On Fri, 2003-11-07 at 00:19, Wayne Wilson wrote: > Tim Churches wrote: > > > > But if you are looking for a fairly fully-featured map browser which can run in a > > browser (if you have Java), then it looks like the goods. We plan to re-assess in > > a > > year or two, when we can rely on users having a fairly recent Java VM installed. > > > I am wondering how this evaluation can be made. We are > faced with similar problems in considering the use of java > webstart. Not so long ago, we had hoped that advancing > browser technology would solve this problem, but Microsoft > essentially killed that plan. Java is now essentially > decoupled from the browser. On the Macintosh we waited for > many years for Apple and Sun to deliver a well supported > java with the OS and now it's happened with OS X just in > time for java support to be completely dropped by Microsoft. > > That essentially leaves a web initiated, JRE install as the > only viable option for ensuring java on client platforms > that one does not control. I wonder if that option is at > all viable? If it is, then what is the set of circumstances > that would allow one to conclude it is ready to use? > > Some factors I can think of: > > 1) Speed of CPU > 2) Rev level of OS (i.e. Windows XP or Mac OS X or linux > kernel 2.4.x) > 3) Desktop image policies (i.e. user can't install software)
If the application is to be used repeatedly by a smallish number of users, I think 1-3 above can be overcome (with some effort). But if the application is intended for very widespread and/or occasional use, then client-side Java is currently not viable IMHO. > 4) Network firewall port restrictions. (We recently > encountered a situation at UCLA where client browsers could > not specify port numbers which lead to a failure of our > clincial trials software). That's always a problem. Every time a new local network admin is found, the first thing they do is close all the ports on their routers to see if anyone complains, then they re-open them as required. Again that is a generalisation and I am sorry for impugning the reputation of network admins, but with the recent Windows virus/worm outbreaks, they are a nervous group of people who often act first and ask later in an effort to keep their networks functioning at all. Thus use of non-standard ports is a source of recurring problems, I think. -- Tim C PGP/GnuPG Key 1024D/EAF993D0 available from keyservers everywhere or at http://members.optushome.com.au/tchur/pubkey.asc Key fingerprint = 8C22 BF76 33BA B3B5 1D5B EB37 7891 46A9 EAF9 93D0
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