MAC OS X FOR JAVA GEEKS - Softcover

Iverson, Will

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0596004001 ISBN 13: 9780596004002

Publisher: O'Reilly Vlg. GmbH & Co., 2003

Synopsis

Mac OS X for Java Geeks delivers a complete and detailed look at the Mac OS X platform, geared specifically at Java developers. Programmers using the 10.2 (Jaguar) release of Mac OS X, and the new JDK 1.4, have unprecedented new functionality available to them. Whether you are a Java newbie, working your way through Java Swing and classpath issues, or you are a Java guru, comfortable with digital media, reflection, and J2EE, this book will teach you how to get around on Mac OS X. You'll also get the latest information on how to build applications that run seamlessly, and identically, on Windows, Linux, Unix, and the Mac.The book begins by laying out the Mac OS X tool set, from the included Java Runtime Environment to third-party tools IDEs and Jakarta Ant. You'll then be brought up to speed on the advanced, Mac-specific extensions to Java, including the spelling framework, speech framework, and integration with QuickTime. In addition to clear explanations of these extensions, you'll learn how to write code that falls back to non-Mac specific code when it runs on other platforms, keeping your application portable.Once you have the fundamentals of the Mac OS X Java platform in hand, this book takes you beyond the basics. You'll learn how to get the Apache web server running, and supplement it with the Jakarta Tomcat JSP and servlet container. JSPs and servlets running on Mac OS X are covered, as is installation and connectivity to a database. Once you have your web applications up and running, you'll learn how to interface them with EJBs, as running the JBoss application server on Mac OS X is covered. Finally, the latest developments in web services, including XML-RPC and SOAP, are found within.

About this title

About the Author

Will Iverson has been working in the computer & information technology field professionally since 1990. His diverse background includes developing statistical applications for use analyzing data from the NASA Space Shuttle, product management for Apple Computer, developer relations for Symantec's VisualCaf, running an independent J2EE consulting company, and now helping build BEA's dev2dev developer web site. Will lives in Union City, California.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 10 - QuickTime for Java

When Java first came out, multimedia APIs were relatively weak; scratchy 8-bit sound just doesn’t cut it in today’s world. Users had rich media on their desktops and laptops, and the Java world quickly scrambled to find a better media API. Unsurprisingly, Java turned to QuickTime, one of the oldest and most sophisticated media APIs available.

Apple has ported QuickTime to Windows and released a set of Java APIs that provide users who would have to write their own native wrappers an easier interface to QuickTime. The APIs are still relatively "C-like," but using them is much easier than writing your own bridge. Applications built using the QuickTime for Java technology are also cross-platform, as long as the only platforms you consider are Windows and Mac OS; Unix users are still out of luck when it comes to QuickTime. The examples in this chapter will run on Windows as well as on Mac OS X.

One of QuickTime’s most interesting features is its sheer scope of available functionality. The rich range of supported media types can be overwhelming. This chapter explores the available range of media and demonstrates how to play that media back from within Java applications.

Getting Started
The QuickTime API has two basic components: the documentation, which was designed for you, and a set of Java classes, which are for your Java compiler. To make the most out of QuickTime, make sure you can access both.

Documentation
When you install Mac OS X and the included developer tools, QuickTime is installed by default. Therefore, you don’t have to download separate archives when you start. Before diving into QuickTime’s classes, browse the documentation. As you can tell from the filename, this material is in HTML, which is simple to browse through and utilize. Figure 10-1 shows the initial index page with its content pane and table of contents.

You’ll notice that there are a lot of links to follow; you could probably spend several days reading through all the included documents. When browsing through the HTML, you’ll quickly realize that QuickTime supports a broad range of rich APIs. Its complexity has been compared to a complete operating system. Of particular interest is the Java-specific information it links to on this first page, as shown in Figure 10-2.

This chapter assumes that you are working with QuickTime for Java on the Mac OS X JDK 1.3.1 JVM. Currently, QuickTime hasn’t been brought up to speed for JDK 1.4.

Class Files
Once you’ve gotten the lay of the land, you’ll want to locate the actual QuickTime classes and ensure that they are available on your compiler and runtime environment. Navigate to /System/Library/Java/Extensions/ and look for QTJava.zip. Then add this archive to your classpath, through either a script or the command line:

setenv CLASSPATH /System/Library/Java/Extensions/QTJava.zip:$CLASSPATH

This step will give you access to the APIs themselves, allowing you to code to your heart’s content. Note that QuickTime presents an unusually "close to the metal" implementation that exposes a lot of C-based functionality. Put bluntly, it’s a bit easier to shoot your application in the head with QuickTime for Java than with almost any other Java API.

The QuickTime API
The QuickTime API is large and complex, and the underlying API’s original native heritage makes it especially hard for a Java developer to get a handle on it. Fortunately, the QuickTime for Java bindings help you write your application, but they can be difficult to understand without first examining the native layer.

Native Origins
QuickTime’s architecture is based on the original Mac OS APIs, in which each API cluster was referred to as a "toolbox" or a "manager." This section looks at the overall architecture of QuickTime and walks through some of the fundamental building blocks. This book cannot explore every nuance of QuickTime, but this section should help you understand how all the pieces fit together.

Edition details

• Publisher: O'Reilly Vlg. GmbH & Co.
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0596004001
• ISBN 13: 9780596004002
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 282