|
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year or two, you know that Java is the hottest thing to hit computing in years. The promise of a robust, platform-independent programming language that provides for high levels of code reuse is hard to ignore. Unfortunately, it has also been a promise that is hard to fulfill. While the language itself conceivably lives up to most of those promises, the development methods have not. In an industry where visual development environments such as Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, and Delphi have become the norm, the back-to-basics hard coding required by most Java environments has led many to pass on Java or at least wait to explore it further. Even products that promise a more graphical approach, such as Microsoftıs Visual J++, fail to deliver the same ease of use that packages for other languages deliver. But all of this is changing as more products enter the marketplace, and Borlandıs JBuilder is one of those long-awaited products that will make a huge impact.
With JBuilder, Borland has brought to Java the same graphical design methodology that it brought to Object Pascal with Delphi. JBuilder provides concurrent views of a Java application in both a code window and a visual design window. As with Delphi, changes made in one window are immediately reflected in the other. JBuilder also comes bundled with scores of prebuilt JavaBean components that can be dragged and dropped into an application ı only the interfacing of those Beans needs to be done by the programmer. JBuilder can also be used to create reusable Beans. A customized version of Sunıs JDK version 1.1 is bundled with JBuilder, and while JBuilder compilation requires the installed version, applications can be run using that or any subsequent version of the JDK. Finally, JBuilder provides easy access to databases through JDBC, RMI, and CORBA.
JBuilder comes in three different versions. The entry-level version is called the Standard Edition. While the Standard Edition might be acceptable for educational or trial purposes, it does not include the optimized compiler or JDBC or other database connectivity, and so it is not suited for professional development. The Professional Edition contains these items as well as additional controls, printed documentation, and development Wizards that can greatly speed up the development process. The Client/Server Suite adds multitier RMI and CORBA support, SQL Builder, SQL Monitor, SQL Explorer, and Intersolvıs PCVS version control software. Also included with the Client/Server Suite is a single server license for Borlandıs DataGateway that is a middle-tier tool providing native database drivers to most major versions of Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, Informix, Borlandıs InterBase, Microsoft Access, FoxPro, Paradox, and dBASE.
JBuilder requires Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 and at least 32MB RAM for the Professional Edition or 48MB RAM for the Client/Server Suite. As with most development efforts, having more memory than the minimum will always serve you better. A minimum install of the Professional Edition will use at least 50MB of disk space, while a full install of the Client/Server Suite can use as much as four times that. Screen resolution of at least 800 by 600 is required for all development environments and even that can feel cramped when many windows are open. While requiring a higher resolution could be a problem for some older notebooks and even desktop systems that only support 640 by 480 resolution, it is not likely that these would be used as Java development stations. For this review I used both the Professional Edition and the Client/Server Suite. I tested them on two separate machines running Windows 95 with 32 and 64MB RAM.
Setup is uneventful and is done from a central starting point from which all components can be installed. The separate components of the Client/Sever Suite, such as Intersolvıs PCVS, are installed individually from the switchboard after the primary JBuilder installation has been completed. In addition, the Client/Server Suite provides Netscape Navigator 4.0 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0. The overall JBuilder installation is clean, with only understandable directory structures and limited changes being made to the existing system defaults.
Upon launching JBuilder you are presented with an environment that anyone familiar with Delphi can appreciate. The main window at the top contains the menus, tool bar, and tabbed component palette. The primary development window is called the AppBrowser and fills the screen below the main window. The AppBrowser is divided into three panes. The two panes stacked on the left contain a tree and detail for either the object or directory view of the project along with its details. The pane on the right, which is the JBuilder Content pane, is the development pane providing a code, design, or documentation view of the project. Finally, the Component Inspector window may also be visible. This is where properties of controls can be viewed and set.
The easiest way to begin creation of any application in JBuilder is to use an Application Wizard. Both the Professional Edition and the Client/Server Suite include Wizards for developing various types of applications, forms, and components. Additional Wizards can be developed to aid in uniform corporate development. By selecting a Wizard, following along the tasks, and then customizing the result, it is possible to get a functional structure or prototype of an application very quickly. Even the customization can be accomplished quickly by using the available components from the palette, setting properties in the Component Inspector, and only resorting to handwritten code where necessary. Coding is made easy with excellent online help and syntax color coding.
