Java and Web 2.0
Java junkies that felt excluded from the Web 2.0 house party can lace up their shoes—it’s time to dance. Recent developments are opening up new possibilities for Java developers in the realm of Web 2.0.
Sun’s Java DB is an all Java relational database management system based on Apache Derby. All that’s required to run this little 2MB gem is Java Virtual Machine, which means it can reside in the client’s browser. Even when offline! Java DB is starting to develop a following as developers realize it can maintain Ajax’s database dependent functionality even when the connection to the server is lost (see JavaDB: An idea whose time has finally come?
). It may even give new life to the applet.
Speaking of Ajax, Google just announced the Google Web Toolkit (GWT)—a Java development framework for developing Ajax applications. GWT allows Java programmers to do their thing and let the GWT compiler create browser-compliant HTML and JavaScript. It offers all the cool stuff including reusable UI components, real debugging, and automatic browser compatibility. Hmmm, wonder how this compares to Sun’s JavaServer Faces Technology.
And the last little nugget of Java news is that Sun is promising an open source Java soon. According to CEO Jonathan Schwartz, it’s not a matter of when but how. Interesting days indeed.
