On 7/19/2012 4:28 AM, Phil Haigh wrote:
Having a large JRE isn't an issue for my server development work...
Agreed.
Jigsaw is lots of things:
1. A simple module system that is really well integrated into the Java
language, compiler, and runtime
2. A modularization of the JVM itself
3. Removal of classpath configuration
4. Integrations with platform-specific deployment tooling
None of these are really *critical* for Java's current bread-and-butter,
which is server-side development work, of course.
#1 would be very nice, though -- and I'd love to see just that delivered
in Java 8, jettisoning the rest as fluff/frosting to be added in Java
9. It's unclear, however, how one could be sure the module system is
adequate and won't need major rework in Java 9 without also tackling #2
in Java 8, so perhaps one would also need to tackle #2 in part for Java
8 in this case.
#2, #3 and #4 seem like really, really low priority for server-side
work. They are more important in terms of allowing Java to spread
beyond (or at least not contract to) its bread and butter. They are key
for allowing Java SE to be right-sized for lots of other environments.
They would also apparently be key to any notion of replacing the
antiquated Java ME with something better -- unless Oracle is simply
going to concede mobile (including tablets) entirely to Android
forever. [Personally I'd think Google and Oracle should actually be
working /together/ to grow dovetail Android and a right-sized/mobilized
Java SE in the long term.] It's a sad statement for Oracle that they
can't get their act together here before 2015 at the earliest. As a
server-side developer, though, I have to say I don't really care /that/
much. Just give me #1.
As for #4, some of the deployment demos we saw at previous JavaOne's
seemed truly irrelevant. Cool, but irrelevant. If time wasted in this
area has held Jigsaw out of Java 8 that would be a real shame.
Overall, if you *need* modularity today, there's obviously OSGi. If you
don't *need* it, but it would be nice to have, then you're left torn
between biting off the complexity of OSGi (it's certainly more complex
than something integrated into the language, compiler, and JVM runtime)
and putting modularity off until Oracle gets around to it someday in the
hazy future (2017 after yet another delay?!?).
--
Jess Holle
P.S. I'm talking about modularity that impacts the /runtime/, of
course. One can get /build-time/ modularity in loads of ways, Maven
being the prime example.
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