Coding Chica

Hi, I'm Heather. I've been a software engineer since 2006, but am keenly aware of how intimidating it can be to dip your toes into the waters of computer programming. I was lucky enough to have an amazing group of gals acting as my rock during college while learning to program. However, not everyone is so fortunate. Therefore, I am creating this space as a place to both share knowledge and hopefully make more people feel comfortable jumping into what might otherwise feel like the murky depths of software engineering. Welcome all!

[codingchica]

Learning from Other's Mistakes! The OWASP Top 10

The OWASP Top-10 is an important resource for novice and experienced programmers alike. Even if you are just starting to program, knowing about the OWASP Top-10 and having some familiarity with it may help you improve your own code. #security #code

Introduction Imagine if someone went out and looked at existing security issues reported in Web applications and then summarized all that information into a list for everyone to see and learn from. Guess what? It exists! Every few years, the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) foundation releases a new OWASP Top-10 list for developers to understand the biggest security issues to…

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[codingchica]

Reading the Tea Leaves! Understanding Java Stack Traces for Exception Troubleshooting

Understanding a Java stack trace can be important when troubleshooting errors in a Java application. Stack traces can tell us about the exception thrown as well as the method calls that resulted in that exception. #java #exceptionHandling #stackTrace

Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionCausing an ExceptionReading the Stack TraceReading from Bottom-UpReading A Single Line – Outer ClassReading a Single Line – Inner ClassReading the Exception ThrownCatching and Throwing New Exceptions – The Caused By ClauseSummary Introduction Java stack traces in the logs or console output from a Java application can help us understand where…

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[codingchica]

Method References

Java method references are a replacement for lambda expressions that aid in clarity and brevity when the lambda expression would only reference an existing, named method.

TIP: References Quick List Java: Lambda Expressions Java: Method References Javadoc: Package java.util.function Javadoc: package java.util.stream Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionConstructor ReferencesInstance Method ReferencesArbitrary Instance Method ReferenceStatic Method ReferencesExample CodeSummary Introduction When using a Java Stream (or other methods that would accept…

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[codingchica]

A Trickle or a Flood! Java Stream Basics

Java streams and the corresponding operation pipelines are useful to perform calculations and transformations on collections, ranges and other types of related inputs. #java #streams #lambdaExpressions #pipelines

TIP: References Quick List Java: Lambda Expressions Javadoc: Package java.util.function Javadoc: package java.util.stream Javadoc: IntStream Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionCreating A Basic StreamLazy Intermediate Stream Operations Side EffectsFilteringMapping Items MapFlatMapMap to PrimitivesSortingRemoving DuplicatesTerminal Operations Reducing a Stream to a Single OutputFirst…

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[codingchica]

Inline, Unnamed Methods! Lambda Expressions

Lambda expressions are unnamed Java functions defined in-line in the source code where they are used. #java #lambdaExpressions #syntax

TIP: References Quick List Java: Lambda Expressions Javadoc: Package java.util.function Javadoc: package java.util.stream Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionSyntaxZero Explicit Input ParametersOne Explicit Input ParameterTwo Explicit Input ParametersSingle Instruction Lambda ExpressionsMulti-Instruction Lambda ExpressionsJaCoCo Code CoverageSummary Introduction As of Java 8, we…

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[codingchica]

Building As We Go! Java's StringBuffer for Multi-Threaded Use Cases

Although care is still needed Java's StringBuffer can aid in multi-threaded use cases when constructing a String that requires intermediate states. #java #StringBuffer #String #multithreaded #tdd #stepByStep #coding

TIP: References Quick List Java: IntStream Java: StringBuffer Lombok: Synchronized Example Code Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionUnit TestsMethod Signature / SynchronizationMaven Build FailureAdding the Default BehaviorMaven Build FailureAppending NamesMaven Build FailureMoving the Exclamation PointMaven Build SuccessSummary Introduction When we need to construct a String…

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[codingchica]

Building As I Go! Using Java's String Builder for Single Threads

Java's StringBuilder can improve the performance of complex String creation, as long as only one thread will access the builder. #java #stringbuilder #streams #performance #tdd #testdrivendevelopment

TIP: References Quick List Java: Stream Java: StringBuilder Example Code Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionUnit TestConstructionBuild FailureBasic String ContentsBuild FailureAppending the NamesBuild FailureAdding Comma and Space SeparatorsBuild FailureRemoving Duplicates, Adding AndBuild FailureFiltering and SortingBuild SuccessSummary Introduction When we cannot fully…

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[codingchica]

The Immutable Java String! Constructing a String When All Variables Known

Since Java Strings cannot be changed once created, if we need to construct a Java String with one or more variable(s) included, then we can use the format method. #java #string #syntax #performance #garbageCollection

TIP: References Quick List Java: String.format Java: Formatter: Format String Syntax Hello, Maddie! – Fields and Simple String Formatting Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionConcatenationString.formatformatConstants Vs. Instance VariablesAppending to Existing StringsSummary Introduction Once created, a Java String object cannot be modified. If any changes to a String value must…

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[codingchica]

Troubleshooting Tip! Looking with Fresh Eyes

When you find yourself stuck while working on an issue, trying to power through may not be the best way to make progress. Instead, try to find a way to look at the problem with fresh eyes. #teamWork #coding #troubleshooting #help #issues

