Learn all about 100% Pure Java certification — for free!
The Center for Software Development (CSD) is hosting 100% Pure Java Pre-Certification Day, the first event in their BrewFest for Java series, on August 6. This free event allows participants to spend a day with experts from JavaSoft and Key Labs learning why 100% Pure Java is significant and how the certification process works.
The Brewfest event includes presentations and hands-on time in the lab, and boasts such luminaries as Ann Winlad and Roger Hayes. Heck, they’re even serving up refreshments.
Registration is open to all who are interested, but space is limited. Call 408-494-8378 or visit the CSD Web site for more information.
HAHT to add Java support to IDE
Version 3.0 of HAHT Software’s HAHTsite Integrated Internet Development System offers:
- Complete Java integration
- A distributed application server that supports clusters of Windows NT and Unix servers
- A two-pass report writer
- Database form and master/detail wizards
- Native database connectivity for Oracle7, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase SQL Server, and Informix Online and SE
With HAHTsite 3.0, developers can still use their Visual Basic skills to create Java code. The tool supports server-side JavaBeans, client-side JavaScript and applets, as well as a Java editor, JDBC, JDK 1.0 and 1.1, and Java compilers.
HAHTsite 3.0’s new Distributed Application Server enables multiple processors and servers to run simultaneously to form application server clusters for high-capacity Web applications. This configuration also permits the Application Server to execute on a different system than the Web server, providing an added layer of security with data and applications kept behind a firewall.
Developers should be able to get HAHTsite by the third quarter of ’97. The IDE costs ,995 per user; the Application Server costs ,995 per server CPU for NT, and ,995 for Unix. The IDE runs under Windows 95 and NT 3.51 or 4.0. The HAHTsite Application Server runs under Windows NT 3.51 or later, Solaris 2.4 or later, AIX 4.1 or later, or HP-UX 10.x or later. A beta version will be available soon; check the HAHT site for details.
IBM and Gemplus work together on smart cards
IBM has joined smart-card manufacturer Gemplus Corp. for joint marketing, sales, and development of smart cards and applications. The agreement will cover the development of multi-application cards for electronic commerce, and both companies said they were committed to Java and other open standards.
At press time, the companies declined to comment on the nature of the applications or the timeline for production.
Zona Research answers the question “Why buy NCs?”
In the NC market, Java extends rather than replaces.
According to Greg Blatnik, a VP at Zona Research, price is not the driving force behind people’s desire to own an NC. Guess what is? Give up? The NC’s best selling point is its ability to access many different platform’s applications — from Windows to mainframe legacy applications.
Also, Blatnik delivered the latest predictions on the NC market. Zona expects the total market for NCs to hit 78 million by the year 2000, with 3.8 million units expected this year. The company also predicts that the consumer market will account for 2 million NC shipments this year and 70 million in 2000.
In a Zona study commissioned by Softbank Forums for its upcoming Java Internet Business Expo (in New York City, August 25 through 28, 1997), more than 75 percent of the sample (279 companies currently or with immediate plans to deploy Java, each with 250 or more users) replied that they will use Java to make application interfaces Web-able and make legacy data accessible to front office workers within a year.
The study, “Java in the Enterprise,” indicates that companies see Java as a way of extending current applications, not replacing them. Zona chief analyst Clay Ryder said, “What this [study] indicates is that Java is being used to extend existing application functionality and create new applications. Companies see it as incredibly important that Java be used to leverage existing applications; it’s not a rip-and-replace strategy.”
And for NCs: 46 percent said their companies were likely or very likely to create an NCnet, but Java was not the main incentive behind accepting the NC concept.
For more info on this study, contact Zona Research.
Centra Software introduces Web-based virtual classroom
Symposium, Centra Software’s Java-based enterprise application, enables the delivery of live, instructor-led training and self-paced learning through the Internet and corporate intranets. This app seeks to replace and extend the physical classroom, thereby eliminating costly travel while leveraging existing corporate communications infrastructure, the openness of the Web, and the wide reach of the ‘Net.
Written entirely in Java, Symposium integrates a range of learning methods in one browser-based environment. Users can choose to learn through actual instructors and real-time group collaboration, or they can opt for self-paced, computer-based training, and asynchronous threaded discussion groups.
A live classroom experience is simulated with functions for synchronized viewing of multimedia content, integrated real-time audio streaming, text chat, and shared whiteboard. Through “Body Language” participants can raise their hands, respond “yes” or “no,” and provide instant feedback to the group regarding the pace and comprehension of the material being presented. Other features are online breakout sessions and role-playing, auto-graded quizzing with statistical feedback on overall class performance, and the ability to conduct “Web Safaris.” These are guided tours of relevant content on the Web, given by instructors during group discussions.
