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MyJXTA 2.3.1a

MyJXTA 2.3.1a, built on the freshly minted (every quarter, every time, on time) JXTA 2.3.1, is now available via JNLP. We recently incorporated some of the JDNC components to uplevel the "rich content" editor component. This element of code is targeted for a future release of BlogEd as well. I'm very impressed with the ease-of-use JNDC offers ... this coming from an admittedly middleware networking type of guy. We still have some more work to do with the editor UI, namley adding style sheets, trimming content and setting widget preferred sizes but at this point the hard work looks to be behind us.

Give it a go. Don't be shy. Get Connected!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Lamb/Between Darkness and Wonder/Please

JXTA, WebStart and You

WebStart is an amazing deployment vehicle. Following is a bit of detail describing JXTA's use of JNLP (Java Network Launch Protocol) and the process it enables.

Firstly, a bit about the process. JXTA builds of the following projects occur nightly in addition to quarterly releases:

• Platform
• Shell
• CMS
• MyJXTA
• JXTA-C

Building JXTA 1 2 3 describes the techniques behind the overall build process used to generate the JXTA Download site.

As of late, the JNLP builds have been included in both the recent release and the nightlies. As such, trying out WebStart enabled JXTA applications is as trivial as navigating to the relevant build and selecting the associated JNLP link. For example:

• go to the JXTA Release page
• select the latest release
• find the MyJXTA builds
• select the associated MyJXTA JNLP file

This very same process has been applied to the nightly builds, so that not only can the latest and greatest binaries, source and documentation be readily obtained one can also run, via WebStart, the latest build, every night. Thusly PermaAlpha. For example, in order to run the latest build the only change to the above process is the base URL:

• go to the JXTA Nightly page
• find the MyJXTA builds
• select the associated MyJXTA JNLP file

That's it. It is trivial for anyone to try out both the latest milestone build in addition to taking a peek at new features that are to be included a future release. For the developer, this provides the opportunity to readily deploy builds, be it milestones or alphas, and solicit instant feedback. It really doesn't get any better then that. Real feedback real time for any build.

But the goodness doesn't stop there. Leveraging the afore mentioned JNLP distributions for your own work is readily attainable. To illustrate how to build upon this infrastructure I'll lay out the project principals, the constituents within, the interdependencies and the MyJXTA JNLP file.

To start with, there are two (that I am aware of) types of JNLP files: applications and components. JNLP applications include application information, such as a main class, whereas JNLP components include component information. Beyond those differences the files are largely similiar for any given application.

For purposes of consistency the JXTA nightly release will be used as the reference noting that the same information corresponds directly to a release build.

In order to establish some context the following table lists the JXTA projects, thier constituents and the projects they, in turn, depend upon.

From this matrix one can readily derive the corresponding JNLP file composition and inter-relationships. Within JXTA we use the naming notiation of -ext.jnlp to signify a JNLP component.

Now, the real value of this model and the heart of this very blog entry, is that one can readily change any single JNLP resource, for example a low-level jar file, and re-launch the application in order to test the outcome. Further, the site deployer, in this case JXTA proper, can change the JNLP constituents over time shielding the higher-lvel apps from the changes over time. This is precisely the case with MyJXTA and in looking at the details of how it relates to the other JXTA principals.

Firstly, MyJXTA leverages several 3rd party applications to great advantage. Accordingly, these JNLP entries are managed by the MyJXTA team and thusly can vary over time with little impact. MyJXTA references Platform Extension as a dependency, in addition to Shell and CMS. Platform Extension, in turn references Platform in the same manner as Shell and CMS. From this indirect relationship MyJXTA is shielded from structural changes that may occur within the Platform Extension deployment and it's dependencies in turn. As such, readily deploying a application in aggregate via JNLP scales nicely.

Following is the MyJXTA JNLP descriptor noting that it can be readily used as a template for a similiar JXTA application:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 
<jnlp spec="1.0+"
      codebase="http://download.jxta.org/build/nightly/jnlp"
      href="myjxta.jnlp">
  <information>
    <title>MyJXTA</title>
    <vendor>myjxta2.jxta.org</vendor>
    <homepage href="http://myjxta2.jxta.org"/>
    <description>MyJXTA: chat, share ... change the world</description>
    <description kind="short">MyJXTA: chat, share and more</description>
    <icon href="myjxta.gif" width="10" height="16"/>
    <offline-allowed/>
    <shortcut>
      <desktop online="true"/>
      <menu submenu="JXTA" online="true"/>
    </shortcut>
  </information>
  <security>
    <all-permissions/>
  </security>
  <resources>
    <j2se version="1.4"/>
    <jar href="lib/myjxta.jar" main="true" download="eager"/>


