WSO2 Tungsten

WSO2 Tungsten 1.0 has been released by WSO2 (well okay, duh). It's an open-source ESB-like thing that bundles an impressive range of WS-* standards from Apache (of which WSO2 are contributors) as well as AXIS2 tools, but that's about it. Samples are unimpressive (java Stocktrader client) - this was stereotypical example around 2001 and their ilk.

When I first heard of Apache Synapse what seems like years ago, I was kind of interested. The JBI spec was just about to come out with the 1.0 version. JBI is good for tool / runtime vendors like Cape Clear (where I work) cos it provides a standard platform for developing the bits and pieces of an ESB/Web Services stack - much like Eclipse does and J2EE patently didn't. Pity JBI isn't quite there, but I have faith that it will get there once JAX-WS and JBI can align themselves so they play nicely together (hurry up and align the Normalized Message format!). What JBI patently doesn't do is say anything about the non-Java world. Sure you can bundle other service languages like BPEL inside Service Engines, but that's so long as they are implemented in Java. Nor does it say anything beyond a single server (it's a single host model). This is why SCA (Service Component Assembly) is so much more interesting.

Anyway initially the teasingly scant information about Apache Synapse published when it was first announced eons ago did initially hold out some hope of producing a open-source Web Services Stack at the O.S. platform level (if you closed your eyes and squinted real hard). Imagine, a standard Web Services stack on say a Linux platform, where WS-Reliability and WS-Security (cos they are the useful WS-* at the moment) as well as standard WS-Addressing compatible transports (Email, JMS, etc, etc) were available for any interested component in any language to register with and use. Imagine being able to register a component with a platform level version of a JBI-style NMR, via of course Web Services. You could then truly have an interesting platform-level stack, rather than a Java-only WS stack. Clearly my imagination got the better of me. Anyway JBI came out, then ServiceMix and everyone forgot about WSO2/Apache Synapse.

So now it's back and well - it's not very exciting at all. Should we care? No. It's way too basic. The WS-* stack has quickly become a commodity and this is just illustrates why the game has moved out of the plumbing. That apache is producing good WS-* implementations is good news for everyone. That WSO2 Tungsten does little more than bundle them together is uninteresting.

WSO2 Tungsten

WSO2 Tungsten 1.0 has been released by WSO2 (well okay, duh). It's an open-source ESB-like thing that bundles an impressive range of WS-* standards from Apache (of which WSO2 are contributors) as well as AXIS2 tools, but that's about it. Samples are unimpressive (java Stocktrader client) - this was stereotypical example around 2001 and their ilk.

When I first heard of Apache Synapse what seems like years ago, I was kind of interested. The JBI spec was just about to come out with the 1.0 version. JBI is good for tool / runtime vendors like Cape Clear (where I work) cos it provides a standard platform for developing the bits and pieces of an ESB/Web Services stack - much like Eclipse does and J2EE patently didn't. Pity JBI isn't quite there, but I have faith that it will get there once JAX-WS and JBI can align themselves so they play nicely together (hurry up and align the Normalized Message format!). What JBI patently doesn't do is say anything about the non-Java world. Sure you can bundle other service languages like BPEL inside Service Engines, but that's so long as they are implemented in Java. Nor does it say anything beyond a single server (it's a single host model). This is why SCA (Service Component Assembly) is so much more interesting.

Anyway initially the teasingly scant information about Apache Synapse published when it was first announced eons ago did initially hold out some hope of producing a open-source Web Services Stack at the O.S. platform level (if you closed your eyes and squinted real hard). Imagine, a standard Web Services stack on say a Linux platform, where WS-Reliability and WS-Security (cos they are the useful WS-* at the moment) as well as standard WS-Addressing compatible transports (Email, JMS, etc, etc) were available for any interested component in any language to register with and use. Imagine being able to register a component with a platform level version of a JBI-style NMR, via of course Web Services. You could then truly have an interesting platform-level stack, rather than a Java-only WS stack. Clearly my imagination got the better of me. Anyway JBI came out, then ServiceMix and everyone forgot about WSO2/Apache Synapse.

So now it's back and well - it's not very exciting at all. Should we care? No. It's way too basic. The WS-* stack has quickly become a commodity and this is just illustrates why the game has moved out of the plumbing. That apache is producing good WS-* implementations is good news for everyone. That WSO2 Tungsten does little more than bundle them together is uninteresting.

The Fast and the Feckless

Normally I clothe myself in a willful ignorance of cars and toss my reluctant driver hat on whenever I step out of my house, but that's just me - I clearly have problems, not all related to driving. Driving in the US was a weird experience. First Hertz had upgraded me to a monster SUV. "But I want a smaller car" is probably something that doesn't happen much in Hertz. There was a brief moment of blankness until the light behind the assistants eyes switched on. Right, your from Europe aren't you! Then there was the fact that Boston was in the midst of experiencing a it's worst storm on record - not that you would be allowed to forget it. Local stations were running STORMTRACK[tm] - minute by minute updates of the damp and slightly overflowing parts of the state. Top tip, when attempting to drive a car (automatic) that you've never tried to drive before in a country you've never driven in before, to a place you only have vague directions to - try not to do it in the middle of a lightning storm with limited visibility.

On the up though, I got one of the GPS gizmos (NAVTEQ rebranded) from Hertz - well it was either that or go for the Hummer upgrade (on special offer this month - no kidding). They really do work quite nicely - I was incredibly impressed. They were really good on the freeways, pikes and the nest of crazy turn-offs. Driving in cities was less impressive. Must be something to do with the lack of precision. Being me, I got lost a couple of times and once reprogrammed it always helped me find my way back. The only drawback is the tunnel vision you get while using one. You tend to listen slavishly to their wibblings. I found myself circling a couple of times due to ambiguous instructions when all I had to do was look up at the giant signage stuck to the upper stories of the building on my left which indicated my hotel.

While getting ready for the trip, I had tried a couple of web-sites. Google maps was useless. It's interface makes computing a route from the airport to my hotel really easy. Unfortunately the route calculated brought you through several city areas. There was a much simpler route taking the I-90 and the I-95 basically past the hotel. But there's no way to recalculate. Secondly, the instructions printed are pretty hard to read and more importantly, not easy to remember.

Next up was Yahoo maps - pointless if you don't know the intersection. I new the address. So basically tough.

Mapquest (www.mapfinder.com) was the best. The interface was simple and easy to use and the directions were spot on. Clear and easy to use. Directions even had nice map symbols that corresponded to the driving signage. Took the most direct route using the freeways and along with the general map included local maps for exiting the airport and accessing the hotel.

Finally map24.com was also fantastic. The interface is java-based, but given what they do with it it's forgiveable. Nice search capabilities with proper find stuff along the way features. Generally the interface rocks, with spin, grab, move, bounce, pan, zoom and tilt. The way google earth should work. But the nicecest feature was the auto-flyover. Pointless but slick none the less. Being suitably impressed I decided to checkout Ireland. It covers it completely (which shouldn't be remarkable - but it is). It knows lots of local features (e.g. hotels, petrol stations), but it also knows one-way streets. So I decided to put it to the test and get it to calculate my cycle route to work. It did only via Stephens Green (which I don't cycle), but handily you can plop stopover points on the way and get the route automatically recalculated. It's the nicest route-planner I've ever seen.

Weebls Stuff - Crabs

Weebls home of the brilliant weebl and bob
-have done it again this time with a with crab-related lunacy. Simple and insane.