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This month's DDJ is on the subject of "intelligent systems." I'm sure most developers, at one point, have been intrigued by the thought of building software that demonstrates some sort of intelligence. Judging by the number of science-fiction stories on the subject, even non-programming computer enthusiasts seem to be intrigued. How many developers started programming because they had a vision of building a robot and having it do whatever they commanded? I know I did when one of my middle-school teachers brought a robot into class one day (many, many years ago). He explained how he built it from a kit, and how you could program it in assembly language using a small built-in keyboard. Lacking the resources to master assembly language at that age, I quickly lost interest in the robot and artificial intelligence (AI). My interest in computer programming, however, remained.

If AI programming didn't seem so difficult, perhaps I would have remained interested. To be fair, it seemed difficult because of the need to use assembly language at the time. But would my opinion have changed if Java were an option then? I recently did a search on "Java & 'Artificial Intelligence'." The information I found was encouraging, although it did appear to me that AI, as a subject, is lacking a central point for information. Here is a summary of some information I did find:

• Java AI Weblog - This site (mind.sourceforge.net/java.html) is mainly a blog, and involves building pieces of an artificial mind in Java and other languages. While the information is spotty, the site contains links to other interesting resources on Java and AI.
• MIT Open Course on AI - This page (ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/6-034Artificial-IntelligenceFall2002/CourseHome) contains courseware, a Java applet, tools, exams, and course project information to complete a free online MIT course in AI using Java.
• Peter Norvig (Google Research) - Peter Norvig is a Director of Research at Google. He maintains his own site (www.norvig.com) mainly on the subject of AI which includes links to information on AI and Java. I particularly liked Peter's list of Java infrequently asked questions (www.norvig.com/java-iaq.html). Although not directly related to AI, the list answers some of the difficult questions that can be asked regarding Java development.
• Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach - This book, written by Peter Norvig and Stuart Russell, discusses AI and how it can be used to solve modern problems. It's the leading textbook on the subject of AI, and the authors have created a site (aima.cs.berkeley.edu) which contains the book's code in Java and other languages, along with other resources. Some sections of the book are available for download as PDFs also.

Doing a search on "Java & Intelligence," however, reveals something different. The search results are mostly on the subject of business intelligence - an area that has recently received a lot of attention from Sun and other companies. Business intelligence systems are related to data warehousing and data mining. The focus is on systems integration, heterogeneous data sources, and end user functionality based on the resulting data. Sun has published an excellent paper on Java and business intelligence at java.sun.com/products/jmi/pres/guide.html

Perhaps the intelligent systems being sought after by researchers and enthusiasts are not the software/hardware components themselves, but instead the combination of those components and the humans that use them? Just as the two halves of the brain work together to form one central nervous system, a person and a computer can work together to form an intelligent system. A fine example of this was demonstrated at JavaOne this year in the form of wearable Java technology. In the demonstration, Java software helped a person wearing special glasses to identify others by their faces, and translate text into other languages just by looking at it. You can read more about this at java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Interviews/ritter_qa.html. Have you worked with or built intelligent systems using Java? Write me at eric@ericbruno.com to tell me all about it.

I'd like to thank those who responded to last month's newsletter topic. The consensus from the feedback received seems to be that the lack of exposure to the bits and bytes of the machine is far outshadowed by the overall productivity boost that Java provides today's developers.

Happy coding,
-EJB (eric@ericbruno.com)

Java Platform, Core/Desktop

• More Enhancements in Java SE 6
• The Gosling T-Shirt Contest
• Character Set Conversions

Java Platform, Enterprise/Server

• J2EE 1.4 & Java App Server 8.2
• JSP Taglib for Persistence
• Apache Synapse
• Oracle J2EE Server 10.1.3 Release

Java Web Services

• Developing Web Services using JAX-WS
• Java Web Services Developer Pack Version 2.0

Tools

• NetBeans IDE 5.0 Released
• Symantec/Veritas i_ Performance Management
• AJAX Toolkit Framework for Eclipse
• BEA Workshop Studio 3.0

More Enhancements in Java SE 6

Learn about some often-requested features that will be a hit with Mustang programmers: setting file and directory permissions, obtaining disk space, adding components to tabbed pane tabs, as well as the inclusion of the SwingWorker class. You can read the complete article at java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/J2SE/Desktop/mustang/enhancements/

The Gosling T-Shirt Contest

Are you ready for JavaOne 2006? You can prepare by entering the JavaOne t-shirt hurling contest, where participants use their inventions to hurl t-shirts (safely) at the show's audience. You can get an overview of the contest, its rules, and the timeline at tshc.dev.java.net/rules

Character Set Conversions

In route to their final storage destination on the World Wide Web, characters move through various layers of programming interfaces and can cross software and hardware boundaries. The article, Character Conversions from Browser to Database (java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Intl/HTTPCharset) provides helpful hints and best practices for accurately transporting character data from browser to database and back again.

