How to Create 2D Animation Using Flash?
Posted on | January 11, 2014 | No Comments
Overview: In this piece of writing I will portray one on the main quality of Flash, which is identified as ’2D Animation’. In this session I will cover how to generate a new clean movie file, and the tools and steps implicated in creation your first simple animation by ‘Motion Tweening’.
Introduction: 2D animation statistics are shaped and/or shortened on the computer using 2D bitmap graphics or shaped and shortened using 2D vector graphics. This includes programmed mechanized versions of conventional animation techniques such as add something in piece of writing gradually change, onion skin and add something in piece of writing decompose scoping. 2D animation has many applications, with analogue computer cartoon, Flash cartoon and PowerPoint cartoon Cinema graphs are still photographs in the appearance of an animated GIF file of which part is animated.
Image1: Showing editor
Opening in New File in Flash:
To begin with, I will open Flash by clicking on the Start icon in the listing that I’ve installed it within. If this is your primary instance loading the application, it will ask me to choose moreover Designer or Developer view, and a declaration that matches my monitor settings (this isn’t applicable to versions of Flash prior to MX). For our purposes in this lesson I’ve selected Designer view, and my screen is set to a declaration of 1024×768. (I can forever change this later by clicking the “Window” option in the top toolbar and then selecting “section set”.) On one occasion I have completed so as to, I’ll observe an empty dismissal surrounded by instrument set, akin to the casement on top of.
Adjusting Document Settings:
Image2: Showing document settings
The canvas is set to a evasion size; because I rather to work at standard sizes and aspects ratios for web production, I am departing to modify my canvas size from the default of 550 pixels wide x 400 pixels high to a smaller size of 320 x 240. I’m departing to do this by clicking the button on the Properties tab–the panel just under the canvas and functioning area–that displays the canvas size; this will open a new pop-up window containing the document’s properties. For right now you only need to be anxious about three things: the text amount, the backdrop colour, and the border speed.
I am going to regulate my size to 320 x 240 by myself entering the principles in the seats provide, use the colour strike to choose a glow white backdrop, and go away the frame rate set at 24 fps (FPS). This is the defaulting border speed for mesh manufacture; for television and other media production, it is able to go as high as 30 frames per second. 12 is all that i actually require for Flash animation for the web; it still allows a reliable pour of movement, but avoid raise my folder capacity by addition additional border.
Opening to the main Toolbar and sketch a figure:
Image3: Showing tool bars
This is situated to the right side of the window, I will see the Tools panel, with icons charitable I admittance to the main functions I’ll need to start drawing and animating in Flash CS6. To start with, I can able to click the icon that looks like a hand, in the right-hand column about halfway down under the “View” heading. This is the (appropriately and humorously named) Hand Tool; if I click and drag my mouse in my work area with this tool selected, I can exactly drag my canvas about until it’s situated where you satisfy.
Just the once I have got my work space established happily, let’s try drawing something. Beneath the top section of the equipment board snap on the push button depict a pale ring outline in black; this is the Oval Tool. I can apply this to draw any circular shape. Under the rest of the tools are two colour-picker windows: one for the “Stroke” (represented by a graphic of a pencil) and the other for the “Fill” (represented by a graphic of a tint pail). The caress is the colour of the shape draw round, as the fill is the colour within the shape. I’m going away to set my stroke to black and my fill to a dark red, and then draw a small circle in the higher left corner of my canvas by clicking and then dragging awaiting the shape is at the needed size earlier than releasing.
Viewing the Timeline:
Image4: Showing time lines
Currently earlier than we jump right into animating, let’s take a view at one more area of the window: the timeline, set over the work area (depicted in the image under). The timeline is separated into two columns: the Layers column, and the actual timeline itself, separated into individual frames; the descending red line marks your current location in the frameset. The frameset is one of the mainly significant equipment in Flash; it allows me to keep track of your various objects and shapes and which layer they’re on, as well as custody pathway of my animation key frames and their timing and assignment. Most of the work of my animations will be done here.
As you can see, accurate at the present we have one layer (containing the circle drawn in the earlier step) with one timeline related by means of that thread. The first border of the frameset is grayed elsewhere by means of a little black spot mark; what that means is that this frame is a key frame, shaped mechanically when I drew the circle on top of that border. In command in the direction of breathing by means of tweening, I have to explain solution frame; absent them Flash has no commencement or finish points to animate in between.
Converting Your Shape to a Symbol:
Image5: Showing conversion
Earlier than we go any additional, we’ll require to create some changes to our circle. Why do we require exchanging the shape we’ve by now drawn to a little else? Because Flash doesn’t tween usual shapes; if you try to be relevant a tween even as the substance are still shapes, it won’t work, so we exchange them to symbols; it won’t take extra than a moment.
Just right-click on my circle and select “Convert to Symbol”. A popup window will show, asking what I want to name the symbol and what Behaviour to be valid to it; type in a name, and choose “Graphic”; the other options will be enclosed later, in more highly developed lessons. Click “OK”; you’ll see the transform in your object by the blue outline nearby it. This symbol will now come into view in the records, which I be able to sight by using function key F11 or click on casement records; at what time code or substance be listed in the records, they be able to live reuse at some direct by just tardy them on the hessian.
Now, let’s get back to animating. On the next page, we’ll produce another key frame so that we can tell Flash to animate in between them.