    <extension href="http://download.jxta.org/build/nightly/jnlp/platformext-ext.jnlp"/>
    <extension href="http://download.jxta.org/build/nightly/jnlp/cms-ext.jnlp"/>
    <extension href="http://download.jxta.org/build/nightly/jnlp/shell-ext.jnlp"/>

    <extension href="jdnc-ext.jnlp"/>
    <extension href="freetts-ext.jnlp"/>
    <extension href="vorbis-ext.jnlp"/>
    <extension href="touchgraph-ext.jnlp"/>
    <property name="freetts.voices"
              value="com.sun.speech.freetts.en.us.cmu_us_kal.KevinVoiceDirectory"/>
  </resources>
  <application-desc main-class="net.jxta.myjxta2.Main"/>
</jnlp>

The bold sections above can be inlined as is by any JXTA enabled applications greatly easing the overall deployment process.

It should be noted that in preparing this entry I noticed a bit of JNLP normalization that we should consider. Although it is tempting to state that "I'll leave it as an exercise for the interested student to ..." I'll simply add that the platform-ext.jnlp reference above is redundant in that Platform Extension, Shell and CMS all include that dependency natively. That said, WebStart nicely smooths out the dependency maps at runtime for the end user. I think a similiar relationships occurs between the Platform and Platform Extension JNLP files that we should consider as well. That said, JXTA is an open source project so perhaps others have ideas and/or interest in lending a hand in building out the secure and pervassive network vision that is JXTA. that has since been addressed.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Nine Inch Nails/Things Falling Apart/Metal

Connected Cooking

The upcoming JXTA Developer Kitchen looks fun. Here's the low down:

You are invited to the JXTA Developer Kitchen on Tuesday, October 19th. 
This is a  full day event at the Sun Microsystems' offices in Santa 
Clara, CA. Bring your JXTA application and work on it with the Sun JXTA 
engineers and other JXTA developers. Our engineers will work with you on 
your projects. We'll also talk about what is new and upcoming with JXTA 
technology.

You take care of your own travel arrangements, and we'll bring in lunch. 
There is no charge to attend. ...

What?!? Free!!! Say no more. I'm there in a big way.

The agenda is loose. Just solid hacker-to-hacker smack down. Sharing ideas. Lessons learned. Exploring opportunities. All with the motivation of growing a securely connected world. Get Connected! 18k of your closest friends already have ... over 3M times and counting.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Nice Inch Nails/All That Could Have Been/Piggy

JXTA 2.3.1

Well, JXTA 2.3.1 is out the door. Phew. And we are already slamming in new ext:cofig/ui code for the next go around. It just gets better all the time. Nice work Volker John!

I picked up a copy of Mastering JXTA a couple of weeks back to peruse whilst on vacation. I'm impressed with what I've read thus far and based on the 5-star average rating on Amazon it looks like this book is indeed a gem. Nice work.

I had the good fortune to attend a one-day open source conference yesterday and spent a good amount of time chatting with mr. "java.net" daniel steinberg which was fun. That and he fired up MyJXTA which always makes my day. Good times. To bad you couldn't make it to dinner Daniel as it was an excellent meal, fine drink and great company.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Nice Inch Nails/Things Falling Apart/StarF***ers Inc.

JXTA@LinuxWorld.SF

we'll be at linux world this next week. don't be shy. drop by and say hi if you are in the neighborhood.

the demos this go round are:

• brevient connect
• vista portal
• JXTA C (JXTA 2.0 compliant C implementation ... devices anyone?)
• PicShare
• MyJXTA

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: UnderWorld/Second Toughest In The Infants/Stagger

JXTA:sightings - JXTASpaces

vanessa williams has announced the release of JXTASpaces, which is:

... an experimental project to design and implement a distributed shared memory service on the JXTA peer-to-peer computing platform.

check it out!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: UnderWorld/Dirty Epic:CowGirl/River of Bass

JXTA 2.3 ships

JXTA 2.3 has shipped! All indications and casual usage indicates that performance has been amped up nicely. Some excellent new features made this cut in addition to some nice internal refactorings. Check it out already!

JXTA has a shiny new button:

Pretty cool. Get connected already!

JXTA is going to be at JavaOne 2004 in force this year. Sweet. Hands-On lab, BoFs, booths oh my. Get networking already!

I also blog on Sun's blogs.sun.com as do a sigificant number of expressive employees. bondolo and gonzo are in the house!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Death Cab for Cutie/Transatlanticism/Lightness

JXTA "Jambalaya" 2.3rc Bug Day

what: Bug Day

how: The discussion will take place via the MyJXTA[2] application. From the home page you will find the following resources:

• jnlp
• binaries

The MyJXTA builds we will be using have been built with the JXTA J2SE 2.3rc1 so we will be "eating our own dogfood" for this Bug Day event!