Centra’s “Symposium Course Builder” facilitates the rapid migration and sequencing of new and existing training media into the Symposium online learning environment. It assists with the preparation and assembly of training content and course structure for the online course syllabus. With “Choreography” those who design courses can customize the structure and control of the online session, including microphone-passing and whiteboard control.
Introductory pricing for Symposium is set at 5,000 per server for 50 concurrent users, and includes one Symposium Course Builder license, and unlimited free download of Symposium client applets. Additional Symposium Course Builder licenses are available at the introductory price of ,995.
Product glance: Resonate Dispatch 2.0 scheduler for IP services
Resonate’s Dispatch 2.0 can schedule Web and other IP traffic to a group of servers that can be located anywhere in the world. This version also adds support for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) by connecting SSL users to the same server that holds the information about their sessions. Version 2.0 also has an enhanced Java-based GUI that measures performance and checks resource availability.
Dispatch 2.0 starts at ,995, and runs on Solaris and Windows NT servers.
HDS/Neoware delivers ultra-thin desktop and new NC OS
HDS Network Systems (or Neoware Systems, its new name as of August 1) is debuting its first ultra-thin desktop network computer, the NeoStation. NeoStation, with a very small footprint (2.1 inches wide by 7 inches long), is designed to run all applications on various kinds of central servers. It also provides a plug-in upgrade that gives users integrated Internet access to Netscape Navigator, a Java virtual machine, Unix, and enterprise systems.
The NeoStation is expected to come in at 49. That includes a keyboard and mouse.
The company also is showing off the latest version of its network computer operating system, netOS 3.0. The netOS for Windows Terminals version is included in the NeoStation price. The netOS for the Enterprise and netOS for Intranets are sold as upgrades for 0 and 5, respectively.
NeoStations can be customized. In fact, Hitachi Data Systems (the new HDS) has decided it will be selling custom versions of NeoStation and licensing netOS.
The NeoStation and netOS 3.0 are available now.
- NeoStation: https://www.neoware.com/neo_ppt.html
- NetOS 3.0: https://www.neoware.com/netOSpaper.htmlq
JavaSpaces technology: Coordinating parallel processing
JavaSoft has started alpha-testing technology called JavaSpaces by sending code to less than 100 testers. According to senior engineer Jim Waldo at JavaSoft, JavaSpaces is designed to take some of the work out of writing distributed Java applications by building on the remote method invocation (RMI) and InterORB Protocols (IIOP). It gives programmers a place to store Java objects so they are available to developers at different locations and at different times. JavaSpaces is similar to the Linda programming model, which uses technology called “tuple spaces” for the coordination of parallel programming processes.
Waldo also notes that while JavaSpaces is similar to whiteboards, it’s more than that. “The technology gives you an anonymous RPC (remote procedure call) mechanism. It includes a two-phase commit notion. It could be used as something between an object filesystem and database.”
JavaSoft is not sure how (or even if) its “experiment in persistence and distribution” will be eased into the product market.
Information on JavaSpaces can be found at JavaSoft’s Web site:
https://chatsubo.javasoft.com/javaspaces/
Bentley licenses JVM for its CAD products
Bentley Systems Inc. has licensed the Java virtual machine (JVM) from Sun to incorporate into its MicroStation/J edition upgrade. MicroStation/J is Bentley’s CAD software package.
The JVM will be linked to MicroStation/J’s ProActiveM VM, and should give Bentley product users the ability to build reusable applets, reuse enterprise applets, and share CAD models throughout the enterprise. The upgrade is expected to ship in the first quarter of ’98, and pricing has not yet been determined. Bentley also intends to add Java capabilities to its ModelServer middleware.
(Java) Chips ahoy!
Java’s such a hot commodity that, of course, chip manufacturers are covering their bets by either optimizing microprocessors for Java or by creating specialized Java chips. First Sun came in with the picoJava core CPU and the microJava chips. Then National Semiconductor optimized its inexpensive NS486 to run Java and C. And Digital joined the group by touting the StrongARM as a perfect Java processor.
Now, Patriot Scientific jumps on the wagon with its PSC1000 CPU, a 32-bit, 100MHz RISC processor that can do 100 native MIPS, address 4 gigabytes of memory, and support virtual memory. Patriot designed the chip for high-volume embedded applications, such as NC and Internet devices.
The PSC1000 doesn’t execute Java instructions directly (like pico- and microJavas), so Patriot is working with JavaSoft to develop a JIT compiler for the chip. The PSC1000 already has a working C compiler.
Martin McClurg, chip development director at Patriot, expects excellent performance from the PSC1000. He cites the fact that about 38 percent of the chip’s operating codes match Java operating codes.
The CPU and Java software are sampling now, and Patriot expects them to be available in volume in the fourth quarter.
