Here are the 4 basic rules: Avoid accessing the disk. Avoid accessing the underlying operating system. Avoid method calls. Avoid processing bytes and characters individually. More info

The balance between the performance of software and the resources it consumes has been an issue since the birth of computers. It stems from the need to conserve valuable resources such as memory -- possibly at the expense of performance. This tip examines one way to reduce memory usage in Java programs by deferring the creation of objects until they are actually required. More info

To build the To-Do List application we will use to explore the myriad Java Web development technologies that are available, we'll begin with the backbone of the application: a set of classes that connect to a MySQL database to retrieve, model, and update a to-do list. More info

In this excerpt from SourceBeat's Java Desktop Live, Scott Delap begins by giving you an up-close look at the event dispatch thread (EDT), which is responsible for dispatching events to the appropriate Swing component and for performing the paint operations of Swing components. It doesn't take long for even experienced programmers to lock up the user interface or dramatically slow down the responsiveness of a Swing application. This excerpt takes a close look at the Swing threading model and provides advice and examples for getting the most out of your Swing application. More info

This article presents a web application that allows you to use a JSP interface to execute any type of SQL statement against a database. An application like this makes it easy to view and modify the data in a database. In addition, because it will display an error message if you try to execute an SQL statement with incorrect syntax, this application allows you to test for errors in your SQL code. More info

Google uses SOAP and WSDL standards to allow access from most programming languages. In addition to the SOAP access, Google has created a set of Java wrapper classes that encapsulates access to the Google Web APIs. This tutorial discusses the Java classes and the functionality of the Google web services. More info

This article introduces the StrutsTestCase (STC) framework and explains how to test a sample application using the mock approach and Cactus approach. Author Sunil Patil, a developer at the IBM Software Labs in India, introduces STC, then walks you through setting up an environment for using STC and testing various Struts features. He also demonstrates using both the Cactus and mock approaches from within STC. More info

In this lesson you will learn the basics of the JDBC API. We start by giving you set up instructions in Getting Started , Setting Up a Database , and Establishing a Connection . The next sections discuss how to create and update tables, use joins, transactions and stored procedures. The final sections give instructions on how to complete your JDBC application and how to convert it to an applet. More info

This paper analyzes Java DataBase Connectivity (JDBC), an object-oriented approach to connecting to databases in Java. JDBC is an object-oriented wrapping and redesign of ODBC API that is easier to learn and to use and that allows one to write vendor-independent code for querying and manipulating databases. JDBC provides some fairly low-level methods for accessing databases, as well as more powerful objects for handling databases at a higher level of abstraction. More info

Transaction processing is a vital part of most real-world J2EE application development. In this article, IBM Solution Architect Mikhail Genkin explains how different enterprise information systems (EIS) can participate in transactions via the J2EE Connector Architecture. Using an example e-commerce application, Mikhail demonstrates the various levels of transaction support provided by different EISs and resource adapters and shows how these factors can affect application design. The article concludes with Mikhail's tips for choosing the right transaction demarcation strategy and EJB deployment descriptor settings for your enterprise development scenario. More info