resource field
  • Survey of IT Governance Instruments, Standards, Guides, Regulations, Laws and Frameworks
    Discussion Paper on IT Governance and Management Standards
  • IT Governance Global Status Report - 2008
    IT Governance Global Status Report - 2008
  • IBM Global Business Services - The Global CFO Study 2008
    Balancing risk and performance with Integrated Finance Organization
  • IT Unified Compliance Framework: Harmonized Policy Controls
    What We DoThe Unified Compliance Framework (UCF) is the first and largest independent initiative to map IT controls across international regulations, standards, and best practices.
  • Corporate social responsibility - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Tone From the Top
    Making process improvement a reality - you need a sound business case.
  • Information Technology Process Institute - Research, Benchmarking, Prescriptive Guidance
    The Information Technology Process Institute is a not-for-profit organization seeking to improve IT service management
  • IT Process Institute White Papers
    The Information Technology Process Institute is a not-for-profit organization seeking to improve IT service management
  • Information Technology Control Guidelines, 3rd Edition (1998)
  • British Airways: A Case Study in ‘Lean’ IT
    Savings of £100M per year after two years just from a little process reengineering and a new focus on IT’s interface with the customer, writes CIOUpdate columnist Laurie Orlov.
  • AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) - Susan Foster, Paul Hawking, and Andrew Stein: Change Management: The Forgotten Critical Success Factor In Enterprise Wide System Implementations
  • AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) - Ernest Jordan and David Musson: Corporate Governance and IT Governance: exploring the board's perspective
  • A glossary from ISACA
    Pretty good.
  • Review of the Australian Government's Use of Information and Communication Technology
  • Why Does It Depend?
    Where a group should begin their ITSM journey?
  • ITGI: An Executive View of IT Governance
  • STSC CrossTalk - Software Assurance Practice at Ford: A Case Study - Mar/Apr 2009
    Software pervades our technological society, handling our financial transactions, managing power transmission, facilitating most forms of communication, and keeping us safe. This makes defects in software one of the most potent threats to our national security, and turns identification of best practices in software development, acquisition, and long-term use the highest national priority. This article presents the best practices employed by the Ford Motor Company to develop and maintain their software assets.

Enterprise Architecture

• Introductory
  • An Introduction to Enterprise Architecture
    Author Gabriel Bechara delivers a simplified, top-down approach to enterprise architecture in the context of SOA (service-oriented architecture). He focuses on information technology and how to build a better alignment between business and IT.
  • Architecture principles: Creating the foundation for robust architecture
    The answer to 'What is architecture?' depends on who you ask. What it takes to develop a strong architecture is even more difficult to define. However, there are well-known tenets you should employ when doing architecture. In this article you explore one of these tenets: architecture principles.
  • Enterprise IT architect: Meet the new kid on the block
    A new role is developing in IT shops around the world: the enterprise IT architect. Discover why this role is critical for your software development team, and your entire organization, to move forward. Learn which skill sets are required for this position and the role an enterprise IT architect plays in assisting chief information officers (CIOs) and other decision makers in providing high-quality IT services. And get direction on how to get certified as an IT architect.
  • Exploring IT architecture disciplines, Part 1: Build an enterprise architecture
  • Exploring IT architecture disciplines, Part 2: Begin with the business architecture
    When you build an enterprise architecture, you must start at the beginning -- that is, with a full understanding of the nature of your business. The best way to do that is to map the business itself to an architecture of its own, then use that map as the basis for all other architectural components. In this article -- the second in a series outlining the makeup of enterprise architectures -- you learn how to do just that.
  • Exploring IT architecture disciplines, Part 3: Move on to the information architecture
    As you progress toward the design of your enterprise architecture, you must supplement your new business architecture with an information architecture -- an architecture that outlines mission-critical information and how to store it, protect it, and manage it. Learn how to design and maintain an information architecture for your organization.
  • Exploring IT architecture disciplines, Part 4: Update your infrastructure architecture to serve and protect your enterprise
    Update your existing infrastructure architecture with validation and possible realignment of the infrastructure to meet the requirements outlined in both your business and the information architectures.
  • Exploring IT architecture disciplines, Part 5: Use an application architecture to bring your developers into the corporate fold
    To make the most of existing investments in IT, the development architecture must be designed after the infrastructure architecture. Now that you have worked out the infrastructure architecture, you can proceed to the development architecture and help make your developers full-fledged corporate citizens.
  • Exploring IT architecture disciplines, Part 6: Build the integration architecture
    A key aspect of any enterprise architecture is the integration of all the parts and pieces. This is the purpose of the integration architecture -- to make sure that everything works smoothly. Designing this architecture is the sixth step in the enterprise architecture process, the step where everything comes together.
  • Exploring IT architecture disciplines, Part 7: Operations architecture
    Because they are responsible for making sure that everything works as advertised, operations personnel often feel as if they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. And because the architecture must work as promised, this phase is crucial to the entire design process. This article -- the last installment in this series on enterprise architecture -- introduces the final architecture in the enterprise architectural design: the operations architecture.
  • The Convergence of Strategy, Performance and Enterprise Architecture in the US Federal Government
    A good view is provided here.
• Frameworks
  • Zachman Framework
    • The Zachman Institute for Framework Advancement
      The Zachman Institute for Framework Advancement (ZIFA) is a network of information professionals who understand the critical role of enterprise architecture in the ability of the enterprise to successfully participate in the global economy of the 21st century. To this end, the mission of ZIFA is to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience in the use, implementation, and advancement of the Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture.
    • TDAN Dave Hay - Zachman Framework Introduction
    • Framework Definition/Architecture QuickStart
    • UML, RUP, and the Zachman Framework: Better together
      This article proposes innovative ways to combine three of the most important methodologies that have emerged in the past decade in the field of information systems architecture: UML, RUP, and the Zachman Framework.
  • TOGAF
    • Introducing The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)
      Explore an industry standard for defining an enterprise architecture.
    • TOGAF 8 "Enterprise Edition"
      TOGAF, The Open Group Architecture Framework, is an industry standard architecture framework that may be used freely by any organization wishing to develop an information systems architecture for use within that organization. TOGAF Version 8 Enterprise Edition ("TOGAF 8" for short) is a detailed method and set of supporting resources for developing an Enterprise Architecture.
    • The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) Version 8.1 - "Enterprise Edition". An open, industry consensus framework and method for Enterprise Architecture
      Browse online.
    • TOGAF or not TOGAF: Extending Enterprise Architecture beyond RUP
      from The Rational Edge: This article contrasts the disciplines of enterprise architecture, solution architecture, and business architecture; compares these disciplines to the IBM Rational Unified Process (RUP) and suggests ways to combine them; and advocates applying The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF) in combination with RUP to advance the implementation of enterprise architecture within organizations.
  • Department of Defence Architecture Framework
    • An IBM Rational approach to the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) Part 1: Operational view
      The first in a two-part series, this article presents an overview of the Department of Defense (DoD) Architecture Framework (DoDAF) and describes its Operational View (OV) products. The author describes the relationships among the different views, and how the views can be leveraged both individually and collectively to add value in the modeling and design of complex systems.
    • An IBM Rational approach to the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) -- Part 2: Systems View
      The second in a two-part series, this article describes the Systems View (SV) and Technical Standards View (TV) products of the Department of Defense (DoD) Architecture Framework (DoDAF). Part 1 of the article presents an overview of the DoDAF and describes the Operational View (OV) products.
  • Misc
    • ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) and ITSM Directory
      The IT Infrastructure Library, ITIL, is a series of documents that are used to aid the implementation of a framework for IT Service Management (ITSM). This framework defines how Service Management is applied within specific organisations.
• Information Architecture
  • Information Architecture 101: A crash course for the enterprise architect
  • User experience case studies
    Provide insight into the process of IA.
  • BoxesAndArrows.com
    Hundreds of articles on a wide variety of information architecture, usability, and user experience topics.
  • The IAWiki
  • Explore the different approaches to information management in SOA
    Demonstrates how to leverage the power of information management for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)-based modeling, architecture, design, and implementation.
  • Louis Rosenfeld
    A top practitioner of IA and coauthor of the seminal Information Architecture for the World Wide Web published by O'Reilly
  • Triple Dog Dare Media
    Download EZCalc and USort - For cluster analysis
  • Information service patterns, Part 4: Master Data Management architecture patterns
    Master Data Management (MDM) brings you a methodology for maintaining consistent data across diverse business functions.
  • STSC CrossTalk - The Defense Technical Information Center: Information for the Defense Community - Dec 2008
    We all seem to be doing more with less these days. Take a few minutes to learn about what is available at the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), an organization that can save you time and money. The DTIC offers a world of information at your fingertips, whether you use a desktop or a laptop. The DTIC has information that is from the defense community, about the defense community, and for the defense community.
• Infrastructure Architecture
  • Infrastructure architecture essentials, Part 1: Build a reliable yet inexpensive infrastructure architecture
    Building a highly reliable architecture doesn't have to cost a fortune. Simple steps and a bit of bargain hunting can ease the strain on your budget.
  • Infrastructure architecture essentials, Part 2: Find, avoid, and eliminate system bottlenecks
    Systems will always have resource limits that define performance bounds. The term 'bottleneck' implies that a system has a resource imbalance and therefore a rate-limiting stage in processing that leaves costly resources underutilized. In theory, a perfectly resource-balanced, infinitely scalable system should never have a bottleneck or wasted resources. Discover methods and tools for finding, eliminating, and avoiding system bottlenecks so that you can provide the highest performance at the lowest cost for applications and users.
  • Big iron lessons, Part 3: Performance monitoring and tuning
    For many developers and engineers, performance is often an afterthought. But when a product functions as designed and has proven stability and the right feature mix, success in the marketplace often depends upon performance. Architectural decisions define the ultimate feasible performance of any product. In this article, learn how performance-monitoring technology initially developed for mainframes can help you improve your own code's performance.
  • Big iron lessons, Part 4: Power, cooling, and performance: Find the right balance
    The z990 mainframe system uses active cooling with cycle steering to achieve balance. See how you can incorporate similar emergent cooling and adaptive power control methods into your embedded system designs.
  • Infrastructure architecture essentials, Part 3: System design methods for scaling
    In an ideal world, all systems would have linear scaling of all resources with linear cost, but this is rarely the case. Cost may include not only capital expenditures but operational costs for increased cooling, power, rack space, and management requirements. System designers and solution architects who plan ahead for scaling can at least control cost, make initial trade-offs for the long term, and provide mostly linear scaling with similar increases in capital and operating costs. Choosing the right scaling strategy--ranging from simple server-client to clusters to grid, cloud, or general Internet services--up front is critical. This article arms systems designers and solution architects with methods for success.
  • Common Information Model (computing) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • DMTF - Common Information Model (CIM)
    The DMTF is the industry organization that is leading the development, adoption and unification of management standards and initiatives for desktop, enterprise and Internet environments.
  • Infrastructure architecture essentials, Part 4: Scalable enterprise systems management
    Discover the methods used to manage enterprise resources, including storage, compute nodes, switches, and the data and services that this infrastructure provides.
• Business Process/Modeling
  • Learn business process modeling basics for the analyst
    Basics, as they say.
  • Business Process Management Initiative
    Defines standards for business process modeling, including a language with which to specify business processes, their tasks/steps, and the documents produced.
  • Using a phased methodology in business process management
    Using a phased methodology in process management can drive a balanced view of the future for companies redesigning internal processes. Learn about the steps involved in typical process management phases and how to establish a phased methodology in your organization.
  • Business modeling with UML: Understanding the similarities and differences between business use cases and system use cases
    A wonderful article. Nicely explains how business operations map into a system design.
  • Architecture in practice, Part 6: Why Business Process Management (BPM) is important to an enterprise
    This installment in the Architecture in practice column focuses on why business process management (BPM) is imperative for both the business and IT. Effective management of business processes is essential for driving business agility in an enterprise. Get an introduction to BPM and its lifecycle phases, and learn how it is complementary to Systems-Oriented Architecture (SOA).
  • Execute business processes with Eclipse
    Everyone -- from consultants and analysts to architects and engineers -- has ideas. But implementing a new idea can be challenging, requiring knowledge of an unfamiliar development language or hiring costly developers. What if there was a way to create an executable business process using a graphical editor that can ultimately be executed on an appropriate engine? Well, there is. Using the Eclipse STP BPMN Modeler, you can graphically create a business model represented in XML that can be converted to an executable using Eclipse ATL that will ultimately deploy on Apache ODE.
  • Governing and managing enterprise models: Part 1. Introduction and concepts
    This is part Part 1 of a multipart article series about discussing governance and management of enterprise models -- models that have value across an entire company, region, or division. This first part introduces the topic.
  • Governing and managing enterprise models: Part 2. Generic procedures
    This is Part 2 of a six-part series of articles about governance and management of enterprise models -- models that have value across an entire company, region, or division. This part discusses detailed procedures for the governance and management of enterprise models. The procedure descriptions in this part are tool-agnostic.
• Patterns
  • IBM Patterns for e-business
    IBM's Patterns for e-business are a group of pre-tested, reusable assets that can help speed the process of developing Web-based applications.
  • Defining SOA as an architectural style
    Define Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as an architectural style to promote business-aligned enterprise services as the fundamental unit for designing and building solutions. Discover how SOA helps you to create a true alignment between business and IT and explore a pattern language that can be used to implement this architectural style.
  • IBM Patterns for e-business Resources
    Patterns for e-business resources feature Redbooks and White Papers, Independent Analyst Reports and Customer References, Multimedia presentations and WebCasts.
  • Patterns-discussion FAQ
• Software Assurance
  • Build Security In Home
    Superior content! Build Security In (BSI) contains and links to best practices, tools, guidelines, rules, principles, and other resources that software developers, architects, and security practitioners can use to build security into software in every phase of its development. BSI content is based on the principle that software security is fundamentally a software engineering problem and must be addressed in a systematic way throughout the software development life cycle.
• Books
  • Lightweight Enterprise Architectures
• Misc
  • Energistics (Petrotechnical Open Standards Consortium)
    The energy standards resource center (Oil/Gas)
  • MIT Total Data Quality Management Program and the International Conference on Information Quality
  • TDWI: Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Education, Research, and Community
    TDWI is the premier provider of in-depth, high quality education and reasearch in the Business Intelligence and data warehousing industry. TDWI is your source for strategies, techniques, and tools required to successfully design, build, and maintain business intelligence and data warehousing applications.
  • Enterprise architecture essentials, Part 2: Develop and manage an enterprise architecture repository
    In this article, explore the structural and management issues around the creation of a robust enterprise architecture repository, which can allow you to fully exploit your companies existing assets.f
  • Federal Chief Information Officers Council
    CIO.gov is the website for the United States Chief Information Officers Council
  • STSC CrossTalk - Software System Engineering: A Tutorial - Oct 2007
    Applying system-engineering principles specifically to the development of large, complex software systems provides a powerful tool for process and product management. Software engineering has its early roots in system engineering which is reflected in their many common terms. This article discusses a merger between system engineering and software engineering called software system engineering. System engineering looks at controlling the total system development including software. Software engineering looks at controlling just software development. (System engineers would call software engineering component engineering.) The application of system engineering to the development of software gives a large measure of control software development.
  • Exploring the fundamentals of architecture and services in an SOA, Part 2: The importance of business architecture, model-driven development, and reusing existing assets
    In this second article in the series, get a closer look at architecture--this time at the business level. Learn about model-driven development (MDD), and reusable asset frameworks and types, which can be leveraged when architecting Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions.
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Report
    Not tightly about IT
  • IT Today: For today's technology leaders
  • Governing your value stream: A foundation for lower IT costs and increased returns
    from The Rational Edge: This article explains how the formation of a value stream through an IT organization (the linking of value chains and supply chains) is accomplished through the application of deliberate IT governance and project and portfolio management practices.
  • The professional architect: Part 3: The business case for enterprise data architecture
    Good enterprise data architecture requires adherence to a new type of discipline--and an extensive array of IT and business resources--in order to earn the needed commitment from your sponsoring organization. By understanding the overall landscape of affected applications and gathering useful metrics, you can make this commitment easier to achieve. In this article, I'll describe how to communicate the value of enterprise data architecture, and how to keep on track and deliver what you promised.
  • EACOE - Enterprise Architecture Center of Excellence
    The EACOE enterprise architect certification offers the best enterprise architecture skills in the industry. We will equip you with tools every enterprise architect needs.
  • Considering the layers of the enterprise architecture |Real World SOA | David Linthicum | InfoWorld
    Just as a well-designed operating system will provide a stable platform for computing, so will a well-designed enterprise architecture/SOA
  • Traceability solution blueprint for business performance optimization, Part 1: Understanding the architecture of a comprehensive track-and-trace solution
    Product traceability is an essential requirement in many industries today. In this article, learn about a proven architecture blueprint for traceability solutions. After a component model explanation, the article provides a product mapping to the IBM software stack and introduces key capabilities of various products relevant for this architecture solution blueprint. You'll get a comprehensive overview of how IBM InfoSphere (TM) Traceability Server, WebSphere(R) Premises Server, IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management Server for Product Information, and other products work together to capture the essential data, deliver it reliably, store the data securely, and make it available through the appropriate analytic tools to solve supply chain problems.

