On eve of Sun's latest JDK, Microsoft claims best JVM By Dana Gardner InfoWorld Electric Posted at 6:14 AM PT, Dec 8, 1998 NEW YORK -- Just as Sun Microsystems was about to officially anoint its new Java Development Kit (JDK), Version 1.2, here Tuesday, Microsoft announced a pure Java upgrade to its 32-bit Java virtual machine (JVM) for Windows that it says works best. Microsoft on Monday released Java Virtual Machine for the Microsoft Windows operating system, and not referring to the JDK 1.2 moniker. The newest JVM, however, does support the Java Native Interface (JNI) to bring it in line with Sun's Java specification, as ordered in a recent ruling by the San Jose Federal District Court. Microsoft is challenging a lawsuit against it in that court by Sun, which maintains that Microsoft broke its Java licensing agreement by optimizing Java for Windows. Now, Microsoft is bringing forth a JVM that it says conforms to the court order -- and runs an average of 30 percent faster than Sun's latest offering on the ubiquitous Windows 32-bit platform using popular benchmarks. "While the Microsoft virtual machine is getting faster, Sun's virtual machine is getting slower on some key metrics," said Charles Fitzgerald, a Microsoft marketing official. He said that Sun's JDK 1.2 has grown in download size to 20MB, as compared to 8MB for the Microsoft virtual machine, and that Sun's version still starts up slower than Microsoft's. "JDK 1.2 matches the performance we had a year ago. And the main focus of this release is performance," said Joe Herman, a Microsoft official. The latest Microsoft JVM includes a new Just-In-Time Compiler, as well as enhancements for developers that speed the development cycle and simplify integration of Java code with other languages, applications, and services, Microsoft said. The new Windows JVM supports cross-platform applets and Windows-based applications written in Java, Microsoft said. It also includes performance enhancements that improve execution of Java components on the server using Active Server Pages and Microsoft Transaction Server technology, Microsoft said. Microsoft is also making available an update to the Virtual Machine for Windows that shipped with the Internet Explorer 4 browser. This version will also support JNI, as the lawsuit requires. It was unclear at the outset if the Microsoft JVM was actually in compliance with the JDK 1.2, or was being upgraded strictly to adhere to the court order. JDK 1.2 includes security enhancements and other improvements. It could not be determined immediately if those technologies are reflected in the latest Microsoft JVM releases. Microsoft has not officially been provided the JDK 1.2 source code due to the pending breach-of-contract suit, though its license did require it to keep its Java implementations current, as defined as a six-month period from the technology's release. Nonetheless, Microsoft is saying that its JVM adheres to the definition of pure Java under the JDK 1.1 release, and that its implementation performs better on at least some criteria than Sun's newest offering under JDK 1.2. Microsoft's new JVM works with Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT. Developers can download the latest release free at www.microsoft.com/java. An updated JVM for Internet Explorer 4 Win32 versions -- but not for Macintosh and Unix -- is available at www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/mach.htm for end-users. Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash. is at www.microsoft.com. InfoWorld Editor at Large Dana Gardner is based in New Hampshire. From MAILER-DAEMON@cs.depaul.edu Mon Jan 4 12:14:11 1999