Sun exec sees focus shifting to clients

March 25, 2002 — Providing a consistent way to run Java programs on PCs, cell phones, and other client computers is the next hurdle in evolving Java, said the head of Sun Microsystems’ Java and XML software group on Monday, the opening day of the seventh JavaOne Conference & Expo.

With Java now an established technology for creating business-to-business and other server-side applications, developers need a standard way to extend those server programs and make them accessible from a growing universe of Java-enabled client devices, said Rich Green, vice president and general manager for Java and XML at Sun.

“We take the position of clients very seriously,” Green told a crowded hall of developers. “The role of clients in driving the network architecture is paramount to the whole Java model.”

To boot, he announced that Sun has submitted a proposal to the Java Community Process that defines a standard way for developers to extend Java-based Web services applications to phones, PDAs, and other devices that use Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME). Included in the specification will be APIs and other technologies that provide a standard way for delivering Web services applications to portable devices. The Java Community Process is a multivendor group set up by Sun that approves new Java standards.

According to Green, tools makers including Borland Software and Metrowerks as well as gadget makers Research in Motion, Siemens, and Nokia back the proposal. Sun hopes the specification request, number 172, will be ready for approval by mid-2003.

“What this technology is designed to do is extend the Web services standards — the SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and XML protocols — to Java handsets” and other client devices, he said.

Equally important is having a common Java runtime environment for desktop PCs — something the Sun executive went to court last week to try to enforce. Green testified on behalf of nine of the states that didn’t settle with Microsoft and are pursuing their lawsuit against the company to seek behavioral restrictions to rein in its behavior.

In particular, Green told the court that Microsoft should be required to include a current JVM with Windows XP and other Microsoft products, allowing Java programs to run on Microsoft software. Microsoft’s .Net software products are Java’s main rivals, and Microsoft recently stopped supporting Java in its products. Many PC makers have been installing JVMs on PCs before selling them, providing the key piece of software needed to run a Java program.

“Call up Intel (PC makers), make sure they’re including the latest version of Java with Windows XP,” Green urged developers here.

He also announced two new JVMs for gadgets that he said should boost performance and graphics capabilities and help to conserve battery life. Developed under the code name Project Monty, the new JVMs from Sun use a compiler technology from its HotSpot VM for servers, he said.

Sun is also set to announce changes Tuesday to the Java Community Process that align it more closely with the open source software development model, Green said, without offering specifics. The changes are part of an effort to attract more Java developers — which total about 3 million today — and widen the Java community as a whole, he said.

He also announced the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) Application Verification Kit, which lets developers test Java applications to ensure they will run across application servers from various vendors. More information about the software is online.