Creating a New Key Frame:
Image6: Showing key frame
Let’s seem at the timeline again. If I’ll keep in mind, we set the frame rate for this document to 12 frames per second; that earnings that twelve of the blocks in the timeline will create up one second of animation. I desire my circle to move over one second, so I’m leaving to click on the twelfth block; the timeline is marked in increments of five, so just count two after the ten indicators. If I right-click on the border, I’ll observe two master frame options: put in master frame and put in Blank master frame. I’ll wish to press on Insert master frame; this automatically copies the entire thing on the previous key frame (together with our circle) to the new keyframe.
Following clicking “Insert Keyframe”, you be able to see that now the 12th frame is grayed out and noticeable with a dot, just like the first; the gap in between them is also grayed, with the 11th frame striking by a little white four-sided figure. This signifies that readily available is no movement or “tween” situated on the frame in flanked by; flash has mechanically placed a hold on these frames so that they endlessly fill with a replicate of the key frame.
Moving Symbol on a New Frame:
Now we’re departing to go back to our workspace; creating sure that I have still on frame 12 (the
Image7: Showing new frame
red timeline indicator have to be over that frame), use the Arrow tool to select the circle that I drew previous to; I will be talented to tell that it’s selected by the blue outline nearby it again. Click and drag on the circle to move about it wherever on your canvas; I’m leaving to move mine to the lower right-hand corner of my active space. (If not you want to animate your shape moving off-screen, don’t move it into the gray area nearby the canvas; objects in the gray area do not demonstrate up on the final animation.)
If I go back to my timeline and click on frame 1, pressing the “Enter” key will play all of my animation; though, it doesn’t look quite right, does it? The circle leftover in the unique position for the first eleven frames, earlier to suddenly snapping to the original site. In the after that footstep I’ll get be bothered of so as to by apply the movement tween.
Image8: Showing symbol editing menu
Adding together a movement tween to my moving picture:
Think it or not, this is the simple part. In Flash, “motion tweening” is worn to explain the method where the program mechanically creates the frames flanked by keyframe A of an object’s timeline and keyframe B to make a smooth animation depicting the object touching from one place to another. This is diverse from “shape tweening” because it doesn’t influence the substance form, dimension, or colour, but I will wrap so as to in the after that session.
To relate my motion tween, simply click and drag my mouse from frame 1 to frame 12 to select them; then you can moreover right-click on the frames and select “Create Motion Tween”, or I can click on the “Tween” dropdown in the Properties tool panel and select “Motion”. (Go away the other options at their default settings.) The artificial frames will turn a shade of pale violet, and an arrow will come into view stretching from the first keyframe to the last; this is the sign of a winning motion tween. (If the frames go round violet but the arrow is replaced by a ruined line, right-click and choose “Remove Tween” before verifying that you’ve finished the steps correctly.)
Image9: Showing final animation
Conclusion:I have now effectively finished my first animation; to play it, just push ‘Ctrl+Enter’ key on the timeline, or preview by selecting File -> quick look in Browser to see what it will look like when exported. I have to see your circle touching smoothly from Start point to end point, with not any faults in between.
Practice drawing shapes and by motion tweens on them waiting I am sure I have got the hang of it; try attainment inspired with it, and see what I can come up with.
How to make Video Transition using Adobe Premiere Pro?
Posted on | December 9, 2013 | No Comments
Overview: In this article we will discuss about the video animation creation using Adobe. Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the most popular software for multimedia Students, Designers, Animators, Web Developer for developing a video with standardized format and good effect. So this design is more and more popular among the developer community. Adobe Premiere Pro has a different version present in the market and the latest version is Adobe Premiere Pro CC7.0.1 which was released in July, 2013. It is based on Windows and Mac OS X.
Introduction: At first we have to know about Transitions. It is defined as the controlling, how the sequence moves from one clip to the next with proper process. If we do not use this Transition Effect to our movies then the effect does not match at our design. Here the sequence moves from the Out Point frame of one clip immediately to the In Point frame of the next clip as per system configuration. The Adobe Premiere Pro also provides several Transition Effects for making attractive movies. A cross fade transition is generating where the first clip converts less visible as the following clip suits more visible. There are also several types of effect present in Premiere Pro like Adjust effects, Blur and Sharpen effects, Channel effects, Color Correction effects, Distort effects, Generate effects, Image Control effects, Keying effects, Noise & Grain effects, Perspective effects, Stylize effects, Time effects, Transform effects, Transition effects, Utility effects, Video effects, Video dissolve transitions. Among this effect, Video effect is one of the popular effects.
Common properties for Video Transition Effects:
There are many Video Transition Effects. There are some common properties present. Those properties are given below.
|
Sl.No |
Properties Name |
Uses |
| 1 | Duration | It is specified in time code. The default Duration is 1 second. This default Transition can be changed in the Predilections settings. |
| 2 | Alignment | The alignment allows us to select the transition where it starts or ends. The transition can End at the Cut between clips. It is started at the Cut between Clips or be Centered at the Cut between clips. |
| 3 | Start and End | It is specified in percentage that shows the completion of the transition’s animation at the stating and end of the transition duration. The default percentage is starts from 0% and the ending part end with 100% |
Table1: Showing properties
Working procedure with Video Transition Effects:
The Transitions will work according to different process that depends on the number of trimmed frames after the Out Point of the first clip and the number of trimmed frames before the In Point of the second clip.
