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News - Articles/Tutorials/Code/Reviews - JSP/Servlet Hosting Companies - Links |
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***** IN THIS ISSUE **************************************************
Links
1:Foxtrot
2:Using JavaBeans in Dreamweaver UltraDev 4
3:EJB Based Services
4:A Conversation with James Gosling
5:The Future Beyond Web Services
6:Proofing Web Applications for Performance and Scalability
7:Load
8:Java and Linux
Product Releases
1:Formula One for Java 9.0
2:Mozilla .9 Release
3:Java Industry Leaders Build Solutions Around Dreamweaver UltraDev
4:Forte Community 3.0 Beta
Main Topic
1:JSP / Server Side Java Market Quarterly Review 6.2001
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Links of Interest
================================================================
[Humor] Foxtrot (Bill Amend 6.7.2001)
This is funny comic and to the point, sadly enough.
[Article] Using JavaBeans in Dreamweaver UltraDev 4 (M. Barbarelli 6.2001)
A discussion on using Dreamweaver and JSP together.
It is an introductory article and discusses the basics
of using UltraDev with JSP.
[Article] EJB Based Services (Patrick Neville 6.6.2001)
How to refactor JSP into Enterprise Java Beans.
[Interview] A Conversation with James Gosling (Bill Venners 6.2001)
Just a fun interview to read about what James Gosling has been up to
lately at Sun.
[Article] The Future Beyond Web Services (Daniel Steinberg 6.6.2001)
A quick review of the highlights from Tuesday's JavaOne keynote speech.
[Article] Proofing Web applications for performance and scalability
This is a discussion on how to build a test suite for a web
application. The article talks about using Load, an open-source
set of tools and a scripting language.
[Open Source] Load
The site where you can find the open source project called
Load referenced in the previous link. Load 2.0, is a free utility for
Web service performance and scalability testing. Load features
an XML-based scripting language to make it easy for you to
rapidly begin testing your Internet services.
[Discussion] Java and Linux
A discussion thread about using Java and Linux together. It is
interesting to read if you are considering to use both together for the
first time.
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Product Releases
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[Reporting] Formula One for Java 9.0
A new version of Formula One has been released which can be used to add
spread sheet and reporting functionality to your project.
[Browser] Mozilla .9 Release
The latest version (.9) of Mozilla has just been released.
[IDE] Java Industry Leaders Build Solutions Around Dreamweaver UltraDev
Big push for UltraDev. Many major Java J2EE vendors have announced support
of the UltraDev IDE. UltraDev already was making its mark as a solid JSP
IDE. This move will cement UltraDev as one of main choices for this market
place.
[IDE] Forte Community 3.0 Beta
The beta for the latest Forte IDE has been released. This thread talks about
it briefly and has some notes about this latest release.
================================================================
MAIN TOPIC by Casey Kochmer
================================================================
***** JSP / Server Side Java Market Quarterly Review - 6.2001 *****
Well, it's been a interesting month. I have been looking at the state of
the union for web application development. This review is a bit early for
the quarterly review. Things have been interesting enough, however, to
warrant a market review. As always, this is not a scientific survey. This
review consists of my opinions of what is currently happening and what I
see for the next six months. This is my reality check and forecasting I
perform for myself which I would like to share with the Buzz readers. As
always, please send feedback if you have something you would like to add
to the mix.
The past few months have been very dry for web application
development. In fact, compared to the past ten years, I feel this has
been the slowest I have seen the overall computing market in terms of
consulting. I realize this last statement is just based on my own
experiences, and highs and lows always exist depending on the sub field,
but checking around reveals that things are just slow.
Various Signs of this:
- Talking to other consultants and several company CEO's, all report the
same signs of a project slow down.
- Major consulting firms are actually beginning to drop consulting rates.
- Head hunters for consulting are slow or just not returning phone calls,
when a senior programmer knocks on the door. While I wasn't looking for
a job, every six months like clockwork, I still touch base with various
consulting companies. This is handy as it helps me keep tabs of the
local economy. This time, I was surprised at the general malise in the
consulting industry currently.
After having 5 or 6 conversations, I found the same responses: Unless
you are specialized or just have good timing, consulting jobs for web
consulting are scarce right now.
- Chip prices continue to drop and are low. This reflects that
inventories are full and companies are not spending money on
infrastructure.
- The various news channels I normally follow for the state of web
application have been curiously quiet of late on either overly positive
or negative news. Its been very reserved of late.
Ironically, reading through other sources reveals that there is quite a
bit of money within IT departments.
This leads me to one big conclusion. IT managers are holding back on
spending. Management in many companies is nervous. Many companies are
waiting to see what happens to the economy right now. The
cash exists, but willingness to spend doesn't match the funding.
Some conclusions.
This leads to several important things.