The JXTA IRC will also be active, but only for problems with getting online using MyJXTA. It will likely not be as active as the MyJXTA chat.

when: Tue Jun 8 (20040608) 10am PST - 7pm PST (1800 UTC - 0300 UTC)

why: Several of the JXTA J2SE core developers will be online throughout the day and as such will able to assist with:

• Creating new Issue Reports.
• Updating existing Issue Reports to include reproduction info and adjusting priority.
• Resolving existing issues.
• Talking about all things JXTA

The JXTA J2SE 2.3 release is expected to be on June 15th, 2004. It is looking to be a great release. Early feedback indicates performance has been greatly improved.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Modest Mouse/The Moon and Antarctica/Tiny Cities Made of Ashes ion

Calling all Mavens

We are taking baby steps at present but I for one can not wait to turn over the deployment process, code analysis, etc. entirely to the very able hands of Maven. Here's a brief project how to to which we are actively seeking guidance from any and all the mavens out there in the crowd:

• MyJXTA Maven How To

in my ears: AC DC/Live/Whole Lotta Rosie

Feeling Lucky ...

Google + FreeTTS + JNLP = 15s of Fame

If you are feeling "lucky," go for this one and accept the certificates ... you do, after all, trust me don't you: Google + FreeTTS + JNLP = 15s of fame

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Lamb/What Sound (deluxe)/Small

Monster JXTA: Building JXTA Made Easy

The entire JXTA stack build process just got a whole lot easier as descibed in the Building JXTA Wiki. Amazingly simple to be completely honest. Further, this process can be readily leveraged by any JXTA application to great advantage, all of which is described in the afore mentioned Wiki using MyJXTA as an example. So, if you have been considering "scratching a JXTA itch" here's quick pain relief. Join the fun.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: AudioSlave/AudioSlave/Light My Way

Cast a broader [java.]net

Network programming, as we know it, just changed ... in a profound manner. Did you feel it?

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Lamb/Between Darkness and Wonder/Wonder

JXTA.UserGroup

Please save the date for our next JXTA(TM) User Group Meeting:

When: Thursday, March 18th at 4:00pm PST
Where: Sun Microsystems Offices, Santa Clara, CA

We will have a call-in line available for people to participate remotely.

The JXTA User Group Meeting brings together people using JXTA technology to share ideas, learn about how others are implementing the technology, and talk about JXTA projects. It is a great opportunity to meet the Sun engineers who work on the JXTA platform.

We'd like to hear from you if you are developing a product with JXTA technology - perhaps you can share your architecture. Are you using JXTA technology in interesting ways? Others would like to hear about it. Please email lauren.zuravleff@sun.com if you will be in the area and would like some time to talk. Our community grows stronger as we share this information.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Nine Inch Nails/The Fragile/Into the Void

Walkabout JXTA Style

For a sizeable part of Jan '04 I was on the road. First stop, bondolo and I presented a "JXTA Tutorial" at the IEEE CCNC "Consumer Networking: Closing the Digital Divide" conference. The tricky part was condensing a two day tutorial down to a single four hour session. That work aside the day went by smoothly and was extremely interactive ... the type of class I like attending. Attendance was on the low side as looked to be the norm for the other sessions as well. I believe this was the CCNC's first run at sponsoring technical forums adjacent to CES which likely played a part in the turnout. JXTA was among good company as the session topics included: UPnP, Interactive DVTV, and OSGi. JXTA was on everyone's radar so to a large degree the session dealt with updates and quick dive downs to more detailed discussions.

Given that I don't often travel and when I do I travel really light I opted to pack only the shoes on my feet; my beloved docs ... big mistake. By the end of the first day I was walking on the worst blisters I've had for years ... and this with two days left in the journey. Not pretty.

We then hit CES to which I hobbled along behind my quick footed colleague as we darted hither and dither on the show floor. All in all CES was a bit much for me, too much information, although I did gravitate to the killer car audio systems ... likely a result of all the noise and assorted distractions. We did run into Coolio, who, as fate would have it, turns out to be a JXTA fan. Having met "the man" followed by some quick JXTA Config design ideas and associated use cases I opted to crawl to the airport and catch an early flight home. Mission accomplished.

Next up, Lauren and I took on Times Square NYC to represent JXTA at LinuxWorld during one of the coldest seasons on record. Very cool ... literally. Being my first time to the Big Apple I was in a bit of awe. With Zamberlans firmly on foot I hit a couple of the delis within a 3 block radius of the hotel as that's about as far as I cared to venture out in the cold. Little did I know Rupert's Hello Deli was only 5 blocks away or else I would've gotten his take on JXTA as well.

