The road less travelled

Passing custom objects with Apache Etch.

2010-02-08T10:38:00.010+05:30

While using Apache Etch as the wire protocol of a distributed project, we had a requirement to send our custom Java objects across. This post demonstrates sending custom types and invoking different server methods without changing the idl.

Apache Etch has the concept of an extern, which can be used to define specific types. The IDL needs the definition of the type, and the class with which to serialize/deserialize it. This serializer helps Etch transfer the object across the network. Let us define our pojo - com.etchTrials.Base

package com.etchTrials;

import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.Map;

public class Base implements Serializable{

        private String name;
        private int age = 5;

        public Base(String values) {
                this.name = values;
        }

        public Base() {

        }


        public String getName() {
                return name;
        }

        public void setName(String name) {
                this.name = name;
        }

        public int getAge() {
                return age;
        }

        public void setAge(int age) {
                this.age = age;
        }

        public String methodA() {
                System.out.println("Inside method A");
                return "A";
        }

        public String toString() {
                return "Value is " + name + " and int is " + age;
        }

}

Next we define the BaseSerializer. This implements Etch's ImportExportHelper to define how Base can be marchalled/unmarshalled.


package com.etchTrials;

import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;

import etch.bindings.java.msg.Field;
import etch.bindings.java.msg.ImportExportHelper;
import etch.bindings.java.msg.StructValue;
import etch.bindings.java.msg.Type;
import etch.bindings.java.msg.ValueFactory;
import etch.bindings.java.support.Class2TypeMap;
import etch.bindings.java.support.Validator_byte;
import etch.bindings.java.support.Validator_object;
import etch.bindings.java.util.StrStrHashMap;
import etch.bindings.java.util.StrStrHashMapSerializer;

public class BaseSerializer implements ImportExportHelper {

        private final Type type;
        private final Field field;

        public final static String FIELD_NAME = "base";

        public BaseSerializer(Type type, Field field) {
                this.type = type;
                this.field = field;
        }

        /**
         * Defines custom fields in the value factory so that the importer can find
         * them.
         * 
         * @param type
         * @param class2type
         */
        public static void init(Type type, Class2TypeMap class2type) {
                Field field = type.getField(FIELD_NAME);
                class2type.put(Base.class, type);
                type.setComponentType(Base.class);
                type.setImportExportHelper(new BaseSerializer(type, field));
                type.putValidator(field, Validator_byte.get(1));
                type.lock();
        }

        @Override
        public Object importValue(StructValue struct) {
                Base base = new Base();
                try {
                        byte[] bytes = (byte[]) struct.get(field);
ByteArrayInputStream stream = new ByteArrayInputStream(bytes);
                        ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(stream);
                        base = (Base) ois.readObject();
                        ois.close();
                }
                catch(Exception e) {
                        e.printStackTrace();
                }
                return base;
        }

        @Override
        public StructValue exportValue(ValueFactory vf, Object arg1) {
                StructValue struct = new StructValue(type, vf);
                Base base = (Base) arg1;
                try {
                        ByteArrayOutputStream stream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
                        ObjectOutputStream oos = new ObjectOutputStream(stream);
                        oos.writeObject(base);
                        oos.close();
                        byte[] bytes = stream.toByteArray();
                        struct.put(field, bytes);
                }
                catch(Exception e) {
                        e.printStackTrace();
                }
                return struct;
        }

}

We define these two in the IDL:


module com.etchTrials

service Generic {
    exception BaseException(string msg);

    @Extern( java, "com.etchTrials.Base", "",
                "com.etchTrials.BaseSerializer", "" )
            extern Base;

    object invokeServerMethod(string method, object[] params);

    void connect( string host, int port );

    void listen();

    @Direction(Both)
    void close();

}

The above idl has:
1. Definition of our custom type - Base as an extern. It tells Etch that we have a type called Base, which can be marshalled/demamarshalled using the BaseSerializer. Other pojos need to be defined similarly
2. Definition of a generic method invokeServerMethod. This is capable of accepting and returning Etch currently supported java types and Base types. It takes the name of the method to be executed, and its parameters.

We now define EtchClient, our client, The Etch client will be able to execute the following on the server:
a. Invoke method whoIsOnline which returns a String[].
b. Invoke method login which accepts a String and returns a boolean.
c. Invoke a void method with no params
d. Invoke a method which sends a custom pojo com.etchTrials.Base object.
Server alters this object and client receives the changed values

We also define EtchServer, which implements the methods defined in the IDL.


package com.etchTrials;

import java.lang.reflect.Method;

import etch.util.core.io.Transport;

public class EtchClient extends BaseGenericClient {

        private RemoteGenericServer server;

        public EtchClient() {
        }

        protected void setUp() {
                try {
                        String uri = "tcp://0.0.0.0:4005?TcpTransport.reconnectDelay=4000";
                        System.out.println("URI " + uri);
                        final EtchClient client = this;
                        server = GenericHelper.newServer(uri, null,
                                        new GenericHelper.GenericClientFactory() {
                                                public GenericClient newGenericClient(
                                                                RemoteGenericServer server) throws Exception {
                                                        return client;
                                                }
                                        });

                        server._startAndWaitUp(4000);
                        System.out.println("Client server started");
                } catch (Exception e) {
                        e.printStackTrace();
                }

        }

        public void close() {
                try {
                        System.out.println("Closing time");
                        server._transportControl(Transport.STOP, null);
                } catch (Exception e) {
                        e.printStackTrace();
                }
        }

        //test method which invokes some methods on Base object
        public void testInvokeServer() {
                String[] whoIsOnline = (String[]) server.invokeServerMethod("whoIsOnline", null);
                for (String who: whoIsOnline) {
                        System.out.println("whoIsOnline returns " + who) ;
                }
                System.out.println("Login returns " + server.invokeServerMethod("login", new String[] {"Browser1"}));
                System.out.println("Invoking voidMethod ");
server.invokeServerMethod("voidMethod", null);
                System.out.println("Invoked voidMethod ");
                //String user = "User";
                Base base = new Base();
                base.setAge(25);
                base.setName("Any value");
                String name = "Change from server";
                Object[] params = new Object[] {base, name};
                System.out.println("Invoking withParams");
                Base returnBase = (Base) server.invokeServerMethod("withParams", params);
                System.out.println("Base returned is " + returnBase);

        }

        public static void main(String[] args) {
                EtchClient client = new EtchClient();
                client.setUp();
                client.testInvokeServer();
                client.close();
        }

}

The Etch client will be able to execute the following on the server:
a. Invoke method whoIsOnline which returns a String[].
b. Invoke method login which accepts a String and returns a boolean.
c. Invoke a void method with no params
d. Invoke a method which sends a custom pojo com.etchTrials.Base object.
Server alters this object and client receives the changed values

Finally, we have the EtchServer:


package com.etchTrials;

import etch.bindings.java.support.ServerFactory;
import etch.util.core.io.Transport;

public class EtchServer extends BaseGenericServer implements
                GenericHelper.GenericServerFactory {

        public EtchServer(RemoteGenericClient client) {
                System.out.println("Client " + client);
                this.client = client;
        }

        public EtchServer() {
                System.out.println("Server constructor");
        }

        public Object invokeServerMethod(String method, Object[] params) {
                //System.out.println("Inside invoking the method");
                if (method.equals("whoIsOnline")) {
                        return whoIsOnline(params);
                }
                else if (method.equals("login")) {
                        return login(params);
                }
                else if (method.equals("voidMethod")) {
                        voidMethod();
                        return null;
                }
                else if (method.equals("withParams")) {
                        return withParams(params);
                }
                return null;
        }

        private Boolean login(Object[] params) {
                String userName = (String) params[0];
                System.out.println("login: User is logged in now " + userName);
                return new Boolean(true);
        }

        private String[] whoIsOnline(Object[] params) {
                String[] names = new String[] { "ChatterBoxA", "ChatterBoxB" };
                return names;
        }

        private void voidMethod() {
                System.out.println("voidMethod: Inside Void method");
        }

 private Base withParams(Object[] params) {
                System.out.println("withParams: With params method");
                //String clientName = (String) params[0];
                //System.out.println(params[1].getClass().toString());
                Base base = (Base) params[0];
                //do some calculations
                //return clientName + 
                System.out.println("withParams: Received base object from client" + base);
                String name = (String) params[1];
                base.setAge(base.getAge() * 2);
                base.setName(name);
                return base;
        }

        private RemoteGenericClient client;

        public void connect(String host, String port) {
                try {
                        String uri = "tcp://" + host + ":" + port;
                        System.out.println("URI " + uri);
                        Transport listener = GenericHelper.newListener(uri,
                                        null, this);

                        listener.transportControl(Transport.START_AND_WAIT_UP, 4000);
                        System.out.println("Started");
                } catch (Exception e) {
                        e.printStackTrace();
                }
        }

        public void listen() {
                System.out.println("listen");
        }

        public void close() {
                System.out.println("close");
        }

        public GenericServer newGenericServer(RemoteGenericClient client)
                        throws Exception {
                return new EtchServer(client);
        }

        public static void main(String[] args) {
                EtchServer server = new EtchServer();
                System.out.println("New Server");
                server.connect("0.0.0.0", "4005");
                System.out.println("Up and running");
        }

}

JAQL

2009-12-15T21:39:00.002+05:30

Wondering what's up at JAQL. Seems they are still at Hadoop 0.18, whereas Hadoop has moved to 0.20.1. Anybody besides IBM using it?

Unknown Entity with Hibernate 3

2009-07-25T22:15:00.002+05:30

While using Hibernate 3 and JPA, remember to place persistence.xml in the classes/META-INF folder. Otherwise, you will get Exception in thread "main" org.hibernate.MappingException: Unknown entity

Hadoop On Ubuntu

2009-06-19T08:08:00.002+05:30

I am ramping myself up to MapReduce and GFS as part of a very exciting new opportunity. I needed to install Hadoop-0.20 on my Ubuntu desktop. I followed Michael Noll's excellent tutorial as well as the quickstart for the release. Michael's tutorial is not updated yet for the split of config files in Hadoop 0.20, and he has mentioned that clearly. So, I followed his tutorial and when it comes to the configs, I used the quickstart information for core-site, hdfs-site and mapred-site.

