Java Archive

IBM and open-source Java software company JBoss Group are in discussions to spearhead a Java standardization effort aimed at cooling off the growing popularity of Microsoft's C# language. On other Java-related news, BeOS might see a full implementation of Java soon.

Sun has awarded a scholarship worth several hundred thousand dollars to the ObjectWeb Consortium, a nonprofit organization based in France, so it can begin certification testing on its JOnAS (Java Open Application Server) J2EE implementation.

The computing giant releases an early version of source code for version 1.4 of the Java flavor, with support for a new WS-I Web services standard.

This is the third milestone release towards Eclipse 3.0. Check out the new and noteworthy improvements this version brings. The group in charge of the open-source Eclipse project approved a three month long restructuring process this week that should reduce IBM's dominant role in the effort and make the project more attractive to Java vendors such as Sun Microsystems and BEA Systems. Also, they are thinking of changing the name of the project.

"If Sun does not get its act together and light a fire under the JCP, it might find itself losing the tiny battles that make up its war with .NET. Letting Java stagnate will open doors for .NET that Java might never again be able to enter." Read the editorial at NewsFactor by Vincent Ryan.

The Java platform has traditionally prided itself on its platform independence. While that independence has many benefits, it makes the process of writing Java applications that interact with hardware quite tricky. In this article, a research scientist examines two projects that are making the process easier by providing APIs through which Java applications can make use of USB devices. While both projects are still in embryo form, both show promise and are already serving as the foundations of some real-world applications.

Sun announced yesterday that a native Java version for the AMD 64 bit processor will be available on Linux and Windows platforms, allowing companies to migrate their current Java applications from a 32-bit to 64-bit computing platform.

JNode is a java-based OS. Learn more about it and check out shots, here.

Microsoft Corp. has been busy on the Java front recently, with the release of a new version of its Java conversion tool and enhancements to its Java development environment. Microsoft Tuesday announced Version 2.0 of its Java Language Conversion Assistant (JLCA). The JLCA is based on ArtinSoft Inc.'s migration technology for converting Java code to Visual C# .Net code.

The latest cell phones can show you the nearest bathrooms in San Francisco or which subway to take in London. They can also help with your diet by tracking calorie intake. Behind such programs and more is the very technology at the center of an intense battle between Microsoft Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. over control of desktop computers. Though Sun has mostly lost that fight, the beleaguered Silicon Valley icon is trying to give new life to its Java programming language with an aggressive push into mobile devices. Once again, it finds a foe in Microsoft. But this time Sun has the lead.

The release of the beta version of Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 1.5 (J2SE 1.5) is just around the corner. A recent session at the 2003 JavaOne Conference provides a roadmap.

This article discusses incremental compaction, a new feature in the memory management component of IBM JDK 1.4.0. Incremental compaction is a way of spreading compaction work across different garbage collection cycles, thereby reducing pause times. Elsewhere, industry leaders discuss Java status Quo. Also, Eclipse SDK 2.1 leverages Java’s strengths, but beware of too much expansion, InfoWorld says.

Sun Microsystems is working with numerous industry partners to support the use of scripting languages in its Java platform. Sun and Zend are leading the effort, which will create a way for developers to write Java applications using popular scripting languages like PHP, ECMAscript, and ASP. According to O'Reilly, Sun could boost its number of Java developers by another 3 million in this way. Elsewhere, Sun's CEO Scott McNealy defended the business merits of his company's Java effort, saying that, despite disappointing sales of Sun's own Java software, the effort has helped keep Microsoft at bay.

Executives at Sun Microsystems on Tuesday offered a glimpse of its Java roadmap through 2006, when its "Mustang" revision is scheduled to debut. eWEEK has a Java special too. Elsewhere, Hewlett-Packard and Dell Computer will be shipping the latest version of Java with their PCs and laptops running Windows and Linux, said Rich Green, vice president of developer platforms at Sun Microsystems. Also, there will be no macros for the Java language, it seems.