I let OS X handle downloading and installing the latest JDK via System Preferences -> Software Update. Some Java software require that JAVA_HOME be explicitly set, so where should it point?
Upgrading Eclipse to MyEclipse
I was a hard core emacs user for a long time, then a pretty devout Eclipse user. Recently, taking the MyEclipse plunge has been worth every cent of the subscription fee. The handiest tool so far has been the Database Explorer (think: MySQL query browser, Toad, pgAdmin) and the Hibernate Reverse Engineering tool. See this video of both in action.
Spring MVC & AJAX
I love the Spring Framework. It’s pretty much changed my enterprise Java development. I’ve also ditched Struts for Spring MVC to keep my technology stack simple.
A new project calls for Ajax enabled pages so I’ve been researching AJAX integration with Spring MVC.