FlashPaper: What would IA-64 bring to the 3000? Lotsa Java

June 1998

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What would IA-64 bring to the 3000? Lotsa Java.

Okay, we know there’s not a word being said yet about HP 3000s running this Merced architecture. But it’s pretty plain that performance gain won’t be the most compelling reason for you to shift chips on your 3000s. Not with PA-RISC being as solid a performer as it has been. No, the brass ring for sites like yours could well be software, specifically applications. Until recently, it looked like a new application would have to pass from the HP-UX side, or from some other Unix, to make it into the Merced system. Now we hear that Java could very well bring applications that will run on anybody’s system that supports IA-64, without even a recompile. Developers have watched HP announce that Java will run on IA-64, saying that Java apps when written clean can move from hardware to hardware with ease. That means that Java/iX applications would run fine, provided they can get to IMAGE databases or any others they need. It’s no small if, unless a working JDBC solution emerges for the 3000. Last we heard, HP was auditioning a supplier for JDBC and Minisoft announced they were already going to work on one. One rumor, as yet unconfirmed, was that HP itself will deliver the JDBC for the 3000. It wouldn't surprise us a bit, considering how much they want JDBC/iX to work with ODBC APIs already in place.

Just consider how the 3000 could be a great partner with IA-64, relying on Java as your application environment. You could distribute applications across HP platforms easier than the current alternative of proprietary APIs or middleware hamstrung by standards that bog it down. Gavin Scott, the co-chair of SIGJAVA, explained, “One of the big advantages of Java is the ability to write the code that runs on each system/tier of your application in Java, at which point you can take advantage of Java’s middleware features like remote objects (RMI) and its CORBA interface.” Enough daydreaming, you say. The 3000 isn’t planned to run IA-64 yet, right? Right?
Copyright 1998 The 3000 NewsWire. All rights reserved




	Click here for WRQ sponsor message
	What would IA-64 bring to the 3000? Lotsa Java. Okay, we know there’s not a word being said yet about HP 3000s running this Merced architecture. But it’s pretty plain that performance gain won’t be the most compelling reason for you to shift chips on your 3000s. Not with PA-RISC being as solid a performer as it has been. No, the brass ring for sites like yours could well be software, specifically applications. Until recently, it looked like a new application would have to pass from the HP-UX side, or from some other Unix, to make it into the Merced system. Now we hear that Java could very well bring applications that will run on anybody’s system that supports IA-64, without even a recompile. Developers have watched HP announce that Java will run on IA-64, saying that Java apps when written clean can move from hardware to hardware with ease. That means that Java/iX applications would run fine, provided they can get to IMAGE databases or any others they need. It’s no small if, unless a working JDBC solution emerges for the 3000. Last we heard, HP was auditioning a supplier for JDBC and Minisoft announced they were already going to work on one. One rumor, as yet unconfirmed, was that HP itself will deliver the JDBC for the 3000. It wouldn't surprise us a bit, considering how much they want JDBC/iX to work with ODBC APIs already in place. Just consider how the 3000 could be a great partner with IA-64, relying on Java as your application environment. You could distribute applications across HP platforms easier than the current alternative of proprietary APIs or middleware hamstrung by standards that bog it down. Gavin Scott, the co-chair of SIGJAVA, explained, “One of the big advantages of Java is the ability to write the code that runs on each system/tier of your application in Java, at which point you can take advantage of Java’s middleware features like remote objects (RMI) and its CORBA interface.” Enough daydreaming, you say. The 3000 isn’t planned to run IA-64 yet, right? Right? Copyright 1998 The 3000 NewsWire. All rights reserved