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Dependent objects made even easier in Mach-II 1.6

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:39:00 GMT

In case you were wondering if Mach-II could get any cooler, the answer is *yes*!

For a few versions now, Mach-II has added the ability to inject ColdSpring beans in to your framework components (listeners, plugins, and filters) by use the parameter resolveMachIIDependencies when instantiating the ColdSpring plugin or property.

Take this example... Say that I have a LoginListener.cfc that is dependent on a ColdSpring bean LoginService that lives in our /com directory. I would first define that bean in our ColdSpring config like this: [codeblock 178]

Then, in our LoginListener we would need to create a setter that matched the Bean that we have defined in ColdSpring like so: [codeblock 179]

By taking these two actions, and insuring that your LoginService as an init() method as a constructor, when you initialize your application, variables.LoginService will automatically be available to you as an instance of your LoginService bean. That alone was pretty dang cool.

But wait there's more!

With Mach-II 1.6, this process has become even less cumbersome. In some CFML tags, you can add unexpected attributes without throwing exceptions and are in essence ignored to offer a better solution for managing dependent objects. By default, Mach-II will look for a "depends" attribute in your tags, which can contain a comma separated list of your dependencies. For our simple LoginListener, our tag would look like this: [codeblock 180]

Now, instead of repetitive getters/setters, just by merely having that attribute, our LoginListener will now contain the method getLoginService() which will return an instance of the LoginService. That is just ridiculously easy!

As I said, the attribute actually accepts a comma separated list, so as we add dependencies, our tag might look more like this: [codeblock 181]

If you have made it this far, you have probably deducted that we will now have access to getLoginService(), getUserService(), and getLoggingService().

As I mentioned earlier, Mach-II will look for the attribute "depends" by default, but you can customize it to use other attribute names if you wish. You can find that information and more on the Mach-II wiki.

Day 1-5: Measurements

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:18:00 GMT

Everyone at Route 40 was given an opportunity to take their body measurements and provide them to me within 48 hours. The measurements consisted of weight, height, etc. Each participant will have a picture taken of them to accompany their baseline numbers. Every 7 days, a photo will be taken and their profile will be updated. It's all about improving yourself at ROUTE 40. Let's get it done team!!

Hey Guys!!

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:18:00 GMT

I finally decided to try out this whole "blogging" scene. Anything & Everything-"My Life in Photos" is just what it says. My goal is to post a variety of different Photos up everday. I will mostly be taking pictures at my home, indoors, outdoors, landscape, my cat, my kids and on special occasions places other than my home, (hee-hee) Like I said, I'm a SAHM so it's hard to get out that often. I'm sure you get the idea. I hope to gain more experience in the field of Photography by practicing everyday and hopefully get some feedback. Yep, I would love any comments, critiques, even tips would make me happy, and so on.

I hope to have this site up and running soon. I know it's a plain jane right now, but I promise I will make it interesting (at least I'll try my hardest) Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you soon!

Sweet Simplicity

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:56:00 GMT

Colossians 3:10-11

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:17:00 GMT

Colossians 3:10-11 - "...put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him -- a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all and in all."

Verse 10 is a reminder that it is possible for us to take the negative traits listed in verses 5-9 out of our lives only by the power of Christ. God desires to remake us in His image. That is something He does. We cannot do it in our own power. No matter how hard we try, unless our lives are renewed by the power of Christ, we will always fall back into immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive speech, and untruthfulness.

Verse 11 tells us this renewed, transformed life breaks down the barriers that we tend to erect between people—barriers of nationality (Greek and Jew), religious ritual (circumcised and uncircumcised), culture (barbarian, Scythian), class (slave and freeman).

For more detailed notes on Colossians go to http://www.larryreynolds.org-a.googlepages.com/home)

Reencode videos for Blackberry 8100

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:35:00 GMT

After much searching/trying stuff I have found a way to successfully re-encode videos that can play on my Blackberry Pearl.

mencoder -vf expand=:::::4/3,scale=240:180 "[entervideohere]" -o "[enteroutputhere]" -of avi -ovc lavc -oac mp3lame -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=230:acodec=mp3:abitrate=64

Obviously you need to have mencoder installed

I am not completely sure what other dependencies there are, since I tried installing so many different tools....but I THINK you need the following: lame, ffmpeg .