Service Oriented Architecture

• Introductory
  • Revisiting the definitive SOA definition
    Many definitions!
  • developerWorks : SOA and Web services : New to SOA and Web services
    Introductory material from IBM
  • Service Oriented Architecture
    IBM on SOA
  • SOA Details
    IBM Developerworks on SOA
  • Arch2Arch: Service-oriented Architecture (SOA)
    Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) Center on BEA's Arch2Arch. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a design methodology aimed at maximizing the reuse of application-neutral services to increase IT adaptability and efficiency. While these concepts ...
  • SOA development and best practices
    The SOA and Web services space gives developers, architects and decision-makers a variety of techincal content - articles, tutorials, workshops and interactive community tools - that help with SOA development, implementation and management.
  • Service Oriented Architecture
    Sun Microsystems on SOA
  • IBM's SOA Foundation. An architectural introduction and overview
    A very good read for architects and technical people focusing on many aspects of SOA. Also introduced is the vision of IBM on SOA.
  • BEA's SOA Reference Architecture - A Foundation for Business Agility
    BEA's SOA Reference Architecture offers an architectural framework for planning SOA-based projects that maximize interoperability and reuse.
  • Introduction to SOA for managers
    Learn about the value proposition for SOA and adoption strategies.
  • developerWorks : Podcasts : WebSphere
    Good resources on SOA
  • SOA: Glossary - IBM
    A service-oriented architecture (SOA) provides an application framework that turns business applications into individual business functions and processes, called services. IBM has proven experience, software, and services to help implement an SOA solution that enables business process flexibility.
  • Insight and outlook, Part 1: Why and when should you choose SOA?
    IBM technical leaders answer pressing questions about IT architecture.
  • ONJava.com: An Introduction to Service-Oriented Architecture from a Java Developer Perspective
  • Java(TM) Boutique - Service Oriented Architecture - Part 1
  • Java(TM) Boutique - Service Oriented Architecture - Part 2 - Page 1
  • Java(TM) Boutique - Tutorial - Service-oriented Architecture, Part 3
  • Defining SOA as an architectural style
    Define Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as an architectural style to promote business-aligned enterprise services as the fundamental unit for designing and building solutions. Discover how SOA helps you to create a true alignment between business and IT and explore a pattern language that can be used to implement this architectural style.
  • Exploring the fundamentals of architecture and services in an SOA, Part 2: The importance of business architecture, model-driven development, and reusing existing assets
    In this second article in the series, get a closer look at architecture--this time at the business level. Learn about model-driven development (MDD), and reusable asset frameworks and types, which can be leveraged when architecting Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) solutions.
  • Building next-generation SOAs with SCA and SDO
    As Service-Oriented Architectures continue to grow and mature, developers and architects are faced with an ever-growing number of programming interfaces, transports, data sources and other details. Service Component Architecture (SCA) and Service Data Objects (SDO) provide a single programming interface for a wide variety of services and data sources. In this briefing, you'll see how the simplicity of SCA and SDO lets you focus on things that matter to your organization, not on the details of particular APIs.
  • Open SOA Collaboration
  • SOA development and best practices
    The SOA and Web services space gives developers, architects and decision-makers a variety of techincal content - articles, tutorials, workshops and interactive community tools - that help with SOA development, implementation and management.
  • IBM developerWorks : Book excerpt - from Executing SOA: A Practical Guide for the Service-Oriented Architect
    from The Rational Edge: Read a chapter from a new book on service-oriented architecture, which focuses on the practical aspects of implementation.
  • SOA Consortium
  • SOA Consortium Resource Hub
  • MemberPublications - JotSpot Wiki (soaalliance)
  • If SOA is the answer - what was the problem?
  • Defining SOA as an architectural style
    Define Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as an architectural style to promote business-aligned enterprise services as the fundamental unit for designing and building solutions. Discover how SOA helps you to create a true alignment between business and IT and explore a pattern language that can be used to implement this architectural style.
  • Architect's Dictionary (SOA Thinker)
    Compares point-to-point, EIA and SOA
  • Slides of SOA presentation - SIE
  • Video of SOA - SEI
  • Service-Oriented Architectures as an Interoperability Mechanism
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - From The Business Motivation Model (BMM) To Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Birol Berkem
    (none)
• Business Side
  • IBM - Built for Innovation - United States
    Business side of SOA
  • Issues and Best Practices for the BPM and SOA Journey
    Takes a look at the issues associated with combining BPM and SOA, how the two approaches complement each other, identifying a range of best practice observations and pitfalls to avoid. The paper also explores a couple of modeling techniques to help coordinate the bottom approach of SOA, with the top-down methodology of BPM.
  • Book excerpt -- from The New Language of Business: SOA & Web 2.0
    from The Rational Edge: An excerpted chapter from the recent book, The New Language of Business: SOA & Web 2.0, by Sandy Carter. One of IBM's top service-oriented architecture strategist demonstrates how business leaders can use innovations in technology to drive dramatic process improvements and support accelerating change.
  • Bridging Business Value to SOA: SOA Best Practices
    This presentation discusses best practices for SOA implementation. (Karin Duermeyer) - IBM
  • Value Assessment
    • Software AG - Business Value Assessment for SOA Based Solutions
    • IBM Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Entry Points: Value Analyzer
      A service-oriented architecture (SOA) provides an application framework that turns business applications into individual business functions and processes, called services. IBM has proven experience, software, and services to help implement an SOA solution that enables business process flexibility.
    • IBM SOA Business Value Assessment Toolkit
      Identify your customer
    • Value Assessment Program - IONA Technologies
      Reduce operation costs & increase ROI with IONA's Value Assessment Program, which explores systems integration, business process automation & more.
    • The Accenture Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Assessment Model for SOA Strategy Implementation
      The service oriented architecture (SOA) research suggests that full potential of SOA will redefine the relationlship between business and IT by allowing business managers to create instantly the IT functionality.
  • STSC CrossTalk - DoD Business Mission Area Service-Oriented Architecture to Support Business Transformation - Oct 2008
    The Department of Defense (DoD) Business Mission Area (BMA) accounts for roughly half of the DoD Information Technology (IT) budget. Many of the DoD’s business systems have been in use for years and are straining to support the agility of business operations necessary today. As well, many new systems are being developed on such a scale that it takes nearly a decade to produce the first results. A potential answer to this situation is delivering business capabilities through a service-oriented architecture (SOA)1. Much of the private sector is rapidly moving in this direction. The question is, will it work for the DoD? This article is about the results of market research conducted by the BMA Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and Chief Architect (CA) over a period of about six months to learn about state-of-the-art SOA and what the DoD can count on from SOA vendors to deliver both business services and SOA infrastructure in the near- to mid-term.
• Resource Kits
  • IBM Enterprise Architect Kit for SOA
• Enterprise Service Bus
  • Simplify integration architectures with an Enterprise Service Bus
    Dispel the myths of an Enterprise Service Bus and learn how you can apply this architectural style to the implementation of Service-Oriented Architecture-based applications.
  • Combining Service-Oriented Architecture and Event-Driven Architecture using an Enterprise Service Bus
    A high level view of an ESB in terms of SOA/DEA
  • IBM Redbooks | Patterns: SOA with an Enterprise Service Bus in WebSphere Application Server V6
    A wealth of patterns on using an ESB in an enterprise.
  • Enterprise Java Community: Mule: A Case Study
  • Enterprise Service Bus implementation patterns
    This article describes technical criteria for selecting an ESB, shows how IBM products can implement an ESB, and then surveys common ESB implementation patterns. It covers the three primary IBM ESB products (WebSphere Message Broker, WebSphere ESB, and WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliances) as well as products that support or extend the ESB pattern (WebSphere MQ, WebSphere Service Registry and Repository, WebSphere Transformation Extender, WebSphere Adapters, WebSphere Process Server, WebSphere Business Services Fabric, and IBM Tivoli Composite Application Management for SOA. The article also describes two detailed ESB implementation case studies.
  • Exploring the Enterprise Service Bus, Part 1: Discover how an ESB can help you meet the requirements for your SOA solution
    This article is first in a series that describes and defines the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) pattern called the enterprise service bus (ESB). In this series, discover how the ESB fits within the IBM SOA Foundation and how other parts of the foundation relate to the ESB, as well as the core principles of the ESB. Without describing a specific product or ESB implementation, this series also provides a common basis for understanding and evaluating how an ESB can help address the requirements of your service-oriented solution.
  • Exploring the Enterprise Service Bus, Part 2: Why the ESB is a fundamental part of SOA
    Part 1 of this series describes how the architectural pattern called the enterprise service bus (ESB) fits within the IBM SOA Foundation and how the ESB relates to other parts of the foundation. In this article, find out why IBM believes the ESB provides tremendous value when adopting a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). The authors share insights and best practices from their extensive experience on many successful SOA client projects that employed an ESB.
  • Exploring the Enterprise Service Bus, Part 3: Four approaches to implementing a canonical message model in an ESB
    Why should you care about a canonical message model (CMM) and the general pattern? Find out in this article, Part 3 of the Exploring the Enterprise Service Bus series. The CMM is a crucial element of the enterprise service bus (ESB). This article explains how to achieve CMM, highlights the characteristics of different approaches, and evaluates the pros and cons of each approach. After reading this article, you'll understand the role and value of CMM for ESB.
  • Enterprise Connectivity Patterns: Implementing integration solutions with IBM's Enterprise Service Bus products
    This article describes and defines a set of enterprise connectivity patterns that encapsulate some of the more common solutions in the application connectivity space. Many of these patterns build on and refine the more general architectural pattern known as the enterprise service bus (ESB). In defining a classification scheme for these patterns and discussing the various factors that influence their selection and implementation, this article and the accompanying developerWorks wiki can help lead to the appropriate choice of solution for your particular connectivity requirements.
• Governance
  • IBM SOA Governance, service oriented architecture, SOA
    SOA governance enables organizations to realize the full potential of Service Oriented Architecture — SOA. Essential issues surrounding the lifecycle of a service are decision rights (who is empowered to make what decisions) and measurements and controls (how to determine if the goals are achieved)
  • A case for SOA governance
    Help your enterprise reap its true benefits by strengthening your awareness to the importance of SOA governance for an enterprise which has IT as one of its key organizations. The author illustrates some key responsibilities of a governance body and concludes by showing you how you can effectively implement SOA governance.
  • IBM Redbooks | Implementing Technology to Support SOA Governance and Management
    Implementing SOA governance and management requires the consideration of three pillars: people, process, and technology. This IBM Redbooks publication addresses the third pillar, technology, demonstrating how to build advanced SOA solutions.
  • InfoQ: SOA Governance: An Enterprise View
    SOA architect Michael Poulin explains the necessity for SOA governance to ensure an SOA initiative's success, and explains the role the OASIS SOA Reference Model and the accompanying SOA Reference Architecture assign to SOA Governance. Michael observes SOA governance specifics from the enterprise perspective and illustrates them with several examples of SOA Governance policies.
  • SOA governance scenarios
    You need an appropriate governance process model in place to effectively realize the benefits of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) development life-cycle activities. This article describes SOA governance processes based on scenarios that are adopted in a typical enterprise during the SOA development life cycle. Take a close look at important life-cycle activities, such as service identification, service creation and reuse, service testing, service versioning and change management, service-level management (quality of service), and service security. Learn about the challenges that your organization might face in a typical SOA development life cycle and how to address these challenges by implementing governance subprocesses and by delegating certain roles and responsibilities to the respective layers of a governance body for each scenario.
  • AMIS Technology blog » Blog Archive » The world of SOA Governance according to Oracle - Introducing the Enterprise Repository
  • IBM developerWorks : Book excerpt -- from SOA Governance: Achieving and Sustaining Business and IT Agility
    from The Rational Edge: Read Chapter 4 from a new book on best practices for governing IT in any service-oriented environment. The book introduces a proven SOA governance model, defines what must be governed, helps you identify key stakeholders, and then walks through SOA governance assessment and planning, setting goals and objectives, and establishing roadmaps and deliverables.
• Analysis and Design
  • Elements of Service-Oriented Analysis and Design
  • Building SOA applications with reusable assets: Reusable assets, recipes, and patterns
    This series demonstrates how reusable assets such as recipes, software patterns and models can accelerate the development of SOA solutions.
  • Building SOA applications with reusable assets, Part 2: SOA recipe reference example
    This second article describes a reference example in which a recipe can be applied.
  • Streamline SOA development using service mocks
    Simplify SOA development -- especially if your project involves multiple teams -- and raise SOA application quality with use cases and mock objects.
  • Achieving Business Agility through Model-Driven SOA
    The way to achieve the real business agility with SOA.
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words?, Mahesh H. Dodani
    Use of effective images (graphical models) in the area of SOA are discussed here.
  • Best practices for service interface design in SOA, Part 1: Exploring the development, interfaces, and operation semantics of services
    This article is the first in a series that focuses on best practices for service interface design, including high-level aspects of development approaches, service granularity, and operation signatures. Subsequent articles in this series examine best practices for structuring Web Services Description Language (WSDL) documents and fault handling.
  • Java Pro - SOA Design: Meeting in the Middle
    Compare business services and integration services in SOA design, and discover how ESBs employ integration to implement SOA
  • Principles of service design: Service versioning
    Explore the rationale and various approaches to service versioning. (John Evdemon; MSDN, Aug 2005)
  • Design an SOA solution using a reference architecture
    The Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) reference architecture discussed in this article provides a blueprint for an enterprise or application architecture. It also establishes the building blocks of SOA: services, components, and flows that collectively support business processes and goals.
  • Using model-driven development and pattern-based engineering to design SOA: Part 1. Creating UML profiles and model templates
    This tutorial, Part 1 of the series, discusses the relationship between SOA and the extensibility features of IBM Rational Software Architect. It shows how you can leverage your own custom templates and profiles in Rational Software Architect to automate the design of an SOA solution. Rational Software Architect provides several features that you can use in combination to improve your productivity when you are designing SOA and other solutions. You can also use these automations to improve the quality of the solution, as well as to support your overall governance process.
  • SOA Design: Meet in the middle
    Top-down, bottom-up, and meet-in-the-middle approaches to SOA implementation.
  • A practical application of SOA
    A good article particularly illustrating how SOA is implemented in the telecommunications industry. How already available disparate systems are integrated are also described.
  • Design an SOA solution using a reference architecture
    A great article. May I say it's a must read?
  • Modeling SOA: Part 2. Service specification
    In this second article of this five-part series, we continue defining the SOA solution by modeling the specification of each service in detail. These specifications will define contracts between consumers and producers of the service. These contracts include the provided and required interfaces, the roles those interfaces play in the service specification, and the rules or protocol for how those roles interact.
  • Apply asset-based development to services in an SOA, Part 1: SOA and asset development tooling, life cycle, and governance
    This two-part series focuses on asset-based development for services in a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). See how some of the primary IBM products from the asset-based development and SOA development worlds come together to enable effective reuse of assets in an SOA implementation. This article explains how you can leverage SOA and asset life cycles and governance processes described in the IBM Rational Method Composer plug-in products in parallel during an SOA implementation. Part 2 shows how to manage and govern service assets and metadata effectively as a service passes through the different stages in the SOA and asset life cycles, using IBM tooling.
  • Build a resilient SOA infrastructure, Part 2: Short-term solutions for issues involving tightly coupled SOA components
    This article, Part 2 in a series on building a resilient Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) infrastructure, focuses on short-term solutions to problems associated with the use of synchronously interconnected SOA components across servers and tiers. The solutions presented here are highlighted because of their ability to mollify the negative impact incurred by these types of problems, thereby increasing the resiliency of the SOA.
  • InfoQ: Service-Oriented Development with Consumer-Driven Contracts
    In this article, Ian Robinson discusses how "consumer-driven contracts", in the form of "stories for services" and unit tests exchanged between service development streams, can strengthen the service-oriented development lifecycle. In contrast to contracts defined from the POV of the provider, consumer-driven contracts result from combining the demands of all known service consumers.
  • Process-oriented modeling for SOA, Part 1: A technique for process decomposition
    In this series, learn about a new decomposition technique that can help you specify business processes that are aligned with a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). This first article explores decomposing a business process into different layers of responsibility--as opposed to different levels of detail--and also looks into the role of the process controller as well as how services are identified by where they are needed.
  • Process-oriented modeling for SOA, Part 4: Tying it all together with a case study
    Learn how a process model drives both a use case model and service model. This article ties everything together with a case study about home shopping that illustrates the concepts in the previous parts of this series.
• Planning/Implementing SOA
  • Service Oriented Architecture: Six steps to a successful SOA
    Taking an organization through a service oriented architecture implementation is an evolving process which needs the right approach to succeed. These six critical steps will put you on a sound footing.
  • Successfully Planning for SOA
  • Successfully Planning for SOA: Building Your SOA Roadmap
  • Successfully Planning for SOA: Long-term SOA Planning
  • SOA Project Planning Aspects
    The topics in this chapter constitute the best practices the authors have uncovered for forming a project office, how to define the phases of SOA adoption, the need for and mechanisms of SOA governance, and finally, the various project roles and how they interact with each other.
  • Advice for a successful implementation: Avoid culture clash
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - Change Happens!, Mahesh H. Dodani
    Provides some guidelines in implementing SOA as part of the enterprise architecture in an organization.
  • Insight and outlook, Part 1: Why and when should you choose SOA?
  • An Introduction to Enterprise Architecture
    Author Gabriel Bechara delivers a simplified, top-down approach to enterprise architecture in the context of SOA (service-oriented architecture). He focuses on information technology and how to build a better alignment between business and IT.
  • Building SOA solutions with Industry Models and the IBM Rational Software Development Platform
    from The Rational Edge: The authors describe how IBM's Industry Models for targeted industries can be customized to support unique business requirements via the IBM Rational and WebSphere toolset.f
  • Building a successful SOA project
    Explore lessons learned and best practices for implementing a successful Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) project, including organizational readiness, the role of the user, transforming a process, asset-based support, and tooling requirements.
• Migration
  • Architectural manifesto: Migrating to a Service-Oriented Architecture
    Get a closer look at the benefits of Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA). Determine whether an SOA is the best fit for your business needs, and see an example migration from a traditional systems-based architecture to a service-oriented one.
  • Migrating to a service-oriented architecture, Part 1
    This is the first in a series of papers intended to help you better understand the value of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), and to develop a realistic plan for evaluating your current infrastructure and migrating it to a true service-oriented architecture. It is intended that after reading this paper, you will understand why it is claimed that a SOA is the best platform for carrying existing assets into the future, as well as enabling the rapid and correct development of future applications. Additionally, you should have a better understanding of the major considerations in planning such a migration.
  • Migrating to a service-oriented architecture, Part 2
    This is the second part of the introduction in a series of articles intended to help you better understand the value of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), and to develop a realistic plan for evaluating your current infrastructure and migrating it to a true service-oriented architecture. It is intended that after reading this paper, you will understand why it is claimed that a SOA is the best platform for carrying existing assets into the future, as well as enabling the rapid and correct development of future applications. Further, you should have a better understanding of the major considerations in planning such a migration. Part 1 of this paper described some of the forces driving consideration of a SOA, and the requirements that might be placed on the architecture. Part 2 continues now with the discussion of services and interfaces.
  • Design strategies for legacy system involvement in SOA solutions
    Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is at the heart of many business-transformation efforts. Many enterprises approach SOA transformation incrementally, using their valuable legacy IT systems to participate as service providers. The solution architect's challenge is not only to deliver the SOA infrastructure as a means to aid transformation, but also to ensure that enterprise-wide business operations remain robust and compliant. Your enterprise must develop an enterprise information-management strategy that can be part of the SOA and maintain overall data and content consistency across all business operations. Discover the challenges of such transformations, and review some design strategies to consider.
• Patterns
  • IBM developerWorks : Blogs : Building SOA applications with patterns
    Get involved in the developerWorks community by participating in developerWorks Blogs.
  • Information service patterns, Part 1: Data federation pattern
    The data federation pattern virtualizes data from multiple disparate information sources. The pattern creates an integrated view into distributed information without creating data redundancy while federating both structured and unstructured information. This article describes the federation of structured information (data) with a focus on the SOA context. This pattern specification helps data and application architects make informed decisions on data architecture and document decision guidelines.
  • Cache mediation pattern specification: an overview
    Cache mediation resides between the service provider and the service consumer, and therefore can benefit multiple service providers and service consumers in one solution. This article proposes a cache mediation pattern as a reusable solution to accelerate service response in a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) environment where messaging middleware is employed as the communication channel.
  • Web services response template pattern: a specification
    The Web services response template pattern offers service providers and clients more control and flexibility over request response invocations in a heterogeneous environment. Examine the WS response template pattern and the solutions that improve service interfaces and make them more flexible.
  • The requester side caching pattern specification: An overview
    Learn how the requester side caching pattern mediates the interaction between one or more clients and one or more data providers and how it can speed access to the data while reducing costs.
