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62nd IFLA General Conference - Conference Proceedings - August 25-31, 1996

Java in Libraries

Kenneth Chu
Education Sales Manager
The People's Republic of China and Hong Kong
Sun Microsystems Computer Company


PAPER

Table of Contents

I. Sun in Libraries

II. Sun and the Internet

III. Java

IV. Today's Library

V. Library Issues

VI. Java Benefits to Libraries

VII. Java Reference: UC Berkeley

VIII. Where is Java Headed?


Sun in Libraries

Goals

  1. Become the Leading Network Computing Partner for Academic, Corporate, Public, and Government Libraries Worldwide

  2. Become the Open Network Computing Vendor of Choice for All Major Library Automation Solution Providers

  3. Integrate Sun's Core Technologies - such as Java - into Key Industry Leading Digital Library Initiatives

Sun Strategy for the Library Market

  1. Offer a Comprehensive and Integrated Product Suite to Library Customers Emphasizing Price/Performance, Connectivity, Ease-of-Use

  2. Leverage Sun Key Technologies to Industry and University Innovators

Sun Strategy Scenario





Sun Technologies and Java

Sun ISVs and Resellers Sample Digital Library Projects
Ameritech CARL UC Berkeley
DRA Geac UC Santa Barbara
Endeavor Ex Libris University of Michigan
IME Innovative NACSIS (Japan)
OCLC Ovid -
SilverPlatter Sirsi -
Urica VTLS -
End Users End Users
Corporate Corporate
University University
Government Government
Public -

Sun Has Over 250 Worldwide Library Reference Sites.

Sun's Vision of Java and the Internet

"Java isn't just another pretty interface, it heralds what has been called the 'third wave' of the Internet..."

"Java-enhanced WWW sites can include such devices as animation, pop-up windows, a high degree of interactivity, and the potential for adding many different types of tools and documents to the World Wide Web."

John Gage
Chief Science Officer
Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Library Journal Interview
February 1996

The Internet's Evolution

Static Content

Dynamic Manipulation of Static Content

Actual Dynamic Customizable Content

Pre-1993 - 1995 - 1997

The Internet's Logarithmic Growth

  1. Affecting Both Commercial and Non-Profits - 30-40 Million Users; 14 Million Commercial

  2. Internet and Corporate Intranets - Websites Doubling Every 57 Days

Java

Write Once, Run Anywhere, On Anything, Anytime, Safely...

A Software Answer to a Software Problem

What is Java?

  1. A Software Platform for Network-based Computing
  2. Originally Developed from R&D For Set-Top Boxes
  3. Small (512KB>), Scalable Object-Oriented Programming Language
  4. Produces Applets: Modular, Reusable, Software Objects

The Java Advantage

  1. Dynamic

  2. Secure

  3. Architecture Neutral

  4. Easy to Learn

The Evolving Desktop Landscape

Today's Scenario

Data Provided by the Network Applications Loaded on Each Desktop Operating System

User Responsible for Purchasing, Installing, Upgrading, Servicing Each Desktop Configuration!

Tomorrow's Java-Connected Environment

Data and Applets Provided by the Internet/Network Javatized Browser Delivers Data and Applets to Any Type of Desktop

User Responsible for Just-In-Time Purchasing and Use!

So Why Is Java Important...

"Your computer will never be the same. No longer will the features of the desktop decide the features of the machine. No longer will the size of your hard drive or the database in your LAN server determine the reach of your information processing. No longer will the programs in your machine determine the functions you can perform. The network is the computer. The computer becomes a peripheral to the Internet and the Web."

George Gilder
Forbes Magazine

"This language, and its associated technologies, are not only capable of solving the Web's current problems, but also create a new platform that will speed the Internet's already dizzying pace of technological improvement."

Paul Jones, et. al.
"So Wide a Web, So Little Time"
Educom Review, May/June

The Microsoft Vision...Solutions for a Captive Audience

"We've found people tend to go NT Workstation when they're bringing in a new machine, which typically means a replacement machine. What that can mean, of course, is having three platforms: You've got 3.1 on whatever you haven't touched; you've got Win95 on the systems that you have touched; and you've got NT on the new systems that you're bringing in...."

"Everything will be on the NT code base. And you can take that as an absolute prediction for eight years from now."

Steve Ballmer
Executive Vice President, Sales
Microsoft Corporation

Infoworld Interview
May 27, 1996

Today's Library

What Libraries Do:
Search for Data
Retrieve It
Manipulate It
Catalog and Save It

Today's Library Technology Requirements

  1. Network-Centric
  2. Distributed Client-Server
  3. Scalable
  4. Portable
  5. Multimedia
  6. Object-Oriented
  7. CIO Supported

Academic Library Issues

  1. Libraries Spend Huge Sums to Disseminate Information
  2. Students and Faculty Demand Access Outside of the Library
  3. Academic Libraries Under Budget Constraints
  4. Long Software and Hardware Life Cycles
  5. Fit Into Campus Information Technology (IT) Structure
  6. Faculty and Student Client Needs

Corporate Library Issues

  1. Information Half-Life
  2. Optimize Use of Expensive Research Reports
  3. Training
  4. Varied, Specialized Clients: Marketing, R&D, Sales, Legal, etc.
  5. Pay-Per-Use of Selected Unsubscibed Data

Java Benefits to Libraries

  1. Desktop Platform Independence
  2. Information Management, Control, and Delivery
  3. Better Address User Needs

Java Library Reference:

UC Berkeley Digital Library

Geographic Information System (GIS) Data, Photos, and Maps

Joint Project with NSF and State of California

Heterogeneous Hardware Environment - Sun, IBM, HP, DEC

Java Allows User Interface and Transformation of Document Types

Where is Java Headed?

  1. APIs for Databases, Multimedia
  2. Independent Javasoft - Full Course Offerings
  3. Major Vendors Licensed Including IBM, Apple, and Microsoft
  4. Java Cup International - 360 Applets Submitted; 19 Winners
  5. Java Development Kit and Third Party Tools Emerging
  6. Fifty Schools Now Teaching Java; 200 Expected by Year End
  7. Java One - 5500 Attendees at Our First Developer Conference
  8. "Ice Tea" - Networking Middleware for Enterprise Connection

For More Information...

  1. Java
    http://www.javasoft.sun.com
    http://www.gamelan.com

  2. Java Cup International
    http://javacontest.sun.com

  3. Digital Libraries
    http://www.dlib.org/

  4. UC Berkeley Project
    http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/
    http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/mapview/

  5. Sun Library Marketing Manager
    art.pasquinelli@corp.sun.com

  6. Education Sales Manager: China
    kenneth.chu@asia. sun.com