Introduction of How Android Works for Java Programmers

A constant increase is noted in the number of people using their mobile devices to access the web. In addition to gathering information and data from various online sources, people also use mobile devices to carry out various types of regular and financial transactions. At the same time, the mobile devices are widely used to play games, listen to music, watch videos, and use apps. In comparison to other mobile operating system, Android is more popular among both users and mobile application developers. The huge popularity of the mobile platform has further made application development for the mobile platform one of the most popular trends in Java programming.

Most developers, with prior knowledge and experience in Java, are showing interest in developing Android apps. Some of these programmers also keenly follow the latest trends in smartphone application development to impress clients by building a hugely popular interface. If you have experience in writing Java programmers, you can avail several benefits by learning Android for Java programmers. Along with building mobile applications to target millions of users, you will get the opportunity to implement your innovative ideas and creativity. Also, the similarity between Android and Java APIs make it easier for you to acquire new programming skills without putting any extra time and effort.

Why a Java Programmer can Easily Switch to Android Programming?

Easy to Understand the Android API: If you are familiar with Java API, it will be easier for you to learn how Android works. The Android API is very much similar to the Java API. But it does not support all classes available in the J2SE SDK. It only supports some of the key and critical Java classes. Google has further provided a Java API to make it easier for programmers to write code. The API is also effective in compiling the code into class files. So you only need to learn a set of new features and classes to switch to Android programming.

Tutorials to Learn Android SDK: When a Java programmer decides to build Android apps, it becomes essential to understand how to install the Android SDK, and set up the initial environment to develop applications. The experienced developers and beginners have options to choose from a variety of tutorials. Along with designing the app, the tutorials can further help them to learn how to incorporate advanced features like location service, social media and Google maps. Once you decide the features and functionality of the app, you can refer to the tutorials to implement the ideas perfectly to boost user experience.

Option to Use Same Development Tools: Often Java programmers use customized tools to optimize user experience without writing lengthy code. But some mobile operating systems like iOS do not allow programmers to use the existing tools. A programmer is required to learn the iOS SDK and Objective C to start building applications for Apple devices. On the other hand, a Java programmer can use the same tools for Android programming. For instance, a programmer has option to build Android apps by using IDE like Eclipse. So you can develop robust smartphone apps at a rapid pace using the tools you are familiar with.

Enhance the Compatibility of Your Web Applications: The popularity of a web application, nowadays, depends on its compatibility with different operating systems, browsers and devices. A constant increase is also noted in the number of users accessing the websites and web applications on their Android devices. The clients also require the website developers to make the website compatible with popular mobile operating systems. As Java is being used widely to build websites, it will be easier for developers to make the applications compatible with Android. Further, they can easily integrate innovative features to make the website popular among millions of Android device users.

Each Java programmer can switch to Android programming to avail a number of benefits. Along with retaining the clients, he can develop an application to reach millions of users. Also, a developer has option to use customized Java frameworks to build Android apps. The frameworks enable android widget development teams to build robust mobile applications without writing longer lines of Java Code.

We provide android app programming services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our expert android developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Top Pros and Cons of Java development Platform

No one can deny the contribution of Java toward transforming the web. With thousands of websites and web application running on Java platform, it has remained popular over many years. But the popularity of Java is impacted by the emergence of new web application development platforms and tools. Despite offering loads of advantages, the platform also suffers from several limitations. But a developer still has several options to reap the rich features and benefits of the language by overcoming the lacunas.

According to a report related to annual largest Java developer conference posted on Ixonos.com, “Despite challenges Java still has a strong position as an enterprise software development platform. It has potential to grow as a viable ecosystem and technical platform also in the future. Oracle has been taking decisive steps to move the platform forward. But it’s not just Oracle’s Java: a lot of organizations and individuals have invested in the platform more collaboratively than before.”

As a new generation developer has options to choose from several application development frameworks, he can easily evaluate the pros and cons of each platform. It is also important to choose a development platform that completely complements the nature and requirements of the project. So a programmer can always compare the pros and cons of Java as a development platform to take the right decision.

Advantages of Java as a Development Platform

Open Source: Unlike other web application development platforms, Java is open source and free. So a company can easily use the technology without paying any licensing fees. With companies frequently exploring option to reduce project costs, Java has been popular among them for a long time. Also, many companies will continue to use Java as they have already invested in the technology.