The JXTA demos worked like a charm once we exercised some local networking demons. JXTA was listed as a Best Open Source Project finalist along with GenToo, KDE and Helix, which won the category. Suffice to say we were in good company. Regarding GenToo, I can't find a soul who has a disparaging word against it and the folks I chatted with in the GenToo booth were pretty cool. Upon perusing the LinuxWorld Product Excellence finalist something feels amiss. I don't know, it could just be me but the selections just seem odd.

All in all good times. savage was debugging and churning out revs of his JXTA Go application realtime via JXTA JNLP and folks were drawn like moths to a light bulb to the JackNet/GlowingOrb demo. We're working to provide a running example of JackNet live, webcam and all, in the near future. Also, word is that Ted Kosan and the JackNet crew are working on JackNet.nextGen ... stay tuned. Should be fun.

The booth traffic was pretty much non-stop. Most folks had heard of JXTA and were eager to better understand and explore architecture, security and deployment scenarios. Great dialogs. Some folks are really pushing the boundaries. Beyond JXTA, JDS was a massive hit. Java, in general was a constant theme in addition to Solaris/x86.

Laruen is an excellent travel partner as she compliments (my words) my "adhoc" approach to travel. My wife thinks I'm not all that well organized ... and she's likely right. Following Lauren's game plan we had a great dinner in Grenwich Village (Wasabi Salmon ... hmmmmmm), too many "Mango Margs" at Zanzibar and an excellent night time tour of the Empire State Building with no lines ... as it was BLOODY COLD yet none-the-less gorgeous. We missed out on seeing the Daily Show earlier in the week but on a whim got standby tickets for the Letterman Show. We were fortunate enough to get in as two of the last four and could even be seen on TV during the "Stump the Band" segment. A "20 seconds of fame" event I was sure to notify my family about. Attending a Letterman Show is something I've wanted to do for years ... and with that we claimed victory and headed home :)

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: The Crystal Method/Legion of Boom/Bound Too Long

JXTA@LinuxWorld.NYC - "The Demos"

The demos we intend to show next week at Linux World include:

JackNet - devices

We now have a cool "crystal ball" like lamp with swirling effects, etc. that we will control via JackNet. Upon pulling down the code I noticed that the "JackNet Clan" are aiming towards a x10 implementation ... should be fun.

Go - JNLP link available ... no excuses

The folks at Morgan Spenser Consulting have made available a JXTA enabled Go game that is quite snappy.

ZIM-Pro - IM

The folks at Zudha have made available an Instant Messaging application.

VistaPortal - Integration

VistaPortal showcases JXTA applied to a number of business integration scenarios.

et al - J2ME/phone, Zaurus chatting and file share

InstantP2P and PicShare are JXTA apps that enable J2SE and J2ME app collaboration.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: The Verve/Urban Hynms/The Rolling People

JXTA@LinuxWorld.NYC

Drop us a line if you are attending, or interested in attending, LinuxWorld and would like to "talk JXTA." Free exhibit passes are available up through Jan 19th.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: The Crystal Method/Vegas/Cherry Twist

JXTA 2.2 final

It just keeps getting better.

Community Members,

We are pleased to announce the availability of a new JXTA J2SE stable
release, 2.2 "Timpani". The 2.2 release is a significant release that
contains a number of new features and some important bug fixes.

This release is designed to be API and protocol backwards compatible
with other JXTA J2SE 2.x releases. <more>

The new feature set is quite impressive:

• PSE Membership Service
• CBID ID Format (crypto based id)
• CBJX Message Transport (crypto based JXTA transport)
• Extendable Advertisement
• Lightweight PeerGroups
• Message Transport "IOCTL" API / Router "IOCTL" Implementation
• Expanded JXTA Configuration API
• Improved JNLP packaging

and the resolved issues list is massive.

JXTA.next (aka Chirasco) is taking shape at this time so do consider dialing in and giving JXTA a go. Good times.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Joy Division/Permanent/Isolation

JXTA Bug Day

The inaugural JXTA Bug Day has been fun. Met some new folks and chatted with vetrans alike.

The best of all situations is when this *stuff* deploys, configures and renders in the "real world" relatively seemlessly ... and this has been a re-occuring comment from folks new to JXTA which happened upon JXTA Bug Day. Cool feedback has also been that it is great to have a JXTA reference implementation with which to learn from let alone use. I am a *huge* advocate of this position as well noting that this process, in turn, generates a tight and direct feedback loop into the latest/greatest JXTA release. Nothing but goodness.

Got a chance to find out what some other Java developers are doing out there. The cross Java technology synergy is, in a word, amazing. Good stuff ineed.

Chatting with JXTA vetrans during JXTA Bug Day *via* JXTA is a complete blast. They have context with regards to the early days and how far things have progressed and the opportunities that lay ahead. Can you tell I'm smiling?

