Wizard API updated!
Tim Boudreau has released a new version of the Swing Wizard library (version 0.997) that fixes the WizardException bug reported in JavaWorld's recent Open Source Java Project profile. The article's examples have been reworked to test out the new, improved WizardException. Thanks, Tim, for this helpful fix!
Open Source Java Projects: The Wizard API

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Apple announces Java 2 plans at MacWorld

Long silent about future directions, members of Apple's Java team outlined

By Daniel H. Steinberg, JavaWorld.com, 02/09/00

On January 7, JavaWorld hosted its third State of Java on the Mac session at the MacWorld Expo. During the session, Apple stunned the audience by announcing that Java 2 will ship with Mac OS X.

The lively session also featured software demonstrations from AgentSheets, Metrowerks, Zero G Software, and Apple's QuickTime for Java group. Audience questions wrapped up this productive look at Apple's Java strategy.

The Demos

During the session, AgentSheets, Metrowerks, and Zero G Software all demonstrated their Java products for the Mac.

AgentSheets

AgentSheets President and CEO Alexander Repenning described AgentSheets as a "next-generation spreadsheet in which you place ... agents in a cell-organized structure." Apple, long interested in the AgentSheets research, has become a sponsor and supporter. Indeed, Apple has used some of the ideas in programming projects for children.

Repenning said that the recent work on AgentSheets has created a "souped-up version that allows you to have high-end simulations that can on the one hand be built by kids and at the same time by NASA scientists." Microgravity researchers at the University of Colorado used AgentSheets to model and refine an E. coli life-sciences experiment that later flew on the same October 1998 space shuttle mission that carried John Glenn. Repenning used a mudslide avalanche simulation to demonstrate how easy it was to vary parameters and change rules. Once the rules were set, he used the Ristretto tool to convert the simulation to a Java applet. The simulation's performance under Java was very good; in fact, the execution was so fast that you could actually see the shockwaves moving through the mudslide.

On the down side, Repenning pointed out that Java applets typically run faster on Windows machines. He also mentioned that while the complete AgentSheets programming environment is available in Windows, "Apple isn't quite ready with some crucial pieces, such as Java 2." Repenning repeated his commitment to the Macintosh platform and hoped out loud that platform differences in Java functionality wouldn't force him to move over to Windows.

Metrowerk's CodeWarrior

Metrowerks Software Engineer Greg Bolsinga showed CodeWarrior for Mac OS, Professional Edition 5.3, which recently went up on the Web (see the Resources section below for more information).

During his presentation, Bolsinga repeatedly referred to the upcoming version of CodeWarrior that he is working on but wasn't allowed to show. He noted that the next version's layout managers will be greatly improved, and that other upgrades were in the works as well. Bolsinga said that the Metrowerks Java Compiler, written in Macintosh native code, performs very quickly. He further explained that the Metrowerks debugger is controversial because "we used to make our own virtual machine (VM) and we made up our own way of debugging Java which is completely nonstandard but is very fast. Now our default install is the standard way of debugging, and it's not very fast." Bolsinga explained that by "the standard way of debugging," he meant Sun's Java debugging APIs. By using Sun's debugging APIs, CodeWarrior can debug many JVMs from different vendors. It also enables remote debugging, because it is based on TCP/IP. He said that Metrowerks and Apple anticipate that this method of debugging will be faster in Mac OS X, since there's no cooperative multitasking involved there to slow it down. Bolsinga demonstrated the construction of a simple Java application using CodeWarrior's wizards and visual tools. He explained that CodeWarrior's "RAD tools use JavaBeans, so you can have beans from third parties." He then included an IBM digital clock bean in his demo. Using the CodeWarrior Object Inspector, a user can see and edit the properties the JavaBean exposes. Developers who've worked on other platforms have seen tools such as these for Java 1.1 and later, but they are fairly new for Mac OS users.

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