codefetch is a site that helps developers search for code for different programming/scripting languages that are given as examples in books. One can search for specific keywords and program examples related to that keyword from books on different programming/scripting languages.

Being an ardent fan of using mind maps regularly as well as using Wikipedia extensively for knowledge exploration I found WikiMindMap a useful site that combines the power of both. It is a good tool to search and navigate and explore between relevant Wikipedia pages.

Thanks to my friend Kanmani who sent me a link that has information how to be an effective programmer. In fact TechMasala’s foundation series of posts main objective is also to list down certain technical as well as soft skills to be an effective programmer. The document covers tips and best practices under the categories of personal and team skills for a beginner, intermediate and advanced programmer. “How to be a Programmer: A Short, Comprehensive, and Personal Summary” is a good read for every programmer.

If you practicing UML or using UML in your project then the “UML Quick Reference” could come handy. If you are totally new to UML the article in IBM Developerworks - “UML basics: An introduction to the Unified Modeling Language” will get you started.

PreciseJava has best practices documents on Java/J2EE technology components. These best practices could be an eye opener for writing quality code and creating a performance effective J2EE web application. Every organization has best practices document for the technologies they are working on. The documents available in PreciseJava could be a direct input to such documents and an organization can leverage them effectively.

If you are new to Rails application development then troubleshooting even the common mistakes and errors might be difficult. The Ruby on Rails Wiki has a “TroubleShooting Rails” page that has solutions for common starting trouble problems. Bookmark the page, just in case you are stuck.

A programming language can best be learned only through examples. If you are person who is already familiar with a programming language and want to learn another language, for getting used to the language syntax and basic programs, the examples would suffice. If you are that kind and want to learn Java the site “Kode Java” could be handy. It contains lots of examples on different areas of Java.

Wondering what it means? I got to know about the “Plain Old Web Server” through the Ajaxian post “POW: Excuse me sir, you seem to have a server in your client“. POW is a Firefox plug-in that can run a server on the browser. I installed the extension and tried playing around with few HTMLS’ and JavaScript, gave a cool feeling of running a web server on the system.  But why does one need a web server to run on the browser? Here is a copy paste of copy paste from Ajaxian.

The Plain Old Webserver uses Server-side Javascript (SJS) to run a server inside your browser. Use it to distribute files from your browser. It supports Server-side JS, GET, POST, uploads, Cookies, SQLite and AJAX. It has security features to password-protect your site. Users have created a wiki, chat room and search engine using SJS.

This version includes:

• Documentation to show you how to build a Server-side Javascript program.
• File uploading code
• SQLite interface for easy saving of persistent data

Really useful and handy.