Java prepares for its fourth birthday party By Dana Gardner, Ed Scannell, and Ted Smalley Bowen, InfoWorld Electric Posted at 5:29 PM PT, Dec 4, 1998 Java will get a 4-year birthday party of sorts next week when Sun Microsystems introduces its Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.2 at the Java Business Expo, in New York. Among party guests will be IBM, with the next version of its WebSphere Application Server and an updated version of VisualAge tools for Java. A slew of companies will leverage Java's new capabilities, as well as those of the new kid on the block Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB). "JDK 1.2 is a huge step forward from where [Sun] was a year ago. The most visible improvement is the Swing user interface. Some of the underlying stuff like security is much more important to the server environment," said Doug Pollack, vice president of marketing at GemStone Systems, in Beaverton, Ore., now delivering its GemStone/J 2.0 EJB application server. "It's much richer and you should see more consistency," said Anne Thomas, an analyst at the Patricia Seybold Group, in Boston. Not everyone is excited by Java's latest iteration. "To me, Java is nearly an irrelevant story. Microsoft has been successful in devaluing it from a platform to a mere language. It's an important language, but the 'write once, run anywhere' mantra is not true," said Vernon Keenan, an analyst at Keenan Vision, in San Francisco. Many users remain keen on Java, even if its critics decry its rocky evolution on the client and Sun's dictatorial stewardship of Java as a cross-platform standard. "We are very interested in Java. I see it as probably halfway mature, as a young teenager," said John Bercik, systems manager at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, S.C. "It's very exciting with a huge amount of potential. Everyone here has changed their mind-set over the last year. We want data everywhere." IBM will release Version 2.0 of its WebSphere Application Server, Advanced Edition, along with an updated version of its VisualAge for Java, Enterprise Edition. Both will arrive by the end of this month. WebSphere also now supports EJB, allowing corporate developers to deploy components and applications on virtually any server across an enterprise. The new server also contains several other Enterprise Java Server (EJS) features. "The Advanced Edition with EJB is primarily aimed at those who need reusable components," said Paraic Sweeney, vice president of marketing for IBM's Web Server products. "The December release is the first glimpse of the EJS, plus servlet engine, which will be merged in 1999. The December release is essentially [WebSphere] 1.1 with some performance boosts, plus the EJS," said a source close to IBM. The moves could place IBM in front of the application server pack, albeit with an open standards approach. Many of the other high-performance application servers have been built on proprietary run times and object containers. "I see WebSphere on the leading edge of the market. I just hope they don't screw up the marketing," said Tim Sloane, an analyst at the Aberdeen Group, in Boston. Also new from IBM next week is added support for VisualAge for Java, Enterprise Edition. The product is a culmination of IBM's drive to provide corporate users with capabilities to create enterprise-level Java applications. The Enterprise Edition comes complete with a testing and debugging environment designed to support EJB deployment to any EJB-compliant application server, said Valerie Olague, an IBM marketing manager. IBM will also set new directions for its Java-based San Francisco application frameworks by describing a custom container for the applications that converts the applications for use on EJB-compliant servers. The goal is to converge San Francisco applications with the EJB 2.0 specification, due in late 1999, sources said. As IBM gets cozy with EJB, Sun next week will be busy promoting JDK 1.2. Sun promises that the new JDK will be stable, perform well, and offer wider compatibility. Moreover, along with the recent unveiling of CORBA 3.0 specifications, the interdependence of Java with CORBA will deepen with the release of JDK 1.2, Sun officials said. Also next week, Sybase's tools division will unveil the feature set for PowerBuilder 7.0, as well as announce the pending arrival of Sybase's next Enterprise Application Server, code-named Vineyard. Novell next week will deliver the consolidated Novell Developer Kit, which offers users of C and C++ APIs; Java class libraries; and JavaBeans or scripting languages to optimize Novell's network, Internet, and management services. Corel will also preview its Java-based jBridge connectivity technology. BEA will detail a strategic partnership with Symantec on Java-based tools for rapid application development. Sun Microsystems Inc., in Palo Alto, Calif., can be reached at www.sun.com. IBM Corp., in Armonk, N.Y., can be reached at www.ibm.com. Sybase Inc., in Emeryville, Calif., can be reached at www.sybase.com. InfoWorld Editor at Large Dana Gardner is based in New Hampshire. Ed Scannell is an InfoWorld editor at large. Ted Smalley Bowen is InfoWorld's Boston bureau chief. From MAILER-DAEMON@cs.depaul.edu Sat Dec 5 22:24:59 1998