Sun has already started delivering picoJava core info to its high-volume manufacturing partners (such as LG Semicon), and Sun-designed Java chips are expected by late 97-early 98, according to Dhaval Ajmera, Sun’s Java processor marketing director. He said Sun’s aim is to “flood the market with Java chips.”
Joe Salvador, senior marketing manager at National Semiconductor, noted that besides the inexpensive price point for their NS486 (5 per in volume), the chip can use existing x86 drivers, which would relieve lots of peripherals and software headaches, and allow National to get the chips to volume market quickly. (National Semiconductor’s version of the NC uses the Odin reference design, incorporating a National Ethernet chip, a Trident graphics controller, and a Rockwell audio system and modem. Digital, Sun, IBM, Oracle, et al., loosely follow the NCRef1 design for their NC devices. Microsoft and other PC makers follow the NetPC design.)
StructureBuilder 1.0 for Java — new development tool
Tendril Software has launched StructureBuilder 1.0 for Java, a tool that lets developers visually create object models, the data structures or relationships embodied in them, and then generate the underlying Java code for components and applications.
StructureBuilder automatically generates a dynamic graphic of the object model and data structures from the Java source code and displays the graphic and code together, making it easy for teams of developers to follow the evolutionary path of an object model. The graphic changes with every change to the code.
StructureBuilder can work as a standalone product, or it can be integrated into other Java integrated development environments (IDEs). It also features on-the-fly reverse engineering. The code generated is based on the JDK 1.1.
StructureBuilder 1.0 is available now for 95. Developers should be able to get it from some resellers and from Tendril directly.
Lotus SmartSuite 98 will have Java components
Lotus announced that it intends to use the technology resources of its parent IBM to create hybrid suites programs by integrating Kona Java-based applets into full desktop SmartSuite. Of what use would the hybrid suites be? “If you’re a knowledge worker who lives in your spreadsheet but needs to take occasional notes, you don’t need a full word processor. What you want is a text applet along with your spreadsheet,” Heidi Votaw, SmartSuite product manager, said. “The spreadsheet becomes a container for the word processing applet.” And the Infobus technology (part of Kona) will be upgraded so that data can be exchanged between the full program and the applets. The suite also gets some ActiveX component technology.
New features to look for in SmartSuite 98: license management, software distribution, and software update capabilities. Also, the suite’s WordPro word processor will incorporate continuous speech recognition, according to Penny Scharfman, senior marketing manager for Lotus.
Continuous speech recognition lets a speaker input the spoken words to the software without pausing between words. Lotus is also developing speech recognition for its spreadsheet program, said Votaw.
SmartSuite users will have access to IBM’s business library archives, where they can search for information on business topics from more than 30,000 resources via the SmartCenter interface. Users will receive an abstract on the search results. They will be charged for downloading the complete file of information, if it is not available on the Web site.
SmartSuite 98 will be beta testing during the fourth quarter of ’97. The company expects to ship product in the first half of 1998.
MindQ creates JBuilder tutorial for Borland
Following earlier news of a application-specific tutorial for IBM’s VisualAge for Java, MindQ is now doing tutorial software for Borland’s JBuilder visual development tool suite, called “An Introduction To Java Programming Using Borland JBuilder.”
JBuilder is Borland’s component-based development tool designed to create Java applications.
CA pledges more support for Java
Computer Associates International announced it will increase integration and support efforts between its system-management technology, Unicenter TNG, and Java.
CA is planning to deliver intelligent agents, written in Java, to monitor and manage the Java virtual machine and JavaStation. CA also plans to create management options for Sun’s Java-based Netra J server as a Unicenter TNG management option. And, CA will be joining the Java Management API (JMAPI) initiative.
Sun’s Scott McNealy said, “With CA behind it, JMAPI is done.”
Sun, however, will not be bundling Unicenter on its hardware, as Hewlett-Packard announced it would do.
The JavaCard 2.0 draft is almost available
JavaSoft has released the JavaCard 2.0 draft specification, a set of standards for Java-based smart cards. The spec provides developers with a common set of APIs to create smart cards that tie into Internet applications and desktops. The specs are in the final stages of development and testing.
“The specifications are in the hands of our licensees right now and a selected group of others,” said David Spenhoff, JavaSoft product marketing director. “As soon as we get the comments in then we’ll publish it.” The version 2.0 will add refinements in support of 16- and 32-bit card chips, improved authentication capabilities, greater ability for cards and readers to interface with each other, and better applet loading. The specification will also allow for greater support for foreign languages and general infrastructure improvement to the card itself.
JavaSoft to ship Java Developer Companion CD
JavaSoft will ship its 0 Java Developer Companion CD-ROM this fall. The JDC includes the Java Developers Kit 1.1 and several books. And it’s the first shrink-wrapped Java product from JavaSoft.
