The slides were about requirements, and there was one particular slide providing high-level guidelines.

JCF high-level guidelines for JC3.0

I was quite amazed when I found this slide, because it is so close to reality. Let’s look at in more details.

• Reduce delta between Java and Java Card. That was already an objective, and that objective was clearly met. Even though some issues remain, Java Card 3.0 is much closer to Java than the previous versions were.
• Enhance the programmer experience. That item is interesting, and reminds us of the nature of the Java Card Forum. We are a technical-oriented forum, which focuses more on developers than on users. We changed that a bit in the following years, with more focus on end users, as we introduced the Web server interface, a clear successor to the text-based SIM Toolkit user interface.
• Fully exploit the 32-bit platform. Check. that was one of the starting points, and we of course achieved that. The Connected Edition explicitly targets 32-bit platforms.
• Keep an eye on the footprint. Uh oh. I knew it! Footprint was already identified as an issue to track. We did, and we still do, as some detractors are saying that Java Card 3.0 is bloated. I don’t agree, but this deserves a full post.
• Become THE computer. OK, this is our “rule the world” moment; I am not sure that we made that, but we are getting closer to that main objective.
• Assumption: forget about 8-bit? Yes and no. The Connected Edition will not work on a 8-bit card, but we also have kept the Classic Edition, which will allow us to keep issuing traditional Java Card cards with small memory and 8-bit processors.

A lot of things are already present. The only thing missing, which will take a while to arise, is the Web server. Other than that, the guidelines were not that bad. Nevertheless, it took us seven more years to get a finalized specification out.

Let me get you a biased timeline for this week, from Tuesday to Friday.

Let’s start by Tuesday:

• The Java Card 3.0 Programming course at Smart University lasts all Tuesday and Wednesday. My personal contribution in it is about security, on Tuesday afternoon. That should keep me busy for a full half-day.
• If you are into contests (or if you are broke; this event is free), the new SIMagine contest will be launched with a full-day conference on Tuesday. This is not a Gemalto contest any more, but a wider contest, which is not limited to cards any more (even though I guess that involving a card in this could be a good idea). If you have a good mobile security idea (with a SIM card), that could be of interest.

Wednesday will be very busy, in particular because there are events on the side of the main conferences:

• In the morning, the Java Card Forum organizes a meeting with academia, to see how we can help in promoting research about Java Card 3.0. This event is invitational, but if you are an academic, present at e-Smart, and you are interested, you are welcome at 10:00AM (I am not sure of the room, but I am sure that there will be an indication; follow the JCF logo).
• In the morning, I like the title of Jacques Bus’ keynote speech, Trust in digital life. I usually skip keynotes, but I may attend that one.
• In the afternoon, There are also interesting speeches at e-Smart. First, one of my colleagues, Guillaume Dufay, talking about a formal model of really open cards (old topic, with a new twist), around 3:00PM. Later in the afternoon, there will also be a speech from G&D about a secure runtime in the mobile; finally, Trusted Logic has a competitor in that field, moving forward to prove its interest.
• Finally, almost all of Smart Mobility‘s afternoon sessions sound interesting, for various reasons. Tough choices ahead …

Thursday will not be dull either, although I will finally be able to fully focus on the conferences:

• The morning at e-Smart will be a combination of NFC Security and Trusted Personal Devices. Two topics of interest for me, so I may be surfing between sessions.
• Smart Mobility will bring us some discussions about the NFC ecosystems (TSMs and more), and about user experience. Interesting, but I have the feeling that there a few more new things at e-Smart (I may be wrong, though).
• The first part of the afternoon is a no-brainer, at least for me. I will be on the stage, talking about Java Card 3.0 and Smart Card Web Server Security. My co-presenters, from Gemalto/Eurosmart and from Inside, will also have interesting speeches about cloud computing and about convergence.
• If this is not you cup of tea, the other session of e-Smart could be very interesting, about state-of-the-art security. I am likely to join that session after break.
• On the Smart Mobility side, my choice would go to the Mobile banking session, but mostly because I know about mots of the things presented in the other session.

Friday is morning only, but that is quite a dense morning:

• At e-Smart, it is the Java Card session. The first part is quite introductive, with the amusing PlaySIM project (already discussed here). The second part includes two speeches about attacks; expect to find me there.
• In parallel, Smart Mobility has a special TL session, with 4 consecutive speakers from Trusted Logic and Trusted Labs. I may miss some of them because of the Java Card session, but they are all worth it.

Finally, I will try to be connected, like usually in conferences. I will be on Twitter (evetillard), with the tag #esmart (join me using it), and I will also try to blog live about the most exciting things.

The presenters will not be the same ones as for the previous training session, but I will still be part of the show, with more focus on security than the previous time. This time, attacks will be mentioned, just to introduce new levels of fun.

It’s still in France, but Paris is more reachable than Sophia Antipolis. And as you’re at it, it may be an opportunity to go see Us3 at the New Morning, or 17 Hippies, or Amadou et Mariam (Metallica will also be in Paris, but the concert is sold out). Anyway, here is an occasion of having a good time.

In that event, you will get an introductory session by the Chairman of the Java Card Forum’s Technical Committee (yes, that’s me), a reminder of Web technologies by two great teachers from Lille, several sessions about Smart Card Web Servers from Gemalto’s team (so far, the only guys who actually demonstrated something that looked like a Java Card 3 product), and finally, a hands-on session with a guy from Sun who was involved in the development of the Netbeans plug-in for Java Card 3.

This is a unique mix, that you won’t be able to get later from any company, even Trusted Labs, Gemalto, or Sun Microsystems. So come visit the French Riviera on September 16th and 17th (and then, stay for the rest of the week to attend other events like e-Smart).