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If the final release of Looking Glass turns out to be as impressive as the demo shows, I don't think anyone will ever doubt Java as a 3D application language.

I wish people would stop making this "java/swing is ugly" assertion.

Check out some of the screenshots from here to see that swing apps don't necessarily have to have the default L+F.

I don't live in the UK, so I can't enter, otherwise I'd submit this picture of the Douglas Adams Memorial

XML is text (Which is IMHO very sad - I'm longing for a binary XML, that would be cool :)

You might want to look at Fast Infoset. From the linked article on java.sun.com:

The Fast Infoset standard draft (currently being developed as joint work by ISO/IEC JTC 1 and ITU-T) specifies a binary format for XML infosets that is an efficient alternative to XML. An instance of this binary format is called a fast infoset document. Fast infoset documents are analogous to XML documents. Each has a physical form and an XML infoset. Fast infoset documents are, given the results presented, faster to serialize and parse, and smaller in size, than the equivalent XML documents. Thus, fast infoset documents may be used whenever the size and processing time of XML documents is an issue.

SunForum for Solaris

I guess engineering, design and programming can't possibly be art.

According to Sun's page, the E450 had dual-redundant 605W power supplies, drawing a combined max of 1664W. That's about 13.9A of power drawn on 120V (US) lines or 7.2A of power on 230V (European) lines. Or about 140A on your car's 12V cigarette lighter.

That's 4600 Watts. 6.2 Horsepower.

No, it's not. You're multiplying US current by European voltage. Sun's own page says the peak power input is 1664W, and the peak power output is 1210W. Under normal load, it's probably half that.

That's still a whole lot of juice to pull through the 10A-20A fuse that typically protects your cigarette lighter. It's also 5+ times as much as the cheap-ass 300W-peak inverter he links to can provide.

So the story is quite probably crap, but not because the Sun draws 4600W (it doesn't) or because the alternator would have trouble with an 800W load. The alternator would probably handle that fine, but the cigarette lighter and inverter would not.

According to the specs, it weighs over 200lbs and draws 1.6KW of power.

Good job oil prices are starting to come down, ain't it?

For those of you that doubt it can be done off a normal 12 volt battery, I bet it can.... I own a Sun E4500 with 10 processors, 4GB of ram, and 4 power supplies, and when up and running crunching numbers on CPU intensive code, it only draws 650 watts, measured with a Kill A Watt So, an E450 which is a much smaller machine, ought to EASILY run in less than half that much power, even with all those hard drives spinning. The power supply specs Sun gives are conservative enough that unless you've got a maximally configured system, they don't use anywhere near that much power. You'd have to have all of the PCI slots, disk trays, CPU and memory maxed out to hit the rated peak power consumption.

If someone wants to show where the sound card goes in this e450, I'd love to see it. As it is, one of the newer Intel P4's with hyperthreading, coupled with a pair of SATA drives and fast memory will blow this thing out of the water on almost every count. I wouldn't waste my time or the space trying to get the beast hooked up.

• He said there is no UI -- it's just a script that picks a song randomly from the collection. (He plans on mounting a Sun Ray 150 to the dashboard for playback control.)
• The audio system inegration consists of plugging the soundcard's speaker out into one of those cassette tape adaptors. Yikes on the sound quality...

An e450 is massive stupid overkill though, that is, if that system is actually for real in that minivan. Nothing done there couldn't be done on a single CPU with a single stick of memory on a single hard drive.

He did say that he wants to hook up a few Sun Ray 150s to it to serve up to 3 simultainous video streams stored on its HD. Although a E450 is still probably overkill.

He said that the 3 Rays for watching video were so his kids would have something to do during long trips. Unfortunately, with that behemoth in the trunk, he's not gonna be able to fit any luggage in there to go on long trips.

Whoops.

But the difference is that you can write C code that talks directly to the hardware, though without inline asm I think it is limited to arbitrary memory addressing.

Yes, to some extent. Doing thinks like using I/O ports and triggering interrupts can't be done (I don't think) without non-standard extensions, so that limits the hardware you could talk to but, yes, you can do some stuff.

In any case, I have written C code that ran on bare hardware without an OS or anything. I don't think you could do that in a VM-based language like Java.

Actually, Sun at one point produced a chip that executed Java bytecodes natively, so no VM was required for that environment. More generally, I have some colleagues who specialize in porting a Java VM to OS-less hardware. Obviously, the VM is not written in Java, but you definitely could (and arguably they do) write most of the operating system in java.

Likewise, while you could write a Java VM in Java, could it run on the machine without having to run inside yet another VM that was written in a non-VM language?

Obviously, at some point you have to get down to the hardware's native instruction set.

