Re: Java 1.3 Mark S. Miller (markm@caplet.com)
Thu, 01 Jun 2000 15:49:43 -0700

At 07:55 AM 5/24/00 , Marc Stiegler wrote:
>The problem would be the issue with cryptix interface to E, involving issues
>I do not understand, but which markm and tyler do...the question is whether
>I would run into the same problem I ran into when I tried the IBM jvm.

I believe that we cannot move to 1.3 until we stop using Cryptix 3.1.1 and switch to Cryptix JCE 1.2. Once this has happened, I believe we should indeed drop support for Java 1.2, since its swing implementation is, let's say, not up to Javasoft's normal quality standards. The open question: should we drop support for Java 1.1.x as well? If we drop it, several headaches go away, and we get to depend on two new Java features that would make our lives easier:

  1. Weak pointers and post-mortem finalization. This would allow us to replace some delicate & expensive code in the object-pluribus implementation with simpler & cheaper code.
  2. The new "proxy" feature would allow us to trivially implement deflectors for all interface types.

There is also apparently a serialization format change that prevents 1.1.x systems from talking to 1.2/1.3 systems. Perhaps we should fix this anyway, but it might be nice to make the issue go away.

There are also some irritating installation problems that would go away if we drop 1.1.x

Speak up for 1.1.x now or forever use >= 1.3. 

         Cheers,
         --MarkM