| If |
| Java |
| | is the Answer, |
| What is |
| | the Question? |
see Ted Lewis, IEEE Computer, March 1997, p. 136
slide: What is the Question?
The dream: UNCOL
- Java is pervasive
- remember, most of Java is just warmed-up C/C++
UNCOL = Universal Common Language
- (1963) Algol -> PL/I -> Pascal -> Ada -> C++ -> ...
- Java as UNCOL: the dial-tone of the Internet
if todays languages are inadequate for Software
then Java must be inadequate too ...
slide: The dream: UNCOL
Hostages of legacy code
- our responsibility is that future applications (built with Java)
are well-behaved legacy systems
- US DOD:
slide: Hostages of legacy code
Is Java doomed to repeat history?
- elegant minimalism is one of the goals of Java,
remember Pascal, a toy language!
- Java lacks IO, OS support ...
slide: Is Java doomed to repeat history?
Java = watered-down C++, retrofitting Pascal
Problems
- syntax: int i = ++i--;
- unruly scope rules: C++ plus f i n a l,
n a t i v e, s y n c h r o n i z e d, ...
- threads: potential deadlocks
slide: Java = ...
Java: a better mousetrap?
- requirements: no support (assert)
- defacts: syntax, non-standard APIs
- components: Beans ActiveX, CORBA, OpenDoc
- cycle time: Java does little to accommodate Internet time,
like script languages do
- complexity: Java does not advance the intellectual frontier!
slide: Java: a better mousetrap?