Alan Williamson, of noted Java fame had explored some ideas for a new Java print magazine in his blog entry http://alan.blog-city.com/read/651755.htm.

I wonder if it is time for a new Java Journal print magazine, without the 'D'. A lot of the developer material is available at online sources. And typically you can print out the stuff you need, if you are near a printer. It is very hard to put enough code and graphics in a print article to cover an issue comprehensively. Print magazines are great for introducing people to new concepts, to highlight issues, and to talk about general technology. However, developer-targeted content needs a lot more space and needs to be "cut-and-pastable."

I think the real problem with a new xyzJDJ is that the developer community needs to see code. This easier to put in an online format, where one can download it and then pop it into the IDE. But reading it in print is harder. Plus the restriction on words allowed for an article make it almost impossible to put together a serious code-type article in print. So you get limited to introductory articles that show code snippets. Typically the maximum size of an article you would write in a Java print magazine is 3000-4000 words. You can put in code snippets. But how much code can you actually put in AND explain in text? The other option is to split articles between issues. The problem there is that not everyone subsribes to all the issues. And there is too much of a lag time between issues.

One option that we followed at JDJ was to provide links to online code. But then it becomes a 2-step process, and most folks will not have the continuity of readign through the article offline (whether on the sofa, in bed, on the beach, or the privacy of a restrooom) and then logging in online to get to the actual code. And sometimes it is hard to link text to code and back.

Now, I don't think there is a print magazine that tackles issues, technology case studies, and general application of Java in the industry. This could be a magazine that supplemenents an online publication, where the developer content, including the text AND code for the implementation is online. But the articles would be links for further reference - not something that you read in a sitting, and then can't use in design and programming, such things being better available through an online source. Even if you think about class design - to me, a class design would be immediately reusable if I could have the diagrams in a standard format, and could pull them into my IDE.

So what would the new JJ address? Well, for one thing, the audience for this can be:

- C-Level folks

- Project architects

- Project Managers

- Lead designers

Mind you, I am not undermining the developers, who are the folks that build the application. But IMHO, online is a better medium for the content than a print magazine. Or else, as the saying goes "read the book." Print magazines for this purpose are great in the early days of technology when everyone is new to the game, and good sources of information are hard to come by.