I was however getting stuck with a strange issue. jps would show the jobtracker process for a while, and then it would get killed. The logs had a java.io.IOException: /tmp/hadoop....jobtracker-info file could only be replicated to 0 nodes instead of 1.
The Hadoop mailing lists did not have any reference to this issue. All I found was this bug. I read on Cloudera's page that start-all and stop-all are deprecated, but I could not find any reference to it on Hadoop's wiki.

After various hits and trials, what worked for me was to edit start-all.sh. I first started the dfs and then waited for 5 minutes. Only then did I brin up the mapred deamons. This solved it.

Infamous Error 150 while creating a table in MySQL

2009-03-22T17:57:00.003+05:30

I am working on a data migration and defining the schema. The application will eventually be implemented in Ruby on Rails, but instead of migrations, the client needed the sql dump. My CREATE TABLE statement was failing with errno 150, and SHOW ENGINE INNODB STATUS was not helpful. The Foreign Key section kept telling me :

Cannot resolve table name close to:
(id)) engine=innodb

I was completely zapped, both the related tables were INNODB tables, the columns were same type and size, indices were defined correctly. It was after sometime that I realized that the syntax for creating the foreign key was wrong. I was saying:

FOREIGN KEY (parent_id) REFERENCES parent.id

But it should be:
FOREIGN KEY (parent_id) REFERENCES parent(id)

Buying from Dell.

2008-08-31T21:21:00.002+05:30

I decided on buying a Dell laptop. Dell was offering 2 GHz+ processors, which was a very tempting proposition. As I needed the laptop as soon as possible, I bought it from the direct Dell stores instead of the site. There were two choices - Vista prebundled or no OS. Needless to say, I went with no OS. Here began the most harrowing customer experience of my life.

The FreeDOS CD which came with the laptop did not work. It failed to recognize the hard drive. RedHat could not be installed either, no hard disk again. Fedora Core got installed, but my wifi button would refuse to power on. Windows XP would not get installed either, the installation hung midway.

Dell refuses to provide drivers for any OS except Vista! A clear way to dissuade people from going the non proprietary, non-Microsoft way. An intelligent financial strategy to subvert legalities and yet force the customer to buy tightly integrated systems.

When I called Dell Support, a customer service representative with no know how whatsoever told me that :

1. Dell can not support non factory OS.
2. They have NO non Vista drivers.
3. They cant tell me why FreeDOS is not installing. Nor will they help me install it, even though they gave the CD with the laptop.

45 minutes of interaction with the customer support guy had my head spinning. I felt absolutely cheated. Luckily, threats of suing the company worked, and the rep digged through some more guides to tell me some BIOS changes needed to install Windows XP.
Eureka, dream machine and excellent customer service!!!!

Apparently, the bundling with Vista is so strong that the BIOS itself is pre-configured. No documentation on what to change obviously from Dell, lest some lowly mortal attempt a lesser OS than holier than thou Vista.

Anti-trust anyone ?

YouTube API does not work through Resin

2008-08-31T19:55:00.002+05:30

I have run into a strange issue with the youtube api. I am able to upload videos through the browser and verify them in my youtube acocunt. However, when I try to retrieve the videos, I do not get them. I am able to retrieve correctly through a junit test case.

After a lot of digging on the forum, I found this post:
Different behaviour under Tomcat and Resin

The client api documentation does not suggest any supported environments or versions. GData Doc

Pricing consulting services

2008-03-18T15:16:00.004+05:30

I have been wondering a bit about the business model and economics of freelancing. Stumbled across some interesting links:

Freelance Consulting Rates
How to Price Consulting Services

Hotgigs has some good reference data based on skill set

Six resolutions for a new year of consulting | IT Consultant | TechRepublic.com

2008-03-18T15:16:00.000+05:30

Came across some interesting new year resultions - Six resolutions for a new year of consulting | IT Consultant | TechRepublic.com

The 10 O’Clock Rule at LifeClever ;-) Tips for Design and Life

2008-02-28T16:36:00.000+05:30

Ruchir sent me the following link

The 10 O’Clock Rule at LifeClever ;-) Tips for Design and Life

I think this makes a lot of sense. For a person like me who gets confused every day about what to wear and how to dress the kids up, if I lay out mine and the kids' clothes the night before, it surely helps. One thing I have also realized helps a ton is to clean up the house before going to sleep, that ensures one wakes up to a clean house and does not get disoriented in the morning, trying to sort things out. As a work from home mom of a toddler and an infant, I probably need all the efficiency(and more!)

Good site for Struts2

2008-02-26T22:02:00.002+05:30

WanTii, Inc. Tech Blog - Discussion of Java on the Web Server…

JSF immediate attribute

2007-10-14T16:50:00.000+05:30

Usage of JSF immediate attribute can lead to a variety of issues, so it is a handle with care piece will one learns the JSF life cycle, different phases and the bypassing through immediate. For more, check:

ClearInputComponents - Myfaces Wiki

Enterprise Java Community: Building Custom JSF UI Components

2007-10-09T19:30:00.000+05:30

A brilliant article on JSF : Enterprise Java Community: Building Custom JSF UI Components

Fixing Required messages in JSF

2007-10-09T09:34:00.000+05:30

Another interesting phase listener for required messages Fixing Required messages in JSF

JSF 1.2 components already support requiredMessage attribute, so this may not be handy there.

Customizing JSF Required Field Messages per Component Instance is another flavour of the same.

Designing and Implementing Web Application Interfaces

2007-10-09T08:00:00.000+05:30

Wonderful use of phase listeners in JSF : Designing and Implementing Web Application Interfaces

It outlines how JSF can be enhanced to define custom error messages per component. Mst read for all those who are on JSF 1.1

JSF dropdown with BigInteger keys

2007-10-05T17:02:00.000+05:30

We wanted to create a drop down with JSF which had keys as java.math.BigInteger and labels as strings. The drop down was to be pre selected with a value. If everything is string, string, thinds work well. However, the drop down value is not prepopulated if it is bound to a BigInteger. Eventually, we were able to solve this with the following code:

JSP



<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC \"-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN\"
\"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd\">
<%@ page contentType=\"text/html;charset=windows-1252\"%>
<%@ taglib uri=\"http://java.sun.com/jsf/html\" prefix=\"h\"%>
<%@ taglib uri=\"http://java.sun.com/jsf/core\" prefix=\"f\"%>
<f:view>
  <html>
    <head>
      <meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"
            content=\"text/html; charset=windows-1252\"/>
      <title>ConversionTrial</title>
    </head>
    <body><h:form>
    <h:selectOneMenu id=\"menu\" value=\"#{ConversionBean.dto.code}\">
         <f:selectItems value=\"#{ConversionBean.valueList}\"/>
    </h:selectOneMenu>
    </h:form></body>
  </html>
</f:view>

Managed Bean



package view;



import java.math.BigInteger;



import java.util.ArrayList;



import javax.faces.model.SelectItem;



public class ConversionBean {

    private DTO dto;

    private ArrayList valueList;

    

    public ConversionBean() {

        dto = new DTO(new BigInteger(\"10\"), \"Large\");

    }

    

    public ArrayList getValueList(){

        valueList = new ArrayList();

        valueList.add(new SelectItem(new BigInteger(\"0\"), \"Small\"));

        valueList.add(new SelectItem(new BigInteger(\"5\"), \"Medium\"));

        valueList.add(new SelectItem(new BigInteger(\"10\"), \"Large\"));

        

        return valueList;

    }

    

    public DTO getDto(){

        return this.dto;

    }

}

DTO



package view;



import java.math.BigInteger;



public class DTO {

    private BigInteger code;

    private String val;

    

    public DTO(BigInteger code, String val) {

        this.code = code;

        this.val = val;

    }

    

    public void setCode(BigInteger s){

        System.out.println(\"setCode to \" + s);

        this.code = s;

    }

    

    public BigInteger getCode(){

        System.out.println(\"getCode returns \" + code);

        return this.code;

    }

}

Hackers and Painters

2007-09-24T21:39:00.000+05:30

Something I have always believed in, but never had the right words to express. Brilliant description of the creativity and artistry involved in the making of software: Hackers and Painters

Surprising tip

2007-09-20T19:37:00.000+05:30

I was taken aback by the tip A Very Simple Way to Skip Part of Code Without Using Comment Symbols duly linked from http://java.sun.com. It is a surprise way of inserting return statements in the middle of the code to test only the functionality upto the point of return.

Commenting out code and testing, or creating appropriate test harnesses so that all cases can be covered is surprisingly not advocated. Nor is the need for modular methods and further breakdown of code logically.

What is next, Goto ?

Sortable table using JSF and AJAX4JSF

2007-09-18T17:03:00.000+05:30

I have written about AJAX and JSF in my previous post. Let us now look at a way to implement sortable tables using JSF and AJAX. We want to build a table which has the header as links. If a particular link is clicked, the table entries are sorted based on the header clicked. We want the entire functionality to be AJAX based, so that only part of the page is refreshed.

A normal JSF table looks like this:



<h:datatable id="addressTableHeader" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
            <h:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                        <h:outputtext value="Post Code">                                        
                </f:facet>    
            </h:column>
            <h:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                         <h:outputtext value="Street">
                </f:facet>
            </h:column>
</h:dataTable>
<h:datatable id="addressTableBody" var="tableData" value="#{Bean.addressList}">
            <h:column>
                <h:outputtext value="#{tabledata.postcode}">
            </h:column>
            <h:column>
                <h:outputtext value="#{tabledata.street}">
             </h:column>            
</h:dataTable>

The backing bean Bean.java has a method

getAddressList()

which wraps an ArrayList inside a ListDataModel and returns it.

We modify the table header from plain text to links which fire AJAX requests, using Ajax4JSF. We want the table body to be refreshed when the header is pressed, so we specify that in the reRender property of the commandLink.


