Firefox useful plugins for Web developer

• Firebug - Web development and debugging tools to debug HTML, Javascript and CSS
• Firefox Throttle - Bandwidth utilization throttling plug-in
• HTTP Fox - An HTTP protocol/packets/requests analyzer
• User Agent Switcher - Tool to switch the user agents without switching the browsers

Microsoft Excel Useful Tips

Click the followings to see the solution (tested in Ms Excel 2007), these links will open in new popup window:

1. Convert Column to Rows and vice versa
2. Get started with PivotTable Reports
3. Create a drop-down list from a range of cells
4. Get started with PivotTable reports in Excel 2007
5. Example of formatting a cell to percentage :: =TEXT(J5,"0.0%")
6. Example of concatenating cells/texts :: =CONCATENATE(H3, "(",H6,")")

Side By Side Deployment for Applications

Why do we need "Side By Side Deployment" ?
In the past there has to be a downtime when a application needs to be deployed or a new version of the same application needs to be deployed.

Today application downtime has become zero. Zero downtime can be achieved in various ways. Oracle Weblogic Server provides a neat mechanism of deploying the new version of application without affecting the existing version of application and existing user sessions. At the same time it makes sure that once all the user sessions end (or after a specified timeout period) old version of application is retired automatically.

Once new version of application is deployed using "Side By Side Deployment" mechanism, all new user requests will be served by the new version of the application.

Prerequisite to deploy the application using "Side By Side Deployment" mechanism is that the previously deployed application has to be versioned. If previously deployed application is not versioned then the new application cannot be deployed using "Side By Side Deployment" mechanism. If attempted, it will throw weblogic.management.ManagementException: [Deployer:149081]You cannot deploy application, '[Your-App-Name]', with version '[App-Version]'. The application was previously deployed without version.

To version an application, the attribute "Weblogic-Application-Version: x.xx" should be present in manifest file.

Once the new version of application is deployed successfully and all user sessions requesting old version of application is closed, the old version of application will go into "Retired" state automatically. An application which is in "Retired" state can be made "Active" by clicking the "Start - Serving All Requests". If old version of application is made active, the new version of application will go into "Retired" state, provided all the user sessions requesting new application is closed.

Applications in "Retired" state has to be manually undeployed.

How to encrypt password using weblogic?

Follow the following steps to encrypt a text using weblogic utility:

1. Open a DOS or UNIX command prompt


2. Change directory to the weblogic server domain home


3. Set the weblogic server environment


4. Run the command to encrypt text vinaybarnwal


5. Command:/>java weblogic.security.Encrypt vinaybarnwal


6. And it should print the encrypted value for vinaybarnwal