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Portable, Platform-Neutral Standard Endorsed By Industry Leaders

May 29, 1996 - JavaSoft today unveiled an initiative to create a set of component APIs which are open and are written entirely in Java(tm). The project, code-named "Java Beans", will allow developers to write Java applets and applications from reusable components that can transfer their functionality to other Java applets and applications, as well as to non-Java, platform-dependent applications.

The Java Beans initiative already has broad-based industry support. Industry leaders including Borland International, Inc., International Business Machines, including its Lotus Business Products Division, Netscape Communications Corp., Oracle Corp., and Symantec Corp., have endorsed the project as the model for open standards-based component in Java.

The Java component API add a dynamic capability to portable Java applets and applications. A button or icon in one document, for instance, can control functions in another document. For example, a button component in one document can trigger a bar chart to be drawn in another document; a live data feed in one document could be represented as a chart in another document.

The Java component API provides a seamless and powerful integration into applications in multiple formats and component architectures, including HTML, COM, OpenDoc, and LiveConnect. Java Beans components, which will include ordinary Java applets, will also be able to be embedded into existing "containers" such as Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Word and Excel, Microsoft Visual Basic, and others.

Java Beans will be written entirely in Java, providing developers with the ability to write components once and run them anywhere. Developers need not be tied to any platform specific component architecture that limits the portability of their applications.

"Our mission with the Java Platform has been to guarantee developers that if they write in Java, their applets and applications will run anywhere," said Alan Baratz, president of JavaSoft. "The Java Beans initiative is evidence that we are pursuing that commitment vigorously. The winners are developers and ultimately end-users, who get all the functionality of current component architecture models with the portability and ease-of use of Java."

Among other key characteristics of the Java component API:

* It is compact and simple for developers to use. It is easier to create and reuse Java components than with other component object models. Developers just write Java. * It speeds application development by letting developers re-use existing Java applets to compose new applications. Because Java is an architecture-neutral platform, applets from a number of different sources can be composed into applications. * Application-building tools will allow developers to graphically compose Java components into applets and applications. Companies such as IBM with its VisualAge for Java, Borland with its Latte tools, SunSoft with its Java WorkShop, and Symantec with its Cafe development environment, have committed to providing graphical user interface (GUI-based) tools to build Java Beans components.

Broad-Based Industry Support

The Java component API specification is currently under development and will be reviewed with leading industry experts prior to being made available for public comment in September. Early access to Java component technology will start in late 1996, with full availability expected by mid-1997. The Java component API will be incorporated into the Java Development Kit and will be made available by Java licensees.

Several companies have already endorsed the Java Beans initiative.

Borland "Borland's Delphi rapid application development (RAD) tools have proven that components are the key to productivity for software developers," said Paul Gross, Sr. Vice President of Research and Development at Borland. "We're excited to see JavaSoft driving a cross-platform component architecture that Borland intends to support in our Latte RAD tools for Java."

IBM "The convergence of three critical areas of technology -- Java, standards, and the Internet -- presents a unique opportunity for customers," said John Slitz, IBM vice president, object technologies application development marketing. "IBM is fully committed to providing customers maximum competitive advantage, and is working on its own implementation, Arabica, which is a robust blending of the strengths of Java and reliable and flexible nature of OpenDoc."

Lotus "We are pleased to support JavaSoft with our experience in component software, cross platform development and Internet applications," said Michael Welles, General Manager of the Lotus Components Business Group. "Java Bean's unique cross platform support will enable developers to build component-based applications that can be easily deployed across multiple operating systems using Lotus Notes over the Internet. Users will access these applications via Notes clients or any Java Beans enabled Web browser. Lotus customers are excited about building applications with Notes and Lotus Components, and with Java Beans they will be able to deploy these applications beyond the Java Beans they will be able to deploy these applications beyond the Win32/ActiveX environment."

Netscape "Java Beans is a powerful extension of the Java Platform," said Rick Shell, vice president of engineering, Netscape Communications Corp. "Netscape intends to extend Netscape LiveConnect technology to provide support for Java Beans, further integrating Java into the Netscape software platform."

Oracle "Oracle applauds JavaSoft's intention to define a cross-platform component model for Java," said Joseph Duncan, vice president of Web and object oriented tools at Oracle Corp. "Oracle is an active supporter of software component standards. This is a timely step toward true open systems integration."

Symantec "At Symantec, we are very excited about Java Beans. This new component API is an important step towards allowing component programming in Java. We will definitely adopt the JavaSoft component model in our forthcoming Visual Cafe for allowing easy visual development using Java," said Mansour Safai, general manager of the Symantec Internet tools division.

------------------- JavaSoft, headquartered in Cupertino, CA, is an operating company of Sun Microsystems Inc. The company's mission is to develop, market and support the Java technology and products based on it. Java supports networked applications and enables developers to write applications once that will run on any machine. JavaSoft develops applications, tools and systems platforms to further enhance Java as the programming standard for complex networks such as the Internet and corporate intranets.

JavaOne(tm), the first JavaSoft-sponsored developers conference for Java, will take place May 29-31, 1996 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. JavaOne's keynote addresses will be webcast at http://java.sun.com/javaone, and all conference session materials will be available at the same url.

With annual revenues of more than $6 billion, Sun Microsystems, Inc. provides products and services that enable customers to build and maintain open network computing environments. Widely recognized as a proponent of open standards, the company is involved in the design, manufacture and sale of products, technologies and services for commercial and technical computing. Sun's SPARC(tm) workstations, multiprocessing servers, SPARC microprocessors, Solaris(tm) operating software and ISO-certified service organization each rank No. 1 in the UNIX® industry. Sun's Java(tm) platform-independent programming environment, provides a comprehensive solution to the challenge of programming for complex networks, including the Internet. Sun Microsystems was founded in 1982, and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

------------------- Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, The Network is the Computer, Solaris, Java, HotJava, JavaSoft are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, INC. in the United States and other countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and in other countries exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. All other product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

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