Successful enterprises and successful business leaders often have two characteristics in common: focus and simplicity. In Adam Kolawa's case - CEO, chairman, and a cofounder of Parasoft since its founding over 15 years ago - the simplicity manifests itself the moment you meet him. Here is a chief executive who knows how to prioritize.
Priority number one, as far as Kolawa is concerned, has always been verification. The alpha and omega of the Parasoft approach is that software cannot be said to work until it is verified - this includes Web services.
"This is something that I learned long ago," Kolawa explains, "and it's a major problem within the software industry. Companies build and develop software, hope that it works, but do not go to the necessary lengths to verify that the software actually performs and functions as it should."
This type of thinking, according to Kolawa, is especially detrimental to the development of Web services.
"Web services are complex systems that attempt to marry software, hardware, new code, legacy code, existing systems, systems in development, and who-knows-what on the client side," he says. "There are countless opportunities for things to go wrong - a slight mistake in any component or interface will cause problems that ripple throughout the system."
Kolawa accordingly believes that, as the Web services paradigm grows, managers above all need tools that will allow them to test their Web service initiatives for security, interoperability, and scalability. His own company, Parasoft, has pioneered a methodology known as "Automated Error Prevention," or AEP, which he believes is the answer to this problem.
What Has Java Done Right?
We will return to AEP later, but now I'm anxious to explore Kolawa's thoughts on the state of Java - the language, the platform, and the community. What, I wonder, does he think Java has done right...and what not? Is there anything in Java's history that he wished had turned out differently?
"I think the one thing that Java did right was its portability," Kolawa replies. "It always compiles and the code is portable at the compilation level. That's the great thing about Java and is what made it so powerful today.
"The single thing that I would like to change about Java's history is its separation from Microsoft. I think it is a shame that the technologies from both sides cannot be used together. Java seemed to be the perfect technology to bring Microsoft into the world of coexistence, and I think this opportunity got lost."
What, then, does Kolawa think the future holds in store for Java?
"I would be sure not to allow further expansion or complication of Java," he says immediately. "In order for it to stay successful, it needs to stay simple.
"If we start adding new features and syntaxes," Kolawa continues, "it will die. The main reason why Java came into use was because C++ was too complicated. So it would be wise not to expand the features or make it more complicated than it is."
