[vox] dot net and java (was: Gopher: New use for old software.)

[Henry House <hajhouse@houMAPSseag.com>]

On Wed, Jun 05, 2002 at 10:11:47AM -0700, Rod Roark wrote:
> It's a bit like Microsoft Java, as supported by Visual J++.
> You can use it to write portable Java, but the MS 
> documentation doesn't help you avoid the MS-specific 
> extensions.
> 
> Basically MS has defined a portable API, but has also
> extended it so that it can be used to write non-portable
> apps, and you can bet they will do everything they can to
> make sure that happens.
> 
> That way they get the standards-promoting "points" yet still
> enjoy locking users into their platform.  It's exactly what
> Sun wouldn't let them do with Java -- but this time they
> have the legal right to do it.

I have no doubt that it is business as usual for MS; really useful facilities
what most folks use (like database connectivity or a GUI toolkit) are certain
to be win-only features accessed via the native interface. I'm also very
sceptical that allowing any parameters to system calls in a kernel with a
history of security issues is secure.

Nevertheless, I consider the pain that appears to be involved in using a C or
C++ library (e.g., a GUI toolkit) to be one of the worst aspects of java; so
much so that I have never felt any interest in learning the language. The
unspoken java ideology that "if it's not written in java, it's crap" is
pervasive in the language design.

Also, I very much like the idea of a common bytecode format and interpreter
that supports many languages. It would be a dream come true to do away with
the upteen different interpreters I have now: ruby, perl, python, ocaml,
lisp....

-- 
Henry House
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