Oracle and Open Source

Chapter 7. Java

Java is becoming an increasingly important technology for Oracle Corporation and for Oracle developers. Java is not a base open source technology—as Perl is, for example. However, developers are starting to release fully-formed Java applications and development frameworks that adhere to the open source philosophy. Instead of simply providing wrapped-up executable .jar files for download (as has been customary in the Java world), they’re starting to release the full source code of their applications in .java source files. In this chapter and the next, we’ll take a look at some of the new open source applications built upon the Java platform. We’ll also examine the new developmental links between Java and Oracle, especially in light of Oracle’s incorporation of the Apache JServ web server in its suite of Internet products.

First, though, we’ll introduce just enough Java so you’ll be able to begin using the new generation of Oracle/Java open source applications. We’ll focus on building Java GUI applications, running Java servlets on the Web, and using JDBC to connect your Java applications to Oracle.

There is a lot more to learn about Java. We’ll reference a number of web sites in this chapter. Appendix C, contains a list of the Java-related books that we’ve found most helpful.

Java Foundations

Java is a programming language that was designed from the ground up with networking and portability in mind. It’s intended to run on many different or heterogeneous platforms, including ...