Guest Editorial

The Impact of Making Product Choices

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:45:00 EDT

As part of my job, I help customers to select the appropriate software to either fulfill a need or as a component of a larger solution. Fulfilling this role means comparing similar software offerings and selecting the best fit. The challenge in this goal is to map the vendor offering into a subjective requirement, such [...]

How and Where to Attract the Best Talent into Your Organization

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 23:00:00 EDT

Your organization defines your ability to succeed and prosper within a corporate environment. Identifying the best talent, attracting them and retaining them is not always that easy. There are ways to identify the best talent within your company as well as recruiting from the outside.

Change Is Good!

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 15:30:00 EST

In an article in the October edition of the FTP Webzine 'Upside' Peter Varhol laments the trend toward per-developer metrics in the software development process. 'Individual developer data is stored and available to be manipulated in less than honorable ways,' he says, 'and there are people in enterprises who know how to take advantage of such information for their own purposes.'

How Good Is Good Enough?

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:00:00 EST

Intellectually everyone understands that improving code quality is a good thing. After all, we know bad quality when we see it. (Anyone old enough can cast his or her mind back to the late '80s and Microsoft Word for Windows 1.0.) But we also know that there comes a point where there's a diminishing return on our investment in code quality. How much work would you put into tracking down a bug that's only ever been reported once by a user running on OS/2 Warp?

Lightweight Java Enterprise Application Frameworks: JBoss Seam

Mon, 22 May 2006 07:15:00 EDT

Lightweight application frameworks are all the rage in the enterprise Java community in the past couple of years. From the pioneering Spring and Hibernate frameworks, to the infusion of technologies like aspect-oriented programming and metadata annotation, to the new standard EJB 3.0 (and Java EE 5.0) specifications, lightweight frameworks have gradually become mainstream. The rise of lightweight technologies was largely due to developers' rebellion against the 'heavyweight' of EJB 2.1 (and earlier).

Flashback: The End of Middleware – Exclusive 2004 Perspective by Sun President, Jonathan Schwartz

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 17:45:00 EST

The marketplace tells you that 'middleware is everywhere' when all along it should wise up and recognize that 'middleware is dead.' Because that's the new reality of enterprise computing today, according to Sun's software czar Jonathan Schwartz.

Java Developer's Journal: "@ See Javadoc"

Sat, 15 Oct 2005 10:00:00 EDT

My dear wife has just started to learn to use Java in her work and asks me a lot of questions as she begins her journey in this wonderful language. To almost all her questions my answer is the same: 'See Javadoc.'

Another Brick in the Wall

Sat, 28 May 2005 16:45:00 EDT

Do you feel that being a Java guru sets you apart and makes you indispensable in your company? Or are you an entry-level person scared of being laid off given all these outsourcing trends? What are your career choices in the corporate world? Put on your headphones, turn on Pink Floyd's album The Wall, and let's talk...

Crossing the Line: Deciding to Fight For Integrity

Thu, 20 May 2004 00:00:00 EDT

We are fortunate to be part of a vibrant and healthy community, one worth investing in, and one whose integrity we are willing to fight for.

JSF: The Ultimate in Flexibility? Or Complexity?

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 00:00:00 EST

I have a love/hate relationship with J2EE. I love the idea of standards that we can all use in our development to improve interoperability, ease integration issues, create a pool of skilled developers, etc. I hate the idea that I have to wait years for the standards to evolve and become usable.

Inversion of Control Rocks

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 EST

Inversion of Control (IoC) is about software components doing what they are told, when they are told. Your OO application could well become unmaintainable without it.

Do Java and .NET Really Compete?

Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 EDT

It's with continued amusement that I constantly read about how Java should be defended from .NET, and how .NET will destroy Java. I understand the invective used by both sides, but the shine is starting to wear off; it's time to stop hurling insults, and examine what the future really holds. In my opinion, Java and .NET don't truly compete on a meaningful technological front - because both include easy hooks that allow for convenient interoperability.

Is J2EE Too Big for Its Own Good?

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 00:00:00 EST

Speaking to Sun's J2EE marketing team recently, we learned that J2EE 1.4 has been delayed so that 'vital' new Web services features could be added. Originally targeted for the second half of 2002, J2EE 1.4 FCS is now not expected until this summer.

Wanted: Java Application with Native OS Look and Performance

Sat, 01 Mar 2003 00:00:00 EST

In his editorial 'Swing Is Swinging Java out of the Desktop' (JDJ, Vol. 7, issue 10) Alan Williamson lamented the current state of Swing and AWT for building competitive desktop applications. One alternative he mentioned is a technology called SWT (Standard Widget Toolkit) that was developed as part of the Eclipse Project (www.eclipse.org). If you're wondering why the Eclipse community, led by IBM, developed SWT instead of using J2SE's AWT or Swing classes, here's the reason.

A Long Road Ahead

Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST

Lately it's been easy to dislike Sun. Their JVM is slow; Sun ONE is certainly nowhere near the fastest J2EE application server; Forte, while capable, is far from what coders actually want to use if they want to write code in a reasonable amount of time; MS's constant marketing and technical assaults eat away at Sun's armor; Sun's stock (as of this writing) is roughly a dismal $4.

