Java 1.5 planned changes James Lanfear jclanfear jclanfear@oregonfast.net

<title>Java 1.5 planned changes James Lanfear jclanfear jclanfear@oregonfast.net</title>
<p><b>I'm currently actually compiling Sun's current 1.4.1 source code because it's the best way to get the damned plugin working with Mozilla Firebird.</b></p>

<p>Hey, at least you actually <i>have</i> a working plug-in.  The best I can get is a frozen browser.  Appletviewer to the rescue.</p>

<p><b>The joys of using the beta version of a compiled-from-source OS.</b></p>

<p>Beats a stable version of a compiled-from-source OS that Sun doesn't support.  Forget about the plug-in, I don't even have a working JITter, and my windows are apparently sized according to smallest component in the frame (often around 1x1 pixel).  And that's on a <i>good</i> day.</p>

<p><b>I seem to remember Bill Gates saying that it would be a great day when someone figures out a fast way to factor large prime numbers.</b></p>

<p>As it happens, I've done extensive research into this topic over the last few minutes, and I think I've found a method for doing just that.</p>
<pre>
import java.math.BigInteger;

public class Factor
{
    public static BigInteger[] factorPrime(BigInteger prime)
    {
            BigInteger[] factors = {new BigInteger("1"), prime};
            return factors;
    }
}
</pre>
<p>Do you know of any journals that might be interested in my work?</p>

<p><b>All kidding aside, the interpreter is about a 20% hit over native code, so I wouldn't try to use this for all the good things you'd use big primes for unless you're using IBM's JIT compiler or something.</b></p>

<p>It's worse than that: the constructor doesn't even guaranty that the number is prime.  I can't imagine why they thought people would want to slowly generate 'probably prime' numbers.</p>

<p>And I don't believe for a second that the interpreter overhead is only 20% :-)</p>

<p><b>And speaking of better languages producing compatible classes, if Jerry's not careful, I'm going to set up Jython one of these days and start handing him source code written with that.</b></p>

<p>Great, I just installed Kawa, so I can send him Scheme.</p>

<p><b>Of particular interest to me are the Python generators, which is a feature I have not seen matched in other languages.</b></p>

<p>Well, IINM they stole them from either CLU or Icon (which itself stole them from CLU I believe), but Python has the advantage of not being dead.</p>

<p><b>If you're interested, keep an eye out for Chris Meyers' Python for Programmers class. It's non-credit but definitely worth taking!</b></p>

<p>My religion doesn't allow me to learn Python.  I am allowed to steal ideas from it though, and generators seem like a nice justification for something I've been working on.</p>