【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 ore control over execution and memory, and I missed my templates, preprocessor tricks, and operator overloading. However, after working with Java for some years, I honestly have to say I no longer mind the differences where performance is not critical. Java code generally performs far better and with fewer bugs. The Java API is a vast pool of free functionality, and the performance seems as good as or better than C++ in most circumstancesif for no other reason than because of the extra time I now spend improving my code. The JVM39。s role is to provide an interface to the functionality of the underlying device, whereas the Java API provides a limited view of this functionality to the Java program. In this manner, the JVM is the judge, jury, and executor of program code. The Java API is a collection of Java classes covering a vast range of functionality including containers, data management, munications, IO, security, and more. There are literally thousands of classes available as part of the Java platform. Multiple Editions The Java language has evolved over the years. The first major edition, now known as J2SE (Java 2 Standard Edition) was aimed at the development of GUIs, applets, and other typical applications. A few years ago Sun expanded the Java suite with J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition), which was built for use in serverside development. This version included expanded tools for database access, messaging, content rendering, interprocess munications, and transaction control. Sun didn39。t stop there, though. With a desperate desire to satisfy every programmer on the pla, they set their sights on teenyweeny devices (yes, that39。s the true technical term), and thus the rather ingeniously named J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition) squeaked into existence. Before we get into the nittygritty of that edition, take a look at how and why Java found a home in the micro world. Micro Devices Everywhere As a child watching reruns of the original Star Trek series, I was always wowed when Captain Kirk, usually during some cool away mission, would grandly whip out his little municator, flip it open, and talk with shipmates over great distances. Well, a bunch of similar kids were watching those same reruns, but instead of rushing off to write scifi video games like I did, they played with their circuit boards and crystal sets and dreamed of building municators. (I know what I39。d rather be doing, but hey whatever turns you on, right?) Those kids have gone on to create a world of portable phones, pagers, and digital assistants that would blow even Captain Kirk39。s pastelcolored socks off. (Now all they need is for us to make great games for those devices!) When I was evaluating the potential of microdevice game development, one of the first things I wanted to know was the size of the market and how large it might grow to be. After a little research, my findings surprised me. The market is the exciting thing about micro devices. I mean, let39。s face itafter about three chapters, you39。ll know just as well as I do how technically limited these little things are. There39。s no pushing the boundaries of graphical interactive entertainment in fewer than 100 pixels and no sound! But when you39。re waiting to buy coffee, riding the bus to work, or just waiting for your girlfriend to finish shopping (remember to say it looks great on her), that 10GHz dualprocessor screamer sitting on your desk won39。t help much. All that stands between you and having to reread that ad or poster for the thousandth time is those 100 pixels. This is the same all around the world, as millions turn to their mobile phones to kill a few minutes. Now it39。s up to us to rescue these people from their boredom, to help them break the chains of deskbound PCs, to bring gaming to new worlds, to bring ...freedom! Now charge! (Oops, got myself a bit worked up there.) Micro Software To get a feel for J2ME39。s place in the landscape, take a look at the world of micro devices. As you can see in Figure , there are roughly five categories of micro devices. Over the past decade, micro device manufacturers have generally (sometimes reluctantly) provided programmers and other content creators with various levels of tools to build software applications. There have also been industry attempts to create standard software platforms, which have met with varying degrees of success. Table lists some of the development tools used in the recent past. Figure . The br