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Jtrix is not going to take over the world. It must be possible to represent legacy systems and other non-Jtrix functionality as Jtrix resources. In addition, it should be possible to allow non-Jtrix applications to use Jtrix functionality.
External integration is particularly important in the portal domain. Portals provide an end user service which aggregates and adds value to services provided by other suppliers. Jtrix's component model, with its dynamic security and its basis on contracts is an obvious win for this type of application. While we might feel that it would be better to implement portal style applications directly in Jtrix, using the component model for portal-vendor integration, a more likely scenario is that existing portal code might want to incorporate services provided through Jtrix. By encouraging the integration of Jtrix into external programs, we can allow this kind of scenario.
In addition, it's important to be able to use existing code inside the Jtrix environment. Support should be retained for familiar ways of doing things, such as accessing files or using network sockets.
Jim Chapman 2001-08-16