Why is the CDC based on older versions of Java and not a subset of the current SE?

Question

When programming in CDC, I always reinvent the wheel by reinstalling stuff like Arrays.toString(Object[]) . Why is that? Could CDC (and FP, PBP, etc.) be a subset of the current version of SE instead of being based on the old (maybe I say, obsolete?) Java version?

There may be a good reason for this, but I do not see it.

Answer 1

They, the CDC, are a subset of what was the "current" version of JavaSE when it was defined. (i.e. CLDC1.0> JSR30> approved in August 1999> based on JavaSE 1.3)

CDC, CLDC, FP, PBP ... all specifications are frozen in time - they cannot be updated. Updating the specification will mean launching a new one (for example, CDC2.0) - and then you will have some devices compatible with the old one, and some with the new one.

Also, consider the assumption that "CDC ... is optimized for devices with limited resources, such as consumer products and embedded devices" - and we talk about devices with limited resources in 1999.

Answer 2

The answer is simple, Moore's law.

In its usual wording, it is expressed as "the number of transistors on a chip with economic performance roughly doubles every 18 months."

However, by looking at a different method, he can also say that if the “possibility” (i.e. the number of transistors) is fixed, then the cost can be brought down over time.

This is the opinion adopted by the Java ME Executive Committee, so the reference devices are not more powerful than four or more years ago, but they are much cheaper. This refers to the space in which the CDC is trying to play, but this means that the devices are generally insufficient compared to what is needed for a subset of SE.

A resale of the CDC specification is currently underway to bring it closer to SE. Java 8 with modularity support will also simplify the work.

Ultimately, the goal is the convergence of ME to a subset of SE, but that's not all releases.