Sign Extension in Java

Sign extension is a rule in Java by which widening conversion is carried out. While we are on the mood to know something, Let us see the whole process by an Example.

Combating one of the most common Programming Mistake

Lets begin with question.

Do you know the most common programming mistake? Try to recollect the times when you used to compile your baby size programs and print Hello World.

Didn't get it? Its omittance of semicolon at the end;

What I am about to share is solution to just another big common mistake, staking programmers scared sleeps.

The scenario:

After hapless efforts, tonnes of Page Dn and Page Up, when your eyes swell of digging screen and at last you encounter the villain: "if(x=0)". You take a deep breath and after adding the required '=' the program finally complies.

The Solution:

In order to avoid this just use a simple rule: always put conditions with constants on left: "if(0==x)". It might look bit odd but has the 'miracle' thing. It will always generate error if you put single '='. Here's how,

Lets assume you forget to put the second '=' (No way if you have read this post) and you try to compile, it would throw an error because "if(0=x)" is illegal in language - you cannot assign variable to constant.

Hence always keep these practices:

• Use (0==x) in conditions
• Read this blog everyday before brushing

That said will save you real time.

How to create 'Special' folder.

Want to create a folder that can never be

• Created(By others)
• deleted(By others)
• Renamed
• Moved
• Copied

Read on…….

"Tab Candy" - New feature in Firefox 4

Without a doubt “Web browser” is most speedy developing software ever. New features are being added everyday and one such feature is “Tab Candy” introduced in upcoming version of popular browser Firefox 4. Before exploring the subject let us know what scenario lead to its necessity.

We often find ourselves reading articles, Checking emails, Social Networking, Downloading etc. all in several tabs open in one browser window. Its fine up-to 8 to 10 tabs but when it gets more, the problem arises. To tackle this situation “Tab Candy” was proposed.

Tab Candy is basically tab grouping. You put Email tabs into one bunch, Facebook-Orkut-what-not into second, News–Reader into third and so on. Make them as you wish.


To see it in action is even more fascinating, just press Tab candy button and you zoom out with thumbnails of all tabs. Pick similar tabs and drag them outside boundary to form another group.

Click on any tab to zoom in and viola! Only tabs from that group are shown. Feel like someone is buzzing you, zoom out and select Social-Networking group, only tabs in that group will be shown.


Thus it is very much similar to Desktop-switching concept used in Linux where many windows are open at a time but they can grouped and one group shown at a time. This certainly keeps us on track without irrelevant things.

Whats more, you can setup a layout with groups at predefined position and thus resulting into something like this

The future?

Tab Candy project is further developed to enable tab-group sharing, so that I Click-Click-Click at home, reach the office, Click-Click-Click and session is restored. Search feature is also being added to interface.

See it in motion @ http://bit.ly/9d3xFi

Working with 100+ tabs easily-effectively-efficiently(read that again) is the “Whats next” of browser.