Advanced Topics in Java

Overview

Simon speaks regularly, and this workshop covers four of Simons favorite subjects: 1. distributed object oriented programming Object oriented programming became popular for a number of good reasons, and those reasons are still applicable even when a computing system is distributed over nodes connected by a network. However, some aspects of object orientation are often lost in a distributed environment, and this is not usually for good reasons. This talk looks at the issues, at how the Java platform changes the rules, and how to get the most flexibility out of a distributed system built using the Java platform. 2. security and the java platform The Java platform is unusual in that it is a mainstream computing platform that provides a solid security foundation as part of the original design. Additionally, the system developer is provided with a whole spectrum of tools that help address the issues involved in creating secure applications. This talk describes the foundations of Java platform security, looks at the responsibilities of system administrators, and gives a brief tour of the API capabilities and their appropriate uses. 3. ISSUES IN DISTRIBUTED ARCHITECTURE The Java platform was network-aware from the start, and with time, even more distributed programming facilities have been added. It is in the nature of distributed systems, that certain architectural aspects must be properly addressed early on if the project is to be successful and provide a satisfactory level of performance. This talk looks at some of those key issues, examines why they are important, and looks at how they can be addressed. The talk also shows how these key issues underpin many of the J2EE design patterns that have found general acceptance. 4. GARBAGE COLLECTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE The garbage collector is another relatively unusual feature of the Java platform. This talk looks at what garbage collection does and does not do for the programmer, and goes on to examine the ways that the garbage collector has been improved over the history of Java. The current behavior of the garbage collector is described so as to give an understanding of how the collection mechanism may be tuned, and how the programmer can avoid causing unnecessary problems with the collector.

Topics

About the speaker

Simon Roberts acquired 12 years experience as a software engineer in scientific and control systems fields before joining Sun Educational Services as an instructor and course developer in 1995. With Sun, he has worked on the development and delivery of courses on Jini, Jiro, Swing, Java Security, Java Internals, and Java Architecture. Simon also has a technical role in the development of the Sun Certified Programmer, Developer, and Architect certification exams. Simon is coauthor of a number of books, including "The Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide" (Sybex), "The Java 2 Developers Handbook" (Sybex), and of the "Sun Certified Enterprise Architect for J2EE Technology Study Guide" (Sun Press). In his free time, Simon pursues a love of aviation, is a certified flight instructor, and holds commercial ratings for airplanes and gliders.

Who should Attend?

This workshop is primarily intended for those with a reasonable depth of programming experience with the Java Programming Language. These talks emphasize understanding of the relevant principles, and code examples are minimal, so a good understanding of the problem domains (distributed programming, security, and performance) would be sufficient to allow an attendee to benefit significantly from the talks even without extensive knowledge of the Java platform.

Coordinator

This technology event is being coordinated by Dr. Huimin Zhao, Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at the School of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.