December 11, 2005
Java Newsletter - December 2005Eric J. Bruno
Java and Eco-Responsibility
Your monthly resource for new and interesting developments in the world of Java.
At JavaOne this year, a great deal of time was spent on the Java community of developers, and the "good deeds" many have done with the language. Some examples included a J2ME-based e-marketplace for produce sellers and buyers in India, a Java-based health-care information system in Brazil, and the use of a J2ME-based IM system as a communication infrastructure in parts of Africa. Google may refer to themselves as a company that "will do no harm," but Sun has become a company that is actively "doing good" in the world.
Besides the work they're doing with Java, Sun has taken steps towards eco-responsibility with its hardware platforms also. In his latest blog, Jonathon Schwartz writes about how electricity has transformed the world in good ways, and in some not-so-good ways (see blogs.sun.com/roller/page/jonathan?entry=let_s_change_this). He goes on to describe the ever-increasing demand for electricity, partly due to the growing deployments of computers in homes, corporations, and data-centers around the world. In the face of this issue, Sun has announced a new line of servers that use electricity more efficiently, run cooler, take up less space, and are shipped with tons of open-source software to promote innovation (see blogs.sun.com/roller/page/mary).
On the subject of "being green," Java itself is like a tree, with branches continually growing in all directions. It's sometimes difficult to keep up with the many directions that Java is growing. For an interesting story on language design, including how we got where we are today with modern programming languages, see Guy Steele's article in this month's Dr. Dobbs Journal (www.ddj.com/documents/s=9938/ddj0601c/0601c.html). Like any strong tree, Java needs a good root system. The community that uses the Java language will ensure that it continues to grow well into the future. Do you have opinions or suggestions for the future growth of Java? Let Sun know through their Java Boilerplate program - see weblogs.java.net/blog/kgh for more information. And, as always, feel free to contact me with your thoughts on Java at eric@ericbruno.com
Happy coding, ejb
Java Platform, Core/Desktop
Java Platform, Enterprise/Server
Java Platform, Mobile/Wireless
Java Web Services
Tools
Java 5.0 Release 3 for the Mac
Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Release 3 includes version 1.5.0_05 and improves functionality of J2SE 5.0 on Mac OS X v 10.4 Tiger 10.4.2 and later. See docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302412 for more information.
Free Developer Help Beta Program
Sun has announced a new expert developer assistance program that you can evaluate for free, although there will be a per-submission fee after the program goes live (see developers.sun.com/developer_help). The program offers information and advice on:
Experiences with Java 5
Bea, a leader in the Java community, regularly posts useful articles related to its J2EE application server, WebLogic, as well as general Java coding topics on its dev2dev site (dev2dev.bea.com). Bea recently posted an article on the features introduced in Java 2 SE 5.0 (dev2dev.bea.com/pub/a/2005/09/java_5_features.html), namely loop enhancements, annotations, enumerations, variable arguments (varargs), and generics. The article discusses the best uses of each new feature, and is packed with many code examples.
In-memory, Reflection-based Sorting in Java
Java's collection classes support in-memory sorting through the java.lang.Comparable interface. Comparer classes exist for built-in types such as strings, numbers, and dates; but for complex types, you need to roll your own. The article in the December issue of Dr. Dobbs Journal entitled "Sorting in Java and C#" discusses the use of Java reflection to sort a list of complex types. See www.ddj.com/documents/s=9938/ddj0601h/0601h.html for the article, code, and complete sample application.
Understanding Java Class Loading
The class loading component is fundamental to the Java virtual machine. Though many developers generally have a good grasp of the basics of class loading, when a problem occurs they may have a hard time diagnosing and determining a solution. IBM developerWorks is publishing a four-part series on Java class loading to help developers understand and fix the problems they may encounter. See www-128.ibm.com for the article series.
Java Studio Creator 2 and AJAX Development
You can use the Sun Java Studio Creator 2 IDE to develop Asynchronous java-script Technology (AJAX) interactive web applications that leverage XML, HTML, CSS, and Document Object Model technologies. Then you can bring your questions to Sun's Ask the Experts session, and get answers from the software architects for Java Studio Creator. See java.sun.com/developer/community/askxprt/index.html for more information.
The Open ESB Project
As part of its Java Business Integration (JBI) effort, Sun has announced an open-source implementation of a JBI-compliant enterprise service bus named Open-ESB. The Open-ESB project will implement an enterprise class Enterprise Service Bus runtime with sample Binding Components and Service Engines. The core of this software development kit is based on JSR-208, Java Business Integration technology.
JBoss Open-source Arjuna Transaction Monitor
JBoss has recently acquired the transaction monitor, ArjunaTS, from HP and Arjuna and will offer it as an open-source component as part of its JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite (www.jboss.com/pdf/press/arjuna120105.pdf). The transaction service supports both the Web Services Transaction specification (WS-TX), and Web Services Composite Application Framework (WS-CAF).
