Blair Wyman

I don't follow the press much. In my job, an EDUPAGE subscription is about as committed as I normally get, along with slashdot, the DNRC, and a few other regulars. I see this as a personal failing on my part but never worry too much about it; it's just one of a large list of personal failings. If I were going to worry about a personal failing, it would probably be my apparent and utter incapability to become a legendary rock star. I even had a sort of a shot at it once, a long time ago. When I was in my early twenties, I fancied myself a sort of folk musician. I had learned a little guitar here and there, and could carry a tune if the basket was big enough. Well, the late, great Roy Orbison was between major gigs and happened to be playing at a local hometown nightspot. As part of the show that night the band arranged an "open mike" competition, where audience membe... (more)

JNI Programming In C/C+

If you're familiar with the Java Native Interface (JNI), as this article presumes, you know that it's tailored primarily for C and C++ programmers. Compile-time support for JNI in these languages comes straight from the Sun specification, and is frankly a work of art. The architects of the JNI had a terrifying three-part task: to tame the hydra of platform-specific issues inherent in so-called "native" code, provide a way to use native code in Java, and to do so in as "portable" a fashion as possible. The ubiquity and standardization of C and C++ made them the natural choices fo... (more)

Brushes with Greatness

For those of you who have been following "Cubist Threads" from its inception, you know - both of you - that several of my little musings have centered around brushes I've had with "greatness." Presuming I understand my own thought processes well enough to comment, I'd have to guess that recounting these events has been little more than a failed attempt to mask my own mediocrity (or, perhaps, to emerge from it). So far, my recollections have all come from my years before IBM. Oh, it's not that I haven't encountered greatness here - quite the contrary - it's just that you probably... (more)

Choose to Foos

Since I'll be presenting sessions throughout the week, I should really be reviewing them to make sure I have my message straight or at least make sure I don't goof up too badly. I'm still trying to live down that episode when I credited Sir Francis Bacon, of all people, with the invention of Java. (Sorry, Dr. Gosling!) It's just that kind of faux pas that can affect a person's technical credibility! Actually, I have the sessions down pretty well, I guess, though I won't know until I'm standing in front of the audience. It's rarely the case that any Java presentation can remain u... (more)

Age of Reasons

There have been lots of reasons bandied about lately about why Java is good or bad or indifferent. I'm afraid I've been too busy to follow the discussions closely, but that rarely stops me from chiming in. Others find my ignorance entertaining; perhaps you will, too. Blair's Reasons for Being a Java Bigot 1.   Java helps us sell our boxes Allow me to expand, briefly, on each of these points... Okay, so it's not much of a list. At least I can remember the whole thing! (And if not, it fits easily on a single 3x5 notecard.) Well, I guess if we're going to get any value out of this lit... (more)