<h:datatable id="addressTableHeader" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
            <h:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                    <a4j:commandlink action="#{Bean.postcodeSort}" ajaxsingle="true" rerender="addressTableBody" immediate="true">
                        <h:outputtext value="Post Code" styleclass="tariffpopupsearchheading">
                    </a4j:commandLink>                    
                </f:facet>         
                
            </h:column>
            <h:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                     <a4j:commandlink action="#{Bean.streetSort}" ajaxsingle="true" rerender="addressTableBody" immediate="true">
                        <h:outputtext value="Street" styleclass="tariffpopupsearchheading">
                    </a4j:commandLink>  
                </f:facet>
            </h:column>
</h:dataTable>

We now add a Comparator to the back end code, which can help to sort the ArrayList of data to be presented in the table. The Comparator has different sorting criteria. New methods

postcodeSort()

and

streetSort()

are added to the Bean, which help to set the sorting criteria on click . The Bean's

getAddresslist()

method is modified to pass the appropriate Comparator.

How to Handle Java Finalization's Memory-Retention Issues

2007-09-14T13:17:00.000+05:30

Interesting article on the pitfalls of Java finalization : How to Handle Java Finalization's Memory-Retention Issues. Wonder whether finalization really makes sense.

JSF and AJAX

2007-09-12T16:10:00.000+05:30

The Ajax4jsf Framework is a very interesting and fruitful way of adding AJAX support to the JSF applications. I do not know much AJAX, but I was able to add AJAX support to my application easily.

An interesting link for re-rendering input text boxes. can be found here. I struggled a lot with this concept, but the link helped make things very clear.

Embedded Tomcat

2007-08-30T20:19:00.000+05:30

My previous article on Tweaking Tomcat did not mention the use of Embedded Tomcat, which was necessary to run Tomcat programmatically in the same JVM. More information on this feature can be found in the following links:

http://www.vsj.co.uk/articles/display.asp?id=319
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2002/04/03/tomcat.html

Including one JSF page in another

2007-08-08T11:22:00.000+05:30

It seems there is some confusion on how to include one JSF page within another. Here are the steps to include inner.jsp into outer.jsp

1. In outer.jsp, include inner.jsp as a simple JSP include.

<%@ include file="inner.jsp" %>

2. In inner.jsp, include the JSF tag libraries

<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html" prefix="h"%>
<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core" prefix="f"%>

3. In inner.jsp, create the subview at the beginning of the page:

4. At the end of inner.jsp, close the subview tag

Suicides at IIT Kanpur

2007-06-04T22:31:00.000+05:30

The recent suicides by IIT Kanpur students has left many disturbed. It is indeed suprising to see four suicides in last two years. Some of my close friends, and ofcourse husband Ruchir, are IIT Kanpur alumni, and this news has left them wondering regarding the causes. Can it be too much stress? Can it be admission of the wrong candidates into JEE? Are parents to blame? Are self expectations of students leading to this? Can the system have become such as to induce extra burden on the students? Having spent four years at IIT Delhi, I fail to understand the undergraduate stress that can prompt such actions.

Lack of accountability

2007-05-25T19:39:00.000+05:30

In my previous post Eldeco threatens, I had stated that we got a letter from Eldeco demanding payment of maintenance charges. I was curious to know about the accounts of last year, and inquired about it to the sender of the letter. The following email chain demonstrates how tough it is to get any response from the officials, it is a never ending loop:

Vishal,

Mr Mukesh redirected me to to yet another person - Mr Deepu, Estate Manager. He doesnt possess the accounts of the money paid by us and utilised by Eldeco for site maintenance. Can I please see the accounts of last year and know how my money has been used?

Sonal

- Hide quoted text -

On 5/2/07, Vishal <vishal@eldecoproperties.com> wrote:

Respected Ma'am ,

The maintenance deposit for the past year and other maintenance related queries are handled by maintenance department.

You may contact Mr. Mukesh Srivastave in the head office at the below mentioned number or 0 98186 82012. Also the estate manager at the site can be contacted for the said query.

With best regards,
Vishal Sehgal
Eldeco Infrastructure & Properties Ltd.
New Delhi
Phone: 011 4165 9001

----- Original Message -----

From: Sonal Goyal

To: vishal@eldecoproperties.com

Cc: Hemant Kumar ; pankaj@eldecoproperties.com ;

Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 3:15 PM

Subject: Maintenence deposit

Hi Vishal,

This is in respect to the letter we received yesterday from you regarding the maintenence deposit. Can you please provide us the accounts of last year's deposits? Also, we need to know how maintenence can be clubbed with electicity and water charges?

Thanks and Regards,
Sonal

Another endless struggle with Eldeco

2007-05-25T19:27:00.000+05:30

I got a couple of inquiries from IIT Alumni network about Eldeco and how things stand now. Well friends, here is the email chain which I have been relentlessly pursuing. If there is an update, I will let you know.

Hemant,

Yet another effort to get some answers Hemant. Even governement offices can now boast of RTI. Eldeco officials seem to be completely customer decentric. Or should I say this is a planned move?

- Hide quoted text -

On 5/21/07, Sonal Goyal <sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hemant,

Can we get the response in writing from you? Or can we assume from your silence that your company agrees that there is no bloating and there is no other flat which has the same issue.

Thanks.
Sonal

On 5/21/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:
Hemant, kindly let me know.

Thanks.

On 5/19/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:
Hemant,

We had a visit by Mr Dubey and Mr Sharma just now and they do not agree that the wooden flooring in the guest bedroom has any issue. We differ on this, as we can see distinct spots where bloating is happening. We are also told that we are the only flat who is complaining of issues with the wooden flooring. If so, kindly give it to us in writing that your company sees no issues with the wooden flooring in the guest bedroom and there are no other complaints of the same nature in other flats. We can then follow it up at our end individually in a manner suited to us.

Thanks very much,
Sonal

On 5/18/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:
Hemant, any updates?

On 5/17/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Hemant,

Can you please answer.

Sonal

On 5/15/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Hemant,

While the flooring in the kids room is getting replaced, I am not sure what is happening to the guest bedroom bloating and the master bedroom profile. Also, other items on my list, including the EWC, remain unattended. Kindly let me know your take on these.

Regards,
Sonal

IIT and Dilbert

2007-05-09T19:05:00.000+05:30

I was amused to see some references to my alma mater on Scott Adam's blog.
IIT surely has become a much bigger name than when I joined it in 1994, thanks to the Silicon Valley revolution and IIT immigrants to the US making it big. However, it seems there is also some contempt in the minds of people about IITians and their quality, as reflected by the comments posted. One big reason for this can be that IIT has become a famous brand, and people assume their loss of employment to be linked with IITians. Nothing could be further from the truth. The IITs together produce about 2200 bachelors in technology every year. Normally, 40% of the class goes abroad for further studies or for employment. Employment for IITians is mostly in areas of advanced technical research, consulting, finance or management. All of which generate more jobs and earn more revenues for the US government. We are not into snatching BPO jobs from people. As for the quality, the success rates of IITians is not a mystery, it is widely known and publicised. Yes, getting through the JEE is tough, probably the toughest exam to crack in the world. Yet, it doesnt mean that people who do not qualify are morons. However, if one doesnt qualify and instead spends one's life in cribbing about the quality of IITians, well, we know for sure where you are headed!

Eldeco threatens

2007-05-02T15:05:00.000+05:30

We got a letter today from Eldeco asking us to pay the monthly maintenance deposit. If we fail to do so, our power and water will be cut off. We took possession of the flat last year August(2006) and paid an year's advance deposit. So, our deposit finishes only in August. However, Eldeco has always been very prompt in collecting their money, and so they have 'cared' enough to remind us 3-4 months in advance. Needless to say, any letters we write to Eldeco never ever elicit any response, leave aside a fast response!

Now comes the funny part. Eldeco has not furnished the accounts for last year. We really do not know where the almost 3k per house we are paying per month is going. I have some guesses, and I am sure you all will have the same guesses, but other than that, the company is silent on the accounts. Maybe Eldec officials need some urgent cash for their Merc maintenance.

The company has installed a single prepaid electricity system for the entire building for which we have to buy coupons in advance. This is when we had paid about 25k for a proper electricity connection from the electricity board. 25k*72 houses was eaten up by Eldeco, and instead they have taken one single connection from which they have submeters to each house. Now the best part, this prepaid system will be clubbed with the annual maintenance, and if you have some issues with the maintenance and want some answers, you have no coice but to pay up, else your water and electricity will be cut off.

Smart move, are they sadists or what?

Another dead email chain

2007-04-23T18:59:00.000+05:30

Email written to Mr Hemant, who apparently is handling our case. More than one week since we last heard back. Thsi email chain is in continuation with our April 8 email chain.

Sonal Goyal

to Hemant, Ruchir

Hemant, can you please spare some time to respond?

- Hide quoted text -

On 4/19/07, Sonal Goyal <sonalgoyal4@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Hemant,

Its been some time, can we please know the status.

Thanks.

On 4/17/07, Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com > wrote:
Hi Hemant,

Today, I just noticed some bloating of the wooden flooring in the guest room as well. Please add this to the list.

Thanks,
Sonal

On 4/17/07, Agarwal, Ruchir wrote:

Hi Hemant,

Thanks for your email. I wish to assure you that there has been no "masive internal work" executed by us for the floors to be in this condition. The only thing that we had got done is the essential wood work in the bedrooms and kitchen, which I don't think would affect a good quality wooden floor.

We do have other issues apart from the problems with the wooden floor mentioned in my earlier email on this topic. We have already provided a list of such issues to Mr. Deepu (Estate Manager, Eldeco Ananda) on 6^th March 2007. This list has also been shown to Mr. Rajeev Sharma and Mr. Rajesh Dubey at various times. For your reference I am listing down the issues once again, which fall under two broad categories. Please note that it is the list of issues that we are facing right now and needs to be addressed. It by no means can be termed as complete, as new issues may crop up from time to time.

