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Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac

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On 12-01-14 12:13 AM, Peter Duniho wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:12:45 -0400, Arved Sandstrom wrote:
> 
>> [...] It's been my experience for years (and I've used Java on Macs
>> going back to when Java appeared) that Apple support for Java on Classic
>> Mac and Mac OS X has been very good.
>>
>> Granted I am not a Java GUI guy, I may have written half a dozen trivial
>> AWT or Swing apps ever in over a decade, and most of them not on a Mac
>> anyway, so there could be some cruftiness when it comes to that side of
>> things, but overall Mac Java support is very good. IMO.
> 
> My experience with Java and the Mac is not as extensive as yours, going
> back only five years.  But I'd say that given that Apple's Java on the Mac
> was still stuck at 1.5 when 1.7 was on the verge of release, there's
> justification for considering Java on the Mac to be lagging.  Note also the
> problem that on other platforms you can update to the latest Java easily,
> while on the Mac (at least historically) the only way to get the latest
> Java release was to buy the latest OS version as well.
> 
> Maybe with the OpenJDK stuff, Java on the Mac will become less-proprietary,
> more up-to-date, etc.  And I'd certainly agree that Java development on the
> Mac is viable, even if the API lags behind the rest of the world.  But I'd
> definitely not call Apple's support of Java on the Mac "very good".  I
> wouldn't even call it close to that.
> 
> Pete

OK, OK, maybe I was in a really charitable mood when I wrote my first
reply. I'll revise my opinion and say that I think Apple support for
Java has been good, and sometimes very good.

It hasn't been just 1.5->1.6 that exhibited a delay, the other jumps
(1.3->1.4, 1.4->1.5) have been like that too. I believe that there is a
developer base that is relatively unconcerned about this (like me), and
that's server-side folks who see their product ultimately deploy on
Windows or Solaris or Linux against an older JVM from Sun (now Oracle)
or IBM or BEA (now Oracle). Not many "enterprise" clients upgrade their
infrastructure so quick either.

I have to acknowledge that Mac Java developers who want to write
consumer-type GUI software didn't pick the best platform for it.
Although I personally believe that anyone who "needs" the latest Java
the day it comes out has misplaced priorities, it's not my place to say,
I'm not a writer of consumer GUI apps. So if such a person is wedded to
the Mac (for other good reasons) but needs the latest Java, they'd best
use a VM. And quite frankly a lot of professional developers using Macs
do use VMs anyway. I know I do. So it's a moot point actually. Given
that the VMs are so good it's a wonder that Apple didn't throw in the
towel for Java support a long time ago.

Apple does have different priorities, like linking major Java upgrades
to their major OS upgrades. I can see reasons for that, without being an
Apple fanboi.

AHS
-- 
...wherever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their
own government...
-- Thomas Jefferson, 1789

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Thread

Getting started with Java on a Mac Wayne Dernoncourt <wayned@panix.com> - 2012-01-13 09:41 -0500
  Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-01-13 09:04 -0800
  Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Jim Gibson <jimsgibson@gmail.com> - 2012-01-13 10:01 -0800
    Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Wayne Dernoncourt <wayned@panix.com> - 2012-01-13 13:26 -0500
      Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Jim Gibson <jimsgibson@gmail.com> - 2012-01-13 16:11 -0800
        Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Wayne Dernoncourt <wayned@panix.com> - 2012-01-16 13:48 -0500
        Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Wayne Dernoncourt <wayned@panix.com> - 2012-01-16 20:24 -0500
          Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-16 21:20 -0500
            Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Wayne Dernoncourt <wayned@panix.com> - 2012-01-17 05:33 -0500
              Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> - 2012-01-17 11:30 -0800
                Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-17 17:34 -0500
              Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-17 17:32 -0500
            Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Tom Anderson <twic@urchin.earth.li> - 2012-01-19 13:09 +0000
              Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2012-01-19 08:35 -0800
                Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-19 19:08 -0500
              Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-19 19:05 -0500
                Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Tom Anderson <twic@urchin.earth.li> - 2012-01-20 21:50 +0000
                Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-20 21:15 -0500
                Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac rossum <rossum48@coldmail.com> - 2012-01-21 17:44 +0000
                Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-21 15:59 -0500
      Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2012-01-13 16:43 -0800
    Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> - 2012-01-13 16:58 -0800
      Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-14 22:46 -0500
    Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2012-01-13 23:12 -0400
      Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Peter Duniho <NpOeStPeAdM@NnOwSlPiAnMk.com> - 2012-01-13 20:13 -0800
        Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Gene <gene.ressler@gmail.com> - 2012-01-13 20:47 -0800
          Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Peter Duniho <NpOeStPeAdM@NnOwSlPiAnMk.com> - 2012-01-13 23:16 -0800
          Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> - 2012-01-13 23:56 -0800
          Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2012-01-14 11:17 -0800
          Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-14 22:52 -0500
        Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arved Sandstrom <asandstrom3minus1@eastlink.ca> - 2012-01-14 11:00 -0400
          Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac "John B. Matthews" <nospam@nospam.invalid> - 2012-01-14 22:30 -0500
    Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-01-14 22:45 -0500
  Re: Getting started with Java on a Mac "John B. Matthews" <nospam@nospam.invalid> - 2012-01-13 22:29 -0500

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