At recent show in New York, keynote speakers and vendors prove Java's worth through real-world apps
The Java Business Internet Expo, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City August 26-29, was billed as the first business conference that focused exclusively on Java. Unlike the JavaOne conferences held at Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco the past two years, Java Business Internet Expo targeted business executives rather than developers. There weren’t many wild parties or celebrity comedians — mostly serious sessions and demonstrations that stressed the “bottom line” (the common phrase for a return on investment). The difference between San Francisco and New York.
Sun CEO Scott McNealy delivered the first keynote address complete with examples of several Java devices. As expected, McNealy took a few jabs at Bill Gates — but not as many as he has at JavaOne. McNealy proudly showed off his Java ring, which held a button built by Dallas Semiconductor. The button is an electronic key that can unlock a door or establish the identity of the person sporting the ring. Java in a doorknob: If that’s not ubiquity, I don’t what is! What was McNealy’s message? That Java is stable and secure, and that lots of people are using it and gaining measurable benefits from it.
Steps to improving Java performance
One of the big concerns about the Java platform has been the lack of browser and tool support for JDK 1.1. To meet the challenge, Sun, Netscape, and IBM announced a commitment to co-locate engineers in a single “Java Porting and Tuning Center” located at the JavaSoft division’s headquarters in Cupertino, CA. The center will allow engineers from all three companies to work together to port new JVMs and improve performance, which is good news for developers. As we all know, JDK 1.1 contains some great technology, like RMI, but without a mainstream browser like Netscape Navigator fully supporting it, developers’ hands are tied. Plus, with JDK 1.2 coming up in the near future, this announcement comes at a good time. Some may argue that this agreement between Sun, Netscape, and IBM is a response to the recent Apple-Microsoft technology transfer announcement, but at Java Internet Business Expo, it didn’t come across that way. The Java Porting and Tuning Center is an answer to the current version problem, which, if not corrected, will only get worse.
Sun also announced the development of a Web browser JavaBean component. This browser bean will be capable of dynamically rendering HTML, something many developers and Webmasters have been requesting. An audience member asked a question about support of XML (Extensible Markup Language), but it seems Sun is waiting for XML to become a standard first.
Java gets personal
Executives from Nortel, Samsung, and Alcatel presented Personal Java (P-Java) — Java-powered Web telephones that will be released early next year. With a price point below 00, the phones are targeted at the consumer market. “Slick” is the word to describe these phones. They all had high-resolution color displays with good user interfaces. They were smaller, lighter, and in some ways, more practical than TV-based Web browsers. The phones will be able to download and execute Java applets just like desktop browsers. Of course, their class libraries are constrained by the P-Java specification. But the presence of these phones may provide a business opportunity for developers interested in creating applets targeted at the consumer. Samsung also outlined the beginnings of video over the phone. While this kind of functionality will not be available in the first commercial versions, look for it in the future.
Schmidt and Barksdale muse on the future of Java
Eric Schmidt delivered a visionary keynote outlining the direction of Novell and its commitment to Java. Eric (he prefers Eric over Dr. Schmidt) enjoys exploring the outer edges of technology, so if you want to know what’s going to happen in the years to come, listen to what he has to say. One of the main aspects to Eric’s vision is uniform directory services. Novell plans to move its IPX-based groupware to an all IP-based 100% pure Java solution. There was a question from the audience about the rumor that IBM will purchase Novell. As a response, Eric simply smiled and said “We’re not for sale.”
Probably the most entertaining and compelling keynote was given by Netscape president Jim Barksdale. If you ever have an opportunity to hear Barksdale speak, I highly recommend taking it. The combination of his southern drawl, wit, and interesting statistics gave me the impression that he knows what he is talking about. As an example of his sense of humor, Barksdale emphasized his belief in open standards, with a reference to the consistent location of the men’s room at Howard Johnson’s. It’s hard to argue with his standards logic!
The difference between Netscape and Microsoft is that Netscape supports open standards, argued Barksdale. Netscape supports open standards like CORBA, IIOP, and LDAP. Netscape also wants to give Webmasters the ability to hook together JavaBeans using JavaScript. This sounds like a great concept that will differentiate Navigator from Internet Explorer. Finally, Barksdale announced Netscape has released a browser that is fully compliant with JDK 1.1. I downloaded Communicator 4.02 for Windows 95 following the conference, but the class libraries didn’t contain the java.awt.event package. Hopefully, we will see them in a few days.
Action on the show floor: Smart cards and connectivity
At Java Internet Business Expo there weren’t as many vendor booths as there have been at the JavaOne shows, but the ones that were present demonstrated that people are using Java successfully and that Java is not just hype. One booth that held considerable interest for myself and many others was the one devoted to Sun’s Javacard. Smart cards can store personal information and perform secure financial transactions. The Javacard API will be used in smart cards developed by Schlumberger and Gemplus.
Microsoft was present on the show floor as well, demonstrating Java connectivity with ActiveX. Microsoft didn’t seem to take sides in any religious war here — it simply showed off what it’s doing with Java. In any case, Microsoft would have had a tough time arguing against open standards and a uniform operating environment.
Got an enterprise problem? Solve it with Java!
Several technology strategists from large organizations described their unique enterprise challenges and how Java has solved their problems. The Copeland Companies (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Travelers Group) use Java for 401(k)/403(b) retirement planning. For online banking, First Tennessee chose a three-tier Java architecture over a two-tier HTML/CGI solution. Hongkong Telecom used Java in conjunction with CORBA to support its video-on-demand services. Mt. Sinai Medical Center developed a Java-based system for record keeping that handles the organization’s multiple platforms and reduces support costs. Ontario Colleges chose Java to provide centralized application processing. Other organizations at the show that are using Java include the Food and Drug Administration and CSX Technology. The above companies emphasized the virtues of Java, pointing in particular to reduced development costs, low maintenance, and open standards. The strategists were pleased with the results of adopting Java for its applications, and in many cases, Java exceeded their expectations.
Get the message
The focus at Java Internet Business Expo was clear: create 100% pure Java applications, and support open standards. Java is here, Java works, and Java will be in your doorknob, your telephone, and your back pocket. These statements did not all come from Sun. Much of the excitement over Java originated from licensees and organizations that have deployed or are deploying large Java-based systems for their enterprises. I walked away from the show with a feeling that there is an incredible opportunity for all of us in the computing industry. It seems that every Java conference represents another step forward for Java. Java Internet Business Expo proved to be one huge step.
