Sun reverses plan for Java standard
By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
December 7, 1999, 2:10 p.m. PT
Sun Microsystems abandoned an effort to make Java an industry standard today, flying in the face of IBM.
Sun had hoped to turn Java over to a standards body called ECMA but announced today it's withdrawing from the effort.
"I weighed the options and I've made a decision. I've decided we will not submit Java to ECMA," said Pat Sueltz, head of Sun's software division, in a keynote address today at the Java Business Expo in New York.
Sun abandoned the ECMA process so the company can make sure all Java programs run on all Java environments, Sueltz said, implying that standardizing through ECMA could create a new version that worked differently from Sun's.
Making Java an industry standard instead of just a de facto standard from Sun would give other companies a much stronger position in defining Java and determining the future direction of the software. IBM and Sun are at loggerheads over this standardization process, and IBM endorsed a proposal to consider going ahead without Sun's help.
The move is a reversal not only for Sun, which initiated the arrangement with ECMA earlier this year, but also for Sueltz, who led IBM's Java effort until she moved to Sun more than two months ago.
Sun initially tried to standardize Java through a subgroup of the International Standards Organization but backed out and started over with ECMA, formerly known as the European Computer Manufacturers Association.
Sun proposed to ECMA a process that would have put the future of Java in the hands of the Sun-centric "Java community process," but ECMA stripped that language out and instead put itself in control. The change opened the way for Microsoft and others to try to exert more influence over the standard.
Antagonism between Microsoft and Sun over Java is longstanding: In a high-profile lawsuit, Sun has accused Microsoft of trying to corrupt Java by making it run differently on Windows machines.
Standardization is the process of defining exactly how a technology functions. This broadens the technology's appeal because it makes it easier to adopt. But Sun has struggled with how much control to give up to others and how much to retain.
Sun invented Java as a method of writing software that would be able to run on any type of computer. This feat is accomplished by running the Java programs within a Java "runtime environment," special software that intercepts Java commands and translates them into terms the computer can understand.
Java initially showed up as a way to download programs over the Internet to Web browsers. But since then, Sun has spread Java into servers and has begun trying to encourage its use in devices such as set-top boxes and cell phones.
IBM believes all companies should have an equal say in Java and that Sun has too much control. "It's a disagreement we're having with Sun about this," said Rod Smith, vice president of Java at IBM, in an interview today.
"It's been a foundation for us that we wanted to see Java standardized. We think ECMA looks like a good place to do this," Smith said.
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