Other products to follow? JavaSoft also plans to sell the Java Web Server (currently a free download) for 00 this fall. The company also has plans for a shrink-wrapped JavaPC (the product Sun tweaked Microsoft’s and Intel’s noses with), which turns a 386- or 486-based PC into a network computer.
Siemens licenses Java for smart cards
Siemens Semiconductors is licensing Java technology to use in a new generation of smart card chips. The new chips are intended for a variety of applications, such as banking, Internet commerce, mobile communications, and health care records. One of the company’s goals by incorporating Java into its smart card chips is to speed the acceptance and use of the card technology in the U.S.
Smart cards are already replacing currency in some arenas in Europe, such as for pay phones, vending machines, toll booths — and in some areas, they not only replace cash, but provide records. For instance, users can purchase airline tickets using smart cards and update and store their frequent flyer miles at the time of purchase.
Ulrich Hamann, GM/VP of Siemens Chip Card ICs, said, “The Java-enabled chip technology increases the information capacity of the chips. Consequently, it allows for more information and additional functions to be included, all on the same smart card.” Jonathan Cassell, an analyst with Dataquest, added, “The smart card is undergoing a transition from being a simple, single-purpose device that interfaces to standalone equipment, to being a complex, multi-application platform that is an integral part of computer and telecommunications networks.”
Siemens’ new smart card chip will be based on its high-end, 16-bit core Triple E line, the SLE66CXXs. The chip will offer a bilingual instruction set for 8051 and Java code, and it will be optimized to directly execute Java applications on the JavaCard platform. Expect volume shipments by the middle of 1998.
IBM delivers SF Project components
IBM is ready to go with components of its San Francisco project. The SF Project is a framework for delivering Java-based business applications on legacy systems. IBM announced the three components — basic services, a common business objects layer, and a business application framework — on July 23 at Summer Internet World. The components are scheduled to ship this month.
The SF Project’s main thrust is to license ISVs with common Java-based services, so each can concentrate on specific features and applications. Joe Damassa, marketing director for the SF Project, said, “We’re not building competing technology to what they [ISVs] sell. This lets them focus on differentiation technologies, so they don’t have create the common business components.”
IBM’s San Francisco services will include Java versions of common application components, such as general ledger, accounts payable, customer definition, and other services. The first service will be a general ledger app. IBM also announced a group of independent software vendors partners that support the San Francisco code.
The Windows NT and AIX versions should ship in August, with an AS/400 Java VM to enter beta testing in the fourth quarter of ’97.
Java Media Frameworks APIs coming soon
JavaSoft plans to release the overdue Java Media Frameworks (developed with Intel and Silicon Graphics) APIs this quarter. The JMF APIs let ISVs write media-full apps one time, then run them on any platform.
What slowed the release of these APIs? Problems with the spatial audio portion of the spec and the lengthy API certification process, according to Sun sources.
But Barbara Dawson, Intel software strategy director, tells a slightly different story. “We’re disappointed [because] we’ve been ready to ship [JMF] for months, but we haven’t been able to because we’re waiting for them [Sun] to freeze the spec.” Without having a set specification, developers would risk compatibility problems between platforms. She added that Intel would have released JMF 1.0 in early 1997, but was held back by Sun.
JMF components include standard 2D and 3D graphics, video, audio, Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), animation, and telephony APIs. JavaSoft’s implementation of JMF is not expected to increase Java performance, but Intel’s implementation is expected to, since Intel is making its MMX instruction set available to Java ISVs.
Look for some early apps built on the JMF APIs to demo at Siggraph in August.
PersonalJava specs posted
Sun has posted specifications for PersonalJava, the low-end Java API tool designed for embedded devices. PersonalJava is scheduled to be released to developers by the end of 1997, following a 60-day review process and additional development, said Alice Farrelly, senior product marketing manager for Embedded Java/PersonalJava.
“Java was originally developed as a control language for an embedded device, so — similar to Java — PersonalJava contains core and optional APIs,” Farrelly said. “Java today is mostly found in desktop machines, but a lot more [embedded] chips run in dedicated devices in the world.”
PersonalJava will run on devices that use low-end 50MHz microprocessors with 1- to 2 megabytes of ROM. It won’t include an OS, but instead will be highly portable to operating environments. It could work alongside, say, Microsoft’s Windows CE.
Pure Atria releases Visual Quantify code profiler
Pure Atria Inc. is releasing Visual Quantify, a Java code profiling tool. Profilers let developers collect performance data on various parts of an application to determine where the app is slow and where most of the activity is. For a language like Java, a profiler is important, since performance has been a major issue in the development of Java.
Visual Quantify is a single programming interface capability that can separately profile Java and C++ code modules in a user’s application. The network is treated as a black box (even though network-related delays are measurable). And client and server sides are measured separately.
“Productivity gains vary all over the map, but judging from our C/C++ product on Unix, you could estimate 20 percent to 50 percent performance improvements,” said Pam Roussos, vice president and general manager of Pure Atria.