Colossians 1:8b-9 - Sins of Speech

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:24:00 GMT

Colossians 1:8b-9a - "...slander and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one anaother..."

Words are powerful. They have power to bless or to curse, to build up or tear down, to make people happy or sad, and to add to life or subtract from life. In these verses three specific sins of speech are listed.

“slander” (v.8) - The Greek word is “blasphemia” from which our word blasphemy comes. Such speech can be directed toward God or people. In Scripture when blasphemia is used to describe speech directed toward God the word is often translated blasphemy. When blasphemia is used to describe speech directed toward people, the word is normally translated slander as in Colossians 3:8. The word basically means to make abusive, insulting, hurtful comments to or about another person. It is interesting that in verse 8 “slander” is listed immediately after “malice.” If we carry in our hearts a deep-seated ill will toward some other person, we will find every opportunity to use our words to tear that person down. One result of a malicious spirit is slanderous talk.
“abusive speech” - That phrase refers to obscene speech, filthy speech, language that we would characterize as gutter language. The proliferation of such language via the media, especially the movie media, has led many people to believe that “talking dirty” is an acceptable normal way to behave. It is not! We need to understand that how we talk as Christians is a reflection on the Lord to Whom we claim allegiance. Foul language should not be part of our vocabularies.
“do not lie” - Unfortunately, lying has become a part of the fabric of our nation. We have been conditioned to expect people to lie to us. As a matter of fact, in our culture, those who are skilled at lying, who can lie and get away with it are generally rewarded and not punished. It is interesting that Paul devotes an entire verse to lying. I think Paul emphasizes this one vice over the others because of the great harm lying can do.

These three statements remind us that Christian speech should be kind (not slanderous), pure (not foul), and true (not dishonest).

For more detailed notes on Colossians go to http://www.larryreynolds.org-a.googlepages.com/home)

Related checkbox validation with JQuery

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:41:00 GMT

I was given a problem yesterday where I needed to do the following client-side validation. If a user selects a checkbox that they wish to enable credit card transactions, I need to display a panel of specific credit card companies and they need to select at least one before submitting.

If you think about writing the JS to do this without a library it is a somewhat lengthy task. In essence, you would need to do some type of an onsubmit function on your form, check the value of the key checkbox. If it was checked, check the value of each credit card checkbox to see if the user had selected one of the children. After writing this in JQuery, I thought it might be worth demonstrating what an easy task this is.

Let's start with the specific part of my form that has my checkboxes:

<label for="RequireCCInfo">Require Credit Card Information?</label>
<input name="RequireCCInfo" id="RequireCCInfo" value="1" type="checkbox">
<div id="CreditCardCompanyPanel">
	<div>
		<input id="ccAmex" class="ccCheckBox" value="1" type="checkbox">
		<label for="ccAmex">American Express</label>
	</div>
	<div>
		<input id="ccVisa" class="ccCheckBox" value="1" type="checkbox">
		<label for="ccVisa">Visa</label>
	</div>
	<div>
		<input id="ccDiscover" class="ccCheckBox" value="1" type="checkbox">
		<label for="ccDiscover">Discover</label>
	</div>
	<div>
		<input id="ccMc" class="ccCheckBox" value="1" type="checkbox">
		<label for="ccMc">Master Card</label>						
	</div>
</div>

There is nothing too notable in all of that other than the fact that you should notice that I have added a class "ccCheckBox" to all of my dependent checkboxes. I will explain more on that in a bit, but I wanted to point out that it is there. You will also notice that I am not doing anything in the way of hiding the "CreditCardCompanyPanel" div. We need to determine at request time whether that will be hidden or not based on whether the "RequireCCInfo" checkbox is checked.

Now, here is the fun part... I am including the JS that I use for this task below:

<script language="javascript">	
(document).ready(function(){
	$("#RequireCCInfo").change(function(){
		toggleCreditCardCompanyPanel();
	}); 	
	function toggleCreditCardCompanyPanel()	{
		if ($("#RequireCCInfo").attr("checked") == true) 	$("#CreditCardCompanyPanel").show();	
		else $("#CreditCardCompanyPanel").hide();
	}
	$("#SaveButton").click(function(){
		var pass = false;
		if ($("#RequireCCInfo").attr("checked") == true){
			$(".ccCheckBox").each(function() {
               			if ($(this).attr("checked") == true) pass = true;
            		});
		}
		else pass = true;
		if (pass) $("#frmMyForm").submit();
		else alert('You must select at least on credit card company if "Require Credit Card Information" is checked.');
	}); 
	toggleCreditCardCompanyPanel();
});
</script>

First, by using the $(document).ready() function we are telling JQuery to run this JS once the DOM has been completely loaded. Let's look at each section within that ready() block...

