Deep Thoughts with Richard Schoen

I recently discovered a very interesting open source tool called IKVM. I was out on the web looking for ways to utilize existing Java JAR files from within a .Net application. Most specifically I wanted to use the iSeries JTOpen Toolbox for Java to access an AS/400 - iSeries back end system from .Net and didn’t want to have to rely on the iSeries ODBC or .Net providers. I downloaded IKVM and then ran the jt400.jar file through the IKVM ikvmc Java bytecode to .NET IL translator and suddenly I had a usable version of the JTOpen library in DLL format for use with .Net. So far from my testing it seems to work quite well and we plan to be using this technique in several of our commercial .Net based product offerings. Have fun with IKVM and share your stories with me.

For those of you interested in developing and scaling your Visual Studio VB.Net and C# applications to run Cross Platform, you may want to check out the open source Mono product. The following paragraph is a description of Mono from the Mono Project web site:

Mono provides the necessary software to develop and run .NET client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix. Sponsored by Novell (http://www.novell.com), the Mono open source project has an active and enthusiastic contributing community and is positioned to become the leading choice for development of Linux applications.

Mono also includes its own web server that runs .Net code and web services. The web server is called: XSP. Apparently there is also an Apache Web Server Add-in called mod-mono-server which allows .Net applications to run under the standard Apache Web Server.

Check it out and have fun developing cross platform code.

OK all you Windows Web Developers, I have found a utility that you will find indispensible. IIS Admin allows you to create new IIS Web Sites on a Windows XP PC with a few mouse clicks. The FREE utility’s system tray icon also allows you to quickly switch between your IIS web configurations without the need to use the IIS Administrator or stop and start each site. If you’re working on a production web site for customer A and you suddenly have the need to test your new web invention stored on another web site on your PC, simply click on the site in the system tray program and your new site is ready for action. This is a utility that any web developer cannot do without. Test it out and have some fun.

Here’s a cool product that I found on the web that can be used to allow a single XP PC to host multiple users at the same time via the Windows Terminal Services RDP client software. The product is called XP Unlimited. The benefit of software like the XP Unlimited product is the fact that a single low-end Windows XP workstation can be easily turned into a multi-user Windows Terminal Server without the expense of purchasing a large server. For users who are sending a lot of email, surfing the web, word processing, using iSeries 5250 emulation or other similar tasks, the XP Unlimited software can be a great way to save money and bring your PC budgets back in line. By allowing user’s older existing PC’s to be used as a simple Windows Terminal that accesses a more powerful Windows XP PC where all the software is loaded, IT departments can extend the life of existing PC investments and minimize the purchase of new hardware every 1-2 years. Check it out and let me know what you think.