Java review

Java is the well known programming language created and delivered by Sun Microsystems. Its main feature is an extrem portability. Any Java compiled code will run everywhere a Java virtual machine is available : "write once, run every where". The success came quite quickly. Internet and the new need of running some code anywhere is one of the reason. The second is that Java appears to be a simple subset of C++ language easy to learn for all C/C++ users.

The real benefits of Java

Binary portability ?

Is binary portability so important ? Its cost is so high : it needs the Java Virtual Machine. A big and complex software that is not a very simple abstract machine and no more a complete virtual computer... It is something hard to define between a virtual RISC processor and a complete POSIX system (think about this idea : POSIX, a full featured virtual system). POSIX, ANSI, ISO C/C++ softwares can run everywhere. The GNU/Linux system I use is the best exemple : full and efficient portability can rely only upon source portability. Last, why not a virtual machine designed to let any standard C/C++ (may be any language) program run ? It exists !

The only area where binary portability is really usefull is internet applets. Those little softwares runnable directly from your browser handled thrue a simple HTML page are a wonderfull tool. But Java fails where Macromedia Flash succeed. I'm sorry to observe that today's web users just want some nice animations, shiny colors and new stranges widgets. So what can do Java in this Macromedia and Microsoft's web version ?

Let's think about applet's need ? why forwading thrue the net heavy and slow-run byte-code and ? There is no need of binary portability for applets. An XML based programming language may be a wonderfull tool to achieve such a feature (JavaScript could be a good start point and nowadays it seems hard to create norms and standards whithout XML inside).

Fun java things

IMO, you may have already understand it, binary portability is not the greatest feature of Java. But don't guess about my mind. I like Java. It is so rich and versatil to get RAD realy possible even without any full featured IDE.

The Java Standard API is exptremly powerfull, complete and standard (standardization will be perfect when sun accepts letting ISO doing its job !). All what you need is provided inside the SDK : network, threads, multimedia, graphic toolkit, database interface, distibuted objects support...

All this complete set of tools is designed the same way, using the same design paterns concepts : Factories, observers, interfaces.

And last, the MAIN java feature : memory management. No more pointer, objects are dynamicaly allocated and automaticaly deleted.

Java lacks

Java is not really portable everywhere. It is portable only where a Java virtual machine is available. Since Java is not completely free, it is not possible to port the JVM to a new plateform if Sun does'nt agree. The JVM is a big fat environment. It needs a lot of memory to run. So it is not efficient on minimalistic embeded systems (Sun's plans for a java chip was a solution, but we are still waiting for such a low cost devices).

The design is good but sometimes too simplistic. Sometimes, I wonder what Sun thinks about developers : stupid people ? I hope all limitations introduced by the Java specification are the best solution found to keep the Java Virtual Machine robust and efficient. The well known limitation is multiple inheritence. Interface is often shown as an alternative. Its not a alternative it's the good way to think. But interface were perfect with some add-ons :

• static properties as good support of default values
• "methods template" : possibility to let programmer implement methods inside interface. This kind of implementation should use only its own methods :

  Interface Exemple {
  	public void init();
  	public boolean finished();
  	public void process();
  	public void fullJob() {
  		init();
  		while (!finished()) {
  			process();
  		}
  	}
  }

  Actually a method like fullJob needs to be copied and pasted to each Interface implementation unless one inherits from another.

And think about all little constaints present across the API like the deprecated Thread.stop() method, no operator overload...