When we are dragging the clip from the Effects Panel to the Timeline Panel then we can align the clip interactively and the clip will spontaneous into place. The following image displays the process, how we can drag and drop our effect from effect panel to timeline panel.
Image1: Showing effect panel
Here we set a video at our sequence panel and also at the time line. Normally this video is moved from one standard manner but if we want to give some attractive effect to this video then we have to click on transition effect which is laid on Effect Panel. After that click the effect panel and drag it to the original video and play it.
Through this way we can easily drag and drop different effect like 3D Motion, Dissolve, GPU Transition, Iris, Map, Page Peel, Slide, Special Effect, Stretch, Wipe, Zoom in our different video with proper knowledge. If we are not set this without proper knowledge then this effect is not attractive for us as well as others.
If both clips that have clipped frames at the cut then we can center this transition at the cut and also align the end of the transition at the cut or align the beginning of the transition at the cut as per requirements. If no clips have clipped frames at the cut then the transition will center at the cut. In that situation the last frame of the first clip will be repetitive for the second half of the transition interval and the first frame of the second clip will be repeated for the first half of the transition’s interval. The name of the transition will be appeared in the Timeline Panel with multiple diagonal lines through it. As it contains repeating frames, generally the first clip contains trimmed frames and the transition will automatically instant into the Start at Cut Alignment. When we find out that the second clip contains trimmed frames at the cut then the transition will automatically snap to the End at Cut Alignment efficiently.
Some time it is found out that many trimmed frames is not sufficient to cover the Duration of the Transition. Adobe Premiere Pro is software that automatically adjusts the Period value to match the number of available clipped frames. The system can be changed from Effect Controls Panel.
How to apply Transition:
At the time of placing a transition effect between two clips i.e. centered on the cut line then we see that the clips must be on the same track and it should not have a space between them. When we are dragging the transition in to the Timeline panel then we can adjust the set interactively. The clips have clipped frames governs the process for alignment the transition effect as we wish to place it in between the clips. If we are not set this transition effect then it will face a lot of trouble to manage the transition.
Some points should be remembered at the time of setting transition in the movie effect.
- At first we have to set clips containing clipped frames at the cut and we set center the transition over the cut or we can align it on either side of the cut so that it either starts or ends at the cut.
- Secondly it is neither clip contains clipped frames so this transition is automatically centers over the cut and as it repeats the last frame of the first clip and the first frame of the second clip to fill the transition period. We also find out that a diagonal bar will be appearing as duplicate frame.
- If this first clip contains a clipped frame and this transition is automatically cracked to the in point of the next clip points. The transition uses the first clip’s clipped frames for the transition. It is not repeated frames from the second clip.
- When the second clip contains clipped frames and the transition snaps to the Out point of the first clip. This transition uses the second clip’s clipped frames for the transition. It is not repeated frame which is coming from first clip.
- Generally the default time period of a transition as for audio or video is set to one second.
- If we find out that transition contains clipped frames and we also know that not enough to fill the transition duration.
- Adobe Premiere Pro is generally adjusts when the duration to match the frames.
- We can also adjust the time duration after the giving the transition effect to the frame.
Creating a slideshow with still images with standard Transition Effect:
- Got to the task bar and click the Add Media button.
- Navigate to the folder where you have stored your photos.
- Click on the folder to select it and click Add Folder.
- In the Media window, click the down arrow next to the Photos folder to expand it. Shift-click each photo to select them and click the Create Slideshow button at the bottom of the Media window
- From the Ordering menu, select Sort Order to place the images in the order they appear in the Media window.
- Change Image Duration to 2 Seconds and Transition Duration to 20 frames.
- After that click on OK button
The Create Slideshow command places the five still images at the end of the movie on the Video 1 track and adds the Cross Dissolve transition between each image.
Process to changing the default transition that is used for create slideshow command:
Generally Create Slideshow command optionally applies transitions between each clip it places. At the time of opening process the default transitions are Cross Dissolve for video or still images and continuous Power for audio. We can alter the default to any transition as per customer choice. At the time of changing the default transition that has no effect transitions already applied to a movie.
When we wish to change the default transition then we have to follow following points that are given below:
- Click the Effects button on the task bar. Adobe Premiere Elements displays the Effects workspace.
- In the Effects window, expand the Video Transitions or Audio Transitions folder.
- Expand the folder containing the transition you want to use, and select the transition that you want to make the default.
- Click the More buttons option and choose Set Selected as Default Transition. A red outline marks the icon of the default transition.
Procedure to Preview the slideshow effect from Premiere Pro:
- At first go to the current-time indicator to the beginning of the photos after that press on spacebar.
- The Pictures with transitions or effects can take longer to process for that reason the slideshow performance may not play as efficiently as the other clips like Flash, Director.
- Adobe Premiere Elements adds a thin and red line in the time ruler to designate that we should leading render that area for the best preview.
- Process is that Choose Timeline -> Render Work Area.
- When the process of rendering is completed then red line turns green and the Monitor window plays the movie.
Image2: This image shows us how to slide show images are working and also looking.
Conclusion: Adobe premiere is no doubt most popular for their different features and also different parameter. At the time of animation editing, the tools which are required for generating standard and attractive video, we generally remember Adobe Premiere Pro Software. Lots of tools are used here for generating different video animation and transition.
How to create Translucent and Shaped Windows in Java?
