Articles by Joseph Ottinger

JDJ Archives: Eclipse vs NetBeans - "Point/Counterpoint" Special

Sat, 15 Oct 2005 17:00:00 EDT

While NetBeans ain't perfect, far from it, SWT and Eclipse aren't right for Java, says Joseph Ottinger; a position with which Henry Roswell disagrees. Read the first of a new series of 'Point/Counterpoint' discussions...and join the 80+ readers who have already weighed in on one side or other of the debate.

State of the Union

Fri, 02 Jul 2004 00:00:00 EDT

JavaOne is here at last, and while it's not really my place or choice to issue a 'State of the Union' for Java, I think we need to do some straight talking. Sun has, for what it's worth, given us a language and platform. It has restrictions and limitations based on a long-range view of requirements.

In Search of Greatness

Thu, 03 Jun 2004 00:00:00 EDT

It's hard to find great Java applications. Next month's JDJ contains our Editors' Choice Awards, and so far for me it has the feel of a repeat - even though I decided to focus on applications I've been using day-to-day outside my own personal development environment. That's frustrating.

Just Around the Riverbend

Wed, 05 May 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Two conversations over the past few days started a train of thought about where Java is right now, as did the settlement between Microsoft and Sun, the new JCP revision, and the new 1.5 JDK. One conversation was with the author of a messaging system, talking about the use of his SDK to create a simple grid or service-based system.

Java Trends - Exclusive Interview with Amy Fowler

Wed, 05 May 2004 00:00:00 EDT

How can Swing be made more tenable to a broader range of developers? Amy Fowler, a senior staff engineer at Sun Microsystems and one of the founding members of the Java Swing GUI Toolkit, discusses Swing, JSF, and the Java Desktop Network Component project. 'Swing is indeed broad and fine grained, she says. 'This was intentional. We didn't want to limit the kinds of GUIs that could be developed in Java.'

Java Viewpoint: "I'm Starting to Like Java Studio Creator..."

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Joseph Ottinger speaks to Sun to find out more about Java Studio Creator and its place in the development pantheon, and comes to the conclusion that Sun's done a better job than many developers expected.

JMX, JNDI, Swing, Java2D...There's Just No End to Java

Mon, 19 Apr 2004 00:00:00 EDT

Joseph Ottinger, JDJ's editor-in-chief, throws out some article ideas he'd like to see in upcoming issues...and underlines, in so doing, just how much Java there is 'out there' these days.

Project Rave - First Thoughts

Sat, 10 Apr 2004 00:00:00 EDT

'A great initial stab at questionable technology,' says Joe Ottinger, editor-in-chief of JDJ, in this first look at Studio Creator (a.k.a. Project Rave).

Looking for Instant Solutions?

Mon, 05 Apr 2004 00:00:00 EDT

There is no magic bullet. Managers and developers alike have a tendency to look for a simple, one-shot solution to address a series of complicated issues, even while we all acknowledge that there is no philosopher's stone. That fails to stop us, though - the search continues for some mythical fountain of ability (located in Florida or India, surely) against all applications of reason and sanity.

Can't We All Get Along?

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 00:00:00 EST

While browsing through a book on Web services (XML and Web Services Unleashed by Ron Schmelzer), some things jumped out at me. First, it's really scary how many options we have in Java. A few months ago Alan Williamson asked, 'Haven't We Got Enough to Remember As It Is?' (JDJ, Vol. 8, issue 12), and he's dead on - and it gets worse all the time.

Keeping the Faith

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 00:00:00 EST

In the Java community you have two schools of thought: the zealots, if you will, who feel that pure Java is worth the attempt, and the compromisers, who feel it's more important to use Java no matter what.

Let's Do Better

Thu, 08 Jan 2004 00:00:00 EST

There's a J2EE tie-in. I promise. A fellow user mentioned something the other day about using libraries in Java. He said, and I paraphrase, that he simply didn't feel comfortable using a library if it couldn't be explained in one page.

For the Coming Year...

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 EST

It's that time of year, when the air is crisp and cool, and lights fill the air with the glint of good cheer and renewal. It's when wishes are fulfilled; when revitalization is just around the corner. Here Joe Ottinger takes some time to share some of the things he'd like to see for the next year, and about the people for whom he'd like to see them.

It Just Works

Mon, 03 Nov 2003 00:00:00 EST

We tend to see the United States through a lens made up of its major population centers: New York; Los Angeles; Washington, DC; Miami; Atlanta; Chicago; and a few others. That's because these are the places that have things 'going on,' and as a result we get a skewed picture not only of what the United States is about, but of what the United States actually is.

The Kids Are Alright

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Every month we're told again and again how Java is on its way out. A multibillion-dollar company tells us that, while hiring other large companies to say the same thing.

