Ben Galbraith's Blog

The (Java on OS X) Sky is Falling!

With a tip of the hat to Casablanca, I'm shocked--SHOCKED--to read the really rather embarrassing blog entries from folks in the community about the state of Java in Apple's latest OS release (see David Herron's blog for a round up of some).

Please.

It turns out that Swing in Leopard represents a huge leap forward in Apple's commitment to desktop Java. Among the new goodies I've stumbled across are animated triangles in JTrees, the already-mentioned transition to Sun's rendering pipeline (a tough but correct decision reflecting a commitment to cross-platform fidelity), a revised UI for JTabbedPane, improved button rendering behavior, and more.

I suspect as time passes, more improvements will come out and folks will understand just how busy the Apple Java team has been.

So, what, there are some bugs in OS X 10.5.0? They didn't have 1.6 ready out-of-the-chutes? Big deal. Give it time, just like we have with every release of Java since OS X first shipped with Java 1.3. Only now, thanks to Parallels/Fusion, we actually have a great alternative for the impatient.

Kudos, Apple, for a fine release and for all your hard work.

UPDATE: I've elaborated a bit after reading the release notes.

Comments

• Thanks! I was getting tired of people whining about Java 6 not being in Leopard.

  Posted by: gfx on October 30, 2007 at 09:23 PM

• If Apple were to care about Developers as much as they claim to do so, they could just post a small note like: "We're working to release a Java 6 JDK as soon as possible. We're aiming for Q4 2007. Thanks for the patience."

  That would help provide some information. But right now, there is nothing. Even Microsoft communicates way better than this!

  Posted by: tegbains on October 30, 2007 at 10:36 PM

• tegbains is right about the lack of communications from Apple and I don't understand how people, especially after reading tons of blogs, still don't get this simple point :-) And the point is not only _developer_ support, but _deployment_ support: I believe we can't deploy our application with Parallels, right? :-/ The net result is that if one needs to support Mac OS X can't still start using Java 6, and ten months after its release is pretty pretty annoying.

  "a tough but correct decision reflecting a commitment to cross-platform fidelity"

  This should be debated a bit. For instance, they changed the JOptionPane so it only shows the application icon instead of the ones provided by the Java runtime (e.g. the "message", "informational", "warning", "error"). This is because the Aqua guidelines says each message box should show the application icon. Fine, but this doesn't go in the direction of cross-platform fidelity, so I have still to understand what's about the pipeline.

  Posted by: fabriziogiudici on October 30, 2007 at 11:39 PM

• 
  tegbains: You sound like half of a failed marriage. "If he/she loved me, he/she would do X..." Apple is Apple. Your expectations for how they show commitment to Java is different than how they operate, as years of experience have shown.

  
  fabriziogiudici: Deploy our apps without a Windows VM? Do you mean Java 6 apps? 10 months? Dude, OS X ObjC developers have had to wait over a year and half to deploy ObjC 2.0 apps, and ObjC 2.0 is a much bigger leap forward for them than Java 6 was for us.

  
  Guys, this is life in the big city for those who care to target the Mac. Please, get it over it.
  

  Posted by: javaben on October 31, 2007 at 04:35 AM

• For the last few years, big player in the Java community promoted Mac for free.. few years ago almost all JavaOne presentation was hosted in Mac computer. This caused mystic feeling in the Java community about a supernatural quality of Machintosh and its OS.... reinforced in many coluntries by the stupid price of such computers, restricted only for the very rich and/or privileged people :)Well, time to recognize the reality: Macs are only gadgets, and sometimes technology become obsolete :) Let's use Linux on normal-price computer and let's forget the rot apple :) ehehe

  Posted by: felipegaucho on October 31, 2007 at 07:23 AM

• felipegaucho: Let me know how that works out for you. :-)

  Posted by: javaben on October 31, 2007 at 07:34 AM

• Preach it, brother!

  If you're not willing to drop the extra $70 on VMWare + a free Linux distro (or Windows, if you really need that pain in your life) -- just how serious a Java developer can you be?

  Posted by: davidrupp on October 31, 2007 at 07:40 AM

• > The already-mentioned transition to Sun's rendering pipeline (a tough
  > but correct decision reflecting a commitment to cross-platform fidelity),

  I really don't see how this has anything to do with cross-platform fidelity. After all, Sun JVMs don't even use the Sun pipeline by default anymore. They use the OpenGL pipeline where / when it is available.

  I think all Apple really did by switching to the Sun pipeline is make Java2D performance unusably slow, and create tons of support headaches for developers who now have to field all the complaints from their customers about why their application no long works correctly on Leopard, and either explain to the customer who to enable the Quartz pipeline, or ship a patch for their application to re-enable the Quartz pipeline.