Table of Content Table of ContentIntroductionWorking on a Team or With Others AvailableOffline TroubleshootingIn a MeetingWorking on Your OwnSummary Introduction Most developers will run into issues that frustrate them. It is nothing to be ashamed of. No, it does not speak poorly of you or your skill. Simply pulling an all night-er, trying to power through on caffeine and will power is not a…

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Automating Parts of the Peer Review - Part 2! Adding Maven PMD Plugin

The maven-pmd-plugin is another source of possible quality gates for our java build. It can help ensure that we only release code that meets the team's quality standards. #java #mavenBuild #qualityGates #maven-pmd-plugin

TIP: References Quick List Maven-PMD-Plugin: Usage PMD Java Rules Show Me the Source! Java Sources Cross Referencing Reports Automating Parts of the Peer Review – Part 1! Adding SpotBugs Maven Plugin for Static Code Analysis Example Code Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionConsiderationsPlugin Management – Controlling the VersionReporting Plugin – Updating the SiteRule Set…

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Automating Parts of the Peer Review - Part 1! Adding SpotBugs Maven Plugin for Static Code Analysis

Static code analysis, such as that provided by spotbugs-maven-plugin, can help ease the code review burden and get early feedback on performance, style and possible functionality issues. #java #mavenBuild #maven #staticCodeAnalysis

TIP: References Quick List spotbugs-maven-plugin: Usage spotbugs-maven-plugin: Sample Report Spotbugs: Bug Descriptions Spotbugs: Effort Spotbugs: Filter file Example code Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionExample ChecksBad Practice CategoryCorrectness CategoryExperimental CategoryInternationalization (I18N) CategoryMalicious Code Vulnerability CategoryMultithreaded Correctness…

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[codingchica]

Show Me the Source! Java Sources Cross Referencing Reports

Certain plugins, such as those for static code analysis may not repeat the source code in their own reports, but rather prefer to deep link to source code report references when reporting issues / concerns. #java #mavenBuild #site #reports #source

TIP: References Quick List Maven JXR Plugin: Usage SpotBugs Example Bug Detector Report Example Code Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionPlugin Management – Controlling the VersionReporting Plugin – Updating the SiteGenerating the SiteViewing the New ReportsSummary Introduction Other project reports, such as static code analysis Maven plugin’s reports, will need to reference the…

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[codingchica]

Isn't Unit Testing Enough? A Testing Pyramid Intro - The Build Steps

Layering tests and quality gates helps ensure that the team has the earliest feedback as fast as possible. It can also help catch issues ahead of peer feedback in pull requests. #java #mavenBuild #cicd #testing #testingPyramid

TIP: References Quick List OWASP: Source Code Analysis Tools OWASP: Potentially sensitive data in a cookie OWASP: Potential SQL Injection OWASP: Predictable pseudorandom number generator SpotBugs: Standard detectors SpotBugs: NP: Method does not check for null argument (NP_ARGUMENT_MIGHT_BE_NULL) SpotBugs: OS: Method may fail to close stream on exception (OS_OPEN_STREAM_EXCEPTION_PATH) SpotBugs:…

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[codingchica]

Regular Expressions Basics

Regular expressions can be used in Java via the Pattern and Matcher classes to validate input formats or parse part of a string out of a larger string. #java #regExp #regularExpressions #pattern #matcher #syntax

Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionUse CasesPredefined Character ClassesCustom Character ClassesGreedy CountsAdditional KeywordsLogical OperatorsInvokingCapturing GroupsHelpful FlagsExamplesSummary Introduction When consuming String inputs, we may need to search within that string to see if part or all of it matches a pattern in order to determine that it is valid, or to extract or…

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Adding JaCoCo Quality Gate to an existing code base

Existing Java projects can also benefit from a Maven JaCoCo code coverage quality gate, but we have to ensure that the build doesn't break for existing classes when we add the new check. #mavenBuild #java #unitTesting #testing #qualityGate

Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionAdd the New Quality Gate (Build Breaker)Run the Maven Build – FailureMassage Errors Into ExclusionsInstructions ExclusionsAdd Exclusions to Maven BuildBranch ExclusionsAdd Exclusions to Maven BuildProtecting the Main BranchesSummary Introduction Adding a quality gate, like unit test code coverage minimums, to a new (greenfield) project is easy.…

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Skipping A Flaky or Broken Test! JUnit's Disabled Annotation

A broken or flaky test can be quickly skipped by adding the Disabled annotation to the JUnit test. #java #junit #unitTesting

Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction Format – JUnit 5Format JUnit 4Maven Build OutputJaCoCo Minimum Code CoverageSummary Introduction Some times a test will work on one machine and break on another. Other times, a flaky test may succeed during one execution and fail on another run on the same machine. Either of these scenarios may warrant temporarily disabling a test until we have…

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Project Reports! Generating a Simple Maven Site in the Build

By adding the site goal to our Maven build command, we can generate basic reports about the Java project based upon the pom.xml configuration. #MavenBuild #java #report #site #documentation

TIP: References Quick List Maven: Site Lifecycle Maven: Site Lifecycle Bindings Maven: maven-site-plugin: site goal Maven: maven-project-info-reports-plugin: Usage Maven: pom.xml – Organization Example code Table of Contents Table of ContentsIntroductionDefault ReportsProject Information: About PageProject Information: Summary PageProject InformationProject OrganizationBuild…

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