Where Are the Components?

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Sun's 10,000,000 developer mark is annoying me. I was surprised they had the gumption to say it in the first place and, as it sinks in, the implications are staggering. The implications aren't new, mind you - Sun also admitted they'd dropped the ball on marketing Java. It's just become more surprising to me over time.

Chaos and Order

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Chaos. Anthropomorphically speaking, it wants to go everywhere. Order. It wants to be everywhere too, and is willing to fight chaos to do it. Michael Moorcock used to write lots of fundamentally depressing books about this very idea, and you can see it everywhere today politically speaking, in the U.S.

Portlet API Spec Now Up for Public Review--JSR 168 Released--

Mon, 21 Jul 2003 09:33:00 EDT

(July 21, 2003) - Sun Microsystems released JSR 168, the Portlet API spec, for public review on Thursday. Along with this, WSRP (Web Services for Remote Portlets) was submitted to OASIS for consideration, and a tentative release date for Sun ONE Portal Server 6.2 was set, coinciding with the finalization of JSR 168. What does this mean? It means that Portlets are just about complete; the review process for a JSR will last 30 days, which means we can expect the JSR to be a final specification in August or September.

We Need More Innovation

Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:00:00 EDT

In my last editorial (Vol. 8, issue 6), I argued that we, as an industry, have too much innovation. We have solutions pouring out our ears, stuff we often don't need, yet we use it anyway. This month, I'd like to clarify that somewhat: we need more innovation.

The Culture Conflict

Tue, 17 Jun 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Lately Sun and The JBoss Group have been rather publicly sparring over the use of the J2EE brand, culminating in quite a bit of heat (and little light) in the press and in the blogosphere.

Too Much Innovation!

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 00:00:00 EDT

As I look over my choices for various tasks, I'm a little unsettled at how many choices I have, what they do, and how they interoperate. I'm not going to be the one to say that innovation is a bad thing, but too much innovation probably is a bad thing. In software design, it usually means the innovator hasn't looked into appropriate technology enough to know how to use what's available, so a new technology, a new mechanism, is invented.

Do Java and .NET Really Compete?

Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 EDT

It's with continued amusement that I constantly read about how Java should be defended from .NET, and how .NET will destroy Java. I understand the invective used by both sides, but the shine is starting to wear off; it's time to stop hurling insults, and examine what the future really holds. In my opinion, Java and .NET don't truly compete on a meaningful technological front - because both include easy hooks that allow for convenient interoperability.

A Long Road Ahead

Sat, 01 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST

Lately it's been easy to dislike Sun. Their JVM is slow; Sun ONE is certainly nowhere near the fastest J2EE application server; Forte, while capable, is far from what coders actually want to use if they want to write code in a reasonable amount of time; MS's constant marketing and technical assaults eat away at Sun's armor; Sun's stock (as of this writing) is roughly a dismal $4.

Sun Is Losing Its Way

Fri, 01 Nov 2002 00:00:00 EST

I've been actively involved with Java development in one way or another since 1996, including working with some of the original issues of the servlet specification, the early adaptation of the EJB spec, and migration to JSP not long after it became an official part of the J2EE spec.

How do I find out how many records are in a RecordSet?

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 EST

If you already have your ResultSet, you have two choices, both bad: one is to keep a counter as you read the records in the ResultSet, and the other is to hope you have a compliant JDBC driver that supports the getRowCount() method. Both ways probably do the same thing: read the entire dataset. If you're interested in only a count of records, that's a lot of bandwidth down the drain (and memory, too, if you happen to need the data as you fly past it.)

How Can I Escape Quotes in SQL Queries?

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 EST

It depends on the SQL backend you're using, and how sincere you are. Basically, you'd want to convert every single quote to be double-single-quotes (i.e., O'Donnell becomes O''Donnell), which means writing a custom function. That's ugly, and unnecessary. (Aren't you glad?) If you use PreparedStatements, the JDBC driver will escape all data for you, for the specific database you're using. (This is important, as some DBs don't follow the 'double single-quotes' rule mentioned above.) Example code: PreparedStatement ps=conn.prepareStatement('insert into names values (?)'); ps.setString(1, 'O'Donnell'); ps.executeUpdate(); Reproduced with permission of http://java.enigmastation.com/index The Undernet #Java Knowledge Base

Can I Use Java with .NET?

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 EST

Of course you can. .NET is a platform; Java is a platform. One convenient feature of .NET is that it uses SOAP internally for messaging; provided Microsoft sticks to the SOAP spec (that they helped write!) that means that Java will be able to leverage .NET services without even knowing they're based on .NET. This is a huge, impossible-to-understate win for the programming world, if the promise holds true.