This week's edition of eWeek has a
surprising article by Peter Coffee. I have enjoyed Peter's writing
over the years, in a number of publications. This most recent article
explores another side of Mac OS X: Its friendliness to programmers
in general and Java programmers in particular.
The article opens with, "After years of being infamously unfriendly
to casual programmers, the Macintosh has suddenly become the machine of
choice for out-of-the-box programmability - with tools that not only
generate great-looking Macintosh applications but that also generate
them in Java so you can take them anywhere." The author is referring to
the Apple
Project Builder development suite. The suite is included free with
OS X, though it is not installed by default, not even on a new
Mac. It is also available for download as part of Apple Developer
Tools. This is a free download for Apple Developer Connection (ADC)
members.
Apple receives highest praise indeed in the following excerpt from
the article:
- Apple has done a tremendous job of making Java code run well -
really well - on the Mac, supporting such refinements as hardware
graphics acceleration and anti-aliasing in a way that's completely
transparent to the programmer. Like the very first Macintosh, which
gave priority memory access to the built-in ROM Toolbox user interface
code, the Mac OS X Java implementation gives developers a lot of
leverage. Don't be surprised if a Java application on Mac OS X -
especially one with a lot of graphics - appears more responsive than a
native-code application on a Windows machine with twice the clock
speed.
I began using DOS somewhere around version 2. Even the early
versions included some sort of development environment for writing
programs in BASIC. With the arrival of Windows 95, Microsoft began to
scale back on this practice, until it finally disappeared altogether in
Windows 2000. Kudos to Apple for taking this practice and running with
it in OS X. They have given Mac programming a tremendous shot in
the arm by including these tools with their OS.
In a previous column, I noted
how quickly Unix applications were being ported to OS X. I see the
same thing happening with Java apps.
I have great respect for Sun in their development of the Java
environment. The promise of "write once, run anywhere" is an admirable
goal that ultimately benefits the entire computing world. The openness
of the system is a refreshing contrast to another notable company's
policy of proprietary, closed technology.
Mac OS X is much more efficient at running Java applications than
the Classic Mac OS. Nowhere is this better illustrated than on the
download page for the popular Gnutella client LimeWire, which
is written in Java. The size of the download for various operating
systems are listed:
Macintosh (OS 8.1 or later w/ 64 MB RAM req.) 11.20 MB
Mac OS X 2.33 MB
Windows (NT, 95, 98, Me, XP, 2000) 3.78 MB
Linux w/ Installer 2.54 MB
Mac OS X wins the contest for "smallest download." But look at the
whopping size of that download for the Classic Mac OS!
What was inconceivable as recently as two years ago now looms as a
real possibility: The Mac could become the preferred platform for
software developers. With Mac OS X and the Apple Developer Tools,
the Java promise may become, "Write on the Mac, run anywhere!"
Mac Challenge Update
The Mac Challenge is nearing
the halfway point of part 1. I have been Windows-free and using the
iMac DV+ exclusively
for two weeks now. "Uneventful" might be the most accurate term to
describe the Challenge thus far. I will provide a short recap at the
beginning of part 2: The switch to the Dell and Windows XP exclusively
for one month. 