Visual Quantify should be available for Windows NT now, at a cost of 50 for a single user and 48 for a bundle with a year of upgrades and support.
Where to find Java-based Web servers
So far, despite Java’s meteoric popularity, there is only one good example of a Java Web server — 7 megabytes of code from JavaSoft, called the Java Web Server 1.0.
The Java Web Server supports rolling log files and secure transactions through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and it includes a proxy server. The Server also contains servlets — small Java apps that extend server functions, such as servlets that display date and time and the contents of the access logs, and one that queries databases. Developers get Servlet API documentation and the Java Servlet Development Kit.
You can use Java Web Server free for 120 days. All you need is a Java-enabled browser. After your 120 test days, the Server costs 95 (with SSL support) and 5 (without SSL support).
The Java Web Server runs on Windows NT 4.0, 95, and Solaris 2.4 without much tinkering. (Various degrees of tinkering are required for other platforms — first you need the Java VM for the other platforms. Be prepared to configure shell scripts and recompile applications.)
- Java Web Server: https://jserv.javasoft.com/
- Tips for getting a Java Web server up and running: https://www.comoc.com/jeeves-faq
How to make a fortune in Java tool development
Even though everyone doubts whether people can make a fortune on Web-related activities, some have found a way to strike it rich as Java tool developers. But it’s not from selling the tools — it’s from selling the company.
Ken Cooper and Ted Peters (of Cooper & Peters Inc.) recently discovered this when they sold their tiny Java development firm to Microsoft for an undisclosed sum (rumored to be in excess of 0 million). IBM and Sun were among the bidders for the company. In May, Microsoft purchased Dimension X, a San Francisco-based Java multimedia shop. And earlier this year, Sun bought Longview Technologies for 9 million. Longview Technologies specializes in virtual-machine code Sun plans to use to increase Java’s performance.
Why are all the big Java players so willing to scoop up little Java shops? To gain a timely edge (time is very important) in the competitive Java market. Not to mention it’s easier to buy technology than it is to create it.
Richard Fleischman, Netscape senior product manager, put it this way: “The infrastructure [of Java programming] is being built right now, and once it’s built, people are going to use it for a long time. Sometimes there’s an advantage to buying something quickly and getting it out there, even if it’s not the most elegant piece of code.”
John Slitz, object technology and application development marketing VP at IBM, added, “The cost of dallying around and building something yourself might be too high right now. [And] what’s different with Java is that there is a higher probability that what you buy will be useful.”
And Ted Peters reminds developers that software development is “kind of a funny thing, but you really can’t throw people at a software problem. It turns out that two people is a good number — it’s enough so you don’t go out and do something stupid by yourself, but you also don’t have a lot of baggage.”
Tektronix announces three NC systems
Tektronix has announced three NCRef-compliant systems, collectively called the series. The NC200 thin clients will use the NEC R4300 MIPS RISC CPUs, 10baseT Ethernet connections, Navio’s browser, and an ICA client. The systems are expected to range between 95 to ,495 in price.
But this doesn’t mean Tektronix has decided to become an NCRef1 booster only. The company is still waiting to see how its potential customers will respond to the upcoming offering from Microsoft, the Windows-based terminal and the multi-user operating system, Hydra. “We are still trying to understand the market for a product that accesses only the Windows environment,” said Lee Rainey, Tektronix program director. “Our customers tell us they are trying to access multiple environments.”
Microsoft makes new attempt to control NC market
Microsoft has released details on its own coming NC alternative, the Windows-based terminals (WBTs). WBTs are Microsoft’s newest attempt to grab control of the NC market, adding a more direct NC competitor to its NetPC efforts. WBTs will be display terminals with no local storage that use the T.Share transfer protocol (as opposed to ICA) and will probably use Windows CE (in ROM) as the local OS.
The Java VM and browser won’t run locally but on an NT server. The WBT will be memory-upgradable, will have remote-boot capabilities, and should support Ethernet and wireless.
IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky said, “They [Microsoft] want to get control of the NC rapidly before it gets away from them. Things that are built to run with a browser or a Java machine can no longer be controlled [by Microsoft].”
Boundless, HP, NCD, and Wyse are already committed to building Microsoft-technology ultra-thin clients, even though the final specs aren’t in.
NetFactory’s NetCharts 2.0 gets pure Java cert
NetFactory Inc. announced that its NetCharts 2.0 HTML-configurable, business-charting package has received the 100% Pure Java certification from Sun. To meet the certification criteria, NetCharts 2.0 was written in Java only, it doesn’t use native method calls, and it does use Core Java specifications and Pure Libraries.
NetFactory president Matt Young commented that “This certification demonstrates that NetCharts 2.0 is the most robust and portable charting package in the market today. Our dedication to the Java standard ensures our users the highest level of quality in building applications containing charting components.”
