Keeping you abreast of the ever-changing Java world
Index of news briefs
ARIS releases Java database connectivity classes
Brother teams with Oracle on NC
Microsoft announces beta distribution of
New Netscape Navigator incorporates JIT for WindowsObjectshare announces UI components for Java
ParcPlace-Digitalk releases Java development tool
Sun to acquire Lighthouse Design
Sun’s Baratz sees Java everywhere
VanillaSearch makes Java pattern-matching easy
ARIS Corp. released Database Workbench, Java classes that provide database connectivity with any ODBC-compliant database. Database Workbench allows developers to build applications that provide full use of data contained in any ODBC-compliant database including Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, and Informix. Database Workbench is available for 99 and can be downloaded from the company’s Web site.
http://www.ariscorp.co m/product/workbench.html
In an effort to boost its browser’s Java performance, Netscape has incorporated Borland’s just-in-time (JIT) compiler into the latest version of Netscape Navigator for Windows 95/NT. The company has yet to announce release plans that include JIT support for other platforms. The browser’s main competition, Microsoft Internet Explorer, is expected to be released with JIT support next week. Netscape 3.0 beta 5 is available for download from Netscape’s FTP site.
Features list: https://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/3.0/relnotes/windows-3.0b5.html
FTP site: ftp://ftp2.netscape. com/pub/navigator/3.0/3.0b5/
Brother International Corp., maker of dedicated word processors, announced that it will work with Oracle Corp. to develop a network computer. Under the agreement, Brother will build products based on Oracle’s so-called NC Reference Profile 1 that allow users to access the Internet as well as perform word processing, the company said. The products will be targeted at the consumer market. Further details of the products and their availability were not released. –Rob Guth, IDG News Service
Sun Microsystems plans to buy Lighthouse Design Ltd., a vendor of object-oriented development and productivity tools, said Sun’s Scott McNealy during his keynote presentation at PC Expo in New York. “We think objects are here for sure now,” said McNealy, president, CEO, and chairman of Sun. “We have acquired a very excellent design team.”
McNealy did not disclose the amount of the transaction. Sun sees Lighthouse Design’s offerings as enhancing and extending Sun’s object technologies, said McNealy, who pointed out that Lighthouse’s products are already OpenStep-compliant. OpenStep is NeXT Software Inc.’s object-oriented development environment that the company has promised will run on multiple operating systems including Windows 95 and Windows NT; Sun is porting OpenStep to its Solaris operating system.
Lighthouse Design, based in San Mateo, California, will be an independent business unit and will report to chief technology officer Eric Schmidt. Lighthouse Design’s CEO Jonathan Schwartz will become general manager of that business unit.
Sun will incur a one-time charge for purchased R&D in the fourth quarter that is not expected to exceed US$.10 per share as a result of this transaction, according to a company statement. –Sari Kalin, IDG News Service
Microsoft has made available its beta program for its Visual J++ Java development tool. This “professional edition” software is designed to allow developers — novices and experts alike — to create applications that take advantage of Java’s capabilities. Visual J++ lets programmers debug applets in the context of the browser, as well as making it possible to debug multiple applets on the same Web page and debug at the bytecode level. The Visual J++ source compiler provides a speed of more than one million lines of code per minute.
Using Visual J++, programmers can extend their Java applications with components created in a variety of other programming languages that support the ActiveX specification.
Microsoft’s beta version of Visual J++ is free of charge and is available over the Internet. –J.S.
Sun Microsystems’ plan for Java is simple: Where there’s a computer, there’s Java. Sun plans to make Java the worldwide programming standard, with the JavaOS and Java applications running on PCs, network computers, personal information devices, and even digital telephones. “Our goal is to have Java working on every operating system in the industry as extensively and efficiently as C is today,” said Alan Baratz, CEO of Sun’s JavaSoft division, speaking in a keynote address at the recent Internet Expo in Chicago. “We’re going to have Java on anything that looks, smells, or feels like a computer.”
Baratz also alluded to JavaSoft’s plans to market Java products worldwide through localization and an international marketing plan. An international version of the Java Developers Kit due at the end of 1996 will support non-English character sets such as Japanese and Arabic.
At a later, unspecified date, JavaSoft plans to localize its APIs and HotJava browser into several European and Asian languages, according to David Spenhoff, director of product marketing for JavaSoft.
Baratz defined the JavaSoft strategy as a four-part plan: making Java a comprehensive platform with continued development of JavaOS, Java Beans, the Java chip, and HotJava; making Java ubiquitous in the industry; developing new applications, including media, enterprise, security, and commerce APIs; and increasing profitablity of the JavaSoft division, with plans to be in the black by 1998. –Kristi Essick, IDG News Service
VanillaSearch makes Java pattern-matching easy
Thought Inc. released VanillaSearch, an off-the-shelf search class for Java. VanillaSearch provides powerful pattern-matching search capability, using industry-standard regular expression syntax, derived from Unix grep and Perl syntax. VanillaSearch understands Java data types, such as String and char, and supports programmer-configurable META characters, wildcard searching, boolean logic, patterns, and searchable data of any length. The product is built for Java, and works with Java developers kits and run-time environments on any platform. A 30-day evaluation copy is available for download from the company’s Web site.
Objectshare announces UI components for Java
Objectshare Systems, Inc. announced jKit/Grid, a set of grid and table UI components for use in Java. JKit/Grid consists of a series of Java classes that provide scrolling grid controls and related cell editors. They are based on classes in the Java abstract windowing toolkit, are completely portable, and can be used to build Java applets and applications. The product is due for release this August. A beta version of jKit/Grid is available for free download from the company’s Web site.
ParcPlace-Digitalk releases Java development tool
ParcPlace-Digitalk, Inc. announced the availability of PARTS for Java, a visual development tool for building Java applets and applications. According to the company, the product gives developers a graphical development environment, the ability to construct and understand Java code, and an easily extensible system for adding new components. Features include a browser, for browsing and editing source code and class hierarchies; an open tool set, for selecting compilers and other tools; and an editor, for creating and maintaining Java classes.