The bulk of the JXTA Platform develolpers hang out on the "Bug Day channel" as well which is fun. I, for one, am glad to have thier help refining MyJXTA and the like.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Orbital/The Altogether/Last Thing

Deploying JXTA just got a whole lot easier

Java WebStart is amazing. It is just as simple as that. Installation is trivial and the opportunities to endless. I just combed the JNLP Specification and am impressed with the improvements contained within since I had last tooled around with JNLP.

Enough WebStart gushing ... how am I using JNLP in my day-to-day.

Here's the skinny. I have a rich client that sits on top of JXTA. We've been deploying as a binary, source and cvs for quite some time now and even JNLP. Upon updating to J2SE 1.4.2 I took the time, as should you, to get familiar with the included WebStart mods. Firstly, adding WebStart to your (*nix) env [as if there is any other] is as trivial as adding [j2se]/jre/javaws to your PATH. Next up, I simply had to dust off my original JNLP file.

For my particular app I distribute a single jar, that is myjxta-2.2a.jar, yet I largely (and happily) depend upon JXTA and all it's constituents with which it is comprised, some of which may (or may not) be signed 3rd party jars in turn and can vary over time, etc.

JNLP 1.0.1 (and possibly earlier) inlcludes a really cool "extension resource" such that any one app can reference zero or more "component" JNLP distributions which can, in turn, further reference zero or more component JNLP distributions. The result, of which, is that I, as a JXTA application developer, need no longer care about JXTA deployment details, upgrades, jar signing, etc. To be honest, all of the above are issues that one, to an extent, should be aware of but my point is that with this very enabling deployment model I need not care as much about the constituent details as I was forced to without JNLP, and to that end I "throw mad props" to WebStart/JNLP team.

As a result, my new JNLP file is elegantly simple and included here:

  
    
    myjxta2.jxta.org
    
    MyJXTA: chat, share ... change the world
    
    
  
  
    
  
  
    
    

    
    
  
  

Lastly, here's the app in question: MyJXTA 2.2a

I constructed the underlying Platform, Security and CMS jnlp files as well and while they are a bit more involved they are logicaly scoped, can vary independently and readily re-usable ... simply by adding the relevant "extension resources" as shown above.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Interpol/Turn on the Bright Lights/The New

JXTA Configuration Made Simple

    I've updated the "JXTA Extention: Configurator" wiki to reflect the newly minted
    "configuration registration" api:

        JXTA Ext: Configurator

    As we roll forward with JXTA 2.2 I believe FAQ items 1, 2 and 6 are addressed and/or
    resolved consistently with the new JXTA Extention Configurator api.

    The classic "Configurator UI" is wrapped in a default net.jxta.peergroup.Configurator
    implementation and a NullConfigurator implemenation has also been introduced for those
    that want to handle all the config details.

    Thank you Mathieu and Randy for Config interest and help. Also, there is a ton more we
    can do in this space so I look forward to ongoing discussions in that regard. Namely
    relevant system profiling resulting in tuned configuration as expressed by Brad and Vikas
    and new UIs, possibly seeded with SwiXml. Feel
    free to lend a hand.

    I also updated the WebStart MyJXTA[2] 2.2a link:

        MyJXTA 2.2a

    which is a build that uses both JXTA 2.2 and the new JXTA Extention Configurator.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: The Crystal Method/Tweekend/Tough Guy

JXTA Sightings.

To me, the secret in building systems that rock, no, better yet, monster systems, is all in the *blend*. I don't buy the silver bullet, floor wax *and* dessert topping single focussed story lines that fashionably spill out from time to time inevitably resulting in misdirected project churn regardless as to the best of intentions. Such tactics are often enamoured deeply with one or another flavor of the day solutions that might sing and dance like a champ in the lab but upon release in the wild tend to not have the legs to get up and run let alone walk a straight line during 9 to 5 working hours.

What catches my eye is rock solid logically blended strategies seeing, first hand, that such systems tend to adapt more organically, have staying power and are, frankly, a kick in the pants to construct and cultivate ... the last of which is likey the primary reason such systems thrive.

As such, I wanted to point out a cool JXTA sighting that is truly blended(tm). Daniel Elenius completed his initial work on a JXTA/DAML-S integeration project which is ...

... basically a framework ... to let JXTA peers described their services semantically using DAML-S and WSDL, and search/use each others services (using JXTA-SOAP, and reasoning in JTP).

Upon digging a bit into Daniel's work a bit further I noticed he is using an AI package authored by a colleague of mine during a "start up gig I did back in the day." I've always wanted to play more with fuzzy logic/AI'ish system and every time I run across blended systems such as this I smile knowing the app infrastructure bar is continually rising.

It's all in the blend.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Moby/Moby 18 B Sides/ISS

JXTA Town Hall: 2003.11.06

The recent JXTA Town Hall was informative as usual. For me, yet another <teaser>light</teaser> went off. One thing I'd like to hear more of is general P2P discussions, theories, applications complimented with JXTA implementations .. but that might be a bit of a broad topic for the occasional JXTA Town Hall. I'm not sure.

