Sun ports JDK 1.2 to Linux

Company playing catch-up to Visual Basic/Active Server Pages combo

By Dana Gardner, InfoWorld

November 2, 1998 -- Sun today announced it will port the forthcoming Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.2 to Linux, adding the free, open-source-code operating system to such platforms as Hewlett-Packard's HP-UX and Sun's Solaris 7 for optimized Java development and deployment.

The ability for developers to leverage the newest JDK, which should ship later this month, on Linux offers the Java tools, class libraries, and a Java virtual machine (JVM) to the fast-growing arena of freeware developers.

Through the move, Sun is saying that the JDK 1.2 is a reliable platform for users to develop and deploy Java-based applications, servlets, and emerging Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB), according to Sun sources.

The move makes Linux -- a Unix platform that offers such features as multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared copy-on-write executables, memory management, and TCP/IP networking -- a viable option for makers of EJB-compliant application servers and like-minded application developers.

Meanwhile, Sun's package of Java-does-all for the enterprise service provider, however, remains in need of easy-to-use scripting tools. Consequently, at the Java Business Expo in December, Sun will announce plans to fill in its tools strategy, possibly through acquisitions, said Steve Zocchi, a marketing executive at NetDynamics, which Sun purchased last summer.

"We need to show product, not just talk technology," Zocchi said. "Sun needs a complete tools strategy and [independent development environment]."

"Sun is missing the boat [on tools]. They don't have the scripting, the server-side support," said J.P. Morgenthal, president of NC.Focus, a consultancy in Hewlett, New York. "I think they will have a competitive story to Visual Basic and Active Server Pages using Java scripting, JavaBeans, and Java Server Pages. But they don't have it right now. If they want the departmental computing people, they need that tool."

Sun this week will announce beefed-up developer relations, with partner programs and a federation of Java industry news Web sites.

In addition to laying out a tools road map in coming weeks, Sun will in coming months also outline a higher degree of segmentation in its application server offerings, with servers emerging for specific services, such as procurement and creating online catalogs, Zocchi said.

"Java is finding a use as the language of the server," said Vernon Keenan, an analyst at Keenan Vision, in San Francisco. "If they are emphasizing ways enterprises can concentrate information and processing on a Web server, then that's a decent strategy. It builds on Java as an application server language."

The Java Business Expo, in New York, will cap a whirlwind season of Java and Sun marketing. This month, Sun announced the NetDynamics server would be bundled with Solaris, hinting that its services will be integrated into future versions of Solaris. And last week, Solaris 7, the new 64-bit version of the product, made its debut, also featuring segmented server offerings.

Baratz, at a Sun-sponsored Java strategy day this week, will keep the momentum going by highlighting the arrival later this month of the JDK 1.2 and how the added security, stability, performance, and broader compatibility will help enterprises build portals.

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