NetCharts is a collection of business and engineering charts for Internet and intranet applications that can be used within either HTML documents or as standalone Java apps.
Inso Corp.’s International ProofReader receives pure Java cert
Inso Corp. has announced that its International ProofReader for Java has received the 100% Pure Java certification from Sun. And, the now-available version 1.1 of the software, ships as a self-contained JavaBean.
International ProofReader for Java 1.1 corrects capitalization, hyphenation, punctuation, and other errors; it also contains a spell-checking facility. Version 1.1 is delivered with a JavaBean interface that allows developers to use simple drag-and-drop capability to integrate its capabilities with other programs. It is available initially for American, British, and Australian (which are not exactly the same language). In addition to an 180,000-entry English dictionary, it includes a personal dictionary that lets users add words. Along with the more standard grammar/style functions, it also contains an acronym manager (PC or P.C.) and a hard hyphenation function.
The software supports Microsoft J++, Symantec Cafe, and the Solaris and Windows 95/NT versions of the JDK.
TRADE’ex Distributor and Market Maker get pure Java cert
TRADE’ex Electronic Commerce Systems announced that TRADE’ex Distributor and TRADE’ex Market Maker have both been awarded the 100% Pure Java certification. Distributor is a Java application that allows medium-to-large wholesale distribution companies to conduct secure, commercial-level extranet and intranet transactions through Web sites, offering such facilities as electronic catalogs, client-customized price lists, and order negotiating and processing forms. Market Maker lets organizations create a virtual marketplace by connecting a trusted community of buyers and sellers.
Daniel Aegerter, TRADE’ex CEO said, “We are extremely pleased to receive this certification. It represents a significant benefit for our customers because it assures them that our applications adhere to the specifications established by Sun Microsystems for the Java programming language and that their investment in TRADE’ex e-commerce applications will be compatible throughout their enterprise regardless of hardware platform.”
Lotus head commits to Java at Internet World
At the recent Internet World, Lotus President Jeffrey Papows commented that Lotus is writing whole generations of its product line in 100 percent Java. In his keynote address, he urged the IT industry to stick to a pure Java interface definition language for object brokers, since it is likely that both Microsoft’s Distributed COM (DCOM) and CORBA will both remain viable.
Papows said it is critical for vendors to optimize products for both Application Foundation Class (AFC) and Internet Foundation Class (IFC) libraries. He predicted that if both of those requirements are met, and with Intel’s weight behind Java, the language stands a 50 percent chance of succeeding. In fact, he commented, “There’s this debate about whether Java is a CB Radio or fire. I’d say it’s the latter.”
Among Lotus’ most recent projects: A Java mail client (to ship this summer) and enhanced JavaScript and servlet support for Notes 4.6.
Iona beta tests Java-based services
Iona Technologies is currently beta testing Java-based services for its OrbixWeb object request broker (ORB) for Java. The services it is testing include Java Naming, Java Directory, and Java Transaction. These services hopefully will allow users to build applications in Java that were previously only available to CORBA customers.
“We are seeing more and more demand for Java-based applications from our customer base,” said Annrai O’Toole, Iona CTO. “Java attributes, such as garbage collection and no memory leaks, make it easier for developers to write applications in Java.”
Sun offers JavaBeans Component Development course
Sun Educational Services is touting a new four-day, in-depth course in JavaBeans Component Development. The course teaches developers how to create and combine JavaBeans to form applications.
Other Java courses available from Sun include:
Web Publishing with Java — How to create dynamic Web pages using Java applets.
Programming for Beginners using Java — An introduction to Java programming that focuses on the fundamentals of programming, including problem-conception, code constructs and syntax in Java, compilation, and execution.
Distributed Programming with Java — Essential information for building distributed computing solutions.
Developing CORBA Applications with Java — Practical skills in the emerging Common Object Request Broker Architecture technology.
Java Programming — Teaches C/C++ programmers how to develop Java applications and applets.
Java Programming Workshop — Practical experience in designing a vertical solution for a server application.
- Java Certification — A certification program for programmers and developers.
MacOS Runtime for Java 1.5 available
Apple is now shipping the MacOS Runtime for Java 1.5 (MRJ1.5), a Java virtual machine. MRJ1.5 contains a set of shared libraries and other system software files, a new PowerPC JIT compiler, and should offer 10 times the performance of the earlier version, according to the company. Version 1.5 is a performance release of JDK 1.0.2.
The MRJ1.5 also adds the MRJ Toolkit, which allows developers to add MacOS-specific functionality to Java apps. MRJ Toolkit stubs (written in Java) let applications using the toolkit automatically run on non-MacOS platforms without modification.
MacOS Runtime for Java and the SDK are available free for download. You will need at minimum a 68030 processor and System 7.1.
