Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2012 July 17

= July 17 =

Java Applet Problem (components not visible)
I am not exactly new to java, but i could never do stuff with applets properly. I'm currently trying to make an applet for independent research, NOT for homework, and its not working.

When i view the applet on the webpage, it simply shows a gray viewing area. I'm thinking ive done something silly, like added all the components, but failed to "show" them somehow in the paint method?

Either way, here is my source: http://pastebin.com/t1HvR5hb

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you! 172.163.37.111 (talk) 05:01, 17 July 2012 (UTC)


 * You're adding all your UI components to a  that you create and then do nothing with. You don't use the   for applets, only for applications (some java programs are written to work either stand-alone or as an applet, and they will make clever use of the   and   methods to dynamically decide whether to put their content into a   or into the content pane of a  ). In a , you should invoke   directly, and add your UI components to that. BigNate37(T) 06:35, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Here's a new version of your  method. I didn't go to the trouble of testing it for errors, but it should help get the point across in case I didn't explain it well. BigNate37(T) 06:38, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

This helped. However, i now have another issue. The applet does not show if i have the source state a package name. It will say "main (Wrong name main/attractors)" ...... Taking the package off means it works. This is rather annoying as i would like to have a package so that i can make some runnable information in a separate class. How can i do this without this error? 172.162.231.158 (talk) 15:45, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

Issue resolved. I did something silly which resulted in a null pointer. xD 172.162.231.158 (talk) 04:38, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Search function on IPad
So I'm editing a Wikipedia page using my IPad and I want to find text, say all instances of a refname. How do I search for text on a webpage when I have no CTRL-F? I know this is a pretty basic question, sorry, I've been using keyboard shortcuts since before they were shortcuts. ;-) Itsmejudith (talk) 17:55, 17 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Here: "When in safari tap the search field in the upper right and enter the word you are searching for. The google suggestions will appear but beneath them it will say "on this page" and you can tap that to run a word search." - Cucumber Mike (talk) 18:09, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Cool. Do people say that to you all the time, Mike? I hope so. Itsmejudith (talk) 19:34, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

best LaTeX for Ubuntu 12.4?I
I don't want to mess around; I just want to get everything. I recall that the best way to do that is Web2C, but I can't find that in the APT cache. Is there an APT package that installs everything, or do I need to download Web2C and go around APT? --Trovatore (talk) 19:13, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I recommend TeX Live, which is the default LaTeX for Ubuntu. Looie496 (talk) 19:19, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks much. Do you know if it includes, say, PGF and TikZ? --Trovatore (talk) 19:27, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * The  package should be able to tell you that. ¦ Reisio (talk) 22:24, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I use Gummi (software) mainly due to its live preview pane, which allow you to see what you are doing without compiling the source. OsmanRF34 (talk) 19:06, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

Clicking on photographs on Facebook has stopped working?
Has anyone else experienced this? When I browse Facebook on Mozilla Firefox at home late in the evening, everything else works fine, but clicking on photographs usually doesn't do anything. I can't even view my own photographs in my own albums. Sometimes, very infrequently, it works, but usually it doesn't. However, when I browse Facebook at work, clicking on photographs works OK. I also use Mozilla Firefox there, but on Microsoft Windows instead of Linux, thanks to 99.999999% of Finnish IT companies using only Microsoft Windows. Could this have something to do with it? However, I think the reason might not be that, but instead that the Internet tends to be more popular late at night at Eastern European Time than in the middle of the day. J I P &#124; Talk 20:33, 17 July 2012 (UTC)


 * What you're describing sounds like a browser issue plus maybe a bandwidth issue. Facebook uses a LOT of Javascript to work, and a LOT of Ajax. The result is that a slow connection and/or slow/confused browser can lead to lockups. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:38, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * This might be true. My version of Mozilla Firefox on Linux is still version 3.6. What is the easiest way to update it? I would much rather do something like  than compile the entire browser from the sources and install it by hand.  J I P  &#124; Talk 20:42, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * You won't have to compile it, but you should consult your specific distro's specific upgrade notes (or at least ask the proper channel on irc.freenode.net). ¦ Reisio (talk) 22:27, 17 July 2012 (UTC)
 * It turned out pretty difficult to find how to automatically update Firefox on Fedora 14 Linux. In the end I found that System->Administration->Add or Remove Software had an option to install Firefox 4, so I installed it. It made its own launcher in the Gnome menu next to Firefox 3, so I replaced the launcher on the bottom panel with it. Now I can use Firefox 4 instead of Firefox 3 to browse the web, and clicking on photographs in Facebook works. But I have two additional questions:
 * On Facebook, how the heck can I publish an album that I have already created and saved? I mean, how can I get "JIP added 96 pictures to his album 'Here, there and everywhere'" to show on my wall? I can only do that when I first create the album.
 * On Firefox 3, there used to be a little arrow between the "back" and "forward" buttons that I could click to go back several pages at a time. On Firefox 4, this arrow has disappeared, and I have to hold my mouse down on the "back" button. This creates extra work. Is there any way to get the little arrow back? J I P  &#124; Talk 05:31, 19 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Try right-clicking on a photo and opening the link in a new tab. This avoids the JavaScript photo viewer and opens the dedicated page for the photo instead. This might help you test if the problem is just with the JavaScript photo viewer code or if there are more serious image server issues. --Bavi H (talk) 01:43, 18 July 2012 (UTC)


 * I'm having the same issue in FF 9 on Windows 7. IE doesn't have the issue. Must be a bug in Facebook that broke it in newer versions of FF.&mdash;Best Dog Ever (talk) 06:30, 19 July 2012 (UTC)