Developers will get access to OpenSocial tonight

November 1st, 2007
Developers will get access to OpenSocial tonight
Posted by Garett Rogers

Google posted a press release confirming that they have partnered with several large social networks including MySpace. As you have likely read already, these sites are adopting the “OpenSocial” platform — it will be a shocker if developers don’t flock to it. Having had the pleasure to working with the API while it was being created, I can say that it has turned out great, and my hats go off to the engineers at Google who made it possible.
If you are a developer, keep your eyes on http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial. Currently, this page only gives an error, but soon it will have lots of good documentation about how you can go about creating your own social gadgets for the new platform. If you already have a Facebook application, in most cases porting it over to the OpenSocial platform will be fairly painless — but it will still take a some effort.
OpenSocial was due to be released on November 5th, so I guess we will get it four days earlier than expected. It will be very interesting to see if Facebook joins the OpenSocial alliance or decides to remain a proprietary social network that is determined to make it on it’s own. What do you think? Should Facebook give in to the pressure or not?

Yet another Ajax toolkit: Eclipse RAP 1.0

Yet another Ajax toolkit: Eclipse RAP 1.0

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could write your application once and then reuse the code in both a) a “fat client” for high interactivity and offline usage, and b) a “thin client” inside a web browser for ubiquitous access with zero install? The Eclipse Rich Ajax Platform (RAP) library provides one way to do just that.

RAP version 1.0 was released today. According to the project site,

The RAP project aims to enable developers to build rich, Ajax-enabled Web applications by using the Eclipse development model, plug-ins and a Java-only API.

At its core, RAP provides a port of the Standard Widget Library (SWT) for web applications. The SWT API is pretty general, with implementations running on desktops (on Swing or native windowing APIs), smart phones, and now the web.

With RAP, all your logic runs on the server, and the library intelligently renders the user interface bits using browser-side JavaScript (using qooxdoo under the covers). It’s zero-install, and doesn’t even require a browser plug-in.

RAP lets many existing Eclipse RCP applications based on Java and OSGi standard technologies to be used on the web with minor code changes. For obvious performance reasons, RAP doesn’t go back to the server for every keystroke, and the interactivity isn’t quite the same as you could get with a SWT or Swing fat client. However it works surprising well, especially if you’re deploying on a low-latency intranet system. See this site for a live demo, or download it and judge for yourself.

Inevitably, RAP will be compared to other toolkits like the Google Web Toolkit (GWT), Open Laszlo, Adobe AIR, Backbase, Echo2, and many, many more. There isn’t a single best framework for all applications. AIR (formerly Apollo) is perhaps its closest competitor because both AIR and RAP have a goal of letting you deploy applications on both the desktop and the Web. Both frameworks approach the problem from a different angle - AIR from the point of view of moving Web apps to the desktop, and RAP from the point of view of moving desktop apps to the Web. RAP has the advantage of being completely open source, while AIR has the advantage of a top-tier, well established and funded backer.

I’m still rather fond of GWT, though. GWT lets you split your application into client and server side parts that are written in the same language (Java). One thing that GWT is missing is a fat-client incarnation. While you can support some offline activity using Google Gears, it’s a stretch from there to having a shortcut on your desktop that will launch a local application that doesn’t require any net access.

Top search engines in September 2007

Top search engines in September 2007

by ZDNet Research

Nielsen//NetRatings published a list of top search engines in September 2007.

Top search engines in September 2007

Search engine Searches Growth, YTY Share
Google 3,994,158 41.3% 54.0%
Yahoo! 1,443,244 9.3% 19.5%
MSN 890,685 71.5% 12.0%
AOL 444,493 24.0% 6.0%
Ask.com 158,969 4.5% 2.2%
My Web 61,911 N/A 0.8%
Comcast 38,926 N/A 0.5%
BellSouth 35,740 30.3% 0.5%
SBC Yellow Pages 29,424 42.6% 0.4%
My Way 26,750 -78.4% 0.4%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

Google Web Toolkit: Towards a better web

Google Web Toolkit: Towards a better web

8/28/2007 01:12:00 PM

Posted by Bruce Johnson and Dan Peterson, Google Web Toolkit team

We're very pleased to tell you that the Google Web Toolkit (GWT)is no longer in beta as of today's release of GWT 1.4. For Java developers who have used GWT to create high-end web applications over the last year, this may not seem all that surprising. But if you haven't yet heard the story behind GWT, this seems like the perfect time...

If you've been in the technology industry for a while, you probably remember when enterprises and software vendors had to think pretty hard about whether to develop locally-installed desktop applications or web-based browser applications. These days, whether you're building mashups, gadgets, or full-blown applications, it's a no-brainer: the browser is the delivery platform of choice. However, users expect more from the up-and-coming generation of web applications than the simple click-and-wait of yesterweb. And if you're a web developer, you know that this requires AJAX, the cluster of technologies including JavaScript and dynamic HTML that can make browsers do backflips.

