Announced in March as Jakarta at the Microsoft Internet Developers
Conference, Visual J++ is designed to aid
programmers in the creation of Java-based applications. Visual J++
joins an increasingly crowded field of Java
design tools, and will likely go head-to-head with Symantec's Cafe
and Roaster for the Macintosh.
"Whether it will become an indispensable tool for Java programmers
in general --well everyone likes their own
stuff," says Earthweb's software engineer and Java developer Carl
Muckenhoupt. "There's no reason you really need
a platform like this in order to program. The Java compiler released
for free by Sun is perfectly good in this regard
--probably better in fact, it's been around longer and we've had
more time to iron out the bugs."
Muckenhoupt says the Visual J++ reveals "something of the legacy of
C++ development systems. The Visual J++
graphical interface, he says "is very familiar, and looks very much
integrated with Visual C++ and the other
compilers for other languages made by Microsoft." Muckenhoupt says
that similarity may help bring more C++
programmers in the Java world.
Microsoft says its new tool includes Java Applet wizards designed to
create cross platform applets and applications
easily. Visual J++ also includes features that allow developers to
de-bug their work in a browser environment. And
Microsoft has built in features that will allow Java developers to
utilize its ActiveX technology -- viewed by some as a
competitor to Java's multimedia capabilities.
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