Swing/multithreaded unit testing tips
by Kevin Dangoor
Came across a few great links at the Java.net JavaDesktop site. Multithreaded Tests with JUnit describes how to use GroboUtils to manage multithreaded test scenarios. I wrote some tests a couple months ago that really could have benefitted from this. JavaDesktop also linked to jfcUnit for doing tests of Swing code. This looks similar to Jemmy which has worked well for us so far.
multithreaded unit test tip is quite helpful in tesing the multithreaded programming.
I hear a constant trickle of rumors from people who have heard from “a friend” that the objectives have changed. The objectives have not changed, they do not include anything new. For two years I have received emails from people who have heard that networking, swing or other topics are on the exam. They are not now and I suggest they will not be on the Programmer exam in the forseeable future. The objectives remain the same. You can read the objectives at
http://suned.sun.com/USA/certification/java/exam_objectives.html#programmer
People who have taken the exam have suggested that there is a new emphasis on Threading and I/O. This makes sense as I/O is a very important topic. It is hard to write a useful program without some kind of I/O and just about all styles of Java programs from applets to server side code require it. Threading is a tricky topic, you can be a professional Java programmer without really grasping the subtleties.
Hmm… that comment is almost completely offtopic. Yes, I’m talking about swing and threading, but I don’t care in the slightest bit about an exam. Certification proves a lot less than running code.