How Europe brews java

No interactive business is an island, especially when it comes to Java. I arrived at this literary conclusion after attending Europe’s first Java developer conference.

Not a single speaker represented the travel industry. Ditto for the exhibitors. And, even though Java holds plenty of promises for marketing travel, most of the estimated 300 delegates programmed for banks, software companies, and Web page designers.

Have the applets of our eyes grown dim, or was I just at the wrong show? Maybe it was a little of both.

Europe still trails the U.S. in developing interactive travel applications. Sometimes the sluggishness is nothing more than a symptom of the continent’s well-documented wariness of new technologies.

And sometimes it’s our fault, or-to be more specific-the U.S. government’s fault. The fact that the feds consider certain encryption protocols to be “munitions” that shouldn’t be exported drew a round of hisses during numerous presentations at the Java conference.

“I don’t want to be political,” said the manager of one bank site, “but the policy is wrong.”

It’s also true that even in the States, interactive travel isn’t exactly on the cutting edge of Java use. For more than a year we’ve had access to this tool, a close relative to C++, and what do we have to show for it? Drag-and-drop applets extracted from college servers litter our best sites but do little to encourage ticket sales.

The real wake-up call for Java may be in smartly scripted secure transaction, electronic commerce, and database management tools that are now emerging from the financial services sector. At the conference, Peter Reiser, a Sun executive in Switzerland, demonstrated a new cash payment system developed for European Web users. The applet stirs the imagination with possibilities for interactive travel.

Sun’s “Java Wallet,” developed and used by continental firms such as Brokat, Mondex, and Trintech, conforms to secure transaction protocols established by America’s leading technology companies. It allows customers to pay for their purchases with practically any legal tender. The wallet’s graphical interface is also quick and intuitive.

I’m not sure that today’s top travel sites are sophisticated enough to handle those kinds of transactions, financial or otherwise, on the back end. But a recent article in Client/Server Computing suggested that Southwest Airlines’ Home Gate, with its use of an object database management system, is prepared for a surge in Java applications.

What about the rest? Are they still stranded on that island called HTML? Perhaps.

The Java Wallet isn’t the only program with crossover possibilities. The portfolio management options featured on Deutsche Bank’s new Web site offer compelling ideas for travel. Purchases can be made without the cumbersome updates of a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) routine. The process is fast and secure. Imagine creating an itinerary in a similar way-a method that would save bandwidth and boost security.

To be sure, it’s encouraging to read about innovators such as Web Ventures, the Marietta, GA, developer of JavAir. Web Ventures’ new booking tool offers CRS terminal emulation using Java for the newfangled network computers. Last I heard, JavAir would be up and running by early next year. But there’s little evidence that other marketers are moving toward Java, even at that modest pace.

I’m by no means suggesting that Webmasters should strip the little Java tickertapes from the bottom of their screens or jettison the clever animation applets that morph a logo into an airplane. But I wonder if our sites are using Java 1.1.2 to its fullest potential.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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