Construction quality related issues
Wooden floor in the Kids bedroom has bloated around the joints of the wooden tiles.
There are remains of white paint on the wooden floor near the door of the toilet in the Master bedroom
The wooden lamination of the profile on the toilet door of the Master bedroom has come out completely.
Wooden skirting in master, kids and guest room is sticking out from the walls.
Seepage in

i. Kids bedroom and toilet

ii. Master bedroom and toilet

iii. Kitchen

iv. Study and its toilet

v. Living room

Handle of the main door of guest room has come out
Cracks have appeared in the walls of

i. Kids bedroom

ii. Master bedroom

Cracks in WC of kids bathroom
Services related issues
Water quality: The water supply is either yellow or grayish black. It has such a heavy amount of silt that the Zero-B engineer has suggested that the pre-filter in the RO requires a change. Which is surprising as the RO was installed only in last week of January 2007 and a typical pre-filter has a life of 1 year, even in Noida.
The maintenance office refused to accept our letter of complaint which I, eventually, had to courier to you and which caused me to start this mail thread. The reason that I got for not accepting the letter was that they are not authorized to accept such letters. Which brings me to ask then why they are here? If they cannot accept a letter of complaint regarding the very complex which they are responsible for maintaining.

Hoping for an early response to this list,

Regards,

Ruchir Agarwal

GC2/002, Eldeco Ananda

Thank you readers

2007-04-23T18:48:00.000+05:30

This post is for all the readers of this blog, who, time and again, have written to me sympathising with the problems we have faced with Eldeco. I wish to thank you all for your kindness, for the hope that good will finally overshadow evil, for the support of right versus wrong, for consumer activism and awareness, for quality consciousness and for using my experiences to make your own personal choices with respect to property purchase. I am grateful for your trust, and for your understanding. Thank you very much once again.

Update: Eldeco and Pankaj Bajaj proves us right

2007-04-11T20:02:00.000+05:30

No response from Eldeco today either to my letter to the Managing Director, which is published in this post. Don't know how much time will Eldeco take to respond to an email.
At least a confirmation of mail reciept could have been sent. That does take any time. Next time, I guess I have to send emails with read reciept enabled.

Eldeco and Pankaj Bajaj prove us right.

2007-04-10T13:51:00.000+05:30


Email written to Pankaj Bajaj, MD Eldeco Housing and Constructions. As expected, no response.

Dear Pankaj,

Our patience has truly run out with Eldeco. This email is a measure of whether treating the customers with apathy truly flows from the top.

Lets see.
Sonal

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Agarwal, Ruchir <Ruchir_Agarwal@mentor.com>
Date: Apr 8, 2007 5:03 PM
Subject: Maintenance complaints at GC2-002, Eldeco Ananda, Noida
To: vishal@eldecoproperties.com, sanjaysharma@eldecoproperties.com
Cc: Sonal Goyal < sonalgoyal4@gmail.com>

Dear Vishal/Sanjay,

This is with respect to the list of grievances that we had given to Mr. Deepu, Estate Manager, on 6th March 2007. One of the items in the list is the poor condition of the wooden floor in kid's and master bedrooms. Since submission of the list, the condition of wooden flooring in both the rooms has deteriorated.

We are concerned about the quality of material and workmanship used in the flooring of these two rooms. Such poor material and work is not expected from a reputed builder as yours and in a premium apartment complex as Ananda.

When we bought the house we were apprehensive about the life and quality of proposed wooden flooring in the house. But were made to understand from Mr. Rajeev Sharma, with whom we interacted regarding our purchase, that there would be no issues whatsoever with the wooden flooring as the material used is of high quality and that even if there were any issues they will be taken care off by Eldeco.

Kindly let us know, at the earliest, by when we can expect a replacement/fix of the wooden flooring in our house.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely,

Ruchir Agarwal & Sonal Goyal

GC2-002, Eldeco Ananda Apartments,

Sector 48, Noida.

Other blogs on Eldeco

2007-04-06T16:16:00.000+05:30

Seems other harassed owners of Eldeco Ananda, duped by the false promises of the company and disillusioned by the service offered are airing their disappointment in their blogs. Check:

http://anurajsoni.blogspot.com/
http://ruchir75.blogspot.com

Apathy

2007-04-04T12:20:00.000+05:30

If there is something called complete apathy, Eldeco surely knows how to treat their customers with one. When I moved in, I noticed that the wooden laminated flooring of the kids' room was chipping off. The wooden tiles seem to have distanced from each other, and when I walk over, I have a sense of ground moving under my feet kind of feeling. Once I managed to get the estate manager to check the floor, he got the workman from the flooring company who admitted that the floor was indeed badly laid out. They told me they will relay it. Of course, gullible me believed! I had a visit again today by the higher authorities of the mighty Eldeco Constructions, the supposed engineer in charge. I think this is exactly one month after I submitted a written complaint after numerous verbal compaints. Anyways, the engineer told me water had seeped in the floor, and of course how can water seep in? Surely we had been spilling water all over, and caused the floor to come to this condition. For one, I cant swim, so creating a swimming pool in the kids room is certainly not my idea of fun! I dont even wet mop, and my daughter, though small, is sufficiently toilet trained to not piss anywhere. Also, we have covered the floor with all kinds of mats and durries, so only a little portion is visible and can get wet, if at all. However, the engineer feels that I have been upto something with the floor, and is not ready to admit the poor quality.

Thanks, it was better when you were not trying to pretend to help. To be accused of misuse in your own flat and told that this is the only flat where there is a problem with the wooden floor really gets on my nerves. Almost all my neighbours are facing similar issues with the wooden flooring. The rising prices in Noida may have led Eldeco and Mr Pankaj Bajaj to a huge profit, but if you dont remember your base and hand out this treatment to your customers, I am sure you will see the dust one day. Good luck!

Eunuch racket

2007-04-04T12:13:00.000+05:30

I opened the door in answer tot he doorbell, only to see two eunuch smiling gleefully and asking for badhai - their term for extortion money of buying a new flat. I was shell shocked, I never expected eunuch to be walking down the supposed secure building complex, right at my door and ringing the bell. Ok, Eldeco cant stop them, but at least I could have been informed on the intercom that they are visiting, just like other *guests* who come over. For other people, even my parents, the guards promptly stop them at the main door, call m up and confirm if I want them to visit me. Only then they are allowed in. But seems Eldeco does not measure everyone with the same scale, and the eunuch have a different setting with them.

After major excuses, relentless bargains, I had to pay up 2100 Rs to them. So much for living in a fully gated secure Eldeco Ananda Premium residential flats!

Funny

2007-03-12T11:22:00.000+05:30

I was searching for something when I reached this promotion from Eldeco in the guise of a news item. According to the article, Mr Pankaj Bajaj from Eldeco says:

"We screen buyers before selling them homes here so that our customers will have quality people living in their neighbourhood."

How about doing some introspection and assessing the quality you are offering to your customers Mr Bajaj? Last heard, our resident's welfare association had requested some time to meet you personally. One week has passsed, you have not even acknowledged receipt of our request, let alone telling us when we can meet you.

Eldeco marketing

2007-03-11T23:28:00.000+05:30

I have had one of the most eye opening experiences of my life interacting with Eldeco marketing. Eldeco has a number of projects in the NCR - Delhi region and I expected Eldeco staff to be customer friendly. Eldeco is a listed company, and one kind of assumes that the marketing department will be smart and savvy. However, they are savvy and smart, but only for their own good, is what I realized once I had paid the booking amount and legally agreed to buy the flat ( or else forefeit the booking amount).

We did not want wooden flooring in any of the bedrooms, as we were not sure how it would work out in Indian conditions. Before booking, we were told by their sales person, that these are small and minor things, to be taken care of once we make up our mind about the flat. "You are paying for the flat, so what issue can the company have in extending the marble flooring of the drawing area to your bedrooms, especially when cost of both wooden and marble turns out same to the company. We are here to serve you mam". Of course, how simple it seemed. Alas, the story changed completely as soon as the booking got done.

"We surely cant change our flats for each single customer. Else the project will never get delivered. Customizations are not possible. You are however free to change the flooring of the flat once you get the possession." Of course at our own cost. Eldeco will not even give us rooms without any flooring and just reduce our time, effort and money of first removing their stuff and then replacing it with ours. Needless to say, the wooden flooring is rustling under my feet, maintenance is a big pain in the dusty areas of Noida and all complaints about the peel offs lead to no result.

Possession was to be given to us in April, but we got it only in August last week, and that too after a lot of hassles. Eventually, we had to agree to broken marble pieces in the drawing room, undulated walls and all kinds of poor construction issues, as we needed the possession of the flat to start our own woodwork. When we asked Eldeco authorities to change the marble pieces that were broken, they told us that this could happen anytime, what would we do if the pieces broke after we took possession. They were not ready to change the marble, and if we insisted, they would replace it, but they would not make sure to match the replaced piece with the surrounding pattern. We gave up.

Similarly for the front door. The margin of the front door was badly cracked. It took us almost 5 meetings with Eldeco staff to get them to agree to change it.

Registration was another harrowing experience. We paid up the registration amount in first week of May. It took Eldeco about 5-6 months to get ready for the registration. We really hated the fact that they sat on our money all the while, refusing to listen to any pleas for getting the registration done. With a floating rate home saver loan account, it would have really benefitted us to get our registration amount and pay it only when they really wanted to do the paper work. Another case of complete customer apathy.

For the registration, we agreed to a date and time. Unfortunately, my daughter got down with measles. She was about 7 months at that time, and it was risky to take her to the crowded registrar office of NOIDA. I requested the Eldeco authorities to give us another date. It was something we really wanted to avoid, as registration was something which we wanted to get done as fast as possible. However, given Nandini's condition, there was no choice. But, their point of contact was not ready to budge. He told us that the date of the registration had been printed in advance on the stamp papers, and the stamp papers can not be changed. Or, if we agreed to pay the stamp duty again - some 5.5 lakhs, maybe it can be done. If the date is printed once, it cant be changed. I knew this was just his way of resisting our change request, so I requested again. Surely, if the date is printed and the person meets with an accident, will s/he need to get the papers printed again? The Noida authorities, for all their bureaucracy, can not be that foolish. After umpteen calls, Eldeco relented. Surely, when we went for the registration, we found that no date is even printed.

Thanks Mr Pankaj Bajaj, honorary managing director of Eldeco, for choosing such brilliant customer service representatives. Surely it is flowing from the top, isnt it?