EarthWeb to distribute Innotech’s NetResults Java search engine
Innotech has reached a distribution agreement with EarthWeb to sell NetResults, Innotech’s Java Web site and intranet search engine. EarthWeb will sell NetResults on Developer Direct, EarthWeb’s online software distribution service.
“We are confident that a prominent profile on a distributor’s site that is associated with high-traffic sites will provide us with excellent exposure to our own end-user, VAR, and reseller markets,” said Stephen Paterson, Innotech president/CEO.
Where to go to find NetResults?
- EarthWeb’s corporate site: https://www.earthweb.com/
- Developer.com: https://www.developer.com/
- Gamelan: https://www.gamelan.com/
Or just go directly to
- NetResults: https://www.netresults-search.com/
JetForm and Open Text to integrate forms and collaboration software
JetForm Corp. and Open Text Corp. have agreed to work together to integrate JetForm’s Java-based forms with Open Text’s work-flow and collaboration software. Due in November 1997, the combination of Open Text’s Livelink intranet software and JetForm’s electronic forms should allow users to access collaborative information through a Web browser within a corporate intranet or extranet, officials said.
“The benefit for the end user is to have forms [collect information] at different stages, prompted for the right information and collected in a SQL database as the process moves along,” said David Weinberger, strategic marketing VP for Open Text. Pricing was unavailable at press time.
- JetForm: https://www.jetform.com/
- Open Text: https://www.opentext.com/
IBM splits up its NC products
IBM’s Network Computer Division is splitting its NC product line in an effort to push the NCs to markets that have different needs. The company will release three thin client models for different markets — the Series 100, Series 300, and Series 1000. Each will contain a JVM and Java-based Web browsers.
The Series 100 is designed as an access device to give users access to Windows data stored on multiple servers. It comes with a scaled-down Web browser and communications capability, but it’s not intended for extensive Web browsing. The cost is 49. Jim Gant, IBM marketing VP, said that this system will not necessarily conform to the upcoming Windows-based Terminal (WBT) specification.
The Series 300 is designed for application retrieval and intensive Internet/intranet browsing, with its faster PowerPC processor and more memory. IBM intends for customers of this model to use it for browser-based applications. It costs 99.
Pricing isn’t set yet for the Series 1000 model (due later this year). This system is designed for high performance with Level 2 cache, JIT compilers, even more memory, and faster PowerPC processors.
Interleaf integrates Java into Liaison 2.0 middleware
Liaison 2.0, Interleaf’s latest version of its middleware for creating integrated document-based applications, adds access to its API from the Java (and C, C++, and Visual Basic) environment. Liaison is an API that spans publishing, distribution, and document-management applications required to manage a document through its entire lifecycle.
“The Java environment, now supported by Liaison, lets our customers easily develop document applications for Internet/intranets,” said Steve Bergmann, Interleaf Director of Product Management. “With Liaison 2, customers can develop a single cross-platform thin Java client applet and take advantage of the considerable savings in server-based implementation, operation, and maintenance.”
Liaison 2.0 is designed to operate with the evolving DMA standard, as well as integrate with other object and document standards, including OLE, HTTP/S-HTTP, HOP, and CORBA. It can be purchased separately, and is included with Interleaf’s Intellecte/BusinessWeb and Intellecte/Access integrated document-management and delivery products. Liaison will be shipped to customers with maintenance contracts.
Zena Technology’s ZCommerce 1.1 manages Web catalogs
Zena Technology has released ZCommerce 1.1, a fully customizable software package that lets developers create and manage sophisticated Internet/intranet catalogs used in over-the-Web, business-to-business, client-to-business transactions. It was designed to take advantage of current Internet technologies such as Visual Interdev, ActiveX, Java, and JavaScript.
The software supports secure online processing from leading vendors, and fully supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. ZCommerce can connect to most ODBC-compliant databases, including Oracle, MS SQL, Server, MS Access, and so on. It uses standard SQL calls to communicate with databases and also uses features like stored procedures to speed up queries and make transactions more secure. The customizable software comes with predefined templates to decrease development time.
With ZCommerce, business managers can receive, process, and track orders electronically and manage catalogs, product information, and sales information locally or remotely using a Web browser.
ZCommerce is available for Windows NT Server 4.0. It is compatible with almost any browser that supports HTML 2.0 and up, including Netscape Navigator 2.x and 3.x, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x, and AOL 3.x. Prices range from ,000 to ,000, depending on catalog requirements and business rules.
https://www.zenatech.com/zcommerc.htm
PHD’s PHDWeb gets pure Java cert
PHD announced that PHDWeb 1.0, its support and service automation software suite, has received the 100% Pure Java certification. PHDWeb is a help desk product written, of course, in Java.