What's really interesting about this idea is that there is at least a possibility that HotSpot-like technology could ultimately mean that VM-executed code is faster than pre-compiled code, meaning that something like Java could someday provide *better* performance than is achievable even with hand-coded assembler.

I don't really expect that to happen, but it's theoretically possible.

You can read about it here, here, and here.

You can read about it here, here, and here.

The current OpenGL - java bindings are really geared towards the computer side of things - that is, J2SE and regular OpenGL.

There is an OpenGL specification for handheld devices though, I beleive it's called OpenGL ES, and as technology allows it might merge with the handheld-oriented family of Java that is J2ME Although I don't think that doing 3D in such a restricted and computationally limited Java version is at all feasible or efficient, so I think for 3D handheld apps native code is going to stick around for a while.

Microsoft's documentation is, and always has been, comprehensive and remarkably well organised for something on that scale.

Someone told me I'm really dumb, because I didn't put a "yield" in my read input loop, but the "comprehensive" documentation in MSDN didn't quite cover that point.

I learnt my multithreading theory using Java 1.1 (by chance at university, but that's not the only place to learn). So far ALL of that knowledge has been perfectly applicable to any language I've written in (C, C++, even VB6, which supposedly doesn't have multithreading).

Yielding is basic thread behaviour and not related to any specific API or OS. If you don't know why you need to specfically yield, then you shouldn't be writing multithreaded applications. Just from your explanation, I can raise issues in basic design. You show a clear lack of understanding on how to accomplish the task. It's scary. It's unfortunate that switching OS "fixed" your problem, since you didn't understand what caused the problem in the first place.

MSDN is not there to teach you how to program properly. It's there so you know how to use the API's that MS supplies. No amount of documentation will allay a dearth of programming skills. In fact, the flexibility and high backwards-compatibility of the windows API is partly to blame for programmers like the parent giving windows a bad name. Bad programming practice gets propagated and continued because it's gotten away with.
/rant

you can override the Object.hashCode() function in any Object you create, though String is a final class. here's the standard hash function for String. it looks like the same functionality as yours

This paper describes the performance issues we encountered when developing FreeTTS. I think it is a pretty good representation of the issues involved in developing a high-performance Java application along with a comparision between a Java and a native-C version of the same application. This paper describes how we ported a native-C synthesizer (Flite) to Java (FreeTTS) and how were able to get better performance from our engine.

This is not a toy application but a real application that performs well in a domain where performance really matters.

This feature (persistent caching of core library classes) is in tiger (1.5). I haven't benchedmarked 1.5, but startups of some of my favorite apps are noticably faster. Debug, compile and test cycles seem to be about the same for me though...

Read about it here.

Check out Class Data Sharing.

"The class data sharing feature is aimed at reducing application startup time and footprint. The installation process loads a set of classes from the system jar file into a private, internal representation, then dumps that representation to a "shared archive" file. During subsequent JVM invocations, the shared archive is memory-mapped in, saving the cost of loading those classes and allowing much of the JVM's metadata for these classes to be shared among multiple JVM processes."

It's only enabled for the client VM. Incidently, it was developed and submitted to Sun by Apple.

Just don't use this browser to read it because its too slow.

Not according to Sun:

Java technology is a portfolio of products that are based on the power of networks and the idea that the same software should run on many different kinds of systems and devices.

Java is the name of a language and a virtual machine, in much the same way that "Python" is both the name of a language and the interpreter that executes it. Now, if Java can eventually run on the Parrot VM, then you could make a pretty strong case that "Java" is more closely associated with the language than the VM. As a sysadmin, I'm currently more interested in "java" the application.

I just happened across Sun's FAQ about the -client and -server settings .

There was a page on this. I can't seem to find it anymore, though.

OpenBSD doesn't own openbsd.org - it's run by the U of Alberta SunSITE, which is one of these things where Sun gives your university a bunch of hardware. There's a whole bunch of 'em around the world (there's a list at the link). They're kinda precluded from running anything besides Solaris on it.

blogs.sun.com

1. Perfect the technology
2. Lower the cost so consumers can afford it
3. "My laptop is more awesome than yours!"
4. Profit!

As far as patching mechanisms go, I think Java Web Start is an interesting deployment mechanism, since you can make changes/updates to your Java program, and they can show up just as soon as a person launches the application via web start. It's transparent to the user (which is great for patching, IMO -- why should a user have to worry about that?), but it does have the disadvantage of requiring a network connection.

Still, for some applications I think it would make good sense (such as Puzzle Pirates, since the program relies on a network connection anyhow).

you dont know a damn thing about solaris do you ?

NUMA aint the half of it. NUMA aint even one hundredth of it.

There is the New stuff and the old stuff (which linux is still years behind in; SMP being a big one) I am to lazy to look all of this up at the moment.

Sun also provides pre-packaged freeware itself for Solaris. It comes on a CD in the Solaris 9 Media Kit and you can download it from that site as well.