The first thing you will see is the $("#RequireCCInfo").change() method. JQuery gives us the concept of binding a listener to an element. For our example, this listener says that anytime that an element with an ID of "RequireCCInfo" is changed, that we will run the code in its function(). You will see that anytime our "RequireCCInfo" checkbox is changed we are going to run a function called toggleCreditCardCompanyPanel(). As you can see we have that method defined immediately after our "RequireCCInfo" checkbox.

In our toggleCreditCardCompanyPanel() method, we are making the decision as to whether or not our "CreditCardCompanyPanel" will be displayed based on whether our user has decided to check the box labeled "Require Credit Card Information?". By using the JQuery selectors we are in essence saying: If a checkbox with an ID of "RequireCCInfo" is checked, display an element with the ID "CreditCardCompanyPanel". Otherwise we will hide this element.

Next comes our validation on form submit... and pretty cool stuff!

Basically I have added a listener which is bound to our submit button with the ID of "SaveButton" which will submit our form "frmMyForm". Anytime that this button is clicked, we will run the code in the function() block. We start this function by setting a value pass=false. We will use this variable to determine whether our form has passed validation. Next we get just a small taste of the magic of JQuery selectors. First, as we did in the toggleCreditCardCompanyPanel() function, we are determining if the element with the ID of "RequireCCInfo" is checked. If so, by using the each() function, we are going to loop through all elements on the page with the class "ccCheckBox" (remember that from above?). In each iteration of the loop we are going to determine if the element has been checked. If so, we are going to set pass=true since we know that our validation has passed.

Lastly, now that we have determined that our form is either going to pass/fail, we take the appropriate action. If pass==fail, we are simply going to alert a message telling the user that if they are going to enable credit cards that they have to choose at least one credit card company. Otherwise, we are going to call the submit() method on our form.

I almost took the time to write out the equivalent of this in POJS (plain old JavaScript) to show how much easier life is with JQuery, but I realized I didn't have the time, patience, or will. JQuery has spoiled me!

Why this blog?

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:42:00 GMT

I just heard Starbucks is closing the original Newton Center location - the one in the old train station - rather than the McStarbucks on Centre Street. I can't believe it!! I am horrified and bitterly disappointed. My kids love the open space, watching the trains, being able to spread out and play/read/color. The other location feels more like a get 'em served and get 'em out joint. I can only hope that a cool, independent cafe moves into that amazing space. If that doesn't happen, consider me a Newton Center Peets customer going forward!!!

Colossians 1:8 - Sins of Attitude

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:05:00 GMT

There is nothing more unbecoming for a Christian than an out of control temperament. In Colossians 1:8 uses three words to describe the kind of temperament which should not characterized followers of Christ. The words are “anger, wrath, [and] malice...” It is important to understand what each of these three words mean.

· ”anger” – This word refers to a deep, smoldering, resentful bitterness. It is an attitude that has settled deep into the heart and has been carried around for so long it has become a part of the carrier’s general disposition. The Greeks described it in terms of a smoldering log. While flames my not be visible, it is obvious that heat is present.

· “wrath” – This word refers to a sudden, violent outburst of anger. It is when that seething feeling which has stayed just below the surface suddenly erupts. The Greeks likened it to a handful of straw being tossed onto the smoldering log and the straw suddenly bursting into flame. We use the word “temper” in much the same way the Greeks used the word translated wrath in this verse.

· “malice” – This word refers to a spiteful attitude. It is the natural by-product of anger. It is the kind of spirit which, instead of wishing the best for others, wishes the worst. It is the kind of spirit which rejoices in the misfortunes of others.

Taken together, these three words--”anger, wrath, [and] malice”--describe a person—

--who is always out of sorts with someone...

--who is always unhappy about something or another...

--who is looking for a reason to be offended...

One writer describes these three words as “the settled spirit of animosity, the sudden flame of anger, and the smoldering hatred of our fellow man...” [Harbour]

And that is not the way God’s people should be. The reason we shouldn’t be that way is because that is not the way Jesus is. When we allow those things to characterize our lives it is obvious we are out of touch with Jesus. Instead of giving us a spirit of--

--anger, Jesus gives us inner peace.

