Is the virtue of Java's platform independency a big farce....?

I've been a Java fanatic like I've discussed in my previous blogs. So while developing Apps. and working on my projects I sometimes do sit back and ponder whether the same would work on platforms other then "Microsoft Windows". My transition across several semesters and experience of working on projects have now yielded the answer to my question....

So here it goes.....

---> Firstly, I it is very clear that Java by build is platform independent but if you develop applications on it, it is very much obvious that you'll be using some features pertaining to a specific OS say Windows. So in that case the same won't work on Linux or say some other OS. Hence most of the Apps. made in Java are surely not going be platform independent in that view.

Open Examples:

Limewire (Both the binaries for Windows and Linux are different)

My Example:

Your Application wants to make a registry change in Windows using a DOS command (i.e. reg).

Now the above is just not possible in any other OS.

So I can surely conclude that the main logic and the part of the Application which is totally not specific to the OS is platform independent in case of Java. Rest of all is "theoretically" platform independent.

---> Secondly, I'm not sure how many people how tried this but a ".class" file of JDK 1.5 is not compatible in JDK 1.6.12 and vice-versa. The only possible solution is to recompile it back again in the new JDK and then run or make a portable JAR file.

So here again the version of JDK and the corresponding JVM limits the virtue of platform independency.

---> Thirdly in my view, the JVM(Java Virtual Machine) takes a lot of time to get loaded into memory which is a pain in one form which literally slows down Java programs.

Pigin Messenger v2.5.5 is the new way of Messaging....

Phew...!!! I've tried it all right from Yahoo Messenger v9.0, Google's GTalk, Microsoft Live Messenger v11.0 etc. Also tried out messaging websites like Meebo, eBuddy etc which provide restricted messaging with only online contacts.

Well personally speaking, Messenger softwares from service providers like Yahoo, Google and Microsoft are quite pleasing with the new versions being released off late but the main problem persisting with us all is when we have to login simultaneously into all of the chat networks and say even multiple accounts of a single chat network. Well I know, the very abvious solution is installing all the messenger clients and logging it manually with each of my account. But here are it's disadvantages:

1] Firstly, it is a cumbersome job for a user to individually install all the messenger clients for all the service providers.

2] Let alone installing it, procuring the binaries(Executable setup) is in itself a very cumbersome job since Microsoft and Google do not provide entire offline binary of their respective messenger clients. In case of Microsoft they provide a 1.2 MB binary of Live Messenger which on execution downloads it's remnant from it's dedicated server. Same's teh case with Google's GTalk.

3] On successfully installing all the messenger clients, each of them register themselves to the startup which is quite a big unwanted load for the user since they all occupy a big chink of RAM even if not in use.

4] And when in use in usual situations Yahoo Messenger occupies 35-50 MB RAM, GTalk 10-25 MB RAM and Live Messenger tops it with 30-60 MB RAM. The same statistics have been noted on a daily basis from my 'Windows Task Manager'.

5] Add to it you can loggin only one account at a time on a messaging client.

Now enter Pidgin Messenger v2.5.5 the newest successful update. It has been developed using Gtk+ on Gtk Runtime Environment which is pre-bundled with it. It's a light weight Messaging client which support multiple accounts over multiple chat networks. This means that you can be chatting with friends on MSN, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in a Yahoo chat room all at the same time. The chat networks supported are:

• AIM
• Bonjour
• Gadu-Gadu
• Google Talk
• Groupwise
• ICQ
• IRC
• MSN (Live Messenger Protocol)
  
• MySpaceIM
• QQ
• SILC
• SIMPLE
• Sametime
• XMPP
  
• Yahoo!
• Zephyr

Pidgin runs on Windows, Linux, and other UNIX operating systems. Pidgin supports many features of these chat networks, such as file transfers, away messages, buddy icons, custom smilies, and typing notifications. Numerous plugins also extend Pidgin's functionality above and beyond the standard features.

Pidgin integrates with the system tray on Windows, GNOME2, and KDE 3.1. Pidgin is free and contains no ads. All our code is open source and licensed under the GNU General Public License. This means you can get Pidgin's underlying code and modify it to suit your needs, as long as you publish the changes you make for everyone to benefit from as well. Also it suppports over 30 languages.

The other advantages over the above are:

1] It's a light-weight messaging client which occupies just 10-25 MB of RAM.

2] Works on Gtk Runtime so it's highly unlikely that it might be affected by a known bug or spyware.

3] Let your productivity take a boost as you manage multiple accounts over multiple chat networks using a single messaging client.

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To download Pidgin Messenger: Click here

There's all commotion and turmoil in Pakistan...

So the story revolves and sums up back again in Pakistan. Is Pakistan headed for another Military rule....? Surely yes it seems, since there can be only two possibilities which may happen.

