Web services test code generator
Klaus Berg has recently released a test-code generator for JUnit-based Web service clients. If you're developing Web services using Axis2 and XMLBeans this wizard could turn your JUnit test client coding into a powerful code generation process. It also has uses for those using GUI-based testing tools like soapUI.

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Java in the new economy

Java is a cornerstone in the spectacular growth of startups

By John Rommel, JavaWorld.com, 04/21/00

Startups and small companies have played a major role in the rapid advancement and growth of Java on the Internet. Startups adopted Java early on as the standard Internet language, and quickly transformed their ideas into Internet tools and filled niche markets overlooked by larger companies.

At first, startups' ability to adopt technology quickly was seen as a minimum requirement for survival in an industry dominated by the more established players. Later, however, that ability has come to be seen as the defining element in new-economy business models. Players in both the old economy and the new economy now look to startups and Java-based tool companies to provide them with the cross-platform applications necessary to survive and thrive in the Information Age.

In 1997, Java startups received an early boost from venture capitalist firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, & Byers, which manages the 00 million Java Fund. The Java Fund, one of the earliest promoters of Java, successfully incubated startups such as Healtheon, Marimba, and Corio. The list of companies sponsoring the Fund reads like a "Who's Who" of the technology industry: Cisco, Comcast, Compaq, IBM, Itochu, Netscape, Oracle, and Sun.

Wall Street is showing continued interest in startups, recognizing them as critical to the maintenance of the current economic dynamic. Wall Street analysts have tracked the development of Java from simple animated applets on Websites to industrial-strength applications for enterprise distribution, and have rewarded those companies with extensive coverage, promotion, and purchase recommendations. Corporate demand for Internet and intranet use is ever increasing. Successful IPOs, such as the recent Palm spin-off from 3Com, have been followed by other successful startups, which (until recently) have helped the Nasdaq reach wildly high levels.

New wireless technology by such startups (expected to be highlighted at this year's JavaOne Conference) addresses corporations' increasing demands. Java applets embedded in Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and Enterprise Java solutions supporting the new Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) and KVM platforms provide a compact operating system offering Java language simplicity, wireless support, and a service delivery platform, all more effectively than what's possible with the rigid C or C++ language.

Java technologies and architecture are helping early-stage startups build reliable, 24/7 availability, and scalable Internet products. Over the coming months, there will be a proliferation of products designed for set-top boxes using Jini, service delivery platforms using KVM and J2ME, and increasing use of Java technologies on servers. Although the number of Java developers has increased tenfold since 1997, the demand for skilled programmers is far outstripping the supply.

On March 8 in San Francisco, Sun Microsystems' CEO Scott McNealy announced the iForce program, which offers programs and services to promising startup companies. iForce not only provides discounted hardware, but also links startups with SunTone partners whose services include accounting, software development, and venture capital funding. IBM is ready to announce a program from its Next-Generation Business unit that will specialize in supporting startups with similar assistance in the near future.

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