Solaris source code has been available for a long time to qualified educational institutions, developers and computer hackers. Open Source doesn't mean free to copy in this case. They allow people to look at the source so that they can develop code and suggest improvements. They would be very upset if their code found its way into Linux, for example.

Back in the early to mid 90s, I was hooked on Windows. I'd be up late rebooting, two, maybe three times a night. It got bad. Real bad. I couldn't score a clean install no matter who I asked. Even Nancy couldn't get me to Just Say No.

It was beginning to impact my life in a bad way. I fell in with a bad crowd: more than 100 users. They called me all day long looking to score a fix for why their system went down. I went to my supplier, he put the squeeze on me. Said I needed to "upgrade." I scraped up all my money and bought untold kilos of the stuff. It's all the same, man. You're flying high, then, bam! You crash and burn. This new stuff I'm on, this "XP?" Yeah, it's good shit. But sometimes you still crash hard and your day goes to hell.

I've been freebasing Unix for a while on the servers. Yeah, the real deal's pricey, but there's this other stuff out there if you know where to ask, it's called Linux, ok? Keeps me flyin' high all day and night long. Just watch out, some dealers will cut you down if you don't buy from them. Others are just messin' with your mind.

Here is the specification for Java [link]. It has been online, free, and free to implement for at least the last 7 years. No licensing agreement required.

Well, great, now move your mouse a little and click on the Copyright link on the very same page you point to. On it, you will see that Sun gives people only a "limited license" to the specification and permits you to implement it only under specific circumstances. The license is also "non-transferable". Furthermore, Sun states that they may have patents on the contents of the specification. That is not a "free" specification, and it is certainly not "freely implementable".

My Java programs run on Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, my cell phone, AIX, and that other OS, Win-something. That is what I call "platform independent". What's your definition?

If I write Java applications, I am dependent on Sun and/or its licensees, just like if I write Windows applications, I am dependent on Microsoft and/or Microsoft's licensees. All of your and Sun's marketing blabber about "platform independence" is just a smokescreen to hide this basic fact: using Java just replaces a dependency on Microsoft with a dependency on Sun.

Java version 1.5 comes out at the end of this month. [...] It has many features to speed up desktop programs and is well worth a look.

Well, I don't see what that has to do with the observation that Java is highly proprietary. But since you bring it up, in my opinion, the JDK 1.5 release also shows how far behind Java is technologically.

Try to look past the FUD of the ignorant.

People just need to look at Sun's licensing terms: they speak for themselves.

And you have some gall accusing people of FUD, given the statements that have been coming out of Sun's marketing machinery about open source, Microsoft, Gnome, and Linux.

What I can't figure out about people like you is whether you actually believe the nonsense you write about Java licensing or whether you are actively trying to deceive people. But after so many years, it really doesn't matter: at this point, neither you nor anybody else at Sun has any excuse anymore for misrepresenting Java's licensing terms, as you keep doing.

Here is the specification for Java [link]. It has been online, free, and free to implement for at least the last 7 years. No licensing agreement required.

Well, great, now move your mouse a little and click on the Copyright link on the very same page you point to. On it, you will see that Sun gives people only a "limited license" to the specification and permits you to implement it only under specific circumstances. The license is also "non-transferable". Furthermore, Sun states that they may have patents on the contents of the specification. That is not a "free" specification, and it is certainly not "freely implementable".

My Java programs run on Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, my cell phone, AIX, and that other OS, Win-something. That is what I call "platform independent". What's your definition?

If I write Java applications, I am dependent on Sun and/or its licensees, just like if I write Windows applications, I am dependent on Microsoft and/or Microsoft's licensees. All of your and Sun's marketing blabber about "platform independence" is just a smokescreen to hide this basic fact: using Java just replaces a dependency on Microsoft with a dependency on Sun.

Java version 1.5 comes out at the end of this month. [...] It has many features to speed up desktop programs and is well worth a look.

Well, I don't see what that has to do with the observation that Java is highly proprietary. But since you bring it up, in my opinion, the JDK 1.5 release also shows how far behind Java is technologically.

Try to look past the FUD of the ignorant.

People just need to look at Sun's licensing terms: they speak for themselves.

And you have some gall accusing people of FUD, given the statements that have been coming out of Sun's marketing machinery about open source, Microsoft, Gnome, and Linux.

What I can't figure out about people like you is whether you actually believe the nonsense you write about Java licensing or whether you are actively trying to deceive people. But after so many years, it really doesn't matter: at this point, neither you nor anybody else at Sun has any excuse anymore for misrepresenting Java's licensing terms, as you keep doing.

why do they need to buy or license star office when Open office is FREE

Star Office Education Solution

To quote from the page,

"This institutional license is available for the cost of media only - no other licensing fees apply. All you have to do to obtain a site license is purchase at least one media kit or download the software"

The difference for the school district between OOo (which, if you wanted to buy a cd, would cost around 10USD) and StarOffice (media kit for 25USD) is a matter of the price of the media. They would be able to download both for free.

