IBM has published the following new technical articles, tutorials, and downloads on its DeveloperWorks website. They cover a range of interesting (though not necessarily embedded) technical topics, primarily related to Linux and open source system development. Some require free registration. Enjoy . . . !

• Distribute Software on a Linux LiveCD — Linux has always been comfortable running Web servers, firewalls, and other single-function services on dedicated machines, thanks to its flexibility, reliability, and small kernel footprint. LiveCDs are a natural extension of this capability of single-mindedness, letting you install a specialized, bootable Linux distribution — along with whatever applications you choose — onto a single CD for distribution.
• Create iPod video content on the Java platform — This article shares some practical (and potentially very popular) uses for mobile video, and then presents two programs to get you started using the QuickTime for Java API to create video content for the iPod. These programs let you easily add captions to existing video files and convert legacy video files into an iPod-compatible format.
• A Bird's-Eye View of Compiling on Cell BE Architecture — This five-part tutorial series helps you understand the Cell Broadband Engine architecture and gives you a basic intuition for programming issues on it, insight into the compiler challenges presented by it, and an understanding of the techniques and solutions proposed by the IBM compiler. In Part 1, meet the Cell BE processor from a compiler-writer's perspective, and get a bird's-eye view of a number of the unique challenges it poses.
• Compiling for the Cell BE Architecture, Part 2 — Second in the “An introduction to compiling for the Cell Broadband Engine architecture” series, this tutorial discusses specific issues in optimizing code to run effectively on the Synergistic Processor Elements (SPEs) in the Cell Broadband Engine (Cell BE) processor. This article presumes some basic familiarity with the architecture of the Cell Broadband Engine, and some basic understanding of computer architecture. Readers who managed the previous tutorial should be fine.
• The Power in Xilinx — Several years ago, the IBM and Xilinx relationship resulted in the “immersion” of the IBM PowerPC processor cores into the Xilinx family of Virtex-II FPGAs. The PowerPC architecture has seen successful adoption in high-performance embedded systems and runs much of the world's networking and communications infrastructure. By migrating that standard of success with the PowerPC core into programmable logic, Xilinx has successfully delivered the highest performance FPGA processing solution into existing and new markets.
• In pursuit of code quality — Are your test coverage measurements leading you astray? Test coverage tools bring valuable depth to unit testing, but they're often misused. This article takes a closer look at what the numbers on the coverage report really mean, as well as what they don't. It then suggests three ways you can use your coverage to ensure code quality early and often.
• Everything you always wanted to know about C types — The C type system is often misunderstood or overlooked. This article, the second in a series, discusses the derived types, or types that are built from other types, and some of the interactions that occur when data of multiple types are mixed. Part 1 introduces the basics of the C type system, with an overview of what it means to talk about type and a discussion of the basic types in some detail.
• The year ahead in Java Web services — 2006, is going to be a banner year for Web services in general, and for Java Web services in particular. New third-generation frameworks are being unveiled, which offer much better support for doc/lit SOAP as well as potential performance improvements. This article looks at both the state of Web services today and the major changes coming in 2006, and get an overview of how the new frameworks and technologies relate and interact.
• Mastering Ajax, Part 3: Advanced requests and responses in Ajax — The Web is no longer a place where simple applications are tolerated; users have become more advanced, customers expect robustness and advanced error reporting, and managers are fired because an application goes down 1 percent of the time. It's your job then, to go beyond a simple Ajax application that requires a more thorough understanding of XMLHttpRequest. This article will help you use Ajax to build a solid foundation in which your application handles errors and problems smoothly, so your users will continue to return to your site and Ajax application.
• The X Window System — In this tutorial (the last in a series of five tutorials on exam 101 topics), Ian Shields introduces you to the X Window System on Linux, and in doing so, continues preparing you to take the Linux Professional Institute Junior Level Administration (LPIC-1) Exam 101. Put the power of X into Linux by installing an X server, setting up an X, GNOME, or KDE display manager, and creating a window manager environment.
• Eclipse CruiseControl and EPIC Perl debugs — This Eclipse tutorial gives you a high-level overview of how to use CruiseControl, Luntbuild, and Anthill with Eclipse. This tutorial shows you how the Eclipse Perl Integration (EPIC) plug-in for Eclipse can help you test Perl applications. One is a traditional Perl debugger, the other tests Perl regular expressions.
• A quick and easy Solaris-To-Linux conversion — If you are about to take the plunge into converting from Solaris to Linux, or just want to see how easy it is to make the change, then take a look at this well written Solaris-To-Linux Migration technical roadmap. It gives you everything you need to get the job done the right way, the first time, and will eliminate all the quirks and gotch-yas that come with Operating System migrations. Its available in both HTML and PDF format. You might also want to take a look at this 5-Star guide for Migrating to Desktop. Linux.
• Mix and Match SQL and XML with DB2 Viper hybrid — The DB2 Viper release is the first IBM implementation of a “hybrid” or multi-structured database management system. For the first time since its debut, DB2 Universal Database for Linux, UNIX, and Windows is providing a new query language, new storage technology, new indexing technology, and other features to support XML data and its inherent hierarchical structure. Users can freely mix and match storage of traditional SQL data and XML in a single table.
• From Russia with code — It's interesting to note that one reason behind the success of Israel's broad tech sector (over 3,000 technology companies are based there- more than any other country outside of the united states) is the strong skills base of Russian programmers that migrated to Israel over the past decade. Many may have left following perestroika, but not all by any means. This Buell Duncan blog entry talks about how software engineers and programmers in Russia are growing faster than perhaps anyplace in the world. What do you think this trend means to the programmers and related businesses here in the US?

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.