  Posted by: mikeurban on October 31, 2007 at 08:01 AM

• Ben, I don't think it's your job, or the purpose of your blog to convey Apple's intentions. We comment our code to communicate to others the intention of some code.

  Most of the FUD regarding this issue is Apple's complete lack of communication. If Apple were a developer on my team, they'd be fired.

  Posted by: raytucson on October 31, 2007 at 08:10 AM

• Apple committed to Java?

  Does Apple’s IPhone support Java?
  What about other Apple devices?
  What about Apple’s support of Java in the past?

  The one complaint from I’ve heard repeatedly from Mac enthusiast over the years is Apple lack of commitment to Java. I’m glad to hear Apple is working on Java, but it doesn’t seem that Apple’s heart is really into Java.
  

  Posted by: malcolmdavis on October 31, 2007 at 08:19 AM

• 
  raytucson + malcolmdavis: The purpose of my two recent blog entries is not to somehow represent Apple or their intentions. Apple is Apple. I have no access to inside information. The purpose of my blog entry is to counter claims by some that Java 5 on Leopard took a huge leap backwards and therefore represents receding commitments to Java by Apple.

  
  Far from it. In fact, this morning I made my app support horizontal scroll wheels, but only on the Mac since Sun's "lack of commitment" to Java Desktop has prevented them from implementing it yet.

  
  See, I guess it is kind of foolish to infer commitment to a platform based on individual features.
  

  Posted by: javaben on October 31, 2007 at 08:28 AM

• 1. People who are saying Java 6 is late for OS X because Java 6 for Windows/Linux/Solaris has been out for something like 11 months now are missing one very important fact: Sun makes the JDK for those platforms, and thus will always be ahead.

  To determine lateness of Java 6 for OS X, one has to look at non Sun supplied Java 6 versions, that is, IBM, HP-UX etc. Apple is not late, compared to these folks, and, generally is near the head of the pack. And, since Apple does the Aqua L&F, Apple, in fact, has more work to do. Yes, OS X is much more visible than (for example) IBM server platforms, and is used for active, primary development more, so there is more Java developer urgency.

  As developers, we don't like this, but it is reality. Should Apple staff the Java team more aggressively to address this? Sure, and mention to the various Apple contacts that you have, as I have done.

  2. To say that Apple is comparable to Microsoft in how they treat their developers is laughable. Microsoft's treatment of developers has resulted in billions of dollars in fines levied against Microsoft.

  Microsoft communication is chronically highly inaccurate spin designed to manipulate customers and the competition, IMHO. Personally, I find it to be of little value. To be fair, Apple spins as well, but, in my view, tends to be considerably more accurate.

  Apple, IMHO, was unwise to pull the Java 6 preview without leaving a note as others have suggested. Considering past Apple history, I take this to mean that an update is coming soon - a new preview.

  3. Leopard is a massive upgrade - check out what was changed in the plumbing. Big item of the day: DTrace - where is DTrace for Windows/Linux by the way? Leopard is a major development effort, and Apple insisted on meeting their revised October target. And, clearly, some things didn't make it. Everybody is looking at the big picture, right?

  Posted by: ga427 on October 31, 2007 at 08:56 AM

• Mike Urban, I've followed up on your Java2D rendering pipeline comments here: http://weblogs.java.net/blog/javaben/archive/2007/10/java_on_leopard.html

  Posted by: javaben on October 31, 2007 at 10:00 AM

• As people said elsewhere "Java is dead because Sun doesn't release a Mac JVM". That of course is utter FUD and BS. Macs are a fringe market in the entire computer industry, always have been and probably always will be. And Apple has openly announced that "noone uses Java" so their lack of effort to keep up with JVM releases is understandable from their corporate perspective.

  Posted by: jwenting on October 31, 2007 at 11:08 PM

• Nice...
  http://www.impact-fellowship.org/_cusudi/0000007a.htm
  http://www.chaco.gov.ar/meccyt/subsecyt/_act1/0000060b.htm
  http://www.chaco.gov.ar/meccyt/subsecyt/_act1/00000353.htm
  http://www.wapug.org.uk/_CoP_discussion/00001ca9.htm
  Harvard - Harvard

  http://www.wapug.org.uk/_CoP_discussion/00001ca8.htm
  Stanford - Stanford
  http://washington.uwc.edu/about/faculty/rybak_c/webpage/_disc10/00005663.htm
  http://orgs.salisbury.edu/fishing/Discussion/0000737f.htm
  Yale - Yale