I personally prefer OOo. I find that it seems to integrate with Debian a bit better (helps that .deb package binaries are available) than SO, and OOo seems faster to me. I notice no difference in usability between the two, and have not found myself needing any of the obscure features that SO has that OOo doesn't. I can definitely understand, though, the desire for an institution to prefer a supported product.

I'm using Java 1.5 for several months now, and besides the new language feature goodies it also has shared memory between applications.

Now I can't say how much better swing has gotten since 1.4 because a dont' remember how good it used to be ;) but in 1.5 it's pretty good. No reason why I'd hesitate to do any UI in java anymore. It's way better than in 1.2 or 1.3, that's for sure.

...each JVM you run still takes the same amount of space, unless they say otherwise on a different web page

Actually, the J2SE 1.5 New Features clearly state that footprint is in fact reduced.

I posted this earlier, but I don't believe 1.5 has JVM Sharing, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

1.5 has a Class Data Sharing startup optimization. That's not quite JVM Sharing, which is described in Dynamically Loaded Classes as Shared Libraries: An approach to Virtual Engine Scalability

I posted this earlier, but I don't believe 1.5 has JVM Sharing, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

1.5 has a Class Data Sharing startup optimization. That's not quite JVM Sharing, which is described in Dynamically Loaded Classes as Shared Libraries: An approach to Virtual Engine Scalability

I presume you mean something like this?

No, I think he meant something more in the lines of Dynamically Loaded Classes as Shared Libraries: An approach to Virtual Engine Scalability. Open called "JVM Sharing", try searching javalobby.com.

This is first on my wishlist for Java. Sorely needed. BTW, this is a JVM optimization so anyone can add this to they JVM without breaking compatibility.

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/vm/class -data-sharing.html

Java's memory footprint is currently too large to allow numerous java programs of a moderate complexity (and size) to be running simultaneously on the desktop. Until Sun gets VM sharing going, we will not see Java attain a strong desktop presence.

This is being done outside of the W3C, with the hope of getting a viable alternative to Longhorn's XAML available soon

Okay, Microsoft are trying to develop some standards. If history says anything about how the web has evolved its that the users define the standard. If it works, we use it. XML works. Macromedias Flash app is a defacto standard, created outside the W3C. If it works, we use it. Suns Java is pretty popular too. A lot of stuff is created outside the W3C, it all works, if its good we install it. simple really.

Don't like the license? Pay for a different one. But stop this "closed source" nonsense. It is open and freely available to anyone to download, browse, compile, port to run on your toaster, modify, post the modifications anywhere.

Just don't distribute it and the results of your compilations without permission...

Almost every time I make an anonymous inner class for a JButton I end up extracting it to a nested class so I can also use it for a JMenuItem

You've heard of AbstractAction, right? That allows for exactly what you want, only its a part of Swing, so other people will understand what you're doing, and you wont have to re-invent the wheel (or the Action interface, in your case).

Anyway, it's been there since the dawn of Swing (I think, anyway at least since 1.3), so there's really no excuse to not use it.

Almost every time I make an anonymous inner class for a JButton I end up extracting it to a nested class so I can also use it for a JMenuItem

You've heard of AbstractAction, right? That allows for exactly what you want, only its a part of Swing, so other people will understand what you're doing, and you wont have to re-invent the wheel (or the Action interface, in your case).

Anyway, it's been there since the dawn of Swing (I think, anyway at least since 1.3), so there's really no excuse to not use it.

sounds kind of like these sun boxes, we've got a bunch of them in my schools library used mainly for web access and catalog browsing.

You could just always buy a Sun USB keyboard and plug it into your PC/Mac/Linux/FreeBSD box. Not only is Ctrl in the right place for those who use emacs, Esc is in the right place for those who use Vi (above the tab, left of 1 key). Also it has AltGr and Compose keys which are handy if you ever need to type words like resumé without going to charmap or keycaps.

Keyboard Layout and you can order it for $40-$65, depending on who you want to buy it through. low price to high price

Note that you can get the logo-less version for $5 less at sun.com (p/n #320-1275). You'd think it would be the other way around, I guess having logos on your gear is considered "value" to some.

I reckon it was some 'nobody' in Australia getting interviewed, running his mouth off and not realising he was getting quoted. Now HQ is scrambling to cover for him.

Seriously, didn't they just have their big quarterly shindig that week in China? Yeah - here it is. So if he was important he would be there. If they were announcing anything this big, they would have done it there, right? That's where they announced Solaris open source.