Cross Browser Compatible: Developers often decide a web application development platform by keeping in mind the latest trends in technologies. Many companies opt for cross platform technologies to easily target users regardless of their choice of operating system and web browser. As a cross platform technology Java uses Java Virtual Machine (JVM) to translate the original code into byte codes, and then compile it to machine level languages based on the operating system. The feature makes it easier for programmers to build application to target major operating systems and browsers.

Easy to Develop Complex Applications: The frequent changes in user demands have made it essential for companies to launch applications that are both dynamic and powerful. Also, each application has to be complex to meet the varying needs of individual users. As an object oriented language, Java allows users to build complex applications without putting any extra time and effort. The stack and array classes help them in building rapid prototypes, whereas the garbage collection enable programmers to avoid using any interpreters. The features further make it easier to develop complex application without writing lengthy code.

Easy to Learn: The programmers familiar with any C based language can easily learn the Java syntax. Also, the beginners can learn Java from the scratch within a very short span of time. The large and standard class library provided by the platform is also well written. So a programmer can always refer to the documentation to use the Java class libraries.

Option to Reuse Code and Third-Party Libraries: Each developer wants to build a powerful application without writing longer lines of code. As Java web development is widely used by programmers across the world, one can easily access a large collection of code and third-party libraries. Further, the comprehensive documentation available on the web will help programmers in understanding how to use IDEs. Also, a developer can choose from several IDEs to meet the application’s specific requirements.

Limitation of Java as a Development Platform

Support for Limited Programming Languages: As a development platform, Java supports additional programming languages like JRuby and Groovy. But the platform does not users to avail the advantages of these languages to build innovative services. Most developers still use the programming language support extended by Java to create conventional services. Despite allowing developers to invent new programming languages, the underlying platform makes it difficult for them to implement the new language features.

Pre-Ajax User Interfaces: The use of AJAX has transformed the way web applications were being developed. But most Java frameworks are not designed with full AJAX support. For example, commonly used frameworks like JavaDX, Swing and JSF are not the best option to build AJAX user interfaces. So developers look for more innovative and advanced frameworks that allow them to seamlessly incorporate AJAX in the applications.

Complex Frameworks: A number of web application development platforms have made programming simpler and faster. Many developers are using tools like WaveMaker and Microsoft Lightswitch to easily develop enterprise applications. Also, as Java is based on C++, many programmers consider it to be too complex to build enterprise business applications.

Many developers are waiting for the commercial release of Java 8 to avail a number of advantages like lambda functions. The existing features and functionalities provided by Java as a development platform are considered old-fashioned by many programmers. So Oracle has to release Java 8 with more innovative features to make it popular among the new generation of web application developers.

We provide java development services. If you would like to discuss with a certified java developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

10 ASP.NET Performance and Scalability Secrets

There are numerous ways in which the performance and scalability of ASP.NET 2.0 can be boosted. These techniques are often regarded as secrets in ASP.NET 2.0. For instance, the bottlenecks in the Membership and Profile provider can be solved to ensure faster authorization as well as authentication. Similarly, the Page fragment caching on the browser allows in saving the amount of time required in downloading on repeated visits. Similar other tactics can be implemented to increase the performance of this web application framework.

Here is an overview of some of these secrets:

1. ASP.NET Pipeline Optimization

Quite a few number of the application framework’s default HttpModules are placed on the request pipeline, intercepting every request. Now, all the modules such as the SessionStateModule and the HttpContext are not always necessary. For instance, one does not need to use the WindowsAuthentication if the same is not being used for the users. Pipeline optimization helps in scalability to a significant extent.

2. ASP.NET Process Configuration Optimization

The application’s Process Model configuration defines process level properties such as the numbers of threads used by the application or the way it blocks a thread etc. The limited number of defaults in several cases and the easy availability of hardware and dual core with gigabyte RAM servers becoming a popular choice make it necessary to tweaked the process model configuration to make the application consume more resources and hence, lead to better scalability.

3. Factors to Consider before Going Alive

A little tweaking on the web.config in the event of using the applications’ Membership Provider is necessary prior to going live on the production server. Adding applicationname attribute in Profile Provider is necessary. The profile provider automatically saves the profile with the completion of the page requests. Finally, the role manager queries the database with the intention of getting the user roles.