  • developerWorks : SOA and Web services : Technical library view
    Browse the SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) and Web services technical library view for technical articles and tips, tutorials, standards and specifications, and IBM Redbooks. View the list by product, title, topic, or keyword and sort your results.
  • SOA antipatterns
    The obstacles to the adoption and successful realization of Service-Oriented Architecture.
  • Using patterns to create a service-oriented component middleware
    Investigate a pattern story about many patterns applied on a middleware project and learn how the patterns were applied, how successful each was, and the interactions and relationships between the patterns. If you're a pattern user, pattern writer, or pattern theorist, this article is for you.
  • Using patterns to create a service-oriented component middleware
    Investigate a pattern story about many patterns applied on a middleware project and learn how the patterns were applied, how successful each was, and the interactions and relationships between the patterns. If you're a pattern user, pattern writer, or pattern theorist, this article is for you.
  • WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus deployment patterns, Part 1: Selecting your deployment pattern
    This article identifies the application properties and availability expectations that you can use to select a specific deployment pattern. It includes a downloadable document that describes these deployment patterns and the mapping of the requirements to them.
  • WebSphere Process Server and WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus deployment patterns, Part 2: My first WebSphere Process Server cluster
    This article, the second in the series, focuses on selecting a correct deployment pattern to meet the requirements of a given customer application or project.
  • IBM Patterns for e-business Resources
    Patterns for e-business resources feature Redbooks and White Papers, Independent Analyst Reports and Customer References, Multimedia presentations and WebCasts.
  • Defining SOA as an architectural style
    With other things, this detailed article proposes a pattern language for SOA
  • Toward a pattern language for Service-Oriented Architecture and Integration, Part 1: Build a service eco-system
    A good and detailed article.
  • Toward a pattern language for Service-Oriented Architecture and Integration, Part 2: Service composition
    Part 2 of the same detailed article above.
  • Principles of service design: Service patterns and antipatterns
    Discusses tenets for SOA design, along with major patterns and antipatterns that can be used for service definitions.
  • IBM Redbooks | Patterns: SOA with an Enterprise Service Bus in WebSphere Application Server V6
    A wealth of patterns on using an ESB in an enterprise.
  • Using UML service components to represent the SOA architecture pattern
    In this article, use Unified Modeling Language (UML) models to describe the SOA architecture pattern and its associated service components. And learn about the service components of the SOA pattern in the context of industry-standard UML formats to help stakeholders to better understand the components that constitute an SOA.f
  • IBM Redbooks | Patterns: Implementing an SOA using an Enterprise Service Bus
    Many enterprises (large and small) are focused on increasing their business flexibility while simplifying their IT infrastructure in order to better meet their business objectives.
  • IBM Redbooks | Patterns: Service-Oriented Architecture and Web Services
    The Patterns for e-business are a group of proven, reusable assets that can be used to increase the speed of developing and deploying Web applications. This IBM Redbook focuses on how the Self-Service and Extended Enterprise business patterns, ...
  • soa patterns assets reusable reusable-assets
    This expert space provides details and discussions around how reusable assets such as software patterns and UML models can be used to accelerate the development of SOA solutions.
  • soa patterns assets reusable reusable-assets
    This expert space provides details and discussions around how reusable assets such as software patterns and UML models can be used to accelerate the development of SOA solutions.
  • InfoQ: Service Firewall Pattern
    How can you protect a service against detect malicious incoming messages and prevent information disclosure on outgoing messages? In this sample chapter from Arnon Rotem-Gal-Oz' in-progress book SOA Patterns, Arnon explains how to use a Service Firewall to intercept incoming and outgoing messages and inspect them in a dedicated software component or hardware.
  • Services-based enterprise integration patterns made easy, Part 4: Enterprise service bus
    The first three articles in this series covered the basic concepts necessary to develop services-based integration patterns and explained the various components and standards that, together, are known as Web services. Web services are designed to deal with some of the heterogeneity found in a large enterprise. However, Web services alone aren't enough to provide a complete solution to the heterogeneity problem. In this installment, Part 4 of this series, learn about the enterprise service bus, which, along with Web services, completes services-based integration patterns.
  • Arnon Rotem-Gal-Oz's Cirrus Minor - SOA Anti-Pattern : The Knot
  • IBM developerWorks : Book excerpt -- from SOA Design Patterns
    from The Rational Edge: Read Chapter 16 from an innovative new catalog of 85 design patterns for service-oriented architecture and service-orientation. It documents the most proven and successful design techniques for succeeding with modern-day SOA.
• Web Services
  • New to Web services
    Get the technical details of what makes a Web service.
  • The Web Services Conceptual Architecture
    Explore the technical ideas behind Web services technology and how it functions.
  • Web Services Architecture, W3C Working Group Note 11 February 2004
    This document defines the Web Services Architecture. It identifies the functional components and defines the relationships among those components to effect the desired properties of the overall architecture.
  • Standards
    • Standards roadmap
      Understand the impact and importance of standards and specifications for the development of SOA and Web services.
    • Thomas Erl's WS-Standards
      SOA Systems Architect Thomas Erl provides an introduction to the core set of first- and second-generation (WS-*) Web Services specifications.
    • Build configurable workflows with WS-BPEL and IoC, Part 1: Understanding dynamic business workflows
      Inversion of Control (IoC) and Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) can be effective tools for implementing dynamic business workflows. In this article, the first in a two-part series, Bilal Siddiqui describes business workflows' dynamic nature and proposes a two-layer workflow model that lets you use XML to build configurable and flexible solutions.
    • Understanding Web Services specifications, Part 1: SOAP
    • Understanding Web Services specifications, Part 2: Web Services Description Language (WSDL)
    • Understanding Web Services specifications, Part 3: Uniform Description and Discovery Interface (UDDI)
      Learn the basic concepts of the Uniform Description and Discovery Interface (UDDI), and how to access it using a Java application, in this third in a series of tutorials on the major Web services specifications.f
    • Understanding Web Services specifications, Part 4: WS-Security
      This tutorial, Part 4 of the 'Understanding Web services specifications' series, explains the concepts behind WS-Security and related standards such as XML Signature, which combine to make security in the Web services world not just possible, but practical.f
    • Understanding Web Services specifications, Part 5: WS-Policy
      This tutorial, Part 5 of the 'Understanding Web Services specifications' series, explains the concepts behind WS-Policy and related standards, such as WS-SecurityPolicy, which provide a means to specify possible configurations of a Web service, and also to enforce defined security and authentication.f
    • Understanding Web Services specifications, Part 6: WS-Interoperability
      The goal of Web services is to enable communication between different software and hardware systems. These systems typically differ in both their hardware and software configurations. These differences have been overcome through the definition of standard protocols, such as those employed in building Web services. Occasionally, incompatibility issues arise even when using these standard protocols, which can lead to interoperability problems. This tutorial, Part 6 of the 'Understanding Web Services specifications' series, explains the nature and origin of Web service interoperability problems. This tutorial also introduces you to the WS-I Basic Profile, which is a set of guidelines Web services should adhere to in order to achieve optimum interoperability.f
    • Understanding Web Services specifications, Part 7: WS-Business Process Execution Language
      You have a pretty robust system of services, but what you really want is an application that makes use of them to implement your business processes. Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) provides you with a standard technology for composing and combining Web services so they will do what you want at the macro level, and not just the micro level. This tutorial, the last of a seven-part series, explains how to create a process flow for your services using WS-BPEL.f
    • WS-Federation How To
  • WSDL
    • Describe REST Web services with WSDL 2.0
      At their core, Web services define a mechanism for machine-to-machine interaction using a network and XML. A key component of a Web service is a formal description with Web Services Description Language (WSDL). Until recently there was no formal language to describe REpresentational State Transfer (REST) Web services -- now there's WSDL 2.0. This article introduces you to REST and WSDL 2.0, and walks you through creating a WSDL 2.0 description of a REST Web service.
  • REST
    • REST based authentication
      Discussion of some of the issues of authenticating REST-style web services including an example of securing your services with Basic or Digest auth using Apache HTTP Server.
    • RESTful Web services: The basics
      Representational State Transfer (REST) has gained widespread acceptance across the Web as a simpler alternative to SOAP- and Web Services Description Language (WSDL)-based Web services. Key evidence of this shift in interface design is the adoption of REST by mainstream Web 2.0 service providers -- including Yahoo, Google, and Facebook -- who have deprecated or passed on SOAP and WSDL-based interfaces in favor of an easier-to-use, resource-oriented model to expose their services. In this article, Alex Rodriguez introduces you to the basic principles of REST.
  • Transactions
    • Transactions and Web Services
      A pdf talking about how transactions can be performed in Web services
    • A comparison of Web services transaction protocols
      A very detailed comparison of different Web services transaction mechanisms we have.
  • Patterns
    • Web Service Security-Scenarios, Patterns, and Implementation Guidance for Web Services Enhancements (WSE) 3.0
      Covers patterns for Web services security and their implementation using Microsoft's WSE 3.0. (Jason Hogg, Don Smith, Fred Chong, Dwayne Taylor, Lonnie Wall, Paul Slater; Microsoft Press, 2005)
    • Dr. Dobb's | Basic SOA Using REST | May 7, 2007
      Building and using RESTful web services using both the standard java.net.* classes and servlets, and the JAX-WS 2.0 APIs.
  • Implementation Stacks
    • Codehaus XFire - Stack Comparison
      A great comparison of different implementation stacks
  • Some Interesting Web Services
    • amazon web services wsdl
    • google wsdl
    • ebay wsdl
  • Software
    • UDDI
      • Apache jUDDI - Welcome to jUDDI
        jUDDI (pronounced "Judy") is an open source Java implementation of the Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) specification for Web Services.
      • UDDI4J
        UDDI4J is a Java class library that provides an API to interact with a UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) registry.
  • Misc
    • Gabriel Bechara's Blog: Web Services versioning
    • Web services hints and tips: JAX-RPC versus JAX-WS, Part 4
      This fourth part of the series about Java API for XML-based RPC (JAX-RPC) 1.1 and Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) 2.0 compares the dynamic invocation models. This tip walks you through the similarities and describes the major differences, using an example for each model.f
    • Tight-coupling Web services in the SOA
      Look at the pros and cons of both tight and loose coupling Web services and the resulting change in scale that comes from tight coupling. This article includes examples of criteria to measure performance of tightly coupled Web services during the testing process.
    • Faults and exceptions in JAX-WS
      This article details the Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) mapping of Web Services Description Language (WSDL) faults to Java exceptions, Java exceptions to WSDL faults, and some other exceptions defined by the JAX-WS specification.
    • Tip: Detect XML document encodings with SAX and XNI
      Sometimes when you forward XML documents, you just want to copy the bytes from point A to point B. You don't necessarily want to parse the entire thing, but you do need to determine the character encoding to set the metadata appropriately. In these cases, streaming APIs such as SAX and XNI offer a fast and efficient way to inspect the encoding without paying for full parsing.
    • Polymorphic Web services, Part 1: Polymorphic data
      The potential benefits of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) in terms of loose coupling and reuse, leading to business agility, have been well publicised for some time. But for SOA to provide a truly flexible platform for business process management (BPM), you need to introduce an element of abstraction into your service invocations. This article shows you how to use XML extensions and dynamic service invocation techniques to provide a double whammy of polymorphism, creating truly flexible service invocations while simplifying business processes.
  • Performance
    • The elements of Web service performance
      Ever since the beginning of Web services as a class of application, performance, in terms of response time and memory requirements, has been a major consideration. In particular, the use of XML and SOAP is seen as an obstacle to high performance and the developers of various toolkits have devoted much effort to fixing performance problems.
  • Transports
    • Using Request-Response SOAP over JMS Web Services
  • Mashup
    • The ultimate mashup -- Web services and the semantic Web, Part 1: Use and combine Web services
      As Web services grow in popularity, enterprising Web and application developers create new and innovative applications with their data. In addition to single-service applications, developers are creating mashups, applications that combine data from multiple services to create something new. This series chronicles the creation of the ultimate mashup, an application that not only stores data from different mashups but uses semantic technology to enable users to create their own mashups by swapping services, or even by picking and choosing data. It uses Java(TM) programming and a combination of servlets, JSP, software from the open source Jena project, and DB2's new native XML capabilities. In this part, Nicholas Chase introduces the concept of mashups, shows you how they work and how to build a simple version of one.
• Web 2.0
  • Using Web 2.0 architecture for a more flexible enterprise
    Web 2.0 repositories can help you create a flexible software architecture. Such software can be easily plugged into Web 2.0 communities and extranets. However, creating a fluid system that works in accordance with requirements for modifiability, performance, security, scalability, and reusability can be challenging. Learn techniques that help you ensure that your enterprise Web 2.0 architecture meets your quality requirements.f
  • Enterprise Web 2.0, Part 2: Enterprise Web 2.0 solution patterns
    This four-part article series presents an overview of how both commercial and public organisations are seeking to exploit the current generation of Internet technologies. Part 1 of this series explores the increasingly widespread effect that the maturing Internet, characterised by the banner Web 2.0, is having on such organisations. In this article, learn about the basic business capabilities enabled by Web 2.0 technologies -- I call them Enterprise Web 2.0 solution patterns -- that organisations can apply while searching for innovations in their businesses, products, and services.
  • Architect Center: Enterprise 2.0
    Enterprise 2.0 is what happens when Web 2.0 gets down to business. Learn how to transform the enterprise with powerful, user-friendly social computing tools that change how people relate to information technology.
• Versioning
  • Dr. Dobb's | Versioning and SOA--There is no IDog2 | November 7, 2007
    Udi discusses the issues around versioning and SOA and how the asynchronous nature of messaging obviates the need for previously accepted interface-based versioning practices.
  • Comment lines: Greg Flurry: Service versioning in SOA
    Using service-oriented architectures as a way of enabling flexible and resilient enterprises is becoming widespread. Success with initial SOA deployments now lets architects and developers focus on things that are common to all business and IT systems. One such constant in any system is change. This article discusses the challenge of change in SOA and describes a model that helps address the challenge.
• Case Studies
  • ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
  • British Airways
  • T-Mobile Hungary
  • SOA Industry Case Studies
  • Leveraging Federal IT Investment With Service-Oriented Architecture
    Leveraging Federal IT Investment With Service-Oriented Architecture (0902Raines.pdf PDF 125KB) by Geoffrey Raines Federal leadership teams struggle to find ways to effectively leverage decades of IT investment while providing a growth path for new capabilities, and this article shows how a service-oriented architecture may provide a solution.
  • SOA ROI - Case Studies across various industries (David Chappell Blog)
• Security
  • SOA security 1-2-3, Part 3: Test your SOA security
    Examine a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) security implementation road map in this series. This article -- the last in a three-part series -- provides rules for testing SOA security. Discover the tools and knowledge needed in your organization to build the best security for your SOA.
• BPEL
  • SOA Best Practices: The BPEL Cookbook
    Learn advanced BPEL concepts and best practices for development, deployment, and administration from the architects implementing them in real-world applications.
• Testing
  • Dr. Dobb's | Testing Service Oriented Architectures | October 28, 2008
    Traditional testing techniques assume defective code can be precisely determined. But this isn't always the case with SOA.
• SCA
  • Introducing SCA
    A nicely written article.
  • Exploring the WebSphere Application Server Feature Pack for SCA: Part 1: An overview of the Service Component Architecture feature pack
    An introduction to open Service Component Architecture concepts, objectives of the technology, and highlights of some key integration points that provide great value to IBM WebSphere Application Server V7 users.
  • Organizations
    • Home - Open SOA Collaboration
      The OSOA organization's charter is to define a core set of specifications that describe a language-neutral model for building applications and systems using a Service Oriented Architecture. OSOA also defined a set of programming language specific specifications that extend and complement other approaches to implementing services, such as Java, BPEL, C++, and Java EE technologies such as EJBâ„¢ components.
    • Committees | OASIS Open CSA
  • Implementations
    • Index : Apache Tuscany
      Apache Tuscany
  • Service Component Architecture (SCA) lets you invoke components from different technologies
    Service Component Architecture (SCA) is a new technology that abstracts underlying computer services so a system is more flexible while incorporating subsystems implemented in different technologies. SCA moves many details of access technology, implementation, and protocols into the middleware layer, away from the business logic. This abstraction comes at a price for some developers. It can be difficult to understand and debug business applications. Learn how a component is invoked when the invocations are taking place over various protocol bindings and implementation types. The example uses the open source Apache Tuscany SCA runtime to explain the underlying complexity.
• Misc
  • Service-Oriented Architecture expands the vision of Web services
    Learn how to move forward from simple models to those that represent real-world business models of arbitrary complexity.
  • Strategic success of SOA will depend on real sharing of services and software tools
  • FTPOnline Special Report: Service-Oriented Architecture
    A service-oriented architecture (SOA) can allow your enterprise to react quickly to changes in the competitive environment. This FTPOnline Special Report gives you practical information to help your enterprise implement SOA quickly and effectively.
  • Requirements process for SOA projects, Part 2: Capturing requirements for an SOA application
    In this article, you model use cases and business requirements for services for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) projects. You also learn how to best capture and document these requirements.
  • Information service patterns, Part 2: Data consolidation pattern
    The data consolidation pattern specification helps data and application architects make informed architectural decisions and improve decision guidelines. See how you can apply the pattern in the SOA context.
  • Enterprise Application Transformation: Leveraging your investment in proven, mission-critical business applications
    from The Rational Edge: This article describes how the new Enterprise Generation Language technology supports the development of service-oriented architectures by leveraging existing IT resources and legacy language development teams.
  • IBM developerWorks : Blogs : Building SOA applications with patterns
    Get involved in the developerWorks community by participating in developerWorks Blogs.
  • JOT: Journal of Object T echnology - Where's the (Business) Beef?, Mahesh Dodani
  • Predicts 2007: SOA Advances
  • Defining SOA as an architectural style
    Define Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) as an architectural style to promote business-aligned enterprise services as the fundamental unit for designing and building solutions. Discover how SOA helps you to create a true alignment between business and IT and explore a pattern language that can be used to implement this architectural style.
  • The Missing Piece in SOA - A presentation
  • Architecture in practice, Part 2: An introduction to SOA solution scenarios
    IBM now offers eight scenarios to help you get started with Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). In this introductory article in a multipart miniseries, you explore each SOA solution scenarios and discover how they can help accelerate your SOA implementation.
  • ZapThink :: Research - SOA and the Zachman Framework
    Focused research, analysis, and insight on XML, Web Services, and Service-Orientation
  • Dr. Dobb's | Semantically Enabled SOA | May 4, 2007
    Semantic Service-Oriented Architectures introduce semantic enhancements to services so that agents can dynamically combine services to satisfy business goal.
  • Dr. Dobb's | Basic SOA Using REST | May 7, 2007
    Building and using RESTful web services using both the standard java.net.* classes and servlets, and the JAX-WS 2.0 APIs.
  • IBM Redbooks | JKE Case Study: SOA Security and Management Scenario SOA Scenario
    This paper is part of a series of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) papers featuring a fictitious JK Enterprises (JKE) company in a case study.
  • The information perspective of SOA design, Part 1: Introduction to the information perspective of a Service Oriented Architecture
    This article is written for architects and practitioners designing a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). It introduces a set of patterns and capabilities representing the information perspective in the design of an SOA. The key patterns addressed are the business glossary, the canonical model and data quality analysis. See how these patterns are positioned in SOA and discover the contributions they make to an SOA solution. Get an introduction to the related IBM products: IBM Information Server, Rational Data Architect, and IBM Industry Models. This article is the first in a series: subsequent articles explore each of the patterns in more detail and then show how IBM products may be used to implement each pattern.
  • The information perspective of SOA Design, Part 6: The value of applying the data quality analysis pattern in SOA
    Discover the value and approach of data quality analysis in the context of an SOA environment. Learn about the concepts involved in data quality analysis and see the basic steps needed to initiate a data quality assesment project within the broader SOA project. Analyze these issues so that appropriate implementation choices can be made. This is the sixth article in a series called the “The information perspective of SOA design, ' and will be followed by a related article that describes in more detail how the related IBM products (WebSphere Information Analyzer) can be used in this context.
  • SOA meets situational applications, Part 3: Examples and lessons learned
    The first article in this series explained the applicability of Web-based situational applications (SAs) to the enterprise, their relationship to Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), and how they can be used to improve the current state of corporate IT. Part 2 described the IBM experience in building the Situational Applications Environment (SAE), which has been developed to support the community-based computing that takes advantage of both traditional SOA and emerging Web 2.0 technologies and approaches. This third and final installment describes several SAs, the business situation that inspired their creation, their architecture, the tangible business results that come from technologies that enable each solution, and lessons learned.
  • IBM Redbooks | Aligning Business Process Management, Service-Oriented Architecture, and Lean Six Sigma for Real Business Results
    Lean Six Sigma (LSS) produces real results in difficult economic times by uncovering process waste, reducing non-value adding activity, and increasing productivity. The benefits are even felt in IT.
  • IBM developerWorks : Top 10 SOA and Web services tutorials and articles -- September 2008
    Check out which SOA and Web services tutorials and articles developerWorks readers found most interesting last month.
  • STSC CrossTalk - Key Transformational Techniques to Achieve Enterprise-Scale Interoperability - Nov 2008
    This article examines key modernization and transformation strategies for interoperability, including enterprise use of open source, service-oriented architecture (SOA), and agile techniques in software development. The article concludes with a real-world case study on legacy modernization and interoperability for a major government agency through use of these tools and techniques.
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - A Model-driven Approach to Service Policies, Harshavardhan Jegadeesan, Sundar Balasubramaniam
    (none)