This time, IRC was incorporated to include those that couldn't attend in person. We also had Ted Kosan both on the phone line and wired in via a webcam. We need to do more in this area, stream the audio, provide a webcam, etc.

The meeting kicked of with an updated JXTA overview followed by a a great real-world presentation from Aubrey Jackson of National Association of Realtors. NAR has integrated a number of point solutions to which the aggregate results are far more enabling then any singular technology focused deployment.

Next up was a JXTA 2.2 (aka JXTA 03Q4/Timpani) release update. JXTA 2.2 is in beta now. New features include:

• Security
• PSE (Personal Security Environment) Membership
• Extensible Advertisements
• Lightweight PeerGroup
• CBJX (Crypto based JXTA Message Transport)
• JXTA Extension: Configurator
• performance (PipeService, EndpointRouter)
• a number of bug fixes

Some folks are pondering the idea of leveraging Planet Lab as a massive network with which to further test the scale of JXTA. Cool.

The JDF (JXTA Distributed Framework) was quite informative. So much so that internally we use JDF to manage the deployment of our JXTA 2.2 functional test systems removing a ton of error prone and timely systems configuration, build up and deployment processes.

Next up, Ted and I presented the latest JackNet work that Ted and his team have been working on. Here's the facts. I received 3 JackNet devices one day and put them on my desk to work with before the pending Town Hall. As things progressed I had about 2 hours to spare the day before the Town Hall and chose to dive in. As a result, I went from having a couple of lumps of cold plastic in my hands to being able to programmatically turn on and off my local light *in addition* Ted's remote light via JXTA all achieved in *30 minutes* flat and verified webcam eye witnesses! I love it when "software meets hardware" and with JXTA under the covers I'm convinced this is just the start of something good.. If your are curious check out JackNet and it's sister project Embedlets. I have seen the light.

Lastly, Brad provided an update to his work on the Configuration Profiler that will enable a best-fit default configuration based upon the collection of environmental heuristics with examples being bi-directional network reachability, capacity, etc.

I've been busy as of late on the JXTA Extension: Configuration package which is, for the most part, an aggregation of the various yet distributed configuration utilities. With this as a baseline we should be able to up-level much of the JXTA deployment and manageability tasks.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Death In Vegas/Scorpio Rising/Hands Around My Throat

JXTA 2.2-b (aka 03Q4) has entered beta ...

JXTA 2.2-b (aka 03Q4) is upon us and normalizing out nicely. Those using previous JXTA releases are encouraged to try out JXTA 2.2 (cvs -r JXTA_2_2_STABLE) and for those new to JXTA, this is a great time to climb aboard.

Sing Li has published an insightful article, titled JXTA 2: A high-performance, massively scalable P2P network, that highlights the overarching JXTA 2.x design goals coupled with a number of focussed "how to" items.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Paul Oakenfold/Ibiza/Narayan

JXTA TownHall agenda

Here's the agenda for the forthcoming JXTA Town Hall of which I likely jumped the gun a bit in my ealier posting:

National Association of Realtors & JXTA - Aubrey Jackson
December Project JXTA 2.2 release - Mike Duigou
Project JXTA update - Mohamed Abdelaziz
iJXTA (JXTA - Apple Rendevous Interconnect) - Mohamed Abdelaziz
Planet Lab - Bernard Traversat
JDF - Calvin Cheng
Embedlets - James Todd

Included are directions for those that can attend in person and the IRC channel irc://freenode#jxta for those that would like to participate remotely.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Smashing Pumpkins/Gish/Suffer

JXTA:03Q4 [aka Timpani]

To infintity and beyond ... Project JXTA current work:

The next planned release of JXTA J2SE is expected December 15th, 2003. There is a lot of work happening related to this release and a number of significant improvements to the JXTA platform are planned.

An updated version of the JXTA J2SE Roadmap has been prepared. This is going to be a very exciting JXTA release and now is a great time to get involved!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Death in Vegas/The Contino Sessions/ Aisha

Keeping it Real

The next JXTA Town Hall is coming up. I like smallish, open and interactive forums. Good stuff.

Aubrey Jackson will be in town to discuss the National Association of Realtors use of Project JXTA technology. In addition, a number of the Sun engineers will be sharing details on the projects they are involved with. Feel free to stop by and chat if you are in the area and if you don't happen to be in the area consider dialing in via irc://freenode#jxta.

If you plan on attending the 2004 IEEE Consumer Communications and Neworking Conference the first week of January in Las Vegas a Project JXTA Tutorial will be available for those interested in JXTA applications development.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Gomez/In Our Gun/Detroit Swing 66

All things Blinky

Did you ever want to do things like *remotely* turn your porch light on, feed your cat or dog, water your plants or automatically feed ...

