A Java Prayer

Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 is (finally) out. The J2SE 5.0 is a major feature release with Performance Enhancements and additions/changes have been made to Java Language Features, Virtual Machine, Base Libraries, Integration Libraries, User Interface, Deployment, Tools and Tool Architecture and OS & Hardware Platforms.

The J2SE 5.0 (code named Tiger) has introduced Language features like Generics which will also be included in C# 2005 (code named Whidbey). Java generics is based on Erasure (generic type information is present only at compile time, after which it is erased by the compiler) while C# implements generics using Reification. Reification seems to be a better way to do it, but Sun used the Erasure approach to provide total interoperability between generic code and legacy code that uses non-parameterized types. But the disadvantage is that parameter type information is not available at run time, and that automatically generated casts may fail when interoperating with legacy code. Many a heated discussions have been made on this design choice. Check these out

Other language features include Enhanced for Loop, Autoboxing/Unboxing,Typesafe Enums ,Varargs, Static Import and Metadata (Annotations). See Sun’s website for more details

C# already have for-each looping,autoboxing/unboxing and typesafe enums. The main language features in C# 2005 are Generics, Partial types, Anonymous Methods, , Iterators, Alias Qualifier (Global Namespace Qualifier) and Static classes.See MSDN for more details

An interesting observation is that C# now added iterators (it already has a for-each loop) while Java now added a for-each loop (it already has iterators).

Refactoring tools available to Java programmers in tools like IDEA are now also available for C# programmers in C# Whidbey IDE (atlast !). With this and many other additions, but I am sure that Visual Studio beats every Java IDE out there. With .NET growing into a powerful and stable platform, Java people need a prayer :

import org.religion.*;

public class LordsPrayer
{
public void pray()
{
// Our Father, who art in heaven,
//
God ourFather = Heaven.getGodInstance();

// Hallowed be thy Name.
//
ourFather.getName().setHallowed( true );

// Thy kingdom come.
//
ourFather.getKingdom().setWelcome( true );

// Thy will be done in earth
// As it is in heaven.
//
boolean isWillDone = Heaven.isWillDone( ourFather );
Earth.setWillDone( ourFather, isWillDone );

// Give us this day our daily bread.
//
Bread dailyBread = ourFather.getBread( new Date() );

// And forgive us our trespassess,
// As we forgive those who trespass against us.
//
synchronized
{
ourFather.forgive( this.getTrespasses() );
this.forgive( this.getTrespassers() );
}

// And lead us not into temptation;
// But deliver us from evil:
//
ourFather.removeTemptationListener( this );
ourFather.deliverFrom( Evil, this );

// For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
// and the glory, for ever.
//
for (;;)
{
Kingdom.setOwner( ourFather );
Power.setOwner( ourFather );
Glory.setOwner( ourFather );
}
// Amen.
//
finalize();
}
}

By the way, new additions to my music collection are :
Heart – The Essential Heart (2 CDs)
Interpol – Antics
Mark Knopfler – Shangri-La
Zucchero – Zucchero and Co
Phil Collins – Love_Songs (2 CDs)
Santana – Jam