The Jini(tm) Specification

Jini(tm) technology represents a significant step in the evolution of distributed computing, as a simple yet remarkably reliable and flexible infrastructure that enables all types of devices to simply connect into impromptu networks, making access to and delivery of new network services as simple as plugging in a telephone. Built on top of a Java software infrastructure, Jini technology enables all types of digital devices to work together in a community organized together without extensive planning, installation, or human intervention. In a Jini distributed system, Java programs interact spontaneously, enabling services to join or leave the network with ease, and allowing clients to view and access available services with confidence. A Jini system can link office components such as printers, faxes, and desktop computers. Beyond these traditional networks, the technology is also ideal for building the home-based networks that are now emerging: entertainment systems, cars, smart houses, and personal computers.

This book contains the formal specification for the Jini technology. It offers a review of distributed computing fundamentals, an overview of the Jini architecture, and an introduction to the key concepts that are the source of the technology's simplicity and power--remote objects, leasing, distributed events, and a two-phase commit protocol. The formal specification provides the definitive description of every element of the Jini architecture, including detailed information on such topics as:

* Jini Discovery and Join protocols * Jini Entry usage and the AbstractEntry class * Jini Distributed Leasing concepts * Jini Distributed Event programming model * Jini Transaction model and semantics * Jini Lookup service and lookup attribute schema * Jini device architecture

As networks continue to pervade our personal and professional lives, there is an urgent call for the flexible and robust network infrastructure that Jini represents.

Ken Arnold of Sun Microsystems is one of the original architects of Jini technology and the original lead architect of JavaSpaces technology. He is a leading expert in object-oriented design, C, C++, and distributed computing. He also has a checkered past involving University of California-Berkeley, rogue, curses, and other things too embarrassing to mention.

Bryan O'Sullivan, while at Sun Microsystems, Inc., developed the Jini Discovery and Join Protocol. He supports his rock climbing habit by designing and building distributed systems.

Robert W. Scheifler, is a Senior Staff Engineer and one of the original architects of Jini technology with Sun Microsystems, where he has been responsible for the design and implementation of the lookup service and the associated discovery protocol and attribute schema. Before joining Sun, he spent nine years as Director and then President of the X Consortium, a non-profit organization devoted to the development and evolution of the X Window System. He was chief architect of the X Window System protocol, and created the Consortium originally while a principal research scientist at the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science.

Jim Waldo is a Distinguished Engineer with Sun Microsystems, where he has been the lead architect for the Jini project since its inception. Prior to the Jini project, Jim worked in Sun's Java Software group and in Sun Microsystems Laboratories, doing research into the areas of object-oriented programming and systems, distributed computing, and user environments. Jim is also on the faculty of Harvard University, where he teaches distributed computing in the department of computer science.

Ann Wollrath is a Senior Staff Engineer with Sun Microsystems where she is the architect of the Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) system and one of the original architects of the Jini technology. Previously during her tenure at Sun Microsystems Laboratories and at the MITRE Corporation, she researched reliable, large-scale distributed systems and parallel computation.

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