Java 7, the Java kernel and JRuby

All kinds of interesting news about Java 7 (formerly known as Dolphin) is coming out. Along with closures (Closures in Java, as functions rebel) and other new features, we’re likely to get JRuby support and a concept called the Java kernel.

JRuby

Sun hired Charles Nutter and Thomas Enebo, the lead developers of JRuby at the time. It’s a sign that Sun is interested in adopting Ruby and the applications built with it. Tim Bray put together an FAQ on the JRuby acquisition.

The FAQ suggests Sun is serious about supporting scripting languages. Alongside JRuby there’s Phobos (JavaScript) and Semplice (Visual Basic), and there should be support for PHP and Python.

• Charles Nutter blog JRuby Steps Into the Sun
• JavaLobby Sun Acquires JRuby Project

Java kernel

The Java kernel project aims to make a small, compact Java environment that downloads core classes as a running application needs them. Today’s JRE, at around 16 MB, is unnecessarily large for applications such as applets and command-line tools, which use only a small fraction of its classes.

Ethan Nicholas’s original idea for a Java Browser Edition caught on. He’s now on the Sun team charged with developing the idea as the more general Java kernel concept. See his post “Java Browser Edition”: New name, first steps.

We’ll see how he fares with the bold claim that a 3 MB JRE will be enough to run applets. With relatively small changes, he can trim the current 6.0 JRE to 2.8 MB for a Hello World console application and to 3.5 MB for an AWT application that displays a Frame.

• JavaLobby Java Kernel — JVM in 3MB or less?