Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 23:48:22 -0600 (MDT) From: Nate Williams <nate@mt.sri.com> To: Doug Wellington <doug@sun1paztcn.wr.usgs.gov> Cc: Nate Williams <nate@mt.sri.com>, hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: JDK 1.02 Message-ID: <199608240548.XAA10782@rocky.mt.sri.com> In-Reply-To: <9608240420.AA02605@sun1paztcn.wr.usgs.gov> References: <199608231644.KAA07194@rocky.mt.sri.com> <9608240420.AA02605@sun1paztcn.wr.usgs.gov>
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> >Java is here to stay whether we like it or not [...] > > Is this REALLY true? I mean, will Java continue to be a "force"? For awhile. > Or is this just another phrase from the spin doctors? Lots of people > have sworn that lots of languages were the end all of programming - > look at lisp/scheme, ada, visual basic... (All have loyal followers, > but how much of a "force" are they? ...well, visual basic... hmmm...) Most of these languages weren't written up in the press on a daily basis, and touted as the 'best of breed' in programming languages. Something will come along that's better in the future, but for now Java is *the* language. > What is The Real Deal(tm) with Java anyway? Once you get through > the hype, is Java anything more than C++ without pointers? Java is C++ w/out pointers, w/out multiple inheritance, and the ability to run on multiple platforms w/out recompile. It's the 'ultimate' in portability, although M$ and others are trying to muddy the waters by making 'platform specific' extensions for it. > If the world becomes dependent upon applets, then maybe Java has a > place, but when everyone realizes that it is just the mainframe > mentality repackaged for the nineties, will it really last? Do we > really want to be dependent upon some server somewhere for what are > really just throw-away viewers? Whose 'we' Kemosabe'? :) For 'intranets' (the current buzzword which has replaced 'enterprise-wide network), applets are a great way to go. You can leave the low powered PC on everyone's desk (maybe even a 'Network Computer') which runs applets which talk to the main server. However, you can have multiple 'servers'. The push for 'Data warehousing' and other meaningless names makes it easy to push for Java. For those zillions of programmers who have been doing Win32 programming (aka, the API of the day), Java is a way out. > Do we even have the bandwidth to do it? Java applets decreases bandwidth in many cases. There is no longer the need for 'server push', and instead you can get everything in one shot by using an applet. Java is much bigger than the WWW, especially if Sun has it's way. Nate
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