Simon’s Blog

It’s crunch-time for Java as a Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform.   With its innovative applet technology, Java was the first ever RIA platform in the mid 1990s.  However, Java Applets simply never delivered on their promise.   While other RIA technologies, such as Flash and JavaScript have made up huge ground over the last decade, and Microsoft jumped into RIA the game with Silverlight, Sun Microsystems, the company behind Java, never even tried to address the issues that were holding Java back.   Until now.  Java SE 6 Update 10,  has just been released for those that want to download it (you can go get it now, if you’re running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux, Solaris x86 or Solaris SPARC – Mac OS X users will have to wait until Apple ports it, which might 18 months or so).  Soon, the new Java will go to “auto update” and be rapidly pushed out to hundreds of millions of desktops around the world.   It’s been a huge amount of work for all those that were involved, so congratulations to everyone on finally getting this thing shipped! What are the key RIA issues this all-new version of Java addresses, and why do they matter?  Here’s my two cents..

Here are the key bullet points of problems that have been addressed in the new version of Java

• Java runtime (JRE) download too big
  • The JRE is regarded by many as a big download.  The new Java Kernel Installation addresses this, making the download smaller and, therefore, faster
• Java applets too slow to start up, and lock-up the web browser
  • The new Java Quick Starter technology, and new, next-generation Java plug-in make applets much faster to start-up (think a few seconds, rather than tens of seconds), and shouldn’t lock the browser up while they do load
• Java updates leaves old versions in place, cluttering up people’s systems
  • The new “patch-in-place” technology means that typical users only ever have the latest and greatest version of Java on their system

The new version of Java also make great use of system resources, supporting hardware acceleration of 2-D and 3-D graphics; and there are some neat, unique features, such as the ability to drag applets out of the web-browser, and install them as stand-alone desktop applications.

This, then, is the most important version of Java that has ever been released.  It will form the foundation for JavaFX on the desktop, which will likely now be released at the end of October (barring any last-minute show-stoppers).  JavaFX makes it easier for developers to create graphically compelling, high-performance 2-D and 3-D, hardware-accelerated software.  JavaFX has been designed to allow developers to build compelling graphically rich applications that can run on “all the screens of your life” – from your mobile phone, to your desktop and laptop computers, to your TV.

The billion dollar questions then (actually, they’re multi-billion dollar questions for Sun) are: is it good enough; and will it be a success?   Today, the Java platform has effectively been rebooted as a consumer software platform.  At day one, then, it’s far too early to answer these key questions.  Success will be defined by how many developers build software using JavaFX and the new Java; and by how many consumers actually use the software.   So only time will tell; but for the first time ever, Java at least has a place at the table…