--wrath, Jesus gives us patience with people and situations.

--maliciousness, Jesus gives a spirit of love and compassion toward others.

For more detailed notes on Colossians go to http://www.larryreynolds.org-a.googlepages.com/home)

Colossians 3:5

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:34:00 GMT

Colossians 3:5 - "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passsion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."

This verse begins a paragraph which is built around two images. The words “consider…as dead” in verse 5 translate a word from which our word mortician comes. The phrases “since you laid aside the old self … and have put on the new…” in verse 9 refers to discarding dirty, soiled clothing and putting on clean clothing. Here some things we are to consider as dead and discard from our lives. The vices listed in this paragraph fall into four broad categories. The first two are:

Sins of the flesh (verse 6a) - While the words “immorality, impurity, passion, [and] evil desire” in the middle of v.5 have different nuances of meaning, each of them refers to sexual sins. Many of the recipients of this letter had come out of pagan backgrounds. Unbridled sexual expression was an accepted part of their pagan culture and was even incorporated into their religious practices. Paul points out that they needed to learn to express their sexuality within a Christian context.
Sins of greed (verse 5b) - The word that is translated “greed” in v.5 of the NASB is the same word that is translated elsewhere in the Bible “covet” or “covetousness”. It is the Greek word “pleonexia” which is a compound word. The word “pleon” means “more” and “exo” means “to have.” Literally, the word means “the desire to have more.” The Greeks said it was a desire which could not be satisfied. They compared it to taking a bowl with a large hole in the bottom and trying to fill that bowl with water. No matter how much water you pour in, it is never enough. The bowl never becomes full. Verse 5 tells us this insatiable desire for more is “idolatry” which is the worst of all sins because it is allowing something other than God to be the god of our lives. When our desire to have is out of control, we not invariably end up worshiping and serving the creation rather than Creator. Jesus often warned about making material things the focus of our lives. He did not teach that material things are evil. Nor did He teach that it is wrong to have material things. But He did warn that it is impossible serve God and material things at same time.

For more detailed notes on Colossians go to http://www.larryreynolds.org-a.googlepages.com/home)

Colossians 3:1-4 - Part 2

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:18:00 GMT

Colossians 3:1-4 - "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in Glory."

These verses remind us that the Christian life is a life of separation from the world. As a result of our union with Christ, we are to “...keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (verse 1) Also, we are to “Set [our] mind on the things above, not on the things that are one earth.” (verse 2) D.L. Moody, the great preacher, was fond of saying these verses do not mean that Christians are to be “So heavenly minded that they are no earthly good...” To be separated from the world does not mean that Christians go around with their heads in the clouds, shirking the duties and responsibilities of this life. Nor does it mean that there is something inherently evil about enjoying life in this world. Instead, it means that we live our lives in the full awareness that this world is not all there is. And as we live that way, two things will happen in our lives:

We will not blindly and thoughtlessly adopt the standards of the world as our personal standards.
We will keep the events of life in proper perspective and not over-react to what is happening around us. When we understand that there is more to our existence than just this world, when we grasp that there is a whole other dimension to life --a spiritual dimension--then we are much less likely to be overwhelmed by the events of this life.

For more detailed notes on Colossians go to http://www.larryreynolds.org-a.googlepages.com/home)

Stick With The Truth

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:25:00 GMT

There was a time when I thought "allegations" and "alleged" were just politically correct terms to discuss the actions of people accused of a crime till they had their day in court. Then, the accused would legitimately be referred to as guilty or innocent. That may be true for criminal cases, but what about civil cases?

I don't know if it is true elsewhere, but in our area 97-98% of all cases never end in a trial. They are all resolved outside a courtroom. And, as I have said before, anyone can file a civil lawsuit alleging anything against anybody. So, again, what about civil cases? Are newspaper reporters and malicious people allowed to make someone bear those allegations as an undeserved Scarlet Letter for life? However ridiculous and disgusting and absurd those allegations may be? However delusional and confused and sick an accuser may be? They hide behind "alleged" and "reported" and continue to spew the vile that has never been proven, never been deemed credible, never been true.

If a lawsuit is filed and allegations are denied and the case is dismissed, there's your story. That's The Truth. Stick with that!!