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Java's Greatest Missed Opportunity?
jg21 writes "It looks like Bruce Eckel has hit the nail on the head again. No sooner did he finish stirring debate by writing about the 'departure of the Java hyper-enthusiasts,' previously discussed here on Slashdot, than he now rubs salt in the wound by highlighting in AJAXWorld Magazine how and why Java missed its golden opportunity to become the language undergirding Rich Internet Applications. He comments: 'We must ask why Java applets haven't become ubiquitous on the internet as the client-side standard for RIAs....This is an especially poignant question because Gosling and team justified rushing Java out the door (thus casting in stone many poorly-considered decisions) so that it could enable the internet revolution. That's why the AWT and Applets were thrown in at the last second, reportedly taking a month from conception to completion.'"
We must ask why Java applets haven't become ubiquitous on the internet...
So it's not enough that most community colleges and universities have Java as the primary programming language? I'm fortunate that I'm taking two classes in C++ this semester since I'm sick of Java. The instructor was good enough to offer textbooks for both courses in either C++ or Java.
The last java applet I wrote geolocated you on the globe (by your IP address), and did an 'enemy-of-the-state' style zoom-in to your city. In retrospect, I wish I'd written it in flash - it's just annoying to see a grey box for a few seconds while the applet VM initialises itself. At least in Flash, you can put a "loading..." animation up quickly.
:-]
If you want to know more about the geolocation thang - details at my blog [no adverts
Simon.
Physicists get Hadrons!
What's Javascript got to do with Java?