International Women's Day

2007-03-09T17:59:00.000+05:30

I have never seen such media coverage of the International Women's Day. I think until the last few years, I did not even know that such a day existed, and got celebrated! Pardon my ignorance, but I still feel the culture of celebrating different kind of days - Valentine's, Father's, Mother's, AIDS, Women has a lot to do with the media. The special edition of Economic Times for the day was edited by 3 illustrious and noteworthy women. There were point of views from various women from a cross section of society. It was a very good read, and I for one thanked god for having such a day full of lot of interesting reading material.

Having said that, the day prompted me to think and ponder. Why just one day out of 365 - does that mean men rule the other 364 days? Well, I wont say I am necessarily hurt, but sorry man(and men), the question did pop up in my liberal mind. Again, as the day unfolded and I struggled to work from home, balance the needs of my child with the demands and aspirations of my career, a million questions kept knocking at my door. Is life really easier or tougher for the women today? With more and more choices and demands on the women, is emancipation truly what we asked for? Do we still have a decent corporate culture which allows women to work as well as balance their roles as mothers and caregivers? Do corporates really care? Should corporates really care?

What do I want - a spic and span house which feels like no one lives here, ultra clean kitchen which looks like nobody has ever cooked, an obedient child who lets me work when I want to, and showers me with love and affection and some naughtiness when I am free, a husband who prefers to help out in housework instead of watching television, a job where I get a good pay, with very challenging work, but with flexi timings and the ability to look after my kid while working from home?

Could life really get simpler..or am I too demanding ?

More on Eldeco

2007-02-25T22:07:00.000+05:30

Found this post from a fellow sufferer on how Eldeco has cheated them
http://www.noidascoop.com/story/2006/8/28/2724/49006

It is really disheartening to see how people have been taken for a ride by Eldeco. And all this is coming from a BSE listed company.

Airtel sells my personal information

2007-02-08T15:49:00.000+05:30

Its been less than two weeks since I got a new Airtel landline, and I am already receiving at least one call per day from different loan departments - car, house, personal, holiday and vacationing companies, Airtel itself for more connections, different schemes and promos. It is very annoying, especially if after half an hour of rocking I manage to put my little one to sleep, and the sound of the telphone ringing wakes her up and sends her into another crying spell. It is high time companies started respecting individual privacy. Mindless commercialization and disrespect for customer concern will surely not take you too far.

Pathetic customer service from Eldeco

2007-01-25T13:56:00.000+05:30

I have stressed in my previous posts about the problems faced by residents of Eldeco Ananda. I have moved in to the apartment block, and I realize there is a lot more to add to the list. Here are the big issues:

1. Eldeco has a power backup facility, where a diesel generator powers the complex when the main power goes off. Needless to say, the power backup running cost is about 3 times that of normal power. Which is fine. However, what is suspicious is that there is no way of knowing when the power is coming directly and when it is backed up, so there is simply no way you can control the bills. Good planning Eldeco to keep your coffers filling. Requests to know the charging rationale ofcourse falls to deaf ears.

2. The flat above mine is doing some renovation, and there is big seepage into my house. I requested the Eldeco authorities, who are caretakers and complex society guardians, to look into the matter. I am told it is my problem.

3. No water in kitchen for 3 days.

4. No greenery yet

5. Eldeco had charged us about Rs 25000 for electricity connection. However, we have not been given individual connections. There is one big connection for the complete building and sub meters to our individual flats. Who is paying for the usage by Eldeco authorities during construction and maintenence is anybody's guess.

You still want to buy something from Eldeco? Braveheart!

Eldeco Ananda, the biggest scam of all

2007-01-14T20:59:00.000+05:30

I am terribly disappointed with the service and quality of Eldeco's Constructions. I own a flat in Eldeco Properties' premium housing project in Noida, NCR - Ananda. Ever since we have got the possession of the apartment it is a continuosly painful exercise to get the basic amenities from Eldeco. It is very disheartening to be promised dreams and then lacking in delivery of the basics. From the outright, the possession of the flat was delayed, without any intimations and reasons given to the buyers. On possession, we noticed broken marble slabs in the drawing room, and the engineer in charge refused to change them. Its been six months since we took possession, and one of the bathrooms still does not have the towel rods. The promised swimming pool has turned out to be small little water body. Greenery is non existent. On top of it, the security leaves so much to be desired. Enunch walk into the complex, and demand their extortion fee, taking as much as 11k with them. I have heard that Eldeco has now negotiated the rate with the enunch gang as 2500 Rs, and we will get a receipt!!!

Eldeco authorities are the most customer unfriendly, they treat you as scums and do not care a word of what you say and request.

God save me, I am really shuddering from the thought of moving in next week..

Everyman's story

2006-12-30T17:51:00.000+05:30

Barkha Dutt in her editorial column in Hindustan Times discusses how the mobile phone has become a symbol of middle class activism. People can now sms and voice their opinions. She welcomes such gestures, as according to her, these empower the otherwise passive junta. Read full article here

She should know, ofcourse. As Managing Editor of NDTV, a big pie of the channel's profits come from the SMS revenue generated on mindless topics - Should Abhishek marry Aishwarya? Who will be the lead wicket taker in xx test?

Middle class activism. Thanks!

Saddam executed

2006-12-30T17:35:00.000+05:30

Saddam Hussain finally got hanged today. President Bush calls it an important milestone on the road to building Iraqi democracy. Saddam execution important milestone: Bush

I would say it is a clear signal to anyone who stands against the American economy of wars and oil wells. History is written by the victor, and Saddam will go down as a threat to the freedom and democracy of Iraqis, a person who amassed weapons of mass destruction, who was a threat to global peace and existence and who indirectly supported terror groups.

Who dare raise voices against the mighty Americans? Who dare stop them from capturing foreign soil in quest of black gold? Who dare suggest their economics of terror, of first destroying countries and then sending their own companies under the garb of rehabilitation and construction?

We are a global world, committed to free spirit and democracy, arent we? So what if only the sound of the dollar gets heard? Long live the king!

Opentable

2006-12-28T20:27:00.000+05:30

Just discovered a service http://opentable.com/ for making restaurant reservations. The site claims to be free, instant and reliable. wonder if there is anything like this for Noida/Delhi/Gurgaon region. Also on similar lines, the struggle for cinema tickets makes me wish for a similar site linking all theatres in the region, with ticket availability, show timings, seat preferences and maybe even ordering popcorn in advance. Santa, are you listening? :)

New Year will not be the same again..

2006-12-27T18:56:00.000+05:30

Was casually flipping the newspaper pages which had major coverage on all the planned festivities and celebrations. However, there were some articles on the tsunami victims, for whom New Year brings a flurry of sad memories, thoughts of lost loved ones, harsh reality checks of rehabilitation programs, the horror and the trauma. With all the scars, will it ever be the same again for them?

Hail Delhi!

2006-12-22T19:59:00.000+05:30

According to a study done by Forbes on the densest cities in India, Delhi is supposedly much better as compared to Mumbai, Kolkatta, Hyderabad and even Bangalore.

Windows End Task

2006-12-19T23:16:00.000+05:30

Dear Mr Gates,

If End task is not intended to show up immediately or end the task most of the times, why not just remove the dumb button?

Thanks,
Sonal

Telecommuting

2006-12-16T21:09:00.000+05:30

After a six month stint at telecommuting, I think it may be worthwhile to pen down some posts on the subject. The benefits, the downsides, how to go about it, the approach that worked for me, lessons learnt etc. So the next few posts are going to deal with telecommuting. Keep watching.

No Answers From Google

2006-11-29T13:48:00.000+05:30

Google has announced the end to Google Answers, a service where people could ask questions and subscribed experts would search the net and answer. Adieu to Google Answers However, I am surprised at the blog, which mentions how quickly college grads made the service, what all they learnt and what an experiment it was. However, no reason as to the closure of the service is mentioned. What made Google close this? How successful was the experiment? Were there any attempts made to rejuvenate the service? Questions, questions... answers anyone?

MPs demand no payment to cricketers for bad showing

2006-11-28T12:45:00.001+05:30

I agree with the views posted in Chauka!.

It is suprising that MPs are demanding that the cricketers not be paid for their dismal show in South Africa. How about applying the same rule to the performance of our dear parliamentarians? Any MP game for a performance linked constituency allowance? ;)

Casino Royale

2006-11-27T13:20:00.000+05:30

Watched Casino Royale and simply loved it. The movie has all the necessary ingredients - emotion, drama, action, romance, interesting climax. Worth watching.

Interesting blog discovered

2006-11-25T19:25:00.000+05:30

Thanks to publishing my details on Skype, I got unusual friendship messages and contact details requests. One gentleman called Satya even called me up, saying all sorts of weird things. I have wisened up, thanks and have promptly removed all possible details. As if all the calls from the various financial institutions for all kinds of personal/home/car loans/credit cards and insurance policies was not enough!

It bugged me so much, I started searching google for "skype loss of privacy" which led me to http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com

Interesting blog.

Finally, negativity transformed to something positive.

Rift between Chappell and Dravid, Vengsarkar to intervene

2006-11-25T16:07:00.000+05:30

Yesterday NDTV proclaimed a "breaking news" with a program on the rift between Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell, as apparently Chappell had sent Dravid for batting at a position at which he did not wish to bat. India lost dismally.

I am amazed at the growing sensationalism promoted by the leading news channels. We understand that we are a cricket crazy nation, however, all the spicing up of anything and everything connected with cricket is really stretching too far. The coach and the captain are professionals good at their job. It is true that they are not able to garner a respectable win for the team currently. However, I am very doubtful that they have even forgotten their core roles and responsiblities. The NDTV correspondents seem to have little understanding of team structures and dynamics, if they have come up with a program like this.

It is NOT the coach's job to decide the captain's batting slot, let alone govern the order for the entire side. And I am sure given the current form of Indian players, the coach has more than his share of work to do, leave behind the batting order! Also, the captain may take suggestions, but the final decision is HIS prerogative.

There are four possible cases here:
1. Chappell suggests something and Rahul agrees.
2. Chappell does not suggest, Rahul does as he feels correct.
3. Chappell suggests, Rahul disagrees.
4. Chappell does not suggest, Rahul does not suggest. No change.

