David Petersheim explains why XStream is a perfect fit for parsing and writing small, simple XML files. Check out an example in which David shows how you could use XStream to read a configuration file for an application that needs to know a server's location.

David Petersheim advocates using source code control when you need to recreate work. He offers details on these functions of source code control: concurrent updates, history, source code archives, history, and versioning.

Design symmetry means that if one method causes an effect, the logically opposite method should cause the opposite effect. In this Java tip, David Petersheim discusses why this can be a subtle point, but the results may be very significant.

Did you know that too much coupling—which, in development terms, is a measure of how dependent two entities are upon each other—can make your enterprise software hard to manage? Learn how the Java Message Service (JMS) can help reduce dependencies between applications.

You can pass JEP (a Java mathematical expression) a string of mathematical operations to perform and get back an answer. See how you can start using JEP in your development work.

Jdb, the Java Debugger provided by Sun, can do most of the things you're used to doing in your normal debugger. Find out how you can get the most out of your jdb debugging sessions.

David Petersheim demonstrates how using Jakarta Commons' HTTP Client to build a Web-aware application is straightforward.

Writing code to parse command line arguments is still necessary sometimes. When you need to examine command line arguments, see how and why you should use your open source Java toolkit and use Command Line Interface.

If you need to control access to certain pieces of data in a class when writing multithreaded applications, see how you can use the volatile keyword to get a similar effect as using the synchronized keyword.