Posted on | October 14, 2013 | No Comments
Overview: In this article we will discuss about the transparency and different shaped windows in Java. In java 7 swing supports this feature and making swing UI components more flexible and user friendly.
Introduction: In some application, transparent window is a requirement to support its functionality. Now in Java, transparency can be implemented. A translucent window is created by altering its opacity by implementing a method called setOpacity on a JFrame component. But we must understand that a translucent window is only possible if the underlying operating system supports it. And we also need to make sure that the window is not decorated. To make a window undecorated, you need to call setUndecorated (true) method. Some time it is also required to change the shape of a window UI. To implement it, we need to call setShape method within the componentResized method. It will recalculate the shape when the window is resized.
Back ground: In java UI, support for translucency and shaped window was a long time demand for Swing/AWT components. For native development access to these properties are available from long time back. But it was not accessible to core java components. In Java6 onward, support for translucency and shaped window is available. Even per pixel level translucency is also supports in Java7.
Type of support for translucency and transparency: Java 7 supports the following three type of support.
TRANSLUCENT: In this feature the window can have different colors but with the same level of opacity. So the alpha value is same for all the pixels. This effect is suitable for fade off a window and then gradually decreases and increases the alpha value.
PERPIXEL_TRANSLUCENT: This property supports different alpha values within the window itself. This is used to fade selected region of the window.
PERPIXEL_TRANSPARENT: This property supports different shapes of windows rather than traditional rectangle. If per pixel transparency is supported then different shapes like circle, triangle can be created.
Before we use any of the above properties we need to test the support of under lying operating system. The test can be done by using method isWindowTranslucencySupported belonging to the java.awt.GraphicsDevice class. It takes the type of transparency as input and returns true/false to indicate the support.
Let us check a sample code to implement the translucency feature. In this example we have created a rectangular translucent window on a text area. First we have disabled the decoration mode to get the effect of transparency. Then we have checked if the underlying operating system supports it or not. If supported the effect is visible on the frame window.
Listing1: Sample showing Translucency of a JFrame window
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.GraphicsDevice;
import java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ComponentAdapter;
import java.awt.event.ComponentEvent;
import java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class TransRecFrame extends JFrame {
/**
* Create a transparent rectangular frame with 85% transparency
*/
public TransRecFrame() {
super(“Translucent Rectangular Frame”);
//Set layout
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
//Create a text area
final JTextArea txtArea = new JTextArea(5, 50);
txtArea.setBackground(Color.CYAN);
add(txtArea);
//Call to disable decoration
setUndecorated(true);
//Call setShape to resize the shape when widnow is resized
addComponentListener(new ComponentAdapter() {
@Override
public void componentResized(ComponentEvent e) {
setShape(new Rectangle2D.Double(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight()));
}
});
//Make the window 85% transparent
setOpacity(0.85f);
//Set other parameters
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
setSize(200, 300);
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Create graphics environment
GraphicsEnvironment genv = GraphicsEnvironment
.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment();
//Check if OS supports Translucency
if (genv.getDefaultScreenDevice().isWindowTranslucencySupported(
GraphicsDevice.WindowTranslucency.TRANSLUCENT)) {
System.out.println(“OS supports translucency”);
new TransRecFrame();
}
}
}
Features to support translucency and shape: In Java7 there are mainly three features available to support translucency and shape of a window.
- Full window translucency: In this approach full window is translucent.
- Per pixel translucency: In this approach a part of the window is translucent
- Shaped windows: Make different shaped windows like ovale, circle, rectangular etc.
Per pixel translucency:
We have already seen how to make a complete window translucent in the previous example. Now we will discuss the second part of making a set of pixels translucent by using their background color. There are some limitations to implement this scenario. The window should not be full screen and the system must support pixel level translucency. The rest of the procedure is similar to the above example.
In the following example we will see how pixel level translucency is set in a frame.
Listing2: Sample showing pixel level translucency support.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class PixelTranslucency extends JFrame {
public PixelTranslucency() {
super(“Set pixel level translucency”);
//Set size of the JFrame
setSize(250, 250);
//Set lay out
getContentPane().setLayout(new GridLayout(6, 6));
//Call for pixel setting
for(int i = 0; i < 16; i++){
add(new PixelPanel(255 – i * 12));
}
//Set background and other properties
setBackground(new Color(0, 0, 0, 0));
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
GraphicsEnvironment genv = GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment();
//Check if window supports translucency
if (genv.getDefaultScreenDevice().isWindowTranslucencySupported(GraphicsDevice.WindowTranslucency.PERPIXEL_TRANSLUCENT)) {
System.out.println(“OS supports translucency”);
new PixelTranslucency();
}
} private class PixelPanel extends JPanel {
private PixelPanel(int pixl) {
super();
setBackground(new Color(0, 0, 255, pixl));
}
}
}
Shaped Windows:
Now we will discuss about another important feature supported by Java7.The shaped window supports all types of shapes whatever be the requirement of the user. This feature helps you to create any shape like circle, triangle, polygon or any possible complex shape. The setShape method of the window class is available for setting the property. But again we have to remember that full screen mode should not be allowed and the operating system supports translucency.
The following example shows the usage of shaped window.