Creation of database applications in JBuilder is quite easy and follows the same drag-and-drop and property set methodology of most other visual development environments. As expected, anyone familiar with Borlandıs Delphi environment will be especially comfortable with JBuilder. (See Figure 1.) To set a database connection, a database control is dropped onto a form and the connection properties, such as a JDBC connection string, are set. A TableDataSet control is placed on the form and a link established to the Database control. Finally, controls such as text fields, table browsers, and list boxes can be attached to the TableDataSet control to provide interaction with the database.
Through the use of the Client/Server Suiteıs included SQL tools (SQL Builder, SQL Monitor, and SQL Explorer), complex SQL queries can be built, tested, and monitored before and after application deployment. Additionally, these tools, combined with Borlandıs DataGateway on a middle tier, provide a manageable way to develop multitier client/server applications using Java. A copy of Borlandıs SQL database, InterBase, is included for testing or full deployment locally or on the database server. The methods used to develop and deploy the application in this instance are similar to, and no more complicated than, the methods used to do such a deployment using Visual Basic. Thatıs an amazing feat in itself for a Java development package.
As soon as the structure of a program is complete, you can compile and run. Compile errors and warnings are displayed in an HTML window below the Content pane. While this is not as optimal as having them displayed in the actual code, it works well. The debugger is also excellent with tabbed pages to show threads, variables, or stacks. Full capabilities such as stepping over calls and running to or from a breakpoint or condition are also available.
Unlike with some other Java environments on the market such as Asymetrixıs SuperCede, you cannot change JBuilder code on the fly as the program is running and have the changes reflected in the current execution. You must stop and recompile. The optimized compiler supplied with all editions except the Standard is quite fast however, and I found this to be no real drawback. Using the Make command, you only recompile changed files, which speeds up the process. Once a program is complete, the Deployment Wizard helps you bundle the Java application and its components into a deployable bundle. This is one area, however, where Borlandıs documentation is a bit weak, and some third-party information on Java deployment to the Web or an intranet will come in handy.
It was during the programming and compiling phases that JBuilderıs two main flaws appeared. The first problem was occasional and untraceable lockups. Even when building Borlandıs own sample programs, the application would either crash or lock occasionally. At times the locks would be so severe that they could not be reset, and a cold boot of the machine was necessary. I tested this out on two different machines, and the scenario repeated, ruling out the possibility of a fault with my equipment. Because the crashes were occasional and unpredictable, I can only attribute them to memory leaks somewhere within the JBuilder environment.
The second problem I had was with the general speed and feel of the application. While areas such as compiling seemed quite fast, other areas, such as the visual-to-code switch, seemed sluggish (and sometimes stagnant). After some research on Borlandıs own JBuilder support newsgroups I was able to find out the cause. As with Delphi, Borland built much of JBuilder with itself, that is, with Java. Where Java could not do the job, Delphi was used to fill in the cracks. Using your own products is an admirable goal, but in the case of JBuilder, it seems by all counts to have been a minor mistake. One of the most desired features of a programming tool is speed. Nowhere has Java been touted as the fastest executing language. If the goal of Borland was to deploy JBuilder on varied platforms such as Macintosh or Unix, the use of Java as the development tool would be understandable, but for a Windows-only tool, the exercise seems only to have taken away some speed that it would be nice to have back.
To support JBuilder, Borland has included both hard-copy and online documentation with the Professional Edition and Client/Server Suite. Documentation for the Standard Edition is all online. With a few exceptions, such as application deployment, this documentation is some of the best in the industry. In addition, Borland has established several Usenet newsgroups to support JBuilder, which members of its support staff frequent. Finally, it is also posting regular updates to the documentation on its Web site.
In the end, the ease of visual development in a Java environment wins out over any of the faults that JBuilder might have. When compared to totally component-based tools such as Sunıs Java Studio, the ability to add code to customize an application is a necessary feature for most programmers. On the other hand, when compared against the less fully graphical implementations of Java programming such as Microsoftıs Visual J++ or Sunıs Java Workshop, the visual advantage of JBuilder cannot be denied. Competition from similar tools such as Symantecıs Visual Cafı (see the previous review in this issue) or Asymetrixıs SuperCede (reviewed in DBMS, September 1997) is strong, but Borland has an excellent history in the development-language arena, and as always, Borlandıs support and marketing are excellent. Finally, to bring Java development of complex, multitiered database development to a level that rivals the ease of use of Visual Basic is enough to overcome most faults that a version 1.0 product might have. And this is an exceptional product. For an enterprise that is looking to move to Java or Web-distributed applications, JBuilder is an excellent choice in a young market.