PHDWeb offers call tracking, call management, and problem resolution in a system that can be accessed using any Java-enabled Web browser, so desk analysts, field engineers, programmers, and other personnel can use the system through the Internet or corporate intranets, from desktops, workstations, NCs, or remote-access devices.
Isidore Sobkowski, president and founder of PHD, added, “Being awarded 100% Pure Java certification means a great deal to us. Sun Microsystems is invariably at the cutting edge of innovation in the computer industry, and we’re very pleased that PHDWeb meets their exacting standards.”
https://www.phd.com/products.htm
Java users want more speed: Will HotSpot JVM cut it?
Even though Java users are glad to hear that Java is about to get drag-and-drop capabilities, a way to mutate ActiveX controls into Java applets, and a way to run Java applets in an ActiveX container (all announced at the recent Internet World Summer 97 in Chicago), what they really want is speed.
Claude Vignali, information systems manager at Sweden-based Ericsson Inc., said, “The improvements are good, but they’re just a couple on the list of what needs to be done to Java. It’s all about speed, though. Java’s speed was debilitatingly slow. It’s getting better, but it needs another generation of a Java virtual machine to get to the point where Java is fast enough to be really useful.” Java is interpreted (code is run through a virtual machine before it can be used), so it takes more time than a native language.
Larry Hagerty, an IS manager at GTE Data Services, added, “One of my concerns is that Microsoft has done some good things to speed up Java, but it’s only on the Wintel platform. Some of those speed improvements should be coming out of Sun for Pure Java applications. That would be the thing that would tip a lot of people sitting on the edge into the Java camp.”
JavaSoft’s answer to the speed problem? The coming HotSpot Java virtual machine, which should start beta testing in fall 1997. The HotSpot JVM may even eventually run Java code faster than native C++, according to company officials. But not in the first release. Expect the spring 1998 release of HotSpot JVM to be the first implementation to match C++ code speed.
Calypso has wireless e-mail client and Java gateway
Micro Computer Systems shows its new wireless e-mail client and Java-enabled gateway, the Calypso Wireless System. Calypso reduces connection time and operating costs by using a faster, Java-enabled gateway to process the mail server’s requests instead of the client. The Calypso gateway runs as a Java application on a POP3 (Post Office Protocol) or SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) mail server.
The gateway swaps information directly with the server and compresses the client-requested information into packets using a full-duplex wire client protocol. The client combines message filtering, LAN access ability, and multiple account management from a single mailbox. To access the Calypso System, field workers need a Calypso client, a wireless modem card, and access to IBM’s ARTour client and gateway software.
The Calypso client runs on Windows 95 and NT for 80. The gateway runs on Windows 95, NT, AIX, or Solaris running the Java VM for ,995.
Bug alert! Communicator browser 4.01a has security hole
Netscape announced that it was quickly creating a patch for another security breach in its Communicator browser (version 4.01a). This version was recently released to fix another security bug.
The bug: A hole in Netscape’s implementation of the “live connect” language. This helps the browser talk to Java applets loaded onto Web sites, said David Andrews, senior security product manager. This hole allows an evil Web administrator to program a site so it intercepts any data a visitor enters on the site (read: credit card) and pulls it out before it can be encrypted. And this security bug in this “fixed” version is a bit more invasive than the one in the version it replaces. It can follow surfers even after they leave the page.
The bug was discovered by an applet of Kuo Chiang’s, a worker at the Information Technology Institute in Singapore. His applet was very small (1 pixel by 1 pixel) and was craftily called “not” so that the browser’s toolbar says “applet not running” when, in fact, it was. It keeps talking to the browser as it goes on its way, recording URLs and other data information. Chiang is not offering his code to anyone.
Netscape hopes to get the new patch out sometime in the middle of August.
Need personnel with OO language skills?
There is an indication that companies looking for IS professionals that have experience in object-oriented languages have had to turn their gazes inward, due to the high demand for such people.
Doug Darbyshire, analyst for healthcare systems company Cerner Corp., said “We basically have to retrain our own people.” Cerner has hired about 40 engineers recently, and the company needs more. According to officials, job fairs and university outlets haven’t met its needs. So, the company is putting its money in an already-proven investment — it is starting object-oriented training for its IS employees.
Mark Joyce, fiber-optic engineering supervisor for Corning Telecommunications, agreed with this strategy. “We’ll take a general person and train them,” he said. The company learned that this was the most cost-effective solution for it, since it also uses Forte, a fourth-generation object language. Forte is not extremely widespread compared to other languages, so someone with Forte experience comes at a high price.
ObjectWave Corp., a custom Smalltalk development shop, is constantly reviewing its database of object-oriented programmers, testing the waters to see if it can coax another one away from his/her current position. It also employs several interns each year and trains them in object-oriented programming, with the hopes of eventually hiring them. According to founder Sam Cinquegrani, “We look for bright people with a passion for learning.”
