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What is Java? A 10 minute guide for the uninitiated

Conceptually understanding Java in 10 minutes without getting lost in cyberspace

By Peter Kestenbaum, JavaWorld.com, 03/01/96

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. What's this?
Java has generated more interest in the computer industry, particularly in regard to the Internet and multimedia, than any other product during the summer and early fall of 1995. Its impact on the World Wide Web could be as dramatic as the spreadsheet was for PCs. Some have described it as the great enabling technology for electronic commerce. Others predict it will change the software distribution industry and how software providers or ISVs go to market. Still others say it will help level the playing field relative to that small company based in Redmond. So what exactly is it?

Java is a software technology -- actually a computer language -- available for the Internet (albeit useful on plain vanilla networks or as a standalone language). Developed by Sun, it has some very special properties. With Java, applications can be requested by a user over the Internet and run on a local machine. The sender need not know what the user environment looks like in terms of either hardware or software. And Java makes virus transmission almost impossible.

As a language Java looks like a simpler version of C++, so the developer community has a minimal learning curve. What's more, Java is a secure language, the most secure language available on the Internet.

Benefits

Because Java is platform independent, software developers need to create and test only one version of their application -- they don't need to write or maintain separate versions for Macintosh, Unix, NT, Windows 95, etc. In the future, those considering investments in hardware or operating software won't have to worry whether a specific application runs in their particular environment, since Java will run virtually anywhere.

For system administrators and information technology executives, Java simplifies revision control and access control because it requires only one copy of the software in one controlled location. This single application just gets loaded to a user at run time. Process and administration is left to those who do it best, without imposing on the flexibility and individuality that PC and workstation users have grown to love.

A new paradigm is born

For software providers, the Internet represents a free distribution medium. More significantly, it gives them equal "shelf" space to the mega companies, and simplifies release and update distribution.

Some experts see the software sales model changing from a fixed purchase price to a potentially more lucrative per-usage scheme. For example, a user might buy a 50-use package for .99, as opposed to a one-time purchase price of 99 that provides unlimited use. Not only will software suppliers likely make more money in the long run, but at the smaller price, bootlegging becomes less attractive.

Structurally the model changes, too. Module packaging becomes different -- the word processor gets separated from the spelling checker and the grammar checker and the graphics piece. If you use the word processor and not the graphics or grammar checker, why pay for the suite?

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