4. Content Delivery Network

The requests from the browsers reach the server by means of the Internet backbones spanning the world. The longer the distance that has to be covered, the slower is the pace. On the other hand, setting up a server in the respective locations and then redirecting the users to this particular server paves the way for lower network latency and faster data transfer rate. Performance automatically improves as a result.

5. Caching AJAX Calls on Browser

Caching the state of the user to enable the user visit on the following day implies promising them with a cached page, which loads immediately from the browser cache and not the server. This allows faster loading for the second time and as the user repeats his action, a cached result comes up from the local cache and reduces the time for network roundup. A fast loading, responsive site is created with the speed increased to a great extent as well.

6. Deriving the Best Out of the Browser Cache

This can be done in the following ways:

• Making consistent use of the URLs
• Caching the static content for an extended period
• Making use of a cache friendly folder structure
• Reusing the common graphic files
• Changing the file names at the time of expiring the cache

7. On Demand UI Loading for Better Experience

The help section can be loaded by striking at help.aspx and injecting its response inside the HelpDiv. With this method, the UI can be broken into the smaller .aspx files, which contains good amounts of HTML that has to be shown on the UI on-demand. Consequently, the download can be kept to the minimum for loading the basic stuff.

8. Optimizing the Application’s Profile Provider

It is a secret to many that there are two significant stored procedures in ASP.NET 2.0 Profile Provider that can be optimized properly. Using them without optimization actually makes the server sink and let your business go down with heavy load.

9. Enquiring the Membership Tables without Affecting the Site

Queries directed to the Membership Tables have always led to the taking away of all the power of the CPU as well as the HDD, due to which the site becomes slow and also non- responsive at times. Learning the way of questioning without the obvious negative consequence ensures boosting the performance of ASP.NET to a great extent.

10. Prevention of Denial of Service Attack

Prevention of the Denial of Service or DOS attack is necessary to save the web services from becoming the target for hackers. IsValid, which comes up as a static method, does the checking. There are also few websites that take precautions beforehand for the application level DOS attacks.

These are some of the tricks cum strategies to enable ASP.NET deliver faster and better performance. The best part is that with these methods, the hardware configuration remains the same.

While choosing between .net developer India teams, it would be helpful if you gauge their experience and expertise in terms of the 10 points suggested above. Right teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules. 

We provide asp.net application development services. If you would like to know more about the expertise of our certified .net developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

A Tester’s perspective on agile Software testing projects

Agile no longer seems to be unfamiliar to the industry. Over the years, the software has progressed rapidly and has developed to a commonly accepted methodology. Conducting tests in Agile projects has necessitated a tester to undertake a paradigm shift from conventional testing roles. It requires a change in the attitude where a tester needs to take up a more involved and upfront role against the traditional relay race oriented approach. This particular software strives towards getting things right and in place in the very first attempt thereby, reducing the need for QA testers to receive something over the finish line.

Agile is a methodology that aims towards delivering constant value to users /customers frequently and incrementally based on the feedback and communication. These two aspects are important to successful Agile method and testers need to play an important role for generating value in such projects through different iteration phase.

Usually, the QA activities involve three phases in terms of a project type. However, it is to be noted that there is no set or predefined rule that guides the process and it can mould itself according to the project situation. The role of an Agile QA tester is not restricted to a set process as the methodology directs role in accordance to the situation.

Pre-iteration: This particular phase involves a detailed analysis of the requirements by the BAS following a detailing of the acceptance criteria for that specific story. Since the QA testers seem to be an instantaneous consumer of the requirements, it becomes significant to verify the requirements quite often and early.

Verification of the requirement/story: Agile testing involves early feedback, which might not always be offered by testing the requirements, but at times by conducting early requirement testing. The QA testers need to have a clear look at the requirements for maintaining testability and clarity effectively. This helps determining the requirements that are testable and definite.

• Requirement should always be small for it should match sense with the context.
• Acceptance criteria should never be duplicate or overlap from different stories.

To ensure doing this successfully, it is important to achieve a strong communication between the Business Analysts/Development/ Quality Assurance.

Testable: The testability aspect necessitates a complete scan of the story to determine what needs to be done for testing the same. The factors include:

• Test data
• Environment
• Dependency on other requirements
• Finding requirements that are hidden

Getting information about all these details early makes way for prioritizing the story in accordance to the backlog thereby, enabling a smooth execution in the iteration phase. QA testers also take part in meetings related to iteration planning for offering a perspective enabling the team to produce a developer estimate. This participation is deemed as a big role as the professionals do escalate some implicit requirement.

