I finally figured out how to build a jar file using Maven that will include the class files from dependent jars in the resulting jar I build.

There's a Maven plugin named shade that will include all the classes from all dependent jar files by default.

Here's my pom.xml file that makes it happen.

A veritable cornucopia of web application approaches and frameworks, some old school and some new school, confuse even the most experienced. This article attempts to delineate the most popular of the approaches and the reasons why one would adopt one over another for a project.

It's time to move bxgrant.com forward in time with JPA, JSF and JBoss Rich Faces. This article explains how I've begun the effort by migrating to JPA from iBatis and highlites the benefit of clean, simple, enterprise architectures which make doing this piece-meal update possible. Look for future articles on JSF and Richfaces

I've been meaning for years to document how I created my web site using enterprise Java tools and design patters but still kept things simple and fast to develop. This article describes the approach I've taken to solving common problems of persistence, separation of cross-cutting concerns, scalability and UI.

This article provides a high-level review of three  Java UI frameworks I've used and explains the basic approach, positive and negative qualities of each - Apache Tapestry, Apache Velocity and Sun Java Server Faces.

This article delineates the many tasks necessary for releasing a high-quality software product that are often overlooked during software planning phases.

The power, flexibility and development velocity of modern scripting languages makes them attractive to software engineering managers everywhere. If your project only lives a few years then very little if any discipline is really needed. However, if your product is successful and you have not instituted sound engineering practices from the get-go you may find yourself in a world of hurt with code that is brittle, difficult to maintain and that actually impedes your ability to make quick changes. This article provides a few simple tips based on my experience creating two large, enterprise-scale systems using two very different scripting languages: JavaScript and Lua.

I am amazed at the state of modern medicine. This morning I had some pretty serious facial surgery and less than 12 hours later I am blogging about it. I was hit by a car when I was thirteen. More than twenty years later I am finally dealing with a few of the consequences caused by the accident.

Today they broke and reset my nose to straighten my septum; they dug out my sinuses and rebuilt them since I've apparently been suffering a constant sinus infection for who knows how many years; and I got a chin tuck to deal with the Grant curse (well, the most immediately noticeable one anyway). I am doing amazingly well and feel pretty good. All-in-all I feel pretty blessed it went as well as it did. I am certainly blessed to have a wife who sacrifices so much for me and to have friends who stand by me.

This article reviews the Accurev Source Code Management system, comparing it to the more well known Subversion product. It explores how a commercial product such as Accurev can remain viable in a version control world largely dominated by open source products.

This article explores some of the concerns with the ever-increasing focus on consumption in the United States and the deleterious effects this is having on our culture and the world.