From Mantis to Tiger

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by Dana Nourie

March 27, 2002 -- The Java platform has come a long way since its first release. The Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) 1.4 must provide a solid foundation for other Java platforms, such as Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE). In addition, J2SE 1.4 provides the APIs for a wide variety of development features to enrich the platform.

Using the SPECjbb2000 Java Business Benchmark on a three-tier server system, version 1.4 shows an improvement of 58% over version 1.3.1. Dramatic gains have also been made for client applications. Internal testing of applications based on Java Foundation Classes on J2SE version 1.4 shows a 20% to 80% performance gain over version 1.3.1.

As 1.4 goes out to developers, the Java Community Process program (JCP) continues to examine and explore these APIs so that developers can look forward to more enhancements, improvements, and additions in Tiger 1.5's 2003 release.

The Power of J2SE 1.4

The core libraries grow to meet the demands of complex applications and services. "Yet our intent is to keep the Java programming language simple," says Graham Hamilton, a Sun Microsystems Distinguished Engineer. "One of Gosling's main geniuses was in knowing exactly what to leave out in order to prevent the Java programming language from becoming overly complicated."

Additions are brought into J2SE only if new features enrich and improve the platform. Release 1.4 brings both improvements and new features.

Some of the general performance improvements and enhancements in J2SE 1.4 are:

• HotSpot virtual machine
• Full 64-bit support
• Improved garbage collection
• Ability to exploit multiprocessing
• Optimization of the Java2D API

• Internationalization: Includes full Unicode 3.0 support, a new character-encoding API for pluggable character converters, support for Thai and Hindi languages, and a new currency class so that currencies can be referenced independently of locales.
• Java DataBase Connectivity (JDBC): Provides enhancements such as connection pool configuration improvements, statement pooling for pooled connections, and a description of the migration path from the JDBC Service Provider Interface (SPI) to the J2EE connector architecture.

• New I/O: (java.nio) includes fast buffered binary and character I/O, better threading capabilities so that one thread can handle many connections, and improvements for better scalability.
• Regular expressions: (java.util.regex) provides pattern matching, a favorite of PERL programmers.
• Assertion facility: allows for simple assertions, which can be turned on for debugging purposes and extra checking. Assertions are Boolean expressions that the programmer believes to be true concerning the state of a computer process. Assertions uncover programmer misconceptions concerning a program's behavior.
• Full XML support: with Java API for XML Processing ("JAXP"), Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) support, and Simple API for XML (SAX) and DOM
• Properties API: (java.util.properties) enables applications to save user-specific preferences.
• Many new improvements in Java 2D, including a new pipeline architecture, pluggable image I/O framework, support for TrueType and OpenType fonts, hardware acceleration, and more.
• Logging API: (package java.util.logging) provides the classes and interfaces of a core logging facility for the Java platform.

From the Mantis to the Tiger

Even as version 1.4 improvements and new features get into the hands of developers, the J2SE platform continues to evolve. Mantis, version 1.4.2, is slated for release in the beginning of 2003, with bug fixes and performance improvements.

By the end of 2003, the next big release for J2SE is Tiger 1.5, which will reveal a number of additions to the Java programming language specifications:

• Generics, similar to templates in C++
• Autoboxing of primitives, which will resolve some problems with casting

In addition, developers will get better support for constants, providing programming shortcuts using import statements, improvements for iterating over collections, and metadata either as a keyword addition or a javadoc feature.

"The JCP program helps us attain improvements and new features while dropping some proposed features, and that's the way the process should work," says Hamilton.

The JCP program is an open international organization of developers and licensees whose charter is to develop and revise Java technology specifications, reference implementations, and technology compatibility kits.

The improvements and enhancements to J2SE 1.4 were developed through the JCP program as will those in Tiger until its release in 2003.

See Also

Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE), Version 1.4 Overview
(http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/releases/j2se1.4/)

New Data Transfer Capabilities
(http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/releases/data/)

New I/O Functionality for Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 1.4
(http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/releases/nio/)

Using J2SE 1.4 Logging API in Systems Management
(http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Using/)

Regular Expressions and the Java Programming Language
(http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/releases/1.4regex/)

Assertion Facility
(http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/guide/lang/assert.html)

Java Community Process Program
(http://www.jcp.org/)

New Java 2D Features in the Java 2 SDK, v1.4
(http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/guide/2d/new_features.html)

Java 2D API
(http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/2D/perf_graphics.html)

Download J2SE 1.4
(http://java.sun.com/j2se/)