But the stark reality of AJAX applications is that, although they can deliver sexy features and great usability, they are unusually hard to engineer. Browser quirks and the anything-goes nature of JavaScript will inevitably frustrate even the most dedicated developers and add risk to your schedule with every line of code written. If you do eventually manage to construct a complex AJAX application that works, you're likely to find that maintaining it over time can be a major challenge. And all that doesn't even scratch the surface of testing, optimizing, securing and internationalizing your application. (If you are currently working on an ambitious AJAX project and haven't yet come to this conclusion, please re-read this post in six months when you're further along!)

We've learned a lot from our experiences building web applications, and we're happy to share the tools we've created. Google Web Toolkit is an open source project that helps Java developers harness the richness of AJAX in a cross-platform, web-friendly environment. The magic trick is that GWT cross-compiles Java source code into standalone JavaScript that you can include in any web page. Instead of spending time becoming JavaScript gurus and fighting browser quirks, developers using GWT spend time productively coding and debugging in the robust Java programming language, using their existing Java tools and expertise. Naturally, GWT is also a great way to easily take advantage of the latest-and-greatest Google APIs and browser enhancements, such as Google Gears.

In addition to making debugging far easier, GWT's unique compilation-based approach to AJAX has the nice property that it rewards developers for good software engineering practices. Java source code that is clear and organized can be easily optimized by the GWT compiler, which is a nice antidote to the frequent hack-and-slash approach that's all too common in JavaScript development. As your application grows, the GWT compiler begins to pay off in even bigger ways. Unused code is automatically removed so that scripts are smaller and pages load faster. Complex code can be automatically coalesced and simplified. Most importantly, because the Java language is statically typed, many common errors can be caught during development rather than production. You can observe the high-performance results yourself in GWT's sample Mail application.

Technical details aside, GWT makes it easy to develop fast, friendly web apps that users love — which is, after all, the point.

Download GWT 1.4.

Google’s new mantra: Making the Web a better platform for all

Google’s new mantra: Making the Web a better platform for all by ZDNet's Dan Farber -- “In the next year we will make a series of announcements and spend hundreds of millions on innovations and giving them away as open source,” said Vic Gundotra, the new head of Google’s developer programs. Google believes that innovation on the Web has been lacking. XML and HTTP Request were innovative technologies in 1998, but [...]

New Java looks to shake up desktop

Sun Microsystems gave Java developers new ammo in their ongoing battle against Microsoft with the release of an anticipated Java software update Thursday.

Sun Microsystems, steward of the Java standard, said Java programmers can now get access to a long awaited java upgrade, which includes a basic development kit and the "Java Runtime Environment"--the software needed to run Java programs. The update, formerly code-named Tiger, is called the Java 2 Standard Edition 5.0.

The new version of the software is meant to make Java programmers more productive and improve the performance of Java applications on desktop PCs, according to Sun.

Java tool providers are pitched in a long-running battle with Microsoft to woo developers. According to many analysts and developers, Microsoft's Windows software is more reliable than it has been in the past, making it an option for large-scale applications, and Microsoft's .Net development tools are generally simpler to use than comparable Java tools.

Tiger is an important release for Sun in attempting to attract developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) to Java rather than .Net, said Stephen O'Grady, an analyst at research company RedMonk. "Certainly, .Net is gaining credibility as a very productive environment to work in. That said, Tiger goes a long way towards addressing what many would call Java's biggest weakness: performance," O'Grady said.

Java development tool providers are expected to release tools that use the new software over the next several months, according to a Sun representative. The J2SE software, which was developed by Sun and several other Java software companies, is widely used in desktop machines and forms the basis of the server version of the Java "runtime" called Java 2 Enterprise Edition.

J2SE 5.0 includes enhancements to simplify the Java language so that programmers can write applications faster. It includes built-in diagnostic tools to enable administrators to better manage Java programs, once they're deployed via monitoring programs.

Customers can also get a boost in performance and reliability by installing the new Java Virtual Machine that comes with the release, said Calvin Austin, the lead of the J2SE 5.0 specification at Sun. The initial kit will include Java Virtual Machines for Windows, Linux, Solaris and operating systems that run on Advanced Micro Devices' 64-bit processors.

In addition, J2SE 5.0's default look for desktop Java applications has been refreshed, and the start-up time for Java applications will be up to 20 percent faster, Austin said.

Sun taps Java for RFID

Sun Microsystems on Wednesday detailed an update to its radio frequency identification software that will allow Java programs to run embedded on RFID readers.

The company said that the second version of its Java System RFID software will be able to run on the devices that collect data from tagged items. Sun announced the update at the JavaOne conference, which is being held in San Francisco this week.

A handful of RFID manufacturers--including SIS Technologies, Intermec and ThingMagic--said Wednesday that they intend to use the latest software in their devices.

Embedding Java RFID software into readers makes them programmable. So instead of sending large amounts of data on warehouse inventory to back-end servers for processing, for example, RFID readers will be able to more intelligently filter data, according to Sun.

The Java System RFID software runs on the desktop edition of Java, called Java Standard Edition, as well as Java Micro Edition, which runs on small devices such as mobile phones.

The Java SE version of Java System RFID is available now. An early version for Java Micro Edition will be available at the end of the summer.