Majob (prounounced "MAY-job") is a web-browser created for those who need a new way of looking at their pages or elitists who are concerned with the textual content of a webpage rather than its flashy imagery.
Sadly, no news isn't good news. Hardly any development has been made since the last news post. One thing is certain: most of the code needs to be re-written. With the latest version of jFlagCap finished (mentioned below), I can devote more time to rewriting this wonderful project. This will take time and patience, though. We've broken the 800 mark for total downloads, though, and that's awesome. Things will be better after the rewrite. The code is a complete mess. Anyway, merry Christmas, fellow elitists. Hopefully early next year we can celebrate version 1.7.
I've been spreading myself very thin with a new project called jFlagCap. Sadly, those 4,000+ lines of code have slowed my progress on MAJOB-- but, I assure you, the project isn't dead. More features are on their way.
School has put a damper on the previously-constant releases. It is with some regret that I release 1.6 so early. It's not as feature-rich as I had wanted, but it is more usable that 1.5, and, since it's alpha, I'm more concerned with sharing the latest file than trying to chuck it full of features. Anyway, now, as promised, there is command-line URL handling. I need to still fix the scroll problem, but that's coming in the future (read that as "1.6b" or "While I'm on spring break"). But, anyway, check the download page and give it a shot.
Long time/no news. The next release will fix a few bugs I've been experiencing. The last month has seen a few changes in the code that helps to make things a little bit easier. Due to server interuptions with SourceForge, I was not able to post the semi-release of the version in between 1.5b and 1.6, but I will be releasing 1.6 soon enough. I must first fix some speed issues with it. However, I assure that it will have command-line URL handling.
As promised, the bug-fix release has been posted. MAJOB Alpha 1.5b is
available in the downloads section. The HTML parser has also been changed, so
if there are any problems with it, please LET ME KNOW. It's entirely re-written.
Also, I was surfing Wikipedia and noticed that JPEG files are often used
in links. So, rather than making people copy and paste them the I (capital i)
command has been added for opening numbered links in the Image Viewer. The
problem of spaces in HTML markup has slowed down the parser again, but it's
not as bad as it was previously. Still, there are slowdowns in Windows. Be
patient with it. Help has also been updated a little bit. Be sure to give
it a check.
Otherwise, hopefully, you shouldn't hear from me again until 1.6
is ready.
Version 1.5 released! It handles links and images and stuff right from the
URL bar. Here's something for users to try: Make sure HTML parsing is on, then
go to the help->website selection to view this website. Then, in the URL bar,
type "i:1" (without the quotes, but with the colon). Pretty snazzy, eh? That
took some planning and some of the earlier prototypes didn't work. This one
is still has one kink in it (check the notes for this release). Anyway, this
same handler also follows links (l:number) and history (when on the history
screen, use h:number). It's all in the help file. If you ever have any problems,
it will probably have to do with the very few pages out there with awkward
HTML formatting. There will be a 1.5b in the very near future to deal with
this problem. But, I think it's safe to say that 1.5 will work on most sites.
Also, there's still the win32 slowness on huge pages. Just be very patient
with it and run the Garbage Collector (under tools) after visiting a large page.
Also, make sure that your timeout isn't excessively high. After a huge
page is done, consider turning it back down. Remember: the main purpose of
the timeout is so you're not waiting on the HTML parser forever.
Anyway, there'll be another news post in a few days when the bugfix is posted.
In the meantime, don't be afraid to use 1.5. It'll work on most sites. You'll
be pleasantly surprised. The HELP screen has been changed- so read it.
Older news can be found here.
The latest version is 1.6, which makes minor improvements over 1.5. Again, there are two packages- one with source, and one without. You can use the jar utility that comes with JDK to unpack the source download and edit the source. The nosrc file is much smaller because the source isn't included in this file. As always, the download is available from the SF Project Page.
As with all Java-oriented programs, this program requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on your computer. JRE is available for most publicly-used operating systems including Linux and Windows. You can download the latest version at Java's website. Starting with version 1.6 of MAJOB-ALPHA, you only need version 1.5 of the JRE. The latest version (1.6) is still recommended, though.
In Windows, download the .jar file to your desktop and double click it. If
Java's runtime engine is properly installed, MAJOB will pop up and let you
start surfing the net. If this does not happen, your runtime environment
is not installed properly.
In Linux, downlad the .jar file to the directory from which you want to run it.
Then, from an X commandline or terminal emulator, type:
java -jar majob-...jar
where the ... is the omitted version number and source condition.
The most prevalent problem with MAJOB is submitting a URL and receiving a blank screen. Sadly, the HTTP handling that MAJOB uses a short timeout instead of finding the end of the HTTP body. While this method ensures that you may see the web-page before the connection is severed by the server. The only trouble is that if the page cannot be downloaded in this time, it returns a blank page. Also, if the page has parsing problems (more specifically a < with no >), then the page will also return blank. The page rendering scheme works the same way as the page-downloading mechanism. At most, you can expect to wait twice the time of your set timeout value. If you're getting a blank page, you might consider increasing your page timeout. Seven is a good all-around number. Ten is a ceiling for broadband users. Having extremely high timeouts is not recommended, and having timeouts that are too low are just asking to have this blank-page problem happen. The default is three, which is great for fast servers and fast clients, but this isn't everybody. Five was the old default. It may be the default again in future releases.
If you downloaded the source package of MAJOB (that is the -withsrc.jar), then
you have the source code to MAJOB right there. You need to create a folder
and move the .jar file to it. It should be otherwise-empty. Then, from a
command line, terminal emulator, or whatever form of command prompt your
OS has in store, change (cd) to the directory (folder)
containing the source .jar file and type
jar -xvf majob-...-withsrc.jar
where the ... is your version number. From there, the source code is contained
in the .java files and may be compiled with the JDK, version 1.6 or greater.
I, that is, the author of the program, the website, and anything else MAJOB-related, am available on AOL Instant Messanger with the handle vScottishPig, on ICQ with the number 119420913, IRC on irc.freenode.net with the handle ScottishPig, and yahoo with the handle dapigg2000. You could also get in touch with me through SourceForge. You may also contact me to place links on the majob pages!
This page was created by Mark "ScottishPig" Burger.
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