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Java2 SDK v. 1.4 Released
pangloss writes: "Yay: XML, built-in Perl-ish regex, jdbc 3.0, asserts, IPv6, lots of other goodies. Release notes and incompatibilities. And I think this means I can use my wheel-mouse in NetBeans without that extra module ;) Download it here." WilsonSD adds: "There are many cool new features including a New I/O package, an Assert Facility and enhanced performance." Some other random Java notes: O'Reilly has an essay about why you won't see any open source J2EE implementations, and Kodak has filed a patent-infringement claim against Sun regarding Java.
This is in regard to the kodak suit.
What I find especially bothersome is the the fact that Koday (supposedly) had these patents. They did nothing with them. Sun produced a product, hyped it, sold it, improved it and put in millions of dollars and man hours into it.
Kodak then comes in and demands money after the fact when they made no attempt to actually do anything.
I think that's crazy. Why punish the people who got off their asses and did something especially if the punisher was too lazy or stupid to actually make use of their idea.
This isn't just about sun and kodak either. Who was suing palm recently? Same thing.
Sit on your ass doing nothing, wait for somebody else to do all the work. Then sue them and retire in the bahamas. It's the american way I guess. Sure beats working.
War is necrophilia.
Sun certification does not have any effect on JBoss's functionality. As I see it, it is just a marketing matter, being able to say "This is a Sun certified J2EE App Server", so that whoever makes the decision on using it (and mainly commercial organisations) can be confident that it really does what it is supposed to do.
btw, as it is a server, it does not run on the client.
Regarding the logging and regex packages: Just because a package is less functional does not mean that it is intrinsically bad. If the package is suitable for the majority of uses by the majority of developers, then it's probably OK - after all, it's easier for someone to learn a small package rather than a large one. If you require something more specific, then you are still free to use the packages you metnioned. The JDK logging and regex packages ADD choice - surely this is a "good thing"?
.NET and the multilanguage capabilities. Neither are everything they are cracked up to be. Only the CLR and a "core" set of C# classes are open - everything else (i.e. the really useful bits that everyone needs) are not. My question - do you trust Microsoft to open these up?
:-) that Java should be Open Source / Standardised. I, like many Java developers have no instrinsic problem with this. However, there is the issue of cross-platform portability:
.Net's) current functionality.
Please take a close look at both the openess of
You mention (must have seen this somewhere before on Slashdot
Many people complained when Sun would release a JDK for Windows and Solaris that it didn't have one of Linux. Then they complained when a Linux JDK was created that it didn't come out at the same time. Now with Sun releasing all 3 JDK simeltaneously (and the likes of Apple and IBM not usually far behind), consider this:
How likely do you think this situation would be if the JCP (or something like it) was not in place? Do you really think you would be saying "As far as that... it runs GREAT on Linux. Probably the most SOLID VM I have ever run." if Java was Open Source?
Maybe it would be:
"Well the Linux version is pretty good - can't use the xyz library because that's Windows only and it will probably be out of beta only 6 months after the Windows version but hey - it's Open Source! That make me FEEL GOOD!"
What I would LOVE is to see Java open sources while ensuring that it remains cross-platform. While some would claim that open source would guantee that, it is not provable. Sun believes that there is too much risk. While you may not, agree with that you have Java that is:
a) free (as in beer)
b) you can read the source code the the whole API
c) you can change (but not distribute) the source
d) works on all major plaforms (including FreeBSD now BTW)
For me, and many other Java developers, these still place it far ahead of anything Microsoft is doing - and while Mono iterests me, its going to be a LONG time before it can match Java's (or even