Sunday July 11, 2004

java.net API & proxies

I got some interesting feedback from my last entry, and I may post an update, but I'd rather sleep on it a few more days, at least. Thanks to all those who took the time to comment. I appreciate it.

It is my intent to have technical entries in my blog, not just rants or movie reviews. So I figure it's about time I get to it. One thing that bugs me is how badly documented the Java Networking API is. A lot of the bug reports, or requests for new features, we are getting prove that. Many times the answer is "You can already do that using this API" or "This is not a bug, it is supposed to do that". Of course we, the Networking Team, are to blame for that, but as all developers know, documentation is hard to do and very time consuming. The good news is that we've taken steps to remedy that situation. In particular you'll see that, in J2SE 5.0, we've improved the javadoc entries quite a bit. But we're also working on some other means, like white papers and articles that, hopefuly, will end up on the web site.

And that's precisely what I want to discuss here, I have written such a white paper, on proxy management in the Java networking API and I'd like you to review my most recent draft and let me know what you think of it, particularly whether it's clear or complete enough.

Here is a quick overview of its content:

• System Properties: We first discuss all the system properties related to proxy settings, there a quite a lot of them, and how they affect each other.
• New APIs in 1.5.0:
  • java.net.Proxy class: We present the newly introduced Proxy class and how to use it in new methods for Socket and URLConnection
  • java.net.ProxySelector: We go deep into the new mechanism to let applications dynamically assign proxies to the different protocols. The class is described, and using a practical example, we do show how to implement such a selector.

So, if you are interested you can get the PDF file, read it and, I hope, send me feedback, either through this blog or directly via Email.

Also, there are two other subjects I'd like to solicit feedback: What part of the java networking API would like to see described next? (some possible candidates are: Cookie management, IPv6 support, timeouts, etc.). And, what is the networking feature/bug that you think should be implemented/fixed in the next release, and why is it so important to you?

Thanks in advance. (2004-07-11 07:49:33.0) Permalink