Java and Linux - A Marriage Made in IT Heaven

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

Who would have guessed that this duo - Java and Linux - would revitalize the development community and help customers make the move to an open, standards-based approach to computing? The momentum surrounding Java and Linux is undeniable. In just a few short years, both have grown from grassroots movements to leading topics in CTO offices around the world. The result is that both Java and Linux have support from multiple vendors and support multiple platforms - giving businesses the flexibility required in today's ever-changing marketplace.

J2EE, Democracy, and Sausage

Sun, 01 Dec 2002 00:00:00 EST

Back in the beginning of October, I was dragged into the middle of a raging e-mail argument. The argument was whether J2EE was a success, and if it was too complicated. This was like waving a red cape in front of a Spanish bull. I felt then, as I feel now, compelled to respond.

Sun Is Losing Its Way

Fri, 01 Nov 2002 00:00:00 EST

I've been actively involved with Java development in one way or another since 1996, including working with some of the original issues of the servlet specification, the early adaptation of the EJB spec, and migration to JSP not long after it became an official part of the J2EE spec.

J2EE Without EJBs?

Thu, 01 Nov 2001 00:00:00 EST

Did you use EJBs in your last J2EE project? Many Java programmers (and their managers and CIOs) would consider this a strange question. 'How can it be a J2EE project if it doesn't include EJBs?' they might ask. The answer is: Sun currently lists 11 J2EE component technologies of which EJB is but one; of equal importance are servlets, JavaServer Pages (JSP), and JDBC. In fact, a recently released research report by Gartner, Inc., reveals that most Java projects do not use EJBs, but rely exclusively on servlets/JSP. (While not specifically mentioned in the Gartner report, I would guess that a high percentage of those projects also use JDBC.)

J2ME Calls and J2SE Swings

Mon, 01 Oct 2001 00:00:00 EDT

Java has come a long way in its short life. Linux just celebrated its 10-year anniversary; for Java that milestone is still more than three years away. Who really understood, seven years ago, that Java would become the standard platform for delivering content over the Internet and for running applications on mobile phones - even the de facto platform for future smart-card technology? And what will the next few years bring for Java?

The Platform of Choice

Mon, 01 Oct 2001 00:00:00 EDT

It's becoming more obvious to me every day that Java technology is the platform of choice -- in more ways than one. In the traditional sense of the phrase, it's the answer to the questions all developers ask themselves: Which platform should I develop to? Which has the biggest market, the most influence? Which provides me with a means to demonstrate my skills and creativity?

Battle Ogres Everywhere!

Sat, 01 Sep 2001 00:00:00 EDT

Video games are finally entrenched in popular culture and are as widespread a form of entertainment as movies and television. What's most startling is that the games industry achieved this entertainment parity without relying on the standards found in the television and movie industries. This was possible because games were played on proprietary systems designed to do one thing: play games. But in today's world of 206MHz PDAs and 3D-capable cell phones, games are being played everywhere, and for a content industry that has no set standards this presents a significant problem: chasing customers across multiple devices.

Gone Fishing

Sat, 01 Sep 2001 00:00:00 EDT

I saw a television ad the other day that portrayed someone using a cellular phone as a fancy cash card to make a vending machine purchase. As a person who hates to carry loose change - once you start, you suddenly realize you have a pocketful - this spoke to the kind of useful integration into people's lives that a new technology needs to be successful.

The Ring Is Bloody

Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 EDT

The Thrilla in Manila: both the name and the events of that steamy October day in 1975 remain seared in the memory of all who watched it. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, two of the greatest boxers in heavyweight history, battled toe-to-toe for 14 rounds, until Frazier's corner surrendered and threw in the towel.

Fiat Lux

Wed, 01 Aug 2001 00:00:00 EDT

Personally, I think J2ME is what Java is really about. Let's leave aside the fact that Java was originally developed (as project Oak) for just this purpose, and see what it means today.

The Revolution Is Over

Sun, 01 Jul 2001 00:00:00 EDT

At this year's JavaOne conference in San Francisco, I came face to face with the reality that Java no longer occupies the position of being a disruptive technology. It is now an accepted, depended-on, stable, workhorse technology. Of course, this has been shaping up for years, but for those of us who work every day on the technology, it's hard to tell when this happens until the change is done. For me, the final moment of realization came during Monday's opening keynote. In fact, it came as I saw a slide that positioned the invention of Java as of equal importance to the microprocessor and networking.

IMHO: Blueprinting Java

Thu, 01 Feb 2001 00:00:00 EST

Last year Sun came out with a new set of design guidelines for building enterprise applications using enterprise Java APIs. These APIs are available as a set of documents called the J2EE Blueprints. They include architectural design guidelines for developing enterprise applications using the Java 2, Enterprise Edition APIs.

Guest Editorial: Wireless Info Services Need Java Messaging

Mon, 01 Jan 2001 00:00:00 EST

This year will be the genesis of mobile devices and wireless applications. In fact, several European and American carriers have begun rolling out high-speed, packet-oriented wireless networks based on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) as well as other standards. I've also noticed interesting Java devices based on the Symbian operating system and the J2ME MIDP environment.

