Another version of Lynx

Another one so soon?

I've added a new feature - it's a simple one but possibly useful, so I went ahead and created a new version. I'd forgotten that the Properties class, as of Java 5, includes methods to load and store from XML files. I've added a new Points loader to handle XML format. Details are here.

New Lynx version available now

Lynx 5.2 is available for download

A new version of Lynx is now available for download from my main site. The new version should be compatible with version 5.1, so if you have existing servlets written with the older version they should work without changes.

Version 5.2 adds support for forward references so it's no longer necessary to define the points in "reverse order", as it were. It also means that you can set up LogicPoints in a way that implements loops and branches.

The other major change is that you can now define your Points configuration in a Properties file instead of having to hard-code the calls. This makes it easier to see your configuration.

There are also a handful of smaller changes. For full details see the (new) third page of the Lynx tutorial, which describes the changes in detail together with examples of use.

New Lynx version coming soon/Page updates

Lynx 5.2 is under test

I'm in the process of updating Lynx with a couple of relatively minor changes, and one fairly major change. None of these should impact any existing applications.

One change is purely internal: I've changed the key that's used in RenderPoints to identify the Velocity template for rendered pages. The old key was purely alphabetic and there was a small chance that a developer might use the same key for something else in the context. The new key adds some underscore characters to minimize the risk.

Another change is to allow forward references for Point names. This adds a little flexibility, but the main reason was that it makes the third change possible.

That third change is the addition of a new feature that will allow developers to use a Properties file to specify the Points and Mappings.

This last feature is still under development. The new version should be available from the CodeXombie.com web page in a week or two.

Page Updates

The CodeXombie.com web page has undergone a facelift. The old page was thrown together in a bit of a hurry, just to get something there. I've made some changes to the background and banner images. I think you'll agree it's a big improvement.