So, let us assume that Chappell indeed suggested the place for Dravid. There is no way he could have forced Dravid, so Dravid must have agreed. Now, can any sensible person agree and then come back and blame? (From what we have seen of Rahul Dravid, we can grant him this much understanding at least, cant we countrymen?)

Now, let us take another scenario. Suppose Chappell did not suggest the place but Rahul went for it nevertheless. So, now, is there any reason for the supposed rift?

Or, let us take the third case. Chappell suggested some place and Rahul did not agree. Surely, then the captain did as he felt like and again there is no reason for a rift.

Also, let us also stretch our imagination wild and assume, just like our dear NDTV correspondents, that the two did have a disagreement on some batting order. Now, will they tell NDTV? Will Vengsarkar tell NDTV? If it was a big showdown disagreement, it would have been in the papers anyways. And if it was not, why waste prime time news slots on juicy aunty gossips?

GROW UP GUYS.

Sensible defaults

2006-11-25T13:00:00.000+05:30

I agree with Jason. The advanced features must be available, however, the UI should be designed in such a manner that sensible defaults are available to the beginner and the intermediate users.

Best career for women ?

2006-11-10T18:54:00.001+05:30

It have heard from a lot of people thathe teaching profession is the best profession for females. Teaching in a university is often looked at as the best way to balance family and employment. The apparent less hours demanded of a university teacher make the profession lucrative, especially for a mother with young kids. Somehow, I disagree and I feel strongly that for building any career, there is no shortcut. If one wants to have just a nice cushiony job and the feeling that one is employed, any option is fine. However, if one is interested in building a career, one has to invest the time and the energy for it. Even in teaching, if one wishes to excel, one will need to spend considerable time in learning and exploring, research and industrial projects. Sure, there may be a way out when one just teaches by rote and devotes a couple of hours every week and gets away with it by still being able to draw salary. But I am not sure if this is leading to a teacher whom students look upto and who is an expert in her field.

Guarding against SQL injection

2006-11-07T13:43:00.000+05:30

Just read What's a SQL Injection Bug?. I think we need to update our code review guidelines to ensure this is not happening.

Ananda final round

2006-11-06T20:07:00.000+05:30

Final set of activities under progress in the new house, kitchen tidbits, paint, wrap up of the woodwork. Long list of items still to cover - electrical fittings, registration, curtains...

Welcome to Delhi

2006-10-24T18:28:00.000+05:30

After all the Diwali celebrations, reached back Delhi by Shram Shakti Express. No mishaps with the train thankfully, unlike our to journey. But, greater surprises (and shcoks) lay in store. No autorickshaw is ready to go to Noida! (a few may oblige, and all they ask is a measly 200 Rs for 16 kms, fair, eh?) Taxis are Rs 550, I did not know petrol is so costly. If I take a prepiad, I will be stranded with the receipt, no autorickshaw is ready to seat us. The policeman on duty is not too helpful, his suggestion is to pay the autowallah his due(madam, be practical or take a bus!). Finally we take a bus. Thanks!

Travel to Kanpur

2006-10-24T18:22:00.000+05:30

We planned a family get-together in Kanpur for Diwali. booked tickets by Rewa Express whcih leaves New Delhi Railway Station close to 11.30 PM. Reached station at 11 PM, only to realize that the train would leave at 1.20 PM. Spent a tough two hours at the waiting room, which was completely packed(overflowing, people on the floors..). Finally reached the platform to realize that Rewa would not be going to Kanpur at all! Ludicrous, what happened to all the announcement systems of the railways??? Finally came to know of a train at 3.30 PM which would go to Kanpur. Beged and pleaded with the ticket collectors to give us a berth, but of course, everything was jam packed. Finally, managed to climb in the train, sat on a side berth(all three of us). Luckily, the berth owner did not show up! Reached Kanpur at 9.30AM next day! Finally, holidays begin....

Pyaar Ke Side Effects

2006-09-17T19:49:00.000+05:30

Watched Pyaar Ke Side Effects starring Rahul Bose and Mallicka Shehrawat. Really enjoyed the movie. The acting is nice, script crisp, no boring songs hampering the progress of the movie. Overall slick direction and good dialogues. Content is adult comedy, so maybe you want to leave your kids behind.

Lets discover telecommuting..

2006-09-12T15:11:00.000+05:30

I posted a question on JoelOnSoftware to see what the good ole programmers feel about my options. Hoping for some insights.

Fed ROCKS!!

2006-09-11T23:20:00.000+05:30

Another great win, another title match won comfortably! Roger Federer demonstrates his prowess and sheer talent to dominate the US Open - third time in a row.

I am not sure what it feels to be so good and to know it. But I am sure Tiger Woods and Roger Federer must have a lot of common sentiments.

With Tiger watching, Federer has slammin' time at Open

End of an era

2006-09-04T00:21:00.000+05:30

Andre Agassi crashed out of the US Open, bringing to an end his long and glorious career. The champion cried for a long time, the centre court gave him standing ovation. It was indeed very touching to see him play his last match for good.

Good luck Andre, you stay a champ! Adieu.

Women at the top?

2006-08-23T23:16:00.000+05:30

IBM has recently announced that it is lowering the entry criteria for women, so that more women can get employed and help balance the sex ratio within the company.

What IBM wants: Women at the top

I am not sure what the motives are, but I am assuming that IBM is looking at creating cross functional teams with diverse mindsets, a team building approach much preached by the management gurus of all ages. However, I am not sure if lowering the bar is going to help better the culture and team spirit in the company. Unless the merits and motives of a gender balanced workforce are understood by the majority of the employees, it is going to irk the existing workforce. The life of deserving female candidates is going to get tougher, as they will be under constant scrutiny and judgement by their male colleagues. They may have to prove each career advancement far more, and carry the brunt of the disgruntled workforce.

I personally feel that women in engineering (and other professionas where they are outnumbered by the men) face a daunting challenge of constant assessment by everyone around. I just hope things do not get tough for the truly deserving female candidates and they do not have to prove at every step of their employment tenure that they deserve to be in. I hope the organization has educated its employees on the need for a diverse group and they do not develop a negative mindset towards their female counterparts.

Having said that, I really feel that lowering the bar is not the solution. It is more like a quick fix. It discourages merit, and promotes inequality. Encouragement has to happen in terms of a better culture and work-life balance for female employees.

FLWOR with Berkeley DB XML

2006-08-14T22:06:00.000+05:30

FLWOR (pronounced Flower) stands for "for let while order by return" and is and XQuery expression. FLWOR enables advanced querying. More details about
FLWOR can be found at http://www.w3schools.com/xquery/xquery_flwor.asp

Sleepycat's Berkeley's XML Database, DB XML the native XML database supports XQuery. I have tried to create a small example here to demonstrate how to read XQuery with FLWOR expressions from a file, and run them against the database of Berkeley DBs dbxml container.(the one built in the 'gettingStarted' section) It is assumed that the xml sample data from the getting started kit has been loaded.

Set your classpath to include the Berkley DB jars under jar folder
(db.jar, dbxml.jar, dbexamples.jar)

The code can be found here.

1. query.txt file, which holds the query.



for $doc in collection(\'simpleExampleData.dbxml\')

    where $doc/product/item[text()=\"Lemon Grass\"]

    return $doc/product

2. FLWOR.java file, which holds the code.



import java.io.*;

import com.sleepycat.dbxml.*;

import com.sleepycat.db.*;

import dbxml.gettingStarted.*;



public class FLWOR {

  private static void usage() {

  String usageMessage = \"\\nThis program performs queries against a DBXML container.\\n\";

  usageMessage += \"You should run exampleLoadContainer before running this example.\\n\";

  usageMessage += \"You are only required to pass this command the path location of the database\\n\";

  usageMessage += \"environment that you specified when you loaded the examples data:\\n\";

  usageMessage += \" and the query file which holds the query\\n\";

  usageMessage += \"\\t-h <dbenv directory> -q <queryFile>\\n\";



  usageMessage += \"For example:\\n\";

  usageMessage += \"\\tjava ch.inform.bdb.FLWOR -h examplesEnvironment -q query.txt\\n\";



  System.out.println(usageMessage);

  System.exit( -1 );

  }



  

  //Utility function to clean up objects, exceptions or not,

  // containers and environments must be closed.

  private static void cleanup(myDbEnv env, XmlContainer openedContainer) {

  try {

      if (openedContainer != null)

   openedContainer.close();

      if (env != null)

   env.cleanup();

  } catch (Exception e) {

      // ignore exceptions on close

  }

  }



  public static void main(String args[])

  throws Throwable {

  String theContainer = null;

  File path2DbEnv = null;

  File queryFile = null;

  for(int i = 0; i < args.length; ++i) {

          if (args[i].startsWith(\"-\")) {

           switch(args[i].charAt(1)) {

            case \'h\':

              path2DbEnv = new File(args[++i]);

              break;

            case \'q\':

              queryFile = new File(args[++i]);

              break;

            default:

              usage();

            }//switch

          }//if

  }//for



  if (path2DbEnv == null || ! path2DbEnv.isDirectory()) {

          usage();

  }

  

  if (queryFile == null || queryFile.isDirectory()) {

   System.out.println(\"queryFile is \" + queryFile);

   usage();

  }

  

  //Stream to read file

  BufferedReader fin;  

  String query = \"\";

  try

  {

   fin = 

             new BufferedReader(new FileReader(queryFile));

   String line;

      while ((line = fin.readLine()) != null ) {

       query += \"\\n\" + line;

      }



      // Close our input stream

      fin.close();  

  }

  // Catches any error conditions

  catch (IOException e)

  {

   System.err.println (\"Unable to read from file\");

   System.exit(-1);

  }



  System.out.println(\"Query is \" + query);



  myDbEnv env = null;

  XmlTransaction txn = null;

  XmlContainer openedContainer = null;

  try {

      env = new myDbEnv(path2DbEnv);

      XmlManager theMgr = env.getManager();

      String containerMark = \"\\\'\";

      theContainer = query.substring(

        query.indexOf(containerMark)+1, 

        query.lastIndexOf(containerMark));

      System.out.println(\"Container is \" + theContainer);

      //Open a non-transactional container

      openedContainer =

       theMgr.openContainer(theContainer);

      XmlQueryContext resultsContext = theMgr.createQueryContext();



         XmlResults results = theMgr.query(query.trim(),

          resultsContext);

      XmlValue value = results.next();

      while (value != null) {

       //Pull the value out of the document query result set.

