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SAN FRANCISCO (03/03/2008) - Agile software development processes appear more effective than traditional approaches, but agile development seems to have hit a wall as far as growth, according to an IBM official's keynote presentation Monday afternoon at the SD West conference in Santa Clara, Calif.

Agile Java, written by Jeff Langr, walks through test-driven development with Java 5.0. It shows how to translate oral requirements into practical tests, and then shows how to use those tests. This chapter, Assertions and Annotations, shows how to build a testing tool, with full code and exercises, using Java 5's annotation facility.

In the discussion, I will explain why rich client frameworks in general, and ZK in particular, not only allow for more pleasing, powerful UIs, but aid in applying an ?Agile? development methodology. The discussion is based on the real experience of my firm which has been programming business applications with both ?32-bit? and traditional web GUIs for years, but over the last year has implemented a shift towards using a rich client approach, with extremely positive results.

Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns,and Practices -- The Adapter Pattern To break the dependency of a client upon a server when you can't modify the server, the Adapter pattern is an alternate approach to last month's Abstract Server pattern. The class and object versions of this pattern are offered, and the article ends with an anonymous inner class implementation. Aug. 17, 2004

3. SOLID is an acronym made from the names of the principles. We'll be discussing them many times while we investigate design patterns. You can read about them now by going to www.objectmentor.com and finding the articles on design principles. You can also read about them in the book Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns, and Practices, Robert C. Martin, Prentice Hall, 2002.

Agile Software Development: Principles, Patterns,and Practices - The Abstract Server Pattern The Abstract Server pattern is one of the simplest of the object-oriented design patterns. We use it when we want to break the dependency of a client upon a server, for the purpose of protecting the client from changes to the server, and to preserve the ability to extend the client to use other servers. The cost is low, and the context is common.

Modern iterative development methodologies have proved their value in many software development projects. Nevertheless, despite the benefits of an iterative development cycle, this approach is often not applied to the process of importing legacy data. This article discusses how an iterative, agile approach can improve the process of importing legacy data and, in the process, reduce analysis errors and bugs, and increase product quality and user satisfaction.

Agile methods strip away unneeded process until you're left with just enough to get the job done. While many programmers understand the power of lightweight, agile methods, most managers are accustomed to a more traditional process. If you think agility can help you, learn how reconcile traditional management with an agile development process by applying these ideas:

In agile projects, rigid adherence to process is a key ingredient to failure. Agile is made up of many different processes that can be adopted, combined, added, dropped, and modified as needed. First-time agile projects are prone to the mistake of choosing their processes and sticking to them even when they don't work.

Just what is agile software development? In 2001, a group of methodologists got together to agree on a common set of guiding principles around effective software development. Rather than summarize their agreements here, I'll point you to their "agile manifesto".