Desktop Java is enjoying a long-overdue renaissance. But for Swing (the Java UI toolkit) to be taken seriously, Sun must pay closer attention to usability.
Development tools for parallel computer systems tend to be architecture-specific, difficult to integrate and fairly basic. Parallel application developers often find themselves juggling tools to match the different machines, shifting gears from stark command-line interfaces and text editors to a range of graphical user interfaces.
If a service-oriented enterprise architecture can build an IT model of your business data and practices, then you can optimize those business processes. That''s where the money is.
Microsoft hopes to lure more developers into the .NET camp with a free Java to .NET Framework Migration Workshop. The workshop features online, self-paced training designed to introduce Java developers to .NET development concepts based on using their Java skills as a frame of reference.
In an interview with Java Pro editors, Alan Brown, a distinguished engineer at IBM Rational software, discussed patterns, modeling, and focus areas for software development in 2005.
Leading Web design and development tools such as Macromedia Dreamweaver can make Web site development much faster and easier but often leave lots to be desired when developers want to actually write new code.
Java developers are getting a chance to test drive some new features proposed for the next major release of Sun Microsystems' Java Studio Creator visual development environment, code-named Thresher Shark. The preview features are not yet fully supported, says Dan Roberts, manager of Sun's developer tools marketing group, but are offered to give developers a chance to try them out and provide feedback.
Has the traditional integrated development environment gone the way of the dinosaur? The company that invented the IDE seems to think so...sort of.
Software tools to simplify and accelerate Web application development continue to evolve. Along those lines, ClearNova is shipping a revised version of its rapid application development software platform, ThinkCAP 6.0, that helps non-J2EE developers build and maintain Web applications.
As the mobile device market has become hotter and hotter, making quick changes to a device's user interface design has become a key challenge for manufacturers racing against time-to-market issues.
We've all heard the complaints about the Java 2 Enterprise Edition platform: It's difficult to use, too heavy-weight for most developers, and too abstract by half. But those complaints are probably more about Enterprise JavaBeans than J2EE, says Ted Farrell, chief architect for application development tools at Oracle. And developers who don't like EJBs shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
There seems to be a consensus among open-source technology watchers that the Eclipse platform has reached a tipping point in its evolution toward widespread industry acceptance and even popularity. The recent EclipseCon trade show offered plenty of evidence to support the idea--primarily in the form of brand-name companies either jumping on board for the first time or ratcheting up their involvement in the Eclipse Foundation.
There may indeed be situations in which it makes sense to rip out a fully-functioning C or C++ application and replace it with its J2EE equivalent. Given the option, however, most codejockeys would probably prefer to let sleeping applications lie, especially if the programs in question are based on fairly trouble-free code that mostly does what it's supposed to do.
Borland Software confirmed rumors this week that it would be upgrading its membership in the Eclipse Foundation. The Scotts Valley, CA-based toolmaker, which was one of the founding member companies of the organization, has signed on as a strategic developer and member of the board.
The number of companies jumping on the Eclipse bandwagon has been growing at a furious pace since it gained official independence from IBM last year. Twenty-six companies joined the Eclipse Foundation in 2004, bumping that organization's roster to 82 members, including strategic developers, add-in providers, and associate members.
Apply these usage and technical tips to a world-class IDE brimming with features.
There is extensive overlap between the new EJB 3.0 specification and the mature JDO 2.0. Compare and contrast EJB''s substantial but essential changes to existing features in JDO.
Controls and visibility are essential for monitoring and managing applications. Learn a best practice for employing design patterns that combine applications with JMX and policies.
Will the trend of increasing power and ease of use in development tools continue? See why basing Web application architectures on Java technologies is a smart business decision.
Both major platforms push Web services as a means of integrating applications across platforms. Check out another alternative that tightly integrates Microsoft code with Java apps.