General Q & A

Visual J++ 6.0 combines the power of the Windows« operating system and the productivity of the Java language, offering the fastest way to build and deploy high-performance, data-driven client/server solutions for Windows and the Web. With Visual J++ 6.0, developers can rapidly construct Windows-based applications and components using two-way RAD tools and the Windows Foundation Classes (WFC), an object-oriented framework that encapsulates and simplifies the Win32« API. By providing direct access to the Win32 API, Visual J++ 6.0 makes it possible for developers to produce compelling applications on time and under budget, leverage their existing software investments, and take advantage of the development opportunities, support and resources provided by the Microsoft Windows platform. 

Key new features include:

• A high-productivity IDE. Developers can deliver robust software quickly with a flexible, high-productivity RAD environment offering two-way visual design of powerful data-driven Web applications.
• Windows Foundation Classes. Windows Foundation Classes (WFC) is an object-oriented framework that provides a rich encapsulation of the Win32 API, allowing developers to take advantage of the power and functionality of the Windows platform.
• Ability to create reusable components. Developers can easily create WFC and ActiveX® components that can be installed on the Toolbox and used to visually construct applications or even other components from within Visual J++ as well as other Windows applications, such as Visual Basic®, Visual C++®, Microsoft® Word, Microsoft® Excel, and more.
• One-step Component Object Model development. Developers can build reusable Component Object Model (COM) components in Java — without needing to understand low-level COM details — allowing their code to run in popular applications such as the Visual Basic development system, Delphi, Microsoft Excel or any COM-based tool.
• Rich component support. Thousands of prebuilt components can be accessed from the visual designer with full drag-and-drop support for ActiveX Controls.
• IntelliSense technology. On-the-fly programming assistance — including statement completion, parameter list information and syntax checking — helps increase development speed.
• Database development. Developers can create scalable database applications using ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) 2.0, offering high-performance access to any data source. Using the WFC DataGrid component, developers can drop a full-featured grid directly onto the WFC Designer and visually bind it to a data source.
• Integrated debugger. Bugs can be fixed fast with seamless cross-language debugging (Java, Visual Basic Scripting Edition, JScript&$174; development software), point-and-click breakpoints, drag-and-drop watch windows, powerful multithreaded debugging support and more. Developers can easily debug components or client/server applications using cross-process and remote debugging.
• Visual Database Tools. Visual J++ allows developers to quickly create, update and view database tables and visually design SQL queries from within the RAD environment. Using Visual Database Tools, developers can connect to and explore any ODBC or OLE DB database (including Microsoft SQL Server™) and design complex queries.
• Flexible packaging options. Complete applications can be easily packaged, signed and deployed into file formats such as Windows EXE, COM DLL, CAB and ZIP.
• One-button deployment. Visual J++ helps reduce the cost of software distribution and configuration with one-button deployment that delivers entire applications to a remote file, Web, or transaction server. Whether itÆs Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) or any other Web server, developers will have the advantage of being able to deploy an application from the environment in which it was built. This ensures that the application downloaded to the user is error-free and works immediately.
• Simplified Component Management™ Developers can also find, track, catalog, and reuse their own components using the included Professional Visual Component Manager (VCM). The Visual Component Manager (VCM) makes it easy for developers to publish a wide range of component types, enabling effective component and code reuse across multiple projects.
• Easier to use wizards. Visual J++ 6.0 includes a host of wizards designed to jumpstart your development. When itÆs time to build a data-aware application, simply launch the Dat Form Wizard and follow the guided steps. Similarly, developers that need to quickly add properties or events to component can launch the WFC Component Builder.
• More sample programs. Visual J++ 6.0 also includes several samples designed to illustrate how developers can build high-performance solutions for Windows and the Web.
• Improved documentation. Visual J++ 6.0 includes significantly more documentation, helping developers get a jumpstart on their WFC and Java programming projects. Two books, "Learn Java Now" and "Visual J++ in Action", make learning easy and fun.

WFC is an object-oriented framework that provides a rich encapsulation of the Win32 API, allowing developers to take advantage of the power and functionality of the Windows platform. Built on the J/Direct™ API, WFC provides an architecture and set of prebuilt components that make it possible to rapidly write professional full-featured applications for Windows. WFC offers more than 100 reusable Java classes and components, simplifying construction of user interfaces, database applications, server-side components and complex business logic. WFC also allows developers to build thin-client Web applications using client-or server-based Java classes that generate Dynamic HTML on the fly. 

Relatively little has changed from Visual J++ 6.0 Technology Preview 2 to the final version of the product. All of the changes concerned improvements in performance and stability. Developers who are migrating their applications to the final version of Visual J++ 6.0 and the Windows Foundation Classes should not encounter significant changes in either the functionality of their applications or in the WFC APIs that are used. 

