Sun Extends Community Source Licensing to Chip Architectures; New Model Will Unleash Innovation and Accelerate Proliferation of picoJava And SPARC Architectures

Business Wire, March 2, 1999

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 1999--Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced that it will extend its new Community Source Licensing model to include the picoJava(TM) and SPARC(TM) architectures. This is the first time a company has made major microprocessor intellectual property available via community source licensing.

Based on a set of principles outlined in the original Sun Community Source Licensing document, this initiative is intended to spur development of products based on these two architectures by providing a more flexible process for gaining access to the technology. The new model allows tool vendors, chip developers, commercial OEMs, universities and research organizations access to the picoJava and SPARC microprocessor source files without fees during the initial evaluation and development phases.

"Community Source Licensing is the distribution model for intellectual property in the 21st century," said Bill Joy, founder and chief scientist, Sun Microsystems. "Today's up-front fee model restricts access to technology to only those projects that are fully funded at the outset. Lowering the initial costs of development allows companies to pilot new products more readily, get to market faster and take advantage of Sun's well known networking technology."

"Extending the picoJava and SPARC architectures via Community Source Licensing will revolutionize the system-on-a-chip market," said Mel Friedman, president, Sun Microsystems, Microelectronics. "Sun's new "test drive" model provides the equivalent of electronic sampling for these leading microprocessor architectures. We think it will unleash a watershed of new, innovative designs around these architectures."

Today's announcement continues Sun's Community Source Licensing initiative that was first extended to the Java(TM) platform in December 1998. The initiative combines the benefits of sharing source code -- similar to an "Open Source" style of license -- and is intended to provide the industry with a more flexible process for evaluating and developing Java and SPARC technologies. A description of principles for this initiative can be found at http://www.sun.com/981208/scsl/principles.html.> For microprocessor architectures, interested parties can register and download source files via the web. Sun will provide an architecture specification, programmer's reference manual, instruction simulator and RTL files of the picoJava design. For support, Sun will be creating an on-line community forum of licensees. By adopting this model, Sun is enabling resulting products to be manufactured by a range of companies.

Source files for the picoJava(TM) architecture are expected to be available by the end of the month. Third-party tool vendors, chip developers, EDA software vendors, commercial OEMs, universities and research organizations interested in registering to receive notification of availability can do so at http://www.sun.com/microelectronics/communitysource.> Java processors are designed to directly execute Java byte-code instructions in silicon. This approach provides fast, efficient operation of applications written in the Java programming language on small electronic devices with a smaller footprint and lower cost. Examples include personal digital assistants (PDAs), game devices, global positioning systems, and other home, office and mobile applications.

The 32-bit microSPARC register transfer level (RTL) design files are expected to be available by the end of the summer. The 64-bit UltraSPARC(TM) RTL design files are expected to be available by the end of the year. To register to receive information as it becomes available, interested parties should go to http://www.sun.com/microelectronics/communitysource.> Throughout its history, SPARC processors have maintained binary compatibility, enabling applications written for the first SPARC processor to run on the latest processor today. This architecture leverages a unique combination of semiconductor design expertise, leading performance, multiprocessor capabilities and high bandwidth to provide companies a competitive advantage by enabling the development of highly reliable, differentiated systems. The UltraSPARC II family is the processor behind Sun's leading enterprise computing offerings.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of high quality hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $10 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.

Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, HotJava, Java, picoJava and "The Network Is The Computer" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. SPARC, microSPARC and UltraSPARC 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. Netscape Navigator is a trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation.