NYU AND THE WORLD-WIDE WEB

And the Latest Buzzword Is Java

by David Ackerman and David Frederickson

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Now that, like everyone else, you're spending full time on the Internet (what? you're not?), you hear everyone talking about the latest and greatest, so you know that the latest buzzword is Java: Java is new; Java is hot; Java is the next wave; Java is the killer app that will change the shape of computing. But is it?

Sort of; yes; maybe; and possibly.

What is Java?

Java is a programming language, which means that a program can be written in it to produce desired results. The result desired is usually to have two computers working together over the network, sharing the work in a way that minimizes the traffic on the network.

When a user clicks on a part of a Web page containing a Java link, a piece of computer code called an applet is downloaded to the user's computer. The applet, originally written in the Java programming language, has been compiled (translated) into Java byte code, which, being machine-independent, will run on any computer that has the right interpreter. A Java-capable Web browser can then interpret the code, which could be, say, a multimedia application.

Since the applet is transmitted as a simple text message, it's a much smaller file than the graphical files would be, and thus, it's much faster to download. And if the results of the applet tend to be repetitive, sending the applet can be a more efficient use of the network than sending the results of the program's actions.

Java's chief architect is James Gosling, who began work on what was called Oak in 1991 as a language for the consumer-electronics industry, where it could be used to provide added services such as interactive TV. When it became clear in 1994 that the market for set-top boxes was not yet ready for prime time, the project was retooled for the World-Wide Web.

The Java code is based on C++, currently one of the dominant programming languages, with several elements subtracted and a few added. It was developed at Sun Microsystems - a major producer of Unix workstations - but is designed specifically to function on any computer platform. The Java interpreter can be incorporated into another program, and has been widely licensed; it is included in Netscape 2.0 and has been licensed by Microsoft for inclusion in its Web browser.

Some feel that Java holds the promise of radically changing the current computing environment; even normal desktop applications like word processors could be written in Java. If Java does catch on, the network itself will become the most important element (or as Sun says, "the network is the computer").

Posted 16 February 1996. Revised 24 May 2004.