Firstly, Pakistan's current Prime Minister Mr. Asif Ali Zardari seems to be in a fix with the high discontent among people and current uprising being staged in Islamabad with support of PML-N(Zardari's Opposition party) under leadership of Pakistan's former PM Nawaz Sharif, Jamaat-e-Islami political party and other judges from Pakistan's judicial wing demanding reinstatement of the CJ(Chief Justice) Mr. Iftikaar Chaudhary and other sacked judges during the outstated General Pervez Musharaff's rule. If the democratic demands of the people does come through then Zardari has another reason to worry since the CJ might open up his past cases of dereliction and his past crimes. Now this can lead to the current PM battling and facing charges against him which will ultimately result in him getting overthrown from his own country.

Secondly, even if he is able to broker a truce with the CJ and the opposition parties behind the curtain then he still cannot rest peacefully since the country is already at the epicenter of terrorism with the Taliban already having captured 1/5th of the country and waiting right outside the gates of Peshawar and other suburbs. There are already speculations doing the rounds from a large part of the media that Taliban might end up with 3/5th or even more of the country by the end of this year. Well the above fact is already evident with civilians amongst them mostly Punjabis fleeing the SWAT, FATA(Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and NWFP(North West Frontier Province). Pakistanis tresspassing the Wagah border of India illegally to seek refuge have been making the buzz in all news channels. Also our very own 'Big Brother' United States has sounded a warning a stern warning to Zardari to clean up the mess. If that was less the add up Pakisatan's Military General Ashfaq Kayani echoing the same warning to the PM. Will Zardari rule in Pakistan to see himself complete his term or see himself as another name in the history of Pakistan who tried but failed miserably...?

Well in both of the above cases it's inevitable that in case of Zardari getting overthrown, Pakistan might hold another 'free and fair' elections and it's very much obvious that the Army General might take the charge. I'll remind you one thing as far as their annals goes, Pakistan has never been successful under a military rule till date.

So the world and me will surely spectate this drama. Ya there's some latest news doing the rounds that Zardari has promised to reinstate the CJ and all the sacked judges. So now with my 1st possibility going down it's time for the second one which can be true.....

For the news follow the link: http://in.yahoo.com/s/114226

So we got to hold on and watch.....

New products and services to be launched by Microsoft and regarding Windows 7

New Products and services launched or to-be launched by Microsoft:

1] Microsoft to launch experimental search site:

http://www.cio.com/article/print/482223

2] Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and .Net Framework v4.0 to be released in Dec. 2009:

http://searchwindevelopment.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid8_gci1346469,00.html?track=NL-544&ad=691049&Offer=WDxSQL226vslg&asrc=EM_UTS_5975320&uid=8594948

Download link for VS 2010:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=922B4655-93D0-4476-BDA4-94CF5F8D4814&displaylang=en

System Requirements:

• Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008; Windows Vista; Windows XP

• Minimum 75 GB available HDD space
• The host computer must have a minimum of 2 GB RAM, with 1 GB allocated to the host operating system and 1 GB allocated to the VPC.
• We recommend that the host computer CPU be at least a Core Duo 2 GHz processor.
• Service Pack 1 of Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 is required to access the VPC.

3] Imagine Cup Practice Labs:

Currently only for 2nd round qualifiers....

https://vlabs.learningservices.microsoft.com/scoredlabs/home.aspx

4] Microsoft Visual Robotics Studio:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/robotics/default.aspx

Regarding Windows 7 and RC1:

1] When is Windows 7 RC1 and Final going to be released ?... and advancements in Windows RC1:
http://gameboyzone.blogspot.com/2009/02/when-is-windows-7-going-to-be-realeased.html

2] Windows XP SP3 and Vista SP1 to Windows 7 upgrade:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Vista-SP1-to-Windows-7-Upgrade-XP-SP3-to-Windows-7-Upgrade-105693.shtml

Where should I learn JAVA language from ... ?

Well I've been a Java fanatic since a long time and hence have become proficient in it. So people across communities in Orkut and friends always pop this question to me, so I thought why don't I make it public and reveal my success mantra in Java. Here's the answer straight from a horse's mouth:

Like I've been recommending to all JAVA aspirants that JAVA is an extraordinarily powerful
language but a nerve-wrecking one if you keep compromising with yourself when you come across doubts. Hence I always recommend coaching from a good trainer who himself has his concepts clear and has enough work experience over JAVA projects. Yeah, it's that important.

I know finding the above kind of trainer is very much difficult but surely if you learn from a
mediocre trainer then expect yourself to derail from JAVA within 6 months. Yes such is this language. You got to understand your mentor in and out.

Now, finding a trainer doesn't mean finding one in premier institutes like NIIT, Aptech, CMS etc but any trainer who matches the above criteria and can match your tuning frequency and modulation.

Another possible option is learning from reference books and guides such as "O'Reilly's JAVA programming Guide", "Java 2 The Complete Reference (J2CR)" etc but I'll myself rule out this option since the learning process is exhausting, until and unless you are a prodigy. Studying specific topics from books in always a good option in case of external API's, Swing components etc. The web is surely another option with Sun Microsystems's official tutorial over the web giving enough apetite to learners and probably the best from all dimensions.

Check out the following link to download the official Sun Microsystems offline JAVA tutorial:
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/information/download.html