Name: rmT116609 Date: 12/20/2000


java version "1.3.0"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.3.0-C)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.3.0-C, mixed mode)


The JavaIDL classes are placed in the rt.jar - isn't it possible to have
them as a separate jar file (e.g. javaidl.jar) so that us developers wouldn't
have such headaches trying to use alternative CORBA implementations with
Java 1.3 (even the org.omg.CORBA.ORBClass and org.omg.CORBA.ORBSingletonClass
directives only work up to a point - I STILL get ClassCastExceptions when
JavaIDL decides to use its classes sometime during the execution of an applet).

The best option is to have javaidl.jar as a separate jar, which is loaded
on the boot class path, and to have the ability to change the boot class path
via a directive to the java plugin in the html page (for example, PARAM
name="BootClassPath" value="rt.jar,otherorb.jar")

Just the flexibility of having the APIs that you NEED, not what the JRE thinks
you need, is a great bonus, and would be a great solution for developers who
want to use the power of the Sun Java implementation, but without class
conflicts.

Maybe an option to load AWT and SWING, JavaSound, JNDI separately as well?
(but I may be overstepping the mark here - JavaIDL is the big problem).

Also, I see, by reading the proposal for Java 1.4, that Sun is interested
in implementing XML in the runtime environment - this means more possible
class clashes if developers decided to use alternative XML parsers, XSLT
engines (this time with org.xml.sax and org.w3c.dom implementations) -
maybe in the future, if this XML implementation is going to be
incorporated in Java 1.4, it should also be a separate xml.jar from the
rt.jar).


Chris Clark (###@###.###)
(Review ID: 109160)
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