July 1999 Java News

Saturday, July 31, 1999

Version 2.95 of gcc is now available. Although it's best known as a C, C++, and Objective C compiler, version 2.95 also provides front ends for Fortran 77 and Java byte code or source code to native code compilation. MAlso available is the first real release of libgcj, the runtime library for the GNU compiler for Java which you'll need if you use gcc to compile Java.

Friday, July 30, 1999

ICEsoft has posted an early access release of version 5.0 of their $1000+ payware ICE Browser HTML rendering Java component. Version 5 adds support for HTML 4.0 and XML with CSS Level 2 style sheets, as well as partial support for DOM Level 1 and Level 2.


Gerhard Paulus has released version 0.7.1 of his open source storedObjects object database written in Java. This release should be substantially more robust.

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

Eric Albert's released version 1.2 of BrowserLauncher, a Java class that allows Java applications to launch the user's default web browser across multiple platforms without having to bundle additional libraries or step outside of JDK 1.1. This release fixes a lot of bugs, especially on Windows.

Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Apple's released version 2.1.3 of Macintosh Runtime for Java. This is a bug fix release to address unspecified memory and security issues. System 7.6.1 or later and a PowerMac are required.


Mayon Software Research has released version 2 of their payware ClassCracker Java decompiler. This release adds a new interface, the ability to decompile class files within zip or jar archives, improved help, and better decompilation. Price is $79 Australian till the end of August.

Monday, July 26, 1999

BullSoft has released the open source Java Open Application Server (JOnAS) JOnAS is an implementation of version 1.0 of the EJB specification that relies on the JDK 1.1.7 and JNDI.

Saturday, July 24, 1999

Sun's posted release candidate 1 of the Java Platform Debugger Architecture on the Java Developer Connection (registration required).


Sun's also posted an early access version of the HotSpot 1.0.1 for Windows and Solaris on the Java Developer Connection . This release requires the JDK 1.2.2.


Sun's released version 1.2 of the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI). This release adds support for event notification and LDAP v3 extensions and controls.


Sun has announced a net profit of 48 cents per share for the final quarter of the fiscal year. Total revenues for the quarter were $3.5 billion, an increase of 22 percent increase over the fourth quarter last year. Net income for the quarter was $395 million. For the entire fiscal year, net income topped out at $1.2 billion dollars and revenues at $11.7 billion.


Greg Guerin has released the open-source Gadget-Kit for Java. This toolkit includes Gadgets for X-10 modules controlled by a CP290 controller connected to a serial-port, which is accessed via the Java Communications API.

Friday, July 23, 1999

Luca Lutterotti has released his MacOS Look and Feel for Swing 1.1.1.

Thursday, July 22, 1999

News is running a little behind at Cafe au Lait this weekend because I'm spending most of my time at MacWorld New York. Tomorrow (Friday) I'll be on a panel on "The State of Java on the Macintosh" at 1:00 P.M. Stop by and say Hi if you're at the show.


Gerhard Paulus has released version 0.7.0 of his GPL'd storedObjects object database written in Java (formerly known as Jacob). This release adds much more documentation, and much cleaner code overall.

Tuesday, July 20, 1999

Sun's released version 1.1.1 of the Java Foundation Class, a.k.a. Swing. This release provides faster scrolling and internal frame dragging, as well as assorted 350 bug fixes. JDK 1.1.8 or later is required.

Monday, July 19, 1999

In its continuing efforts to use Java as a lever with which to move the world, Sun has announced the Jiro initiative, formerly Project StoreX, an attempt to create a standard Java environment for storage management.

Saturday, July 17, 1999

I've posted the responses to the question of the week about free development tools for use in classes, but I haven't yet had a chance to write the ususal summary.

Friday, July 16, 1999

Based on an Apple presentation at JavaOne, (slide 21), Ian Fairman suggests that the "secret feature" of MRJ 2.2 is support for long file names. This would certainly be useful if it were true, but I doubt it since that would require too many other changes to the underlying OS and the Finder, and Apple has proved unwilling to make such radical changes in the past. Still, I hope I'm wrong.


IBM's alphaWorks has updated its Self-Voicing Kit for Java (SVK) to support JDK 1.2.2. The SVK enables automatic speaking of Java applications to enhance accessiblity for sight-impaired users.

Thursday, July 15, 1999

Trusted Consulting's looking for private beta testers of SecureJar, an encrypted Java virtual machine. According to the announcement

SecureJar protects Java intellectual property by encrypting byte codes using public key encryption technology. The encrypted byte codes can not be reverse engineered. This solution is vastly superior to obfuscation since absolutely no information can be derived from the encrypted byte codes, while obfuscators can be circumvented by a good reverse engineering tool.