JBoss Portal 2.2
On December 7th, JBoss announced JBoss Portal version 2.2, with new features for portlet development, content management, security, interportlet communication, clustering, content-specific themes, and enhanced GUI-based administration to ease development and deployment. See www.jboss.com/pdf/press/portal2.2.pdf for more information.
Red Hat Delivers Standard Open-source Stack
Red Hat is attempting to make it easier for developers who are building and deploying applications on the Linux OS by offering standard, certified, software stacks for web development in three tiers:
See www.redhat.com/en_us/USA/home/company/news/prarchive/2005/stacks.html for more information.
Sun Open-sources Java Enterprise System Middleware
On November 30th, Sun announced that it is making the Java Enterprise System, Sun N1 Management software, and Sun developer tools available at no cost for both development and deployment and further, is reaffirming its commitment to open source this software (see www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2005-11/sunflash.20051130.1.html). This article in InformationWeek (www.informationweek.com) discusses the move by Sun, and what it means to you and the industry as a whole.
Oracle Fusion Middleware Preview
Get a preview of Oracle's next release of its J2EE application server at www.oracle.com/appserver/10gR3preview.html, and get a feel for where Oracle's Fusion Middleware project is headed. Oracle Application Server 10g Release 3 will be a major update to Oracle's enterprise Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) middleware platform, allowing you to develop and deploy SOAs on an ESB and Grid architecture.
The Nokia Developer Marketplace
Are you developing or planning to develop J2ME applications for mobile devices? If so, you need to visit the Nokia Developer Marketplace (www.nokia.com/link?cid=EDITORIAL_1743), with information on advertising and distributing your mobile application through the Preminet sales channel.
The Location API for J2ME
This specification and API (jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/final/jsr179/index.html) defines a J2ME Optional Package that enables mobile location-based applications for resource limited devices. The API is designed to be a compact and generic API that produces information about the present geographic location of the terminal to Java applications. This API covers obtaining information about the present geographic location and orientation of the terminal and accessing a database of known landmarks stored in the terminal. For a hands-on discussion of the Location API, see this article in the December issue of Dr. Dobb's Journal: www.ddj.com/documents/s=9938/ddj0601i/0601i.html
Quick SOA Deployments with New Tibco Tool
TIBCO Software recently announced (www.tibco.com/company/news/releases/press705.jsp) the general availability of PortalBuilder 5, which provides global customers with new feature-rich enhancements and a cost-effective approach to deploy portal solutions that harness the power of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). For more information on PortalBuilder 5, see the InformationWeek article at www.informationweek.com. Tibco also announced (www.tibco.com/company/news/releases/press703.jsp) the launch of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Resource Center; a site that provides Web-based information assets that are intended to increase awareness about service-oriented approaches and help facilitate the strategic planning and deployment of a SOA.
Sonic Provides Comprehensive ESB Definition/Reference Architecture
Sonic Software, the inventor of the enterprise service bus (ESB) concept, has announced a reference definition and sample architecture for the ESB and ESB-based solutions (www.sonicsoftware.com/news_events/pressitem/pressrelease_699091/index.ssp?). "Sonic ESB: An Architecture and Lifecycle Definition" is based on Sonic Software's Sonic ESB, and examines both the core capabilities and usage of an ESB from development to production. The definition is available at www.sonicsoftware.com/esb_defined.
Free Sun Java Development Tools
Sun is currently offering users of the NetBeans platform and SDN members free copies of the Java Studio Creator and Java Studio Enterprise, and Sun Studio 11 developer tools. You simply need to join the SDN (which is also free) and download the tools. See developers.sun.com/prodtech/devtools/free for more details.
Project Matisse and NetBeans 5.0
Project Matisse and the latest NetBeans IDE make building cross-platform GUIs easier, less tedious, and less error-prone. See the Sun Developer Network article at java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Interviews/violet_pavek_qa.html for more information.
Eclipse Test and Performance Tools 4.1
The Eclipse Foundation has released version 4.1 of its Test and Performance Tools Platform (TPTP) - see eclipse.org.
Rich Client Tutorial Updated for Eclipse 3.1
The Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) allows you to build Java applications that can compete with native applications on any platform. The informative article series on the subject (www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-RCP-2/tutorial2.html) has recently been updated to reflect the latest Eclipse 3.1 features.
NetBeans Profiler for the Mac
Doing Java development on a Mac? Sun is preparing a release of the NetBeans Performance Profiler for the Mac OS X (see blogs.sun.com/roller/page/tor).
Various Apache Releases
There have been several Apache and Apache-Jakarta project release over the past month. Below is a list of the most popular, along with brief descriptions:
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