       System.out.println(value.asString());

      }



  } catch (Exception e) {

          System.err.println(\"Error performing query against \" + theContainer);

          System.err.println(\"   Message: \" + e.getMessage());

          throw e;

     }

     finally {

     cleanup(env, openedContainer);

     }

  } //End main

 }

I am assuming you have already run the examples. So after that, please compile and
say the following at the command line at test folder:
java FLWOR -h -q query.txt

Next reading on my list

2006-07-17T13:45:00.000+05:30

A new mom sure needs good advice on weight control, and where else to get it from than from one of the software gurus - John Walker explains the Hacker's diet and I am reading through it to get back in shape and fit into my old jeans!

Who told me about it? Well, trust Big Brother! ;)

My favorite interview

2006-07-11T21:17:00.000+05:30

I was reading through Reginald's interesting blog entry about interviews and I started trying to see if there is a pattern in the way I typically conduct an interview. The basic philosophy is to make a candidate comfortable and to try to select, rather than reject. I usually start with asking the candidate to be at ease and to tell me something about themselves. We discuss their professional lives, why they are looking for a change, how long they have been working in the current position and so on. Then I ask them what they are working on currently, and what is their role in the project. While they speak, I try to form my opinion on their enthusiasm towards wha they are doing and how they seem to be faring in their team. This is important, as without being kicked about what you are doing, it will be difficult to sustain minimum 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Also, most software is written in groups of 3-4, and it is important that the incumbent does not rub team members the wrong way. We have enough problems to cater to and would like to avoid the ego hassles, thank you!

I request them to explain the project high level design, and the lower level details of the modules they are working on. The idea is to get them to talk about what they should probably be knowing real well. If they make it this far, they are worth a real try to be inducted, and the interview now focusses on how much more they know. Would they mind explaining a bit about the interfaces to their modules? Why are the interfaces designed the way they are? Why are particular tools being used, what are their advantages/disadvantages? Would they be knowing some alternatives to those tools - another database, another package etc? If a client has requested something, does the candidate understand the business drivers to it?

There are some strong no-nos. Candidates who are not willing to be hands on - who want to purely lead are refused, as I interview programmers and not managers. Candidates who seem to get irritated when prodded will again not do, as we want people who can sit and discuss pros and cons and successfully drive their point across, or accept a superior point of view. Overall, personal integrity is sought after, though very difficult to judge. If the candidate is able to accept a mistake, it speaks volumes about his/her character.

Tweaking Tomcat

2006-07-06T21:21:00.000+05:30

Problem

To gain control over Tomcat internal mechanism by doing the following:
- To run tomcat programmatically in the same JVM.
- To override default JSP invocation
- To override default servlet invocation
- To run the http connector and listen to http requests
- Intercept requests and furnish request information like headers, body, get and post data
- To access uploaded file information

About Tomcat

Tomcat is a servlet container implementing the Java Servlet 2.4 Specifications. It is also holds a JSP engine as per the JSP 1.2 Specifications.

The basic functionality of Tomcat can be summarized as:
- Creating a request object by parsing the http request headers, bodyand other information which can be passed on to the invoked servlet
- Creating a response object which can be passed back to the requesting client(typically a browser)
- Invoking the service method of the responsible servlet

To achieve the above, Tomcat consists of two main modules – Connector and the Container. The Connector’s main job is to construct a request and response object for each HTTP request it receives, and connect the request with the container. The container is the processor of the request, it receives the Request and Response objects from the Connector and invokes the service method of the Container.

The various types of containers in Tomcat are:
1. A Server element represents the entire Catalina servlet container
2. A Service element represents the combination of one or more Connector components that share a single Engine component for processing incoming requests. One or more Service elements may be nested inside a Server element.
3. The Engine element represents the entire request processing machinery associated with a particular Catalina Service. It receives and processes all requests from one or more Connectors, and returns the completed response to the Connector for ultimate transmission back to the client. Exactly one Engine element MUST be nested inside a Service element, following all of the corresponding Connector elements associated with this Service.
4. Host: This allows multiple servers to be configured on the same physical machine and be identified by separate IP addresses.
5. Context: This represents a single web application

Solution Approach
As we are concerned with request interception before it reaches the servlet layer, we need to create a custom container and attach the HTTP connector to it. Requests from the connector can then be pointed to the custom container instead of the default servlet container. As we are dealing at the entire request processing level, a custom Engine object(SimpleContainer) is created.
The basic concept of Tomcat request processing is pipelining. A pipeline contains tasks that the container will invoke. A valve represents each task. There is one basic valve in the container’s pipeline, but we can add as many valves as we want. The pipeline invokes the first valve and this valve invokes the next and then the invoked valve invokes the next and so on till all the valves are invoked. So, our custom container needs a custom valve as its first valve, so as to consume the request and do the necessary processing

Software Estimation - why is it so darn tough?

2006-06-25T19:47:00.001+05:30

When I talk to my software industry friends and colleagues, one thing almost all of us seem to agree upon is the difficulty in assessing the effort and time required for any particular task. Most of the times, we are not sure why this happens, but in general, we almost always end up taking more time than committed. More time may not necessarily mean delaying deadlines, in most cases, it ends up eating into personal time and late hours at work.

Why is estimation so darn tough??

To begin with, in most cases, we have no clue as to the work that we will be doing. Let me take an example: Add News Content from a Third Party to an existing site. Generally, our approach would be:
A) Have a gut feel. Somehow. 3 weeks. Does it sound reasonable? Umm, yeah, why not..maybe its a bit off the mark..let me look further
B) Well, we need to make changes to the front end, new pages have to be created. See how many pages to be created and the time it generally takes to create one on an average. 1 week max
C) Changes to the middle tier - some coding will have to be done to get the data..Maybe parsing it etc. Another week
D) Overall, few changes here and there..Yeah, I think I can complete in 2.5 weeks, but let me add some buffer just to be safe. 3 weeks look good

One week down the line, we realize 3 weeks is way too less..what went wrong?A quick checklist to avoid the pitfalls of hasty estimation
A) Ask the right questions and scoping correctly. We need to be absolutely sure about the requirements
B) Question the interfaces. What kind of support will we get from the third party? What status are their APIs in? The more the interfaces, the more time it will take
C) Go into details and specifics. How many new classes/ methods/changes to existing classes and methods? Any new stylesheets required? Any database changes? To what effect?
D) How will we test? What all needs to be tested
E) We will need time to document design and code
F) Time will be spent in code and design reviews
G) Time is taken up in follow up with team members
H) Time will be spent in code control, build scripts, release depolyments
I) Time is required for preparing test beds
J) Time is required for the creation of development environment
K) Do we need to test all that is fully functional already? Impact on existing system. Whereall does it hit? We need time to reconfigure the earleir working version so that doesnt break with new added functionality
L) Time is also taken up in organizational status reporting and monitoring
M) There may be sick time - plan some unexpected time off for team members
N) Some trainings and holidays may impact the project schedule
O) Last but not the least, review the estimate. If we can list all the major and monir activities we will be doing and the time taken to do them, we can not be too way off from the actuals. However, if we miss some activities completely, they will really hit hard on the estimates.

Eldeco, NOIDA, marketing et al

2006-06-19T15:33:00.000+05:30

I booked a flat in Eldeco Ananda, hoping I will save myself from the travails of constructing my own house. Though the prices were exorbitant, I was expecting that I will get service asI am opting for top-end premium stuff and paying the price for it. How wrong could I be!

1. Before booking the flat, the marketing executive told us that it would be possible to replace the wooden flooring in the bedrooms with marble, just like the rest if the house. No cost would have to be borne by us. As soon as we decided to book and communicated the same to him, he said that the flooring will be changed subject to a very nominal amount. After booking, I was told that flooring can not be changed in all the rooms, only the flooring in one of the rooms can be changed. The cost was to be about 15k, which is even more than the flooring cost of a similar sized room. To say the least, if I want to get it done, Eldeco expects me to pay more than double the cost, one which I have already paid in the base amount, and second is the extra charges for "alteration"

2. The company asked me to pay them the registration amount along with the miscellaneous amount and only then they would start thehalnding over of possession process. Registration is to be done in NOIDA authority and the company, being the seller, is also a party to the process. However, Eldeco mandates that registration be done through them, and they charge a hefty fee for that. Its been more than two months, I have been following up with Eldeco like crazy, and there is no reply. They say it is in progress, whereas I know ATS and other builders are queuing up at NOIDA office and getting their stuff done easily. Even individuals are able to get registration done at the authority within 2-3 days, so I am wondering what makes Eldeco spend that much time sitting on my money..?

3. At the time of booking, I was told I could opt out of the power backup(12k per kva!!) if I wanted. Ofcourse, now the reps tell me that they could NEVER EVER have told me that, how could they when it is just NOT possible? Ofcourse, some miscommunication, if at all..But I wonder why all the miscommunication seems to fit their ends, not mine...?

Tomcat

2006-05-26T13:23:00.000+05:30

One interesting book I am reading these days is How Tomcat Works by Budi Kurniawan and Paul Deck. Unlike other books on the topic, this book concentrates on Tomcat internals, making it a very attractive reading for developers interested in behind the scenes working. Instead of user centric, the book is developer centric. It assumes a fair knowledge of Java and the Servlet API, and creates sample applications to unravel the details. It starts with building a simple Java based client and server, and takes on from there to describe the Tomcat connector architecture, main classes and their interaction.

Good days, bad days..

2006-05-26T13:16:00.000+05:30

There are some periods in everyone's life where everything is going either as smooth or as silk, or so bad that one hopes it cant get worse! Over the last month, I have had strange computer viruses, bad broadband connections, dead telephone lines, tap leaks, tv faults, stabilizer problems......Seems no amount of backup planning and checks can save me from the maintenence of household items! I think I need a break from the continuous device maintenence and running after sales reps.

