Java and HTML and well known socket numbers

This seems like the best group(s) of people to bring this too, since it will
effect us as HTML evolves.

Java is here and is growing, but although initially very closely related to
WWW it is now all over the place (I just got done attending JavaOne, some
very *nice* HW coming out. *drool*). It seems that the idea of a Java
Applet server for use with thin clients (ie Network Computers, Java 
Terminals, etc) that is seperate from an httpd is something we should look
at - obviously this would impact the web too.

I talked to some of the Sun reps and presented the idea of getting a well
known port for Java servers, like we have httpd on port 80, telnet on 23,
etc, so that servers optimized to serve Java applets can be run in parrellel
to an httpd or stand alone for the anticipated distributed Java network
environment.  The majority of the designs anticipated using Java are more
properly handled when viewing Java as a new resource type instead of linked
hard with http/html.  Most critically the concept of clients sending applets
*to* a server to be executed on the server - this is outside the scope of an
httpd.  Since it is something we will run into down the road, I think we'd
be better off addressing it now.

I see an advantage in this for us as web users/authors in that a new URL
type, such us java://, could be used to specify the location for Java source.
This would keep the higher load of handling applets off of the httpd.
This could be done now with the messier method of running a second httpd on
a different port and hardcoding the port number in the URL, but I don't
see that as very atttractive - and it doesn't address future needs well.
Of course, this would not invalidate using httpds to server applets, so it
would not break current pages.  But it would need browsers to handle the new
URL.

The Sun rep I laid it out for seemed to feel it was a very desirable course
and said he would definitely bring it up with the Java group.

I'm basically looking for any discussion on the merit of the idea, which
admittedly came to me during one of the panels when I saw potential overload
and resource conflict when use increases.

-MZ
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Received on Saturday, 1 June 1996 01:02:48 UTC