Sun Microsystems on Tuesday plans to introduce the much-anticipated upgrade of its Java programming language and a new licensing plan designed to woo more developers to what was once called the lingua franca of the Internet.
The Palo Alto, California-based company is scheduled to release an enhancement of its core Java technology: Java 2, previously codenamed JDK 1.2. Sun (SUNW) was expected to launch Java 2 this summer, but delayed twice while engineers worked out bugs and continued to refine the software.
Like its predecessor, Java 2 gives software developers the ability to "write once, run anywhere." It also promises faster performance, more security, and greater interoperability with other corporate computing systems, Sun said.
"With Java 2, we are providing all the functionality required with a rock-solid platform," said Alan Baratz, president of Sun's Java platform group. "This is what developers have been telling us they needed."
Sun said it would combine Java 2 licensing with an open-source code model, a movement with growing momentum that makes software freely available to developers and users.
Software developers will be able to download the Java 2 open-source code -- the nuts and bolts of the language -- for free. They may then develop products, which, when ready for shipping, must pass Sun's compatibility tests for Java. At that point, Sun will collect a licensing fee.
"There has been a lot of pressure on Sun to open up the process," said Eric Brown, a Forrester Research analyst. Sun has been under fire from some in the industry, who believe the company has too much control over the language and that it should be more open to modifications and other input from the software development community.
Sun said it is opening up its software code to enable noncomputer industries, like automobile manufacturing and television, the ability to create Java applications.
"One of the main reasons we did it was to allow a broader base of companies outside the computer industry to get the code to evolve for their industries," Baratz said.
Sun released Java in 1995. Since then, Java has been relentlessly promoted as a language that will level the software playing field in an industry dominated by Microsoft (MSFT). Currently, over 900,000 developers write software in Java.
These developers are all licensees of Sun and their applications must pass strict compatibility tests. Last year, Sun sued Microsoft for breach of contract, saying Microsoft's version of Java did not pass Sun's tests.
Recently, a US District Court judge ruled that Microsoft must make its Java software compliant with Sun's. On Monday, Microsoft released a new version of the Java Virtual Machine for Windows that is compatible with Sun's technology.
Sun has had some naysayers in the industry, who have developed their own "clean-room" versions of Java from scratch. Hewlett-Packard (HWP), for example, is developing its own version of Java for specific applications such as printing.
Sun said that on Tuesday it will also announce that some of the companies in the process of developing Java clones are going to be working with Sun as members of the Java community.
"HP isn't there yet," said Baratz, adding that he could not yet disclose which companies are going to embrace Sun's Java. Sun plans a press conference in New York on Tuesday, as part of the Java Business Expo trade show.
Copyright© 1998 Reuters Limited.
