Reviews : JavaOne Jolts Developer Tribes :

JavaOne Jolts Developer Tribes

by Michael Singer

JavaOne -- SAN FRANCISCO -- Java may be everywhere, but developers at this year's JavaOne show focused on control of the programming language at the macro and micro level.

The annual event offered nothing short of an amazing array of opportunities for developers and vendors to hone their skills in the areas ranging from mobile devices, to dashboard computers in cars, and even to interplanetary exploration devices (ala NASA's Mars Rover). But there was a different vibe about this year's event. Instead of focusing on any one particular topic, developers showed strength in numbers. Sun Microsystems estimates there are 4 million Java developers in the world today. Sun CEO Scott McNealy reported some 15,000 attendees at the weeklong event. That is still down from the record number of 24,000 developers in 2000, but healthy in terms of spirit.

As Sun president and COO Jonathan Schwartz put it in his new blog, "JavaOne wasn't about Sun. It was about the community."

Most encouraging was the release of a new Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) version 5.0 (code-named "Project Tiger"). The platform has more than 100 new features and is scheduled for a Fall 2004 release via the Java Developer Kit (JDK). The kit includes four language changes; enhanced for loop, enumerated types, static import and autoboxing. The update supports C-style formatted input/output, variable arguments, concurrency utilities and a simpler RMI (Remote Method Invocation) interface generation, new JVM (Java Virtual Machine) monitoring, management API and a new (but compatible) default Java look.

Developers were also treated to the release of version 4.0 of the NetBeans project. The IDE comes with expanded support for Java 2 Platform Micro Edition (J2ME), including Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 2.0 and Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) 1.1, and support for the J2ME Wireless Toolkit (WTK) 2.2. Sun also maintained the capability to develop full Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications, including support for Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) technology and Web services , as well as mobile development support. Other release 4.0 highlights include a new Java technology performance profiler based on patent-pending technology originally developed at Sun Labs and refactoring capabilities based on Dr. James Gosling's Jackpot project.

Sun contributed approximately 350,000 lines of code from its commercial Java Studio Standard IDE for the latest NetBeans release. Sun also announced the upcoming release of Sun Java Studio Creator (formerly Project Rave) as a $99 per year subscription; a popular trend started by Schwartz.

Open Desktops

Speaking of contributions, Sun officially contributed its next generation desktop software -- Project Looking Glass and corresponding Java 3D application program interface (API) -- to the open source community. Creator Hideya Kawahara flipped the switch during CEO Scott McNealy's keynote enabling developers to tap into Sun's answer to the Windows and Macintosh desktops. The platform runs on Solaris and Linux and features window transparency, rotation, zoom and miniaturization.

Sun said the developer's release would include a Window Manager to help design documents; get up to speed with initial specification, and outlines of prototype implementation. The platform also includes a graphics component that lets developers run conventional X11 applications in a 3D windows system; sample demos for testing purposes; and a "Lite" version that lets developers run the 3D window manager as an application on Linux or Solaris without loading the 3D desktop environment.

In support of opening Project Looking Glass, Sun also debuted two new open source community contribution sites: JDIC (Java Desktop Networked Components). The goal is to help non-full-time Java developers with their projects.

JDNC, is a set of extended versions of the more sophisticated Swing components that can regulate size and shape such Table and TextArea along with an XML based markup language to let administrators conduct their own Web start.

Similarly, JDIC looks to establish more integration into the host desktop environment: mixing together the native Web browser, e-mail, registered document viewing applications and installation.

During the JavaOne show, Sun also launched an initiative to bring more service oriented architectures (SOA) into its core software products.

Dubbed "Project Kitty Hawk," the company said the venture would help bridge the gap between business processes and Web services. Sun is already working on the two-year plan to phase some elements of the project into its the Sun Java Enterprise System and Sun Java Studio Enterprise developer tools by mid 2005.

Java Communities, Contributions Colliding

If last year's JavaOne show was all about defining the Java brand, this year was certainly about who should be in control of it.

The topic of opening Java was rekindled with the release of some related Java-enabled projects like Looking Glass and Java 3D and the suggestion earlier this month by Sun to eventually open source its entire Solaris operating system.

Sun has been inundated with requests to amend its Technology Compatibility Kits (TCK) and publicly post the source code under the same or similar General Public License model as Linux.

IBM Software vice president of Emerging Technologies, Rod Smith asked Java creator James Gosling and Java Community Process (JCP) Chairman Rob Gingell to work on an independent project to open source Java and speed up the development process. The question has been reverberated by members of other open source communities including Apache, Linux, and scripting languages Perl and PHP.

During his keynote at JavaOne, BEA CTO Scott Dietzen boldly suggested the same. Previously, BEA had been a staunch supporter of keeping Java in the hands of Sun.

Smith, Stanford Law School professor Lawrence Lessig and CollabNet CTO Brian Behlendorf suggested that Sun could let the open source community offset the cost of testing with the potential of cutting the cost. The process is already happening on a microcosm with the Groovy programming language (JSR 241), but Sun said that the project runs on top of Java and is not the core code.

While the Java code is readily available, noted Java guru and Sun CTO James Gosling told internetnews.com recently that Sun will not open up the full Java code at this time. The company debates the issue every few years but has not come up with a solution that Gosling said would "balance everybody's concerns."

Partners Show Their Java Prowess

In addition to its Java improvement announcements, Sun also touted several partnerships to show that Java is gaining a broad momentum.

For example, Nokia CTO Pertti Korhonen said the mobile phone maker is close to releasing a new Java standard that should make it easier to manage business and consumer applications on mobile phones and other wireless devices.

Infinium Lab's president and co-creator of Microsoft's Xbox, Kevin Bachus announced that his company would ship Java technology on Infinium Lab's Phantom game receiver when it launches this fall.

The CEO of Siemens VDO Infotainment demonstrated a BMW running Java on its dashboard. Sun demonstrated a Medic Touch device that collected biometric readings and sent them to a cell phone.

Sun also said TV and cable industry leaders including Comcast, Time Warner/Cable, Cox Communications and Advanced/Newhouse Communications will sponsor an application development contest for the interactive television (iTV) market. The contest hopes to raise awareness of OCAP (OpenCable Applications Platform) and to, "encourage the active participation of the Java development community in the interactive television market."

The company also said that it has inked a collaborative agreement with semiconductor design firm ARM to incorporate more Java at the semiconductor level for mobile devices.

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