🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <amunro.153.308AC1D4@amunro.seanet.com>,
amunro@amunro.seanet.com (Alex Munro) wrote:

> interested parties wrt starting a user's group for the Java programming 
> language.
> 
> What the hell is Java? I've never heard of it before.  What kind of 
> applications can you write with it?


Hello Alex,

I don't know how to precisely answer without knowing your background;
here's a description and anthology:

Java is a newly-released OO multi-platform programming language derived
from C++. It was developed by Sun Microsystems and is being released as an
open standard. It's free. 

NetScape has liscensed the Java "run-time" and ported to the newer
NetScape clients. This will permit "applets" written in Java to arive from
the a webpage and execute on the NetScape browser, independent of the
CPU/OS that the browser is running on. The burden of porting an
application is borne by Sun-or whoever ports the "Java runtime," not the
developer. 

The browser/client CPU may execute these "applets" locally for such things
as animation, etc. They have the look-and-feel "normal" stand-alone
applications.

In addition to NetScape, IBM/Lotus Notes were in negotiations w/ Sun to
liscense Java earlier this Summer... I don't know the status of this,
though. 

For more general background and history:

     http://www.sun.com/sunworldonline/swol-07-1995/swol-07-java.html#mini-ditka

Java language spec: 

     http://java.sun.com/1.0alpha3/doc/javaspec/javaspec_1.html

FAQ (location is temporary):

    http://www.nymug.org/javafaq.html

A tutorial (if your're not really comfortable w/ C/C++):

     http://www.nymug.org/javatutorial.html

On-Line Java Bibliography:

     http://www.rpi.edu/~decemj/works/java/bib.html

If you're interested in concurrency, a message passing system called "Q"
has been embedded in Java under an ARPA-sponsored project called
"Arcadia." I lost the URL, but if you're interested let me know and I'll
take another look. POC is Mark Maybee at markm@cs.colorado.edu, though.

All errors my own. Not affiliated w/Sun. Hope this helps.

-Rayme.

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