Java has come a long way quickly. Now several new pieces of technology are in development that will add even more functionality. First is the JavaBeans standard, which adds a components standard and opens the market for a wide array of third-party-developed Java components available to developers, in the same way as OCX and ActiveX technologies did for Windows developers.

The JavaManagement Application Programming Interface (API) provides a package of objects and methods for system, network and service management including Simple Network Management Protocol interfaces. The Java Telephony API will allow sophisticated telecommunication interaction and is being coauthored by industry heavyweights Sun Microsystems, Lucent Technologies, Northern Telecom, Novell and Intel.

But perhaps most fundamental is the Java Developer's Kit version 1.1. Sun's previous version (1.02) effectively defined the functionality available in the core Java API and the included core standardized classes. The following is a summary of a handful of the new features coming to Java as a result of JDK 1.1:

-- JDBC (Java Database Connectivity): JDBC provides a standard SQL database interface for Java. JDBC drivers will be provided by database vendors, allowing Java programmers to write database-enabled code without specifically writing to a particular vendor's database. In addition, JDBC will come with an "ODBC Bridge," which will wrap JDBC around the Open Database Connectivity API, letting developers and system integrators leverage the vast quantity of ODBC drivers available until native JDBC drivers become more commonplace.

-- JAR (Java Archive) Files: Similar to Microsoft's CAB files solution, Java JAR files will provide a Java standard for bundling, compressing, and digitally signing a group of .class files. This will provide a significant speed enhancement for Web browsers downloading applets (for instance, you'll download one compressed file instead of numerous uncompressed ones). It will also provide security enhancements because the applet can be authenticated as to its origin by the digital signature.

-- AWT (Abstract Windowing Toolkit) Enhancements: Many shortcomings in earlier releases of Java in the AWT, which is responsible for displaying the GUI interface of a Java applet or application, have been addressed. Finally, APIs for printing, cursor changes, clipboard cut and paste and pop-up menus will become reality. Also, GUI performance has been improved. However, a new delegation-based event model could cause some backward-compatibility problems for environments that include Rapid Application Development (RAD) tools for writing code to handle events, such as Visual Cafe.

-- Internationalization: A host of features designed to make Java easier to use around the world will debut in JDK 1.1. Character internationalization including UNICODE characters, UNICODE based I/O support for streams and time- zone and currency formatting customization will help Java in foreign markets.

-- RMI (Remote Method Invocation): RMI is Java's object-oriented answer to remote-procedure calls. RMI allows objects to call method functions of objects residing on different Java virtual machines, including Java virtual machines running on different hosts over a network. Therefore, truly distributed and tightly integrated client/server applications can be developed with direct support at both the Java language and virtual machine level.

Source: Network Computing