Microsoft's Visual J++ and Java Web Site
The rumors surrounding Microsoft's Jakarta are finally being put to rest. The company has created a Web site for Java and its Visual J++ (formerly code-named "Jakarta") Java application-development environment. At the site (www.microsoft.com/visualj/) you can download the beta of Visual J++, a 13-MB compressed file for which Microsoft says you should reserve over 100 MB of disk space and have at least a 90-MHz Pentium with 24 MB of memory. Of course, it requires Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0.
Upon opening Visual J++, you are greeted with "Do you dare to install the coolest Java development environment on the planet?" Once you get past the levity, Visual J++ looks a lot like Visual C++ 4.1. It includes access to all sorts of online documentation, but it doesn't provide much help to the Java developer beyond the text editor and debugger. There may be a lot going on under the hood, but it is a stretch to describe it as the "coolest on the planet." For the Visual C++ programmer, however, the familiarity may be just what is needed to move into Java development.
Even if you don't need a 100-MB Java development environment, you still might want to visit Microsoft's Java site, where you'll find the highly acclaimed FrontPage Web-page editor.
