Several years ago, Java was introduced. It was slow. Now,
computers have beefed up, the internet is a lot faster, and Java
is a serious language. It can lower costs, and REALLY get people
talking about your website! I’ll cover:
1) WHAT is Java, and how can it help me? 2) WHY Java NOW? 3) WHY
is Java the next BIG THING? 4) CONCLUSIONS
. . .
1) WHAT is Java, and how can it help me?
. . .
Java is basically a programming language that can be integrated
into browsers, and add spice to a website. One beautiful thing
is its ‘reusability’, and ‘ease of use’.
For example — I will use the classic ‘Lake’ example, where you
have a picture of a mountain on top of a lake, and the water
ripples.
Before Java, you needed expensive graphics software and several
hours to make it ripple. Using a Java applet, all you have to do
is include something like:
in your webpage, and now you now have a picture of a lake that
ripples! To change the image, simply change the name of the file
(the “lake.jpg”)!
So — Java makes it VERY easy to add and change functionality in
your website.
. . .
2) WHY Java NOW?
. . .
About five years ago, Java was introduced, and ran it really
slowly. The main browsers (Netscape & Internet Explorer) that
supported Java were ‘brand’ new. And, the computers they ran on
were slow. If you had a ‘top of the line computer’, it meant you
had a Pentium-133 machine (and friends were usually jealous that
you could afford such a ‘fine’ piece of hardware). Most people
were just learning what E-Mail was.
All that has changed.
Microsoft & Netscape have re-written their browsers’ JVM (java
virtual machine), and optimized it to make Java lightning fast.
Pentium-III 550 MHz machines cost less than the Pentium-133
models did. Plus, they are more than three times faster, because
of faster graphics accelerator cards, increased RAM and so
forth. And most people have one of these newer machines, because
of the low cost (or special ‘package’ deals that ISP’s made with
computer makers for ‘free’ or ‘low cost’ computers)
So, now Java is fast, and can be easily used, with low
development costs.
. . .
3) WHY is Java the next BIG THING?
. . .
A) NO PLUGINS ARE REQUIRED! Most internet users find it
EXCEPTIONALLY annoying to have to wait 3 or 4 minutes to
download a special plug-in to hear audio, another special
plug-in to see 3D images, and so forth. JAVA DOES NOT REQUIRE
PLUGINS! Practically 99% of all internet browsers ALREADY
SUPPORT JDK 1.0.2, (which is the ‘main’ version of Java in use
today).
B) SPEED Complex mathematical calculations (for 2D & 3D games,
visual special fx, data processing, etc) are fast because of
fast computers and optimized browsers.
C) RE-USABILITY! Say you bought a program that simply did
special transition FX. You decide to use for banner
advertisements, and it works as follows:
So, YOU SAVE TIME AND MONEY, because all your development team
has to do is spend five minutes deciding which banner
advertisements to use. Now, say you have a big corporate
presentation to make. YOU CAN RE-USE THAT PROGRAM! Simply
replace each image with the corporate slide image! For example,
And that is IT!
D) INCREDIBLY SMALL APPLET SIZE! Most ’sophisticated’ applets
are less than 50K. Popular and useful tools such as Macromedia
Flash create animations that are usually at least 100K for
simple ones, and upwards of 500K for high profile/professional
sites. So think about it — if a individual has no problem
waiting for a 500K for a Macromedia Flash animation, they are
certainly not going to have a problem with a small, 50K Java
applet. Most Java applets are even smaller than this!
. . .
4) CONCLUSIONS
. . .
1) You customers are happy (NO PLUGINS required!) 2) Runs FAST!
3) YOU save time & money, because of RE-USABILITY! 4) Customers
will talk about how ‘GREAT’ your site it is, because of all
amazing functionality!
So, where do you want to use Java today?