I've been told this is impossible before, but I've never quite believed that. I wonder if they've come up with something unique, or if they're just ignoring the possibility of snarfing the code out of memory when it runs using a debugger or similar tool? In any case if you're interested in applying for the beta test and you live in the U.S. (usual brain-damaged Clinton-Bush-Gore crypto restrictions apply :-() send your vitals (full name, business name, phone number, email address, Java development environment, and operating system) to Jeff Nelson at securejar@my-deja.com


In the hard to believe department, I've been wandering through some old ftp sites in the last few days that used to be extremely busy (ftp.pht.com, rtfm.mit.edu, wuarchive.wustl.edu, and others) looking for one that would refuse me entrance because it was too busy. (I need it for a book example.) However, apparently the Web has finally killed anaonymous ftp to the point where these sites are no longer too busy, even in the middle of the day! So for history's sake, can anyone point me at a site that will reliably give me a connection refused, too many users message? Preferably a site with a 400 user limit running wu-ftpd, though that's not absolutely necessary. If you knopw one, please email its address elharo@ibiblio.org. Thanks!

Wednesday, July 14, 1999

Sun's posted version 1.0.1 early access 1 of the HotSpot Just-in-time compiler for Windows 95/98/NT and Solaris Sparc on the Java Developer Connection (registration required). This release fixes assorted bugs. It requires JDK 1.2.2.

Tuesday, July 13, 1999

The PLASMA project at is seekingr developers who want to work on an open source Java framework for mail applications.


AspectJ is an aspect-oriented extension to Java from Xerox PARC that extends Java with aspects, a new programming construct that "facilitates the implementation of concerns that cross-cut a system". Current version is 0.3.0b3.


The Koala team have released version 1.1a of the Koala Bean Markup Language (KBML) that enables the serialization/deserialization of JavaBeans to/from an XML document. No special marshaling/unmarshaling methods are required, and arbitrary JavaBeans can be serialized and deserialized
Friday, July 9, 1999

Sun's posted version 1.2.2 of the Java Development Kit (JDK 1.2.2) for Solaris and Windows. Changes and bug fixes include:


Apple has posted the first early access release of Macintosh Runtime for Java (MRJ) 2.2 and its associated Software Development Kit. MRJ 2.2 supports Java 1.1 (not 1.2!). MacOS 8.1 or later and a PowerMac is required. 64MB of RAM is recommended! but 32MB plus virtula memory may be sufficient. This is an alpha-quality release with assorted known bugs including crashing on attempts to play sound. This release adds

Apple also says, somewhat mysteriously, "There is another new feature we are not allowed to disclose to the public because it involves features of unreleased new system software. If you are a registered Apple Developer you should download MRJ 2.2 early access available at the Apple Developer's web site for registered developers. (That version includes documentation of this new feature.)" I'm not a registered developer, but if anybody who is cares to spill the beans, I'll post it here.

Thursday, July 8, 1999

Tyler Luchko's reported a nasty security bug that allows untrusted applets to read your system clipboard, possibly uncovering confidential informations like credit card numbers, passwords, love letters, and other sensitve data that may be there temporarily while the applet runs. The behavior is sporadic and somewhat platform dependent, but I have been able to reproduce it using Netscape 4.5 for Windows NT and the cross-platform version of the demo applet. I have not been able to reproduce it on the Mac.

Wednesday, July 7, 1999

Sun's posted the third draft of the Enterprise JavaBeans 1.1 specification.

Tuesday, July 6, 1999
A new and different question of the week below!

Steev Coco's released Seymour 1.0, a cross-platform Java IDE written in pure Java, and licensed under the GPL.


Eric Albert's released BrowserLauncher 1.1, a Java class that allows a Java program to launch a default web browser cross-platform without relying on any outside libraries or stepping outside of JDK 1.1.

Saturday, July 3, 1999

John R. Smith of IBM's alphaWorks has written SFGraph, a Java framework for compressing and viewing large, high-resolution photographic images. Adjustable lossy compression is used. A Netscape plugin provides the ability to zoom in and out and pan around the image.


AlphaWorks has also posted version 2.0.3 of TSpaces with assorted bug fixes.


Finally, alphaWorks has fixed some bugs in their PKCS11 cryptographic token API for Java.

Friday, July 2, 1999

Metrowerks claims to be shipping Code Warrior Pro 5, its $449 payware Java/C/C++/Pascal IDE for Mac and Windows. This release allegedly adds Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools for Java, a first for the Mac. Most of the Web site is not yet updated.

You can also read the news from January, February, March, April, May and June if you like.


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Copyright 1999 Elliotte Rusty Harold
elharo@metalab.unc.edu
Last Modified August 13, 1999