Software Architecture

• General
  • Software Architecture (at Software Engineering Institute)
  • What are the Duties of a Chief Software Architect?
  • Software Architect
  • Resources For Software Architects
    A good site.
  • developerWorks : Architecture : Integration
    Resources on Integration from IBM DeveloperWorks
  • Handbook of Software Architecture
    From Grady Booch
  • developerWorks : Architecture
    The section on Architecture at the IBM DeveloperWorks site.
  • developerWorks : Architecture roadmap
    Answers from IBM (articles, links,...) for some often encounted architectural questions.
  • The Open Group Architecture Forum
    TOGAF, The Open Group Architecture Framework, is an industry standard architecture framework that may be used freely by any organization wishing to develop an information systems architecture for use within that organization.
  • ITAC: IT Architect Certification Program
  • Essays on Software Architecture
    Short essays
  • OMG Specifications Info
  • MDA
  • Seminal Papers on Software Architecture
    A set of papers selected by Grady Booch
  • 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know
    97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know Edited by Richard Monson-Haefel Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc. Introduction The following are axioms for software architects by software archit...
  • SEI: Key Publications Organized by Subject Matter
  • "Who needs an Architect?"
  • Dobbs Code Talk - 10 Papers Every Software Architect Should Read (At Least Twice)
    The Voice of The Programming Community
• Architectural Software Development
  • What is Architectural Software Development?
  • Quality Attribute Design Primitives
    This report focuses on the quality attribute aspects of architectural mechanisms. This report addresses mechanisms that significantly affect quality attribute behavior and have sufficient content for analysis. Codifying such mechanisms will enable architects to identify the choices necessary to achieve quality attribute goals. This, in turn, will set a foundation for further software architectural design and analysis.
  • Architectural manifesto: Designing software architectures, Part 1
  • Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures
    A PhD dissertation; Explains REST
  • Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures
• Architecture Evaluation
  • Architectural manifesto: Evaluating architectures
    The evaluation phase is the first critical juncture in the design and implementation of your architecture.
  • Evaluating a Software Architecture
    This book excerpt provides a detailed view on architecture evaluation. It also introduces different methods of evaluating software architectures.
  • ATAM: Method for Architecture Evaluation (Research Paper)
    Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) is a technique for analyzing software architectures.
  • SAAM: A Method for Analyzing the Properties of Software Architectures (Research Paper)
    Software Architecture Analysis Method, the predecessor of ATAM.
  • Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs
  • Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs (ARID)
  • Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs (ARID)
  • Architecture Reviews: Practice and Experience
  • ATAM
  • Assessing quality in software architectures
    Learn about four methods to help you understand the quality of existing software architectures. The assessment methods can help you analyze whether a software architecture design is suitable for a given set of requirements. See how to improve the quality of a software architecture through architectural assessments.
  • InfoQ: Lessons Learned from Architecture Reviews
    In this presentation, Rebecca Wirfs-Brock presents some practical lessons she has learned from doing architectural reviews. Many times projects are not delivered in time, or have quality problems or have an incomplete set of features due to architectural flaws. The reviews are meant to highlight existing risks and strengths of the architecture, and to reveal issues initially neglected.
  • STSC CrossTalk - A Uniform Approach for System of Systems Architecture Evaluation - Mar/Apr 2009
    For a large-scale system of systems (SoS), severe integration and run-time problems can arise due to inconsistencies, ambiguities, and gaps in how quality attributes (such as reliability) are addressed in the underlying systems. This is exacerbated in contexts where major system and software elements of the SoS are developed concurrently and oftentimes independently. Using a defense system scenario, this article outlines a uniform approach for capturing quality attribute requirements as augmentations to mission threads early in the development process and for analyzing SoS, system, and software architectures against these mission thread augmentations.
• Documenting The Architecture
  • Architectural manifesto: Designing software architectures, Part 5
    Introducing the 4+1 view model
  • Documenting Software Architectures
    A comprehensive handbook about software documentation, includes an excellent section on views.
  • Documenting software architecture, Part 3: Develop the architecture overview
    In this series, learn why and how you should document software architecture. This article explains how to develop and document the high-level architecture overview for your system or application. The architecture overview, with its three main views, plays a critical role in providing the foundation for your enterprise, application, and systems architecture.
• Patterns
  • Remoting Patterns - A Systematic Approach for Design Reuse of Distributed Object Middleware Solutions
  • POSA 3 - index
  • voelter.de - Home (Lots of pattern related stuff)
  • Patterns-based design and development for architects, Part 2: Using architecture patterns
    Design patterns are one of the best ways to share design ideas. They give software architects and designers a tool, or a language, to capture their experiences by solving common recurring problems in a methodical way. In this two-part series you explore ways to use design patterns to solve your everyday design problems. This tutorial, Part 2 in the series, uses the same railway reservation system discussed in Part 1 to show you advantages and pitfalls of applying different architecture patterns.f
• Modeling
  • The value of modeling
    This article discusses how modeling can help development teams manage complexity and enable communication, design, and assessment for requirements, architectures, software, and systems. In addition to explaining how to use models productively throughout the software development lifecycle, it looks at trends affecting the future of modeling.
  • Modelsoft Consulting Corp
    Couple of simple design problems - solutions are available here in the resources section.
  • An MOF-based repository for enterprise architecture models
    This paper presents the work Unisys has done to create a central enterprise architecture (EA) at a large organization within the United States federal government. This work includes defining a standard core EA modeling language supported by the EA repository, and building transformations between tool-specific EA models to the standard core EA language.
  • Build effective system models
    UML models that follow best practices feature views that are directed toward a specific form, have a common theme across all diagrams, and contain a pivot around which each diagram is focused. In this article, you'll learn how to organize and present UML model views based on the principles of form, theme, and pivot.
  • The four dimensions of system models
    Architectural frameworks such as RUP SE and the Zachman Framework help us understand large systems and how to view dependencies. But when an actual system model is being examined by a team of analysts, misunderstandings can still arise over what the various views within a model are attempting to convey. The author proposes an improved approach to describing the parts of a complex system model.
  • Making the model work for you
    from The Rational Edge: Learn about the differences between models and UML diagrams used in the process of software analysis and design. This article steps you through several operations using IBM Rational modeling tools to illustrate various ways to view and alter a model.
  • Operation-state modeling
    Operation-state modeling is a technique for writing detailed and consistent service specifications. Learn how to objectively verify the validity of a service implementation by checking its behavior against the operation-state model.
  • Model service-oriented architecture with Rational Software Architect: Part 5. Service Identification
    This tutorial series introduces the concepts and tools involved with modeling service-oriented architecture (SOA) using IBM Rational Software Architect. You will learn how Rational Software Architect, along with IBM WebSphere Business Modeler, supports a model-driven development (MDD) approach to the specification of SOA. This fifth tutorial in this series will step through how you would identify services and create the initial service model in Rational Software Architect. It continues using the online DVD rental case study introduced in the previous four parts, and you will use Rational Software Architect to create the initial service model based on that case study.
  • Business analyst tools for requirements management and business modeling
    Keep up to date with the latest tools and best practices for business analysts to help translate business requirements into IT requirements. Confer and collaborate with other business analysts in an online community environment.
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - Methodological Proposal for Business Process Management sustained in the use of Patterns, Pedro Bonillo, Nancy Zambrano and Eleonora Acosta
    (none)
• MDA
  • Architectural manifesto: The MDA adoption manual
• Component Development
  • Java Component Development: A Conceptual Framework
• Clustering
  • Cost and Scalability in Vertical and Horizontal Architectures
    A technical white paper from Sun Microsystems.
  • Vertical and Horizontal Scalability: A Study of Representative UNIX, Linux, and Windows Customer Environments
    A technical white paper from Sun Microsystems.
  • Designing for High Availability
  • Web Farms: Availability and Scalability
  • InfoQ: Scalability Worst Practices
    In this article, former Orbitz lead architect Brian Zimmer discusses scalability worst pratices. Topics covered include The Golden Hammer, Resource Abuse, Big Ball of Mud, Dependency Management, Timeouts, Hero Pattern, Not Automating, and Monitoring.
• Requirements
  • JOT: Architecture-Related Requirements
    In this column, the authors describe the three major kinds of architecture-related requirements, discuss the most important characteristics they should have, describe the responsibilities of their stakeholders, and warn of the major negative consequences they can have on downstream activities when they are not properly engineered.
  • Analyze use cases by architectural relevance
    Learn how to use architectural mechanisms, such as persistence, networking, and security, to assess and qualitatively rank use cases and scenarios for architectural relevance. Architects and project managers can then use these rankings to more effectively schedule resources and organize projects.
  • Dr. Dobb's | So What Are Requirements? | August 3, 2007
    Karl Wiegers answers the question: "So what are requirements?"
  • Process Impact -- Publications by Karl Wiegers
    Process Impact helps companies improve the effectiveness of their software processes. We provide training on software process improvement, metrics, requirements, peer reviews and inspections, and creating a healthy software engineering culture.
  • The Five Levels of Requirements Management Maturity
  • Requirements Management Plan Example
    A complete Requirements Management Plan for a large real-life project.
  • Requirements planning: overlooked and undervalued
    This article takes a high-level look at project requirements and the requirements cycle to help you understand the role of the business analyst in requirements planning.
• Examples
  • An IBM Rational approach to the Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF)
    This article presents an overview of the Department of Defense (DoD) Architecture Framework (DoDAF) and describes its Operational View (OV) products. The author describes the relationships among the different views, and how the views can be leveraged both individually and collectively to add value in the modeling and design of complex systems.
• Product Line Engineering
  • Software Product Line Engineering with Feature Models
    Winter 2006 issue
  • Software Product Lines (At SEI)
    Software Product Lines is a leading source of software product line research, education, and products and services for promoting the software product line approach to software development.
  • STSC CrossTalk - Production Planning for a Software Product Line - Jan 2009
    The goal of using a software product line (SPL) approach is to predictably develop multiple software-intensive systems (products) in an efficient, timely, and cost-effective manner that takes economic advantage of the features common to the products. Achieving this goal requires more than reusable (core) assets. It requires production planning that formulates a production strategy, devises a production method, and composes a production plan that is followed for each product. We present a three-step approach to production planning that guides an organization from the goals for the SPL to a comprehensive production plan.
  • STSC CrossTalk - Experiences With Software Product Line Development - Jan 2009
    Overwatch Systems recently transitioned to a software product line (SPL) approach. Using its SPL, Overwatch Systems provides both software products and custom software system development in the domain of intelligence planning, collection, and analysis to the U.S. DoD and intelligence community. This article describes the approach taken in Overwatch Systems’ transition, describes the product line architecture that is a key to the Overwatch Intelligence Center (OIC) SPL, and provides the lessons learned during the transition.
  • STSC CrossTalk - Software Product Management - Jan 2009
    It’s easy to confuse the disciplines of project manager and product manager. Simply put, the development of the product or service falls to the project manager, while the market success of software and system products depends on the skills and competence of the product manager. This article provides an overview of software product management and the role of a product manager, and describes concrete practices that can boost an organization’s software product management and thus the success rate of products in terms of predictability, quality, and efficiency.
  • New frontiers in innovation for product line engineering: Featuring Lockheed Martin
    from The Rational Edge: This introduction to product-line engineering describes a method that some organizations are using to evolve their product portfolios, resulting in improved productivity, quality, and efficiency in the way teams develop systems and software. To read more about this new method in practice, be sure to click on the link to the Lockheed Martin article at the end of this introduction.
  • Embedded.com - Use product line engineering to reduce the total costs required to create, deploy & maintain systems & software
    An introduction to Software Product Line (SPI) engineering, an emerging discipline in the software industry that offers great promise for high degrees of strategic reuse within a product line portfolio of similar products.
• Modern Trends/Keep Yourself Updated
  • Insight and outlook, Part 1: Why and when should you choose SOA?
  • Insight and outlook, Part 2: How do I translate business needs into IT requirements?
  • Insight and outlook, Part 3: What is the most valuable IT architecture skill and how can you learn it?
  • Insight and outlook, Part 4: What's the best software to implement as a service if you're just starting SOA?
  • Insight and outlook, Part 5: What is IT governance, and why should you care?
• Misc
  • On demand business process life cycle, Part 1: Create the foundation for your on demand business processes
  • On demand business process life cycle, Part 2: Patterns for e-business recipe
  • Plug-in to Reusability in Java
    Uncovers the secrets of "Plug-in Architecture," where parameterized classes are the plug-ins. Defines Interfaces for several important classes used in an application, and then, gives the actual class names in a parameter file read by the application on start-up.
  • java.net: Refactoring in Java
    Book excerpt: Introduce Null Object
  • Big iron lessons, Part 2: Reliability and availability: What's the difference?
  • TheServerSide.com - A beginners guide to Dependency Injection
  • Evolving Java-based APIs
  • OASIS Universal Business Language (UBL)
    UBL, the Universal Business Language, is the product of an international effort to define a royalty-free library of standard electronic XML business documents such as purchase orders and invoices. UBL is designed to plug directly into existing business, legal, auditing, and records management practices, eliminating the re-keying of data in existing fax- and paper-based supply chains and providing an entry point into electronic commerce for small and medium-sized businesses.
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - How to align IT with the changes using UML, Birol Berkel
    Applying the “Goal Driven Development†Process on a case study using UML 2 and the BMM
  • Characteristics of a software architect
  • Managing J2EE and .NET Interoperating Applications
  • In pursuit of code quality: Code quality for software architects
    How to continuously monitor and correct quality aspects of code that can affect the long-term viability of your software architecture?
  • IT Architect... Profession of the Future
    The Open Group approach of producing better architects.
  • Developing resilient architectures: Identify, analyze, and design for change
    Using change cases to document and streamline the design process.
  • An introduction to architecture management
    from The Rational Edge: Read how the IBM Rational team is expanding what has been traditionally called Analysis, Design, and Construction to include Architecture Management: the discipline of governing software architecture amidst changes to the requirements that drive it and the code that implements it.
  • Complex Event Processing
    It can be applied to extracting and analyzing information from any kind of distributed message-based system. It is developed from the Rapide concepts of (1) causal event modeling, (2) event patterns and pattern matching, and (3) event pattern maps and constraints.
  • Cover Pages: OMG Membership Approves Adoption of Reusable Software Assets (RAS) Standard.
    A good introductory page on RAS
  • The Law of Leaky Abstractions - Joel on Software
    "All non-trivial abstractions, to some degree, are leaky." - A very good read
  • The Principle of Least Astonishment | Andy Wibbels
    From the world of systems design and usability comes the principal of least astonishment - or I've also heard it called the principle of least surprise. When two elements of an interface conflict or are ambiguous, the behaviour should be that which will least surprise the human user or programmer at the time the conflict [...]
  • Bill Higgins / the tension between transparency and abstraction
    weblog
  • Architecture Complexity
    Blog by Grady Booch on February 13, 2007 about how to compare the complexity of different architectures.
  • Architecture principles: Creating the foundation for robust architecture
    The answer to 'What is architecture?' depends on who you ask. What it takes to develop a strong architecture is even more difficult to define. However, there are well-known tenets you should employ when doing architecture. In this article you explore one of these tenets: architecture principles.
  • Ajax and REST, Part 1
    Described how to use AJAX capabilities to regain REST properties of web applications.
  • Paul's REST Resources
    A collection of articles on REST
  • Architecture in practice, Part 3: Top ten tips for writing great IT project proposals
    Just as there is a software development methodology, there is an approach you can take toward IT project proposal development to maximize your chances of success. In the latest installment in the Architecture in practice column, IBM architect Tilak Mitra takes the viewpoint of a proposal leader and highlights the major steps you should follow to ensure the development of a high-quality proposal.
  • Applying an analytical framework
    Analytical frameworks can help to collect and organize analysis patterns, tools, skills, organization techniques, examples, and expertise of others who have solved similar modeling problems. Learn how to use analytical frameworks to your advantage in various software development areas, from security, messaging and user interfaces, to hiring and training personnel.
  • Evolving Java-based APIs - Eclipsepedia
    This document is about how to evolve Java-based APIs while maintaining compatibility with existing client code.
  • Application architecture essentials, Part 9: Architecting applications for volatility
    For environments with factors that create uncertainty and a potential for change, this article discusses approaches and tools that can help reduce the impact of volatility on your application.f
  • Legacy transformation guidance for a small or medium business
    This article explains how to identify and analyze various alternatives to help a small or medium business to modernize its legacy information technology assets. A fictional telecommunication service company providing high-speed Internet access, cable television, local and long distance telephone and wireless services to residential customers and local businesses in several metro areas in the mid-west is used as a case study. The IT department of the company provides application services such as management of service orders and provisioning, troubles reporting and resolution, message processing, and billing system to support the business. The company needs to transform its legacy systems to support new business plans. The solution features products and services from IBM.
  • An introduction to the Master Data Management Reference Architecture
    Get a short introduction to the Master Data Management Reference Architecture for the enterprise which supports implementing Multiform Master Data Management. Learn about the key concepts that drive the design of the Master Data Management Reference Architecture and Logical System Architecture and see how to map the relevant IBM Information Management software products to the core components of the Master Data Management Reference Architecture. Each product is briefly introduced, and in the Resources section of this paper you will find a wealth of additional information for reference. Finally, you will also learn about an upcoming book, Enterprise Master Data Management: An SOA Approach Managing Core Information, that describes the Master Data Management Reference Architecture in full detail as well as other topics related to Master Data Management.
  • A Scalable, Commodity Data Center Network Architecture
  • Occasionally Connected Systems Architecture: Concurrency
    When designing systems that support users who need to work offline, one of the challenges developers face is how to deal with concurrency problems when these users re-connect and synchronize their data with the server. Explore patterns for conflict identification and resolution in the first of this series on Occasionally Connected Systems Architecture.
  • Influences that can shape architectural decision making
    Architects routinely make complex decisions as they define solutions to complex problems. The results very often depend upon the strength of inputs, or influences, from a number of authoritative sources. This article reviews some of the most important categories of inputs and suggests a checklist that should be used by all architects.
  • Evolutionary architecture and emergent design: Investigating architecture and design
    Software architecture and design generate a lot of conversational heat but not much light. To start a new conversation about alternative ways to think about them, this article launches the Evolutionary architecture and emergent design series. Evolutionary architecture and emergent design are agile techniques for deferring important decisions until the last responsible moment. In this introductory installment, series author Neal Ford defines architecture and design and then identifies overarching concerns that will arise throughout the series.
  • Evolutionary architecture and emergent design: Test-driven design, Part 1
    Most developers think that the most beneficial part of using test-driven development (TDD) are the tests. But, when done right, TDD improves the overall design of your code. This installment in the Evolutionary architecture and emergent design series walks through an extended example showing how design can emerge from the concerns that float up from testing. Testing is only a side effect of TDD; the important part is how it changes your code for the better.
• Security
  • Building Secure Systems Using Model-Based Engineering and Architectural Models

