Bringing Clarity To Programming

Last week, a federal appeals court ruled 3-0 that Microsoft could not be forced to ship a Sun approved Java runtime in Windows. Actually, as a programmer, I would have welcomed a decision against Microsoft on this -- even though I don't program in Java (Ah'm a flag wavin' VB man ... ) and I don't plan to start. But I am a strong believer in the market system and it seems to me that when Windows becomes the defacto 'standard' then Microsoft really does control the distribution system for genuine alternatives. And you have to admit that Java is a genuine alternative.

It also seems to me that Microsoft really is doing some clever bundling to make .NET development seem like an integral part of Windows rather than just one alternative as their (courtroom sensitive) public relations announcements would have you believe. For example, Visual Basic Forms in VB 6 has been replaced with Windows Forms in VB .NET. I know, I know ... technically, the door is wide open for anyone else to use the same Forms technology (Fortran Forms, anyone?), but I think non-technical people may be forgiven for concluding that Windows and VB .NET have tight and proprietary links now.

No ... I happen to think that .NET is strong enough to meet and beat the competition.
Bring it on!!!!

Sadly, that isn't what is going to happen. Cooler ("green" is a cool color) heads at Microsoft clearly prevailed. So if your customers use the JVM, it will either have to be installed or downloaded in Windows environments. Not an insurmountable problem, but even minor pebbles in the road loom like boulders with many computer users. They still can't get the email to work at my wife's office!

It's a strategy that worked for IE! And it worked for Office! Why won't it work for .NET?

There was another part of the ruling that might have slipped under your radar, however. Although MS won't have to ship Sun's Java, MS was also prohibited from shipping their own version of the JVM. This is a good thing! As a result, there will be more clarity in programming because we won't have to worry about pesky, unfindable bugs due to the inevitable differences between Microsoft's Java and Sun's Java. Although Sun will have to run the race in fishing waders while Microsoft gets to wear track shoes, at least they will both run on the same race track now.