Listing3: The sample code showing the usage of shaped window.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import java.awt.geom.GeneralPath;
public class JavaShapedWindow extends JFrame {
public JavaShapedWindow() {
super(“Set shaped Window”);
//Set undecorated OFF to get an effect
setUndecorated(true);
//Set size
setSize(new Dimension(250, 250));
//Set polygon properties
Polygon polygon = new Polygon();
polygon.addPoint(0, 100);
polygon.addPoint(50, 0);
polygon.addPoint(100, 100);
//Set the values of the shape
Ellipse2D.Double newCircle = new Ellipse2D.Double(0, 50, 1.0*100, 1.0*100);
//Set general path properties
GeneralPath gpath = new GeneralPath();
gpath.append(polygon, true);
gpath.append(newCircle, true);
//Set the path
setShape(gpath);
//Set box layout
getContentPane().setLayout(new BoxLayout(getContentPane(), BoxLayout.X_AXIS));
add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
//Create label and set properties
JLabel newlabel = new JLabel(“Java Shaped window”);
newlabel.setForeground(Color.white);
add(newlabel);
add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
//Set content pane background color
getContentPane().setBackground(Color.cyan);
//Set location
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
GraphicsEnvironment genv = GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment();
//Check OS support for this property
if (genv.getDefaultScreenDevice().isWindowTranslucencySupported(GraphicsDevice.WindowTranslucency.PERPIXEL_TRANSPARENT)) {
System.out.println(“OS supports translucency”);
new JavaShapedWindow();
}
}
}
We can also implement a combination of two features like translucency and shaped window. To implement this, call setOpacity method to your frame. The result window will display the combined effect. But we should remember the underlying operating system must support pixel level translucency and pixel level transparency.
Conclusion:
In this article we have covered some new features in java7.The translucency and shaped window features are really interesting and make java UI components more flexible. But at the same time we must remember that the underlying operating system should support all these properties. Otherwise the effect will not be visible. So in the application itself we check the OS support and then implement the effect. The latest feature of java allows the developers to create different types of effect on the UI side. As we all know that look and feel is an important aspect of any UI based application. So the developer is now equipped with tools to make the UI more pleasant and attractive.
When not to use Drools Guvnor?
Posted on | July 7, 2013 | No Comments
Do not use Guvnor in the following scenarios
a) If you have business rules in a database as a part of an application and no new application is needed to manage them. This is a scenario where rules exist as a part of an existing application and there is no need fot future expansion.
b) If you already have a rule management system tailored to your environment, migrating to Guvnor may not be necessary. But at the same time if you think you need more flexibility, expansion,control on business rules in future, then plan for migration.
c) If you are using rules/business logic to solve complex algorithmic problems and they are integral part of the application, don’t go for guvnor.
So the conclusion is, first try to understand your application requirement and then select the proper tool.Otherwise some time people use different tools like Guvnor, rule engine without any proper justification. As a consequence, proper advantages are not realized and the application does not get any benefit.
When to use Drools Guvnor?
Posted on | July 7, 2013 | No Comments
Drools Guvnor is used if you have the following requirement
a) You need to manage versions/deployment of rules.This is a scenario where you have a huge number of business rules and they need to be managed using versioning.
b) You have multiple users at different skill levels and they will access and edit rules.
c) You have lot of business rules and they are growing.And you do not have any existing infrastructure for rules management.
Guvnor can be used as stand alone or integrated with IDE.
What is Reference Architecture and Fit/Gap Analysis
Posted on | May 2, 2013 | No Comments
Description
Before defining Reference Architecture, it is better to have some idea about software architecture. Software architecture has various definitions which are derived from different sources. It ranges from designing, creating and maintaining all the code of large computer systems to incorporating all the functioning of the physical and logical components of enterprise systems as well. It is a combination and interaction of all the components (software and hardware) to make a complete system specific to different business needs.
The Reference Architecture and Fit/Gap analysis is a short of document stating the Reference Architecture to be used as the basis for the current project’s architecture and including the rationale for this decision. It is also a analysis process to understand the reference architecture and its implementation.
A Reference Architecture is a predefined architectural pattern designed for use in particular business and technical contexts.
Source of Reference Architectures within an organization can be any proven framework and asset used in earlier projects. The work product is generic and applies equally to selection of Reference Architectures from other sources.
The most important part of a Reference Architecture is to understand the fitness and gaps found during analysis.
A Reference Architecture Fit/Gap Analysis tabulates the key factors involved in selecting a Reference Architecture:
- Business scenarios
- Business drivers
- Architecture characteristics
Asset selection involves tradeoffs. Reference Architecture Fit/Gap Analysis documents the differences between the desired project architecture and the reference architecture in a statement-of-fit and identifies modifications required for the project.
Purpose
Now let us check the purposes Fit/Gap analysis in Reference Architecture model. The Reference Architecture Fit/Gap Analysis are used for the following
- To assist in determining the scope of a proposed solution development project
- As an input to other architecture work products. Depending on the size of the gaps, the chosen Reference Architecture and associated fit/gap analysis may form the basis for the whole architecture.
- To highlight any gaps where the Reference Architecture does not fit project requirements. These indicate areas of risk or substantial architectural work required in the project. It also helps to select the reference architecture for the proposed project.
Impact of Not Having Reference Architecture
Selecting a Reference Architecture reduces the risk by reusing proven, best-practice solutions. Not applying a standard Reference Architecture increases project effort and cost, and increases the risk of project failure.
The best way to use architectural assets is to start by selecting a Reference Architecture. This will form the context for a more detailed selection of assets and guidance.
