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Sun Micro plans new Java software
By Mike Tarsala, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 7:04 PM ET Dec 6, 1999
Software Report
PALO ALTO, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Sun Microsystems Inc. on Tuesday
said it plans to release new software that works with its Java programming
language and will also offer one of its basic Java products for free.
The Palo Alto,
Calif. maker of
server computers --
and also the
inventor of Java --
will unveil its Java 2
Enterprise Edition
software at an
event in New York.
The software is
aimed at updating
several parts of the
platform used for
running Java programs, according to company executives.
"There's a whole lot of shaking going on, and it's all good stuff," said Pat
Sueltz, Sun's (SUNW: news, msgs) newly appointed Java guru. Sueltz,
former head of Java at IBM Corp. (IBM: news, msgs) took the place of
Alan Baratz, Sun's former top Java executive, who left in August to take a
position as managing director at a private equity capital firm.
One of the features Sun reportedly spruced up is its ability to work with
code used to help software developers write programs in Java quickly. The
revamped Java 2 software includes easier-to-use features for working with
Sun's Enterprise Java Beans reusable code format.
New Linux version
Sun also plans to introduce a version of its high-end Java 2 Enterprise
Edition software for the Linux operating system. Linux is a low-cost variant
of the Unix operating system. Since being introduced in 1991, the
programming instructions to Linux have been given away to anyone who
wants them. Anyone who wants to tinker with the work done on it can do
so for free also. Linux competes with Microsoft's (MSFT: news, msgs)
operating systems. In recent months, stocks of several companies involved
with Linux, including Red Hat (RHAT: news, msgs) and Corel (CORL:
news, msgs) have rocketed due to Microsoft's ongoing antitrust trial woes.
What's more, Sun will introduce for the first time Java software that works
with the Extensible Mark-Up Language data forma, or XML for short.
Software using XML -- which has become popular in the past two years --
can take data from database software, spreadsheets and documents and
quickly turn it into one format that can be recognized by programs that run
over the Internet. XML is somewhat similar to Java, which can be made to
work with many different hardware and software types. But XML works to
bridge the many different data types, instead of hardware and software
types.
"The Java 2 Enterprise Edition is easier to work
with, and easier to implement," said Tim Bajarin, an
analyst with Creative Strategies Inc, in Campbell,
Calif. "The bottom line, there have been a lot of
complaints about Java being slow. The whole idea of
moving applications to Java has been slow, as well. I
don't know if it will alleviate all concerns, but this
should go along way to expanding Java's reach in the
market."
Free for all
In a separate announcement, Sun plans for the first
time to give away its Java 2 Standard Edition
software at no charge. The Java 2 software
currently costs up to $50,000 for an individual,
although prices are normally negotiated by large
corporations. The change reflects a broader change
in the software market, Sun's Sueltz says.
"The services and support is where folks are making
their money -- not on the software royalties," Sueltz
said.
The move could be seen as an act of goodwill on Sun, which has been
harangued by other software makers for trying to make Java an "open"
standard available for use by all companies, yet charging for certain aspects
of it.
"This is a very good move by Sun, and one that should be applauded by all
of the Java users," Bajarin said. " It's giving the base code away, so it
makes it much more likely that people will use Java in their next-generation
platforms."
Mike Tarsala is an online reporter for CBS MarketWatch.
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