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.