Since development of the Windows Foundation Classes began late in the development cycle of Visual J++ 6.0, we were unable to complete the product in time. Therefore, we decided to bundle Visual J++ 6.0 Technology Preview 2 with Visual Studio 6.0 so that developers can get a jumpstart on Java development for Windows and the Web using the Windows Foundation Classes. In addition, a coupon for the released version of Visual J++ 6.0 is included in the Visual Studio 6.0 box, which customers can redeem for a copy of Visual J++ 6.0 Professional Edition. 

There should be no issues with upgrading from Technology Preview 2 to the final version of Visual J++ 6.0. Moreover, Visual J++ 6.0 can co-exist with prior versions of Visual Studio or its constituent products. 

J/Direct is an easy way to access Windows dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) from within Java code. WFC is an object-oriented set of class libraries written in Java using J/Direct that gives Java developers a familiar way to develop applications for the Windows platform. The high-performance J/Direct architecture is more than twice as fast as competing native access methods. J/Direct is available via the Microsoft SDK for Java 3.0. 

This new version of Visual J++ supports the Windows Foundation Classes and the Microsoft Application Foundation Classes (AFC). Developers are also able to import any other Java class library and still take advantage of IntelliSense and statement completion technology. 

Visual J++ 6.0 supports the Microsoft Component Object Model. The Windows Foundation Classes were designed to operate within the framework of the existing ActiveX and COM development model for the Windows platform. This means developers can reuse all of their current work from within WFC applications. Moreover, developers who need to combine WFC code with older applications written in other languages can do so easily, allowing them to readily take advantage of past software investments. 

A 30-day Trial Edition of Visual J++ 6.0 is available at no cost for downloading from this Web site (connect charges may apply). Visual J++ 6.0 Standard Edition has an MSRP of $109. Visual J++ 6.0 Professional Edition has an MSRP of $549. Significant discounts are available to developers upgrading from previous editions of Visual J++ as well as other Java tools and SDKs. The upgrade price for Visual J++ 6.0 Standard Edition is $59 ($39 for owners of previous versions of Visual J++) while the upgrade price for Visual J++ 6.0 Professional Edition is $219 ($199 for owners of previous versions of Visual J++). 

For solutions that must span platforms, developers can take advantage of client- or server-side Dynamic HTML generation through the WFC Dynamic HTML classes. Developers can also use Visual J++ to create standard Java applets that are as portable as those created with other Java tools. 

Visual J++ 6.0 is the first Java development tool focused on providing easier access to the underlying platform, and it is leading the way in providing end-to-end solutions for developers looking to build powerful, full-featured Windows-based applications. Other tools will soon follow, as several top Java tool vendors are planning to incorporate WFC into their offerings, providing developers with even more choice and flexibility for their development efforts. On other platforms, vendors will continue to expose more native functionality to Java. All of this is good news for Java developers and end users alike. As the market for native Java tools grows, so too will the opportunities to build commercial-quality applications in the Java language, creating a wealth of new applications choices for businesses and consumers. 

The WFC Designer included with Visual J++ 6.0 supports the live hosting and creation of ActiveX Controls. With thousands of controls to choose from, developers can be assured they have the widest selection when they need to incorporate pre-existing business logic and components. By creating ActiveX Controls, developers can reuse their Java code in the most popular Windows-based applications, including Visual Basic, the Visual C++ development system and Delphi.

If developers need to use JavaBeans components, they can do so by running a simple conversion tool that turns a JavaBean component into an ActiveX Control. At that point, the WFC Designer is able to host the component and treat it like any other ActiveX Control. 

Because Visual J++ 6.0 is capable of creating COM objects, any class created within Visual J++ can be reused in other Windows-based applications. Moreover, this new version of Visual J++ can import any COM object and use it directly from the Java language. This opens up a wealth of opportunities for Java developers who want to integrate with existing Windows-based applications. 

Developers can be assured that applications written with WFC and downloaded to a local client machine will have only the access to the system that is explicitly declared by the end user. The WFC security restrictions prevent end users from unknowingly downloading and executing local code that could be potentially malicious. For more information on security zones, please consult the online Security Zone documentation. 

Yes. Visual J++ is a key component of MicrosoftÆs development tool suite. Microsoft Visual Studio is a complete development tools suite that provides corporations with easy-to-use tools for building business applications for the Windows Distributed interNet Architecture (Windows DNA), a framework for building scalable enterprise applications. Visual Studio includes Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual J++, the Visual InterDev™ Web development system and Visual FoxPro® database. 

To reflect the maturity of individual products, as well as synchronize product version numbers, the version scheme for each of the products and the Visual Studio suite of tools overall will be version 6.0. 

For more information, visit the Visual J++ Web site.