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I am an independent software developer currently fighting with Windows and ActiveX and preparing to move into Java permanently. There are still many software developers without a clear understanding of Java Beans or CORBA so there's nothing stupid about your questions. In a nutshell, Java Beans can be developed by anybody capable of programming in Java and using the tools available from a variety of well-known vendors for creating Java applications and Java Beans. A Java Bean is simply a stand-alone piece of sotware that supports a known set of functionality and can be plugged into an application with little or no additional work on the part of the person who decided to use it. For example, a video display box. The Java language does not and should not stipulate what Java objects should do or how they should do it; Beans are an agreed upon list of features and services that allow different vendors to share components. Sharing components is a great idea since it really brings down the cost of sofware development, makes it more reliable, and makes it more powerful. It would be nice, however, if you could share that functionality with software written in other languages. Moreover, it would be nice to use the existing software resources from within Java itself. That's what CORBA does. CORBA defines a model for sharing components between software written in any language on any platform -- that's the goal anyway. If you are writing new software you will want to use Java or an interactive development tool of some sort if you have a relatively canned, form-based application. Microsoft doesn't want CORBA or Java to be successful although they are an order of magnitude more reliable, flexible, easy-to-use, and so on. The problem is not vastly superior software, it's just that it breaks the chains which now bind most software to Microsoft Windows. That would be fine if Microsoft's technology were solid but really, I think you have a handful of very untalented and incapable people who won't let go of their failed design, to the extent that they even thought through half of what they developed. |
