Native-language-based distributed computing across network and filesystem boundaries

This paper discusses how the aspects unique to the Java programming language can be combined with complementary and unique aspects of other languages such as C and Fortran. This combining of the strong features of Java, such as portability and platform independence, with packages and legacy codes written in traditional languages such as C and Fortran results in a program blend which exhibits portability and speed not realizable by any of these languages individually. One area where this connuence of previously-disparate language features has strong potential is in the area of distributed, concurrent computing over heterogeneous platforms and across local network and lesystem boundaries | the setting addressed within this paper. Also addressed in this paper are the pivotal aspects of the Java bytecode representation of a class object which makes the porting of shared libraries across network boundaries, lesystems, and architectures possible. As a programming language, several eeective language-level features of Java lend to it being a highly-portable language. Many of these features are supported by the static representation of a Java program's executable state | its bytecode representationn8]. This encapsulation of a programming unit into a concise and compact, system independent form goes a long way toward Java's programming-side goal of \write once, run anywhere," where a programmer can write and compile a program on any platform and run the compiled version