JOMBA

Inspiration

I kept forgetting the names of my files and where I saved them, and I wanted to back up all of my files but they were in many, many folders. And just doing a search for .jpg, .pdf, etc... in Windows Explorer was taking FOREVER to complete.

What it does

With JOMBA, I combined these two goals and made a client that a) tells me where my files are and b) backs them up.

How I built it

With Eclipse, JUnit, and caffeine after I got home from my internship.

Challenges I ran into

It turns out that the canRead() method in the java.io.File class can give false positives on Windows. So I would be under the impression that I could read a file (based on the return value of canRead()), but I would get an exception when I had the sheer audacity to actually try and read the file. So I had to write my own canRead() method that, so far, has not given me any false positives.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I sold the rights to the application to Instagram for $1 million.

Just kidding! I am proud that I saw another project through to completion and that my life is a little easier than it was before.

What I learned

Don't trust canRead() or canWrite() in Java. Also, use File.separatorChar. Do not try to guess which one (backslash or forward slash) the file system wants. This was a problem when moving from Windows 8.1 to Ubuntu Linux (and it probably would have been a problem on Mac, too).

What's next for JOMBA

The ability to upload to Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, or other cloud platforms the .zip file that JOMBA creates when backing up one's photos. And maybe make the UI a little nicer.

Built With

• java