6.0 Technology Preview 1 clearly demonstrates that the Java programm ing language and the Windows operating system can make a formidable combination. Although critics point out that applications and components comprised of native Win32 code cannot be ported to other computing platforms, it is a simple fact that many developers do not require this capability. Pros Cons Provides a rich and productive Java development environment capable of producing high-performance Windows applications. Includes an extensive library of pre-built components, and allows developers to create and export additional components. Alienates novice programmers with a treacherous, time-consuming installation process.
Sacrifices platform independence in order to achieve high-performance.
Requires a significant amount of system resources in terms of processing power, RAM, and disk space. Technology Preview 1 documentation states that this Java development tool requires a Pentium processor running at a speed of 90 MHz or more. We tested the system on a 75MHz Pentium system, and quickly concluded that a 133MHz processor would be a more reasonable lower limit. Fortunately, this sluggish performance was not pervasive among all of its functions. The response time of many operations was very acceptable, even on our under-powered system.