New Desktop Features Of Next Java

bonch writes "Sun has posted the new desktop features of the next Java, codename Mustang. Improvements to Swing look and feel, OpenGL 2D renderer performance, AWT features such as the ability to add a tray/panel icon, and improved deployment capabilities."

Comments

Re:Java Desktop

[REggert]

I'm no Java fanboi, but these are some the classical advantages of Java over other languages:

• The compiled code is completely (well, almost) platform-independent, eliminating the need to port or even recompile code when moving between platforms. This can be especially handy for GUI's, as it gets around the problem of different windowing systems having their own mutually exclusive API's. Write and compile your interface once, and it can be run on any machine that has a JVM installed, whether it be Windows, Mac, XFree86, or whatever.
• It's ALMOST as fast (and in many cases just as fast) as C code. Additionally, it compiles much faster than C, though C binaries make up for it with substantially shorter load times (Java has been improving in this regard recently, however).
• The language is designed to avoid some of the "problems" in C and C++.
• Java provides free (in terms of effort) garbage collection, which (usually) prevents memory leaks.
• Java applets can run in web browser. This allows websites to provide visitors to their sites with custom mini-applications to provide various functionality or visual effects. One of the major benefits to this (especially when combined with the use of application servers) is that a large organization can install all their software in a central place and allow its users to access it from any machine just by using their web browsers.

There are others, but these are the ones that immediately come to mind for me.

I'm a C++ coder myself, but I do appreciate Java's value for certain situations.

Re:Additional items

[SnprBoB86]

You can allocate as much memory as you like using the right java command line flags:

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Java/Re fe rence/Java14VMOptions/VM_Options/chapter_1_section _4.html

Re:Sun actually listening to developers-java.net

[AKAImBatman]

java.com is the user's site that plays up stupid mobile games and the like.

java.net is the "Network of developers" who are creating useful (and useless) software.

64-bit support is done!

[Wesley Felter]

64-bit Java VMs have been available for SPARC64, PPC64, and AMD64 for ages.

Re:64-bit pointers

[AKAImBatman]

Exactly. So why is Sun dragging its feet on porting its virtual machine for the Java language to the AMD64 platform?

What are you talking about?!? Go to http://java.sun.com and click on "J2SE 5.0". Then click on "JDK 5.0 Update 2" and accept the license agreement. Right there are four packages for AMD64. (Two for Linux, two for Solaris.)

Stop spreading FUD.

Re:Additional items

[Decaff]

I don't get it. If sun was responsible for 64-bit computers being commonplace, how come Java doesn't support 64 bits?

Who says it doesn't?

Go to javasoft.com, and check the downloads. You can get Java for 64-bit Linux on AMD and 64-bit Solaris on Sparc and AMD.

Re:As someone who develops Java desktop apps...

[aCapitalist]

Despite the technical superiorty of Qt Sun will not use it to draw widgets because (A) Sun uses Gnome for its desktop and (B) the dual-licensing scheme of Qt.

And I don't know where you get this information about KDE/Qt having more momentum. If anything, it's the other way around. Sun, RedHat, and Novell (the 3 biggest Linux shops) are all going with Gnome. Yeah, I know about Suse and KDE, but if you look at the resources being invested it's all Gnome/Mono.

Until Trolltech gets bought out, the license issues surrounding Qt are unlikely to go away.

Re:As someone who develops Java desktop apps...

[Hulfs]

What's wrong with doing:

new JFormattedTextField(NumberFormat.getIntegerInstanc e());

Seems to work fine for me. Uses the default locale's integer formatter. See Sun's Tutorial