How to access office 2007(OOXML) from Java

Apache POI is the solution you are looking for. The project made java developers life simple to read and write excel, word and powerpoint files. I have used Apache POI 3.1 which helped me to read Office 2003 documents.

When microsoft released office 2007 it used OOXML formats such as XLSX and DOCX, which limited POIs capabilities. The earlier versions of POI used OLE 2 Compound Document format, and now you can easily read or write excel, doc(97-2007).

The latest release POI 3.5 final came out in 28-September-09 and I am very eager to use it for my project and I swear u will be eager too.

What to expect for hiring a fresh java engineer?

I was in the process of hiring fresh java candidates for my team. During the process most of the time the guy who could answer well in technical personal/phone interview could not do well in the written test. And who did average in personal/phone interview was able to score better in the written test.

Should I have to go with the my intuition or should I have to follow what was put on the paper? Still haven't found the answer. After a deep thought I came up with few points to consider while hiring a fresh java engineer.

1. Do not even ask questions from what he doesn't know. (JavaAPI is big and can not expect any one to remember each and every class and methods of it.)
2. Instead find that he really understands what he knows or is he a book worm.
3. Ask yourself whether he/she can fit well into my team and can he/she get the work done.
4. Look whether the candidate is good at problem solving. Programming is all about problem solving so give a business problem and try to check how solves it.
5. Does he has a good communication, grasping and able to explain the concepts which he knows well.
6. Does he/she loves programming or he wants a job desperately.

I am sure I have left lot of other aspects to be considered, but still the above 6 looks very important to me. What are your thoughts?

Best Java based open source eCommerce Software

There are a number of open source java based ERP softwares. Listing few good ones here

OFBiz

The Open For Business (OFBiz) project is an open source enterprise automation software project licensed under the MIT Open Source License. By open source enterprise automation we mean: Open Source ERP, Open Source CRM, Open Source E-Business / E-Commerce, Open Source SCM, Open Source MRP, Open Source CMMS/EAM, and so on.

SourceTap CRM

SourceTap's CRM application is a highly flexible Sales Force Automation (SFA) tool that meets both the needs of sales managers and the sales rep. SourceTap's CRM includes Sales Force Automation (SFA), marketing, campaign management, and customer service.

Compiere ERP

Compiere is a Open Source ERP software application with fully integrated CRM software solutions. Compiere is a fully integrated business solution for small-to-medium enterprises worldwide. Compiere is based on business process rather then departmental boundaries.

Centric CRM

Centric CRM is an enterprise-class Open Source Customer Relationship Management web application that allows companies to better develop and maintain customers. Key application modules include Sales, Help Desk, Project Management, Communications, and Document Management. The license prevent the redistribution of the source code.

Openbravo ERP

Openbravo is an open source ERP solution designed specifically for the SME (small to midsize firm). Developed in a web based environment, it includes many robust functionalities which are considered part of the extended ERP: procurement and warehouse management, project and service management, production management, and financial management. Additionally, this same application seemlessly integrates the rest of the areas, starting with a management scope directly helping clients with its CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and BI (Business Intelligence).

And there are more. A quick googling would produce more results.

KonaKart is an affordable java based shopping cart software solution for online retailers. Let KonaKart help increase your eCommerce sales.

In my views after a trial with konakart, I would rate it as the best eCommerce / Shopping cart software.

P6Spy Open Source Framework to detect database performance bottlenecks in Java applications

What is P6Spy?

P6Spy is an open source framework for applications that intercept and optionally modify database statements. The P6Spy distribution includes the following modules:

1. P6Log. P6Log intercepts and logs the database statements of any application that uses JDBC. This application is particularly useful for developers to monitor the SQL statements produced by EJB servers, enabling the developer to write code that achieves maximum efficiency on the server. P6Spy is designed to be installed in minutes and requires no code changes.
2. P6Outage. P6Outage detects long-running statements that may be indicative of a database outage proble and will log any statement that surpasses the configurable time boundary during its execution. P6Outage was designed to minimize any logging performance penalty by logging only long running statements.

P6Spy includes installation instructions for JBoss, ATG, Orion, JOnAS, iPlanet, WebLogic, WebSphere, Resin and Tomcat.

What if you want it inside your favorite Eclipse IDE?

Don't worry there is an eclipse plugin for you here.