Sun wins bid to keep Java from splitting in two

January 15, 1999 — Sun Microsystems Inc. has won victories on two fronts in its efforts to keep specifications for realtime extensions to Java from splintering into two standards. The prospect of a split has alarmed developers and potential users.

With appropriate extensions to Java, developers would be able to write applications that meet the very precise control requirements of realtime systems. For example, in a ground-to-air command control system, an airplane needs to respond to a command at the exact instant it is transmitted, or the intended change in course direction might not be achieved. Currently, the Java language and Java Development Kit do not offer all the controls that meet the needs of such systems.

During a week-long series of meetings, dinners, and private discussions ending today, Sun has made headway in its attempt to patch up differences with an alliance called the Java Real Time Working Group, which includes Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

And to cap the intense diplomatic efforts, a national standards body, the National Committee for Information Technology Standardization (NCITS), in a vote last night rejected the Working Group’s proposal that it manage development of realtime Java standards separately from a Sun-sanctioned process.

The Working Group was formed in early November — mainly out of frustration over Sun’s control over the process for creating specifications for Java application programming interfaces (APIs) — to hammer out Java realtime specifications under what it hoped would be a more open process than what Sun was allowing. Last month it submitted an application to work under the auspices of NCITS.

The Working Group includes heavyweights like Hewlett-Packard — which has its own Chai implementation of the Java virtual machine (JVM) — Microsoft, Siemens, and Rockwell Collins, as well as smaller players.

The possibility that Java might splinter into incompatible versions if two separate groups end up working on realtime extensions to the language has struck fear in users and many developers.

The Department of Defense (DOD) was so concerned about the possibility of having two different specifications of Java for realtime systems that it met with major vendors developing Java applications to express its consternation Monday.

The DOD may use Java for, among other things, realtime command-control systems for airplanes. “But having to test applications against two different sets of specs would greatly increase development costs and slow acceptance of Java” by the government and other users, according to Dr Greg Bollella, lead IBM engineer for realtime Java, who attended the emergency DOD meeting and is working closely with Sun.

The stakes for Java are high. The market for Java in realtime embedded systems is potentially vast, since billions of chips are shipped every year for devices that range from toys to telecom switches to missiles, Bollella said.

Sun defends Community Source model

In an effort to keep standards for realtime Java from splintering, Sun officials have been conferring all week with members of the Working Group at its week-long series of meetings that started Monday, trying to answer questions about its new Community Source licensing plan for Java, announced last month. Sun pulled out all the stops, hosting a dinner Tuesday night for interested Working Group members, and bringing in James Gosling, creator of Java.

Sun officials say the Community Source licensing model allows companies to modify and share Java source code without intervention from Sun. Sun also is allowing third parties to work on expert committees charged with developing Java specifications for certain areas such as realtime applications. Interested companies and developers have another week to sign up to become members of the expert groups. An outside consulting firm will check the qualifications of interested companies and come up with a final list of members.

Several members of the Working Group have been impressed by Sun’s newfound openness and have signed up to be considered for the realtime expert group.

“Sun is being a lot more flexible; I and other companies here, have liked what we’ve heard,” said Bruce Khavar, president of Cyberonix Inc., a member of the Working Group based in Berkeley, CA.

Khavar said he was one of several Working Group members signing up for Sun’s realtime expert group. “It’s not as if we’re Roman gladiators going at each others’ throats here — we’re all trying to solve the same basic problems and agree on almost all of the requirements” for realtime Java specs, he said.

But questions remain. Sun’s willingness to “augment” Java to allow for more control over realtime processes doesn’t go far enough for some types of applications, according to Kelvin Nilsen, chief technology officer for Newmonics Inc. and a member of the Working Group. Newmonics has its own version of the Java virtual machine.

Other companies feel caught in a fight among giants. Some developers involved in the San Diego discussion privately say they believe HP and Microsoft may have reasons for promoting a split in Java standards. HP could use a split to differentiate its own Chai Java virtual machine implementation from other versions of the JVM, said several developers who asked to remain anonymous.

HP, on its part, has said this week that it still has questions about Sun’s proposals, and has said that it joined the Working Group because Sun’s process was too slow and not open enough.

Meanwhile, in two ongoing court cases, Sun and the US government have publicly accused Microsoft of trying to undermine Java’s promise of cross-platform interoperability. Java is seen by many observers as a threat to Microsoft’s efforts to get the Windows operating system to run on platforms ranging from PCs to consumer devices to high-end servers.

Sun is currently engaged in a trial against Microsoft, in which it alleges that Microsoft broke a contract by developing Java extensions that are incompatible with Sun’s Java standards. Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice and 19 states this week rested their broad antitrust case against Microsoft, in which Sun’s Gosling testified.

Microsoft has flatly denied the charges in both cases, and is now presenting its side of the case in the US antitrust trial.

But although Sun has won a few battles this week in the realtime playing field, it may have to fight another day. Some members of the Working Group may regroup and, taking into account comments form the voting members of NCITS, submit yet another proposal that the standards group take on the work of managing development realtime Java specs, outside the auspices of Sun.

NCITS is composed of some of the same companies that are meeting in San Diego this week. Voting to accept the Working Group proposal were Apple Computer Inc. AT&T Corp., Compaq Computer Corp., and Hewlett-Packard Co. Members voting against included Lucent Technology Inc., Sun, Xerox Corp. and IBM Corp. :END_BODY