Sun and Matsushita examine lighter Java

December 15, 1998 — Sun Microsystems’s broad joint development deal with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. is the first step in what could become a lighter version of Java for embedded applications, officials here said today.

The three-pronged agreement, announced today in Tokyo, calls for the Japanese electronics maker to license Sun’s PersonalJava environment; to develop APIs (application programming interfaces) for Java-based digital television applications; and to “examine and investigate” the need for a “smaller footprint” version of Java for consumer electronics applications, officials said.

The officials, referring to a smaller version of Java, said the technology under investigation could be a version of Java that requires less memory than Embedded Java, the member of the Java family currently aimed at embedded applications and traditional consumer electronics products. No decisions have been made yet on whether Embedded Java will provide a foundation for the proposed new version, officials said.

This proposed version comes in response to electronics makers’ requests for a lighter version of the Java language, according to Jay Puri, vice president of worldwide sales, for the software and technology division at Sun’s main Palo Alto, California location.

The US vendor’s goal of integrating Java into electronic equipment in buildings, homes, and factories — many of which use embedded processors — has fallen below the company’s initial expectations. Vendors of those traditional electronics products use very lightweight, realtime, and often proprietary operating systems to power their systems.

Sun’s shortcomings, in part, prompted Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) to roll out its own version of the Java virtual machine (JVM) for embedded applications earlier this year. At that time, several makers of embedded systems endorsed the HP version because it has a smaller footprint than Sun’s Embedded Java.

Puri at Sun explained that development of a new version of Java is in the “investigative phase” and that Sun will address the question — “What sort of product is required to fulfill the needs that companies like Matsushita are asking for?” he said.

Puri said the joint work with Matsushita is the first public announcement of the new Java effort. Sun is talking with several companies about joining in the investigation, he said.

He refused to give company names, but said, “It is very important that the world leaders be part of that expert group” examining Java for small consumer applications.

The services that Matsushita considers as potential applications for its Java work include Java-based television programming information, home shopping, medical consultation and remote control, and diagnosis of home appliances, according to Kazuhiko Sugiyama, executive vice president of Matsushita.

On the product side, the Japanese company envisions a future with microwave ovens that can download recipes from a network and Java-based air conditioners.

Matsushita would “like to look into the possibility of implementing smaller-footprint Java into those appliances,” according to Sukeichi Miki, director of Matsushita’s multimedia research and development group.

Officials stressed that today’s agreement does not include Sun’s Jini technology. They explained that the smaller-footprint Java has “nothing to do with” Jini.

But in response to questions from IDG News Service following the announcement, officials said Matsushita is evaluating the Jini technology. Jini is a Java-based platform that enables digital devices to easily work with each other over a network.

“They are evaluating Jini, and I think in the future they will be supporting it,” Puri at Sun said.

Matsushita is one of the backers of a specification called the Home Audio/Video Interoperability (HAVI) core that defines middleware for appliances to work together over a home network and is seen by some as a potential Jini competitor.

Puri acknowledged that Matsushita’s involvement in HAVI could be one of the reasons today’s deal did not include Jini. He added that Sun expects many consumer electronics companies to unveil their Jini plans at a Sun event on January 25, 1999 in New York. Sun expects the event to yield “real products and lots of big names” related to Jini. In addition, Sun will outline its “specific position” on the HAVI specification, he said.