Reasons for Not Using Reference Architecture
On asset-based projects, this product should always be produced.
If appropriate Reference Architectures are not available to a project or a project decides not to use a Reference Architecture, then at most the Executive Summary, including reasons why a Reference Architecture was not selected, should be completed. Often even this is unnecessary. A note can be added to the documentation of the choice of work products.
How Fit/Gap analysis is documented
A Reference Architecture Fit/Gap Analysis is basically textual document, with tables assessing the requirements characteristic profile and subject area coverage. The tabular form describes all the required points to get a clear picture of the referred architecture and its fitness in the proposed project.
Executive Summary: Brief statement of selected Reference Architecture and any major issues/risks.
Introduction: Introductory comments about the reference architecture.
Key Drivers: A brief statement of the business objectives or constraints.
Architecture Requirements Checklist: The document consists of a standard set of questions and potential answers regarding architectural requirements, which allows a systematic collection of the architectural requirements for the project. This set is used as a checklist to prompt for customer architectural requirements and associated issues, which are documented in a table, as below. This is a sample table and it can be of a different format according to the standard of the organization.
| Requirement | Reference Architecture Characteristic | Required Value for Project | Risks/Issues/Comments Points to Investigate |
| Requirement name | Relevant range of values for this architecture | Range applicable to the customer | Any gaps, risks, likely future issues, topics for subsequent analysis |
Subject Area Checklist:Each Reference Architecture encompasses several subject areas (sometimes referred to as “domains”). Subject areas are specific areas of concern, for example, the web based delivery channel is a subject area consisting of Web browsers, domain name servers, etc. A simple and clear way of examining the “fit” of a Reference Architecture to customer requirements is to compare it to the subject area coverage. Following is a table for capturing the details.
Subject Area |
Present in Architecture? | Required by Customer? | Issues/Risks/Notes |
| Name of subject area | Yes/No | Yes/No |
Statement of Fit:A summary of the extent of “fit” between the Reference Architecture and customer requirements. Each Reference Architecture is described at several levels of abstraction, and guidance is provided at each level on the characteristics supported. For each area where the Reference Architecture does not meet requirements, describe briefly:
- The unmet requirement. This is very important for selecting the reference architecture.
- The type and extent of delta that would be requisite for the Reference Architecture to meet the requirement. Also mention if it needs to be extended, modified, or receive a new subject area?
- An estimate of the cost and risk of the delta
Development Approach
The following steps should be taken in generating this work product:
- Identify the most likely Reference Architecture candidate. As there are a small number of Reference Architectures, each with a well-defined focus, it should be simple to identify one or two as relevant to the customer’s project goals and future business model.
- Review the description of the asset context, which is provided in both textual and illustration form, with the customer to assess fit. The illustrations, in particular, are a powerful way of checking customer understanding of the proposed approach. During this process, the customer may decide to modify his previously stated requirements, for example, through recognition that the architectural pattern provided by the Reference Architecture is superior to the one he had previously envisaged.
- Use Business Drivers, IT Principles and Requirements lists to characterize customer requirements Check with the customer on whether there are any other important requirements that have not been covered by the standard characteristics.
- Examine the fit of the requirements with the characteristics provided by the Reference Architecture at various levels of abstraction.
- From the asset base, identify the subject areas covered by the Reference Architecture. Compare these with the subject areas required by the customer.
- Analyze the fit between the Reference Architecture and the customer requirements. Document all gaps, and make initial assessments with the customer on how these shortcomings will be resolved. This may involve:
- Extending the architecture (e.g., linking to an additional subject area)
- Modifying the Reference Architecture (i.e., changing its internal structure or behavior)
- Document the rationale for each of these decisions in terms of assumptions, business justification, risks, etc.
- Make an overall assessment of viability and risk based on the information available at this point.
Validation and Verification
Perform the following checks:
- Verify that the customer has approved the criteria used to compare and choose the Reference Architectures.
- Verify that all major requirement areas of the customer have been considered.
- Verify that critical dependencies of the architecture in the target environment can be met.
- Validate any tradeoffs being made with the customer and Asset Providers with the following criteria.
- Verify that the architecture is resilient to anticipated changes.
How to set up Hadoop on single node and multi node?
Posted on | March 5, 2013 | No Comments
We will describe Hadoop setup on single node and multi node. The Hadoop environment setup and configuration will be described in details. First you need to download the following software (rpm).
- Java JDK RPM
- Apache Hadoop 0.20.204.0 RPM
A) Single node system Hadoop setup
1) Install JDK on a Red Hat or CentOS 5+ system.
$ ./jdk-6u26-linux-x64-rpm.bin.sh
Java is installed and set JAVA_HOME to /usr/java/default
2) Install Apache Hadoop 0.20.204.
$ rpm -i hadoop-0.20.204.0-1.i386.rpm
3) Setup Apache Hadoop configuration and start Hadoop processes.
$ /usr/sbin/hadoop-setup-single-node.sh
The setup wizard will guide you through a list of questions to setup Hadoop. Hadoop should be running after answering ‘Y’ to all questions.
Create a user account on HDFS for yourself.