Project Management

• Introductory
  • First principles of project management
    The author proposes a set of seven elemental principles of project management that provide a testable foundation for a set of generally acceptable practices.
  • Project Management “Reference†Summary
    A collection of good web site references.
  • Welcome to The Neal Whitten Group
    Pretty interesting resources here!
  • Dobbs Code Talk - 8 must read papers for project managers
    The Voice of The Programming Community
• RUP and PMBOK
  • Software Project Management - A Mapping between RUP and the PMBOK
  • Standards, compliance, and Rational Unified Process, Part I: Integrating RUP and the PMBOK
• Portfolio Management
  • Portfolio management: An introduction
    This introduction expresses IBM’s viewpoint about the foundations and essentials of portfolio management, and discusses ideas and assets that support and enable effective portfolio management practices.
  • Portfolio management: The IBM view of PM essentials
    This article defines a set of fundamental principles for portfolio management and discusses how to apply them. Reflecting the IBM perspective on portfolio management, it identifies ideas and assets that support and enable effective application of the discipline’s practices.
• Software Project Planning/Estimation
  • Introductory
    • Estimating Software Development
      Introductory. Characteristics of a good estimate are found here.
    • Estimating Project Costs and Monte Carlo Simulation in MS Excel
      Basic rules that you need to keep in mind in coming up with an accurate and realistic estimate, common mistakes that we do.
    • Software Cost Estimation
      A research paper which summerizes different estimationg techniques, compare them. A good read.
    • SPC :: What We Do :: Expert Knowledge :: Estimation & Project Planning
      Resources from many places are captured here in a simple to read format. Also are links to elsewhere.
    • QSM Resources - Articles and Papers - Quantitative Software Management, Inc.
      Lots of good articles on many aspects of project estimation and planning
    • Software Estimation, Enterprise-Wide
      from The Rational Edge: This article, Part 1 in a two-part series, presents an overview of approaches, techniques, models, and tools used in estimating costs, schedules, and other factors on software projects. Emerging innovations are discussed in addition to well-established methods. Part 2 provides advice on what methods to apply in specific circumstances.f
    • RSPA Project Planning Resources
    • STSC CrossTalk - Software Estimating Models: Three Viewpoints - Feb 2006
      This article compares the approaches taken by three widely used models for software cost and schedule estimation. Each of the models is compared to a common framework of first-, second-, and third-order models to maintain consistency in the comparisons.
    • STSC CrossTalk - Understanding Software Project Estimates - Mar/Apr 2009
      With two-thirds of software projects running long and over budget [1] , it is important that upper management understand the value of proper estimation techniques, and that their estimators are as accurate as possible. This article discusses formal estimation techniques, accurate software estimation tools, the misinterpretation of estimation as target setting, and the accuracy of estimates.
    • CHAOS - STANDISH GROUP REPORT
    • Estimating Project Costs and Monte Carlo Simulation in MS Excel
      Basic rules that you need to keep in mind in coming up with an accurate and realistic estimate, common mistakes that we do.
  • Range Estimation
    • Bad Estimates Aren't Worth the Risk
      Single point estimation, 3-point estimation is discussed here.
    • Projects Website - Estimation Guidelines
    • Normal Distribution
      • Normal distribution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      • Normal Distribution - Online Calculator
  • COCOMO
    • Overview of COCOMO
    • CSE Center for Software Engineering -COCOMO-
      Cocomo software, manuals, research papers can be downloaded from here.
  • Function Points
    • The International Function Points Users Group
    • Fundamentals of Function Point Analysis - Abstract Introduction
      An introduction to the technique.
    • Use Cases of Function Points
      Where will you use Function Points?
    • Function Point Counting Examples
      Some simple to understand examples.
    • Free Stuff on Function Points Technique
      Some useful material is found here.
  • Use Case Based Estimation
    • Structuring Use Cases with Goals
      A very good article on how to structure and write use cases in a more useful way.
    • The Estimation of Effort Based on Use Cases
      A well known paper from Rational (IBM).
    • A Survey of Approaches for Describing and Formalizing Use Cases
    • Dear Dr. Use Case: What About Function Points and Use Cases?
    • Using Use Cases to Create Test Cases
    • IMPLICIT ANALOGY-BASED COST ESTIMATION USING TEXTUAL USE CASE ...
    • InfoQ: User Story Estimation Techniques
      One of the great things about working as a consultant is the ability to try out many different ideas and adapting your personal favorite process to include things that work. This article gives the details about user story estimation techniques that Jay Fields has found effective.
    • Use Case Points
      • Recource Estimation for Objectory Projects
        Original UCPM article
      • Effort Estimation | Use Case Points Method
        Introduces the original UCPM. Highlights the problems (Valuable!) with UCPM and modifications to the original model.
      • The Code Project - Project Estimation with Use Case Points - Design and Strategy
        A simplistic introduction. Some of the facts you should know are not highlighted in this article.
      • Test Effort Estimation Using Use Case Points
        This paper presents a new approach to the estimation of software testing efforts based on UCP as a fundamental project estimation measure.
      • STSC CrossTalk - Project Estimation With Use Case Points - Feb 2006
      • An Extension of Estimating Based on UCP complying with SW-CMM level 2
      • Software cost estimation using use case points: Getting use case transactions straight
        from The Rational Edge: The use case points method is a useful model of estimating effort and cost on software development projects -- provided you can appropriately specify and count use case transactions. This article explains how (and how not) to count transactions for estimation purposes using this model.
  • Estimating Object Oriented Systems
    • A metrics suite for object oriented design - Software Engineering ...
    • A METRICS SUITE FOR OBJECT ORIENTED DESIGN Shyam R. Chidamber ...
    • Object Points
      Another software sizing technique similar to function points/Use case points
  • Iterative Software Development
    • Planning and estimating a RUP project using IBM Rational SUMMIT Ascendant
      Easy to digest guidelines on phase planning and iteration planning are found here.
    • Planning an Iterative Project
    • Driving Iterative Development With Use Cases
  • Geographically Distributed Development
    • Geographically distributed development
      A good read on the topic.
    • Successfully managing geographically distributed development
      This paper outlines some key challenges that companies face when moving to a distributed development environment.
    • Dr. Dobb's | Globally Distributed Development | July 2, 2007
      Some guidelines on software to be used and metrics
  • Resource Planning/Scheduling
    • Software Project Management Meets Six Sigma - Part II
      Putnam's equations on size-effort-duration and schedule compression (effort-duration) are nicely presented here.
    • Twelve tips for realistic scheduling in a software development project
    • Evidence Based Scheduling - Joel on Software
  • Monte Carlo Simulation
    • Use Monte Carlo analysis for sophisticated scheduling
      Introductory, discusses what, why, when.
    • Software Project Management Meets Six Sigma - Part I
      Illustrates the usage/comprehension of the Monte Carlo technique applied to project simulation.
    • Getting to Realistic Estimates and Project Plans – A Monte Carlo ...
    • Estimating Project Costs and Monte Carlo Simulation in MS Excel
      Basic rules that you need to keep in mind in coming up with an accurate and realistic estimate, common mistakes that we do.
    • STA201 Project 1 Tips. Generating Histograms with MS EXCEL
  • Benchmark
    • Software Benchmarking Standards ISBSG Homepage
    • Reality Check Guidelines
  • GQM
    • Achieving governance goals with GQM
      from The Rational Edge: Read how the Goal-Question-Metric Approach (GQM) provides a way for whole teams, or individual team members, to better understand the role they play in successful software development.
  • Fixed Price
    • Dr. Dobb's | Is Fixed-Price Software Development Unethical? | July 18, 2008
      Reducing risks, better serving customers
    • Dr. Dobb's | Agile on a Fixed Budget | August 3, 2007
      Scott examines strategies for dealing with constraints that business stakeholders may put on software development teams.
    • Estimating use-case driven iterative development for 'fixed-cost' projects
      A very attractive method to accept change in a fixed prized project. Superb.
  • Earned Value Management
    • STSC CrossTalk - Project Duration Forecasting: Comparing Earned Value Management Methods to Earned Schedule - Dec 2008
      Earned Value Management (EVM) methods for forecasting project duration have been taught in training courses and used by project managers for four decades. These EVM methods are generally considered to be accepted practice, yet they have not been well-studied and researched as to their predictive capability. Using real project data, this article examines and compares the duration forecasts from four EVM methods to the Earned Schedule (ES) prediction technique.
    • STSC CrossTalk - The Two Most Useful Earned Value Metrics: The CPI and the TCPI - Dec 2008
      The Project Management Institute (PMI) has just released the 4th edition of their world standard on project management: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Many new features have been added to this massive document, among them new coverage of an Earned Value metric called the To-Complete Performance Index. What is the To-Complete Performance Index and why is it important? This article describes its purpose and utility, and how it can work with the Cost Performance Index.
    • Earned value management - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    • Earned Value Management
      All About Earned Value Management. Learn about the benefits, how to get started, and see sample earned value schedules.
    • NASA Earned Value Management
    • Alistair.Cockburn.us | Earned-value and burn charts
  • Earned Schedule
    • STSC CrossTalk - Project Duration Forecasting: Comparing Earned Value Management Methods to Earned Schedule - Dec 2008
      Earned Value Management (EVM) methods for forecasting project duration have been taught in training courses and used by project managers for four decades. These EVM methods are generally considered to be accepted practice, yet they have not been well-studied and researched as to their predictive capability. Using real project data, this article examines and compares the duration forecasts from four EVM methods to the Earned Schedule (ES) prediction technique.
  • Critical Chain Project Management
    • Critical Chain Project Management - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    • CRITICAL CHAIN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
      The steps are given. Also, the issues with traditional techniques are described.
    • Advantages of The Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) - PM Hut
      Advantages of The Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) - PM Hut
    • Theory of Constraints - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Risk Analysis
    • Decision Tree Analysis - Decision Trees from Mind Tools
  • Embedded Systems Development
    • Dr. Dobb's | Estimating Software Costs | October 1, 2000
      Estimating Software Costs-First in a four-part series: How big will the system be? How do you measure it?
    • The Planning Game and Embedded Software | Atomic Spin
    • Embedded.com - Estimating Program Complexity
      How Function Point Analysis can be performed and used for embedded development estimations are discussed here.
  • Agile
    • Alistair.Cockburn.us | Earned-value and burn charts
    • Planning Poker
  • Cost
    • Dr. Dobb's | Estimating Software Costs | October 1, 2000
      Estimating Software Costs-First in a four-part series: How big will the system be? How do you measure it?
    • STSC CrossTalk - Software Cost Estimating Methods for Large Projects© - Apr 2005
      For large projects, automated estimates are more successful than manual estimates in terms of accuracy and usefulness. In descending order, the costs of large projects include defect removal, production of paper documents, coding, project management, and dealing with new requirements that appear during the development cycle. In addition, successful estimates for large projects must be adjusted to match specific development processes, to match the experience of the development team, and to match the results of the programming languages and tool sets that are to be utilized. Simple manual estimates cannot encompass all of the adjustments associated with large projects.
  • Other Sizing/Metrics Related Links
    • Software Measurement Home Page, metrics, quality, cost estimation, size estimation, COCOMO, function points, complexity - Yazýlým Ölçümü Ana Sayfasý
      Nicely summerized information is here.
    • STSC CrossTalk - The Evolution of Software Size: A Search for Value© - Mar/Apr 2009
      Software size measurement continues to be a contentious issue in the software engineering community. This article reviews software sizing methodologies employed through the years, focusing on their uses and misuses. It covers the journey the software community has traversed in the quest for finding the right way to assign value to software solutions, highlighting the detours and missteps along the way. Readers will gain a fresh perspective on software size, what it really means, and what they can and cannot learn from history.
    • Joyful research: Finding meaningful metrics
      A project which tries to create a tool which can be used to investigate the traceability of a software development project.
  • Misc
    • Stop Promising Miracles (Wideband Delphi Method)
    • Optimism bias - Wikipedia
      Optimism bias is the demonstrated systematic tendency for people to be over-optimistic about the outcome of planned actions.
    • The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    • The Magical Number Seven
    • Managing Your Way through the Integration and Test Black Hole
    • Software Development Online: SD People and Projects: July 2004
    • Software Development Online: March 1999: The Project Management Puzzle
    • Software Development Online: Management Metrics
    • Software Development Online: Functionally Superior
    • Estimation variance and governance
      This paper explores the consequences for ignoring uncertainties and proposes a mathematically sound technique for reducing them as a means toward providing greater accuracy in the estimation process.
    • On time and on budget, as specified: An integrated approach to the Software Development Lifecycle
      from The Rational Edge: Read how a Ready-for-Rational partner helps software development organizations better estimate the software project development lifecycle.
    • Twelve tips for realistic scheduling in a software development project
      from The Rational Edge: Software development teams rely on carefully planned schedules. But beyond the use of basic scheduling tools, how can project managers juggle competing demands or allow time for unexpected events that threaten the best-laid plans? This article offers sophisticated scheduling techniques that stress prioritization, clarifying values, and comparing the relative worth of activities.
• Configuration Management
  • Pragmatic Project Automation
    Two chapters are free of charge (Introduction and Scheduled Builds)!
  • Pragmatic Version Control
    Two chapters are for free (Introduction to version control and Managing 3rd party code)
  • Quality busters: What version is this?
    Modern applications are built using many shared components, including dynamic link libraries (DLLs), JAR files, and runtime environments. Keeping track of these components, their versions, and their dependencies creates development and operational issues. This article discusses some of those issues and the considerations that arise from the use of components.
• Change Management
  • Becoming a world class build and release organization
    from The Rational Edge: This highly detailed case study identifies build and release challenges at an electronics and semiconductor testing company and specifies steps this company can take to develop a 'world-class' Change and Release Management organization.
• Requirements
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - Common Requirements Problems, Their Negative Consequences, and the Industry Best Practices to Help Solve Them , Donald Firesmith
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - Specifying Good Requirements
  • Anti-patterns for people and tools
    from The Rational Edge: Gary Pollice continues his list of common mistakes in software development practice, adding to last month's observations about process adoption with a second and third set this month regarding people management and tools adoption.
  • Agility with Use Cases
  • SPC :: What We Do :: Expert Knowledge :: Software Requirements Development & Management
  • Difference between include and extend in use cases
    This answer to a forum question explains the difference between include and extend relationships between use cases.
  • Mountain Goat Software - Advantages of User Stories for Requirements - agile, user stories, InformIT Network
    Mountain Goat Software is a Colorado, USA-based process and project management consultancy and training firm. Through its Certified ScrumMaster, agile estimating and planning, user story, Certified Scrum Product Ownerâ„¢, and other courses Mountain Goat Software founder Mike Cohn helps companies adopt and improve their use of agile processes and techniques in order to build extremely high performance development organizations.
• Lean Management
  • How Six Sigma Can Help the System Development Process
    A free book chapter on how Six Sigma can be applied to project management.
• Failure/Correcting
  • Early warnings of project failure
    An list of over 50 causes is also included. Good article.
  • Are You Learning From Project to Project?
  • IT catfight in Portland, OR | IT Project Failures | ZDNet.com
    Michael Krigsman is passionate about reporting, analyzing, and reducing IT failures.
  • IT Project Failures | ZDNet.com
    Michael Krigsman is passionate about reporting, analyzing, and reducing IT failures.
  • Confessions of a (Former) IT Scoundrel
    Study the ways this information technology services provider has failed its clients—and you'll know the warning signs.
  • Early Warning Signs of IT Project Failure: The Dominant Dozen.
• Misc
  • Project Management Proverbs. UK Project Management Course link.
  • Practical Software and Systems Measurement
    Practical Software and Systems Measurement (PSM) was developed to meet today's software and system technical and management challenges. It is an information-driven measurement process that addresses the unique technical and business goals of an organization. The guidance in PSM represents the best practices used by measurement professionals within the software and system acquisition and engineering communities.
  • Crystal Clear Applied: The Seven Properties of Running an Agile Project
    Book excerpt.
  • Real Life Project Management: Time Management for Project Managers
  • Traceability Eclipse Plug-in
    This project targets at developing a tool called Tracer which will be able to produce lots of matrics on software development projects on traceability.
  • Adaptive Project Management Using Scrum
  • Decision Making Tips
  • The Process Model of Linux Application Development
  • Assessing the economic value of software projects
  • Strategies for software development project success: A personal perspective
    A seasoned software development professional offers personal advice and describes best practices for improving project success, touching on communication, use cases, testing, and marketing.
  • An Introduction to Catastrophe Disentanglement for Software Projects > Overview of the Catastrophe Disentanglement Process
  • IEEE Spectrum: Why Software Fails
    An article with good real world experiences.
  • Measuring project health: Part One
    from The Rational Edge: What project managers choose to measure as a gauge on performance generally receives the team's special attention. Naturally, project health depends on accurate metrics, but more importantly it requires that the right things be measured. This article describes some of the fallacies associated with traditional software project metrics, then focuses on effective measurement during the Inception phase.
  • Do We Have to Choose Between Management and Leadership
    Viewing leadership and management as dichotomous sets up a false choice...
  • Comparing the Rational Unified Process (RUP) and Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF)
    from The Rational Edge: The Microsoft Solutions Framework and the Rational Unified Process both offer process guidance for software development teams, but how do you go about comparing the two? This article presents the major structural differences and similarities for both frameworks.
  • Best practices for lean development governance
    from The Rational Edge: The first in a series of articles covering IBM Rational's recommended approach to governing modern software development efforts, this article explores the mission and principles of lean governance, along with the organization and stakeholder collaboration required for project-by-project success.f
• Communication
  • Wiki Customization to Resolve Management Issues in Distributed Software Projects
• People
  • STSC CrossTalk - Heroes: Carrying a Double-Edged Sword - Aug 2008
    Every organization has key performers that it depends on for its success. Organizations often cast them as heroes that ride in to save the day. These heroes play an important role in getting their organizations through difficult situations, getting products out the door, and keeping customers happy. However, reliance on heroes can create problems just as big as the ones the heroes help resolve. Organizations must recognize the double-edged sword that heroes bring with them. There are ways an organization can leverage the good qualities that heroes bring and minimize the negative ones.
  • STSC CrossTalk - “Spending†Efficiency to Go Faster - Jan 2009
    Have you ever been on a project where some person or group is holding up the works? They are called the “bottleneck†station, and here are some usual and unusual strategies for improving output in the presence of various bottlenecks.
  • The Role of Leadership in Software Development | Agile Software Development Videos
    When you look around, there are a lot of leaders recommended for software development. We have the functional manager and the project manager, the scrum
• Fee
  • How to negotiate a kill fee
    It's not uncommon for a project to end early or be canceled. When that happens, you may want to negotiate a kill fee. We'll ...

