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Sun's JDIC And JDNC: A Cross-Platform ActiveX?

Posted by timothy on from the sun-is-busy dept.

Espectr0 writes "eWeek is reporting that last week, Sun Microsystems Inc. licensed a pair of the underlying technologies of the Java Desktop System under the open-source LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License). The two projects, JDNC (JDesktop Network Components) and JDIC (JDesktop Integration Components), are essentially to Java application developers what Microsoft's ActiveX and COM were to Windows developers--an architecture for creating easily configured application components and for integrating with the functionality of the local operating system and other applications."

2 of 28 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not Quite by Decaff · · Score: 4, Insightful

    JDNC/JDIC means you're stuck on Java (but without real, viable choice on the language).

    Well, considering how widely used Java is, its a lot better than being stuck on Windows.

    Anyway, who says you are stuck with Java? There are dozens of languages available on the Java VM, including Python, LISP, Basic, Prolog, Smalltalk, Groovy, Ada, Forth, Pascal, Modula-2, Oberon and COBOL.

    The fundamental problem (IMHO) is that desktop component integration is limited to a single desktop.

    It isn't. Just because its using code from a library labelled 'jdesktop' does not mean that it is in any way restricted to Java Desktop - if you read about it you will see it will work with any Java client system - application, Applet, or WebStart, on any platform.

    but will I ever have (or need?) component integration across the three?

    You have it automatically, as the system is portable.

  2. Re:repeat after me - Java is *not* cross platform by Decaff · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It may have a few platforms but ubiquitous it isn't

    Java is on at least Windows, .Net, MacOS, MacOS/X, Linux 32-bit, Linux 64-bit, BSD, OS/2 (yes, OS/2!), PalmOS, DG/UX, Tru64, OpenVMS, Reliant Unix, BS2000, HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, OS/390, OS/400, VM/ESA, Netware, Oracle embedded, DYNIX, Irix, Symbian, QNX, VxWorks, NextStep, OpenStep, OSF/1, DOS, AtheOS, RISC OS, ARMLinux, EPOC, GCOS, Windows CE, Psion Series 5, Plan 9, Sony Playstation (!).

    How would you define 'few'?

    but ubiquitous it isn't.

    Java is pre-installed on 60-70% of all new PCs. The number of JRE kits manually downloaded from Sun's site alone is in the tens of millions. There are well over a 100,000,000 mobile phones out there with embedded java.

    How would you define 'ubiquitous'?