- Projects are piling up.
This means the need for projects hasn't stopped, just the building of
the projects has slowed down tremendously. This means there is a back
pressure building up which will have to be released soon. After all, the
need for building systems still exists. If for nothing else, the demand
to build systems to help reduce operating costs exist. The question then
becomes when does the release of the pent up pressure to build projects
happen? The real factor is the overall economy right now and what
happens in the Fall. If the economy does pick up then expect at the
beginning of the new year a vast explosion of work. If the economy slows
down in the Fall then the back pressure of projects will still force a
spurt of work, but it will be "measured" in scale.
- The current slump is a good thing for Java. In fact, I foresee the slow
market as being of major importance to the Java marketplace. The biggest
problem for Java has been the lack of enough mid to senior level Java
programmers. Until recently, the demand to build Java systems has far
exceeded the supply of Java programmers. Now, with the slow
down, the pressure for Java programmers has been released a bit. This
gives time for more programmers to become proficient in Java. So when the
things open back up, there will be more Java programmers to meet the needs
of the Java project market. This will mean the wages for Java programmer
should begin to stabilize at a more reasonable rate, making Java projects
both affordable and staffable. With a larger pool of programmers, the
market share of Java projects will be able to increase. Finally, the
stranglehold we saw in previous years due to lack of programmers should
not be as severe.
- The idea of web services will continue to grow. While not ready for
prime time for many companies, the possible ability to cut business costs
will keep web services alive and well in development.
- The continued experimentation of web services has a secondary impact to
the open source community. The current push for web services will continue
to push open source. Since web services rely on the cooperation of many
different companies, the open source project model is one of few models
which can successfully be used to implement the infrastructure
requirements within the web services model.
- Using web services is still confusing and many pieces are still in
development. Expect companies to build special integrated web services
tools within J2EE packages as a selling point to make web services
easier to use.
The current condition of the market place will have a major impact on
Microsoft. As web application developers, this will directly impact us no
matter what language we use to build our web applications. Ironically,
Microsoft will end up promoting JSP to the positive benefit of JSP.
- The Microsoft .Net initiative will stumble this year. This is due to
timing. In a strong market .Net would do well. In a stagnant market
managers will be extremely reluctant to change infrastructure, invest in
costly training and spend extra time (and as a result cash) required to
build the new .Net systems. This puts Microsoft in a lose - lose
situation. If they delay .Net for a stronger market, then JSP /J2EE is
given more time to gain market share as some managers hesitate to build
ASP systems waiting for .Net. If Microsoft releases .Net now, it will
accepted only slowly resulting in bad marketing nightmare for .Net to the
benefit of JSP. I expect .Net will be release as planned and Microsoft
will redouble its efforts in both advertisements and to get the next
version out in record time (Get the 2nd new shiny version of .Net for
when the Market is strong again).
- The state of market is going to seriously cut into Microsoft's new
operating systems. Again, companies are not going to want to invest in
Microsoft XP or Windows 2000. Companies are just having problems upgrading
operating systems as fast as Microsoft is putting out the new versions.
Again, bottom line for many companies: It is not worth the cash right now
to upgrade. I have been told that Microsoft might be changing licensing
agreements which will force many customers to upgrade to XP! Not a way to
win friends. The end result of all this is that Linux will be the big
winner and expect Linux to grow faster. Of course with Linux doing better,
expect JSP and Java to follow on the coat tails.
- Microsoft is going to continue to attack open source software (in reality
they are attacking Linux indirectly). However, this continued attack on
open source just makes great marketing material for open source. Since JSP
and JAVA are very strong in the open source market place, expect more
people to discover the benefits of using open source software to lower
costs and provide stable software. This again will have a positive effect
for both JSP and Java.
- JSP will slowly continue to get a stronger market share as the dominate
Java-based web application language. JSP will also continue to increase
market share against ASP due to Microsoft's attacks against open source
and .Net's stumble in the market place.
Overall, the slow market right now doesn't have me concerned over the
health of web application development. I see it as a healthy correction
to a previously too busy market place. While things are slower than what
I would prefer to see, the market should self correct by the start of the
year. I also expect to see more web application work in the winter
quarter as projects start to get released again. The biggest question in
my mind is what happens around October. This is due to the fact that so
much hinges on how well the economy will perform in October. It is too
early to bet on an optimistic outcome, meaning remaining conservative
through October with jobs and business plans is probably the safest route
for a business or individual right now.
The other final consideration is for project managers. The late summer and
early fall should be the best time to start a Java project. This is due
to the fact the market is so slow. If the market continues to be slow in
the summer then it will be the best time to work out arrangements
with Java programmers looking for work. In other words, it will be a great
time for finding qualified Java programmers at reasonable salaries.
For some more reading you can check out:
J2EE and Web Services Analysis
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