OOA/OOD/OOP

• Concepts
  • The Liskov Substitution Principle
  • The Open-Closed Principle
  • Design By Contract
    • Design by contract
      The original publication by Betrand Meyer
    • Building bug-free O-O software: An introduction to Design by Contract
      Home page for object technology, Eiffel, software reuse, components, O-O training and consulting, with extensive online documentation,tutorials, articles and manuals.
    • Contract4J
      Contract4J is a tool that supports Design by Contract (DbC) programming in Java 5. Contract tests are defined using Java 5 annotations and aspects written in AspectJ evaluate the test expressions at runtime and handle failures.
    • iContract: Design by Contract in Java
  • Advanced Object-Oriented Concepts
    A book excerpt.
• Finding Classes
  • A Laboratory For Teaching Object-Oriented Thinking (CRC Card)
  • OOSC-2: HOW TO FIND THE CLASSES
    This text is taken from chapter 22 of the book Object-Oriented Software Construction, second edition, Prentice Hall, 1997.
• Object-Oriented Analysis
  Introductory - from SEI, CMU
• Object-Oriented Design
  Introductory - from SEI, CMU
• Object Oriented FAQ - Object FAQ
  A superb FAQ on all aspects of object orientation.
• The OO design process: Getting started
• The OO design process: Beginning to design software
• The OO design process: Refining the problem definition
• The OO design process: Verifying the analysis
• The OO design process: Use cases, an introduction
• The OO design process: Use-case planning
• The OO design process: Use cases applied, Part 1
• The OO design process: Use cases applied, Part 2
• Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
  An introductory article.
• JavaRanch Campfire - How my Dog learned Polymorphism
  Want to know about polymorphism?
• Journal of Object Technology
• Maximize flexibility with interfaces and abstract classes
  Design with interfaces and abstract classes to satisfy both type and implementation issues.
• Chapter 1 “Object-Oriented Analysis and Design" and Chapter 17 "GRASP: Designing Objects with Responsibilities"
  Book excerpts (Craig Larman - Applying UML and Patterns)
• developerWorks : Architecture : Requirements analysis
  A great collection of resources.
• developerWorks : Architecture : Modeling
• developerWorks : Architecture : Assets and patterns
• Criticisms
  • Why I Prefer Procedural/Relational
    "Demoting The Code To Partner"
  • OOP Criticism
    The emperor has no clothes!
  • Is a Cow an Animal?
    Covarience problem in OOP
• Getting from use cases to code Part 1: Use-Case Analysis
  How to transform requirements into code? This is a good one.
• Getting from use cases to code Part II: Use Case Design
  Here's the second part of it.
• Simulation of an Automated Teller Machine
  A complete example of OO methodology applied to a single problem. A bit dated.
• Form feeds function: The role of storyboards in requirements elicitation
  Differentiates between use cases and storyboards.
• Object-Oriented Modelling & UML
  A good tutorial from Gentleware
• Object Oriented Analysis and Design
  Object Oriented Analysis and Design
• Alice.org
  Alice is a freely available tool designed to be a first exposure to object-oriented programming. It lets you learn fundamental programming concepts in the context of creating animated movies and video games. In Alice, 3D objects--people, animals, vehicles, and the like--populate a virtual world and you create programs to animate the objects.

Patterns

• Introductory
  • Design pattern (computer science) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    A great place! Nice categorization, lots of info. Code samples in different languages.
  • Patterns-discussion FAQ
    A very good FAQ
  • Patterns and Software: Essential Concepts and Terminology
    As the title says: Concepts and terminology -- well explained here.
  • Patterns: Non-Software Examples of Software Design Patterns - AGCS
    Look at these non-software examples to understand what software patterns are.
  • A Learning Guide To Design Patterns
    A good guide with relavent questions to stimulate your learnings.
  • Tutorials about Patterns
    PPTs can be downloaded.
  • Design Patterns, Pattern Languages, and Frameworks
    Resources from one of the authors of POSA.
  • Using Patterns to Improve Our Architectural Vision
    Describes what pattern languages are and other things
  • Paper by Bob Tarr: Introduction To Design Patterns (PDF)
  • Dr. Dobb's | The Value of Pattern Implementations | May 4, 2007
    The pattern implementation is an artifact that allows the codification of a pattern specification and automates its application in a particular environment.
  • Java design patterns 101
    An introductory article if you are new to design patterns. Talks about what a patterns is and presents couple of mostly used (GoF) patterns.
  • GOF/POSA Patterns
    Descriptions with UML diagrams provided. C++ or Java code is also found.
  • Design Patterns and Refactoring
    Design Patterns and Refactoring articles and guides. Design Patterns video tutorials for newbies. Simple descriptions and full source code examples in Java, C++, C#, PHP and Delphi. Really good site!
  • Design Patterns
    Discussion about Design Patterns with diagrams, real life examples and code on C++, C#, Java and Delphi. All patterns here. Another good site!
• Books
  • Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software - Erich Gamma,Richard Helm,Ralph Johnson,John M. Vlissides
    The seminal book that every software engineer should read.
  • Books on Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture
  • The Design Patterns Java Companion
    A free book. If you are interested in learning how (say most of GOF) patterns are implemented in Java, this is a great resource.
• Synopses
  • Patterns (Handbook of Software Architecture)
    A catelog compiled by Grady Booch
  • Design Pattern Synopses
    Synopses of design patterns from the book Patterns in Java Volume 1: A Catalog of Reusable Design Patterns by Mark Grand Illustrated with UML
• Applying Patterns
  • JUnit: A Cook’s Tour
    Describes how patterns are recusively applied to solve a design problem (JUnit testing framework design). A great read!
• Pattern Repositories/Libraries
  • Hillside.net - Your Patterns Library
    An online catelog of links to other resources, how to document a pattern, presentations, tools, FAQ,... Useful content here!
  • Portland Pattern Repository
    A repository of patterns used in various places.
  • Enterprise Java Patterns
    Repository at theserverside.com
  • Workflow Patterns
    This site serves as a repository for workflow modeling patterns. These patterns can be used to examine the expressive power of a workflow server that you intend to work with or they can serve as a set of ideas how to implement given business requirements having some workflow server already deployed in your organization.
  • IBM Pattern Web Site
    A portal to all of the pattern activities going on at IBM right now
• Gang of Four Patterns
  • Design Patterns from Data and Object Factory
    A good collection of Gang of Four (GOF) patterns.
  • Gang of Four Desing Patterns
    UML diagrams only.
  • java.net: Principles, Patterns, and Practices: The Factory Pattern
    Static Factory, Abstract Factory, Factory Method is described here.
  • Principles, Patterns, and Practices: The Strategy, Template Method, and Bridge Patterns
  • Design Patterns
    Another place that mostly talks about GoF patterns.
  • GoF design patterns quiz
  • GoF design patterns quiz
• Dependency Injection
  • Inversion of Control Containers
    This article looks at three popular IoC implementations: Hivemind, PicoContainer, and Spring.
  • Dependency Injection & Testable Objects
    Designing loosely coupled and testable objects
  • Use Inversion of Control in method signatures
    The Inversion of Control (IoC) pattern is normally used for components. This article describes how to use the pattern on method signatures to decrease the coupling between components and improve performance. IBM Global Business Services consultant Andr Fachat uses two examples to show the flexibility of this approach.
  • Implementations
    • Springframework.org
      A full Dependency Injection Based Framework
    • Spring.NET - Application Framework
      Spring.NET is a port and extension of the Java based Spring Framework for .NET.
    • autumnframework - Google Code
      A C++ dependency injection framework like Spring in java.
• J2EE
  • General
    • Guidelines, Patterns, and code for end-to-end Java applications
      From java.sun.com.
    • J2EE[tm] Design Patterns Catalog
      Little in number.
    • Core J2EE Patterns: J2EE Patterns, Refactorings, Best Practices and Design Strategies
    • Core J2EE Patterns
    • TheServerSide.com - Enterprise Java Patterns
      A repository of patterns.
    • Patterns and Strategies for Building Document-Based Web Services
    • ValueList
      Implementation of the Core J2EE Patterns - Value List Handler .
    • Advanced DAO programming
      J2EE developers use the Data Access Object (DAO) design pattern to separate low-level data access logic from high-level business logic. Implementing the DAO pattern involves more than just writing data access code. In this article, Java developer Sean C. Sullivan discusses three often overlooked aspects of DAO programming: transaction demarcation, exception handling, and logging.
  • EJB
    • EJB Design Patterns Book on the TheServerSide.com
      Free pdf download of 2nd edition!
  • Clustering
    • A.C.E. Smart Cache: Speeding Up Data Access
      To cache data objects (be they value objects or entity beans) that are frequently read, yet represent mutable data (read-mostly). This problem is not so difficult when only one server (JVM) is in use, but is much more complicated when applied to a cluster of servers. The Active Clustered Expiry Cache can solve this problem.
    • Presentation Tier Scalability
      A book excerpt. Couple of design patterns on scalability of the presentation tier are discussed here.
  • Integration
    • Enterprise Integration Patterns
      A superb resource!
  • Misc
    • Eliminate caching in service locator implementations in J2EE 1.3
      Talks about some issues with caching.
    • Design Better Software with the Inversion of Control Pattern
    • PreciseJava.com - Best practices to improve performance in J2EE using Patterns
• Idioms
  • Java Idioms
  • Idioms in Java
  • Ten Java Coding Techniques and Idioms
  • Java Idioms : Code Blocks and Control Flow
  • Java theory and practice: Enable initialization atomicity (Self return idiom)
  • JavaScript
    • Bill Higgins :: the Javascript logical OR assignment idiom
      weblog
• Misc
  • (ootips) Model-View-Controller
  • Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture: Patterns for Concurrent and Networked Objects
  • Advanced Object-Oriented Design & Programming
    From San Diego State University.
  • community.java.net - Java Patterns
  • ONLamp.com: Using Design by Contract in C
  • PatternsCentral
    Discuss about patterns.
  • patterns: Home
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - Object-Oriented Design Patterns for Detailed Design, W. Al-Ahmad
    This paper discusses the use of design patterns during the transition phase from analysis to design of object-oriented systems.
  • Anti-pattern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Wikipatterns - Wiki Patterns
  • Design Pattern Links, Articles, eBooks, and other resources. - Lance's Whiteboard
    Lance Hunt's blog on Software Development with C#, .NET, Sql Server, and other misc. topics thrown in for good measure.
  • Patterns for Concurrent, Parallel, and Distributed Systems
  • Patterns in Practice: Design For Testability

UML

• Introductory
  • Official UML Specification Documents
  • Agile Modeling (AM) Home Page
    Talks about the Agile Modeling. Superb site with enough guidelines for you to create better UML 2.0 diagram.
  • Unified Modeling Language (UML) Dictionary
  • UML Tutorial
  • UML
  • UML Tutorial
  • UML Tutorial in 7 days
  • Practical UML
  • UML Resource Page
  • Articles from Object Mentor
  • UML Class Diagrams for Java Programmers
  • Walking through a UML design
  • Modeling demystified, Part 1: Creating a system specification from the user's point of view
    With this series, learn how to build a user model, which is a description of a set of people and how they will work with an IT solution. In this introductory article in the series, get an introduction to Unified Modeling Language (UML) modeling and find out how to create a specification of a system from the user’s point of view.
  • Modeling demystified, Part 2: Building a user model
    A user model is a description of a set of people and how they will work with an IT solution. This type of modeling, which is based on leading usability theory and practice, lets solution architects specify the externals of the IT solution so that it's both useful and usable to all types of users. In this article, learn how to build a user model of a simple component that supports secure access to Web resources. See how a user model can identify possible gaps in your requirements definitions.
  • Modeling demystified, Part 3: Extend UML for user models
    This series provides basic information on how to build user models. In this third article, learn about the stereotypes and relationships used to extend Unified Modeling Language (UML) for user models. A user model is a description of a set of people and how they will work with an IT solution.
  • Software development magazine: UML, Agile, programming, testing, project management, jobs
    Free practical knowledge and jobs on software development and software engineering for software developers, testers and project managers Web Testing, UML, Agile Approaches (Scrum, XP, TDD), Programming (Java, .NET, Ajax, RIA, Ruby on Rails), Databases, Software Configuration Management, Software Project Management, Software Process Improvement (CMM, SEI, CMMI), Software Analysis and Design, Software Quality Assurance, GUI Building, Programming, User Requirements, User Interface, Software Development Tools, Risk Management, IT Industry News, etc.
• Good Introduction From The Rational Edge
  • UML basics - An introduction to the Unified Modeling Language
  • UML basics - Activity Diagrams
  • UML basics - Class Diagrams
  • UML's Sequence Diagram
• Use Cases
  To be moved to elsewhere...
  • Adopting use cases Part I: Understanding types of use cases and artifacts
  • Adopting use cases Part II: Putting learning into practice
  • Top Ten Ways Project Teams Misuse Use Cases — and How to Correct Them Part I: Content and Style Issues
  • Top Ten Ways Project Teams Misuse Use Cases — and How to Correct Them Part II: Eliciting and Modeling Use Cases
  • Putting Use Cases to Work
  • Dear Dr Use Case: Where Do I Put Report Formats and Default Report Values?
  • Dear Dr. Use Case: What About "Shall" Wording in a Use Case?
  • Managing Use-Case Details
  • What Makes a Good Use-Case Name?
  • Why Use Cases Are Not "Functions"
  • Features, Use Cases, Requirements, Oh My!
  • UML modeling workbook
    A hands-on introduction to use case development and the Unified Modeling Language.
• Business Modeling
  • Business Modeling with UML: The Light at the End of the Tunnel
  • Business Process Modeling and Simulation with UML Part I: Defining a UML Transaction Model That Maps to RUP Business Models
  • Business Process Modeling and Simulation With UML Part II: Executing a UML Transaction Model With Rational Rose
  • Effective Business Modeling with UML: Describing Business Use Cases and Realizations
• Misc
  • Sinan Si Alhir
  • Objects by Design: UML Modeling Tools
  • Allen Holub's UML Quick Reference
  • Database Modeling in UML
  • Cetus Links:18,331 Links on Objects and Components
  • Slides for the UML for Java Programmers book
  • JOT: Journal of Object Technology - UML for Modelling and Performance Estimation of Embedded Systems, Fateh Boutekkouk, Benmohammed Mohammed, Sebastien Bilavarn, Michel Auguin
    (none)

