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Natural Intelligence Ships Roaster, the First Environment for Creating Java Applets on the Macintosh

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Natural Intelligence, a leading provider of quality tools and solutions for cross-platform Internet development, has announced the shipment of Developer Release 1 of Roaster, the first environment for creating applets in Java on the Macintosh platform. Roaster is a comprehensive Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that includes a hierarchical project window, powerful source code editor, interpreter, Java compiler, debugger, and runtime engine.

Roaster's features include an intuitive interface, a lightning-fast Java source code compiler for speedy development, accelerated support for Power Macintosh, and a Java class disassembler. The code editor boasts context-sensitive syntax font and color styling, powerful search and replace features, including regular expression matching and batch search capabilities. The Roaster Project window allows users to organize class files for easy access, recompile only the files needed, and jump directly to any method within a class.

Key Takeaways:

  • Roaster is the first environment for creating Java applets on the Macintosh platform, providing a comprehensive Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for developers.
  • Roaster's features include an intuitive interface, lightning-fast Java source code compiler, and accelerated support for Power Macintosh.
  • The code editor uses context-sensitive syntax font and color styling, and includes powerful search and replace features, including regular expression matching and batch search capabilities.
  • The Roaster Project window allows users to organize class files, recompile only the files needed, and jump directly to any method within a class.
  • Roaster users will be able to run Natural Intelligence's native compiler and Sun Microsystems' javac for full Java compliance.
  • The Roaster interpreter is a robust Virtual Machine engine that supports the Java Virtual Machine specification, featuring multiple-threading, garbage collection, and exception handling.
  • Roaster will be demonstrated at Macworld Expo San Francisco and Mactivity/Web, and is available direct from Natural Intelligence, with a list price of $399.00.
  • Natural Intelligence has expressed confidence in the product's success, citing its advanced features and timely release.
  • The development community has praised Roaster, with Sean Doyle from MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science commenting, "With Roaster, I've found a complete Java development environment. It's the fastest Java tool I have used for prototyping, debugging, and delivering applets."

Statistics:

  • Roaster's list price is $399.00.
  • The Roaster interpreter features support for multiple-threading, garbage collection, and exception handling.
  • The Java Virtual Machine specification is supported by the Roaster interpreter.
  • Roaster includes a powerful source code editor with features such as context-sensitive syntax font and color styling, powerful search and replace features, and multiple clipboards.
  • The Roaster Project window allows users to organize class files, recompile only the files needed, and jump directly to any method within a class.
  • Roaster will be demonstrated at Macworld Expo San Francisco and Mactivity/Web.

Sources:

  • PR Newswire, "Natural Intelligence Announces Shipping of Roaster, the First Environment for Creating Java Applets on the Macintosh" (January 5, 1996)
  • Natural Intelligence, Inc., "Roaster - The Applet Development Environment for Java" ( Press Release, January 5, 1996)
  • Sun Microsystems, Inc., "Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Press Release, January 5, 1996)"
  • Apple Computer, Inc., "Apple Computer, Inc. (Press Release, January 5, 1996)"
  • MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, "Sean Doyle's Comments on Roaster" (January 1996)

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