Hmmmmmm, I'm going to have to ponder on that one for a moment ...

The folks at embedlets.org came away from the past JavaOne with some fresh ideas, the results of which was announced this just this week as the Global Blinker Project hosted on Project JXTA.

This is simply too cool.

The purpose of the Global Light Blinker project is to create a world-wide JXTA GlobalLightBlinker PeerGroup which will allow people to experiment with remotely controlling embedded devices through the internet using JXTA and Embedded Java.

Not a problem, and security is baked in.

JavaOne rocks:

The idea for the Global Light Blinker project came from some discussions that a few of us Embedded Java developers had with some of the JXTA developers during the most recent JavaOne. Soon after these discussions, it became apparent to us that the then-new JXTA 2.0 release had punched-through a barrier that us Embedded Java developers had been beating our heads against since 1999.

You know something good is brewing when complimentary disciplines naturally meld together to create a sum greater than that of it's constituent parts. The world could use more of this type of thinking.

Ted has even figured out a means to make available open source hardware for the next phase of the project:

The first hand-built hardware prototypes started to be assembled earlier this week and, after much searching, we have also found a company that is willing to produce the open-source/open-schematic hardware units in volume at the lowest reasonable price using university-student ... we have discovered that, while the world has embraced the concept of open-source software, this is not yet the case for open-schematic hardware.

Interested?

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: FatBoy Slim/Live on Brighton Beach/Star 69

JXTA:03Q4, quality SunNetwork "booth time" and RadioHead

First things first ... this last week I attended a RadioHead concert that was, simply put, A*MAZE*ZING! "Good for the soul" kind of amazing.

JXTA:03Q4

The next quartely release of JXTA is starting to take shape and will likely define what is meant by "secure distributed computing." High order details will be posted on the top-level JXTA mailing lists in the next couple of days. Scalability is a continuing key initiative in addition to a number of infrastructural tasks will be addressd.

If you are interested in contributing to Project JXTA in a number of ways, getting started is as simple as 1 2 3. A number of resources are freely available including a JXTA Wiki, FAQs and developer tools including tutorials, white papers, interest lists and an assortment of operational projects.

To fast track, simply provide the limited edition JXTA coupon to any one of a number of participating JXTA projects.

SunNetwork 2003

It was extremely refreshing to engage in a number of very real-world discussions at this years SunNetwork Conference. NACS, National Association of Convenience Stores, use of JXTA was of particular interest. The behind the scenes operations of your typical convenience store is a mix of complex real-time systems provided by a myriad of solutions providers. JXTA is accelerating the secure integration of smart devices, large and small, in the next generation convenience stores. From this discussion point, folks delved into areas of field exploration, document management and video streaming. Keeping it real.

I got a chance to see Looking Glass and was quite impressed. This type of "thinking differently" is precisely why I work at Sun. Enough said.

As stated earlier, RadioHead is an amazing in your ears ^tm and in your eyes experience. I noticed Jonny now includes what looks to be an iBook mixed in with his eclectic assortment of "instruments" this go around. Hmmmmm, note to self ... figure out a means to incorporate JXTA in the next RadioHead world tour :)

+--- limited edition JXTA coupon ---+
|                                   |
|  Java == platform independence    |
|  XML  == application independence |
|  JXTA == network independence     |
|                                   |
|  Secure End-to-End Computing      |
|                                   |
+--- limited edition JXTA coupon ---+









Paper AirPlanes, Tinker Toys, Grids and P2P - and I'm quite certain I wasn't lost in a neighborhood Toys "R" Us

Posted by gonzo on September 20, 2003 at 06:47 PM | Permalink
| Comments (9)







 I believe JXTA is one of the more social and organic enabling technologies that I have had the opportunity to work with. Candidly, working with JXTA is a serious kick in the pants. The good folks that comprise the JXTA team typically take the opportunity to organize informal Town Hall events when a significant number of developers converge for one reason or another. Thusly, just such an event was held the evening of Sep 16th across the street from the 03 Q3 SunNetwork Conference.



Roughly 25 folks showed up and stayed the durationn, engaging in thoughtful dialog throughout the evening. I very much like working in the networked world but unplugging and investing in some quality face-time is always rewarding; charging one's batteries so to speak.



Opening and Overview : Lauren Zuravleff, Sun JXTA Marketting



Lauren welcomed folks and proceed to provide a series of JXTA industry and community updates. New and interesting applications are continually surfacing. Fun stuff.



P2PSockets : Brad Neuberg, Independent Developer



Brad started the presentations by describing the work he is undertaking leveraging the ultra-cool JxtaSocket API which is a functional implementation of java.net.Socket differing primarily only in the constructor. This work exists as the JXTA P2PSockets project.



