Sun - Too visionary?

I find it very interesting that everyone is now considering "web
applications" the "next big thing". With Google's Gmail and Blogger,
people suddenly realize that it is much more convenient to run the
newest versions of applications with no installation directly in your
browser. Not to mention a much better experience than using a
dynamically created HTML based system, that request a new page from the
server each time the user interacts with it.

I recently tried more advanced AJAX-based web applications to see what
was possible beyond Blogger and Gmail, and it seems the answer is
clear: Not much. More advanced Javascript-based applications are slow
and result in a very akward user experience.

What I find very interesting is that AJAX applications seem to exchange
XML packets with the server in the background - without your consent.
While a Java-applet would have to ask for permission to do similar
communication first, the browser does not display any warning for AJAX
solutions.

Could the sandbox security that Java provides be one of the major
reasons (besides horribly slow startup times when Java was first
introduced and experimented with on the web and consumer computers were
not sufficiently fast for a pleasant experience) Java did not
experience wide acceptance in the consumer world?

It seems to me an average computer user today is not consciously aware
that a native application that he downloads to his harddrive and
executes afterwards, with no warning from the operating system, poses a
much greater risk than a Java applet running in a sandbox to which you
explicitly have to grant rights and which displays a security warning.

It's not a defect of the Java environment, but a feature. The only
reason Windows does not display a warning each time you run an
application is because there is only one level of security: none. Every
application has full access to everything.

I hope Java applets will enjoy a rebirth on the desktop. With more and
more people becoming accustomed to applications they can run in their
browsers, there is a chance they begin to ask for more - until AJAX can
no longer provide the desired functionality (combined with a
satisfactory user experience) and something more advanced is suddenly
in demand.

I find it a very painful thought that Sun might have been too visionary
for their time. If they had only just released the Java plug-in for
major browsers to fill the gap between Ajax and full-blown desktop
applications (and not ten years ago), its popularity in the consumer
world would propbably explode.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Sun - Too visionary?
    ... > I recently tried more advanced AJAX-based web applications to see what ... the browser does not display any warning for AJAX ... > Could the sandbox security that Java provides be one of the major ...
    (comp.lang.java.advocacy)
  • Re: C/C++ is dying... :-)
    ... Neither Java nor C# can replace C, ... and games coupled with ancillary desktop based applications. ... The browser IS the client. ... Why has traditional desktop based Client/Server failed? ...
    (borland.public.delphi.non-technical)
  • Re: where do you store app wide data?
    ... Not the JVM.. ... Java applications. ... thats the fault of whoever wrote the application - not Java. ... Files are not stored in RAM when you close them. ...
    (alt.php)
  • Re: Security Warning
    ... I closed/disabled TeaTimer in Spybot S&D, rebooted but the "Warning Sign" ... I understand that too many Real Time applications will slow down the system. ... > After signing in to my Hotmail account a Security Warning window pops up: ... > communications from other experts to this and other newsgroups the Windows ...
    (microsoft.public.security.virus)
  • Re: Delphi - desktop, Web, or USB?
    ... something has to run these web applications as well. ... browser, using Java to provide the programmatic stuff (or use some ... A Windows Media Player replacement? ... I have Open Office running off my USB drive. ...
    (borland.public.delphi.non-technical)