Skip to the cool applets!
What is Java?
Java is a system originally developed by Sun
Microsystems. The reason I say "system" and not "language" is because
there are a couple of different things that should all really be considered
part of Java:
- The Language Itself
- The language is usually what people are referring to when they
say "Java". Java as a language looks a lot like C++, but tries
to get away from many of the complexities that make it hard to
program in C++. The result is a smaller, simpler language that
still allows you to write useful programs.
- The Library
- This is the set of "standard" tools and widgets that comes with
Java. The Java library is huge and getting bigger all the time.
It includes things like graphics and sound, as well as some data
structures. One part of the library is applet support,
which allows Java programs to be placed inside web pages. The
animated turing machine at the top of this page is actually a little Java program that
draws each frame of the animation.
- The Virtual Machine
- The people who created Java were pretty specific about how a
computer should actually run a Java program. They created
a virtual machine specification, which is kind of like the
design for a computer chip. Java basically runs programs by
simulating that chip in software.
In just a few years, Java has become incredibly popular. You may have
encountered it mostly by browsing web pages that contained applets. But
Java is also being used as a language for research projects (it's the
language I use to do my research, both in graphics and programming languages).
Many universities are adopting Java as the language they teach in
introductory programming courses. There are commercial products that
help you write Java programs, and there are commercial products that are
written in Java. In short, Java is becoming a pretty important language
in the computer world.
I invite you to browse the links on the rest of this page. You'll find out
more about Java, where it came from and how to get it. You'll see some good
places to go for Java information. And you'll see a bunch of great examples
of Java being used out in the world.
If you have a more specific question about Java, you can ask me! Just look
for my email address on my
home page.
Java Links
General Java Information
- Javasoft
- Javasoft is the division of Sun
that created Java. Be sure to check out:
-
The story of Java. This essay describes the origins of
Java.
-
The Green Project. Java grew out of something called
The Green Project at Sun. Here, James Gosling, one
of the creators of Java, tells you about Green.
-
What is the Java platform? This page tells you why
you can't live without Java.
-
The 1.1 JDK. This page keeps you up to date on the current
release of Java, and tells you how to download a (free!) copy.
- The
JRE is just enough to run Java programs, but not write them.
- Java
in the real world lists some high-profile uses of Java.
- The Java Linux Porting Project
- I use Linux at home. This page
tells you how to get the JDK for Linux.
- Java in a Nutshell
- This is the second edition of the book I used to learn Java.
-
Slide show
- Slides from the live presentation I gave at the open house.
Cool Applets!
- Gamelan
- Not an applet, but a great place to find them. This web site
points to thousands of applets.
- JARS
- This web site reviews applets, and maintains pointers to good ones.
- The Geometry Center
- This geometry research group at the University of Minnesota has
many great applets that demonstrate ideas in geometry.
- Education
-
- The Geometry Applet
- One of my favorites. An online version of Euclid's
Elements, where you can fiddle with all the illustrations.
- Binary Trees
- A demonstration of different binary trees. It's very
pretty, and a lot of fun to watch.
- Virtual Optical Table
- A simulation that lets you play with light beams by adding
mirrors, lenses, prisms and so on.
- The Smile Applet
- An applet written by CS+E students! A demonstration of
principles of genetics.
- Pointer Chasing
- Another one written here. This applet helps you understand
pointers in C and C++, by showing you how they work.
- CMOS basic gate demonstration
- An introduction to CMOS technology (a way to manufacture
computer chips), with excellent Java applets as visual aids.
- Games
-
- Tic Tac Toe
- One of the very first applet demonstrations by Javasoft.
- EYE ONE Games
- A collection of beautiful arcade-style games written in Java.
- Deep Blue VS. Kasparov
- When this famous match occured last year, IBM had an applet
that would let you watch the games as they were happening.
You can still use the applet to play back the games.
- The Washington Post Daily Crossword
- The Washington Post publishes their crossword puzzle everyday
as an applet. Very nice user interface.
- Gess
- This is an applet I wrote that lets you play an interesting
go/chess hybrid.
- Sports
-
- The Journal
of Basketball Studies
- Scientific research about basketball!
- JuggleMaster
- A tool for viewing juggling patterns.
- Art
-
-
The Mondrian Applet
- Generate random drawings in the style of Piet Mondrian
-
The Impressionist
- A really famous applet that lets you easily create drawings
in the style of impressionist paintings.
- The Lake Applet
- Creates a rippling lake effect for an image
- The World
-
- Blue Skies Java
- An applet that lets you watch real-time weather
information for the United States.
- StarGazer
- Provides an accurate view of the night sky.
- Miscellaneous
-
- Life
- Every new language accumulates implementations of John
Conway's game of Life. This is a particularly fast one.
-
Nonfrontierans
- I have no idea how to describe this. But I had a lot of fun.
Just go check it out.
Go back to the main Computer Science and Engineering
open house web page.
Last updated: Fri Apr 24 09:18:28 PDT 1998