Interesting article relating to Java:
Software
Too Many Flavors Of Java?
Sun Microsystems is fighting to avoid the fate of the UNIXs that had too many
varieties
By Cynthia Bournellis
san jose, calif.--Hewlett-Packard just added four more software companies to its list of licensees
for its embedded virtual machine (VM) based on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) specification. In
addition to Microsoft, who will implement the VM inside its Windows CE operating system, new
licensees are Integrated Systems, Inc. Lynx, Microware and QNX, all of whom make real-time
operating systems. As the licensing of Java spreads, Java is in danger of following Unix in the same
path toward segmentation. That's been a worrying question ever since Sun Microsystems filed a
lawsuit against Microsoft alleging that the software giant infringed on its Java license by tweaking
the Java programming language to run in Windows 95.
Sun's turning up the heat again, asking a federal judge in San Jose, Calif. to force Microsoft to
include a correct version of Java in Windows 98. Sun has not asked the court for immediate
action, so its request would not impact the release of Windows 98. Meanwhile, Java could
become fragmented. "Yes, it could happen but it's not practical," said Gina Centoni, group
manager for the Java platform at Sun Microsystems." This is a huge effort (to develop Java), so
the chances of companies doing it are slim. If HP wants to incur development costs, then go
ahead."
Software developers and hardware OEMs can license Java in one of two ways. One model
includes the JVM and the Java class libraries which lets developers build their own operating
environments. The other option is to license the entire Java platform.
The latter is a "soup to nuts solution that helps companies who don't have expertise in building
OSes get their products to market quickly," said Troy Toman, group marketing manger for Java
OS at Sun Microsystems. If a company chooses to build its own VM according to the JVM spec,
it cannot use the Java brand name or coffee cup logo in its product. There are about 12 to 16
operating systems to which the JVM ports, including the Mac OS, IBM's OS/2, Windows, and
various handheld OSes. The JVM also runs in databases from companies such as Oracle, as well
as in a number of Web browsers. While HP's VM complies with the JVM spec, it differs in that it
is tailored to operate within the constraints of an embedded device, such as a printer or test
equipment. HP's VM is 0.5-megabytes.
"We did our own VM for embedded systems, because Sun didn't have a suitable one (when we
needed it), and we are vigorously building a business around it," said Jim Bell, general manager for
embedded VM at HP. The company will also use its VM for its own embedded products.
Other factors contributed to HP's decision to go it alone. One had to do with Sun's inability to
deliver certain performance characteristics HP needed last year in order to ship products this year.
"We want to embed more realtime capabilities to improve how a thread could be woken up to
respond to an incoming event," said Chris Schoppa, chief architect at HP. HP is now looking to
Rockwell for help in this area. In addition, HP didn't agree with Sun's pricing model for the license,
nor the terms when it came to sharing intellectual property (IP). Any innovations that are
contributed to the JVM spec are co-owned by Sun. And, Sun chooses which IP will be added to
Java. "You have to give them the IP," said Mr. Schoppa, adding that HP wants control over which
IP it makes available.
Sun, on the other hand, argues that in order to keep Java as an open standard, the chosen IPs
have to become part of the spec. "The question is, where's the right balance," said Mr. Toman, a
group marketing manager for Java OS." We are the target for some criticism, but no one knows
the best way to do this. But if you look at the breadth of what's been done with Java, we must be
doing something right." Sun feels that companies will do right by their licenses. HP has gone to
lengths to comply with the standard in order to avoid legal hassles. It hired experts who never saw
the VM code or Sun's to check HP's code for possible similarities. "We can use their code but we
have to implement it in an independent way," said Mr. Bell. "Any segment of code that matches
theirs would not be legitimate." Sun puts Java products through a battery of tests.
However, Mr. Toma said a vast majority of applications make it to market without passing certain
test suites. The romance surrounding Java is that applications can be written once in the Java
language and run on any platform. The reality is somewhat different. Sun markets Java as 100
percent pure, meaning it will run anywhere. Developers don't agree, saying that they have to debug
their Java applications first before porting them to different platforms.
At this stage of the game, for Sun to admit that Java isn't truly write once, run anywhere would be
disastrous. Sun has been successful marketing Java. "There are still a few problems with write
once, run anywhere, especially for applets that are trying to run in browsers," said Anne Thomas,
an industry consultant. She said the browsers don't fully support Java compatible runtime systems,
which translate the Java code. Sun's answer to this is a Java plug-in that downloads Sun's
reference implementation of the Java runtime environment into a browser to ensure that the applet
can run as expected.
Ms. Thomas said the plug-in will fix 95 percent of the problem. It is available for Windows 95 and
NT, Solaris, Netscape Navigator, and Internet Explorer. Apple plans to support it on the
Macintosh OS.
While Sun is working to address incompatibility issues in the browsers and on Windows, it has
done a good job making Java work on the server side, and many developers are using Java to
build portable software products to communicate back to the server. Java used to be another term
for coffee.
Today, it is best known, particularly among the high-tech community, as a software programming
language. But Java is more than that. It's a phenomenon that has engulfed the industry. There are
over 200 Java licensees. Still, Java is a complicated subject, and is difficult to fully understand. Sun
Microsystems hasn't done the best job explaining Java to the less technical audience, but the
programming community gets it. Ask most developers and they'll say Java is an easier language to
program than C++.
Java is also a runtime system that fits inside an operating system. It also has component models
called JavaBeans. One model is similar to Microsoft's ActiveX controls and is used for visual
development. Another model is a Java class library that contains various JavaBeans application
programming interfaces.
Enterprise JavaBean is yet another component model for server components rather than visual
components. The list of Java elements goes on. One element of Java which could make Microsoft
nervous is the family of Java operating systems that would compete with Microsoft in the thin client
and embedded markets. There's Java OS for network computers.
IBM has partnered with Sun to build Java-based network computers for businesses (EN, April 6).
Eventually, Sun's JavaStation network computer will migrate to the new Java OS for Business
operating system. Below the desktop level is Java OS, or Personal Java, for consumer devices
such as Internet phones, VCRs and handheld computers. Embedded Java is an even smaller
subset of Java designed to run in microprocessors. There's JavaCard, an even smaller subset of
Java for smart cards. JavaPC is the newest member. It is software that lets Java-based apps run
on a PC using DOS or Windows 3.x. |