Test Infected Programming

• JUnit
  • JUnit
  • JUnit 4.0 in 10 minutes
    A short, but nice article.
  • JUnit Home
    JUnit is a regression testing framework. It is used by the developer who implements unit tests in Java.
  • JUnit Cookbook
    A very short page. Cook fast!
  • Get Acquainted with the New Advanced Features of JUnit 4
    Learn how to migrate from JUnit 3.8 to JUnit 4. Discover version 4's new features, including extensive use of annotations, and find out the status on IDE integration.
  • JUnitTest Infected: Programmers Love Writing Tests
    The first article you should read on JUnit.
  • JUnit: A Cook's Tour
    The architecture of JUnit is explained here.
  • Pragmatic Unit Testing
    Free chapters: Introduction to unit testing, Testing with mock objects.
  • JUnit in Action
    Free chapters
  • Java Development with Ant
    Free chapter on junit - ant.
  • JUnit antipatterns
  • JUnit Performance Testing - Instrumentation and Assertion « William Louth’s Weblog
• Related Tools
  • DbUnit
    DbUnit is a JUnit extension (also usable with Ant) targeted for database-driven projects that, among other things, puts your database into a known state between test runs.
  • Jakarta Cactus
    Cactus is a simple test framework for unit testing server-side java code (Servlets, EJBs, Tag Libs, Filters, ...).
  • StrutsTestCase for JUnit
    StrutsTestCase for JUnit is an extension of the standard JUnit TestCase class that provides facilities for testing code based on the Struts framework.
  • HttpUnit
    Written in Java, HttpUnit emulates the relevant portions of browser behavior, including form submission, JavaScript, basic http authentication, cookies and automatic page redirection, and allows Java test code to examine returned pages either as text, an XML DOM, or containers of forms, tables, and links. HttpUnit also contains ServletUnit that can be used to test Servlets in isolation (ie. in a simulated servlet caontainer)
  • jWebUnit
    jWebUnit provides a high-level API for navigating a web application combined with a set of assertions to verify the application's correctness. This includes navigation via links, form entry and submission, validation of table contents, and other typical business web application features. This code utilizes HttpUnit behind the scenes. The simple navigation methods and ready-to-use assertions allow for more rapid test creation than using only JUnit and HttpUnit.
  • JUnitPerf
    JUnitPerf is a collection of JUnit test decorators used to measure the performance and scalability of functionality contained within existing JUnit tests.
  • JUnitScenario - Simulating application usage
    JUnitScenario is tool to simulate real life usage of applications. It allows you to describe scenarios that are composed of unit tests calls and simulate several users following those scenarios.
  • JUnitEE
    JUnitEE provides a TestRunner which outputs HTML and a servlet which can be used as an entry point to your test cases.
  • Testing Java Interfaces with JUnit
    GroboUtils JUnit Extension (GJE) that helps you write tests for inherited logic. Among other features, GJE helps reflect the source structure in the tests—if a class extends a class and/or implements an interface, then so do its test suites.
  • TestNG
    TestNG is a testing framework inspired from JUnit and NUnit but introducing some new functionalities that make it more powerful and easier to use.
  • JUnitDoclet
    It generates skeletons of TestCases based on your application source code. Most of the present IDEs support this feature. You don't want to use JUnitDoclet for this though I have listed it here.
  • Jester
    Jester is different than code coverage tools, because it can find code that is executed by the running of tests but not actually tested. Jester's approach is called mutation testing. However, Jester is not meant as a replacement for code coverage tools, merely as a complementary approach.
  • Assertion Extensions for JUnit
    Assertion Extensions for JUnit provides a set of complex assertions that execute within the JUnit framework.
  • Unit testing the Eclipse way
    Does your legacy code demand a matching test suite of classes to run against its source code base? For such purposes, jMock qualifies as a great testing framework. However, not all cases may suit the occasion, especially when you must construct objects in a manner that jMock doesn't expect. To avoid the hassle of producing suites of custom mock objects to support the unit tests in an application, you can tailor RMock to work with jMock seamlessly to achieve a positive result.f
  • HtmlUnit - Welcome to HtmlUnit
  • Download the Simple Test testing framework - Unit tests and mock objects for PHP
• Mock Objects
  • Introductory
    • Endo Testing: Unit Testing with Mock Objects
      The first paper on testing with mock objects.
    • Pragmatic Unit Testing
      Free chapters: Introduction to unit testing, Testing with mock objects.
    • Using Mock Objects in Java
      A good read.
  • Implementations
    • EasyMock
      A good implementation. Mock objects are created dynamically.
    • Mocquer Project
      This tools extends the function of EasyMock to support mock object creation for both class and interface.
    • jMock - A Lightweight Mock Object Library for Java
      Another good dynamic mock object creation framework.
    • MockCreator: Java Mock Generator
      Another good mock object framework. Not a dynamic one. But has good features.
    • MockObjects Project
      Meant to be the point of reference for ideas and tools for unit testing particularly based on Mock Objects. Seems to be not very active now. They have a mock object library that implement some useful interfaces. You can directly use them.
  • Misc
    • Developing Swing Components Using Simulators
    • Developing Clients with Simulated Servers
    • ONJava.com: Mock Objects in Unit Tests
      This artcile is about usage of Mocquer.
  • Streamlining Your EJB Tests With MockEJB
• Misc
  • testdriven.com: Your test-driven development community
    This site is dedicated to promoting techniques, tools, and general good will in the test-driven community.
  • White Box Vs. Gray Box Analysis
  • ONJava.com: Agile User Interface Development
  • java.net: Testing Your Enterprise JavaBeans with Cactus
  • Simple Test testing framework - Unit tests and mock objects for PHP
  • Evil Unit Tests
    Some good guidelines on how to implement tests.
  • Crafting Java with Test-Driven Development, Part 13: Nine Reasons Why You Should Be Using TDD > Reduced Time in Up-Front Design
  • In pursuit of code quality: Programmatic testing with Selenium and TestNG
    Software development articles web directory : Java, .NET, PHP, XML, UML, Agile, software testing, programming, project management
  • Make JUnit testing Java applications easier with Grester
    So, you've written a bunch of unit tests. As a developer, you run your tests multiple times per day, especially in a continuous integration environment. But how badly would they break if the sources had to change? When Jester and Maven combine to make Grester, you can quickly find out.
  • ArticleS.UncleBob.TheThreeRulesOfTdd
    An interesting article that sets three simple rules to go with Test Driven Development
  • Video: The Value of Small Tests | Software Development Videos
    Whenever unit-tests are written, chances are good that the code is not isolated. Many tests run against a given class/interface/function. The design didn't
  • InfoQ: JavaScript Test Driven Development with JsUnit and JSMock
    This article is a crash course in writing maintainable JavaScript. We'll add features to a running example by iteratively following a simple principle: write a unit test, make it pass. Each test will serve as a quality feedback loop, creating both a safety net and an executable form of documentation for anyone who wants to change the production code.

Automated Code Generation

• Code Generation Network
  You get all the information here!
• "one page guide"
  You will definitely love this! What are the automated code generation tools available for you?
• Code generation in XSLT 2.0, Part 1: Generate SQL with XSLT 2.0
  Learn to use the cutting-edge features of XSLT 2.0 and generate PHP code from an abstract data model.
• Code generation in XSLT 2.0, Part 2: Generate PHP with XSLT 2.0
  Learn to use the cutting-edge features of XSLT 2.0 and generate PHP code from an abstract data model.
• JUnitDoclet
  It generates skeletons of TestCases based on your application source code. Most of the present IDEs support this feature. You don't want to use JUnitDoclet for this though I have listed it here.
• JAG - Java Application Generator
  JAG is an application that creates complete, working J2EE applications. It is intended to alleviate much of the repetitive work involved in creating such applications, while providing a means of quality assurance that the applications created will be of consistent quality.
• Applying Code Generation Techniques to the J2EE Development
  This chapter discusses the different approaches to code generation and looks at best practices for applying code generation techniques to the development of enterprise software for the J2EE platform.

