The three faces of Java

Java seems to be continually redefining itself as a technology, which leads to the various supporting (and fighting) factions proclaiming what “it” really is. In his recent Agenda 98 speech, Eric Schmidt, Novell’s CEO and chairman of the board, attempted to give voice to three contrasting views on Java.

Perspective 1: Java changes everything

Taking the stage as Eric “Java changes everything” Schmidt, the Novell chief discussed Java’s progression in a three-phase approach. Schmidt began with Phase 1, Java’s introduction in June 1994 as an Internet-based technology, and listed Java’s oft-touted credentials:

• Java is a great programming language; 200 universities are currently teaching Java courses.
• Java is a machine-independent set of byte codes — a ubiquitous Java virtual machine that separates the binary of a program from the instruction set architecture.
• Java is a platform-independent set of APIs that free developers from specific platform choices.

He went on to list the factors that have made Java a “huge success” in the Internet arena today — over 1.1 million downloads of JDK 1.1, 400,000 Web sites using Java, 1,000 Java apps shipping, among others — noting the goal to have 100 million JVM-capable seats.

With Phase 1 well in hand, Java and Schmidt swiftly moved on to Phase 2: Java as a platform. Schmidt discussed the introduction of a systems approach for Java, first put forth by Bill Joy and Mike Clary in May 1995, and how Sun outlined all the necessary pieces — the JIT, the Java chips, Java OS, and the libraries — by September of that year. Following close was the proposal of the Network Computer by Scott McNealy (Sun CEO) and Larry Ellison (Oracle CEO).

Phase 3, Java on the server, is where, said Schmidt, Java truly shines. He pointed out that the majority of the criticisms levied against Java on the client (performance, user interface, and cross-platform issues) become irrelevant on the server, and that Java’s platform-independence is far more important to server-based apps than the raw processing power possible with other languages.

Of course, the issue of Microsoft and Sun’s pending lawsuit came up, as Microsoft threatens to fragment the core Java APIs. Schmidt dismissed the threat: “Java’s success can be achieved without Microsoft — the libraries and JVM can be carried in applications to guarantee platform independence.”

He went on: “Java is the top of the architectural arrow for a new class of applications that will dominate 21st century computing. Those not building Java-based systems will miss this next wave. You should expect truly new models of platform computing based on the key insights Java teaches us about distributed computing.”

Perspective 2: Java is just a brand

In this portion of his speech, Eric donned a cynical, satirical cap and laid it on the line (wink, wink) with the audience: “Java is just a brand. The fastest growing part of Java are all the t-shirts, mugs, etc. Have you ever seen a Fortran 77 jacket?”

Keeping the audience in smiles, he points out the many “mistakes” made by Java’s marketeers:

• Using Java to animate the Web worked great as a demo, but Java is not a multimedia format. In fact, noted Schmidt, “JavaScript will be used at least ten times more than Java on the Web.”

• “You based your 100 million seats on the arrogant view that browsers would become the next great platform; instead, a HTML rendering engine, a JVM, and a JavaScript engine are all you need — and they are embedded in Windows already!”

• “You licensed the brand, Java, to a scripting language that bears no resemblance to Java.”

• The concept of “Write Once, Run Anywhere” is more accurately stated as “Write Once, Debug Everywhere.”

• You created the JFC (another use of the brand) to provide customers unhappy with your initial UI independent library with a native look and feel on every platform.

• Your open systems strategy sounded great, but in reality, “your technology is slower, weaker, or less integrated that those of your platforms. Who has the best JVM today? Microsoft and Netscape on their Windows browsers! The fastest growing Java developer tools? Microsoft.”

• The NC was also another brilliant idea gone awry. The NetPC provides you with an NC plus the ability to run the apps you’re used to.

• And the biggest mistake was licensing Java to Microsoft and then letting them proceed to take over the Internet. “Microsoft is at its absolute best when it has an enemy to fight.”

Java’s history, said Schmidt, will be a short one, but the brand will live in infamy.

Perspective 3: Java as a soap opera

The last portion of Eric’s speech focuses not Java the technology, but Java the drama. The Java filled with the same themes that run through soap operas and dramas in general: “conflict, love versus duty, good versus bad, loyalty versus betrayal, the open systems versus the dark platform.”

He notes that this particular drama is not limited to the weekly TV hour. This one will be ongoing for the foreseeable future, potentially overshadowing the real accomplishments Java has made and those it will make in the future.

The resolution, when it does come, will not deliver a clean winner. Schmidt believes that true resolution will be somewhere in the middle, and that “Java will go down in history as the industry’s loss of virginity in the networked world.”