Reservation: Sitaram Yechury's Column in HT on 18/05

2006-05-19T22:21:00.000+05:30

In his article LEFT HAND DRIVE - Brand equity : Reservations are a part of affirmative action. In this lies India’s future" Sitaram Yechury says

That the same sections today oppose reservations in education speaks volumes
of their inherent upper-caste bias. This is further attested by the fact
that currently, in an overwhelmingly large number of private educational
institutions, there exists the system of admission by paying capitation fee.
What else is this but reservation for the rich.
The only ‘merit’ required in this scheme is to have enough money to, literally, buy
admission. In some cases (quite large in number), private institutions offer
seats to NRIs through what is virtually an auction process. The highest
bidder wins. The complete absence of any consideration of merit in these
cases is never questioned. Merit, however, becomes an issue when it comes to
providing access to those who have been denied education for centuries.

The point made here is that the rich always try to buy their way out, whereas the poor are left to fend for themselves. And in the education sector this disparity shows more than anywhere else.

I would like to use this analogy in the sector where Mr. Yechury earns his livelihood. Politics. Elections. We all know the kind of muscle power and money used during election time. Parties form coalitions, buying out elected representatives. By his own admission, this should be stopped too.

Also, the cabinet should comprise of ministers in the same ratio, and so should state cabinets. After all, it is all but fair that due representation be given to people of the so called opressed classes, and what better way than to provide them the power to run the government machinery and carve a government of the people, by the people and for the people, right Mr Yechury?

It is amazing that the people who are advocating reservations this time in IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and other prestigious colleges are not crying hoarse over the same amount of reservations in administrative services, IAS, PCS, IRS etc. Why not, does it hurt?

It is tragic that time and again, the poor are put synonymous with the backward and schedules classes, and it is assumed that the so called high class is made up of the rich and the super rich. Petty politicians will not shy away from dividing the youth of the nation to serve their own vested interests and vote banks.

Followup: The basics of housing loans

2006-05-19T22:09:00.000+05:30

Followup: The basics of housing loans
An addition to my last post on housing loan.
When researching on floating rate loans the general feedback we got was take the loan from any bank, you will end up paying a higher rate of interest once your loan starts. The banks always increase the rate of interest on any existing account, but somehow manage to still give new loans at a lower rate.
The catch here is to understand the concept of a PLR (Prime Lending Rate) that every bank maintains. The PLR is known by differnt names in different banks, but the use is still the same. Whenever a loan is taken the banks give a discount on the PLR. This discount is kept constant throughout the loan tenure. However what most banks do is to keep chanding the PLR and the discount from the PLR that is given.
So there is the answer to one question that I always wondered. How do new loans are still given at a lower rate of interest, even when the rate of interests in general have gone up. The trick lies in the discount given by the banks. The PLR is hiked, whenever the RBI changes any of the finanacial rates. But to keep the competition away, what banks do is to increase the discount from the PLR. Thus still offering the new loans at a lower rate.
The result of a change in PLR is that the rate of interest for existing loan account goes up, as the discount is constant. However, new loan accounts are still being offered at the same rate of interest, although with a higher discount.
So, if you are lucky, try to take the loan when the discounts are high and the PLR is low. That way you can minimize the interest outgo on your loan account.

Nandini arrives

2006-05-19T19:48:00.000+05:30

Richard Branson's Losing My Virginity

2006-01-30T15:24:00.000+05:30

I recently picked up a copy of Richard Branson's autobiography: Losing My Virginity. I must say the book is mind boggling. Very very gripping and indeed an eye opener, with a good insight into the Virgin empire build up, Branson's struggles and his thoughts. It is extremely well written, and I am glad I got a chance to read it. Some ideas are really fascinating, like when he says that whenever Virgin is faced with a cash crisis, his immediate reaction is to expand! Wow! Lateral thinking!! For some reason, I had earlier always dismissed Branson as a funny person, finding his ways weird and a bit dramatic and over the top. However, reading the book made me realize that maybe he is like that only, who else will try to go for balloon trips round the world ??

Next time I go to London, I am definitely visting the Oxford Street Music Shop. Just to get a feel of it..:)

The basics of housing loans

2006-01-18T16:39:00.000+05:30

Did some research for housing loans. Typically, banks finance anywhere from 80-90% of the price of the house, and also allow top up loans for registration, lease rent, parking etc. Basically, there are three kinds of loans

1. Fixed Rate - The bank and you agree upfront on some current interest rate, and this rate is supposed to stay the same irrespective of market conditions throughout the tenure of the loan. This kind of a loan can be advantageous if you expect the rates to rise in the future. However, most banks keep a money market clause, which enables them to change the rates if there is a big swing in the rates. Downward revision..well, appears tough

2. Floating rate - Interest rate can be downward or upward revised based on market conditions. With most banks, especially the private ones, downward revision is a very painful task, you keep ringing the call centre and they would do their best to delay the rate change(downward revision). Upward revision, well, you dont need to guess how smooth it can be ;) However, if the market rates remain unpredictable, floating rate loans appear more attractive. Floating rates are also usually lower than the fixed rates.

3. Floating with home saver - Interest rate clause same as floating rate above, but you get an account in which you can keep parking money. The money parked is struck off against the principal amount outstanding, and interest calculated on the remaining amount. You have the flexibility to take out the money, and the outstanding prinicipal and interest is calcultaed as per the duration the money stayed in the bank. Rates however are higher than the normal floating loan, as there is a price to liquidity attached.

Some catches, things to watch out for:
1) Most home loan representatives will try to sell the home saver option, if any such option exists. They will show interesting graphs of how home saver with higher interest rate still works out cheaper than a normal floating rate loan. The calculations they show reveal that if you keep even a small amount of money parked in your home saver account, you radically reduce the interest payable and hence the term of the loan (keeping the emi constant). However, what they feel to demonstrate is that if you part-pay the same amount in the normal floating loan, how much you can save. If you are an individual looking to part pay, and liquidity is not that critical for you, a normal loan works out much cheaper than the home saver. However, for a person who needs liquidity and is not looking to part pay the loan, home saver with higher rate, although more expensive, is the way to go.

2) Processing fee can generally get waived off if you can bargain well with the rep, the higher the amount, the more the cut got by the representative and the easier it is to waive off the processing fee.

3) Check for pre-emi. This is a concept by some banks, where the emi doesnt start immediately on loan disbursement, but a few months after it. Till the time emi starts, one has to pay simple interest on the loan amount, which is NOT offset against the loan.

4) Check for the time it takes for loan disbursement. Once you surrender the papers to the representative, you may need to run after him to make sure that you meet the builder's deadlines. Keep sufficient buffers for last minute surprises.

5) Check the top up options. Some banks do not finance lease rent, club membership etc.

6) Go for a as small a tenure as you can afford. The lesser the tenure, the lesser interest in actual amounts that you pay, though the rate remains the same.

Subarray with largest sum - Java

2005-12-30T17:11:00.000+05:30

Came across an interesting puzzle and realized that the mind is getting too used to not thinking..need to exercise the brain more often. Anyways, the puzzle is

Given an array containing both positive and negative integers, find the subarray with the largest sum.

BTW, any guesses for the maximum number of subarrays possible for an array of length n? For some reason, took me a long time to figure this out, write to me if you also go through the same, but better still, try to solve it yourself to clear the dust off the mind cells, I am not sure how much I have been able to shake off, but it is worth a try)

How to avoid bugs

2005-11-30T11:08:00.000+05:30

I have often come across some developers who for some reason do not ever want to test what they have written. They write code, see if it compiles, check one or two scenarios and viola, expect it to work like magic! For some strange reason, the brain wiring of us developers is such that we trust our code completely, and feel that there are very remote chances of it going wrong.

Unfortunately, this does not happen too often, and most of us end up sitting late night in office fixing things they could have caught much earlier on, when there was sufficient time to clean the mess. If you are developing code and in all likelihood will also maintain it later, it makes a lot of sense to test things properly. even if you are planning to pass on the code to some other person, it will save both of you a lot of trouble if the code was well written and thoroughly tested. Here are some time tested techniques.

1. Think before you leap.
Sounds weird and bookish? However, a well planned code in all likelihood will also be well executed. Most of us try to rush to the code and make changes as soon as we sight a new feature or a bug report. However, this rush tends to make us forget the corner cases, those which almost often turn up in user testing. It helps to take a deep breath, stop yourself from changing the code immediately, and just imagine the kind of change and its impact on the flow and

2. Write comments before writing code.
A very basic tehcnique, this helps to develop clarity about the module one is planning to write. It does not take much effort either, and once the code is written and one goes back to the comments, one realizes the missed cases and the erroneous implementations. It also saves time during coding. One needs to try this to fully understand the power behind such a simple technique

3. Take a print and read your code.
Once the code is fully tested as per your satisfaction, take a print and read it at leisure. You will be surprised to find the number of doubts you get, or the soaring confidence you have at the well executed code. If taking a print is not comfortable, one can read it on the screen too, though personally I think one tends to miss out on things on the screen. If your team has group code reviews, its great, but if not, then you probably need ot take onus and read the code yourself.

4. Version control at logical points.
It helps a lot to check in code at regular intervals. Logical points help one achieve clarity of how the code is shaping up, what all is already implemented and what all features need to be put in. One can revert to an older version in case of an issue, and not lose the older working copy in case of an erroneous new feature.

5. Scan code for issues.
Once you get a bug, you can check the other similar cases and see if the same kind of bug is reappearing at other places. This technique helps you to understand yourself much better, you will be surprised to find that you probably missed out on some specification, or misunderstood it, or could not think of some particular scenarios. Any or all of this information helps you shape up as a much better coder in the long run.

I guess there are no magic mantras, the above techniques are all fundamental and time tested. Just hoping that having them in one place will help!

Arts and Crafts

2004-10-18T15:29:00.000+05:30

I am deeply interested in arts and crafts these days. Trying my hand at all sorts of pencil sketching, watercolors, poster colours, oil painting etc. Its a wonderful outlet to one's creativity. www.wetcanvas.com is a great place to start.

I am also very exicted about Indian handicrafts - especially marble Taj Mahal replicas, carved lamps, etc. www.kashand.com is a great place to buy any such items, islamic art, Indian brass decor, marble inlay table tops,Taj Mahal miniatures etc.