J2EE 1.4 & Java App Server 8.2

On January 27th, Sun updated the J2EE 1.4 SDK. The SDK now includes the Sun Java System Application Server Platform Edition 8.2 with improved performance and developer productivity features, including support for AJAX, Derby, My SQL, IBM MQSeries, and Sun's MQ Server. Download the software and documentation at java.sun.com/j2ee/1.4/download.html

JSP Taglib for Persistence

Sun has made available a JSP tag library (Taglib or TLD) for use with the Java Persistence API. Since this version of the taglib supports EJB3.0, it's subject to change as the specification has not yet been finalized. You can download the software or read more about it at jpa-taglib.dev.java.net

Apache Synapse

The Synapse project will create a robust, lightweight implementation of a highly scalable and distributed service mediation framework based on Web services specifications. Synapse is a mediation framework for Web Services. Synapse allows messages flowing through, into, or out of an organization to be mediated, including service lookup, versioning, failover, fault management, and monitoring. You can read about the project at incubator.apache.org/synapse, or you can download the user guide at wiki.apache.org/ws/Synapse/UserGuide

Oracle J2EE Server 10.1.3 Release

Oracle recently released a new version of its J2EE app server, the Oracle Container for Java (OC4J), version 10.1.3 (www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/oc4j/index.html). You can download a PDF of the new features at www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/oc4j/1013/OracleAS-NF-1013.pdf

Developing Web Services using JAX-WS

Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) 2.0, JSR 224, is an important part of the Java EE 5 platform. A follow-on release of Java API for XML-based RPC 1.1(JAX-RPC), JAX-WS simplifies the task of developing web services using Java technology. You can read the entire article, written by Manisha Umbarje, at java.sun.com/developer/EJTechTips/2005/tt1220.html#1

Java Web Services Developer Pack (Java WSDP) Version 2.0

Sun recently released version 2.0 of the Java WSDP, which inludes JAX-WS 2.0, JAXB 2.0, SAAJ 1.3, and Fast InfoSet 1.0.1. Together these three components represent a new architecture that establishes more logical relationships between Web services description, data binding, and SOAP attachment processing. The result is that deploying Web services with the integrated stack is easier, more efficient, and more reliable. You can download the software and documentation at java.sun.com/webservices/jwsdp/index.jsp

NetBeans IDE 5.0 Released

At the end of January, Sun released version 5.0 of the NetBeans IDE. NetBeans IDE 5.0 introduces comprehensive support for developing IDE modules and rich client applications based on the NetBeans platform, the new intuitive GUI builder Matisse, new and redesigned CVS support, Sun Application Server 8.2, Weblogic9 and JBoss 4 support, and a lot of editor enhancements. Here is a list of some new features:

• Developing NetBeans Modules - added support for enhancing the IDE
• Matisse GUI Builder - provides intuitive layout of GUIs without having to understand the complexities of Swing layout managers
• Servers - supports Sun Java App Server 8.2, JBoss 4, and WebLogic 9, and Tomcat
• Web Frameworks - built in support of JSF, Struts, and the combination
• Web Services - added support to build J2SE and JSP-based web-service clients
• Editor Enhancements
• Code Completion Enhancements
• Refactoring Enhancements
• Version Control - work flow integration of CVS, along with color coding to show file status
• Debugging Enhancements
• Other Usability Improvements - improvements to MaxOS version look-and-feel
• New NetBeans Add-on Packs

You can download the software and documentation at www.netbeans.org/community/releases/50/index.html

Symantec/Veritas i_ Performance Management

Symantec i_ for J2EE, formerly VERITAS i_ for J2EE, is an application performance management solution that helps you optimize application performance during the development, testing, and production phases of the application life cycle. The product introduces little to no overhead and is designed to provide comprehensive visibility into your production J2EE applications. Learn more at www.veritas.com/Products/www?c=product&refId=315

AJAX Toolkit Framework for Eclipse

Eclipse recently announced the formation of the AJAX Toolkit Framework (ATF) project, as part of the Eclipse Web Tools Platform ("WTP") project. This proposal is in the Project Proposal Phase, and information is available at www.eclipse.org/proposals/atf

BEA Workshop Studio 3.0

BEA has release Workshop Studio 3.0, which includes tools that work with the Eclipse IDE, such as a JSP editor, and support for Struts, JSF, and Hibernate. Included is a tool called AppXRay, which helps build and debug web applications. The diagram below shows how these technologies are layered on the Eclipse platform:

(Image courtesy of BEA, Inc.)
You can download the software or read more about it at www.bea.com/framework.jsp?CNT=index.htm&FP=/content/products/workshop/studio

Events

• 2006 JavaOne Conference
  Join Sun for the JavaOne conference, one of the world's largest gatherings of developers, IT managers, and business professionals who are focused on Java technology.
  When: May 16-19, 2006
  Where: Moscone Center, San Francisco, California
  URL: java.sun.com/javaone/sf/

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