Activities of the QA in the Iteration Phase

Once the QA testers seem to be happy with the acceptance criteria, they help defining the acceptance tests for that particular story. What are acceptance tests? Well, these are actually requirements in aspect of the tests that can be executed to understand the expectations from the requirements. These usually tend to be automated and help driving development. It is important to note that these should not involve too many scenarios of corner case as it would lead to unnecessary delays and might end up producing likewise automated tests.

People often fail understanding the fact that acceptance tests in terms of Agile projects are different from the conventional and traditional projects. Acceptance testing in such projects are conducted prior to delivering the software as against to the traditional projects, which involve performing tests at the software lifecycle end.

Purposeful Use of Automation

Automation in Agile can turn out to be quite controversial. Many people make the mistake of attempting to automate everything and end up being caught in a trap of long cycle feedback. Automation is all about providing feedback early in terms of the latest code alongside being the key to identifying what is worth and what is not.

Each automated test involves a cost associated with the same. The automation cost must always be compared to the cost of operating or running the test. The questions that should be asked in such situations are:

• What to do in case it is not an automated test?
• What can get lost and what would exactly be the cost of setting up things around the code that is responsible for the coverage loss?
• Is manual testing cheaper?

Well, the answers to the questions might not always be straightforward in terms of finding the test value. It often ends up to be a contextual decision depending on the project size and the number of people engaged with the same. Alternatively, a lengthy feedback cycle equals more people contributing time for getting the instant feedback.

You can hire software testing companies from India after due validation of their skillsets, expertise and experience in handling huge agile software testing projects to avoid risks associated with letting an amateur do load testing for you.

We provide software testing services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified software testers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Top 4 Case studies – Missed to do Load Testing and failed miserably thereafter!

For automation of core business processes, most of the businesses go for applications. But prior to making the application available for customers, partners, stakeholders or employees, it should be understood whether the application can acceptably perform under peak load conditions. Herein lays the significance of load testing. It helps you to avoid unnecessary investments through adequate application capacity planning and tuning. Companies may experience serious setbacks without proper load testing, as these four case studies will show.

Case One

Customer service is a significant thing and almost all companies are very serious about it. Here we have a case where an organization on a regular basis indulges in evaluation of the satisfaction levels of the clients by means of different feedback mechanisms including surveys. This is followed by required enhancements to maintain high satisfaction levels. The performance and the reliability of the website play a vital role in empowering the organization to render supreme level of customer service. The web infrastructure is extended across a number of servers linked to the internet through manifold backbone providers. This particular company tried testing the performance of the distributed network by allowing people to log on randomly and provide performance report, through running test scripts. But this load testing was a failure because it did not provide a global perspective with respect to the performance. Measurement of certain specific areas only was being done.

Case Two

A particular appliance was installed by a customer on the network for load balancing a service provider’s Application Firewall. It was reported by the customer that the website stress test did not work out on enabling the Application Firewall. It was also stated by the client that the set up was working so far as the test environment is concerned. However, when the same thing was tried with the Website testing tool, it led to failure. Moreover, the firewall did not have any block logs.

Case Three

This case is about a company owning an HTML5 game development portal which ignored load testing and the web portal had to be again pulled back into beta testing. As the portal was taken out of the beta and put into the live world, several problems cropped up with the backend. As a result, the site was unable to scale at a rapid pace to keep in line with the load. It was an uncomfortable experience for the users who were keen on browsing the website and accessing the games. The organization owning the portal was not prepared enough for the real world usage, and owing to this the launch of the application was a failure.

Case Four

Here we have a company whose content delivery network enables media companies to go for large file delivery of the present age rich media Internet to the clients. Since the organization renders B2B content delivery services, keeping in line with the expectations of the media clients is a must. This can only be done through facilitating content delivery with high performance. For this, monitoring of static content of web pages as well as streaming media with respect to a global end user perspective was required. The company found it difficult to perform appropriate load testing because it did not have servers across the globe set up for testing streaming quality or http service. As a result, the organization failed to evaluate the stream quality as well as performance of its Windows Media Video and Flash Media servers.

Load and stress testing, when appropriately performed through an application’s development cycle goes a long way in reducing the count of failures affecting the application. This is a very essential aspect, especially when the application is customer facing and in involved in interaction with an external audience.

We provide software performance testing services. If you would like to hire performance testers from our team, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.