Fact Sheet: IBM’s Overall Java Initiatives
N/A (March 24, 1998) – Java** has transformed the Internet into a richly animated environment and allowed businesses to securely interact with customers and suppliers. It has become a platform for developers to rapidly create portable applications that make use of the benefits of component technology. And with Enterprise JavaBeans** now in place, Java is primed to take a major role in supporting the systems that keep companies running.
The Java platform, originated by Sun Microsystems, adopted by hundreds of thousands of developers and supported by IBM, Oracle, Netscape, Novell and more than 100 other licensees, was designed from the start to enable applications to be easily distributed over networks such as the Internet. As the leader in global enterprise computing, IBM is working with Sun and others to continue to mature the Java platform and extend its benefits to all facets of network computing.
IBM’s Network Computing Framework (NCF) for e-business, which provides a model for building and deploying e-business applications on the Web, leverages Java as its unifying programming model and Enterprise JavaBeans as its component standard.
Software, Tools, Technologies and Business Solutions
IBM’s extensive expertise in enterprise computing makes the company ideally suited to help spearhead the movement of Java into the business arena. Drawing on the resources of some 2,500 Java professionals worldwide in more than 20 development laboratories, IBM has rapidly enabled its key infrastructure products to support Java.
IBM has provided Java support for its leading middleware: TXSeries* distributed transaction processing software; CICS/390* and IMS host-based transaction systems, DB2* database, MQSeries* messaging software, Component Broker* distributed object software, Lotus Notes** groupware and Domino** interactive Web server, and Tivoli** systems management products. With ServletExpress, IBM is enabling users of Lotus Domino Go** and other Web servers to turn those servers into Java application servers.
We’ve Java-enabled our operating systems — AIX*, OS/2*, OS/390* and OS/400* — and continue to improve Java performance in these systems. IBM Host On-Demand* connectivity software is among the first applications in the industry to be certified under the Sun 100% Pure Java** certification program. The Java version of IBM’s Network Printer Manager (NPM) software is the first Java application to manage multiple vendors’ printers, eliminating the need to install, maintain and use multiple proprietary software tools to manage printers in a distributed environment.
Development tools to help speed creation of 100% Pure Java applications are another IBM focus. We have enabled our powerful VisualAge product family to be used to develop enterprise Java applications. NetRexx combines the Rexx scripting language with Java to allow Rexx programmers to extend their skills. Lotus BeanMachine is an easy-to-use visual authoring tool that allows Web page authors who know little about programming in an object-oriented language to add Java-based interactive Web components and create powerful, content-rich Web sites.
Other uses of Java technology being piloted in IBM are showcased on the IBM alphaWorks Web site, www.alphaWorks.ibm.com. AlphaWorks is IBM’s online laboratory that provides an early look at some exciting technologies from IBM’s renowned research facilities.
In cooperation with Sun and others, IBM and Lotus worked to develop the JavaBeans** component specification, which enables Java applets to interoperate over networks. IBM developed most of the specification for Enterprise JavaBeans, which takes this concept of component reuse and easy deployment and management of applications into the server-side arena.
Lotus’ eSuite* family of products was the first Java-based set of business productivity applets built specifically for the network computing environment. IBM’s Java-enabled WorkSpace On-Demand* was the industry’s first network computing operating system for a PC.
IBM San Francisco* provides developers with business process components to more quickly create customizable, server-side applications. It is the largest server-side Java initiative in the industry, with roughly 500,000 lines of code in the hands of developers. San Francisco is a collaborative effort of more than 200 software providers around the world.
On the hardware side, IBM has announced the Network Station* Series 1000, a network computing “thin client” device that supports Java. IBM’s Microelectronics unit has also licensed Sun’s picoJava** processor core, which can be used in consumer electronic devices.
IBM has made significant contributions to the base Java technology beyond just JavaBeans. For example, IBM helped write the Java Foundation Classes (JFC) and Accessibility application programming interfaces (APIs) with Sun. This work has resulted in IBM’s Java-based screen reader prototype technology that “speaks” JFC applications. IBM has also published the industry’s first set of guidelines for Java developers to ensure that their applications are accessible. Other IBM teams are contributing to key APIs for database, point of sale solutions, and the JavaCard specification. IBM is also instrumental in providing internationalization support in Java.
Support Programs
IBM has a wealth of Java education and training programs, tailored to help developers and customers succeed with Java, whatever their goals and experience levels. IBM also partners with the academic community to help promote and develop Java skills.
IBM’s Java Web site, http://www.ibm.com/java, provides information, tutorials, tips, links to other related sites, and a Java resource search facility, jCentral, to help developers maximize their productivity. Another feature, Daily Grounds, offers an online commentary on news and issues of importance to the Java community. At the solution provider home page, http://www.developer.ibm.com, developers can find more support resources including locations of Solution Studios where IBM offers Java developers access to equipment and expertise to tune their applications at no charge.
All in all, IBM has the most people, products and projects in the industry dedicated to leveraging Java. IBM is making a significant investment across the company and is committed to helping developers and customers fully benefit from all this technology has to offer.
Source: IBM