I just read an article (which is like dozens of articles I have read
recently) in Enterprise Systems Journal, June 2000 touting how wonderful
Java is. I would like to summarize the article's premises below and the
reasons given for Java's wonderfulness and respond (with your considerable
input) praising the virtues of Perl. However, not being a Perl programmer
but an intelligent advocate I need your help. We are doing quite a lot of
advocacy work for Perl these days and would like to do a piece that goes
along with a mailer.
I am very tired of the ubiquitous visibility of Java and the lack thereof
for Perl. We at O'Reilly do have some pull in this area and we are
certainly trying. We hope to correct this a tiny bit with our Perl success
stories but you all can certainly help with responses to the items below.
So here goes.
Premises:
1. Java will have increased penetration into the "enterprise" computing
environment.
2. Access to information will become more fluid as the limitations on
bandwidth become a thing of the past.
3. More and more applications will be hosted via applications service
providers (ie. ecommerce backbones, financial processing, etc.).
4. The move away from exclusive use of the desktop PC and to wireless devices.
The article states that Java is wonderful because:
1. WAP compliant. Sun's wonderful revolutionary technology called J2ME,
Java 2 Micro Edition was developed using WAP technology. The claim is that
with this standard, Java will become one of the most ubiquitous programming
languages in the enterprise, on a par with NT in terms of its install base.
2. Small Size. Java's small size and write once/run anywhere nature makes
Java ideal for WAP platforms.
3. Compatibility. Server-side Java programs can be run on any type of
hardware which allows enterprises a great deal of flexibility when it comes
to hardware choices.
4. Large distributed programming environments. Java is ideal for large
distributed development environments where many programming teams are
developing pieces of large programs that are "glued" together.
5. Security. Java security is built into its architecture. Wireless
applications will require the ability to down-load code updates,
necessitating extreme security. Of all the potential programming
languages, Java is the most secure.
6. Infrastructure. Java has a strong enough infrastructure to build out
large distributed systems. Built-in multi-threading networking, and file
input/output make Java the best choice for quickly building network-enabled
applications. These advantages, when combined with Enterprise Java Beans
(EJB), allow the enterprise to create large distributed systems with far
less effort than with comparable technologies.
7. Reusable code. EJB can be reused or bought from developers for faster
deployments.
The article concludes with the following:
"Java will soon make major inroads into the enterprise marketspace.
Businesses need ways to improve efficiency and streamline all of their
processes, and Java is one of the only technologies on the horizon that has
major potential for solving these problems. Simply stated, Java is what
will drive the next generation of enterprise computing".
Thank you all for your help with this!
Madeline Schnapp
Director of Market Research
O'Reilly and Associates
101 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472
Tel: 707-829-0515, FAX: 707-829-0104
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED], URL: http://www.oreilly.com
--Madeline
