[WEB4LIB] Re: Java and e-resource vendors

[Rhyno Art]

> Java definitely did not deliver on its promise, for which there are 
> many reasons. That it hasn't is extremely unfortunate, since the 
> promise was an inviting one indeed. Although Java is still being used 
> effectively on the server side, I'm not sure why. On the server side 
> you can use anything you want, which means C++ programmers don't have 
> to learn new tricks. Perhaps someone who knows about it can explain 
> to us why you would want to use Java rather than some other language 
> on the server side. Lord knows it isn't because they're trying to 
> keep me from looking like a fool!
> Roy
> 
Java has some big advantages on the server side that were a minefield for
applets. For one thing, server-side deployments run in a controlled
environment, which means the version of the Java Virtual Machine is always
consistent and the capabilities of the machine are better known. It is also
estimated that as much as 80% of an N-tier application is spent at the
database or networking level so the speed of Java is less of an issue on
the server since it doesn't tend to be the bottleneck that it is on client
machines. I think it is also fair to say that Sun was very quick to
recognize the potential of Java on the server and developed some strong
options for enterprise-level services like naming, lookup, and transactions.
This makes Java very compelling to server-side developers because it comes 
with a full featured toolkit.

That being said, applets are still found in areas where browser
technologies fall short. Games are the most common example, though they are
also sometimes deployed as small helper applications, providing functions
like adding editing boxes that allow some level of font control and keeping
a socket connection open to a web server. Anil Hemrajani wrote an article
on applets called "Applets: Still essential to Java" that gives a really
interesting list of reasons why applets did not dominate the web which can
be found at:

http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-12-2000/jw-1201-soapbox.html

Roy is being too hard on himself. He certainly was not alone in his
prediction, and such pronouncements arguably had a positive impact on the
web because I think the initial interest in applets drove the browser
makers to plug more holes in what could be done with other web
technologies. And all those people who took Java 101 because of applets are
probably more marketable today than ever.

art
---
Art Rhyno, Systems Librarian
Leddy Library, University of Windsor
Internet: arhyno at uwindsor.ca
Tel: (519) 253-4232, EXT. 3163
FAX: (519) 973-7076
WWW: <http://www.uwindsor.ca/library/leddy/people/art>