Jini, Sun’s magic out of the lamp

January 25, 1999 — Amid pounding, up-tempo rock music, a set worthy of Jay Leno, and a comical cameo by San Francisco Forty-niners quarterback Steve Young, Sun Microsystems introduced its Jini network-connection technology at its Worldwide Analysts Conference held at San Francisco’s Sheraton Palace Hotel today. The new Jini logo, a genie-like lamp rendered in Sun’s trademark purple and red, was unfurled on banners and splashed across the stage.

Jini technology, based on 35,000 lines of Java code, is embedded in an electronic device to allow it to easily connect to a Jini network, identify its features to the network, and receive information about other connected Jini devices. (For more on the technology behind Jini, see Resources.)

When a Jini device, a color printer for example, is plugged into an existing Jini network, the device executes an add-in protocol — which Sun calls discovery and join — that establishes its presence with the network’s lookup service. The lookup service then makes the color printer’s services available to the network’s other devices, a Palm Pilot for example. A user could then print her calendar from the Palm Pilot directly to the printer.

Sun claims the technology will allow any Jini-enabled electronic device — digital camera, printer, dishwasher, and so on — to “simply connect” to any other Jini device, without the need to install new software or device drivers. “It’s not plug-and-pray, it’s plug-and-work,” explains Sun COO Ed Zander.

The Jini rollout — attended by hundreds, including Sun employees, vendors, and the press — featured presentations by Sun’s senior management team, including COO Edward Zander, CTO Greg Papadopoulos, Consumer and Embedded Division President Mark Tolliver, and CEO Scott McNealy. Chief Scientist Bill Joy, credited with leading Jini development, outlined Jini’s technical features.

At the event, Sun demonstrated several Jini technologies in action. In one example, a Nokia PDA was used to pay the fare for a Jini-enabled taxi, which then used a Jini printer to instantly print a receipt.

Another example sent a picture of Steve Young and Greg Papadopoulos taken with a Jini-enabled digital camera directly to Kinko’s — a Jini partner — for printing. According to Sun, Jini networks view Kinko’s as just another network printer.

“It’s not about the devices, it’s about the ability to simply connect,” says Papadopoulos.

Sun took special care to highlight the 37 companies that have become Jini partners so far. Partners range from traditional computer industry players such as Computer Associates, IBM, Motorola, and 3Com to big-name consumer electronics manufacturers such as Philips, Sony, and Toshiba. Indeed, on January 19, Sun announced that Jini will interoperate with the Home Audio/Video Interoperability (HAVI) specification, backed by Philips and Sony, among others. (See Resources.)

For the Java developer, Sun makes the Jini code available through its Sun Community Source License (SCSL) program. The code can be downloaded for free from Sun’s Web site. You must register to download the code and Sun requires a fee for commercial products and use of the Jini logo.

Sun predicts Jini technology will be a boon for Java programmers, who will have access to a worldwide mega-market of consumer electronic devices, all of which will require Java code embedded in them.

“Jini is possibly the most compelling reason to write in Java,” says Sun CEO Scott McNealy. “The nice advantage is, if you can write in Java, you can write in Jini today.”