$ /usr/sbin/hadoop-create-user.sh -u $USER
B) Multi-nodes Hadoop setup
1) Install both the JDK and Hadoop 0.20.204.0 RPMs on all nodes
2) Generate hadoop configuration on all nodes:
$ /usr/sbin/hadoop-setup-conf.sh \
--namenode-url=hdfs://${namenode}:9000/ \
--jobtracker-url=${jobtracker}:9001 \
--conf-dir=/etc/hadoop \
--hdfs-dir=/var/lib/hadoop/hdfs \
--namenode-dir=/var/lib/hadoop/hdfs/namenode \
--mapred-dir=/var/lib/hadoop/mapred \
--datanode-dir=/var/lib/hadoop/hdfs/data \
--log-dir=/var/log/hadoop \
--auto
Where ${namenode} and ${jobtracker} should be replaced with hostname of namenode and jobtracker.
3) Format namenode and setup default HDFS layout.
$ /usr/sbin/hadoop-setup-hdfs.sh
4) Start all data nodes.
$ /etc/init.d/hadoop-datanode start
5) Start job tracker node.
$ /etc/init.d/hadoop-jobtracker start
6) Start task tracker nodes.
$ /etc/init.d/hadoop-tasktracker start
7) Create a user account on HDFS for yourself.
$ /usr/sbin/hadoop-create-user.sh -u $USER
C) Setup Environment for Hadoop
$ vi ~/.bash_profile
In INSERT mode set path for JAVA_HOME
Export JAVA_HOME
Save file by clicking esc:wq
Run the .bash_profile
$ source ~/.bash_profile
Set JAVA_HOME path in Hadoop Environment file
$ /etc/hadoop/hadoop-env.sh
D) Configuration for Hadoop
Use the following:
conf/core-site.xml:
| <configuration> |
| <property> |
| <name>fs.default.name</name> |
| <value>hdfs://localhost:9000</value> |
| </property> |
| </configuration> |
conf/hdfs-site.xml:
| <configuration> |
| <property> |
| <name>dfs.replication</name> |
| <value>1</value> |
| </property> |
| </configuration> |
conf/mapred-site.xml:
| <configuration> |
| <property> |
| <name>mapred.job.tracker</name> |
| <value>localhost:9001</value> |
| </property> |
| </configuration> |
E) Hadoop Commands
$ hadoop
$ hadoop namenode –format (Format the namenode, If ask to
answer press ‘Y’)
$ hadoop namenode (Start the namenode)
$ find / -name start-dfs.sh (find the file in directory)
$ cd usr/sbin (Go to respective directory directly)
$ start-dfs.sh
$ start-mapred.sh
$ hadoop fs –ls / (Shows the HDFS root folder)
$ hadooop fs –put input/file01 /input/file01 (Copy local input/file01 to
HDFS root /input/file01)
How to use drools decision table in spreadsheet format to execute rules?
Posted on | February 13, 2013 | 4 Comments
The following example code will describe the process of using decision table to execute rules.There are two ways
a) Use the spread sheet APIs directly to execute the rules.
b) Convert the excel spread sheet into a drl file and then execute the rules.
I will describe the second process (b).
** The main java class is ‘DroolExcelDemo.java’.First it will convert the excel sheet into a (.drl) file and then execute the rules.
package DROOLS;
import java.io.BufferedWriter;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.util.Collection;
import org.drools.KnowledgeBase;
import org.drools.KnowledgeBaseFactory;
import org.drools.builder.KnowledgeBuilder;
import org.drools.builder.KnowledgeBuilderFactory;
import org.drools.builder.ResourceType;
import org.drools.decisiontable.InputType;
import org.drools.decisiontable.SpreadsheetCompiler;
import org.drools.definition.KnowledgePackage;
import org.drools.event.rule.DebugAgendaEventListener;
import org.drools.event.rule.DebugWorkingMemoryEventListener;
import org.drools.io.ResourceFactory;
import org.drools.runtime.StatefulKnowledgeSession;
/**
* This class will create a drl file from excel sheet
* and then execute the rules.
*/
public class DroolExcelDemo {
public static final void main(final String[] args) {
// Create knowledge builder
final KnowledgeBuilder kbuilder = KnowledgeBuilderFactory.newKnowledgeBuilder();
// Create drl file from excel sheet
InputStream is =null;
try {
is= new FileInputStream(“D:/Workspace/DroolsDemo/src/DROOLS/DroolExcel.xls”);
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
// Create compiler class instance
SpreadsheetCompiler sc = new SpreadsheetCompiler();
// Compile the excel to generate the (.drl) file
StringBuffer drl=new StringBuffer(sc.compile(is, InputType.XLS));
// Insert dialect value into drl file
drl.insert(drl.indexOf(“DROOLS”)+40,”dialect \”mvel\”"+”\n”);
// Check the generated drl file
System.out.println(“Generate DRL file is showing below–: “);
System.out.println(drl);
// writing string into a drl file
try {
BufferedWriter out = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter(“D:/Workspace/DroolsDemo/src/DROOLS/RuleFile.drl”));
out.write(drl.toString());
out.close();
}
catch (IOException e){
System.out.println(“Exception “);
}
// Wait before using the drl file in the next section.
try {
Thread.sleep(10000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
// End creation of drl file from excel sheet
// Using DRL file
kbuilder.add(ResourceFactory.newClassPathResource(“RuleFile.drl”, DroolMessage.class ), ResourceType.DRL );
// Check the builder for errors
if ( kbuilder.hasErrors() ) {
System.out.println(“kbuilder has errors”);
System.out.println( kbuilder.getErrors().toString());
}
// get the compiled packages (which are serializable)
final Collection pkgs = kbuilder.getKnowledgePackages();
// add the packages to a knowledgebase (deploy the knowledge packages).