Java and Creeping Open Source

Fri, 01 Dec 2000 00:00:00 EST

Sun, in case you don't know - and there's no reason you should - has quietly gone and gotten one of its many licenses (Sun has licenses the way Imelda Marcos has shoes) admitted to the tiny pantheon of official open source licenses worshiped by the Linux community.

Digital Marketplace Platform: Here Today,Flexible for Tomorrow

Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:00:00 EDT

The e-commerce market opportunities in the B2B space are exceptionally greater than those in B2C. GartnerGroup, one of the leading analyst firms, predicts that B2B e-commerce will amount to over $7 trillion by the year 2004. The interoperability and integration complexities are also multidimensional in comparison to those in B2C space. Sean Rhody, JDJ editor-in-chief, touched on this very topic in the March issue (Vol.5, Issue 3). Consumers have benefited from the dot-com phenomenon in terms of cost savings, convenience and automation. Buyers and sellers in the B2B space are after those same cost-saving benefits to increase bottom-line profitability.

Today's Silver Bullet Is Tomorrow's Legacy

Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:00:00 EDT

One of the most delightful parts of my job is to travel the world, sharing the Object Management Group's vision of integrated, interoperable systems with varying sizes of audience from as few as 10 people to as many as 10,000 in every corner of the planet.

Beyond Java: The Metamorphosis of an Operating Platform

Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:00:00 EDT

By most people's estimate, it's the fifth anniversary of Java. Five years ago, with Netscape in tow, Sun unveiled Java, declaring that the Java programming language would be the next Web revolution. At the time HotJava was the 'killer app' for Java; more a proof of concept than a competitive browser platform, it demonstrated that there could be more to the Web than plain old HTML.

A Call to Action for the Java Technology Community

Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:00:00 EDT

We live in a world of high anxiety. We're concerned about the competition, fearful we'll fall behind the curve, worried that making up lost ground might prove impossible. So we hastily turn to technology, which obligingly always seems to have a solution. Well, at least it says so in the marketing brochure.…

Battle In The Making

Wed, 01 Mar 2000 00:00:00 EST

Portals, e-commerce sites, B2B commerce and so on...we're witnessing unprecedented demand for e-business solutions of every stripe as companies rush to put their businesses on the Web. With Y2K now out of the way, this has become the top IT priority.

Fat Pipes Boost Java Flow

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 EST

At work, Lisa takes advantage of her employer's dedicated T-3 to quickly access live NASDAQ quotes via a Java applet stock ticker. She spends each day alternating between development work and day trading. Soon to be rich, she dreams of early retirement and a life filled with leisure activities and day trading at home. Back at home her lack of patience and 56K connection make day trading a painfully slow torture. Java and 56K aren't meant to be together.

Presenting Java

Fri, 01 Oct 1999 00:00:00 EDT

In the fast-changing world of Internet-based technologies, perception is everything. Is a business solution implemented in a particular technology truly cross-platform? Is it scalable? Is it robust? Is it easy to use? Does it do what it set out to do? Most times the answers to these questions are based on the perception of the functionality offered by the application. In a distributed application a large part of the burden of providing the perception falls on the designers of the user interface. One of Java's salient features - platform interoperability - is achieved via the perception of user interface portability.

Welcome to XML

Wed, 01 Sep 1999 00:00:00 EDT

I have to agree with JDJ's editor-in-chief, Sean Rhody. The word XML seems to spark technological fires. The JavaOne Conference issue of JDJ(Vol. 4, issue 6) featured three articles on XML. Having written one of them, I share the experience of the flood of e-mails regarding this obviously hot and controversial topic. Aside from the folks who actually read what I write, others who have little clue about programming have asked me what XML is. As Sean mentioned, atJDJ we've been tossing e-mails back and forth about XML,SYS-CON Publications should play in its evolution.

A Sign of the Times

Tue, 01 Jun 1999 00:00:00 EDT

If you had to conjure an image that best serves as a "sign of the times," what might it be? Perhaps a screen shot of a rare Partridge Family album being auctioned off for an incredible sum on e-Bay. Or how about a staged photo op of some of those starched-white-shirt telco and cable guys shaking hands in the latest billion-dollar megamerger. This might be more likely: hip-looking X-gens tipping their plastic champagne glasses to celebrate as their IPO turns them into instant multimillionaires. All good images, to be sure.

Java Makes a Move Back - Into Embedded Systems

Mon, 01 Mar 1999 00:00:00 EST

The modern manufacturing facility or laboratory often appears as thousands of points of information, scattered in and among hundreds of pieces of machinery and other equipment. Good integration of these information sources provides for an ongoing challenge.

The Synergy of Java and CORBA

Mon, 01 Feb 1999 00:00:00 EST

When I began using CORBA in 1993 I was impressed by how well (and easily) I could define an object model and express it to other developers. That, of course, is made possible through CORBA Interface Language. More fundamentally, it is achieved with a strong and inherent distinction between interface and implementation - a distinction that's often lost in programming languages. CORBA IDL is absolutely and only about interface.