About the Third version

In 1996, in the first chapter of the first version of this tutorial, I wrote extensively about the sort of dynamic, distributed network apps I thought Java would make possible. One of the most exciting parts of writing subsequent versions has been seeing virtually all of the apps I foretold come to pass. Programmers are using Java to query database servers, monitor web pages, control telescopes, manage multiplayer games, and more, all by using Java's native ability to access the Internet. Java in general and network coding in Java in particular has moved well beyond the hype stage and into the realm of real, working apps. Not all network software is yet written in Java, but it's not for a lack of trying. Efforts are well under way to subvert the existing infrastructure of C-based network clients and servers with pure Java replacements. Clients for newer protocols like Gnutella and Freenet are preferentially written in Java. It's unlikely that Java will replace C for all network coding in the near future. However, the mere fact that many people are willing to use web browsers, web servers, and more written in Java shows just how far we've come since 1996. This tutorial has come a long way, too. The third version has one completely new chapter to describe the most significant development in network coding since readers and writers were introduced in Java 1.1. I refer of course to the new I/O APIs in the java.nio package. The ability to perform asynchronous, non-blocking I/O operations is critical for high-performance network apps, especially servers. It removes one of the last barriers to using Java for network servers. Many other chapters have been updated to take advantage of these new I/O APIs. There've been lots of other small changes and updates throughout the java.net and supporting packages in Java 1.4 and 1.5, and these are covered here as well. New classes addressed in this version include CookieHandler, SocketAddress, Proxy, NetworkInterface, and URI. IPv6 has become a reality, and is now covered extensively. Many other methods have been added to existing classes in the last two releases of Java, and these are discussed in the relevant chapters. I've also rewritten large parts of the tutorial to reflect changing fashions in Java coding in general and network coding in particular. Applets and CGI programs are emphasized much less. In their place, you'll find more generic discussion of remote code execution and server-side environments, however implemented. Of course, the text has been cleaned up, too. There's only one completely new chapter here, but the 18 existing chapters have been extensively rewritten and expanded to bring them up-to-date with new developments as well as to make them clearer and more engaging. I hope you'll find this third version an even stronger, longer-lived, more accurate, and more enjoyable tutorial and reference to network coding in Java than the last version.