final KnowledgeBase kbase = KnowledgeBaseFactory.newKnowledgeBase();
kbase.addKnowledgePackages(pkgs);
// Create stateful session
final StatefulKnowledgeSession ksession = kbase.newStatefulKnowledgeSession();
// Set event listeners
ksession.addEventListener(new DebugAgendaEventListener());
ksession.addEventListener(new DebugWorkingMemoryEventListener());
// Create message text
DroolMessage messagetxt = new DroolMessage();
messagetxt.setMessage(“FlightNumber”);
DroolMessage messagetxt1 = new DroolMessage();
messagetxt1.setMessage(“FlightCode”);
// Insert into session and fire rules
System.out.println(“insert into session”);
ksession.insert(messagetxt);
ksession.insert(messagetxt1);
System.out.println(“before firing rules”);
ksession.fireAllRules();
System.out.println(“after firing rules”);
ksession.dispose();
System.out.println(“after dispose”);
}
}
* *The second file is a ‘DroolMessage.java’ pojo class. It holds the values set by the main java class described above.
package DROOLS;
/**
* This is a POJO for messages.It will be used by the drl file.
* The message values will be set from the DroolExcelDemo class
*/
public class DroolMessage {
// Create variable
private String message;
// Constructor
public DroolMessage() {
System.out.println(“initializing Message”);
}
// Setter and getter methods
public String getMessage() {
return message;
}
public void setMessage(String message) {
this.message = message;
}
// test method to test the rule execution
public void test(String test) {
System.out.println(“Parsing start and end position: “+test);
}
}
** Following is a rule file generated by the ‘DroolExcelDemo.java’ class.
package DROOLS;
//generated from Decision Table
dialect "mvel"
import DroolMessage;
// rule values at B12, header at B7
rule "DroolExcelRule_12"
when
msg:DroolMessage(message == "FlightNumber")
then
msg.test("1,6");
end
// rule values at B13, header at B7
rule “DroolExcelRule_13″
when
msg:DroolMessage(message == “FlightCode”)
then
msg.test(“7,8″);
end
** Following is the input excel based rule file to the ‘DroolExcelDemo.java’ class above.
What is Apache Sqoop and how to use it to import/export data from Hadoop Distributed File System?
Posted on | February 11, 2013 | No Comments
Apache Sqoop is a tool used for transferring data from/to Hadoop distributed file system. Hadoop architecture can process BIG data and store it in HDFS. But if we want to use that data then we need to use some tool to import/export it efficiently. Apache Sqoop allows easy import and export of data from structured data stores such as relational databases, enterprise data warehouses, and NoSQL systems.
Apache Sqoop is very important when we think about using Hadoop for analytics and data processing.The two main aspects which Sqoop address are
a) Loading bulk(production) data into Hadoop.
b) Accessing bulk data from map/reduce applications running on large clusters.
Earlier we used to write/use scripts to import/export data between different systems.But this process is inefficient and does not ensure data consistency, accuracy and other critical points.
Sqoop uses straight forward mechanism to transfer data.The entire dataset is splitted into slices and each slice is a map-only job.Now each map-only job is responsible for transferring one slice of the data-set.
As we have discussed, Sqoop can be used to import data from a RDBMS into HDFS.The input to the import process is a database table and Sqoop reads table row by row into HDFS.The input process is performed in parallel so the output will be multiple files.These output files can be text files or other type of files containing serialized data.
There is a by-product of the Sqoop import process.It is a Java class which can encapsulate one row of the imported table.This Java class is used by the Sqoop itself durng import process.The source code of this by-product Java class is also available for customized use.
After processing the imported data, it can be exported to any relational database using Sqoop. Sqoop will read a set of delimited text files from HDFS (in parallel) and insert them as new rows to the
target table.Now these data is available for consumtion by the external applications.
Sqoop also provides some command utilities to get information about the databaes on which it is working.The list of database schemas, tables can also be viewed using Sqoop commands.Sqoop also provides primitive SQL execution shell.
Sqoop operations like import,export,code generation etc can be customized.For import, row ranges/columns can be specified.The delimiters, escape characters for file based representation can also be changes as per the requirement.The package/class name of the generated code can also be customized to meet the application requirement.
Sqoop connectors are another important part of the tool.Connectors are plugin components built on Sqoop’s extension framework.These connectors can be added to any Sqoop installation and then data can be transferred between Hadoop and external store.
Sqoop comes with default connectors for various popular databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server and DB2.Sqoop also includes a generic JDBC connector which can be used to connect to any database accessible via JDBC.
To conclude this discussion we can say that Sqoop can be used to transfer large datasets between Hadoop and external datastores efficiently.Beyond this, Sqoop also offers many advanced features like different data formats,compression,customization,working with queries etc.
What is Hadoop Streaming?
Posted on | December 20, 2012 | No Comments
Ans : Hadoop streaming is a powerful utility which comes with Hadoop distribution.The basic concept of Hadoop framework is to split the job,process it in parallel and then join it back to get the end result.So there are two main components involved in this framework.
a) Map application
b) Reduce application
The Hadoop streaming utility allows you to write Map/Reduce applications in any language that is capable of working with STDIN and STDOUT.