Some New Consumer Java Technologies To Watch…
Back in May of this year, I wrote a post predicting that 2008 would see a renaissance in interest for using Java as platform for developing consumer applications. As we approach the end of 2007, it’s clear that innovation centered on making Java suitable for consumer applications is accelerating. If you’re a developer, some projects to keep an eye on are:
- JavaFX Script - a declarative scripting language that makes writing rich internet application graphical user interfaces simple. The technology is still under development - expect it to become really useable in 2008, when the JavaFX Script compiler is finished.
- Project scenegraph - this is a scene graph Java API that forms both the backend graphics rendering engine for JavaFX Script; but can also be programmed to directly in Java. It enables developers to simply describe the look and behaviour of graphical effects, without having to worry about the details of ensuring they get drawn to the screen (as they have to do with Java2D). In time, this will become a core Java API; but as of yesterday, it has been open sourced, and is available for use by developers comfortable with using early access technologies.
- PDF Renderer - Render PDF documents inside Java software. PDF is an important binary format for the web. There are potentially many consumer (and business) applications that are enabled by a high-quality, flexible API for rendering PDF documents. Sun will be using this to enable the JavaFX Designer tool to important content stored in PDF format.
- Java SE 6 Release N - Available for early access now, and scheduled for release during 2008, this will make Java Applets a viable technology once more. Expect Java applets to work especially well on Windows XP and Windows Vista to start with, and to become increasingly effective on other platforms going forward.
- JavaFX Mobile - Not yet a proven technology… but if it works, it will, for the first time, bring the full power of Java SE to mobile phones, including JavaFX Script.
- New Java web browser plug-in. Sun has been working on a brand new Java plug-in, completely re-architected from the ground up. The goal is to make the Java plug-in at least as seamless in operation as the Flash plug-in; and hopefully to make it work even better. I don’t have any details about when this will be released; but I know Sun has been working with Mozilla to ensure it works optimally with Firefox; and I hope may have been working with Microsoft so that it works well with Internet Explorer too.
All in all, 2008 is certainly shaping up to be an interesting year for consumer Java…
Asam Bashir wrote:
Hey did you see these,
http://headius.blogspot.com/2007/11/java-6-port-for-os-x-tiger-and-leopard.html
http://landonf.bikemonkey.org/code/macosx/
Posted 12 Dec 2007 at 1:46 pm ¶
simon wrote:
Yep. They’re doing a great job; and it shows the benefits of Open Sourcing Java. They have a long way to go before they get to where Apple is at with their Java implementation; but they’ve really only just started. Lot’s of hard work still to do; hopefully the project will keep the momentum going.
I think it would be a smart move for Apple to Open Source their Java implementation… not sure it will happen though…
Posted 12 Dec 2007 at 4:29 pm ¶
Dan wrote:
“They have a long way to go before they get to where Apple is at with their Java implementation;” - you mean, going backwards to Java 5? Apple doesn’t even have a Java 6 implementation, or a public plan for getting there.
Posted 13 Dec 2007 at 4:08 pm ¶
deans4j wrote:
these things you mention are all in the JavaFX Family!
Actually JavaFX is not just about new technologies, but it’s about improving the end-user experiences.
: )
Posted 13 Dec 2007 at 5:13 pm ¶
simon wrote:
Dan,
You don’t have to convince me - I agree! It’s frustrating that Apple’s policy is not to communicate with developers.
I wasn’t talking about about Java 5 though. I was talking about Apple’s Java 6, which is still buggy and was pulled prior to the Leopard release. But, just because it was pulled from the developer web-site doesn’t mean it hasn’t already had a lot of work sunk into it.
Posted 13 Dec 2007 at 5:32 pm ¶
Asam Bashir wrote:
Hey Dan, Apple doesn’t have a public plan for anything - Java 6 progress for Mac OS X is very healthy and will be made available once it’s ready - research at your favourite Swedish torrent site if you like. But that version is several months old now, and Apple doesn’t sit around. Both hardware and software teams are working at full pace towards MacWorld Expo Jan 2008..
Apple does communicate with it’s community of developers, Java developers don’t count, they just make a lot of noise but have yet to produce any killer apps with Apple standards of human user interface.
Posted 14 Dec 2007 at 3:42 am ¶
simon wrote:
LOL Asam… actually, as you well know, Apple’s general policy is to not share forward-looking technology roadmaps with developers, or anyone else - not even its most important customers.
To be fair, it’s hard to argue that this policy is hurting Apple when you look at its market cap, its revenues and its substantial growth rate. The company is spectacularly successful.
However, there’s also no denying that Apple’s developer community is small. This hasn’t mattered because, on the whole, Apple’s growth has not been fueled by developers. That may not be true for the next phase of the company’s growth. If Apple wants to increase the size of its developer community, which I think it does, it may have open up a little. Time will tell…
Posted 14 Dec 2007 at 9:12 am ¶