In applying this strategy, existing skills and application logic, namely Sockets (the foundation of all distributing programming), Servlets, JSPs and JAX-RPC, can readily be repurposed upon a JXTA network. Upon this model a number of intriguing opportunities arise, one being a distributed DNS. Beyond the details, this is just plain and simply very cool, marrying the best of Java with the pervassiveness of JXTA.



P2PSockets create the "thin illusionn that the P2P network is actually a standard TCP/IP network." Using standard and readily available web technologies, one can easily purvey classic web services unaltered and in thier native form, namely J2EE/WAR compliant containers and the like. Bridging web service clients via a standards compliant P2PToWebProxy niether consumer nor provider need worry about and in fact are directly exposed to the underlying JXTA details. Viable clients include but are not limited to popular web browsers.



Work building on top of P2PSockets includes Paper Airplane which takes the next logical step, that being to push readily available metadata (e.g. XUL, XML, etc) to and from edge extremes.



Uniform Storage Solutions : Magaret Green, OnToNet Founder



Margaret feels personal storage management is an escalating problem largely driven by the low cost of high volume of a myriad of storage devices. No need to convince me, one who gladly suffers from "proud  father syndrome" and thereby takes way too many pictures of his 3 year old son's every move :)



The principal idea, one of which OnToNet has been focussing on for awhile now, is to consider a means for a uniform storage model which at it's heart is comprised of virtualization and P2P via JXTA.



OnToNet has the bulk of the problem domain well in hand, that being the nodes, or little round toys of Tinker Toy fame. In Margaret's words, "... JXTA provides the little pipe tinkers that link the toys ... resuting in TinkerToys." Nice analogy.



Grid Computing with JxGrid : Charu Chaubal, Sun GridEngine Engineer



The JxGrid project is an initiative that brings together large scale Grid Engine work, on the order of 2K CPUs and 1M jobs/day, with that of JXTA. This is not your small time endeavor. This implementation strives to run client jobs unmodified and in native form. JXTA brings to the table eased systems management and messaging.



EZ JXTA with EZEL and JAL : Neel Nadgir, Sun Market Development Engineer



The EZEL and JAL projects enable rapid development of the most typical JXTA use cases by easing integration and capturing best practice p atterns. A number of projects have been built upon these libraries.



Distributed computing with JNGI : Jerome Verbeke, Sun Market Development Engineer



The JNGI project is a framework for distributing applications among JXTA peer groups by implementing a classic Worker/Task pattern. One thing that really stood out in this initiative is that in order to project a piece of application logic across a JXTA network one need only implement a RemoteThread interface. Put another way, this approach extends the well known java.lang.Thread model to relatively seemlessly execute distributed computing. Here's what the core interface looks like:


public class RemoteThread {
  public RemoteThread(Runnable);
  public void start();
  public void join();
  public Runnable getRunnable();
  public void quit();
  public void remove();
}



Very cool!



JXTA.next : Mike "bondolo" Duigou, Sun JXTA Engineer



The JXTA team is striving for quarterly moving foward. The JXTA 2.1.1 release was finalized Sep 15th.



Looking forward to the next release JXTA will take on a number of extended security features, namely certificate based ids and authenticated messaging. As such, J2SE 1.4.2 will be the required platform given a substantial number of security features exist in this release that would be quite difficult to backport. The JXTA team has been running 1.4.2 in a number of environments since it's release and have as of yet seen no technical barriers to adoption.



CBID will enable a peer's ID to seve as an authenticated identity. This will work quite well in a corporate
environment. A very cool outcome of this work will be that non-authenticated messages will be immediately discarded.



Q&A



After a brief round of introductions was followed by an interactive Q&A session.


How best can one avoid the *$%! configurator? Take a look at the UI-less Configuration JXTAWiki. There's likely more work we can do in this space of which some ideas have been explored in both the MyJXTA2 and JDF projects, which both build upon the net.jxta.util.config.Configurator class as mentioned above.


What else is new? There will be continued work in scalability and extended security ... onwards and upwards.


Can the build environment and associated information be expanded? Like that of MozDev?


Adding more functionality to the build system is great objective. Elixir has been evaluated. Maven is also a option.


What about role based authenitcation? Along with exetended security functionality SAML is being considered.

What can the community do to help?


    
use JXTA
    
test and report findings (e.g. consider contributing to the growing jUnit test suite)
    
report bugs
    
collaborate with patches and new initiatives
    
apply JXTA to existing problem domains


What of P2P and USB On-The-Go? There is interest in evaluating JXTA and USB On-the-Go synergies. Any takers?

Has anyone considered a Bay Area JXTA User Group? This question has come up a number of times as of late to which everyone believes it would be a great idea to persue.



Java == platform independence

XML  == application independence

JXTA == network independence



Secure End-to-End Computing 












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