Java

• Introductory
  • Reference Documentation
    And need to see the officials documents? Start from here...
  • The Java Tutorial (From Sun Microsystems, Inc.)
    Everything.
  • Java Reference Guide
  • More Java Tutorials from Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    Here's a great collection from the origin of Java.
  • Introduction to Programming Using Java
    The best book to read if you are new to programming and also new to Java.
  • Thinking in Java, 3rd edition
    One of the best books. A little bit hard at the beginning. Covers everything from the beginning to the advanced.
  • Essentials of the JavaTM Programming Language: A Hands-On Guide, Part 1
    Suitable for beginners and is easy to follow.
  • Essentials of the JavaTM Programming Language: A Hands-On Guide, Part 2
    Suitable for beginners and is easy to follow.
  • Java Theory and Practice from developerWorks
  • Technical Articles and Tips (Categorical Listing)
    Lots of technical articles...
  • Java Developer Connection: Articles (Alphabetical Listing)
    The same set of articles...
  • Programmer Quiz
  • developerWorks : Java technology : Tutorials
  • Developer Bookshelf
    Sample chapters from great books
  • The Java Language Specification - Second Edition
  • API Documentation (J2SE v1.4.2)
    Documentation on the Standard Library (Packages, classes, interfaces, methods, fields). You should get a copy of this downloaded and installed in your local machine.
  • JDocs.com
    JDocs is a comprehensive online resource for Java API documentation. All the javadocs for a variety of popular packages are loaded into a db-driven system, and users can contribute their own notes to virtually any class, field, method. Superb!
  • Java.net: A Community for Everyone
    Get engaged with Java.
  • Java API Map (ONJava.com)
    Here's a map for you to find your direction. It summarizes Java API and you can click on individual items to see articles, tutorials and other resources.
  • JavaRSS - Java News, Java Articles and Java Blogs, Just one bookmark.
    JavaRSS.com is a portfolio of websites rich in Java News, Java Articles and Java Blogs. Java developers, Java Architects and Java Managers can read daily news, articles and blogs through the convenience of your favorite browser.
  • Colorado Software Summit
    The best conference for Java developers.
  • The Elements of Java Style
    For those who are serious about clean coding.
  • Java and JavaScript Programming, by Richard G Baldwin
    A great collection of links tutorials are here.
  • Java User Groups: Java Technology Pointers
    A very worth collection of links. Superb.
  • How was Java named?
• E-mail Lists
  • Core Java Technologies Tech Tips
  • Java - Newsletters
    If you want, here are all of them... Subscribe to all of them.
  • The Java Specialists' Newsletter
    A newsletter for people who are highly proficient in Java. This newsletter is not for the uninitiated, so if you are starting out in Java, rather do not subscribe to this newsletter. Superb!
• Certification
  • An SCJP 1.4 certification primer
  • Java certification success, Part 1: SCJP
  • Java certification success, Part 2: SCWCD
  • Java certification success, Part 3: SCBCD
  • SCJP FAQ
    A great FAQ from Javaranch
  • ONLINE resources for SCJP 310-025 exam
  • moelholm.com
    Couple of mock exams on scbcd and scea are found here.
• Java SE 1.5 (Java SE 5)
  • J2SE 1.5 in a Nutshell
  • J2SE (TM) 1.5.0 New Features
  • Programming with the New Language Features in J2SE 5.0
  • JSR-000176 J2SE 1.5 (Tiger) Release Contents - Public Review
  • Taming Tiger: Formatted output
  • java.net: Java Tech: Using Variable Arguments [Apr. 19, 2004]
  • java.net: Reflection on Tiger [Mar. 08, 2004]
  • Taming Tiger: Context popup menus
    Tired of adding the same code all the time to show a JPopupMenu over a component?
  • 2004-05-26 The Java Specialists' Newsletter [Issue 089] - Catching Uncaught Exceptions in JDK 1.5
  • 2004-06-22 The Java Specialists' Newsletter [Issue 090] - Autoboxing Yourself in JDK 1.5
  • ONJava.com: Creating Varargs in Java 1.5 Tiger
    Book excerpt: Covers how to create and iterate over variable-length argument lists (better known as varargs), which will have you writing better, cleaner, more flexible code in no time.
  • ONJava.com: Keeping Up with the Java Joneses
    What's new?
  • Enhance looping in Java 5.0 with for/in
  • Using JConsole to Monitor Applications
    This article describes how JConsole can be used to observe information about an application running on the Java platform, with an overview of the J2SE 5.0 monitoring and management architecture and how JConsole plugs into the architecture.
  • Taming Tiger: Beyond the basics of enumerated types
    Work effectively with typesafe constants in Java 5.0.
  • XML Validation and XPath Evaluation in J2SE 5.0
  • Annotations
    • Bridging the Gap: J2SE 5.0 Annotations
    • An annotation-based persistence framework
      Use J2SE 5 annotations to eliminate getters and setters.
  • Generics
    • Generics Tutorial
      A good one from the source of Java.
    • Using and Programming Generics in J2SE 5.0
      An article from java.sun.com.
• Java 6
  • java.net: Source Code Analysis Using Java 6 APIs
    Why does Java 6 expose the javac compiler through a programmatic interface? It's not just for building IDEs. In this article, Deepa Sobhana and Seema Richard show how to use the new feature for static code analysis, with an example that verifies that...
• JFC/Swing
  • Introductory
    • Creating a GUI with JFC/Swing (The Swing Tutorial)
      A part of The Java Tutorial
    • How to...
      A very useful section from The Swing Tutorial.
    • Java Swing Class-Hierarchy Chart : Holub Associates
  • Applets
    • Applet Security
    • Map24 - Maps
      An impressive applet!
  • Threading
    • Threads and Swing
    • Using a Swing Worker Thread
    • The Last Word in Swing Threads
    • java.net: Swing Threading
      his excerpt takes a close look at the Swing threading model and provides advice and examples for getting the most out of your Swing application.
  • 2D/3D
    • 2D animation with image-based paths
      In two-dimensional animation, it is often necessary to move an object or objects around the 2D area in predetermined patterns, sometimes called "control paths." This type of animation requires that you solve two problems: How to specify the control paths for the objects to follow; and how to move the objects along the selected paths. This article shows how to solve these problems using lossless images, Swing technology, and their own Java-based animation engine.
    • Java 2D imaging for the Standard Widget Toolkit
    • Lighting A 3D Scene in Different Ways
    • lg3d-core: LG3D Core Project
      Experience the next generation desktop...
  • Image Manipulation
    • Java Image I/O API Guide
    • Loading and Saving Images with the Image I/O Library : Core Java Technologies Technical Tips
    • Styling Digital Images with ConvolveOp
    • Intermediate Images
      Learn how to create and use temporary images to speed up complex rendering tasks; cache those operations in images and just call drawImage() instead.
  • Component Internals
    • The Swing Component Design
      How are the Swing components designed?
    • MVC meets Swing
    • ONJava.com: Creating Custom Desktop Components
  • Components
    • L2FProd.com - Common Components
      "L2FProd.com Common Components" project provides common user interface controls that aren't in the standard Swing toolkit. They include a status bar, a Windows-style directory chooser, and a property sheet component.
    • Swing Depot: Component Suites
      This page — the first in a planned series about products to help you develop Swing GUIs — lists a few high-quality collections of components that you can use alongside standard Swing components. Superb!
  • Look And Feel
    • Java Look and Feel Design Guidelines
    • Java look and feel Graphics Repository
      Interested in some fine icons for your next Swing project?
    • Enhance the accessibility of your GUIs
    • The Multiplexing Look & Feel
      Creating and Using Auxiliary Look and Feels in Swing.
    • winlaf: Home
      The winlaf project aims to provide a common place for Swing developers to track inconsistencies in the Windows Look and Feel. One goal of the project is to provide a common source of utilities that work around consistency issues. The hope is that eventually, many of the utilities provided here won't be necessary and the underlying issues will be fixed in Java itself. In the meantime, the winlaf project provides a way to make Java applications under the Windows Look & Feel appear as close to their native counterparts as possible.
    • javootoo.com
      javootoo.com is the Look and Feel Source for both Java developers and end-users. You can also add your one to the list.
    • L2FProd.com
      Home of Skin LAF.
    • How to change System colors of swing?
  • Describe UI in XML
    • Open XUL Alliance - Creating A Rich Internet For Everyone
      Starting point! Links to many things on rich internet exploring.
    • Thinlet
      Thinlet is a GUI toolkit, a single Java class, parses the hierarchy and properties of the GUI, handles user interaction, and calls business logic. Separates the graphic presentation (described in an XML file) and the application methods (written as Java code).
    • Jelly Swing
      It allows XML documents (Jelly scripts) to be used to define the layout and rendering of Swing front ends which avoids lots of mundane Java coding, using markup to define the view of your front end and allowing you to bind to Java code for the business objects and models.
    • XUI
      XUI is a Java and XML framework for building rich client, desktop and mobile applications. The framework can save you up to 60% of the code typically needed to build an application. The result is real savings in development time and maintenance costs and greater stability.
    • SwingML
      SwingML is a specification based on XML that releases the power of the JFC/Swing libraries making them easier to implement in the client side and providing an alternative to replace completely the use of HTML. In the traditional model a server side component returns HTML to the web browser. In the SwingML model a server side component produces SwingML and returns it to the client side where an applet will receive it and use it to render the graphical user interface, this makes possible the creation of graphical user interfaces based totally on Swing instead of HTML.
  • Misc
    • Piccolo Home Page
      It is a revolutionary way to create robust, full-featured graphical applications in Java, with striking features such as zooming and multiple representation. Piccolo is an extensive toolkit based on the Java2D API. And best of all, it is free and open source!
    • Java Pro : Turn a JTable into a Spreadsheet
    • Introducing the Reflexive User Interface Builder
      RIB specifies a flexible and easy-to-use XML markup language for describing Java GUIs and provides an engine for creating them.
    • Magic with Merlin: Dynamic event listener proxies
      Replace anonymous inner classes with dynamic proxies (An easy way of event handling!).
    • The Swing HTML Parser
      Parsing an HTML file with standard classes from javax.swing.text package. I use a tweaked solution of this for managing this list of links!
    • java.net: The JModalWindow Project
      There are times when you want a modal window that implements window-specific modality rather than the application-wide modality provided by the standard JDialog class. This article explains the workings of the JModalWindow project, which provides two top-level components, called ModalWindows, that introduce such modality. The first ModalWindow class, JModalWindow, is a subclass of JWindow that's generally used for dialogs that block other windows. The second, JModalFrame, is a subclass of JFrame that can be used either as a blocked window or as a blocking window.
    • Hans Muller's Blog: Another 40 Swing Component Libraries
      A superb list of libraries.
    • Jeppers
      Jeppers is a full featured web-based spreadsheet editor written in Java. It also provides an LGPL grid component that can be used in Swing applications.
    • Automate GUI tests for Swing applications
    • java.net: Asserting Control Over the GUI: Commands, Defaults, and Resource Bundles
      This article is about defining Swing application behavior. It's about combining low-level J2SE primitives, like Actions, ResourceBundles, and UIDefaults, in a way that's appropriate for moderately large desktop Java applications. Localization becomes easier.
    • Create Great-Looking GUIs With NetBeans IDE 5.5
      Learn how NetBeans IDE 5.5 GUI Builder's Free Design layout mode and GroupLayout manager help you create platform-independent designs for user interfaces. New features simplify internationalization and reuse of GUI components in Java SE 6 or ealier versions of the Java platform.
    • SwingLabs Java Desktop Technology
      SwingLabs is an Open Source laboratory for exploring new ways to make Swing applications easier to write, with improved performance and greater visual appeal.
    • Swing [Archive] - close JDialog with ESC key?
• JDBC
  • JDBC Technology Guide: Getting Started
    Comes with J2SE documentation. Check your new installation for the latest version.
  • Introduction to Databases for the Web
  • The JDBC Tutorial: Chapter 3 - Advanced Tutorial
  • JDBC Drivers
    Search for a JDBC driver.
  • RmiJdbc
    RmiJdbc is a client/server JDBC Driver that relies on Java RMI. All JDBC classes (like Connection, ResultSet, etc...) are distributed as RMI objects, so that you can distribute as you like the access to any database supporting the JDBC API. In fact, RmiJdbc is just a bridge to allow remote access to JDBC drivers.
  • jTDS Project Home
    A free JDBC driver for MsSQL Server.
  • JDBC-ODBC Bridge Enhancements
    This is packaged with J2SE SDK. Check for the latest version in your new installation.
  • Frequently Asked Questions about JDBC
  • java.net: The JDBC RowSet Implementations Tutorial
  • Heterogeneous database replication with SyncML
    JDBC and open source technologies simplify generic database replication
  • JDBC Manager - Open Source JDBC Front End
    A Swing front end to connect with every DBMS (Data Base Manager System) having a JDBC driver.
  • Batching Select Statements in JDBC
• Other Persistence/Object Relational Mapping
  • Hibernate
    • Hibernate - Object/Relational Mapping and Transparent Object Persistence for Java and SQL Databases
      Hibernate is a persistence service that stores Java objects in relational databases - or provides an object oriented view of existing relational data.
    • Hibernate 3 Filters
      Hibernate3 adds the ability to pre-define filter criteria and attach those filters at both a class and a collection level.
    • Introducing The Road to Hibernate
      A tutorial for the beginners.
    • Get started with Hibernate
      Introducing and configuring Hibernate.
    • Gathering Performance Metrics for Hibernate
    • HIBERNATE - Relational Persistence for Idiomatic Java
  • Caching
    • Ehcache
      Ehcache is a small, fast and simple in-process Java cache, available under an open source license.
    • Whirlycache
      Whirlycache is a fast, configurable in-memory object cache for Java. It can be used, for example, to speed up a website or an application by caching objects that would otherwise have to be created by querying a database or by another expensive procedure.
    • FKache Open Source
      Its intentions is to increase the performance of dynamic applications by providing a means to manage cached data. An effective cache implementation will remove the bottlenecks from the database.
    • Javapedia - Cache
      A list of caching products.
  • Middlegen
    Middlegen is a free general-purpose database-driven code generation engine based on JDBC , Velocity , Ant and XDoclet . If you already have a database, you can use Middlegen to generate persistance layers with EJB (CMP 2.0), JDO, Hibernate, Torque or database GUI with JSP/Struts.
  • FireStorm/DAO - Java Code Generator for JDBC, J2EE, EJB, JDO, and DAO
    (Commercial Product) FireStorm/DAO Java code generator imports database schema definitions from SQL scripts or from live databases via JDBC and then generates a complete persistence tier based on the Data Access Object (DAO) design pattern. FireStorm/DAO can generate source code based on the Java Database Connectivity (JDBC), Java Data Object (JDO), and Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) specifications.
  • Enhydra DODS
    Based on XML data model descriptions (DOML files) SQL DDL, sophisticated Java O/R code and documentation (HTML, pdf, XMI) is generated automatically using a generator GUI, by Ant tasks or from within your IDE of choice (using Kelp).
  • JORM
    JORM (Java Object Repository Mapping) is an adaptable persistence service. It can be used to offer various personalities, such as one compliant with the CMP EJB specification (TM), another with the OMG PSS specification or another with the JDO (Java Data Objects) specification (TM). JORM provides object persistency through different secondary storage supports, such as files, relational databases or object-oriented databases.
  • Prevayler
    Prevayler is the free-software Prevalence layer for Java. It is not a database, but can be used as a replacement for a database in many circumstances. It uses object serialization to store all the modifications to your data in a sequential form.
  • ObJectRelationalBridge - OJB from Apache
    ObJectRelationalBridge (OJB) is an Object/Relational mapping tool that allows transparent persistence for Java Objects against relational databases.
  • Introduction to Service Data Objects
    Another database programming model...
  • O/R Broker
    O/R Broker is a JDBC framework, much in the spirit of iBatis, where you roll your own SQL statements.
  • Butler
    • Butler Project
      Butler framework is an object model on top of JDBC that models tables, records, foreign keys, etc. It has functionallity for querying the database, updating records, and viewing database metadata. This framework sees tables as tables, records as records... That's strange compared with the other frameworks that try hide the database schema.
    • The power of table-oriented programming
  • ONJava.com: Simple Object Persistence with the db4o Object Database
  • PriDE: PRImitive Database Environment
    PriDE is a thin and high-performance Java O/R mapper for relational databases, originally developed by MATHEMA Software GmbH. It doesn't follow any persistence management standards but relies on common design patterns and is production-proved in both J2SE and J2EE environments.
  • JoSQL - SQL for Java Objects
    JoSQL (SQL for Java Objects) provides the ability for a developer to apply a SQL statement to a collection of Java Objects. JoSQL provides the ability to search, order and group ANY Java objects and should be applied when you want to perform SQL-like queries on a collection of Java Objects.
  • An In-Depth Look at OpenJPA
    Open JPA is a fully compliant, enterprise grade open-source JPA implementation suitable for production use. In this session, you will see how OpenJPA goes beyond the specification to include important features including caching, dynamic fetch group configuration...
  • SourceForge.net: c3p0:JDBC DataSources/Resource Pools
    c3p0 is an easy-to-use library for augmenting traditional (DriverManager-based) JDBC drivers with JNDI-bindable DataSources, including DataSources that implement Connection and Statement Pooling, as described by the jdbc3 spec and jdbc2 std extension.
  • Data Binding
    • Data binding with Castor, Part 4: Bind your Java objects to SQL databases
      Castor allows you to bind the data in your Java objects directly into database tables. Learn how to marshal from Java objects to SQL in this article.
• JDO
  • Java Data Objects (Sample Chapter): An Initial Tour
  • JDO Architectures : ONJava.com
  • JDO or CMP? : ONJava.com
  • "Castor JDO": Simply False Advertising : ONJava.com
  • JPOX Java Persistent Objects JDO
    With a versatile and high performance implementation, JPOX is on the cutting edge of the available Java Data Objects (JDO) implementations, offering a free and full compliant JDO implementation released under an open source license.
  • JDO 2 Queries - Part 1
  • Getting Started With Java Data Objects (JDO): A Standard Mechanism for Persisting Plain Java Technology Objects
• Code Generation
  • ASM
    ASM is a Java bytecode manipulation framework. It can be used to dynamically generate stub classes or other proxy classes, directly in binary form, or to dynamically modify classes at load time, i.e., just before they are loaded into the Java Virtual Machine.
  • ONJava.com: Using the ASM Toolkit for Bytecode Manipulation
  • ONJava.com: Create and Read J2SE 5.0 Annotations with the ASM Bytecode Toolkit
  • ASM: A code manipulation tool to implement adaptable systems
    A pdf file on ASM.
  • Byte Code Engineering Library
    The Byte Code Engineering Library is intended to give users a convenient possibility to analyze, create, and manipulate (binary) Java class files (those ending with .class). Classes are represented by objects which contain all the symbolic information of the given class: methods, fields and byte code instructions, in particular.
• JVM
  • Java Virtual Machine - Online Instruction Reference Manual
    This is an online DRAFT version of the instruction reference (Chapter 13) printed in Java Virtual Machine, by Jon Meyer and Troy Downing, published by O'Reilly Associates, ISBN 1-56592-194-1.
  • Jamaica: The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) Macro Assembler
    Jamaica, the JVM Macro Assembler, is an easy-to-learn and easy-to-use assembly language for JVM bytecode programming.
  • A Collection of Sun JVM Options
  • Diagnosis documentation for IBM Java SDKs
  • Demystifying class loading problems, Part 1: An introduction to class loading and debugging tools
  • Demystifying class loading problems, Part 2: Basic class loading exceptions
    An in-depth look at some simple class loading quirks and conundrums.
  • Demystifying class loading problems, Part 3: Tackling more unusual class loading problems
• Garbage Collection
  • Java theory and practice: A brief history of garbage collection
  • Java theory and practice: Garbage collection in the 1.4.1 JVM
  • Java theory and practice: Garbage collection and performance
  • Tuning Garbage Collection with the 1.4.2 Java[tm] Virtual Machine
  • GC Portal
    The GC Portal enables analysis and performance tuning of Java applications from a garbage collection (GC) perspective by mining the verbose:gc logs generated by the JVM. GC Portal is a one-stop page for GC issues and includes an extensive collection of whitepapers, case studies and other material.
  • Monitoring Class Loading and Garbage Collection
  • Eye on performance: Trash talk
    Do you know what your Garbage Collector is up to?
  • Don't forget about memory
    How to monitor your Java applications' Windows memory usage?
  • HPROF: A Heap/CPU Profiling Tool in J2SE 5.0
    HPROF is capable of presenting CPU usage, heap allocation statistics, and monitor contention profiles. In addition, it can also report complete heap dumps and states of all the monitors and threads in the Java virtual machine.
  • Java theory and practice: Plugging memory leaks with weak references
    This article explores a common cause of unintentional object retention and shows how to plug the leak with weak references.
  • Tuning Garbage Collection with the 5.0 Java[tm] Virtual Machine
    Tuning Garbage Collection with the 5.0 Java[tm] Virtual Machine
  • Tuning Garbage Collection with the 5.0 Java[tm] Virtual Machine
    Tuning Garbage Collection with the 5.0 Java[tm] Virtual Machine
  • Enterprise Java Community: Holly Cummins on Java Garbage Collection and Improving Application Performance
  • alphaWorks : IBM Pattern Modeling and Analysis Tool for Java Garbage Collector : Overview
    A tool that parses verbose GC trace, analyzes Java heap usage, and recommends key configurations based on pattern modeling of Java heap usage.
  • Sun Java Real-Time System 2.1 Garbage Collection Guide
  • alphaWorks : HeapAnalyzer : Overview
    A graphical tool for discovering possible Java heap leaks.
• Performance
  • Java Performance
  • Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE Platform), version 1.4.2 Performance White Paper
  • Java Performance Tuning
    Tips, other web resources, newsletters and reports on tools you can use.
  • jvmstat
    The jvmstat tools provide access to light weight performance and configuration instrumentation exported by the HotSpot JVM and displays the information in various formats.
  • NetBeans Profiler
  • HotSwap Client Tool
    Using this tool, you can dramatically improve the time of the usual "test - find a bug - stop the program - change - recompile - restart the program" development cycle by removing the "stop" and "restart" elements from it.
  • HAT -- The Java Heap Analysis Tool
    This tool can help you to debug an analyze the objects in a running Java program.
  • GC Portal
    The GC Portal enables analysis and performance tuning of Java applications from a garbage collection (GC) perspective by mining the verbose:gc logs generated by the JVM. GC Portal is a one-stop page for GC issues and includes an extensive collection of whitepapers, case studies and other material.
  • Quest Software - JProbe Suite
    Identify method and line level performance bottlenecks. Free prifiler is available.
  • Optimize your Java application's performance
  • Performance Comparison of Java/.NET Runtimes (Oct 2004)
  • Hyperic - The Leading Provider of Predictable and Open IT Management Frameworks
    Manage your software and monitor the performance using this tool. A free full featured evaluation version is a available.
  • Java Tuning White Paper
    A not very lengthy white paper on the topic. A good one.
  • Monitor and diagnose performance in Java SE 6
    Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 (Java SE) focuses on performance, with expanded tools for managing and monitoring applications as well as diagnosing common problems. This article outlines the basis of monitoring and management in the Java SE platform and provides detailed information about the relevant enhancements in Java SE 6.
  • Monitor and diagnose performance in Java SE 6
    Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 (Java SE) focuses on performance, with expanded tools for managing and monitoring applications as well as diagnosing common problems. This article outlines the basis of monitoring and management in the Java SE platform and provides detailed information about the relevant enhancements in Java SE 6.
  • Ropes: Theory and practice
    Systems that manipulate large quantities of string data are poorly served by the Java language's default String and StringBuilder classes. A rope data structure can be a better alternative. This article introduces Ropes for Java, a rope implementation for the Java platform; explores performance issues; and provides pointers for effective use of the library.
  • Java SE Performance at a Glance
    Performance is critical for the success of applications built on Java technology and impacts all levels of the software stack.
  • Help for the NUMA Weary : Jon Masamitsu's Weblog
  • Robust Java benchmarking, Part 1: Issues
    Program performance is always a concern, even in this era of high-performance hardware. This article, the first in a two-part series, guides you around the many pitfalls associated with benchmarking Java code. Part 2 covers the statistics of benchmarking and offers a framework for performing Java benchmarking. Because almost all new languages are virtual machine-based, the general principles the article describes have broad significance for the programming community at large.
  • [JavaSpecialists 158] - Polymorphism Performance Mysteries Explained
    Java Specialists
  • VisualVM
  • Java run-time monitoring, Part 1: Run-time performance and availability monitoring for Java systems
    Run-time performance monitoring is critical to achieving and maintaining a well-performing system. In this article, the first in a three-part series, Nicholas Whitehead explains how to do low-level granular monitoring of Java performance efficiently. The data you generate can provide valuable insights into system operation and reveal constraints and influences that affect an environment's stability and performance.
• XML
  • XML programming in Java technology, Part 1
    This updated tutorial covers the basics of manipulating XML documents using Java technology. Doug Tidwell looks at the common APIs for XML and discusses how to parse, create, manipulate, and transform XML documents.
  • Practical XML for Java Programs
    A simple to digest article.
  • Getting Groovy with XML [Aug. 12, 2004]
    Groovy has a lot of good XML support itself, and this article goes into the details of how to suck in, munge, and spew out XML.
  • dom4j: the flexible XML framework for Java
    dom4j is an easy to use, open source library for working with XML, XPath and XSLT on the Java platform using the Java Collections Framework and with full support for DOM, SAX and JAXP.
  • XOM
    XOM is a new XML object model. It is an open source (LGPL), tree-based API for processing XML with Java that strives for correctness and simplicity.
  • JDOM
    • JDOM
      A Java-based solution for accessing, manipulating, and outputting XML data from Java code.
    • JDOM and XML Parsing, Part 1
    • JDOM and XML Parsing, Part 2
    • JDOM in the Real World, Part 3
    • Java(TM) Boutique - Working with JDOM, XPath and XSLT
  • XMLBeans
    XMLBeans is a tool that allows you to access the full power of XML in a Java friendly way. The idea is that you can take advantage of the richness and features of XML and XML Schema and have these features mapped as naturally as possible to the equivalent Java language and typing constructs.
  • Namespaces in XML Schemas, Part 1: An Introduction
  • Tip: Map between XML and databases
  • XMLBeans
    • Receive events from XMLBeans
      XMLBeans is a great XML-to-Java data-binding technology, but it lacks the ability to register observers for model changes. However, you can customize generated plain old Java objects (POJOs) to include the necessary interfaces and the notification of changes. Create a Sudoku Rich Client Platform (RCP) game application in Eclipse, and learn how to use eventing to validate the user's input.
  • Castor
    • The Castor Project
    • Data binding with Castor, Part 1: Install and set up Castor
      Download, install, and configure Castor for data binding.
    • Data binding with Castor, Part 2: Marshall and unmarshall XML
      In the last article of this series, you downloaded, installed, and set up Castor. In this article, you'll learn how to convert your Java(TM) classes to XML and transform that XML back into Java code, as well as how Castor works and how to design your classes to function well with the API.
    • Data binding with Castor, Part 3: Map between schemas
      Use Castor to convert data in an unwieldy or inconvenient XML document to your custom Java objects.
  • Evaluating XPaths from the Java platform
    XPath makes selecting elements, attributes, and text in an XML document easy. Learn how to evaluate XPaths from Java programming, and work with the returned nodes.
  • XPath
    • The Java XPath API
      Elliotte Rusty Harold demonstrates Java 5's new XPath API.
• Exception Handling
  • Java theory and practice: The exceptions debate
    Pros and cons of using unchecked exceptions
  • Avoiding Checked Exceptio