> One last question. Why do Java people refer to non-Java
> code as "native"? Gives me the impression of men in white
> suits and pith helmets, passing out Eurasian diseases.
> Being a more botanical type, I think of native as "tough",
> "well adapted to the locale", "xerotic", and "having small
> boring flowers".

Not our choice. Sun defined JNI (Java Native Interface), an interface
between Java code and platform specific code (usually C/C++). All
written in Java is "pure" and all written in C/C++ - "native".
Welcome to Java world. :)

Best regards,
Roman Rokytskyy