  Posted by: jamesdalton on January 21, 2008 at 12:19 AM

• lotro gold
  lord of the rings gold
  lord of the rings online gold
  lotro gold
  lord of the rings gold
  lord of the rings online gold
  Warhammer gold
  Warhammer online gold
  Warhammer money
  War gold
  War money
  Tabula Rasa Credit
  lotro gold
  lord of the rings gold
  lord of the rings online gold
  lord of the rings online gold
  lord of the rings gold
  Tabula Rasa Credit
  World of Warcraft gold
  PotBS Doubloons
  Pirates of the Burning Sea Doubloons
  PotBS Gold
  Pirates of the Burning Sea Gold
  lotro gold
  lord of the rings gold
  lord of the rings online gold
  Tabula Rasa Credit
  Warhammer gold
  Warhammer online gold
  PotBS Doubloons
  PotBS gold
  Age of Conan gold
  Age of Conan gold
  Pirates of the Burning Sea gold
  Pirates of the Burning Sea Doubloons
  Warhammer gold
  Warhammer online gold
  Age of Conan gold
  PotBS Doubloons
  PotBS gold
  Pirates of the Burning Sea gold
  Pirates of the Burning Sea Doubloons
  

  Posted by: huang_lar on March 16, 2008 at 12:55 PM

• The fourth wow power leveling latest game in wow power leveling Warcraft series is ‘wow power leveling’. Also known as wow power leveling, it represents a wow power leveling multiplayer online wow power leveling game, the best of wow power leveling kind. Initially, it was wow gold it be released in 2001, but wow powerleveling was delayed wow powerleveling 2004, thus wow powerleveling the 10 years ofwow powerleveling franchise of thiswow gold series. The world of warcraft power leveling was not world of warcraft power levelingfulfilling, because wow power levelproblems with wow power level server’s stability power leveling wow performance occurred, but power leveling wow game still power leveling wow a financial success powerleveling wow the most powerleveling wow game of its kind. The number cheap wow power leveling users that play Maple Story mesos, exceeds 8.5 MapleStory mesos, worldwide.As a form ms mesos,recognition for mesos,outstanding popularity, the game SilkRoad Gold, received aSRO Gold, of awards. Now the question eq2 plat, why is eq2 gold, game eq2 Platinum, popular? For anyoneEverQuest 2 Platinum, played the previous EverQuest 2 gold, and EverQuest 2 plat, already initiated lotro gold, the mysterious world lotr gold, the breathtaking Lord of the Rings online Gold, this Rolex Replica nothing but an Replica Rolex adventure that continues the story of ‘Warcraft III: Frozen Throne’, four years after conclusion, in the world of Azeroth. The game is online role-playing, the previous versions being online and offline strategy games. The major thrills and unique features are present as in every Blizzard game.

  Posted by: liwan on May 27, 2008 at 02:26 AM

• 一直以来我觉的很有道理,而且喜欢wow gold的朋友继续支持这款游戏,可以提供aoc gold服务,推荐几个站点：压片机
  温州网站建设温州网站推广搜索引擎优化伺服电机,大功率伺服电机伺服控制器，水冷电机、高速电机贴标机google排名

  Posted by: kaimeirui on June 09, 2008 at 01:44 AM

• lotro gold
  wow gold
  wow gold
  wow gold
  wow gold
  aoc gold,aoc powerleveling
  aoc gold
  aoc cdkey

  buy age of conan gold,cheap age of conan gold
  age of conan accounts,age of conan guide
  age of conan gold,age of conan money
  age of conan power leveling,age of conan powerleveling
  Guild Wars Gold
  second life
  Eve Online gold
  SilkRoad
  EverQuest 2
  wow cdkey
  wow The Burning Crusade CD Key
  wow TBC
  WOW 60 Tage Game Time Card
  Lord of the Ring gold

  标牌，工号牌
  马口铁徽章、奖牌
  钥匙扣，开瓶器
  校徽，校牌
  切卷机
  图腾机柜
  蜡像
  玻璃瓶
  压片机
  压片机
  制丸机
  灌装机，熔封机，轧盖机
  粉碎机
  混合机
  颗粒机
  灌装机、轧盖机、熔封机
  灌装机、轧盖机、熔封机
  混合机
  粉碎机
  压片机
  颗粒机
  切片机，洗瓶机，数片机，填充机，糖衣机，切片机
  颗粒包装机,气动式颗粒包装机,机械式颗粒包装机
  冲瓶机
  充填机
  打码机
  粉剂包装机
  封口机
  过滤器
  灌装生产线
  汽水混合机
  水处理设备
  三角包装机
  贴标机
  洗瓶机
  液体包装机
  真空包装机
  温州网站建设、温州网页设计、温州网页制作
  温州网站建设、温州网页设计、温州网页制作
  link
  link
  link
  link
  link
  The End of the Road
  link
  link
  link
  link
  buy wow gold
  瑞安网站建设，瑞安网页设计、瑞安网页制作，瑞安网络公司
  瑞安人才
  瑞安人才网
  模切机
  温州家具
  浸塑加工
  烤炉、饺子机
  汤圆机，洗碗机

  Posted by: kaimeirui on June 09, 2008 at 01:44 AM

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.