Ged - GUI-ed

I've just uploaded Ged to the Specials collection - it is a GUI front-end to the "ed" line editor, and has been written for Java 1.5 using Swing. It enhances "ed" in several ways, such as providing optional themes, sound effects, and a stunning splash screen rendered in POV-ray.[1]



ok, the real reason I'm coding in Java/Swing is to test drive the new Java 1.5 features and the Swing API. I've coded in Java before, however the last few years I've been using mostly Shell, Perl, C and DTrace. There are some really great features in Java 1.5 to try out. I'm also planning on writing some more freeware GUI-based programs; such as performance monitoring tools (DTrace) and Games.

In the past I've coded in OSF/Motif, GTK 2.0, Java/AWT and now Java/Swing. It's hard to choose a single winner - they each have different pros and cons; however I do like coding in both GTK and Swing.

For now, enjoy Ged. No, I didn't write "ed" itself in Java - it borrows /bin/ed. Of course - I could write "ed" entirerly in Java, which would make Ged more portable, but there are higher things on my todo list!

[1] which was then mutilated by downsampling to "classic" 2-bit colour.

Learn DTrace @ London

During the past five years I've delivered many training events across Australia and Asia; however this will be my first event in Europe.

I will be delivering two 3-day classes near the London area (Egham), from June 7th-9th and June 12th-14th, 2006. The website is here, and seats are currently available (but won't be forever).

These are special classes that will cover not only DTrace, but most importantly the "DTrace Mentality" - strategies used to tackle problems, and a workshop of mystery problems to practice on. I'll also discuss the DTraceToolkit and other performance tools.

There are currently no plans to run these classes again, so as far as I know - this is it.

I'm really looking forward to these events. And beforehand, please think of what problems have stumped you in the past on Solaris - especially statistics that you were unable to measure, so that you can ask me in person. If I can't answer it, I'll try to write the script that can. And if the script is useful, it may end up in the DTraceToolkit!

DTraceToolkit ver 0.96

I've just uploaded the latest build of DTraceToolkit, which now contains 104 scripts!

12 scripts have been added and 46 scripts were updated - this is a BIG revision. Since there have been so many new changes, I'm holding the version number below 1.00 until the dust has settled (I was keeping version number equal to the script count, however I'll hold back on that for a while).

This is the first rev to include a few scripts written by other people - Richard McDougall and Jonathan Adams, who can both write DTrace well and more importantly, have an exceptional understanding of subtle kernel nuances.

This rev has had another small style change (which is why so many scripts were updated). I've also began writing a document called the "DTraceToolkit Style Guide", which documents the style and programming best practices used by the scripts in the toolkit. I'll post more about that later.

Stefan Parvu helped out with platform testing, which is crucial. Some of the tcp scripts had began not working on newer builds (since they are fbt based, and fbt is not a stable interface (and not supposed to be)). They have been fixed (for now!).

As usual, check locations such as Docs/Examples for examples of the newly added scripts in action. Enjoy!

Tokyo, Japan

A few weeks ago I was in Tokyo to deliver a couple of Solaris 10 events for Sun. It was the time of year for cherry blossoms, and a great time to take photos. I've just added a series of them to the cityscapes on my website.

Solaris Internals 2nd Edition

This book (now 2 volumes) has been sent to the publisher!

Jim and Richard have again made a remarkable effort to create a unique and valuable reference. It covers an incredible range of topics, each with useful explinations you won't find anywhere else.

Richard has posted an entry to describe the books, and links to their tables of contents.

I'm very proud to have helped out, including authoring material for the 2nd volume. For many years I've taught Solaris performance classes for Sun, engaged in Solaris performance consulting, and more recently written freeware performance tools - such as the DTraceToolkit. It's been a privilege to share my most useful knowledge in this way.

I have provided scripts inline (listing the source) wherever possible - giving the reader the choice of either using the script, or reading and understanding the script internals - and making their own customisations. We do often discuss such tool internals - which is appropriate for Solaris Internals.

I've also carefully studied both volumes in detail - and it is truly incredible what they cover. This will open the lid on many new topics that have previously not been discussed or exposed. Other engineers and experts have helped out, providing many valuable insights - especially when discussing technology that they themselves created.

I think this has a wider audience than the first edition as we discuss topics closer to home for sysadmins, support staff and developers - such as performance observability and debugging. Check the table of contents for the second volume to see what I mean.

It's now up to the publisher to print out the book. If there is any news on this we can share, we will. Check our blogs (Richard, Jim, and me).

I've been somewhat quiet on the OpenSolaris scene during the last several weeks - this is why! I'm now "back" :)

Learn DTrace, visit Sydney

Sun is borrowing me to deliver a 3-day DTrace class in Sydney, starting on the 6th of March (assuming enough students sign up). I love DTrace, and teaching it on behalf of Sun is a great privilege.

Occasionally, Australian IT workers will be lucky enough to visit the US (or elsewhere) to attend unique training classes. Classes that aren't taught anywhere else in the World. While it's no holiday (it can be hard work), it does make for a fantastic break from sitting behind a desk day after day (or sitting in a cold server room).

Please let me return the favour and give you an excuse to visit Sydney, Australia! Where else in the World will you be taught DTrace from the author of the DTraceToolkit?

I have taught DTrace before: be prepared for some really intense training! We usually drink lots of coffee, finish later than usual, and cover a lot more than is in the notes. I encourage students to bring in their work problems and get me to solve them (live, in front of the class!).

Ok, I know many companies may choke at the thought of paying for flights to Australia + hotel + training. But if you do wangle it, then I'll see you on the 6th (and the weather is usually great that time of year. ;)

OpenSolaris Games

The OpenSolaris Games community has opened. It exists to list games, provide install instructions, develop new games, and to give us an excuse to play games.

There are tons of games out there that will work on OpenSolaris. These include RougeLike games, such as NetHack, Angband, ZAngband, ToME, etc, and ports of the Doom engine. I've linked to a modest collection on the website, which will gradually grow as others help out.

Please post game URLs to the mailing list, and help out where you can. There are many games and many genres, and to cover them properly on a website will need a lot of help from the OpenSolaris community.

So far, most of the games are hosted on Blastwave - thanks to Dennis and team for making them available.

...

I have actually written games in the past, although they wern't very good games. These include xpong written entirerly in dtksh, and a port of "Hunt the Wumpus" as an mdb loadable module. I'm also helping with other projects to write decent games, including a curses based shoot-em-up written by Boyd; more on that later.