Sun Microsystems, Inc has announced major enhancements to the Java platform, including additional support for key Web services technologies in the upcoming release of Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) version 1.4, due in the third quarter of this year.
Building on Java technology's heritage of platform independence and portability by design, Sun is working through the Java Community Process (JCP) to make J2EE technology the standard for Java Web services development and interoperability.
Specifically, Sun will include full support for the "Basic Profile" specification that has been proposed by the Web Services Interoperability Organisation (WS-I) to ensure that Web services component technologies work together.
Sun adds the WS-I Basic Profile to existing support of Web services standards such as WSDL, SOAP, ebXML and UDDI.
"With its broad support of these standards, J2EE technology provides the Web services programming and data model to enable developers to build applications and services that can be used on any Internet-enabled device," says Sean O'Hare, systems engineer: Java at Sun Microsystems SA.
As a result, explains O'Hare, developers can apply their programming knowledge commonly across computing environments to build portable Web applications or Web services, allowing customers to save costs and increase revenues by bringing their information assets to the Web.
By bringing Web services standards and interoperability together in the J2EE technology, Sun is evolving the Java Web services platform into the industry standard for developing interoperable Web services. "This will help accelerate the next wave of innovations that ease development and create opportunity for businesses," O'Hare explains.
With its support of the WS-I basic profile, Sun builds on its long-standing commitment to open standards. "Sun is fully engaged in collaborative work with industry organisations such as WS-I in order to help ensure Web services interoperability becomes pervasive," he adds.
Java's appeal to developers is its cross platform portability, faster time to market through component reusability and platform neutrality. For the estimated 70% of enterprises using Java technology, this means being able to switch computing environments without the cost of reengineering; leverage infrastructure investments via simplified integration with applications and legacy systems; and simplified compatibility testing to protect the portability of their applications and Web services.
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Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - "The Network Is The Computer" - has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com
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