XML Validator 1.0

This is a tool I wrote long back, and used exhaustively for a project, and then forgot about it. I did not even do a public release of the tool. When migrating WizTools.org Google Code projects to GitHub, I noticed this project. Today, I invested some time and cleaned the code and made a release. Get it from: https://github.com/wiztools/xml-validator/releases.

1.0 release of WizTools.org bc

The unix bc tool developed in Java. Download release 1.0 from GitHub.

Newer desktop tool releases will require Java 7 to run

All newer releases of desktop tools published by WizTools.org will require Java 7. This is a evolutionary step we are taking to benefit from newer constructs introduced in this version of Java.

Mini-projects move to GitHub

Last couple of weeks I have been working on moving mini-projects from Google Code to GitHub. The social experience provided by GitHub is unmatched. Also, Google Code seems to be a lost child of Google--as feature after feature have been removed in the recent past. The approach I am taking when moving the projects is:

1. Export the svn-history for the mini-project, and create it as a new project under GitHub.
2. Create git/GitHub specific source assets like README.md and .gitignore.
3. Update the mini-project GitHub URL in the pom.xml.
4. Update the dependencies for the project to the latest version.
5. Make a new minor-release through GitHub.
6. Remove the code for the project from Google Code.
7. Deprecate the download from Google Code.

Note that following this process, you will see lot of releases happening at WizTools. Many of them are superfluous and may not have any improvement compared to the last release. Some, like Markdown2HTML, that depend on external library for core functionality, would benefit from the new releases. So use your judgement after reading the Release Notes on deciding if you need to upgrade your software.

RESTClient Source Code Migrated to GitHub

The message from Google seems to be clear: it does not want to invest in non-profit making venture like Google Code. Google has been killing feature-after-feature from the Google Code service recently. The two most affected me were:

1. Removing Updates page without any notification.
2. Removing the Downloads service.

Add to this fact, Google not adding any new feature to Google Code in the recent past.

Well, the message seemed clear. And we have initiated on our part to move WizTools.org code to other well maintained services like GitHub / BitBucket. Our most used project, RESTClient code is already moved to GitHub. Note, we have moved only the source code, Issues and Wiki is still hosted in Google Code. Moving Issues and Wiki will be done in a phased manner in near future.