[16] in java-interest
Re: Java Code Security?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Arthur van Hoff)
Mon Apr 24 16:24:30 1995
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 1995 12:57:56 -0700
From: Arthur.Vanhoff@Eng.Sun.COM (Arthur van Hoff)
To: java-interest@java.Eng.Sun.COM
Hi Jeff,
> I've been thinking about how I'd like to use Java while waiting with baited
> breath for the release of ports and porting code (I don't have a Sparc. Not
> that I wouldn't LIKE to have a Sparc, mind you... ;)
>
> Anyway, an issue came up while i was doing soiem preliminary design. It
> seems to be an issue both for HotJava net-apps and stand-alone Java apps.
> How can the author of an app make his code 'execute-only"???? If I spend
> alot of time developing a Java based game I really DON'T want peices of my
> effort showing up in tons of other applications on the net...
Java code is delivered in binary form. It is a bunch of class files
containing byte codes and type information. Although it is a slighty
higher level language it is essentially as obscure as any other native
machine language. It is just as hard to reconstruct the source code.
Anyway, we specifically designed the byte code language so that it
uses a binary distribution format which is acceptable for commercial
products. However, the byte codes have the advantage that they are
architecture neutral and they can be verified.
It is not unthinkable that someone will write a Java bytecode to Ansi-C
compiler (we already have a prototype). With such a product you can
generate C-code on each platform and compile it into an ordinary binary
(with all its disadvantages).
By the way, we are planning to have a new distribution format that
will allow you to package a bunch of class files into a single file.
This will make downloading of applets much faster.
Have fun,
Arthur van Hoff (avh@eng.sun.com)
http://java.sun.com/people/avh/
Sun Microsystems Inc, M/S UPAL02-301,
100 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto CA 94301, USA
Tel: +1 415 473 7242, Fax: +1 415 473 7104
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