Visual J++
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Visual J++ (pronounced "Jay Plus Plus") is Microsoft's implementation of Java. Optimized for the Windows Platform, J++ programs can only run on the MSJVM (Microsoft Java Virtual Machine), which was Microsoft's attempt at a faster interpreter. Syntax, keywords, and grammatical conventions are the same as Java's.
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[edit] The J++ Standard
While J++ conformed to the Java standard in its language specification, Microsoft did not implement certain features of the official Java standard into its own Visual J++ product line. Remote Method Invocation (Java RMI) and Java Native Interface (JNI) are such examples.
In addition, J++ implemented other extensions that were not part of the Java standard. The inclusion of callbacks and delegates for better event handling further contributed to defining J++ as a completely different language merely based on an already existing design concept.
J++ applications did not entirely conform to the pre-existing method of accessing the underlying operating system functions as any other Java application under Sun's Java SDK. In Microsoft's implementation, an underlying framework called J/Direct provided a base mechanism that allowed J++ applications to completely circumvent Java's class libraries and API mediums in accessing the underlying operating system. Due to this short-cut around the original Java framework, J++ applications are more efficient in taking advantage of Win32 API functions than Java applications.
[edit] The WFC
The WFC (Windows Foundation Classes) encapsulated the Microsoft Win32 platform API and DHTML object models into a unified class library. WFC was primarily designed for creating graphical user interfaces for Java applications on Windows.
[edit] Litigation against J++
Sun Microsystems had originally licensed Java to Microsoft but finally executed litigation against Microsoft for failing to agree to the license agreements to fully implement the Java language specifications.
The failure of the MSJVM to pass Sun's compliance tests was a large factor in the initial lawsuit. On January 24, 2001, this suit was settled and Microsoft agreed to pay $20 million, and both companies, Sun and Microsoft, agreed to cease Java licensing. The settlement document outlined that Microsoft also could not advance J++ beyond its mirrored implementation of Java, version 1.1.4. This effectively ended J++ and further updates. As well, the MSJVM had to cease to be distributed and is no longer available for download.
However, due to settlement of outstanding litigating, Microsoft is allowed to further update the MSJVM to fix security holes and any problems relating to the security theatre. However, Microsoft has ceased support for MSJVM as of December 31, 2005.
The technology of J++ was eventually recycled, and currently survives, as part of the Microsoft .NET platform and the J# programming language.
[edit] Visual J++
Visual J++ is the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for J++ and provided many tools and utilities to help J++ programmers fully leverage the Win32 API.
Visual J++ is no longer available for distribution, but it was part of the Microsoft Visual Studio product line. Visual Studio 6.0 was the last release to include J++.
[edit] Visual J#
Visual J# (pronounced "Jay Sharp") is Microsoft's newer Java implementation and supersedes J++. Visual J# is part of the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET product suite and is designed to help developers and programmers migrate from J++ to the .NET Framework.
