Java update promises less work for software developers

Sun Microsystems has confirmed the final specifications for Java Enterprise Edition 5 (Java EE 5) and has promised to release a software development kit and compatibility test suite at the JavaOne Conference on 16 May.

Java EE was known as Java 2 Enterprise Edition, or J2EE. The technology offers a programming platform for server-based applications commonly delivered to end users through a browser.

The specifications and development tools will allow makers of application servers such as IBM and BEA to create Java EE 5 compliant versions of their software.

The application server creates a platform to run web applications written in Java, which in turn allows developers to use the advancements in the programming language in their creations.

Sun touted the Java EE update as one of the most significant changes in years. "The major enhancement for Java EE 5 is the ease of development," said Karen Padir, Sun's vice president of enterprise Java platforms.

"It is the platform specification as well as the Java EE software development kit where we have made major improvements for usability by relying on simplified methods or reasonable default.

"When you create an application, Java EE has always allowed the developer to worry about their own business logic and not about the plumbing. We have continued to develop that in this platform."

Running internal tests on reference applications, Sun required 30 per cent less Java code, the firm claimed, while reducing Java classes by 60 per cent and XML files by 80 per cent.

Over 30 organisations have a licence for the Java EE technology, each of which develops their own application servers.

JBoss plans to issue a Java EE 5 compliant community release of its application server in the second half of this year.

BEA indicated that it will launch a technology preview at JavaOne, while Oracle said that it already has a preview version available.